The fish have moved in!

The fish are in their new home...

update on our baby girl...

Each time that we get to be with our niece, we are just reminded how incredible this little girl is. She brings so much joy and has so much love to give and receive. We can tell that she will be a very relational, nurturing soul, who loves others. She has her moments where you can tell that she is warming up to a situation but once she is comfortable, look out, because then we see her little extroverted side come out.

This little one LOVES Ryder. We could have an entire movie montage of just pictures with our niece and Ryder... Whenever she talks to him, her voice goes at least 8 octaves higher... when she holds him, she pats his little tummy and nuzzles her head to his, and it could make you cry with how much they love each other.

She still loves her coffee and ANYTHING that her brothers do. She is always taking inventory of where everyone is and what they are doing. (ie: daddy in his office, papa at work, mia at the hospital, Ryder sleeping...) Her language and vocabulary are incredible. She has gone to repeating words to putting her own sentences/phrases together. When she says something and we respond to her she just gives you the biggest smile.

Overall, she is doing so well and we just could not love her more.

We keep joking with each other, "too bad we aren't totally addicted to her..."

Thank you all for those that have continued to keep our family in your prayers through this time of transition. They are so appreciated!

time with his dad...

Kit is in Colorado Springs speaking and we always miss him when he is gone. It makes me think how one of our favorite times of the day is when Kit gets home from work. We sit on our couch and talk about our day and he holds Ryder and it has become a really nice part of our day as a family.

Disclaimer:

I thought that I would try to get some pictures but our camera is only as good as the person using it (though it is amazing...) so I am still working through lighting issues. But these are some of my favorites...

I love my guys...

We miss you, Kit Rae, and we can't wait for you to get home!

we are thinking of you and praying for you...

fish tank up date...

Kit just finished getting all the pump parts together for his fish tank so now there can be water in it...

250 gallons of nothing but good times...

So next time you are in the area, just stop on my the Rae Aquarium.

We would love to have you!

finding inspiration

I found these pictures on line under image search for "small vase arrangements" and I just thought they were so beautiful, I wanted to share them...

I do not personally subscribe to Family Circle, but this cover they recently had was so simple and beautiful that I actually purchased the copy.

I have been having fun looking for small vases to duplicate some of these ideas at our house.

Ryder...

...I just couldn't love you more...

I love being your mom!

A little thank you and congratulations...

To my Colie and Tommy~

Happy Anniversary you guys!

I can't believe it's been 15 years. Who would have thought that over 16 years ago that your life would be what it is today. Life is so full and I am so thankful to have you both in our lives.

A little thank you to my brother-in-law:

I just want you to know that if I could pick anyone for my sister it would be you. Your patience and gentleness, and how you allow her to be who she is and how you sharpen her to be the best person she can be is so incredible. I love that you are her team mate and that you really do listen to her (even when the whole world would think that what she is saying is half baked...not my sister...) You love her so well and I don't think of you as my "brother-in-law", but rather as "my brother tommy".

We love living life with you both and we look forward to celebrating MANY more years of memories together!

ps: can you believe that this day, 15 years ago I was trying to squeeze my large self into that cream bridesmaids dress...

thanks for that...really...thanks...

Getting ready...

Well, it hasn't started yet, but we are reading up on starting Ryder with solid foods. This book has been incredibly helpful with getting ready for this new chapter for Ryder... I am sure taht it will lead to some funny faces, leading to some funny pictures and then to some interesting diapers...

I will keep you posted!

If anyone has any tips for us, I would love to hear about them!

I am sure that Ryder will appreciate them too...

Lunch with family...

I love any reason to pull out some dishes and set the table, and yesterday I had lunch with my sister-in-laws. We had simple blts, but that didn't stop me from having fun setting the table. I love getting to be with family.

I love you Mal and Megan...

Thank you for sharing life with me!

my little man...

Ryder and I had a busy morning yesterday with running errands, making meals for friends, and grocery shopping, and so when he finally got to his bed, he fell asleep crazy fast. I found myself sneaking in to check on him, and he was so sweetly and peacefully sleeping and my eyes welled up and my throat got tight and I realized how fast it goes. I have been trying to make a conscious effort each day to stop and be present with my little man. People tell you to enjoy each stage and that it goes fast, but it really is crazy how right they are. I've been trying to savor each step but it still seems to be flying by.

I just don't want to look back and think that I missed it...

Does anyone else feel that way?

pasta, peas and pesto

We made this barefoot contessa recipe today for some friends that just had a baby and I am reminded how much I love Ina Garten. It is served cold and makes a great lunch food, it lasts several days in the fridge and is just as tasty and it is a nice one to bring to people because it travels easy and is ready to eat, no cooking required for the recipient! We have put it in those chinese paper food cartons and taken it on a picnic and had so much fun!

I hope that you et a chance to try it.

I love making the pesto but if you are pushed for time or don't have some of the ingredients available at your grocery store, I use the Classico brand pesto in a jar.

For Francis Chan readers...

Francis Chan has written these incredibly powerful books for adults...

And has recently adapted them for kids in these books:

I hope you have a chance to check them out...

Modern Family

We have really been enjoying this show and some of the lines are hilarious!

The new season starts september 22, so in honor of that, here are some quotes from Phil on parenting:

"I'm the cool dad, that's my thing. I'm hip, I surf the web, I text:

LOL~laugh out loud

OMG~oh my god

WTF~why the face

I know all the dances to high school musical..."

Claire: "You think I smother our child?"

Phil: "It's not your fault, honey, mother is part of the word, you never hear of someone being sfathered to death..."

Phil: "Act like a parent, talk like a peer, I call it peerenting..."

Yep I have an illness...

I love taking pictures and organizing them into albums to look through. I really do pull them out and flip through all the pages, reminiscing about things we have done. It's been a little bit harder since Ryder has been here, and with his arrival came even MORE photos to organize.

So after Kit got back from Texas, he handled the boy and I was able to organize all of our photos from this summer. It was really nice to have them in the album.

Note:Kit and I have decided that if I need a break, or I need to do something that I really enjoy, it means that Kit is in charge of the baby (either at our house or on an outing) and I stay home. I LOVE being home and there are so many fun projects to tackle, I just enjoy being in our house.

my heart is in Texas...

My Kit Rae is in Dallas at a last minute speaking engagement and every time he goes out of town, I realize my codependent issues... He is only gone two days, so I really shouldn't complain. He is such an amazing speaker (I am a little biased...) and I am excited that he gets the opportunity and experience, but I still just wish I could have him home with us, especially since our little man is teething. If he wasn't such an incredible husband and dad, I wouldn't have such a hard time when he leaves, so really, it's Kit's fault that I have such codependent issues=)

dressing up...

While hanging out with our family in Redlands, we pulled out all the dress up costumes that our nephews have worn over the years and this one was a favorite. I don't know what Ryder will be for halloween, but this costume will always be a family favorite...

I love my little man!

Time...

I wish that we had more of it, but then when something is in short supply, it makes you very aware of how you use it and when you let it go to waste.

Being new parents has been such an incredible thing for us, on so many levels. One of the ways is that it has given us an opportunitry to better prioritize and value the time that we have together. So with all these thoughts and conversations that have been happening in our house, one decision that we made was to alter our garden to make up keep a little bit easier. Yard work is one of those things that could consume a large part of our days off together and we just weren't liking that.

So here are some pictures of our before and after on our most recent yard work day...

Before:

After:

We seeded the area so we are hoping that the grass will grow over time.

We are hoping that in making some changes to the yard, there will be less places that need weeding and that our yard can be a little bit lower maintenance.

When Ryder is older, we will put a garden in because it is so fun to watch things grow and eat what you have planted...

In memory...

I can't imagine how many lives were personally effected by 9/11. I am sure that today is so hard for so many people and I just wanted to say that those families, firefighters, and military are in our thoughts and prayers today.

These were some pictures of our trip to New York a few years ago. While we were there we visited Ground Zero and we were all moved to tears by the memorial that had been set at the site.

What a powerful experience...

"I ain't chicken, chicken"...

We love the food network (tv channel and website) and the last season of the next food network star was so fun for us to follow. The winner of this last season was Aarti and she has some amazing recipes that try to bring Indian spices into everyday recipes. (In addition to great recipes, she is also so personable and fun to watch...)

Well, last night we tried this recipe for her chicken and potatoes and it was really tasty so we wanted to share it with you. It was the moistest chicken I have ever made. I made our usual green salad to go along with it and Kit loved it. I hope you get a chance to try out some of her recipes. (Kit and I are also thinking of how we can try this recipe with different ingredients and spices...)

Note:The negative comments people made were about how much smoke there was from the oven temp being 500 degrees, but we didn't have a problem with it...

I would have loved to have posted pictures but we were way too busy eating.

I love this face!

As I was looking back through our vacation photos, I found these ones of Ryder and I just wanted to share them.

He has been rolling over for about a month now and each time I try to catch it on video, he decides that he just doesn't want anything to do with it. However, he gets the sweetest looks on his face when he does end up on his stomach...

I love being his mom...

We're back!

We had a great time with friends and as a family on our vacation.

The first part of our trip was with our friends from college.

(10 adults and 7 kids, ages 4 and under.)

We then spent the rest of the time with just the three of us. It was nice to be somewhere together where we didn't have an agenda or schedule and where Kit didn't have to go to work.

We had lots of fun and Ryder had lots of "firsts":

(note:his fisherman's hat covered his face but in some of the places it was so bright that I just left it...)

First trip/hiking experience to/in Yosemite.

His First ...um...picnic in the woods...

First stream hiking experience.

First trip in a pontoon boat.

First time on the lake's sandy beach.

Kit goes above and beyond anytime he is home with us, so to have had 10 days solid of him was such a blessing. Ryder and I will miss him when he goes back to work...

It was a great trip and we look forward to many more adventures as a family...