memorial weekend recap

What a big weekend! It was filled with family, graduation celebrations and just being together after sending Kit off to South Africa.

We got together on friday to celebrate our brother Ryan's graduation:

Then on Saturday, there was a party after the commencement ceremony where we got to be with our friends and family:

Our friends the Mori's were in town too which was such a fun surprise!

After the party time, we headed out to my parents house where I woke up with a sore throat and chest cold. I was so thankful to have my family to take care of the little man. Thank goodness I started feeling better... We just laid low. Ryder had a little time with his great grandma too:

We would put Ryder down and enjoy some sangria together...

Though I know it is going to be a long 10 days, and we will miss Kit terribly, I am so thankful to be with family and friends.

They make the separation so much easier...♥

Travels

Kit leaves for South Africa tomorrow to attend/help officiate one of our dear friend's wedding. He will be gone for about 10 days and all I can say is that we will miss him terribly! I have been promised that pictures will be taken and that the event will be documented... Thank you for all of you that have been praying for us and this trip... I have definitely been feeling them!

Ryder...

Ryder Rae~

You are in such a fun stage right now. (It does seem to get better and better, though I wish you could be more comfortable with teething...) You love to be chased, or to "chase us". You love being outside and playgrounds (Specifically slides) and you LOVE water, whether it is from the hose, our fountain, water parks, pools or any other body of water that you find... It is really sweet to watch.

You have taken to wanting to wrestle with anyone that is at your eye level, or anyone that is lying on the ground. Your tactic: throw all your body weight and on the person's chest or abdomen and LAUGH! It is so funny. It also leads into a great time of tickle wars...

You are ALL boy. You love to get dirty and explore and you have bumps and bruises from all of your independence in wanting to run and tackle things all by yourself. If there is a wall or hill in a 10 mile radius, you want to climb it. Have I mentioned how much you remind me of your dad?

You are definitely telling us what you like and what you don't like. You nod and point and clap and smile and get all excited about the first, and you go "boneless" and put your head back on the floor when we well you no. You can be very strong, and you come by it very honestly♥.

You are ADDICTED to your dad. You want to be near him and involved in whatever he's doing and you have just developed the sweetest bond and connection. I love watching you two together...

I fall more in love with your dad every time I see your face.

We couldn't love you more!

Weekend recap part 2...

On Sunday, our friends Natalie and Ryan were married and it was such a beautiful ceremony and reason for celebration! We were so honored to witness this new beginning of the incredible journey of marriage for them...

We love you guys!

ps: Andrew and Mal~

Thank you so much for taking such good care of Ryder.

We love you guys!

celebrating friends

Yesterday was filled with good friends and celebrations.

First, the day started with a visit from our friends the Mehaffey's who were in town from Atalanta. They were able to meet Ryder for the first time and that was very special for us!

We love you Bob and Jamie! It was so good to have you meet our little man. How I wished we lived closer♥...

Then yesterday evening, we had a going away party for our good friend Michelle. She has been such a dear friend of ours and specifically has had such an incredible impact on Kit and his ministry journey... what an incredible person to work with and live life with!

Michelle, we will miss you terribly and I think that we are a little bit in denial that you are leaving. Hume Lake is so fortunate to have you and Michael and we are excited for new things to come and all that this new chapter holds!

We love you friend!

Weekend recap part 1...

On Saturday, we got together with our closest friends from college and we had the best time sharing a meal together and making sure that the kiddos didn't a. hurt each other and b. hurt the jones' dog dudley... The concept of "gentle touch" is tough when you're one.

The guys all watching the game and keeping track of the little guys.

Hank and Ryder were born 10 days apart and can I tell you that Hank did not get his name "Hank the Tank" for nothing... It will be so fun to watch them grow up together...

After dinner we walked over to a park so that the kiddos could run around and play. They had a great time. As usual the slide was Ryder's favorite.

We love you all and are so thankful to have you in our lives!

Warks, you were missed!

all boy...

Over the last few months, as Ryder has become more mobile, we have noticed that he is pretty fearless when it comes to exploring new places, between launching himself off our bed onto our pillows, to scaling our hearth to try to climb INTO the fire place, using the slope of our driveway to get momentum while running and playing chase, to figuring out how the concept of stairs really work... he wants to do it all, and he wants to do it as fast as he can.

So, I have a feeling for the next few months (who am I kidding, probably years) my little man will constantly have scrapes, bumps and bruises from just wanting to tackle his little world as fast as he can. (And if he gets to get really dirty or play with the hose in the process, then he is all the happier.) He is all boy and we LOVE it!

Quinoa

On our camping trip a couple of weeks ago, my friends introduced my to quinoa and it has been such a fun and healthy addition to our cooking. We substitute it for rice or couscous and it has been a really tasty substitution. We purchase the box of organic quinoa at Trader Joe's and follow the instructions on the box. Sometimes we make it with chicken or vegetable broth for more flavor and it has never come out chewy.

ps, in the cooking instructions it mentioned the "germ ring" but it's just a portion of the grain... don't be scared...♥

As always, the thing that makes this a keeper is that it's easy, and Kit LOVES it!

hanging out with my little guy...

Enjoying some time at Disneyland yesterday:

On our way to the car...

weekend recap...

Yesterday, we went to our friend Micah's first birthday party. Angelina and I were pregnant at the same time and our boys were born 5 weeks apart. We have loved watching them grow over this last year. We didn't have our camera to capture all of the details that went into the party but the theme was "little man" with mustaches and it was really a fun party...

Angelina, you are so creative and we look forward to MANY more parties with our little guys♥...

Books books books....

Ryder has been going through a Dr. Seuss phase. He pulls them off the shelf and brings them to me and then he sits in my lap. I just love those little moments. These are a few of our favorites.

For mother's...

My sister shared this poem with me from one of her adoption agency Yahoo group... it was just too beautiful not to share...

Once there were two women who never knew each other.

One you do not remember, the other you call mother.

Two different lives, shaped to make your one...

One became your guiding star, the other became your sun.

The first gave you life and the second taught you to live it.

The first gave you a need for love, and the second was there to give it.

One gave you a nationality, the other gave you a name.

One gave you a seed of talent, the other gave you an aim.

One gave you emotions, the other calmed your fears.

One saw your first sweet smile, the other dried your tears.

One gave you up ... that's all she could do.

The other prayed for a child and God led her straight to you.

And now you ask me, through your fears,

the age old question unanswered throughout the years...

Heredity or environment, which are you the product of?

Neither, my darling … neither.

Just two different kinds of love.

~ Author Unknown ~

Breakfast!

Look who's feeding himself!

...though slightly unconventional at times...

We have a very independent man on our hands who wants to do it by himself...

mother's day recap...

I had a wonderful mother's day. Kit started it off by sending flowers to me at work on friday, and with it came the sweetest little note "from Ryder"...

(I know, how sexy are those scrubs, right? They are the required mother baby scrubs and nothing says appealing like elastic waist and tapered leg, especially when you have large feet...)

Then Kit sent me for a pedicure with a friend of mine and it was so nice! I really enjoyed my time with my friend and I left feeling REALLY relaxed...

Kit you are amazing!!!

Then on Sunday Kit surprised me with Disneyland passes and we took Ryder for the first time on Mother's day. It was crazy fun and I know that we will be getting lots of use out of them, being that Disneyland is only ten minutes from our house...

It was a wonderful weekend and I am so thankful for my guys and getting the privilege to be a mom! I wouldn't trade it for anything...

sleepy boy...

Sometimes, I feel like I am dragging my little man from here to Timbuktu, trying to get errands done, and check things off the list. And then I will get a glimpse of his little face in his car mirror, and my heart just melts. He just rolls with it. Sometimes he smiles at me, or he might be asleep... He is so easy going and go with the flow, and I realize how thankful I am to have those moments with him, even if it's just a quick glance in the mirror. I love my boy!

Playroom updates part 2...

I shared some changes I was making to our guest/playroom here and we have been having fun working at it little by little so I wanted to share some of the projects that we have been up to...

One of the corners had a silk tree that had a moss covering at the base. One day Ryder discovered the moss and between pulling it out and eating it, I knew that it was only a matter of time before Ryder started to poop moss, so it had to go. Here is the first part of the corner change.

Before:

After:

(I left up the tissue pom poms from Ryder's party...)

Then here is a project that I am so excited about:

This Goodwill chair:

plus this fabric:

And we got this finished product:

I love how it all came together and I have already had some very special moments with Ryder, reading in this chair.

Then on the futon, we changed out the pillows and blanket and put darker curtains on both windows to make it darker for our guests. (Now if we could only figure out how to make the fish pump quieter we would be in business♥.)

Before:

After:

It's been really fun doing these little projects and to see things coming together. It's fun to have these photos to watch how our little house has evolved with us...

It will be fun to add to it little by little...

I love our house!