Jonah is in 7th grade and will be turning 13 in 2 months.  He still loves playing basketball and guitar.  He is so much like his dad and that’s a good thing!

Karis is in 5th grade and will be turning 11 this Christmas.  She loves to play the piano and draw; she is very talented in both areas.  She is a beautiful young lady, inside and out!

Aubrey is in 2nd grade and is 7 years old.  She is also a very talented artist and is enjoying reading.  She is in constant motion and thoroughly enjoys turning cartwheels and flips.  She is working on back bends and is hoping to learn hand springs.  She is a joy to all she meets.

We are so blessed to know and love these 3!  They are a delight to us and we are so thankful for them!

We toured the place and then chocolate shakes for all!  Cute place!  It didn’t take all day, so we still had pizza with Unky and played in the pool for the rest of the day!  Ahhhhh, vacation!

My favorite spot was the WW2 Memorial.  Both of my grandfathers served in the war.  Grandpa Raymond was with the Navy and Grandpa Webb was with the Army.

I am very proud of them and their willingness to serve their country.  It was very moving to see this beautiful memorial and to remember the sacrifice of so many.

WW2 memorial

WW2 memorial

WW2 Memorial

The kids loved the Lincoln Memorial.

So did we!

The Jefferson Memorial

On the steps of the Jefferson Memorial

With George Mason

Franklin D. Roosevelt

FDR Memorial

Last stop of the day and they’re all still smilin’!

Aubrey with her very fist girl cousin!  We were all so excited!  A girl cousin!  A niece!  What a joy!

Of course we were happy to see Unky and Aunt T, as well!

I couldn’t get enough of Riley!  I savored every second that I got to hold her, feed her, snuggle her.  She is such a happy baby!

Aubrey couldn’t get enough of Rocky.  She carried him 90% of our time there.  The other 10% was spent in the pool!  Poor Rocky!

We had such a great time with Adam and Tiana.  Thanks for letting us come and stay for the week!  We had a blast! We love you – all 4 of you!

March:

Jonah finished up his basketball season.  His team did a fantastic job and we loved going to his games to cheer him and his team on.

We traveled to Florida to visit J’s folks for Spring Break.  We were surprised to find out that J’s dad took the week off of work, so we were able to hang out with him a lot more than we had anticipated.

Snuggled in watching a movie

J’s mom took us all to Legoland for a day!  We loved it!  What a great place!

One day, we took the kids to see Winter, the dolphin from the movie Dolphin Tale, at the Clearwater Aquarium.  Honestly, it was rather disappointing, but my kids thought it was pretty cool.

Winter was in the tank behind the kids.  She was not wearing her tail.  Bummer!

Petting the sting rays was a highlight

On our way home, we got to have lunch with Aunt Heather, Micah and Levi.

After we got home, Karis got to try her hand at throwing pottery.  She did a great job!

April was a full month of school, but the only pictures I have are from Easter Sunday.

May was the best month of 2012… so far!

We celebrated Aubrey’s 7th birthday with a pasta party with her 2 best buddies.  She had talked forever about having a rainbow party, so her cake reflected that idea.

Shells or angel hair?  Red sauce or white sauce?

Then on May 3, her big day, she woke up to a rainbow themed breakfast in bed.  Daddy and Mommy took her out to McDonald’s for lunch for a birthday shake.  What a great day celebrating our littlest, who isn’t all that little anymore!

Rainbow pancakes and rainbow fruit skewers

Hello Kitty watch

Jonah and Karis chose and paid for her birthday gift.  She loved it!

That afternoon, we left for Kansas City for Jason’s Seminary Graduation.  Friday morning was the Baccalaureate service. I was so proud of him, I was almost bursting!

Saturday was the graduation ceremony.  It was a beautiful service.  What made it even better was all the family and friends that made the trip out to K.C.  Jason’s mom, sister and nephew, my mom and dad, and our pastor and his wife all came out to celebrate with us!  Jason wouldn’t tell you this, but I am happy to brag on him!  He graduated with highest honors – 4.0!  I am so proud of him.  Sem work isn’t easy, but to do it while in full-time ministry with a family and to finish so well.. I just know how much it really took and I am a very proud wife!

My Hunky Graduate

A very proud family

My parents with J

Pastor Jerry and Cindy

J and his beautiful sister, Terra

J and his mom

Jason and I left the Monday after graduation for our 15th anniversary trip to Jamaica!  It was glorious!

View from our window

Relaxing by the pool

We had an amazing week, all to ourselves, with no distractions.  Ahhhh!

Jamaica was gorgeous!  We loved every minute of our time together.  It was just like a honeymoon!

Sun rise on our first morning

The beach was so beautiful

I’m very thankful for a godly husband, who continues to point me to Christ and shepherds me in right thinking.  I am so blessed!

While we were traveling home from Jamaica, Jonah had a talent show at school.  He was the final act.  He played his guitar and sang “Who Am I” by Casting Crowns.  My dad videoed for us so we could still see him.  I think I cried, I was so proud of him!

The day after we came home, Karis had her end of year piano recital.  She did a great job!  We were so proud of her!

Karis and her teacher, Mrs. Fitts

A week later, we finished school for the year.  Yee-Haw!  Summer is here!

The rest of May was all about swimming, reading and enjoying the Memorial Day Church picnic.  All fun stuff and no pictures to show for it!

June:

Lots of reading – all the kids are participating in the reading program at the library.  They are reading machines!  At the beginning of June, Karis had already completed the first 2 levels!

Our dear friends, the McCauleys, came to stay with us for a week.  They are missionaries in Austria, home on furlough.  We love them and always enjoy getting to spend time with them.

After they left, we sent Aubrey off on her first ever trip to Grammy and Papa’s all by herself!  7 is the magic number for this trip. She had a great week and felt like big stuff!

2 days later, we sent Jonah off on his first ever summer camp experience.  Camp Ascend.  Totally cool!  He had a blast!  I missed him, but I was so happy for him to have this opportunity.  He even paid for a substantial part of the cost.  When did he become old enough to do this?  How did I get old enough to have a son old enough …

This left our Karis all alone at home with mom and dad.  She had a blast that week, too!  We never have had all that time with just her!  So fun! Trip to St. Charles with mom and a Cardinals game with dad.

Now we are at the end of June and it is VBS week at NCC.  It’s always so cool! This is Jonah’s first year to be a helper.  He is in the fort helping the kids make bug catchers.  He loves every minute!  Karis invited her neighbor friend and is enjoying having a friend join her at VBS.  Aubrey loves bugs, so this years theme “Bug Zone” is a huge hit with her!