Celebrating Life

Chris and I had an awesome week in Mexico, and I will definitely be posting about that with plenty of pictures later, but first I want to share our exciting event of last night!  Michaela made her confession of faith in Jesus Christ back in February, but wanted to wait until this summer to be baptized when Grandpa Clark could be here to baptize her.  She has a special bond with him and decided that it would be worth the wait. 

We were able to have most of our Wolfe family over from KC, as well as friends from church to join us in witnessing Michaela's baptism.  Chris shared a bit, then Michaela gave her testimony, then Grandpa shared some thoughts before leading her into the water. 

 

Words cannot express the joy in our hearts as parents.  We have prayed for this for sixteen years.  This has been our number one goal as Dad and Mom to our first treasure.  To see the fulfillment of our desire, to see Michaela's maturity, and to know we have eternity together.....priceless.  Michaela, we love you and are so very proud of you!

"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth."  III John 4

20 Years Ago

I remember our wedding like it was yesterday.  I could not wait to spend the rest of my life with Chris, never to have to go our separate ways, never to say good bye.  We have experienced so much in these twenty years, and I can truly say that I am more in love with him than ever.  He is my rock, he balances me, he sharpens me, he loves me.  Thank you, God, for bringing Chris and me together and for blessing us in so many ways.  Happy Anniversary, Baby!  I love you more!

A Bit of This and That

Well, we've had a week of grandparents, Father's Day, swimming, ice cream, sewing, and getting ready for a trip and more grandparents.  Summer is fun!

Elijah has been out in the woods a couple of times picking wild blackberries.  The deer haven't left enough for us to make a blackberry pie with, but Elijah enjoyed the fruits of his labor.  Despite it being super hot and muggy, he wore jeans with rubber bands at the ankles and one of Dad's old shirts to try to keep off the chiggers and ticks.  I would hate to imagine any of those critters under his cast!  He was quite a sight when he returned drenched with sweat and grinning from ear to ear.

One more week....anyone want to claim one of these cuties!  So far our efforts to give one away have failed (rejected birthday gift).  They are SO people friendly because of all the handling they've received from the kids.
  

Johanna has been begging for an Indian outfit forever.  We had a pattern and the material, but just never made the time.  Grandma to the rescue!  Johanna helped with this project and couldn't be happier.  She's been growing her hair for several months now so that she can do Indian braids. 

 
Johanna and Ami finished up swimming lessons last week.  They did a super job.  Johanna is now in the highest level.  They celebrated the end of their lessons with some fun jumps off the diving board.

 

Ami has really turned into a little fish in the last couple of weeks and loves the water.  She is pretty fearless and is swimming all over.  Fun!

We returned G & G Wolfe to the train station yesterday.  They'll be back in July for a week.

And with that, we are headed to STL this afternoon.  (I can't begin to count the number of trips we've made there in the last six months with still more to come!)  G & G Clark are flying in to stay with our treasures while Chris and I head to Mexico to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary.  Woo hoo!

Father's Day

It was nice to have a grandfather at our house to celebrate with this year!  Rex and Chris had to fight over the Red Plate for their cinnamon rolls this morning.  Actually, they each tried to pass it off to the other, as the Wolfes have a long standing joke about being "special".  :)

The awesome father of our children!  We are blessed indeed to have a loving dad and husband at this house.  He loves God and does his best for our family.  We think he's the best!

The men spent the afternoon playing usual Wolfe made-up games.  Ami's ladybug ball was being used in ways she never intended.

Again, Ami's princess memory game being "played" by the guys.  Ha!  Grandpa was a great sport to play with her and I'm not quite sure what Benjamin was up to.  :)

For my dad...I am ever so thankful for the upbringing you and Mom provided for me.  I appreciate you more and more as the years go by, and as I have more parenting years of my own.  I look forward to each visit, treasuring the times we have together in between the months of miles between us.  Can't wait to be in OUR Yosemite together this summer.  I love you very much!

(Osaka - March 2011)

Happy Father's Day to the three best dads I know....Chris, Dad, and Rex!

Grandma's Birthday

It's rare that we get to celebrate birthdays with grandparents, but today we had that opportunity.  After having lived in Russia for the last eight years, G & G Wolfe have been easy to please with their food requests.  We picked up bagels for birthday breakfast for Grandma and took them out for a steak dinner this evening.  Then we came home for chocolate cake.  We tried to give her a kitten for her birthday, but unfortunately Grandpa didn't agree.  ;-)

Happy Birthday, Grandma/Mom! 

Phone Download

Time to get some pictures off my phone....

 

We love our regular walks down the road. Johanna always takes sugar cubes or some other treat for Blue.

We were out to eat with friends around the time of Johanna's birthday.  She received a special birthday treat, but didn't want to participate after she heard that the birthday person's face got pushed down in the whipped cream!

From Animal Kingdom...took this for Jeremy.  It reminded me of the Reliant Robin (gotta look that one up).

Fun times!

Oh, the brothers will be mortified!

Nice!  Johanna says it really does work.  :)

From Russia With Love

G & G Wolfe arrived yesterday and we met them at the station.  The kids were excited to see them again.  We've been fortunate to see them about every summer when they visit from Moscow.  This September they'll be moving back to the US permanently, and will only live a couple of hours away.  It will be nice to have grandparents on this side of the globe again!

Today was our regular day to volunteer at the food bank, so we took G & G along with us.

Kitties

Okay, it's time for another kitten update.  They are five weeks old today and getting cuter by the day.  They are venturing out bit by bit and are becoming very playful.  It's hilarious to watch Twix trying to let one kitten nurse while another is playing with her tail and another kitten is pouncing on her head.  They are trying to eat some solid food, and therefore (ahem) have something to show for it, thus we've dragged out the litter box.  Anyone want to claim one?  They'll be ready to find a new home in a couple of weeks or so!  :)

Such a cute trio!

How can you say no to this adorable face?!

We have one more week of swimming lessons for Johanna and Ami.  We've also been going to the pool regularly.  It finally "clicked" with Ami this weekend.  She is having fun swimming under water and realizing how much she can do. 

Johanna has faithfully been taking care of her newly pierced ears three times a day.  Her six weeks have finally passed and she is having fun trying out all her different earrings that big sister has passed down to her.  She is growing into a beautiful young lady.

It really struck me after I took this picture  how much she take after her handsome Uncle Jeremy.  Must be that Rickard streak in her.