An afternoon in the park

Sunday is hands down my favorite day of the week. After a wonderful morning worshipping, then lunch and naps for all (woo hoo for naps!) it's nice to spend a lazy afternoon together as a family. Here lately we've enjoyed walking around the Des Moines Art Center. It's a beautiful and peaceful location. We love looking at the architecture and allowing Ethan to run free! It's also a great place to capture some snapshots!

And on occasion, you can be the uninvited guest to a beautiful wedding! We walked passed this wedding and thought it was so beautiful. The officiant said some really wonderful (and Biblical) words to the couple...we enjoyed listening to him briefly in light of our own anniversary in just a few days.

Growing like a weed...or in my opinion a precious flower!

She's a growing girl! The first pic is Eva as we were leaving the hospital at 2 days old...the second is 2 months old! She's grown so much and she really looks much older to me. She smiles constantly (especially at Ethan) and she loves to talk and coo. She's such a happy baby!

I took her for her 2 month check up and immunizations yesterday, and she weighs 10lbs 13 oz and is 21 in long! She's in the 50th percentile for weight and 25th for height! Way to go Eva! This is a big accomplishment for a Jackson baby! Ethan didn't even make it on the charts until he was a year old when he finally made it to the 3rd percentile. He was our sweet little peanut.

Here is a parting pic of my sweet family...thanks for indulging me!

8 Years, 3 States and 2 Kids

Wow, I can't believe that 8 years ago (or rather 10 if you count our courtship...or more like 20 if you count our Junior High crush that didn't materialize...but who's counting?) we stepped forward and promised to spend forever together! All I can say is I solely believe in the term 'wedded bliss,' because that's what God has blessed me with!

We have grown so much from the two 22-year-olds who met each other at the altar of Avondale Baptist Church June 16th 2001 at 2pm. We've lived in 3 different states, allowed God to stretch us beyond our comfort levels, experienced grief, joy, love and uncertainty, and have even served in ministry together. I honestly wouldn't change a thing.

Well, maybe I would change a few things...

I will strive to not be so nit-picky, or grumpy in the morning. I should also work on treating each day like tomorrow will not come, then maybe I will remember to capture each moment. I want to memorize his smile lines, and the little bits of gray forming on his temples (he's not a fan, but I find the gray incredibly sexy) and take a mental photo of the way he sleeps with this sort of half-smile on his lips.

I want to be more compassionate, and more forgiving. I want to strive to hug him more and let him hold me for as long as he wants. I want to remember how he unashamedly teared up at the birth of our children, exclaiming their gender excitedly to me.

I want to tell him more how thankful I am that he is such a spiritual leader and amazing provider for our family. I want to slow down, listen more, and sit more.

I just want to be by his side always and ever striving to be a better wife, friend and love to him.

I'll never understand how God took two very imperfect people and made them perfect together...but, I am so glad he did.

Bust A Move

Last weekend the five of us (yep, Stella travels with the fam') travelled to KC for my cousin's wedding. We had a great time seeing family and showing off our newest member (who I might add did AWESOME travelling the 3 hours down and back...both of our kiddos do amazing in the car!).

We got to see a whole other side of Ethan! He is incredibly social and loves people so being in a crowd is no problem for him. The surprise? He LOVES to dance! We could hardly get the kid off the dance floor. We think he's got some pretty good moves...but, I'll let you be the judge of that! Sorry, the video is sideways. I should add, he's dancing to 'Footloose', pretty fitting!

The Zoo

We've lived in Des Moines 6 years and are just now getting around to visiting the zoo! At the risk of sounding like a big city snob...it was a bit underwhelming. I'm used to the Kansas City Zoo which is huge, and takes an entire day to go through. BUT, in defense of the Blank Park Zoo, it's the perfect size for toddlers. You get out of there having seen all the animals (in a couple of hours) without a cranky melt-down in the end! NICE!

Ethan loved it and we got some fun pics!

One of the Guys, and More Stories From This Weekend

This weekend was a big house painting weekend for us. We've been doing it ourselves and are finally making progress! (I say "we" loosely, since Brent has done most of the work) That's right, we're slowly wiping out the green that is the shade of a pack of wintergreen "Tick-Tacks"! The new shade is called "Outerspace" and is kind of a midnight blue...I think with the white trim it makes the house look quaint against the dark green lawn and hostas. Once the house is painted then we will move to the base (which will be a taupe) and trim which will remain white. I will post pictures soon.

Anyway, Brent's brother, Aaron, and his girlfriend, Emily, came for the weekend to help. It was kind of cramped quarters, but we had a wonderful time and Ethan was so excited uncle "Bubba" was here. All weekend Ethan was just one of the guys with uncle Bubba and daddy! He even had his own "paint" bucket filled with water that he used to paint the patio. Here are a couple of pictures of the guys eating lunch after working so hard...a handsome crew don't you think?

Eva, well she was helpful too! She used her adorable looks to keep mommy and Emily occupied.

Speaking of our newest adorable addition, she is now 7 weeks old and is smiling and cooing and much more alert! Wow, time is just flying by!

worries of the lack of love she was getting from Ethan has proved to be unfounded! Ethan adores his baby sister! He even holds her now! We're making progress, it's just taken a full six weeks to get there! He is such a sweet big brother and now relishes his new role!

She's 3 weeks old?!

Eva is 3 weeks old! I can't believe it! Here are some new pictures of her. I know the third picture of Eva and Ethan isn't fabulous quality, but it's a reminder to myself that deep down he does have real affection for his sister, even though he's still warming up to her! I'll take what I can get! :)

Things are going well, and I feel like we're finding our niche. Praise God! Eva's baby dedication is this Sunday, so I'll post pictures.