Happy Birthday to Me!

Last week I had yet another birthday.  These birthdays keep coming around whether I want them to or not!  I am thankful that God has blessed me with another year of life and a wonderful family to celebrate with!

Todd left early for work, so I didn't see him that morning.  But, he had made an early run to Panera and brought home some yummy bagels for my birthday breakfast.  The kids and I just hung out at home most of the day, and they even took care of themselves for a while in the afternoon so I could relax in bed and watch TV, read, and snooze a little!

When Todd got home from work he took us out for a yummy dinner at Cheddars.  The weather was really stormy that night, so our options for things to do were very minimal.  We ended up going to the mall where it was nice and dry and walking around for a while.  Then we stopped for dessert at the Homeade Ice Cream and Pie Kitchen.  (Calories don't count on your birthday, right?!?)

When we got home, I got to open some gifts from Todd and the kids.  It was a very nice day!

On another note, Karis is about to lose a tooth.  She lost her first 2 teeth when she was in China.  So, we were talking with her about that and asking who pulled her teeth in China.  She kept telling us a name that we can't understand.  It sounds kind of like she is saying the name Donna, but who knows what she is trying to tell us?!?!  Anyway, Todd got me a couple of new exercise videos for my birthday that both show a photo of Jillian Michaels on the cover.  Karis pointed to one of the pictures and said it was "Donna."  So, now you all know that Jillian Michaels pulled Karis's teeth in China!  She is one silly girl.  Now that she knows it's funny she tells us all kinds of crazy things like the neighbor's cat pulled her teeth, or maybe it was the dog.....

July 4th Celebration!

We always enjoy having Todd home for July 4th and celebrating the birthday of America!  We spent the afternoon with our church family at our pastor's pool.  As usual, he cooked some wonderful BBQ, and we had plenty of great food!  Karis will tolerate getting into the pool now, but she's not a huge fan yet.  The first time we took her to my parents' pool, she would not get in the water and screamed when she got splashed.  We've taken her to a splash park and the seminary pool since then, and on the 4th we were able to have her in the water not screaming, and she even tried to learn to kick her legs!  I think she will learn to enjoy the water someday!

We typically spend the evening of the 4th celebrating with our neighbors.  They put on a wonderful fireworks show!

 Daddy is teaching Karis about sparklers!

 Watching the "snakes"!

We're all ready for the show!  You can check out my Facebook page for some videos of the fireworks show.

Proud to be an American!!

My 3 Cuties!

The kids all decided to wear guitar shirts the other day.  Any time Karis sees a guitar she thinks of her BaBa who plays the guitar in church every Sunday!  So, the kids had guitar shirt day in honor of him!

Wonderful Changes

I know we've only had Karis for less than 3 months, but she has changed so much already!  I can't wait to see how much more she will bloom over the next several months and years!  The photos on the left were on Gotcha Day, and the photos on the right were taken in the last week!  We are so thankful that God brought our precious daughter into our lives!