Iowa...

My pretty niece

My very sweet and handsome nephew

My sweet friend's little guy...my buddy, Lane

I got them icecream sandwiches at the pool, because I am a really fun auntie ;)

How sweet are these boys?

That's all for now...

More to come from my weekend with Jakey and Grace!

Janie's first sleepover :)

We had the pleasure of spending about 24 hours with sweet and beautiful baby Jane while her parents spent a night "away". It was her first sleepover so we wanted to document it :)

She was sooo sleepy in this picture that she could barely keep her head from laying on my chest...so sweet :)

Janie spent the early morning snuggling with us...in this picture her little feet are on my neck ;)

Ready for church!

We had so much fun with Janie, it was hard to give her back. She was ALL smiles when she saw her pretty mommy again at lunch the next day! We hope Chad and Rachel decide to take a night away again soon!

On another note...

Tonight was Taco Tuesday!
This is my handsome husband...

and me...

and US :)

random snapshots from my "April" folder :)

Things have been so busy lately, and really only promise to get busier. I wanted to take a minute to share some pieces of daily life, the people that make my heart full, my voice heard, my soul refreshed and my schedule booked :) Once a month or so Drew and I look around and are just amazed at how The Lord has blessed us this past year. He is good, our life is good. I picked some random favorites to share from the last month...

Luke and I at his school lunch thingy

Adrienne and I, ya know...just looking good :)

Jana who has stolen a piece of my heart and taught me many things

Rachel and Janie...such blessings in my everyday life

These girls are so special to me...special enough to drive 11 hours to spend time with them :)

My sweet Gracie girl.

My "job" is pretty great too. Honestly, I can't believe I get paid for this stuff :)

Playing tennis with Miss Emily
Celebrating Andi's "29th" birthday :)

Syd lost a tooth!

The best part of life these days though, is this handsome guy...

That's all for now...

Heading South...

Well, only to Castle Rock ;)

After months of thinking and praying and talking...we decided to move in with our friends the Graves for a little while. It is going to be an awesome situation financially for both of us, and we plan on having a lot of fun too :)

Our new "housemates"...

enjoy a laugh...and a picture of a beautiful baby girl (who we are training to LOVE Chick fil a :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsJHqstPuNo

my husband rocks

I am so glad that he is mine :)

For the Rescue of us All...

UPDATD LINK-THIS ONE SHOULD WORK

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0XiLqgfSW0

Easter has such new meanings for me this year. I will do my best to put my thoughts into words. The Lord has taught me so much about who He is in the past few months and I would venture to say that it has changed everything for me.

He is who He says He is...really, that and much more. I know that things here hurt, they down right suck at times. We live in a fallen, yucky world full of sin that causes us deep pain and sorrow. Not everything we experience here is bad, there is joy and celebration and love. But, when things get rough, and they do...we have the hope of heaven. He sent Jesus to bear our sins in our place and promises that He will ultimately rescue us from this world. He sent Jesus for our freedom, and Jesus left us His peace...and He promises that He is coming back to rescue us! Coming back, to take us to heaven to be with Him forever. I can't really comprehend that...but forever with my creator who is crazy about me (and you), has to be a really good thing :) Have I mentioned that no matter how yucky things might feel in this life that...HE IS COMING TO RESCUE US? ;) Well, He is. You know how I know? He said so. He really is who He says He is. We can trust Him. That's where the freedom and peace begin...trust Him. (It's hard) But, trust Him...He came for the rescue of us ALL...that we may LIVE!

I wanted to share this song with you and randomly found this video that goes along with it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0XiLqgfSW0

Oh the Glory of it All-David Crowder Band

At the start

He was there

In the end

He’ll be there

And after all our hands have wrought

He forgives

Oh, the glory of it all

Is He came here

For the rescue of us all

That we may live

For the glory of it all

Oh, the glory of it all

All is lost

Find Him there

After night

Dawn is there

And after all

Falls apart

He repairs

Oh, He is here

With redemption from the fall

That we may live

For the glory of it all

Oh, the glory of it all

After night

Comes a light

Dawn is here

It’s a new day, a new day

We will never be the same

Oh, everything will change

Things will never be the same

We will never be same

Thank you, Lord...that you came for the rescue of us all, that You give us full lives, that you bless us with Your peace, hope and freedom. Thank you for sending Jesus so that we would have a way back to You, in this life and after. I am so glad that You heal and forgive...I'd be so lost with out you. Thank you that because of Your love for us and the sacrafice of Jesus...we will never be the same.

Happy Easter

Date Night :)

Let us love one another, for love is from God;

and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

1 John 4:7

9 1/2 months...we are so blessed.

Steamboat with Jana

I got to spend some priceless time with one of my favorite friends and her kiddos this past weekend in Steamboat. Of course I didn't take any pictures of the beautiful scenery, but the ones I did take seem better to me. I can see breathtaking mountain views anytime I'd like, but it has been far too long since the last time I saw these views.

We watched cartoons, went on runs, shopped, played Twister, took walks, snuggled, danced, laughed, sat, prayed and ate lots of ice cream!

On top of all that, The Lord taught me about Himself in new ways. I got to spend time with a women who knows who God is, understands who she is in relationship with Him and lives a life so beautifully led by Him alone. No matter what trials come her way, she trusts Him, her steps are obedient and her heart is tender and kind. She is an extremely beautiful woman.

I feel blessed to know her. Jana is the same woman I wrote about a few months ago, who taught me about faith and cared for my heart when Kelli was sick. The Lord continues to reveal Himself to me through our friendship and for that I am so very thankful. I am so blessed by the truly wonderful relationships in my life and often I go too long with out taking the time to thank God for them.

Silly faces with Lane

Laughing :)

tickling :)

sweet Josie girl

Easton...or Duke, depends who ya ask :)

Family Twister!

pretty josie with her blue eyed baby Dukey :)
"Dukey is my best friend."-Josie I wanted to take her home with me, seriously.

Girls shopping outing...
beautiful Jana...come back?

But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.
2 Corinthians 3:16-18

posted on heaveninmotion.blogspot.com

It's official...

Drew and I are training for a race :) We don't really like to run...lets be honest. BUT we thought it would be cool to do something that we never thought we'd do, that is going to take a lot of self discipline, and something to work towards together.

So, here we go...

Drew will be running the Steamboat Springs Half Marathon (13.1mi) and I will be running the Steamboat Springs 10k (6.2mi) The Race is June 7th so we have plenty of time and
are in week 2 of our training schedules :)

We will probably make a fun weekend out of it with some friends and
are really looking forward to it!

We chose this race for a few reasons. It's close enough to drive up for a weekend, it is in June so we'd have enough time to actually run it, and last but not least this little guy was born just a few days later on June 10th, 2006.

We are running in memory of Noah.
His story brings us hope and peace.
I have learned about The Lord in deeper ways because
of this sweet little face and the beautiful faith of his Mommy.
Those being just a few reasons we are dedicating our first race to Noah Steven Graves.

(The same little guy and in love Mommy from this picture that I posted a couple weeks ago...)
Noahsteven.blogspot.com

We will let you know how our training is coming along... :)

Introducing Jumanne :)

Jumanne Ramadhani Unyamikumbi
Birthday: November 16, 1993
Region: Africa
Country: Tanzania

Jumanne lives with his mother. His duties at home include carrying water, washing clothes and helping in the kitchen. There are 4 children in the family. His mother is sometimes employed as a laborer. Soccer, singing and telling stories are Jumanne's favorite activities. In middle school his performance is average and he also regularly attends church activities, Bible class and choir.

I think he is handsome :)

On my mind...

There are a few things going on in this post, so stick with me.

One: I want to post some new pictures of my sweet Grace Elaine...but I don't have any :(
(hint, hint Tony and Sarah)

Two: My cousin Melissa had her sweet girl a few days after Gracie was born...

Introducing Taylor Elise...

Taylor and big sister Ashleigh

Three: Mexico :)

I am going back to Mexico this summer! July 19th-26th :) Wanna know the best part? Drew is coming too! When I was looking up these pictures my heart started remembering our trip last summer. These faces, those stories, the friendships made in mexico and then ones I got to bring home with me :) It's safe to say that thoughts of Mexico will be dancing around in my head until July 19th. More news to come on this topic...

Four: go here---> noahsteven.blogspot.com

and do what Adrienne is asking.

I mean... do what she is asking, please :)

Of, course, because I am not bossy or anything ;)

(one of my favorite pics of Adrienne with Noah)