Disconnected

After constant harassment (as if I have that many readers), I decided to post something. I know it has been a long time, but thanks to our CRAZY summer, there wasn't much time at home for blogging and such. Now, I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by the gap in my blogs- so much space to fill with all that has been happening in our little family. Our trips to Honduras and Ruidoso could each fill their own post, I could post about my growing belly and the excitement over BL2. I guess the easiest thing to start with, though, is pictures. So here you go, all 4 of you that have been waiting so patiently, here is a quick glimpse into our recent happenings. I'll try to come up with 8 things so that maybe this will also count as my tag from Elisa. At least one picture, involving a goat, is sure to be random so I guess that is close enough.

1) In June KJ started walking, while we were on the mission trip to Ruidoso. He noticed that all of the teenagers were walking, and since he basically is one too he should walk like them. He went from crawling to exclusively walking overnight. I love pictures of his early steps. So cute!

2) The Ruidoso mission trip with 10th graders is great because it is very family friendly and we got to take KJ along. Here is a pic of our fam at white sands in Ruidoso.
3) I rediscovered this summer how AWESOME my husband is at his job. I love watching him lead kids, from the smallest to the teenagers, in worship, service and fun. I also love getting to be part of his work, especially forming relationships with girls.

4)) We spent some amazing time with both of our families on the coast in Honduras. We went to visit RRL's sister whose family is doing mission work there and also to enjoy some beachy vacation time. What a joy to be with family!

5) Our last trip of the summer was a retreat for the seniors in high school. We went for a weekend at a ranch owned by some of spiritual heroes. We did not take KJ, our longest time away from him, and it was really good for our relationship with the teens (but we sure missed the little man). In the below picture I had been challenged to "catch a goat" and thanks to my training in the intramural rodeo, it was NO PROBLEM.

6) KJ has lately become a big fan of waterparks. There are several small ones in the area which I discovered way too late in the summer. Last week we went with his friend SPG and boy did they have a blast. It was quite a coincidence that the two were dressed EXACTLY the same. They really are the best of buddies. You can see the determined look in the second water picture. KJ loved these parks because he can crawl and climb by himself. So BIG!

7) I do not have any pictures to post of BL2, but we will find out in 2 more weeks whether the baby is a "he or she". I'm sure we'll have some pictures then. No guesses from me yet as to boy or girl. We have a girl name picked out, but no boy name. With KJ we had decided on a boy name, but not a girls name...maybe it is a sign?!?!

8) No picture for this one, either, but we have just started being a part of the most amazing small group at church. Some of our really good friends (the Turners) are part of it, too, which made the jumping in easier, but we have come to love all of the group. We've had some awesome conversations this summer that have been such an encouragement to our family- what an amazing answer to prayer and a true gift (thanks, guys!)

There is so much more I could share, but I guess that gets the ball rolling, my 8 random facts out of the way, and gets me over the hump of not wanting to blog because I felt so disconnected. Thanks for letting me scatter-shoot a little to plug back in!

ABL