5th Birthday to First Day of Kindergarten

 I know it has been a while, would be an understatement.  We are now in Michigan and really loving it.  I can't even begin to remember everything that has happened in the last few months so here are some pictures.  Enjoy!

Getting ready to Celebrate Lauren's 5th Birthday!

We had a bonfire and smores.  So much fun!

The girls in our youth group had a Sleep over at our house.  Tons of Fun!  This is taken at 6am, and you should have seen the kitchen :)

Lauren with her bow and arrow.  She loves Susan from the Narnia movies.

Brad's parents came for a weekend and helped us with all the landscaping in front of our house.

This is the finished product.  I can't wait til spring to plant some flowers!

Good Morning to the Kindergartener!

First day of school outfit.

Our big girl.

Excited and ready to go!

Waiting outside her school.  It was in the low 50's... BRRR!

Sept. 6, 2011.  1st day of Kindergarten

Sitting at her table with her first assignment, to draw a picture of something she did this summer.

Last Week of Preschool, Our 1st 5K, and a Goodbye

Last Thursday we had family pictures taken.  It was pretty entertaining, behind the camera, that is.  It was a lot of fun and Andrew and Allison had a big "little" surprise for us during the pictures.  They are expecting BABY #4!    Allison's sister Lissy has her own photography business and was able to do our pictures for us - She did a great job.  the pictures look great. You can check out a sneak peek of the pictures at missprissiness.wordpress.com.

Lauren had a big week this last week.  This was Lauren's last week in preschool.  On Wednesday her teachers had a field day for the kids.  My job is just 5minutes from Lauren's school so I ran over to watch.  It was so cute.  The teachers put together a few races for the kids and a soccer kick and frisbee throw, oh, and a dandilion picking contest :).  All the kids got medals and ribbons.  Lauren was very proud of hers.  Thursday was Lauren's last day of school.  They were suppose to have a water day, but unfortuately when we got up Thursday morning it was raining.  I went ahead and packed Lauren's swimsuit in case the sun came out- it didn't, but all the kids still got to put on their suits anyway.  They also got to have Happy Meals for lunch that day.  Check out "Lauren's Short Stories" on the right for that story.  Brad and I were really glad we decided to put Lauren in the Preschool during our time here in north Missouri.  She has learned so much, she has even started reading some.  It's hard to believe, and really exciting that come September she will be starting Kindergarten. 

This morning Brad and I got up bright and early and drove to Trenton, MO to run in our first 5k.  I always get really nervous before stuff, so I think I was driving Brad a little crazy on our hour and 20 minute drive there,  cause he just wanted to relax.  Anyway we finally got there and signed in and pinned on our numbers.  The race was a lot of fun, and we definately want to run another one, which is good because Bridgewood (the church we are going to in MI) is having one in the end of July.  The race route had a lot of hills, so that was tough.  Brad finished ahead of me and did really great, I ran the whole race (which was my goal) and I was happy with my time.

A sad note... My grandma, Granny B, passed away today.  She was 90 years old, and about 2 or 3 weeks ago the doctors found out that she had a cancerous tumor in her stomach.  Brad, Lauren and I were able go down last weekend to see her and have lunch with her, my parents and uncle.  I'm really glad that we had the chance to go see her one more time.  She was a really great Granny B, and these last few weeks my mind has been flooded with so many happy and fun memories that she made with us.  Love her!  

May in a Nut Shell

I'm going to have to put the whole month of May in one blog, since I haven't blogged in a while.
Brad and I have been running, so we decided to sign up for our first 5k.  Well actually, I told Brad he should do one and I found one to sign him up for, so he said I had to sign up too.  We run on June 4th.
A couple weeks ago we got to go back down to Arkansas for a wedding.  Brad was one of the pastors doing the ceremony.  Congrats Mr. and Mrs. Turner!!!  It was such fun wedding and really beautiful.  They had a dance at the reception; Brad and I took turns dancing with Lauren.  (Isn't it funny what you will do for your kid, that you would never do before.)  We got a chance to hang out with some friends while we were there and catch up.  It was nice to see everyone again.  Sunday, we stopped in Ozark to go to James River A/G for mother's day and then went to lunch with the Teague's.  We stuck around for a while to chat and let Lauren and Brimmer (lauren's cousin) play for a while in their sprinkler.

I took Lauren to get her hair cut.  She does not like having her hair touched or brushed or washed or anything.  She has also been asking to get her hair cut short like one of her friends.  So I gave in and she got the haircut she wanted.  Which she loves and looks super cute too.  It is so much easier to brush and fix now, which I love.

And our big, exciting news... We took a trip in April to visit Bridgewood Church in Clarkston, MI.  We had a chance to meet the pastors and their leadership team and got to go to one of their Sunday Services (undercover).  So this last week we went back for another visit.  We were able to stay for a week.  Brad preached in the youth service Wednesday night and both Sunday Morning services.  We had a chance to meet with the parents of the teens in the church and Saturday got to have a BBQ and scavenger hunt with the teens- So fun!  The more time we spent with people the more God confirmed that this was a great pastor, team and church to serve.  They offered us the Student Ministry position and we accepted.  We will be moving there in early July.  Thanks Pastor Curt and Christy for the opportunity to serve and minister to the youth at Bridgewood and the area, excited does not even begin to describe it.

Sorry I only have a few pics this time.  I try and take more for the next post.

The Haircut

Lauren got to hang out with her BF, Brett, before we flew to Michigan.

By the way "BF" is for Best Friend", not Boy friend.  She's too young.

I got to sit by these two crazy people on the airplane.

Running Lesson

In the last two months I started running again.  And when I say again, I mean it has really been a long while.  So the first two weeks I started, I was really out of shape, and I would run a little way and walk and then run a little more. 
I don't know why, but I have this habit when I run that I pick some object like a tree or light post and I tell myself -"Run there and then I can stop, I'm done."  Then a few weeks ago, I went out to run and at first I was going to pick my spot where I could stop running and then I just decided to run until I couldn't.  I made it twice as far as my normal stopping point and I kept running and by the time I did stop, I had gone 3 or 4 times as far than I thought I could!
When I stopped running I turned around and started walking back.  And I do have to say that I was very proud of myself for running so much farther than I thought I could.  While I was still walking back and feeling proud of myself, God challenged me.  And I wondered how many times I had put limits on God.  How many times did God have more but I got a little wore down and picked my place to stop, instead of forgetting my comfort and seeing how far and where God could have taken me.
*From a simple run down a rock road, I learned a valuable lesson.  I'm going to strive to keep going, evening when I'm tired and I think 'this would be a great place to stop', and follow after God and until HE says stop.  I'm positive, I'll be amazed.

Easter and a Track Meet

Well here I sit trying to think about what has been going on since I blogged last.  We've had a lot going on, but I'll just stick with what we have pictures of. 
The Saturday before Easter, Kristin and I took the girls to an Easter egg hunt at Truman University.  Granny and Papa came to watch the girls and of course Luke came too, although he'll have to wait til next year to get in on the hunt.  The Truman bulldog was there and the Easter Bunny.  Lauren did not want her picture with the bulldog, but I did get one of her with the Bunny.  The egg hunt was basically a free for all.  The eggs were everywhere and it was so fun to watch the kids run to a big pile of eggs, pick up one egg and then look around like they can't find anymore.  Lauren made out pretty well.  Easter morning we went to church and celebrated our Risen King!  After we went to lunch with my side of the family.  Later we had another Easter egg hunt with Granny and Papa.  Granny was smart and stuffed the eggs with stickers and small toys, which helped reduce the candy intake.  And we finished out the night hanging out at Matthew and Kristin's.
Oh and I would like to mention that Lauren and I did color a dozen eggs and even did some of them with glitter.  So I think I earn my award in patience, cause doing things like that, that can spill and make big messes stress me out big time.  It actually was fun and Lauren had a great time.

Today Lauren and Ellie got to play while Andrew took Jackson turkey hunting.  The girls made paper dolls with Granny and then headed outside to play.  They played on the swing and even figured out that they could both fit and swing together.  They also played with bubbles and chalk, and tried to fly Lauren's kite. 

This afternoon we took Lauren to a community track meet.  It was something for kids ages 5 to 14, so I check to see if Lauren could participate, since she's still 4 and she could.  So she got to complete in a softball throw, a long jump and a 50 yard dash.  We've been practicing racing here at home, so she was excited about the race.  The throw and the jump she liked, but the race was the most fun.  Brad helped her practice throwing the soft ball for a while before it was her turn.  She did great on her first and third throw and well... we'll just say her second throw was more like a bowl.  For the race, she did great.  She ran with the 5 and 6 year olds and started slow, but once she saw she was behind she ran so hard to catch the others and finished well.  We spent this evening running race after race with her.  I think she's got the racing bug, which I like, because I loved running when I was young.
It was so fun to see her compete today and try to do her best.  Brad and I were so proud of her!

A Very Special Sunday ChurchLeaders com Christian Leadership Blogs, ...

Found this on youtube and loved it.  How important is it to make sure that our children know that Easter is so so much more than just a bunny and candy.  Let your kids know what Jesus did for them and everyone.  The great love He showed on the cross and still gives to us today.

Remember, Mud Puddles

Saturday, Lauren went outside to play on the swing.  Brad looked out the window to check on her and she was playing in a mud puddle.  Since she had on rain boots we thought it was ok.  A few minutes later, she was out of her boots and barefoot.  By the time she was done playing, which was probably 45 minutes to an hour later, she was in nothing but her undies.  It was fun to watch her, and remember how fun it was to be a kid and play in mud, get messy, and make mud pies.  Even my parents puppy, "Buddy" played with her for a while.