Look Who Has a New Trick....

My "tiny" little baby is growing up so fast. I use the word "tiny" loosely seeing as she is a whopping 18 pounds :), but still you know what I mean. The weeks and months are just flying by and I find myself trying to stop time and hold on to her different stages a little longer. But she just won't listen and keeps growing and doing new things. This is the latest.........she is sitting up!

She gets so proud of herself when she does it....so cute!

Check out her posture! It takes a lot of work to balance all the chub! :)

So a great big "Yeah" for Kensi....what a big girl!

A Look Back At 2007....

Wow, what a year it has been! It has definitely been a year that has been packed with lots of challenges but also lots of great accomplishment! I think the last update I sent out to all of you guys was after Kensi was born, so I will just hit the highlights of the first part of the year and fill you in a little more on what we have been up to the last few months.

In February, Aaron left for the State Police Academy and thus began 8 very long months! :) At the time I was 5 months pregnant and thinking , " are we crazy to be doing this?" But we had spent so much time in prayer and new for certain that this was the path God had brought us to and He had given us both a peace about this so I knew He would bring us through. It was pretty tough getting used to him being gone all week and being alone with the kids. We missed him terribly and basically lived for the weekends. They were long, hard weeks and months for Aaron and for us, but we made it! God saw us through every minute of every day. We experienced His unfailing love and strength in a new way that brought us closer to Him and closer as a family.

My pregnancy went great with very few complications this time, thank you Jesus!

In June Aaron came home for a month for his field training where he was out on the roads here and it just so happened to also be the time Kensi was due. (I am amazed how God takes care of EVERY detail in our life. We had no idea when he left that he was going to be home in June, but it was such a blessing to have him here for a month when she was born). And on June 13 Lil Miss Sunshine made her appearance! It was such a great birth experience and such a special time for us as a family.

Aaron headed back to the Academy the beginning of July. And the kids and I had a very laid back, lazy summer. It was such a delight having little miss Kensi around. She is so amazing and we all are just crazy in love with her. She is such a happy little girl with a fun, sweet personality! We are so blessed to have her!

At the end of August Kobe and Maddie started school. My little girl headed off to kindergarten! How did the years fly by so quickly?!?! I feel like she was just this tiny little baby and suddenly she is ready to start school. Time is so weird. It definitely goes so much faster when you are older. I remember when I was younger thinking a year was such a long time and these days the years just feel like they are flying by. Anyway, they started school...Maddie in kindergarten and Kobe in 2nd grade.

They are both doing great and having so much fun in their classes. Its so fun seeing them mature and learn so much so fast. They are amazing people!

And that brings us to the big day....OCTOBER 12! Thats right, you guessed it, Aaron graduated from the Academy!!!!!!!!!!!! 2nd best day of the whole year for me! :) Me and the kids, Aaron's family and some of my family headed down for the ceremony and to celebrate!! I am so proud of him. It is quite an accomplishment to make it thru this training. 72 people were picked out of 1200 applicants and his graduating class ended up being 54 people. It is a very grueling training both mentally and physically and takes incredible commitment. He was given an award during the graduation ceremony for "oustanding achievement in physical fitness." Woo hoo...oh yeah...what a guy! ;) He worked so hard and pulled thru the really tough times and it was great to all celebrate his accomplishments. Here are some pics from the big day...

My brother giving Aaron his first "official" donut..hahaha

Thats right, Trooper Aaron officially on the road ...Look out world! :) And I had my first ride in a police car! ;)

And a celebration at the Olive Garden !!!!

And now we are enjoying life together as a family. Aaron is all settled into his new job. And life is truely grand! The kids are loving having their daddy here all the time and Kobe is loving having all his little neighborhood buddies check out Daddy's new ride. :) hahaha. And after Aaron being in school 5 years of the 8 years we have been married, we are so happy to just be living a "normal" life.

Its so good to be on this side of things. I have learned so much this year. It has been such a year of stretching and personal growth for me. God has truely been so faithful and taught me so much every step of the way. He is good...ALL the time. I have felt His arms carry me through this year and have felt His peace deeply.

So, there it is...a look back at 2007. I am so glad to be at the end of this year as you can imagine.;) And am excited to see what 2008 has in store for us!

Sleeping Beauty....

Kobe and Maddie love to read when they go to bed. So tonight after devotions, they headed upstairs to get in bed and read for a little bit before we came to tuck them in. We came up seriously like 5 minutes later and Aaron walked by Maddie's room and said for me to come look. Here is sweet Maddie - girl...

It must have been a very tiring day in kindergarten today! This is what I call "really getting into a book!"

Some pictures from the last few months....

My Very First Post!

Blogging....aaahh! Honestly, I never thought I would do it and here I am starting my very own blog! :) But the more I think about it, it is such a great way to stay in touch with friends that don't live close to us (and for those of you who do live close by :) ), a way to "peek thru a window" into our every day life. There are always so many funny or cute things that happen every day with the kids and I always intend to write them down in their journals, but most of the time that just doesn't happen. SO hopefully, this will be the place where i do that. Hopefully being the key word here...:) Only time will tell if I can keep up with this. I have loved reading friends blogs and getting to see what their lives are like on a day to day basis, so I am going to give it a go! Wish me luck! :)

Kristy