Blogging in 2008

Okay, so here we are almost 2 1/2 years after our initial post. I admit that this is sad and pathetic...but what can I say, a lot has happened. We are now a family of 5, comprising of 2 adults, a baby, a toddler, and a preschooler. Life is moving at a pace we can't seem to keep up with. Blake has graduated seminary after a very long 4 year stretch and we have moved back to our home town. We have gotten plugged into ministry at our previous church, as we pray and plan for our new church starting in the Spring...Free Chapel. Check out the link on the side. We are starting this church with some friends from seminary, Jeremy and Ashley. We are very excited about this. They are such a neat family, and we can't wait to be doing ministry side by side with them.

Blake and I just celebrated our 7th anniversary. We really enjoyed reminiscing of those early days of meeting, dating, breaking up, dating, breaking up, dating, engagement, and then of course marrying...that's for all of you who were on that journey with us. We do recognize that we were a little crazy. :) We already dream about being empty nester's...although we love our children immensely, we also really enjoy each other's company...

Speaking of children...Aiden our oldest, is 3 1/2 and full of fire. He is inquisitive and has a great memory. He loves to go on adventures and dates with his daddy. Actually, he would do anything with his daddy, seeing as Blake is his very favorite person in the whole world. Poor Blake...between a wife that adores him and a son that adores him, he doesn't have much alone time. Aiden has just started getting into super heroes. I am mystified by this. He has never seen a show with any super heroes or read any books. Yet they seem to enter every conversation or interaction with him. I really think it's hard wired in guys and somehow written in their DNA. At the moment he is enamored with Spider Man and tries to put the whole family in webs...it's precious...really.

Then there is Gracen, who is 2 1/2 and very loving. She is more independent and needs alone time like her daddy. She is affectionate and sweet, but just like any girl, she can change moods quickly. And watch out for those mood swings...they are fierce. She is finally realizing that Aiden's way doesn't always have to be the way...and I secretly cheer for her every time I see her assert herself with Aiden.

And last but certainly not least, there is Grier, who is almost 10 months old. She will not be forgotten. Talk about fire...this girl is brimming over with adventure and excitement. Everything is worth investigating, and checking out. It is rare to not catch her smiling, and she thinks her big brother and big sister are two of the funniest people out there. They can get her laughing in no time.

And as you can guess, I'm busy with the three mentioned above. Every day is a gift with them...One of my 2008 goals is to enjoy my children on a daily basis. There are times I lie in bed at night and realize that I didn't really laugh or take in all of their antics...and all 3 of them are so funny. I was too busy doing something else that I regarded as more important like cleaning out the pantry for the 5th time in a month or reorganizing their dresser drawers...So I'm asking God to help me slow down and simply enjoy my precious children, b/c time is going by quickly.

We want to blog on a regular basis...mostly to keep family and friends updated, but also as a sort of therapy to get it all out...and of course, to testify to the greatness of God in our life. And hopefully, our track record will be a little better then before.

Happy New Year!