time going by!

Daddy and big girl Morgan playing on the ground




















Special reading time.
He loves reading books and having books read to him

gotta wait!

I love that Morgan is getting older and I can have actual conversations with her. Of course it's not to deep like politics or the conspiracy of the US government but still, I love the simplicity of talking with her and interacting more with her.


Morgan has this way of understanding that if she can't have it now she "has to wait!!" She says "has to wait" with such urgency and strain in her voice, you would think that she has to wait till the torture is over not just until after dinner. She is beginning to understand the phrases of tomorrow or Sunday but still the term "next week" is so vague to her it might as well be never to her.


She says "got to wait!!" if we tell her that she can't have her candy until after dinner or can't go to school until Monday cause they are closed on Saturday. She get's so anxious and says it over and over again 'got to wait!! got to wait!!!'


The other day, when she was saying this while throwing herself on the couch, I looked at her and said, Morgan, most of life is about waiting.....the thought dawned on me that I need to listen to my own words in areas that I'm anxious and can't wait for it to happen and how I can bug my husband about things I want done now or things I can't wait to happen. But the reality is, I need to have more patience and understanding that in the waiting, that character comes and God's grace changes me..

so I will say with a smile "gotta wait!!!"

Sunny Saturday!

I have missed our sun shine here in Northern Nevada


Saturday it was here and so was the sun! and we loved it!! Soaking up everyminute in the backyard. One particular reason I am grateful for a warm sunny day is our backyard becomes an extension of our family room and I chill in the family room relaxing in the few minutes I have while the kids run and play and can't really get hurt on anything back there :) Ok minus the AC unit which I guess one could get hurt on just not sure how.

So there has been this rock in the back yard, and my in-laws got a rock driller awhile back. My father in law loves collecting rocks and has created a huge rock fountain of his own, so I got the idea of turning our own rock that is just lying there and kinda've large but not to big into a fountain that we could see from the backdoor. You know those one's you see where the water covers the rock and it's makes a nice watery sound. So I was going to endeavor to do this but was a bit daunted when my father in law warnded me that while I was drilling if it seemed to get really difficult to drill to let it go or it would break my wrist...hmmmm...broken wrist. Doesn't sound like that would make life very easy for me.


So I tactfully asked my husband if he would do it for me. Knowing that my love language is acts of service, his said yes! yes!! So this weekend it happened. Took him awhile as the rock was so big that the drill couldn't go through from just the top but Andy had to make two cuts one from the botton and top and connect them. It worked. I'm thrilled!!! Thank you Mike!!! for your rock driller!

highlights of our trip

Arrived back in Reno tonight. IT was raining and we were all so glad to be home! We had a great great time in Costa Rica. There were challenges some days with the kiddos but we over came and did not dwell on these :)


We didn't have to use Benadryl until the return trip home. Caden was totally over the traveling thing the morning we got on our return flight and by some encouragement from our group, ( I think the exact words were, "give that boy an IV of Benadryl!!!") we gave him some. Worked great from San Jose ( capital of CR) to Dallas. I would say the hardest part in traveling with an almost two year old was on the return flight to REno. He screamed yes screamed for probably a good half way through the 3 and 1/2 hour flight. We did every possible thing to make him stop. No could do mi amigos. Some people though must think you purposely want your child to scream in your lap for fun. Yah that's how I like to travel...haha...That's for you lady sitting in front of us glaring at us :p and hufffing and puffing


We stayed at a bed and breakfast in the capital the day we arrived and then the day before we left. It was great. The gal who owned it was German but spoke Enligsh and Spanish. She and her family had lived in Costa Rica for over 10 years. There were cats and dogs wandering around but always well behaved and the eating tables were in a kitchen outside. Yes I can give you the info if you want to go there yourself :). Her name was Margarita which must be one she specifically made for her self and this can be confusing when my husband was asking her for an actual Margarita. She actually owned the house that we stayed at the rest of the trip in the little town of Quepos. The house was amazing. Use to be a restaurant in it's earlier days but the family lived there after that for 6 years. It had a great view of the ocean and the family room /kitchen/ dining room/ didn't have any walls to the outside. IT was like a Robinson Crusoe tree house. It had 3 pools that all connected. It was very nice :)


We sweated like pigs down there and I'm frankly surprised we have skin left. There is no place like home and we were ready to come home. Everything looks fresher and newer coming home. I need to remember to pray for those eyes to have so I don't have to go on vacation to see my familiar surroundings like that :)


Side note: Costa Rica airport security by far the most long and detailed I have been through ever. Pat downs right before we got on the plane. Carry on luggage checked twice, hand searched each time. I was thrilled now but sweating in a bus load of people seeing the search lines and having to drop and pick up our luggage while steering 2 screaming kids, I was not so thrilled at the time.



pictures will follow :)