Remembering the firsts...thinking about eternity

Maybe its because we've been doing a lot of talk about kindergarten lately, or maybe because I know too many people having babies...but I've been doing a lot of thinking about my BABIES! So, I thought we would take a little picture journey through some important "firsts" for our family....

The first time I held Kathryn. She was roughly 4ish hours old here.

Holding Kimberly for the first time. Due to some breathing issues I didn't get to hold her for 24 hours....I was so happy to finally have her in my arms.

The first picture of the girls together....I wish I could remember my thoughts at this moment...

Our first family of 4 picture (wow I look rough...but it is our first family picture)

My first kisses to Jeremiah. I got to hold him like this for all of like 30 seconds until they whisked him away and then I had to wait another 5 days to pick him up and hold him. Man was that hard!

Daddy holds Jeremiah for the first time

Kimberly holding Jeremiah for the first time (Kimberly is 1 day shy of being 2 years old in this picture)

Kathryn holds Jeremiah for the first time (Kathryn is also 1 day shy of turning 2 in this picture)

Our first picture as a family of 5! :)

Its fun to walk down memory lane and think about all these moments of firsts that have created our family. It also makes me think about how quickly time passes...it feels like just yesterday...

Which makes me think about how our time here on earth is such a short blip on the timeline of eternity. Although, I have to admit that thought is actually one of comfort to me...because I know it won't be long before I see my Savior face to face and get to spend eternity in His presence.

Which leads me to think about the people in my life that DON'T know Jesus and thus won't spend eternity with Him. It reminds me of the importance of bringing my children up in the WORD...it reminds me of the importance of living so that God's love is spread...it reminds me the importance of stepping outside of my comfort zone so that others may be reached.

May today be a another day of firsts...a first for someone to meet Jesus!

Ordinary Days...Extraordinary Moments

Sometimes the most "ordinary" of days, bring about the extraordinary moments that become memories over the years. Today was one of those days for us. We started the day at an open house for a possible school next year, then spent a good part of the rest of the day outside. We even went to the park in our neighborhood for awhile...

The girls have discovered how to climb on top of the monkey bars

And aren't they cute? Reminds me of when they were little and I had a billion pictures of them together...I'm thankful to have captured one of them today! :)

Jeremiah is trying to be as tall as his sisters, instead ended up kissing the bar...(if he's sick in a few days at least I'll know why ;) )

Jeremiah can't climb on top of the monkey bars, but he can do the big ladder.

And he even takes a second to pause and say hey to Mommy!

Kimberly has even discovered how to do the big girl monkey bars

Look...Kathryn can do it too!

And look we can even do it together...

Kimberly did get a bit impatient waiting on Kathryn to finish

And just in case you wanted to see it in action

One day they'll be too big for the monkey bars...but for today its a memory it the making.

What extraordinary moments did you have in your ordinary day?

Starting Again...

So, I've been thinking for sometime about starting the blog back again. A couple of months ago I tried, but couldn't remember the password to log in. So, tonight I looked up an old post to share something with a friend and after reading through old posts, I'm reminded WHY I wanted to do this....It's SO much fun looking back through and seeing what the kids were up too...so here I go again, lets try again. Maybe I will actually make this about more than just the kids too...but I'm not sure what else to talk about, but we'll see what I come up with. Anyway, thanks for coming back to my blog and joining me on this journey. Maybe one day soon I'll get around to updating the pictures at the top, but for now, I'll just give a quick update on where everyone is now, and of course some pictures! :)

When John is not busy playing Pretty pretty Princess, he works at HCL America in Cary, NC. He's very happy there, as he is support Boeing...and anyone that knows John knows how much he LOVES airplanes!! I'm sure no one is shocked to learn that John is an excellent father. The kids have him wrapped around their little fingers, of course, but they also know without a doubt that their Daddy loves them and cherishes them!

Kathryn is now 5! Its crazy how fast time flies! She is in pre-school and loving every minute. Well, maybe I shouldn't say every minute, she tells me she doesn't like naptime, but other then that she's loving it. Kathryn is one of the most helpful little kids I have ever met. She definitely has inherited her Daddy's servant heart. She likes to help do the laundry, dishes, dusting, take out the trash...just about anything she can to help. She's also my more serious child, as you can see in this picture. She has a beautiful smile, but she's not as willing to share it. Kathryn loves to play soccer, football, basketball...or any other activity involving a ball. I believe there'll be many sports teams in her future.

Kimberly is also 5, DUH! Her and Kathryn are in the same class for pre-school, although surprisingly they don't do much together. It's neat to see their individual personalities popping out. Kimberly is full of laughs and is one of the bubbliest people I have ever met. She talks constantly and is always trying to make me laugh. She also has one of the biggest hearts! She is so compassionate and really wants to make sure everyone is well taken care of and well loved. I believe she'd give a hug to everyone she passed if I'd let her...but then we'd never get anywhere!! She definitely has a heart for those that are hurting and wants to help them feel better. I believe we might have a nurse in our family one day!

Jeremiah is now 3....and every bit of 3! Tantrums and strong willed and so cute I could eat him up! He has a very strong temper, but the amount of love he showers on us outweighs that big time! He loves to run to me and beg me to dance with him. His favorite stuffed animal is his little lamb, which he has named "nunya". He did have 2 Nunya's but he recently gave one of them to me....and knowing how much he LOVES these lambs, I must say I am very touched to have one that now sleeps with me. Probably one of the sweetest gifts I have ever been given.

Well, thats about all I have to say for tonight. Here's to hoping that I'll follow through with updates this time. For now, just a few more pictures....

The kids being silly...or every day life!

The kids on Christmas Eve in their new jammies and dolls/bear with matching jammies. Notice the 2 lambs in Jeremiah's right arm...those are Nunyas.