Mommy's Helper

I've been praying that Karis will have a servants heart since I knew that I was pregnant.  It's my and Mike's desire that our kids will be loving, kind, and helpful to others -  among lots of other things.  This week I got to see my prayer for Karis start to take action.  She's REALLY mobile now, and is following me all over the place.  It was so sweet to see that she takes such joy in trying to help mommy.  I'm going to continue to pray that she has a servants heart, and I'm super excited to see how the Lord answers it!  Here are some pictures from the last week of Karis being a helper.


She helped Mommy cook, and even practiced some taste testing!  I know that soon we'll be making some scrumptious meals together!

She even helped unload and reload the dishwasher.

The next day Karis helped me reorganize my shoes.

At the end of the week when Mommy was tired, she "read" Mommy some of her favorite stories.   She's already a great reader!  They were full of expression.  One went something like this:  "ba ba bababa!  dada da!  Baby!  baba  ba  Mama!"  It was great! 

July 4th

For the 4th this year we just relaxed, went to church, grilled out, watched a few fireworks, and had some chocolate vanilla swirl yogurt.  It was great!!  This weekend we also went to the park to play and did a few odds and ends at the house. 

This weekend Karis is also 11 months old!!!!  I can't believe how fast time has flown!  It's kind of sad to me how she's not really a baby anymore. :(  Karis is doing so good!  She's crawling all over the place, pulling up on anything she can manage, and she's "talking" away!  She does say mama, dada, pawpaw, dog, baby, and yea.  Her vocab is definately starting to grow!  She loves dogs and her baby.  She also loves her daddy!!  I love how she crawls up in his lap and lays on his chest.  It's precious!!! 

We've also had to start "loving" on her a little bit when she throws a fit or won't listen.  That's been a little difficult, but I definately want her to learn right from wrong.  I am starting to see just how much I don't know about raising a baby and how much I need the Lord's guidance.  It's a little overwhelming sometimes to think how I could make it without the Lord's help.  Thank you Jesus for being such a great, gracious teacher!!

Here are some pics from the weekend!

The Month of June

Here are some pics of our trip into Amarillo.  We went into town to see my brother & sister-in-law before they move half way around the world for a few years.  Tim and Tonya are missionaries for MAF.  They recently recieved a new assignment to Kenya.  It was really good to see them, even if it was only for a few hours!  Please support them with your prayers as they are moving themselves and their five kiddos to Nairobi.  We will try to post more about them later on when they get settled.  You can also go to the link at the bottom left that says "Tim & Tonya" for more info.

We also visited my parents while we were in town.  Karis LOVES dogs.  She found a new friend in Yaffie while we were there.  Here are some pics of Karis and Yaffie and her PawPaw.

My wonderful Hubby, Mike, also celebrated his birthday while we were in Amarillo. 

The last weekend in June we took Karis to the aquarium.  She absolutely loved it!  I couldn't get very good pics of her though because she was glued to the fish and other animals. She would literally try to move me out of the way so she could see.  Here are some of the ones that I did get.

The rest of these pics are from the park and just hanging around the house.

Catching Up Is Hard to Do!

Hey everyone!  So sorry for being a bad blogger!  The past two months have been super busy for us!  We've been wrapping up a lot of loose ends and getting ready to start a new school-free chapter in our lives.  Here's an update on what's been going on with us.
   
         1.Mike passed his Part 3 National Boards!!!!!  (This was a super huge answer to prayer!)
         2.Karis now has 2 teeth and counting. . .
         3.My kiddos at school did awesome on the TAKS!!!
         4.Mike took Part 4 Boards.  (The last round of them, thank the Lord!  We're still waiting on results.)
         5.I had my 1st Mother's Day!!!  So Fun!
         6.We started 'Operation Move' in May.
         7.Karis and I wrapped up the year at school; I mean packed up and all!
         8.Our house is on the market!!!
         9.Mike took his AK test and we're waiting on those results as well.
         10.Mike had his 1st Father's Day today!

Whew!  In the midst of all of that we made 2 trips into A-town, and needless to say we are a bit worn out!  Here are some pics of Karis over the last couple of months. 

1st Easter

                                                 

Karis' 1st Easter was full of excitement!  On Good Friday, she had an egg hunt at school, which was so cute!!  They laid out eggs all over the floor and let the babies crawl after them.  Karis wasn't crawling just yet, but was able to scoot around enought to grab 2 eggs, one for each hand.  Once she had an egg in each hand, she was happy and didn't care about the rest of the eggs.  Here are some pics of the hunt.

Friday evening my mom, brother, and sister-in-law came to visit.  Well, it wasn't really a visit, but to help.  I had been sick all week and needed to sleep, and Mike had been super busy with school and stuff.  They were so sweet to come to the rescue!  They cleaned, watched Karis while I slept and rested, and stalked us up on groceries.  It was so helpful!!!  I miss my family so, so much!  Y'all are such a HUGE BLESSING! Thanks again guys!

On Easter Sunday, we went to church.  Karis was all dolled up in pink and black with some adoreable shoes that her Uncle Dustin & Aunt Colleen bought her.  We usually keep her with us during praise and worship because we want her exposed to it, and she LOVES music.  This Sunday we didn't; the church was too crammed with people.  We even got there extra early so we could get a good seat.  (They even had 22 services!) So, I took her to the nursery instead of in the service with us for worship.  After worship was over and the message had just started, her number flashed up on the screen for me to come and get her.  (It's kind of like an SOS.)  She was bawling her eyes out and the workers said that they couldn't get her calmed down, which is so unlike her.  I went and picked her up, and she immediately stopped crying.  :)  So, I decided to take her back in the service with me so I could listen to the message and sit with my handsome husband.  She was SO good.  I guess she missed coming in there with us for a while.

Spring Break

I can't believe spring break has come and gone already!  Karis and I stayed home and relaxed most of the week, which was so nice.  We went to the park and swung in the swings for the first time one day when the weather was just about perfect.  Karis just loved playing outside! 

Poor Mikey didn't get a spring break.  :(  He had class as usual and had his third round of boards.  Thank you everyone for all your prayers!!!! He felt that the tests went really well.  We'll find out exactly how well in about 6 weeks. 

My parents, brother, and sister-in-law came for a short but sweet visit this last weekend.  We had some great conversations and did a little bit of shopping while the guys went to the Super Cross at Cowboy Stadium.  Thanks for the fun time!  We miss you and can't wait until next time!!  (We miss our family so much!!)  It's always great to spend time with people who lift you up and encourage you. 

Here are some other pics that were made in December in Amarillo.  Karis has grown so much since these were taken!!!

Please Pray for Mike!

Please be in prayer for Mike this week and weekend.  He is about to take another round of national board exams.  These are the tests that allow him to have his liscense to practice when he graduates.  (Which is now only 5 MONTHS away!!!!!!)  Pray that he gets enough rest & sleep before the exams, and that he studies the correct material.  They have soooo much stuff to study!  It's insane!  I'm praying that he will not only pass the test, but with flying colors!  I'm also praying Ephesians 3:20 over him; sometimes with so much to study and get done in the clinic things get a little bit overwhelming, especially when you look at the big picture instead of the everyday.  I'm asking God to do immeasurably more than Mike can imagine this week for him.

          "God is able to do immeasurably more than all we could ask or imagine."  Ephesians 3:20

I'm so proud of my husband!  He has done so well in school this far and is going to finish it up strong.  I can't wait to see him practice!  I get "sneak peeks" when I go up to the clinic, and see him work with people and adjust them.  I know that God has called him to Chiropractics, and it's fun to see the passion that Mike has for helping people.  It's like getting a little glimpse of God's heart.  :)

We should know how he did at the end of April/beginning of May.  In May, he will have 1 more board exam, the clinical one and then all he'll have to do is finish up his clinical hours and walk across the stage as Dr. Vennell!!!  August 14th here we come!!!!!  

Karis is counting down for Daddy too!