Hi

It's been a busy week here at our house. After a fun weekend with two wonderful friends, and a short week, we drove to Georgia to visit my family and celebrate the birthdays of two very special people - my sister Amy and my niece Anna. The kids loved playing at Grandma's house. Lucas enjoys sitting on the swing beside his Grandpa Paul. At four years old, he already knows how to sit and "shoot the breeze" with Paw-Paul. Sweet pea Ava is in the process of cutting 4 molars at the same time!!! Poor baby girl! But she had a blast watching Grandma's cats! I worked hard on getting her to say "cat" instead of her favorite word "dog" and she caught on! She also said a word for banana this weekend, "na-na". Too cute :)

I'm truly loving this age for both kids. Lucas is goofy, imaginative and much less argumentative. I truly believe the hard work Matt and I invested in teaching Lucas to submit to our authority is finally paying off! Praise Jesus! Ava is outgoing and full of laughter! She never meets a stranger. In fact, we seem to talk to every stranger we see! She loves to get her grubby hands on L's matchbox cars and planes. She swooshes them in the air while making "vroom" sounds! We are working on getting her to walk and she took 2 steps tonight!!!! Way to go baby girl!

Matt and I are so thankful for this amazing time in our lives. We have learned to find the joy in the midst of the routine and challenges of life. As we were walking our neighborhood tonight, I couldn't help but thank Jesus for 8 years with this wonderful man. I think Matt is even more handsome then he was on our wedding day. I love the wisdom I see in his eyes and deepening of his smile lines. I am so thankful that we have a lifetime together ahead of us!