Wedding Weekend

This weekend we travelled to McPherson, KS for Jerry's brother James' wedding. Here are the four of us, on Saturday morning before the wedding. Carter decided he needed to scream bloody murder during most of the 65 mile drive. In case you hadn't guessed, he still hates his carseat. Oh well... he's happy here. =)
It was great to see Anna (Jerry's 2nd cousin) and her husband, Austin, and their girls, Holly and Laney. (Carter was sound asleep... and we didn't move him!!)Vonny (Jerry's sister), her husband, Joe, and their boys, Caleb and Nolan

Grayson and Caleb had fun running around together!

Jerry, Jenny, and Darren with Carter

Jacey and I observing the wedding pics and catching up on life... The three groomsmen (Jerry, Darren, and Aric) with Alicia

Anna and I with our babies -- they're only 4 days apart!! It cracks me up how Carter and Laney are totally looking the same way... =)

This is Jerry's complete extended family -- all 5 siblings with spouses and kids (except Carter who was peacefully napping...never wake a sleeping baby!!)

Seated: LaJane with Grayson, Vonny with Nolan and Caleb

Front: Jenny, Alicia, James, Frank, Joe

Back: Jon, Jacey, Darren, me, Jerry

Pray for Kate

Through another blog that I read, I came across a sweet family who is going through a terrible struggle right now. Their 5 year old daughter, Kate, was diagnosed recently with a malignant brain tumor. Please pray for healing for Kate... I can't imagine what they must be going through. Here is a short video Kate's dad put together about her day-to-day activities in the hospital.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0WlAGsOE3M

And, if you want updates on Kate, they have a Caring Bridge/blog site here:

http://www.prayforkate.com

God is faithful -- keep praying!!

No more training wheels...

While I was in Texas this weekend, Jerry taught Grayson how to ride his bike without the training wheels!

5 months old!!

It's hard to believe that 5 months ago today our "Carter-Crunch" (his new nickname) was born! Wow! Since I've been debating about scratching the whole scrapbook thing (except for trips) and only keeping up through blogging, I thought I'd share a few of Carter's new tricks.

• He's gotten his first two bottom teeth, and they're sharp!!
• Sleep-wise...well, he still varies... he's gone as long as from 10p-8a, but usually gets fed at 10p and then sleeps until 3 or 4, up for a feeding, and then down again until 8a. I guess you could say he still gets up once a night. =) He's mostly sleeping on his tummy, semi-swaddled.
• Food-wise...he loves, loves, loves his rice cereal. He eats it ferociously after his morning bottle. I'm serious!! He's also had baby food at dinner -- and liked all of it. He's tried squash, sweet potatoes, sweet peas, corn, and peaches.
• Play-wise...he can roll from his tummy to his back, and is really trying to go the opposite way. He likes his Bumbo seat, and loves to hold his own toys and play/chew on them. He can grab his own toes, and he loves to make loud squealing/screeching noises.
• In general -- he still prefers just to be held. He likes his carseat a little better, but still fusses when you strap him in. He loves playing at the pool and watching Grayson. He's very content to ride around in the Baby Bjorn so he can look all around.
• And finally, he's starting to get a little more hair. Yippee!!

Has it really been 10 years??

My sweet friend, Missy, came to visit this afternoon. It has been 10 years since we have seen each other!!! I can't believe it! We became friends during our KU years when we met in Campus Crusade for Christ. We were in the same girls' Bible study during our sophomore year. Needless to say, we had a wonderful time catching each other up on our lives.We had a great time reminiscing about all the crazy stuff we did while at KU. Talking about which college friends we still talk to (Missy and I actually reconnected through Facebook), and where everyone's lives have taken them. We laughed over the memories of our girls' Bible study planning a "creative date" for the guys, and the guys planning "creative dates" for us girls. We re-hashed our fun intramural basketball team... complete with matching jerseys and our hysterical coach, Adam. How he ever put up with all of us girls -- I'll never know. =) We remembered going to Christmas Conference in Denver, CO each winter with a huge group from KU, and the fun that it was. We talked about our sweet leader and mentor, Shawna, and what a special place she had in each of our lives. Thanks so much for stopping by, Missy! It was great to catch up with you!

A Fabulous Fourth of July

David, Kristen, and Brett all came to Wichita on Thursday evening to spend the 4th of July weekend here with all of us. Yea! We had a ball with them. =) The weekend went by way too quickly...

Carter with Aunt Kristen -- she's the best at making him smile!

Another stop at the fireworks tent... this time for some BIG ones!

"We LOVE Roman Candles!!"

Grayson feeding the fish in Nana and Gramps' koi pond in their back yard

The view from Mom and Dad's new deck... the back yard with the gazebo. Mom got a contest going with the (adult) boys -- whoever could hit the gazebo's roof with a water balloon would win a prize. It's harder than it looks... seriously! =)

Dave's attempt...

Brentley in action...

Don't fall off the deck, Jerry!!

Happy Fourth of July from Carter and Grayson!

Lounging outside on the deck, just hanging out

The uncles went to wake up Grayson from his nap in "his" room at Nana and Gramps' house... and they took Carter in with them!

We had a blast (no pun intended) shooting off TONS of fireworks in our driveway, and then we all headed over to our neighbors' home where they go WILD!! The culmination of the big show was when they brought out their Christmas tree... saved from December and soaked in lighter fluid... and lit it up with black cats and fountains in the middle of the street. It was awesome!! At one point, there were 155 of our neighbors all in their front yard. Everyone was chanting "Christmas Tree! Christmas Tree!" until they brought it out for the finale. =)

Oh, what we do in Kansas for fun...

The fam on Sunday at lunch... could be the parents' Christmas card pic!

The girls plus Carter

The guys in the gazebo

What a fabulous Fourth of July weekend! Thanks to David, Kristen, and Brett for making the trip back to the 'Ta. We always LOVE having you here! Hope to see you again soon! We love you!

Aunt Laura comes to visit!

A week ago Sunday, Aunt Laura (my mom's sister) came to visit from California! We had a great time with her here in Wichita! She helped Mom with decorating the new house, played with Grayson and Carter, did fireworks, watched Grayson's t-ball game, and helped us all celebrate Mom's birthday. Here are some snapshots of her time here... Cute brothers =)
Aunt Laura meeting Carter for the FIRST time at the airport!

Aunt Laura and Grayson at the fireworks tent

Happy Birthday, Mom!! We celebrated with a girls' lunch, and then after G's t-ball game that night, we all enjoyed a yummy Dairy Queen ice cream cake.

Mom, Aunt Laura, me

A big smile from Carter -- do you see his two new bottom teeth??

Thanks for coming to visit, Aunt Laura! We loved having you here!!!