K turns three!

While the birthday princess napped, Aunti Mo created a lovely princess cake for her!

 It was truly a beautiful work of art!

 Doesn't her first impression say it all?

 When the young guests arrived, they were able to create a royal crown for themselves.

 Little birthday girl was hard at work.

 Prince N was so happy to see his Uncle M again!

 Modeling their crowns

 Seeing the latest pictures of her sister.

 We were blessed with a beautiful and sunny, cool day, so the kiddos enjoyed some playtime outside.

 Cousins

 J loved the bounce house!

 Soon it was time to hunt for "royal treasures."

 hunting...

 and enjoying the treasure trove!

 do you think that they were inpressed by that lovely cake???

 Birthday girl really got into the act this year and sang happy birthday to herself and everything!

 Delicious!

 The Three Friends!

 All the mommies!

 And almost all of the royal party (a couple of little ones sat out on this one)

 B honored her sister-in-law with a special gift from her brother

 It was a "keep hangin' in there" basket to remind his wife that he would soon be home from his deployment, and that he was thinking of her right now!

 Then it was time for presents. Such excitement and squeals of delight!

 The birthday princess

Brothers



 And while the rest of us were partying, Poppi was at the hospital with Em. (So that her parents could both attend big sister's party)

She is still lethargic, but starting to smile and talk some.



Still no appetite, though! She is now off of Oxygen, and no longer vomiting or fever. She ate a couple bites of mashed potatoes, but that's about all.





Daddy's precious little one! Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers for Em. God is answering, and we know that He will heal her. Thank you for continued prayers. Blessings always!

GK weekend

 As most of you already know, our little grand-daughter Emily got very sick this past week. She was hospitalized on Thursday, so after work on Friday, we headed out to help with childcare. Since mommy and daddy were staying 24/7 with Em at the hospital, K packed her little basket and came with Nana for "overnight" at Uncle Jamie and Auntie Krista's house!

 Mealtimes proved to be rather interesting...I can't remember what they were pretending to do

 ...but all three of them really got into the act, including little copy-cat brother!

 Later, all three got to choose a video and watch together. Pretty intense Thomas the Train episode!

 On Saturday morning, everyone was up bright and early! First some snuggle time with Jamie.

 And a bit of clowning around...

 Then K's mommy stopped by on her way to the hospital to visit a bit before spending the day with Em.

 A surprise for K...a birthday gift from mommy and daddy!

 After helping mom install some batteries...

 ...little miss photographer was ready for the day, with her own little camera!

 Later in the evening, daddy came by for supper and also shared some videos of
Em. Big sister was so happy to see her again! 

 Actually, all of us were thrilled to see the videos of that sweet little face, trying so hard to smile and be brave!

 Tell me, what is the real purpose of a toy box?

Grandma's happy little fireman!

Sunday morning was rather interesting...all three kids woke up a bit crabby, but we were able to get all of us ready in time to be out the door and on time for church. K even consented to letting Auntie Krista fix her hair! Everyone had a great morning at church, and then we headed home for something to eat and some naps. Soon the big anticipation was finally over--it was time for K's birthday party celebration! (next post)

An Event-Filled Weekend

 After working really hard on Saturday morning, we took the rest of the day off to be with friends and family members. On our way to Pasadena, we stopped by to visit some dear friends. We began with a family Communion service. It was such a blessing to partake together around the Table of the Lord, and especially meaningful to know that our dear brother Steve will soon be basking in the presence of Jesus. Just after Jim's closing prayer, Karen turned up the i-pod next to Steve's bed and we all listened in amazement to the words from the hymn "How Great Thou Art." Such a fitting benediction to our family service!

We were treated to a delicious meal and a great time of visiting together.

 Our families share memories of many years together.

 We also indulged in this delectable chocolate creation. Yum!

 Thanks for a fun afternoon together.

 Next we headed to Pasadena to spend time with Jim's cousin and her husband. After a delicious supper, we attended a lecture and Q&A by author Patrick Johnston, presenting his newly released book. Never in my life did I imagine that I would be captivated by endless stats, and how they relate to evangelism! The work that this man has done is incredible.

 And the highlight of the evening was that Jim won a book! So he and Chuck were the first to stand in line and have the author sign their copies. Congrats, Jim! And thanks to Chuck and Penny for inviting us to this event and hosting us for the evening.

On Sunday evening, we had a lovely visit from another of Jim's cousins, who had been vacationing here in the area the past week. We enjoyed warm fellowship together, in spite of the cool and rainy weather outdoors. Thanks for stopping by, June and Joel!