I'm 30....

yep...that's right.  30. Thirty. The big three zero.  My third decade is over.  Almost up the hill.  However, I think I'll be referring to this day as my second annual 29th birthday.  yes.  much better.  (kudos to Megan Q, I stole that from her!)  In addition to this being a slightly depressing holiday, my husband was in the field for 2 weeks with no cell phone service, James cried hard at childcare during my Bible study, and there was no cake waiting for me at home.  :(  poor me.  tears. 

I'm really kidding, it's not a big deal at all.  Actually, my sweet sweet friend, Karen, took me out to lunch!  We had great food at a cute local place called "The Upper Crust," and they brought out this amazing, huge, and free tiramisu dessert that was to die for!  I think it was far from authentic Italian, however, that did not decrease its deliciousness at all.  It was awesome.  James loved it too!  We all ate quite a bit and there was still lots left over.  yummy!  Thanks Karen!  I'm actually quite happy to be thirty.  My life is so full of blessings right now...hubby, son, fun city, new adventures, new friends, old friends.  happiness.  joy.  I'm thankful to no longer be 25...however if you ever want to tell me I still look 25, I'll gladly take that compliment (wink).  ha! 

 Love James' face in this picture below!

Bounce Bounce Bounce

We had an adventurous play date today at this little Fun Zone that has inflatable toys and playground sets.  We tried this place about two months ago, but James just wasn't big enough to play.  That was not the case today.  He went non-stop for almost two full hours!  He jumped in the moon-walk, dominated the inflatable obstacle course, climbed to the top of the big play set to go down the curvy slide, and even had a little fun flirting with Laken.  Laken is my girlfriend Karen's little girl, and she and James played so well together.  Karen is the first person I met here and she and I have become quick friends.  I'm so thankful for her!  She not only goes to my church, but we are also in MOPS and bible study together, and we both enjoy working out, have two year olds (well, almost), and share lots of the same interests.  Yay!  of course...only pictures of our kids...but that's how it goes.  I'll get a pic of Karen soon.  :)

I love this video below.  James' first experience with rejection...it starts so early!  poor baby boy.  You have to watch his sweet face, he puckers, gets excited for a hug, and is ready for a high-five....Laken plays hard to get! 

I don't know how I got this lucky to capture his smile as he zoomed down this slide.  He climbed all the way up this huge play set...by himself...and had no fear going down this long, curvy slide.  He giggled all the way down and had static hair and smiles at the end!  so fun!

I just love how he throws himself down and giggles the whole time in this video...you can even hear him say "bounce bounce bounce".  funny! 

Every Day...

Where were you ten years ago on September 11, 2001 when you heard the news of the terrorist attacks?  I was in Lincoln, NE driving in my little red Taurus on the way to class at UNL.  I had the radio on and heard something about a plane crash, but it didn't click.  I think I probably turned the channel to find some music, parked, walked to class, and went about my day as usual.  I didn't realize the devastating impact of these attacks until later that day when Coach Cook called a team meeting before practice.  I remember all of us sitting in our locker room, watching the news, staring jaw-dropped at the screen.  My coaches were crying, and I remember feeling strange about the whole day...almost guilty for not knowing anyone who was affected by the tragedy...just confused.  I didn't know what an impact that day would have on me and my life and family still today. 

I remember our nation coming together in those days, weeks and even years after the attacks.  Everyone had a flag somewhere they were waving, either on their house, their car, a little yellow ribbon tied somewhere to remember.....I was so proud of our country.  I was honored to be an American, and when I met Steven and joined this fight, it became my life.  Where have those days gone where people are proud of our country, and want to fight for the sanctity of our freedoms and safety?  I think it's easy to forget why we are fighting this war...it has been 10 years now...but we are still being attacked.  How many terrorist plans have been averted in your city?  How many bombs have been stopped on your street?  How many hijackers have been found and detained?  We will never know the exact number, our military doesn't send their secret reports to the media, we'll never get the final count...but we can be sure the terrorists are being stopped.  

So many feel that we should just get the heck out of Iraq and Afghanistan, and I don't know what the right answer is....I just know that we should still support our country and want it to be the strongest, toughest, non-apologetic, most free, and blessed place to live.  That is worth fighting for.  Let's make sure that all those lives lost were not for a job we left undone....

If you're reading this today, I hope you'll take time to remember all those who lost their lives that terrible day 10 years ago.  Pray for those families who were left behind.  Please also pray for all of our soldiers who are STILL fighting for our country so that another attack like 9-11 never happens again.  I'm proud to be an American....every day.  Please, God, bless America. 

Labor Day weekend festivities...

We had such a great time with my parents, and James was spoiled rotten!  Steven had the day off on Friday, so we headed downtown and took a walking tour with "Savannah Dan."  If you're ever visiting here, he's awesome!  We found him on Trip Advisor and he lived up to all the hype.  We had an unusually cool morning, so we didn't sweat to death, and the walking tour was much better than the trolley tour...in my opinion! 
My mom arrived Friday night and we spent Saturday at the beach, Ft. Pulaski, and eating at the Olde Pink House downtown.  It was a crazy day with way too much planned, so Sunday we had a pretty low key day around the house.  We played outside, grandma showed James how to blow bubbles, and Steven and Dad built some shelves for our loft. On Monday, Labor Day, Steven had to go to the field for a two week MRX (training for deployment) so the rest of us went downtown to the River walk to visit the shops, antique stores and see the huge ships.  Did you know Savannah is the busiest freight port in the US next to Long Beach, WA?  little trivia there for you!  Mom and Dad flew back to Ft. Wayne Monday afternoon after a fun filled weekend.  We have been truly blessed to have so many friends and family visit this summer.  Ahh... the benefits of living at the beach! :)  Love it! 

 We visited Fort Pulaski located just off Tybee Island, which was built after the war of 1812, took 18 years to finish, has 7 foot thick brick walls, and was thought to be invincible!  Much to everyone's surprise, due to the "new" rifled cannon used in the Civil War, the walls came down quickly, and the Confederate Army had to surrender.  The Fort was really quite interesting and we arrived just in time to see the cannon demonstration.  James was exhausted from the morning at the beach (we stopped at Ft. P on the way back) and slept the entire time we were there...even through the extremely loud cannon fire!

Dad's visit and fun with the Trents

My dad took an extended Labor Day vacation and came down on Wednesday to spend a few extra days with us.  My girlfriend Jody and her family were also down here for a Labor Day vacation and we met up with them in Hilton Head and had a wonderful day of fun.  Their condo was located in the beautiful Sea Pines Plantation on the south side of the island.  The plantation is host to an adorable petting zoo along with stables, the beach, Harbor Town, golf courses and beautiful scenery.  We hit up the petting zoo first where they boys had a blast....so did we!  There were pigs, sheep, goats, chickens, deer, horses, lammas, ponys, and rabbits....james giggled and ran around, loving every minute of it.  His grandpa Jim even got him a pony ride!  We went to the beach after that and then back to the condo for a BBQ lunch.  We then took a nice walk through the plantation down to Harbor Town for some ice cream and window shopping.  It was so nice to catch up with Jody and Mike, spend some fun time with my dad and enjoy the beautiful South! 

Thank you, Trent family, for such a fun day and spectacular hospitality! 



below:  Grandpa showing James how to feed the animals

This deer was just out loose in the petting zoo and pretty friendly...very neat!

He wasn't too pumped about this helmet...I really thought he was going to throw a fit, but he wore it like a big boy on his pony ride.

 Eli on the pony with Jody and Noah

 Noah, Eli and James checking out the pig.  Mike and my dad both tried to feed this pig...dad got nibbled and Mike about lost a his hand!  everyone was okay :)

 When we got back the kids were chilling out to "Batman" on the portable DVD player.  pretty cute to see them huddled around it.

 We then found them cuddled in the corner playing with their transformers and cars, scrunched between the glass door, the couch, the floor lamp, and the chair!

Kitchen fun and other updates

We have had a very busy and super fun week!  My dad came to visit last Wednesday for an extended Labor Day weekend, mom joined us on Friday night, and we had non-stop fun all weekend...those details will be in another post, and that's the reason why it's taken me so long to update the blog! 

In the days before they arrived, James and I spent lots of time in the kitchen.  He loves to be right in the mix when I'm cooking, and I can usually find him a job.  He pushes his chair over to the counter all by himself, climbs us and reaches for something to do. He's great at pushing the buttons on the blender, toaster, and food processor, likes to stir (although it gets quite messy), pour ingredients together, and be right there "helping."  It really is quite sweet, and warms my heart.  I know he's less than two years old, but I would just be ecstatic if he grows to love cooking with his momma :)

In bedtime news...we've been back in a healthy routine.  He's going to bed and staying there.  No more 15x up every night, thank God!  I about blew a gasket that week...ugh.  Steven is gone again for the next two weeks in the field and so far we've had no issues!  It's only been three days, but I'll take every day of no drama that I can get!  He has been sweet at bedtime, loves to take baths and read tons of books, wants to snuggle and hug before he climbs into bed, and loves his binkey and pillow. 

A few pictures of James helping cook, some with a big fruit smoothie mustache, and a sweet one of James and Daddy 'working' in the office!