We Are God's Masterpiece

One of my friends posted this on facebook. It happened to be what I needed today so I just had to share. Hope it touches you the way it touched me.



I am grateful for friends who touch my life every day - even when they have no idea they did.

Birthday Girl (Long Overdue)

Our Sweet Kassie GirlOk so Kassie turned a great big 1 when we were on vacation. She spent most of her 1st birthday in a rental car going from one grandma's house to the other. Not real memorable in the way of birthdays, but since she's not likely to remember I think I'm ok. She got a special birthday cupcake, balloon & ball when we stopped at Aunt Anjie's house and she did get to open some presents when she got to Grandma Terry's house. Then a few days later she got to "dig in" to the birthday cake when we celebrated her birthday along with cousin Kaden, and uncles Don & Jon.


UMMMM - Cake
MORE CAKE!
YEA CAKE!
I wanted to wait until I got her checkup so I could tell you how much she's grown. Well last week she finally had her checkup (when we got back on vacation our doctor was on vacation). After the checkup they gave me a piece of paper that let me know her height, weight & head circumference along with all the growth milestones I should be watching for - pretty standard stuff. Nate was with me so while I got Kassie dressed I gave him the paper and told him where I would like it in the diaper bag and I saw him put it there just as I asked, but between there and home it fell out and I don't have any of the info - ironic I know but it only gets better. You see I can remember all my kids birth weights but none of their heights - I could look them up but I just don't remember them on my own - and I do remember how much Kassie weighed at her last checkup, so that update I can share. So when our dear sweet little girl was born 13 months ago she was 7 lbs 3 oz she is now 18 lbs 2 oz - she's growing and tracking just right according to the charts. She's average height (50th percentile for those who track) and small in weight (10th percentile) - but I could have told you that. Considering she's 13 months old & wearing 6-9 month clothes, although she's really close to moving up to 12 month clothes.

Thinker girl
Dad stop tickling me!

She's walking everywhere, she can climb the stairs with ease and is getting pretty good at getting back down them safely. She's an extremely happy baby! A big change from the constant crier we brought home from the hospital, we discovered when she was about 2 months old that she had reflux, a little tummy medicine and her true, happy disposition was finally able to come shining through. She's out grown the reflux and the need for the medicine - YEA! I'm trying to get her to polish off the last of her baby food - she would just as soon eat whatever everyone else is eating. She's by far our most adventurous eater & has used her little teeth (she has 8 right now - 6 in front & 2 molars) to try everything from mac & cheese to prime rib. She has her favorites but will try just about anything. She loves bananas, watermelon, fresh peaches, baked (or mashed) potatoes, corn on the cob and just about any kind of pasta. It seems to me the stronger the flavor the more she likes it - she likes BBQ anything. In fact the only thing I can think of that she's not really liked at this point is cauliflower - she likes tomatoes, I think she thought it was watermelon - but she still ate it & wanted more and has eaten more than 1 pickle (proof that she is my child). Her favorite snacks are graham crackers, goldfish, ritz crackers, cheese quakes, or just a piece of cheese.

Not many people can look this cute with a mouth full of banana
She loves her big brother & sister. She lights up when they are around & they are so good to her. The love to play with her & make her smile/giggle. Nate's newest thing is piggy back rides - good fun 'til she spits up in your hair - now that was funny !
She's got a contagious smile and the cutest little laugh. She does this funny little scrunchy thing with her nose that cracks us up every time.
She even has this funny little fake laugh that she does that she picked up from Nate.



I love to her the "flump flump flump" of her little feet across the kitchen floor when she realizes the fridge door has been opened - she loves to play in the fridge!
One of her favorite games is peek-a-boo and her newest thing is to climb into the video cabinet and play peek with you.
Although her first experience with the swimming pool was a little cold & in her opinion very unpleasant - she does love to "swim" in the big pool - either with mom or dad or in her floaty

After a fun time swimming
And she's learned "he who has the remote has control"


She loves mom & dad - but I'd say she loves dad more since da da da is the most common thing heard from her mouth - she's not yet said any version of mom. At dinner time, if Dan doesn't pay attention to her she shouts (yes shouts) "DA DA DA" until he acknowledges her, in fact when she gets into trouble with me for getting into something she shouldn't be into, she first will echo my no no not where her version of no "na na na", then she lets me know with out any doubt that she doesn't want to be with me but with "DA DA DA". I just can't win - but I don't mind. In short - We love our Kassie girl!

I am grateful for Kassie for the pure love and joy she brings to our family. She truly has been a binding force for our family - bringing happiness & laughter to every day. It's hard to believe an entire year has gone by. I can't remember what life was like without her in our family. I keep reminding myself to cherish every minute with her - she's growing up so fast. I am truly honored to be her mom.

SV - Chapter 6, Idaho Part 2 (The long road home)

After the larger Weeks Family Reunion was over we spent the rest of Saturday, all of Sunday, & a good part of Monday in a mini-family reunion of sorts. It was my parents, my sister & my brother & all of our families. The kids played great together. Saturday evening we had a fire in the fire pit & roasted marshmallows. On Sunday most of us went to church with mom & dad, we had a family dinner together then in the evening we had a birthday celebration for all the July birthdays. Kassie got another chance to blow out her candle, she grabbed it out instead - we had a moment of panic, but she didn't burn her hand - still not sure how that happened. Kaden then got a turn to blow out his 6 candles. Then we sang one last time to Jon & Don - they got off easy in the candle department ;)

Monday morning we went to the Lemhi County Museum & the Sacajawea Center for a dose of local history. Anj & her family left Monday afternoon to get home for work on Tuesday.


We got a cool book about Lewis & Clark's journey as told through the eyes of Lewis' dog.
They had a couple of different areas that you could walk through that are set up to represent Indian villages of the time of Sacajawea.
Nate & Abbie posing with the fish sculpture there
Nate bolted off - so then Abbie posed with Papa

Before Anj & her family left we stopped for a round of family pictures - these are courtesy of my dad!
The "whole fam damily"
Cousins = lots of fun & life-long friendships (the boys)
The (my) girls
- other pictures were taken but these are all I have so far -

Tuesday morning we took a trip to the local kids pond to let the kids go fishing with Papa & Grandma Terry. Last time we were there Abbie & Grandma Terry out fished everyone. This time there were some bigger kids & even adults there fishing (not illegal but not really what is supposed to happen), but this time the lucky fisherman was Byron (he caught two). Nate caught one, but Abbie wasn't so lucky this time. Side note - all the fishing we did was catch & release, no fish to clean or cook - whew for me.

Grandma Terry helping Abbie to bait her hook
Patiently waiting
Nate trying his luck with Papa
Lucky fishermen of the day - Uncle Donny & Byron
Nate finally got his lucky break


Dan, the kids & I spent the afternoon visiting my grandparents (maternal & paternal) along with a couple of aunts & cousins. The good thing about growing up in a small town with lots of family is that you have lots of family around you, the bad thing is when you go back to visit you have lots of family to see (& hopefully not offend anyone)!

Wednesday morning we got the van loaded & hit the road to return home. We had talked about stopping at Silverwood on our way back to let the kids play, but we decided that we we were done with our vacation & decided to just head home. We were going to get as close to home as possible. Although she didn't do great, Kassie did far better on the way home than she had the rest of the trip, so we powered through & got home in one, very long, day. We arrived home at midnight local time to discover Western Washington was in the middle of a heat wave it was 86 degrees and humid! They had just broken the record for the highest daily temp since records have been kept. Needless to say we were glad we had left the AC units on - the house was bearable at least. Glad to be home we collapsed into our own beds for a good nights sleep.

SC - Chapter 5, Idaho Part 1

On Wednesday (Kassie's 1st Birthday) we packed up the van again, said goodbye to Grandpa & Grandma Radeke & started north to Idaho. In my head I had hoped to be at our half way point close to lunch time for a short stop at Aunt Anjie & Uncle Jon's house. We got a later start than we planned so we had to stop for lunch on the way add one threat of car sickness (that never materialized thank goodness) and we got to Sugar City way later than we had hoped. We really needed a break so we took the kids (Nate, Abbie, Kassie, Parker*, Kaden*, & Jace*) to a splash park. I made a quick dash to the local church distribution store & Deseret Book for some things I needed - good thing we don't live closer to these stores, I'd most likely spend more $ there than I should. Anj made an early dinner for the kids (they were hungry after the park) and she had made cupcakes for Kassie's birthday, then we were off again, finishing the a long day of travel to Grandma Terry & Papa's house.

*My sister's boys.

Jace was so stinkin' cute - he kept trying to call his dad

Note to self: It takes much longer than I ever anticipate to get from one place to another when traveling with 3 kids - entering into the car seems to be a great time vacuum that just sucks away the hours - forget the minutes.

Kassie's first birthday was less than memorable (thank goodness she's not likely to remember it) - most of the day was spent on the road, minus the short pit stop in Sugar City/Rexburg. However Aunt Anj did more than her job by making cupcakes, having a new ball & a balloon for Kassie - great fun when you're 1! We opened a few more presents when we got to Salmon that night & we had a joint birthday celebration on Sunday with a cousin & 2 uncles so the real birthday came then - more on that later.

Thanks for the yummy birthday cupcake Aunt Anj!
For ME?!
Thursday at Grandma Terry & Papa's was spent playing in the pool & getting ready for the Weeks' Family Reunion. Before this trip we had not ever been able to make a Weeks' reunion (we've only made it to 2 Nelson reunions), living far away just doesn't make things easy. That being said rumor had it that 86 decedents of my paternal grandparents would be making an appearance. I'm not sure what the final number turned out to be, but there was more of a few of us there when things got into full swing on Friday. All of my dad's siblings were able to be there & most of my first cousins were there, plus all of our families. There were a few missing - 2 cousins are on missions, one had just been in the hospital so wasn't able to travel & 1 just couldn't make it from Virginia. Several of us had come from quite a distance. I hadn't seen some of my cousins since Dan & I were married (12 years ago this month) & some even longer - it was fun to see how much everyone had changed & to be honest I needed a reminder more than once of just who was who. The reunion ran Friday evening & the better part of Saturday. The reunion was held at a campground. Nate & Abbie got to go camping for their first time thanks to Dan - I took Kassie back to my parents house for a decent nights sleep - rumor has it I made a good choice. On Saturday they had lots of fun things for the kids to do. We really did have a fun time!

My paternal grandparents - they were celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary - & all their children.You think you're going to keep me in this thing?!
Uncle Donny with his boys Clayton & Byron
Nate & Byron in a 3 legged race
Mummy wrapping race - Parker & Byron
and switch
Nate & Abbie
and switch
Bubble blowing contest
Some just for my baby sister (I love this one!)
Bubble Gum Bubble blowing contest (we cheated - I blew the bubble)
Marshmallow in spoon relay - Byron
And Nate
Parker's quite the whiz at the hula hoop


Abbie gave it a try


Same disclaimer as with Dan's family pictures I did my best to post only flattering pictures - I however have a plethora of blackmail photos at my disposal - be warned family members!

I am grateful to have been born into a family that values family the way it does. I grew up in the same town as both sets of my grandparents & knew 5 of my great-grandparents growing up. As kids grew up playing with not just friends but cousins, aunts & uncles. We spent many a night at Grandma & Grandpa's just to have a sleep over for fun. It's a rich heritage I cherish. One that I often feel bad that I can't offer my own children, there are days I really wish we lived closer to family (but, in all honesty there are days I'm glad we don't).

Us - A Memory Lane Detour

About 15 years ago I was "hanging out" with Julie, with one of my friends, in Bedford, NY (about an hour north of NYC - give or take for traffic) looking at some of her pictures when I said "Ooh - who's that" through her laughter she said something to the affect of "Ewww that's Uncle Dan". Now for clarification it's not that she didn't like Dan - they were and still are near & dear friends, she just couldn't envision seeing Dan in a romantic way. Not too long after that night Dan called Julie and invited her & a friend down to Philadelphia (where he was living) for a concert - he had 4 tickets. I had never been to Philly so I went with Julie. It was a great weekend we had a ton of fun Julie & I (Dan had a date for the concert who didn't really get along with Julie so we didn't spend a lot of time with him on that trip). I fell in love with Philly & vowed that I would be living in or near Philly within a year, about a year later I did in fact move to a Philly suburb.

Thanks again to Julie, Dan and I started chatting on the phone from time to time & eventually started to date "long distance" and more normal dating after I did move to Philly. We had some awesome, once in a lifetime dates often meeting in the middle (NYC). On our first official date we saw some of the sites in New York and ended up at the top of the Empire State Building watching fireworks being launched over the East River - it happened to be Columbus Day Weekend & somebody was celebrating. It was a hard act to follow but through the next 3 years (some on & some off) of dating we had fun making some great memories. We took a weekend trip to Disney World - just to spend the day (we had some comp. plane tickets that were about to expire), a camping trip with friends to Acadia National Park in Maine, trips to Palmyra (for the pageant there) with accompanying side trip to Niagara Falls, more hockey games than I can count, a trip to Quebec that Dan loved & I hated (I don't like not being able to understand the language that others are speaking - totally drives me crazy) , sometimes it was just a simple dinner & a movie - Our first kiss....he kissed me as he hopped out of a taxi running to catch a train (not to surprising I know) back to Philly.

Eventually he asked me to marry him - I thought he never would. We were engaged for about 8 months before we got married - not long for some but in Mormon Culture we are far from the norm. We were married on August 15, 1997 in Logan, Utah. We were still living in Pennsylvania then so after the wedding & reception we flew back east and went on our honeymoon in one of our favorite places in New Brunswick, Canada.

We lived just outside Philly for about 1 year before taking a transfer to Washington State. I don't remember much about that year except we hardly ever saw each other. The majority of the time Dan worked weekend-nights & I was going to school & working 1-2 jobs (depending on the timing) . We we both very busy and never "off" at the same time. I was not excited at all about moving to Washington, but it turns out it has been an amazing thing for us. So now it's been 12 years (and one day) since we got married. We now have 3 children that our world revolves around most days, we still both work (although technically I only work part time - with the kids it's more than enough), and we are actively involved in church as well. Needless to say we are all grown up & busy as can be. In the grand scheme of things there's not much we'd change & if we had to do it all over again we would. No starter marriage for us - we striving for eternity.

A few pictures of us through the years:

Our engagement photo
A Christmas picture I think
Family Picture - Nate's first Christmas
Family Picture - Abbie's first Christmas
Last Christmas - Kassie's first
I am grateful for a husband who loved me enough to marry me 12 years ago "for time & all eternity" - here's to forever. I LOVE YOU DAN!