Days in the Making

Flowers Fit for a Bride

2009-09-11T22:34:00.004-05:00

Well, it has been almost a year now and countless memories have not made it to the blog... but this one will. And I hope this will help me get started again.

Josh's sister Hannah is getting married in one week and we are all very excited for her- especially the girls, because they get to be the flower girls! (I have seen them in their dresses once and they looked like princesses even with their messy hair.) So needless to say, as the big day approaches there is more and more talk about weddings, and brides, and pretty hair, and what they are going to be doing in the wedding, and how many more days until the wedding!

Also as the days pass and summer slowly becomes fall, the weather is becoming nicer, and going for a walk to the mailbox and back (a good distance for the kids) is sounding really good- especially since we just got 3 inches of RAIN in the past few days!! So I took the kids after dinner and we just enjoyed a typical evening walk. As we were walking, Aubrey noticed a bunch of very pretty white flowers that seem to have popped out of the ground along with the wonderful new grass that our ranch has not seen in a very long time. The girls and Campbell went off to pick some, and sure enough it became "a bouquet for a wedding". Taylor was humming a made-up tune and Campbell picked up on it and started humming along side her. Aubrey continued to collect her prizes happily and quietly. They would bring me their handfuls every once in a while and then go back for more until we had a "huge" bouquet of beautiful white flowers. Then they decided it wasn't for a wedding after all and I got to keep it! So I did what any mother would do. I put it in a vase and took pictures of it so I would remember this time forever.

The sweet smell of the flowers fills up my kitchen, and the sweet memory of watching my three kids picking the flowers together in the cool evening after the refreshing rain fills my heart with gratitude to my Lord, the Giver of all good things.

Quotable

2008-10-27T21:29:00.003-05:00

"I forgot my mind." -Aubrey

This is what Aubrey says when she means to say, "I changed my mind." :) I never correct her because it is so cute when she says it!

Cali

2008-10-27T12:19:00.007-05:00

Earlier this month was our first family vacation since Campbell was born. We all had a great time visiting friends and family in California, spending a day at Disney Land, and of course a trip to California is not complete if you don't get to see the ocean!

These Days

2008-09-13T14:55:00.003-05:00

Here are just a few recent cute pictures of my funny family.

Happy Birthday, Aubrey!

2008-09-13T14:24:00.003-05:00

Aubrey turned the big 3 this week! She has been so excited about going to The Bounce for her birthday for so long, and the day has finally arrived! We were going to go on Tuesday, but for some odd reason they close on Tuesdays! We were SOOO disappointed. So when we went on Thursday they were about to burst with excitement! For her birthday we also went as a family to the park to feed the ducks and enjoy a picnic lunch of pb and honey sandwiches and juice boxes- a few of Aubrey's favorite things. :)

Quotable

2008-09-13T14:01:00.001-05:00

"If I make a picture for God, can I bring it to heaven with me when I die?"- Taylor (our little artist)

Ike

2008-09-13T13:39:00.004-05:00

For anyone who is concerned or just curious about how we are doing in this hurricane, I thought I'd post a few pictures to show what we have been doing so far... I don't want to belittle the situation many are in now. Our thoughts and prayers are with those who are truly suffering because of Ike. But we are thankful to say we are doing just fine. :)

Quotable

2008-08-09T09:42:00.002-05:00

"If I take off my hand I"ll have a nug!" -Aubrey

Meet Tex

2008-08-09T09:30:00.005-05:00

Meet our new puppy! He is a 7 week old beagle, and he is so sweet. We love him. Since we got him when we moved back home to Texas, we decided to name him Tex.

Quotable

2008-07-31T10:57:00.003-05:00

"When I hear that music, it makes me think we are in a beautiful garden with grass growing out if the walls and giant roses coming out of the walls too. And there is a beautiful path going from the garden, and when you follow the path it leads you right in front of a rainbow castle!"- Taylor

7 Months old

2008-07-27T23:00:00.003-05:00

At this point Campbell seems to have two passions in life; climbing up things, and putting things in his mouth. He is getting very fast at the stairs and if they are blocked he will find something -anything- else to climb! He also loves to smile. I often will feel someone looking at me and when I look over at my little Campbell he breaks out into a huge grin. I LOVE it! He also cannot stop smiling when I come to get him out of his bed when he wakes up. He makes me feel so loved. My heart just melts.

New Blog and Other "News"

2008-07-26T21:05:00.002-05:00

Well, we made it through the blog address/name change. (Thanks for bearing with me on that one.) But there have been a few other changes that we have recently encountered and are still in the midst of. Let's see where do I begin. Moving to College Station (and all the changes that come with moving to a new town), Josh going back to school (and starting off with a bang!- summer classes are crazy), Campbell becoming VERY mobile, Taylor starting kindergarten, (I'm glad at least Aubrey isn't currently going through a major change!), and oh yeah, we are moving AGAIN! This time not as far- just about 5 minutes from our current house. I decided not to unpack the last box so I could say I was not completely unpacked before we decided to buy a house and move again. :) When we moved to College Station we decided to rent until we had a better idea of where we were going etc., so we knew this home would be temporary, but I had no idea it would be THIS temporary. We had been here 2 weeks when we signed the contract! Oh yeah, and God showed His awesome hand by providing new renters for this house! Huge blessing. They wanted to move in August 1 and Josh was going to try to make that happen despite his final on the 4th! We agreed to have this house ready for them by the 6th. So there you have it. Are we crazy? I have asked myself that more than once. And really the answer is, no we just saw an opportunity and took it. We are....flexible! :)

Our Name Was Taken!

2008-07-19T10:40:00.002-05:00

Well, I should have checked the availability before announcing our new name/address. It was already taken. But I like our new new name better anyways! As of next week (to give people time to see this post) our new address will be daysinthemaking.blogspot.com. I'll send an email to everyone whose address I have.

NEW NAME!!!

2008-07-18T18:31:00.003-05:00

Well, our St. Louis days are over, and now we are living in College Station - gig 'em Ags! And we have decided on a new blog name. It is.... (drum roll)... These Days or thesedays.blogspot.com. So, assuming I figure out how to switch it now, this will be my last post on this blog.

On that note, here are a few pictures of the past little while....
1. beautiful evening at the lake
2. Campbell showing off his new-found skills
3. our sweet little guy
4. Taylor and Aubrey having a blast at The Bounce
5. Campbell and his cousin Sam with their daddies- a good-lookin' group!

Name Change

2008-06-17T19:30:00.002-05:00

Well, the St. Louis Days (or our days in St. Louis, depending on how you read it) are no longer. I'm not going to change our blog name until I am 100% certain about where we'll be next. We are currently in Texas preparing for Josh to start the prerequisites to go to vet school to be a large animal vet! It is looking like we will be in College Station, but there is still time for things to change, so I'm not making any big plans yet. :)

Aubrey's Latest Quote

2008-06-02T19:39:00.002-05:00

"I'm SO peetty! Wiff my hat AND my yeetard!"

..... I love the honesty.

Also some of her favorite things to say right now are...

"Das okay!" Which she says very sincerely either when she gets a little bit hurt, or when she has just done something she shouldn't have. :)
"Beeful" (beautiful) Which she applies to many many things such as her beeful swimsuit, beeful cheerios (the fruity ones), beeful pictures and so on.

Taylor's "Best Day Ever!"

2008-05-28T21:44:00.002-05:00

One of the days we when Josh was in Haiti and the kids and I were staying with Greg and Kristin we had a very fun-filled day. Towards the end of the day, while she and Aubrey and her cousins Caitlyn and Kendall were dancing to the Strawberry Shortcake soundtrack, she came up to me with her eyes wide open and a huge grin and said "Mommy, this is my best day EVER!"

A few Texas pictures from April

2008-05-28T21:27:00.001-05:00

Our Little "Abu"

2008-05-19T09:21:00.003-05:00

Aubrey's quotables:

What she says when someone is leaving, "Bye, bye. Have soon!"

(An easier way to say, "Have a good day. See you soon.")

What she says when someone calls her any nickname, "No, I am Princess Mommy." - a name she made up herself.

"Campbell and Friends"

2008-05-14T22:17:00.005-05:00

This is Campbell with his cousin Sam. He is 2 months older, but you can only tell by looking at their faces!..And Sam is so much more grown up- he has a lot to teach Campbell about life.

The coordinating jammies were just a funny coincidence. :)

Oops. Bad picture and I can't seem to delete it.

This is Campbell with his second cousin, or first cousin once removed, or something. My cousin Kelly's daughter Skylar. (I know I'm not spelling that right. Anybody know how she spells it?)

And here is Campbell playing with Caily, our good friends Darin and Jody's daughter. Actually she is the only one doing the playing right now, but I think he is enjoying himself.

Like the spit-up going down his chin? That is pretty typical. :)

From a Mom on Mother's Day

2008-05-10T18:02:00.003-05:00

I know I haven't posted much recently, so I don't even know if anyone checks my blog anymore. But I recently downloaded a bunch of pictures and these were among them. I just thought these faces were too sweet to keep to myself! I am so blessed and grateful to get to see these faces every day! I know it is a rare blessing to get to say that my family is truly the joy of my life! Thank You, God, that I get to be a mommy!

Campbell 2 1/2 months

2008-03-13T00:33:00.002-05:00

It is after midnight and I really should be taking advantage of this time to sleep while Campbell is, but I finally got some pictures to show! I'll have to make this short, though.

Campbell is still growing like a weed. He is smiling so much now. He smiles just about every time he sees Taylor, and she just loves it! Aubrey especially likes his "tubby teeks" (chubby cheeks) and when she talks to him her voice gets really high. It is super cute.

Aside from that we are all doing pretty well. Please pray for guidance for us as we have some big decisions to make in the near future.

Capmbell, the past couple weeks

2008-01-23T14:57:00.000-06:00

Campbell had his one month check up today. He already weighs 13 lbs. 5oz.! That would explain why he is in size 3-6 mos now and wearing size 2 diapers. Everything looked good in the exam and he got one shot. :( I don't have much else to say. I just wanted to share these pictures since I haven't put any up in a while, and I thought it would be good to post some with his eyes open!

"Campbell" cont.

2008-01-12T21:16:00.000-06:00

Well, I was about to introduce Campbell when I looked at the blog and saw that Josh beat me to it by about two weeks! But being a man of few words he left the "words" part up to me. So here are the details....

After starting the induction at about 12:45 am on December 19th we waited in the hospital for 13 hours. Yes I had contractions every three minutes the entire time, but they were mild and basically unproductive. So we watched a couple movies, got a little sleep and tried not to get too discouraged, which was getting harder and harder to do as the hours slowly passed. Then at about 2:40 pm to doctor said I had finally progressed to the point were she felt like we could break my water. Once that happened, things suddenly became exciting. Campbell was born 41/2 hours later at 7:22pm after a very smooth labor. He weighed 9lbs 9oz and was 21 inches long. Everything went beautifully.

We are all doing well, except for the cold that went around and got everyone but Campbell- thank God! My parents came up for a week to meet him and to help us out. They were a huge help and fun to have around. It seemed like every time I saw my Mom she was either doing laundry or washing dishes! The girls love their baby brother and do everything they can to help take care of him. As far as sleep goes, every night is unpredictable. Some are good and some, well I just hope they are "character-building" somehow. I'm just glad God made him so adorable and lovable, because I think that makes it easier to deal with him when he brings out his frustrating side!

Speaking of sleep, he is sleeping now, so this is my chance to get some of my own sleep. Good night.

Campbell

2008-01-01T15:53:00.000-06:00

Baby News

2007-12-14T22:36:00.000-06:00

We have officially scheduled an induction for the 19th! So if little Campbell isn't born before then, he will- Lord willing- be born on Wednesday, Dec. 19th!!! And we are so grateful to my mom who will be coming up to stay with the girls while we are in the hospital. Please keep us in your prayers. We are very excited and ready to meet our son, but there are always so many unknowns- even when you induce.

Merry Christmas to you all if I don't write again before then!

SNOW!!!

2007-12-05T21:17:00.000-06:00

I don't have a picture of this, but today was our first snow flurry during the day! We have supposedly had some snow at night already, but we haven't seen any until today. Taylor was beside herself with excitement! It is always fun to see what kinds of simple things can make this girl soooo happy. :)

4 more weeks and counting...

2007-11-23T22:44:00.000-06:00

Creating Memories

2007-11-10T22:48:00.000-06:00

Once again, I messed up and you have to look at the next set of picture first, then these. Sorry 'bout that.

2007-11-10T22:43:00.000-06:00

One of my favorite fall memories growing up was carving pumpkins with my dad. So when my parents planned to come up and visit us in October I knew that was one thing we were going to do with them. The best part was always getting the gooey, slimy insides out. That proved to be Taylor's favorite part too! We let the girls help decide what kind of pictures we would carve out of the pumpkin. So after many good- yet advanced- ideas were given, we settled on a butterfly, a flower (which looked more like a maple leaf) and a fish. It wasn't beautiful, but it was fun!! :) Thanks, Mom and Dad, for the good memories of childhood that I now get to pass on to my children.

This One's for Mom (Nana)

2007-10-15T00:29:00.000-05:00

The Past Six Weeks (or so)

2007-10-15T00:26:00.000-05:00

Well, a lot has happened since I last posted. So I just posted a bunch of pictures so you could kind of see what we have been up to! The only thing is that you have to start from the bottom or it will be backwards. Sorry about that! So you want to start with the pictures of Aubrey's party and go up from there. I hope it makes sense! I'll do better next time. :)..............

Taylor had SO many great ideas for the photo shoot. One of them was that I should take pictures of her dancing. Because this is one of her favorite things to do, I thought that was a pretty good idea! So here they are.

2007-10-15T00:02:00.000-05:00

The Bronx Zoo
Broadway, New York City!

2007-10-14T23:59:00.000-05:00

2007-10-14T23:54:00.000-05:00

2007-10-14T23:49:00.000-05:00

After Mimi and Granddad's visit we randomly decided to take a road trip to New York! We saw Niagra Falls, drove through upstate NY and made our way down to NY City!...In this first picture at Niagra you can see my expanding belly as our little guy grows bigger and bigger. :)

This is Aubrey getting ready to get into the boat to see the Falls.

And here they are! Yes we got very wet even with the raincoats. It was quite amazing!

2007-10-14T23:35:00.000-05:00

When we got back home from Colorado, Josh's grandparents came to visit us. We had a great time with them, and the girls had fun playing with them too- and introducing our ducks to them. :)

2007-10-14T23:28:00.000-05:00

More Colorado pictures...
I love the aspens!

Josh's dream scenario.

2007-10-14T23:23:00.000-05:00

My Mom came in town for Aubrey's birthday. Then a few days later we all decided to drive to Colorado where we stayed at my uncles house and also got to see some good friends from Covenant who are now living there. These are just some shots I took driving in the beautiful Colorado Rockies.

2007-10-14T23:13:00.000-05:00

This was back in August when we came to Texas for a few days for Grandma's 90th birthday. Caitlyn and Micah came to Nana and Papa's house and everyone had a sleep over with Papa on the 3rd floor...until about 10:00pm when they got scared and decided Nana and Papa's bedroom was better.

We celebrated Aubrey's 2nd Birthday with a teddy bear picnic at our favorite park.

School Days Have Begun

2007-09-04T20:15:00.000-05:00

Taylor is now in her 3rd week of school. She is going three half-days a week to Central Christian School which is connected with our church. We are interested to see what the year brings. We are still seriously considering home schooling, and have actually officially begun that too. But this is somewhat of an experiment to see which kind of "setting" she works best under. Whatever we do decide about Taylor's future schooling, we are thankful to God for this great school and for Mrs. Burzinski, Taylor's amazing teacher.

This is Taylor on her first day of school....

Here is her classroom.
This is where the kids wait before they are allowed into their classrooms. We only did this the first day. Now I just drop her off straight into her room.

Do Taylor and her new friend remind anyone else of some people named Deb and Napoleon?
And here she is in her room with Mrs. B showing off one of the class hermit crabs. They also have a Guinea pig and a beta fish.

The Barnyard Olympics!

2007-08-26T21:44:00.000-05:00

This was our attempt at having a little country fun while living in St. Louis....It wasn't quite what we were expecting. The best part about it was the laughs we got just talking about, "What are we doing here?" It was SO hot and humid, and there was just about nothing going on. Great idea Katie!! All I have to say for myself is that it was false advertisement! Oh well. What would life be if we didn't take chances!?

Josh got in the spirit and posed with the girls for this shot.
I was forced to put on the pig nose for this one after the big pig race.

Here is the "big pig race".

Making the most of what was available. :) Do you see Taylor riding on the back?

Our Duck Experiment

2007-08-26T21:27:00.000-05:00

Back when I introduced you to Stanley, our cat, I said that we were about to get 10 ducks. Well, since then we have gotten them and gotten rid of them. They were fun and cute for a little while, and the girls had fun running around and catching them as they played in our back yard. But then they got too big, too fast and too stinky to be any fun.
So we set them free at this park right by our house. At first they would not go into the water unless we herded them in. Maybe they were afraid of the BIG water. But whatever the case, we weren't sure how they would do "on their own"so we brought them food and checked on them every day for a while. It was fun to see other families get to enjoy the ducks too. (Every time we heard a family talking about the ducks Taylor would go and inform them that those were our ducks. She wanted to make sure everyone knew.)
These last pictures are from our last time there which was two days ago, and they seem to have adjusted quite nicely to their new home. Aubrey and Taylor still want to catch the ducks and hold them, but I did not think it was possible at this point. But Aubrey managed to capture one as he was climbing up the ramp out of the water. I was impressed!

Few Words

2007-08-25T22:24:00.000-05:00

I don't have much time right now, but I have to share this little story before it is gone from my memory forever- which could very well happen tomorrow.

Aubrey and Josh were home alone and Josh was in the kitchen. Aubrey walks over to him, leads him (by grabbing his leg and walking with it) to his chair in the living room and says, "sit." So he sits. Then she climbs up into his lap, snuggles up to him and then she puts his hands around her waist. Now she is very happy and content. She wants nothing else. This is what it's all about!
The End.

P.S. I think Josh got a little taste of what God feels when all we want is Him.

Boy Oh Boy!

2007-08-14T13:13:00.000-05:00

We're having a boy!

Aubrey's Quotable

2007-07-24T21:25:00.000-05:00

If you can imagine Aubrey squatting in front of Stanley, bending way over so she can get low enough to get almost nose to nose with him, this is what you would hear her soft, high voice saying.
"Hi, hi, hi, hi, hi...."
She is infatuated. :)

Belles of the Ball

2007-07-24T21:21:00.000-05:00

Cinderella's ball that is! A friend of mine (Georgia's mom) invited Taylor and me to go see the Cinderella play with her and Georgia last weekend. This was Taylor's first play and we really had a great time. It was put on by a Christian group at a college here in St. Louis, and it was very well done. Taylor has still never seen the movie so the fact that they strayed a bit from the "original" was not a problem for her. However, being the four-year-old little girl that she is, Taylor was full of questions and fascination. She said her favorite part was, "when Cinderella was in her blue and white dress, and then when she was in her white dress (wedding dress)."
I love how she is just so 120% feminine one day, and then two days later we are at a playground and she is sprawled out on the ground, rubbing her tummy in the dirt just to see how dirty she can get!...and she did an impressive job! Good thing she was in her overalls! All in all, she is a joy and we have had some good times together. Thanks, Jesse, for another first.

Taylor's Quotable

2007-07-24T20:48:00.000-05:00

Just to give you an idea of how much Taylor likes our new kitten i have to post this quote.
When we were putting the girls to bed Taylor asked me, "Mommy, right away in the morning can I wake up and right away go and get you and you get up right away and we go see the kitten right away?"

Meet Stanley!!

2007-07-24T15:43:00.000-05:00

Well, how do I explain this one. Josh and I and the girls went to a feed store to get some duck feed- yes duck feed- for the ducklings we hope to be getting in the next day or so. I know we don't live on a ranch anymore, but who says you can't have ducks in the city! And we have the perfect pond near us to send them to when they grow up (since 10 was the least amount we could order!). Anyway, we were walking into this feed store- I think the only one within a half hour from our house- and I noticed a sign that said "free kittens and cats". So we decided then and there that it was about time for us to have a pet again. We gave them our name and number, told them we wanted a kitten, and less than a week later we got Stanley, our new 12-week-old barn/garage cat. Before we got him Taylor said she wanted a girl cat so we could name her *Elizabeth*. But now, as you can see, the girls are quite pleased with little Stanley. He seems very laid back and sweet, and he seems to like his new home pretty well.

2007 Reunion (Scroll down for Beginning)

2007-07-18T00:04:00.000-05:00

Aubrey was so funny with this sprinkler ring. She spent most of her time drinking from it instead of playing in it. But she was having fun and that is the point!

2007-07-17T23:57:00.000-05:00

We had a big bumper pool tournament, which helped keep the guys busy for a while. I was the only girl and I lost in the first round- barely, oh well. Greg knew I was taking this picture so he "posed" for me, but totally messed up his shot! Oops! Another funny thing that I didn't notice until these pictures were together is that Greg and Josh's shirts are exactly the same! I guess that is what happens when you have wives who have very similar tastes.

Jana was one of my closest cousins when I was growing up and everyone said Taylor must have somehow known that, because she immediately befriended her and almost literally did not leave her side until we left the reunion! The sad thing was that Jana and her husband did not get to come until the day before we left! Hopefully, this time we won't wait so long to see each other again.
My mom eating up every moment with her family, and enjoying the amazingly pleasant Texas summer evening! (Her mom is on the left and Aunt Linda one of her sisters is on the right.)

2007-07-17T23:37:00.000-05:00

Beautiful baby Ashlyn, currently the youngest in the Leininger side. But not for long! Kristin is due in August with grandbaby number 10, and I am due the day after Christmas!!

What a group of girls!
Family photo opp.! My oldest brother Jeff, his wife Diane and their firstborn Harrison.

16th Annual Family Reunion

2007-07-17T23:29:00.000-05:00

Every year since we moved to Texas my parents have hosted a family reunion at their house for my Mom's side of the family, who are spread all over the southern half of the U.S. Growing up, this was always one of the highlights of the year. But it has become more difficult to put together as we cousins have begun to grow up and get jobs, school responsibilities, families of our own etc. And hosting has gotten harder as the number of people in the family continues to increase! Last year my parents decided we were probably done with reunions because it was just too complicated with this many people. Well everyone was so sad that my parents, being the host and hostess of the year, decided to accommodate everyone and invite the family to the lake house for a week! (origially 41 people total!) As reality set in, Mom started getting alittle nervous thinking about were everyone was going to sleep and how to organize all the meals and stuff, so I helped her out when I was there in June. I hope she was able to look forward to it more after that. So thanks to them and to the Lord for making it possible, we had another great reunion with our family. Everyone really stepped up and helped out selflessly and we all just had a great time together! The reunion just happened to fall right after that area of Texas was completely flooded with rain, so the lake was not considered "safe" for swimming etc. But our wonderful neighbors blessed us beyond words by letting us use their pool (and offering everything from volleyball equipment to snacks to tours of their beautiful house!) Given the circumstances, this could have been a rough week. But because God chose to bless us in numerous ways, our family truly had a great time.

Here is Taylor in the neighbors' pool with my cousin Scott and her cousin Caitlyn.

This is Micah, Caitlyn's brother. I wish I remembered what he was laughing at!

Josh and Aubrey enjoy a quiet moment together on the beach.

Carrying around really big stuffed animals is one of Aubrey's favorite activities!

Taylor Loves Her Babies

2007-07-17T22:40:00.000-05:00

Those of you who know Taylor know that at this point in her life, babies are her world. Everywhere she goes she hopes there is a baby (real or pretend) and if there is one she will spend every moment she can holding it. She is amazingly nurturing and gentle with them, and so fun to watch as this little mother comes out of her when she is holding them and she is just so tender and careful. She gets upset with Aubrey when she is not "treating" or "holding her baby right," and she really doesn't like it when she puts her baby down for a nap, and Aubrey comes up and (thinking the baby is available) "wakes her up!" We are working on helping Taylor understand that Aubrey doesn't understand her pretend play, and that the pretend baby is not as important as her real sister.
During this trip to Texas we got to meet two new babies and Taylor just could not get enough! The Mommies were very gracious and let Taylor hold them a lot. I am grateful that she is so gentle and good with them, because I really didn't feel nervous at all about it! She had it under control! ;) She is going to make a wonderful Mommy some day.
This is Taylor with my friend Jody and her baby Cailey (I hope I spelled that right!) at less than a week old!

And here she is with my cousin's baby Elizabeth. (Taylor's favorite name in the whole world!)

Happy Belated Independance Day!

2007-07-17T22:16:00.000-05:00

This is obviously overdue, but I got some fun pictures of our little July 4th celebration that I wanted to share. This was the girls' first time with fire works or anything and they were pretty funny about it. They both were very interested until they started getting loud, then they both just wanted to be held . Taylor wanted to hold every roman candle we did, but she was so very cautious around everything. (She would not get within ten feet of anyone holding a sparkler!) This kind of caution must be a Day thing, because every amount of caution I have is because I know I have to be that way- not because I want to be that way. ;) Some of you know what I mean. Of course, it could just be a firstborn thing. Whatever the case, everyone had a good time celebrating our country's birthday...except for Dad's little- shall we say- run in with Jake the dog, who was quite nervous and up tight around all the fire and noise. Sorry, Dad, hope everything has healed up by now!
Taylor showing little sister how to safely opperate a roman candle.

Aubrey learning the joys of playing with fire- I mean sparklers. Check out the intensity on her little face!

Virtual Tour of the Day Home

2007-07-12T22:02:00.000-05:00

Okay, Aunt Linda, you asked for it (as have a few others). So here it is- as close as I could get to giving you a personal tour of our St. Louis home.... I figured we'd start on the outside.

2007-07-12T21:53:00.000-05:00

Welcome in! Here is our entry.
going into the Living Room from the entry
The Living Room

going into the Dining Room from the Living Room

2007-07-12T21:50:00.000-05:00

The dining room... For some reason the pictures kept coming out dark in here, but at least you can see what it looks like.

Facing the kitchen (and the half bath) from the dining room

the kitchen
This is for Aunt Linda. I thought you might recognize what is now our pantry. :)

2007-07-12T21:44:00.000-05:00

This is usually what the playroom looks like! And you can see my office area in the corner. Oh, now we are in the basement.

Our enormous back yard.

When we left to go to Texas these flowers were just starting to blossom. Now they are covering our back fence by the drive way!

2007-07-12T21:39:00.000-05:00

The Girls' Room

The Master Bedroom

If you look at both of our rooms you see a door leading outside. This is the porch those doors lead to.

2007-07-12T21:33:00.000-05:00

The Family Bathroom

The 3rd Floor: Josh's office, the TV room and the "Wrestle Room"

And back to the front door.... Thanks for visiting! Please come again (for real next time!)

My family enjoying a DELICIOUS dinner on the porch.

Good Times and Great Memories at the Lake

2007-06-27T17:20:00.000-05:00

The ever-exciting trip to the marina for "treats" with Papa.

The kids thought it was so funny that that truck was about to go into the water! They watched it the whole time!

Just kickin' back and relaxin'.

The three amigos... or the three stooges.

More Great Times at the Lake

2007-06-27T17:15:00.000-05:00

Just havin' a good time!

My honey showin' his stuff on the wakeboard.

I don't know, I just like this one.

Aubrey really liked baby Ashlyn, her youngest cousin.

More great memories

2007-06-27T17:10:00.000-05:00

Papa shares his ice cream cone with his very appreciative grand daughter.
What better thing is there to do after finishing off a cold treat? Race up and down the dock!

This is probably Aubrey's favorite activity at the lake.

Josh and Aubrey swam from the boat to the shore.

Group Picture!

2007-06-27T17:05:00.000-05:00

After much effort trying to get a group picture of all the girl cousins, sadly, this was the best of what I got. Did any of the other photographers who were there get any good ones? I did end up with a great video, though, thanks to Ryan who filmed it all for me!

...And More Lake Fun

2007-06-27T16:30:00.000-05:00

Nana loves her grand babies!

And so does Papa!

Papa floating away on an "ice burg" (or huge piece of foam) the guys found on the lake.

Uncle Ryan slaloming like a pro!

Birthday number FOUR!!

2007-06-10T21:28:00.000-05:00

Taylor celebrated her fourth birthday with a horse riding party at the ranch. It is amazing to think that she has been a huge part of our lives for four years! She has been looking forward to being four for a long time, because that means you are really a big girl. Tomorrow is the first day of her Vacation Bible School. She keeps telling people that it is for four-year-olds, and that means she can go. Whenever she learns something new she attributes it to her being four now. She technically turned four today, and it was funny hearing her say several times, "I don't feel any different. I don't feel bigger. I still feel three and a half." One thing that was exhausting at the time but is funny now that I can look back at it and think she understands, was trying to help her understand the difference between a birthday party and an actual birthday. All day yesterday and plenty of times today we had conversations about how the party was when we celebrated her life, and her birthday is just the day/date she was born exactly 4 years ago. Try explaining that to someone who has very little concept of calenders and dates! *Maybe this is a good opportunity to start teaching that! I was planning on just letting her think she was really four at her party, but I think someone said something that brought up the question. The good thing is, now that she's 4 she understands so much more than when she was only three and a half!!... But you know, from God's point of view, that is how I sound when I think I know so much now because I am a "mature Christian adult"! And yet, He so patiently continues on loving me and teaching me.

Well, Taylor truly is an incredible blessing in our lives. I was just watching her play the other day and I was AMAZED at the fact that God has given her to ME to love her and to raise her. (This is one of those "why" questions that I will never be able to fully answer with my four-year-old mind.) But I wait with eager anticipation to see what this next year holds for her as she grows more and more in the grace of God and develops into the lady God has created her to be.

Happy to be four!

Taylor with Darin and Jody, some of our best friends ever and some of Taylor's favorite people ever.

2007-06-10T20:34:00.000-05:00

Taylor had a blast with so many friends and cousins all around her at one time! (I think she gets that from her mommy, and not so much form her daddy, who is much more of a one-person-at-a-time kind of guy.)

Aubrey just wants to be where the dogs are. She gets that from her daddy-mostly. This is Aubrey and Sky, Jake's new girlfriend.

2007-06-10T20:25:00.000-05:00

This is Rachelle, who is living on our cabin now and working with the horses on the ranch. Taylor loves her to death! "Because she is the best tickler in the whole wide world!" -Taylor
And now Aubrey as added "chelle" to her petite list of words.

Taylor had fun riding, but I think she enjoyed leading just as much!

Sharing the goodness!

Sisters and Buddies

2007-06-10T20:04:00.000-05:00

Misc. Ranch Memories

2007-05-15T16:57:00.000-05:00

Aubrey's checkin' out the deer feeder with Papa.

I think Taylor's favorite thing about going on walks in picking flowers to give to others.

Aubrey enjoyed seeing the donkeys who were joining us on our walk. She wanted to give them her rock "ball". I think she was getting them mixed up with dogs.

Nana and Aubrey

2007-05-15T16:48:00.000-05:00

Taylor wins! But it won't be long before the competition gets more challenging!

Aubrey is always right behind Taylor, whatever she is doing.

2007-05-15T16:43:00.000-05:00

Sweet baby Harrison, Jeff and Di's first-born.

Sometimes sad faces are just too adorable!

On your mark, get set...

Taylor really likes her little cousin.

Making lemonade

2007-05-15T16:25:00.000-05:00

Kristin, Ladonna and I planned on taking our girls to Sea World, but then found outit was closed the day we were going to go. So instead of being totally bumbed out we got together at my parents' house, and they had a great time playing together in the fountain! It has been so fun to watch these girls grow up together, and to see what great friends they are becoming.

"Ranch Work"

2007-05-15T16:17:00.000-05:00

helping Papa clean out their fountain

Fun With Cousins

2007-05-15T15:42:00.000-05:00

We came down to Texas for Josh's sister Hannah's high school graduation, which I am ashamed to say I did not remember my camera for. But the night of all these pictures was another highlight of the trip. We just had a great time hanging out with the Leininger side of the family at Greg and Kristin's house...

Papa reading with Micah and Aubrey...not enough lap space for all these grandkids! (Number 10 and 11 are on the way!)

Whenever Aubrey is happy about something she has just gotten or put on herself she walks around in circles very enthusiasticly! It is hard to capture but that is what she is doing here. Notice the "sho" and the hat. :)

Paul Bunyan

2007-05-15T15:23:00.000-05:00

We have been doing alot of work in our front and back yards since we moved into our new house. This is a huge tree stump that we found after tearing out a big, messy area of vines (and an old bird bath). We though we were almost finished, until we found this beast! But no physical task is too tough for Josh!! So he was out there swinging his ax like Paul Bunyan until he eventually pulled out the stump with his hands! Before he started wacking at the stump it was about 24" in diameter. And all this to make a pleasant and safe backyard for his little girls...and now there is a nice new fence were Josh is standing in the picture.

Our New Pets!

2007-04-09T22:11:00.000-05:00

This might just go down as one of my all-time favorite shots of Aubrey! (Although Taylor did not appreciate her ripping the worms apart. )
Last week we had some really beautiful weather, so we decided to take a break from working indoors and get some much needed yard work done. Well, while we were ripping out overgrown vines and groundcover we found about a thousand earthworms! Taylor began collecting them until she had more than she could hold in her hands. So we got a plastic container out to make a new home for them. Aubrey saw what was going on and decided she had other plans for these fun little stretchy, wiggly critters!..and she pulled them apart. Lucky for me I had my gloves on, because I don't think I could have admitted to them that I do not want to hold the worms with my bare hands!

The Big Hunt

2007-04-09T21:50:00.000-05:00

Last year we started an indoor chocolate Easter egg hunt tradition, because it always seems to be cold outside on Easter. So here are a couple of shots from that which Taylor looked forward to more than anything else as Easter day approached.

Happy Easter

2007-04-09T11:42:00.000-05:00

Here is our littlest one at Easter.
May the gospel of Jesus Christ bless you as you realize the newness it brings to those who are saved by it.

First dentist visit

2007-04-09T11:33:00.000-05:00

Taylor impressed all the ladies at the dentist office by how brave she was during her very first visit. You just never know how things are going to go the first time you do it, but this was no big deal at all for Taylor! We all went together and she and Aubrey got to watch me and Josh go first, so I think that helped. Anyways, we were very proud of our "brave little girl". Because we all did such a great job, we treated ourselves to our favorite pizza place Dewey's [right by the new house :)].

What a beautiful smile!

Climbing the Dogwoods

2007-04-09T10:57:00.000-05:00

This is Taylor getting a lesson on tree climbing safety from her loving Papa.

New House!

2007-04-09T10:52:00.000-05:00

For the second half of Spring Break my parents came up to help us move into our new home! (Yes, we have a wonderful new home now and we are loving it! More pictures of that when we are completely settled.) This is us having our first meal in our new dining room. Mom and Dad helped the transition go much more smoothly with Mom's organizational skills and Dad's big strong muscles! And their company made it fun. They even babysat one night so Josh and I could go on a double date with our friends who trade babysitting with us. (We've never gone on a double date with them because one of us is always babysitting!)
We walked to one of the parks within a half mile of our new home, and fed the ducks and geese.

TAYLOR (typed by Taylor)

Branson cont.

2007-04-09T10:35:00.000-05:00

Taylor on the go-carts! She did such a great job!! She even parked it just right. She went fast but she was consentrating so hard. It was really cute.

Branson

2007-04-09T10:30:00.000-05:00

For the first half of Spring Break we met my cousin Kelly and her family in Branson. It was great to get away with them. It was a much needed break from everything. Sometimes in life when it rains it pours, and it definitely seemed to be pouring in our lives at this point. We had just had a miscarriage, and also there was just alot of stuff we were dealing with at the time. But Kelly and Richard and the boys were such great company. We truly enjoyed ourselves and the kids had a great time together too.

Delivering Valentines

2007-04-09T10:11:00.000-05:00

We had a great time delivering valetines -and of coarse candy- to all of our Gulf Dr. friends. Taylor boldly went up and knocked at each door to pass out the little treasures. I really enjoyed watching her be such a big girl as "shyness" has been one of her struggles. She loves giving gifts, though. So this was a fun way to encourage her to approach others with confidence. She was actually disapointed the times when no one was home... And Aubrey just enjoyed walking in the snow. :)

The two loves of Aubrey's life- chocolate and shoes!

2007-04-09T09:54:00.000-05:00

Big Girl with Real Pigtails

2007-02-08T21:59:00.000-06:00

Catching up

2007-02-08T21:55:00.000-06:00

Here are the girls "having fun" sleding outside our house a few weeks ago. It was Aubrey's first time. She did really like it after that initial fear of the unknown was gone! Taylor loved it!
We went to the St. Louis Science Center and of coarse Taylor found the baby section and imediately became a pediatrician. And a very good one too! I don't know what God has instore for her future, but I do wonder if it has anything to do with babies.
This is just kind of the classic pose I get anytime I say, "Smile pretty for the camera!" P.S. This was intended to be a picture of Aubrey's first real pigtails. Can you see them? :)

Five whole years!

2007-02-08T21:41:00.000-06:00

Over Christmas break Josh and I got to go to Colorado for a late 5th anniversary trip. Our girls stayed in Texas with family and friends, and we are soooo grateful to them for allowing us to get away and have a great time alone together. We managed to snowboard for three days without any broken bones! "Thank You, Lord!"

A few more sailboat pictures

2007-01-28T18:15:00.000-06:00

Okay, for some reason, the last time I tried to post this it didn't go through. So, I will try again! New years day (yes, that was a long time ago) I had the exciting experience of sailing in the 1967 o'day sailboat that Josh, my dad and I "fixed up". Josh's Uncle Chris gave it and it's trailer to us after we discovered it in his back yard 5 years ago. To try to draw a mental picture of the condition it was in at that point, I'll just say it was so full of rotten, nasty water that it was folded down the middle, and the back end was laying on the ground! (The front half was up on the trailer.) And I doubt it had been sailed in 15 years or more. So now, after a LOT of tlc and time, we get the pleasure we have been waiting for! Actually, sadly, Josh didn't get to go out on it this time. But Dad- who is the one who finished the job- is keeping it at his lake house now, and he took Taylor and me and my neice Natasha for a ride. I think we were moving at about .2 knots, but we had a good time!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2007-01-28T17:28:00.000-06:00

Daddy's girls

2006-12-17T21:52:00.000-06:00

Father's Day is just too far away for me to wait to show off this picture! Josh- a man's man, big and tough athlete, outdoor roughin' it kind of guy- is the sweetest daddy to his two little girls! (This was a totally candid shot, by the way.)

Aubrey Meets Smoothie

2006-12-17T21:41:00.000-06:00

The other day I made smoothies for Josh, Taylor and myself. I decided to let Aubrey have a try. SHE LOVED IT! Notice the progression from the smoothie being mine (with Aubrey eagerly waiting for every bite!) to being Aubrey's. She is a funny kid.

2006-12-17T21:38:00.000-06:00

St. Louis Power Outage

2006-12-17T21:10:00.000-06:00

Many of you have expressed your concern for us because of the huge St. Louis power outage. We appreciate your concerns, and wanted to just let everyone know that though we did lose power for about 24 hours we were well taken care of by our neighbors and were SO glad when it came back on after just one day. (The power outage this summer left most of our street without power for a week, so when we lost it this time there was no telling how long it would be out!) I'm sorry I did not get the messege out sooner, but now you know.
The positive side of this experience was that the ice on all the trees was beautiful! I don't think I've ever seen the after-effects of an ice storm! Also, the girls got to play in the snow for the first time of the season. Taylor was excited about it but Aubrey...well, not so much.

Taylor's Quotables

2006-11-16T08:54:00.000-06:00

"Mommy, how do we get to Trader Joe's? Do you have the infections?"

Mommy: "At Thanksgiving we have turkey, and pie and stuffing, and..."
Taylor: "But sometimes we have stuffing in our noses!" (stuffing= stuffy)

Can you tell it must be sick season?

Good Ol' Tommy

2006-11-13T10:56:00.000-06:00

Taylor, Aubrey and I got to go to Texas for a short trip. We had a great time with those we got to see. Taylor was very excited about getting to ride Tommy. Here she is learning all about how to get a horse ready to ride. She brushed his body and combed his tail. (She is not quite ready to put the saddle on yet, but she would probably try!) So Tommy got a little bit of much needed excercise and Taylor had a great time on him with her cousins Caitlyn and Micah. Taylor is a girl after my own heart when it comes to horses, and it is neat to see her love for them develop. Thanks, Darin and Jody, for all your help!

Taylor and Caitlyn on Tommy.

Taylor leading Tommy like a read pro.

Taylor takes Aubrey for a ride! Aubrey likes the saddle horn.

Texas size fun!

2006-11-13T10:38:00.000-06:00

Way to go, Josh!

2006-10-31T12:27:00.000-06:00

Many of you know that last weekend our family went to Chicago to watch Josh run in the Chicago marathon. This was his second marathon in two years. He ran it with our neighbor David and my cousin Scott. We had a great time with Josh's old friends who now live in Chicago, and Taylor and their son were running non-stop all day Saturday. That is why Taylor fell asleep while we were waiting to see Josh in the marathon! We connected at miles 13 and 26, and we were glad to see him smiling at both! Taylor was looking very carefully for her daddy at mile 13, and she was very excited to see him. But, after a hot chocolate and cookie break, she fell asleep on the way to the mile 26 spot. Aubrey did not have to battle the cold and the wind because Josh's wonderful friends offered to keep her for the day. There was rain in the forecast but we are so thankful it never came!
Josh had problems with his knees and ankles all duringhis training and at mile 13 of the marathon he informed me that he felt like "his leg was about to fall off" it hurt so bad. But he never stopped until he crossed the finish! He says now he is ready to move on from marathons to triathlons so his body won't get such a beating. And for now he is resting his body while his brain is on overload with seminary classes and life decisions (very long story).

When we got back home Josh fell asleep on the couch, and Taylor decided he needed a blanket in order to have a truly good nap. So she took care of her daddy and gave him her kitty blanket.