Our vacation has begun!

Were here!! We left our place about 9:30am on Sunday June 28th, and arrived at Eagle Crest early afternoon. It was about a 6 1/2 hour drive. LeAnne did very well. She took two good naps and was entertained by her toys.

We are staying in a very nice room on the 3rd floor with a wonderful view of the golf course, trees and mountains. I love that our room has it's own kitchen and it's very cozy. LeAnne enjoyed playing at the playground while daddy checked in. She was trying to reach a branch so I told her to jump, she did and it is the cutest thing I've ever seen.

After getting settled we headed over to see Uncle Matt & Aunt Pam who only live about 5 miles away. Uncle Matt cooked us a yummy dinner and we had a good time visiting with them. There house & back yard are really nice. We met our nephew, Cash, for the first time. He's a 1 year old cutie! Of course adorable Emma was putting on quite the show for us. She's 3 years old, beautiful and full of personality. LeAnne entertained herself in their back yard! They have lots of fun toys and her favorite was the Little Tike's Playhouse. (like this) There's was a little different in color and it was complete with a kitchen. They scored it at a thrift store so family & friends please be on the look out for one of these for our girl. They're way too expensive to buy new and if we all keep our eyes open we might just find one.

Okay lil girl didn't sleep so well last night so she's a bit crabby. We were up many times and then up early. We are off to check out the resort, back to room to have her nap (we hope) and we'll meet up with family in the afternoon to check out the spray park up the road.

Beautiful view from our room.


Relaxing on the couch with a late night snack


She loved playing on luggage cart

Thankful Thursday

Howdy & welcome to another installment of Thankful Thursday. Come along with me as I ramble on about what I am thankful for at this moment.

Thankful for my Summer vacation! I love being home with our daughter. I love our morning snuggle time. I love our daily walk to the park. I love watching her play in her pool on warm summer days. I love talking to her about everything we see and hear, hoping she'll start talking more & more.

Thankful my husband is now on vacation for 10 days! I know he has a list of projects he wants to do around the house but I hope he takes a break too. He works very hard!

Thankful can lean on Jesus and trust Him in all situations. It is so comforting to know He is with us ALWAYS & he has already written our stories.

Thankful we are able to take a vacation to Eagle Crest, Oregon for a week. Grateful for the time Grammy & Grampy gave us in their time share! Excited to meet our nephew for the first time and see our niece again. Thrilled to see all John's family. We don't see them near enough.

Thankful LeAnne is saying a new word, "whoa" and making animal sounds for a bear, a cat, a birdie, a cow, a sheep, and a dog.

Thankful for God's word. Especially thankful for my quiet time reflection about marriage. Thankful for God's wisdom.

Thankful for an amazing wedding last Saturday. My niece made a beautiful bride! LeAnne was entertaining. She made it down the aisle. :-) The weather was perfect, decorations awesome, food was sensational, and the ceremony was very special.

Thankful for God's provisions. I am thankful we have enough and are making ends meet. Pray we follow God's guidance, pray we are responsible & resource full with God's provisions.

Thankful for the time we've had to visit with family from out of town. It's great to see them. Thankful they could stay so long.

Thankful for the safe travels for everyone who was here for the wedding.

Thankful family time.

Thankful for facebook, and the blogs I follow.

Thankful for photography & scrapbooking. I love preserving the memories for my children.

Thankful for the warm summer weather.

Thankful oh so thankful!

Thanks for joining me for Thankful Thursday! What are you thankful for?

Our tap dancing girl/pics w/Auntie & Nana

It was a beautiful summer day here in our neck of the woods. LeAnne spent a few hours playing outside. I filled up her swimming pool a little this morning so the water could get warmed up but do you think she played in it at first. No, she played in her bucket & her wagon that both had water in them.

In the afternoon Grandma, Nana & Auntie Katie came over for a visit. I am thrilled LeAnne is warming up to her family. She has been giving kisses, sitting next to them and let Auntie Katie pick her up today. Here are some priceless pictures!

Thank-you Auntie Laura for the adorable tap shoes! She LOVES them!

We are so HAPPY daddy is off work for 10 days! :-)

Cadid pictures from Wedding

Here are just a few candid shots that Auntie Katie took of LeAnne at her Cousin's wedding on Saturday June 20th.

She was dressed & ready for pictures and I was trying to keep her clean.



Boy it was hard to keep her still to get a decent picture! :-)



Picking up petals was one way to keep her still.



Can I eat them?

Beautiful busy babbling lil girl in pink

I wanted to be sure to catch LeAnne in this adorable outfit but she wasn't being very cooperative so I took a video & it turned out pretty cute so enjoy! Thank-you Auntie Laura for this outfit.

Letting lose after the wedding

It was an amazing wedding! The homestead where the wedding was held was breath taking. The decorations were simple & eloquent. My niece was a gorgeous bride! After some concern about the weather it couldn't have turned out more beautiful. All of the brides maids looked amazing. The girls clean up nice. The flower girls looked like little princesses. A lot of people worked very hard to make this wedding awesome. Overall LeAnne's behavior was exceptional. She is definitely a free spirited 20 month old. When it came time to go down the aisle she was quite entertaining. She refused to hold hands with the other 2 flower girls, walked behind them and headed right for the ropes so daddy coaxed her down the aisle then her and the next youngest flower girl played on a white blanket behind the brides maids during the ceramony. It was a great ceramomy. Once the ceremony was done we swooped up LeAnne, changed her into another dress so she could play and oh boy did she play. We changed her a little too soon (oops missed the whole wedding party pictures) but she was done, and I was done. She ran all over the farm and daddy & I took turns chasing her. She was one exhausted girl that night. I'll share formal wedding pictures as soon as I get access to them.

She loves being on daddy's shoulders!



Playing on the straw bales


Running through the trees



Our pretty princess next to wedding flowers

Thankful for the men in my life

Good morning! This post needs help so I am doing some editing...

I am very thankful for three important men in my life: My dad, My husband & My little brother.

Thank-you Dad for all of your love, support and encouragement over the years. In my adult years I have really appreciated being able to come talk with you because I knew you would just listen and then quietly offer your thoughts. You also make it clear that you believe in me and have confidence in whatever decision I would make. I am very happy you will be here to spend father's day with us this year.

My dear husband I love you more than words can express. One of the very first things that made me think you might be husband material was when I watched you interact with Amanda. You are an amazing father! I know it's been difficult for you being separated from Amanda but I admire the effort you put into staying connected with your girl! I love watching your bond with LeAnne. She definitely adores her daddy! I pray this relationship will continue to grow and last a life time. You are the type of man I've always wanted for a husband & father for our children. I pray that our daughters too will find a man like you someday.... a long time from now of course. Thank-you John!

I can't wait to get a great big bear hug from my little brother today! I can't wait to see his smile & watch him be uncle to our nieces! I am so thankful for how close we were during our childhood. He helped me through a lot of rough days and boy did we have some fun times together. We never fought, well except for the summer of spatula and knives (no one was hurt..badly). I admire what a great husband he is to his wife. I know he will be an amazing daddy because of his fun, loving nature. It will be interesting to see his parenting style and see him turn to mush while holding his child. I am very proud of you little brother! Thank-you for being a great lil brother!

Here is a poem I like & a short video;

What Is A Dad?

A dad is someone who
wants to catch you before you fall
but instead picks you up,
brushes you off, and lets you try again.
A dad is someone who
wants to keep you from making mistakes
but instead lets you find your own way,
even though his heart breaks in silence
when you get hurt.
A dad is someone who
holds you when you cry,
scolds you when you break the rules,
shines with pride when you succeed,
and has faith in you even when you fail.
Dad, you're everything a dad should be and more...

Susan Ceylise