The Duncans

2011: A year I don't want to repeat but never want to forget

2012-02-02T09:54:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking for the past month that I need to write down the major (and maybe not so major) life lessons I learned in 2011. If you read my blog at all, you know we have had a lot of changes and a lot of challenges this year. I hope to never experience a year like it again, but I also want to remember the ways the Lord revealed himself to us and the ways we have grown as a family! I am so thankful that I serve a God who is refining us through the fire! One of the verses I have clung to is this:

"⁶ In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. ⁷ These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." -I Peter 1:6-7

What a hopeful promise! So anyway, I am certain this post will seem a bit disjointed at parts, but I just want to put down on paper (or, in this case, the world wide web) my reflections on the year.

1. There is absolutely no way to plan for our lives on our own. You would think we would have learned this when Elijah came along unexpectedly just after our one year anniversary, but apparently we are slow learners :). So many decisions Kirk made during his time at Roche (getting a masters, accepting a position as a team leader, etc) were done as a way to position himself for the "next best thing" in his career. We thought he would get laid off, have an MBA, and get a great (and better) job somewhere else. We were wrong. Very wrong. Not only did it take him 7 months to land a job, but it was an entry level, contract position. We thought we would stay in Indiana and continue to build our relationships and family there. We were wrong. Very wrong. When times got tough, we had to make tough decisions. We thought we would be happy with 2 kids for a while and wait until we were in a "better" financial position to grow our family. You get the picture: we were very wrong. However, our misconceptions of how things were gonna go only proved to us the divine story God was writing in our lives. We have already seen him reveal himself through these times and I am certain we will continue to see Him show up as we move forward.

2. Life works best when you live in community with the body of Christ. Christian community is something I thought I understood before this year. I've been around Christians my whole life. I went to a college that took great pride in its strong community feel. I have always had wonderful Christian friends who have prayed for me and supported me. But wow...never have I experienced it like this year! When we desperately needed help, we never even had to ask for it. We had friends who cooked us dinners just because, friends who sacrificially gave to us because the Lord prompted them to do so, friends who prayed for us, cried with us (or cried with me...Kirk's emotions aren't quite as close to the surface :)), and cared for us in way that absolutely blew us away. We even have a family who took us under their own roof! Our pastor shared 2 Corinthians 9:13-15 on Sunday and I couldn't help but think of all of my brothers and sisters in Christ who have allowed God to accomplish His work through them:

^"13 Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. ¹⁴ And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. ¹⁵ Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!"

3. Marriage is a great gift: one that needs to be nourished and protected. Again, this is not a new concept, just one that has been proven to me in a new way this year. We have had a hard year and we have been reminded of how important it is that we invest in our relationship and try our best to reflect Christ and the church. This is a huge job...and huge privelege!

4. Our children are our heritage. If we could, Kirk and I would give our children the world. We love them more than we could have ever imagined. I don't ever want them to miss an opportunity or feel like they were lacking something because of our financial situation. This year, I have been reminded of how important it is that we respond appropriately to difficult times. They are watching us and learning from us every day. There are many things more important than the resources we have. I pray that my children will know the values of sacrifice, generosity, and true selfless love for one another. And I pray that is modeled in our home consistently (we have a long way to go!).

5. Chick-fil-a sauce can totally revolutionize your chicken eating experience. Lest you think all of our lessons have been earth shattering, I had to share this one with you. A few months ago, a Chick-fil-a employee suggested we try the sauce and God bless her! Next time you go (and you need to go soon...the place is SO good!), try it. I promise you won't regret it.

So, here's to 2012! We have a lot to look forward to: a new baby girl, a new job for Kirk, a new church community, preschool for Elijah, and undoubtedly some unexpected challenges! This much I know: there is no one like our God. He is able! Lord, may your presence be seen and felt in this family!

How could you not love these faces?

2012-01-29T17:28:00.000-08:00

A baby bump and funny pics

2012-01-21T16:49:00.000-08:00

This poor baby is getting no love in the picture department. That is partially because I am not crazy about how I look and partially because I just keep forgetting to take it before I get in my sweats for the night (or maybe I just am always in sweats :)). Anyway, this is the first baby bump picture at 24 weeks. Yikes..I have a long way to go and am already looking pretty large! Oh well...it is what it is!

I sure am excited to meet this little girl though!

And these pictures are hilarious to me. Kirk just started doing the insanity workouts (a 2 month fitness program) and Elijah thinks it's awesome. He keeps asking to work out with daddy. I had to snap some pics the other day.

Those are some good jumping jacks. Also, our low ceilings make Kirk look gigantic!

Happy 4th Annivesary to Us!

2012-01-21T10:38:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday (the 12th), Kirk and I had our 4th anniversary. So much has happened in the last 4 years that I can't say if it seems like it's been longer or shorter! Whatever it is, I feel so blessed to be married to him and enjoy learning and growing with him each year. This past year has been, by far, the most challenging, but we have been so thankful for the ways that the Lord has revealed himself to us and developed us through the course of many challenges. I have said it before, but will say it again...I love you, Kirk, and am so excited for many more years of life experiences with you!

Thanks to my good friend Steph, we were able to get away for an overnight. We found a great overnight deal on living social for a bed and breakfast just north of Lancaster. Steph took great care of our kids and we thoroughly enjoyed 20 hours of peace without them (but we did miss them!).

On Thursday night, we were able to meet up with our great friend Paul and his girlfriend, Rachel at Lancaster Brewing Company. Great food and great company! Thanks for meeting us, you two! We really enjoyed it....so much so that we were there for over 2.5 hours and didn't even realize it until we got back in the car and saw the clock!

This was our cute B&B. We were the only guests that night so we had the place all to ourselves! I wish I had taken a picture of the breakfast we were served...it was amazing.

There we are! I love that Kirk really is my favorite person in the world to hang out with.

Love him!

On Friday morning, before heading out to get our kids, we went to the Lancaster Central Market...the country's oldest farmers market. It was very, very cool!

Happy Anniversary, Kirk!

It finally snowed!

2012-01-21T10:26:00.000-08:00

Elijah has been so excited for it to snow all winter long and since we have moved to PA, it hadn't snowed! Whenever there is frost on the ground in the morning, he looks out the window and says "Yay! It snowed!" He is very disappointed everytime we explain to him that's just frost and you can't really play in it. This morning, I had to get out of bed to go to the bathroom around 6 am and saw it had been snowing. I was so excited for Elijah to see it! He woke up at 7 and asked every 5 minutes to go out and play. We finally woke Kirk up at about 8:50 because E could not wait another minute. Leah was pretty intrigued by the whole thing too. So, we got all bundled up and headed out and had a blast!

First snow of the year!

Leah was interested for a little while (she looks a little like a boy because she is wearing Elijah's old hat...it was warmer than any that she had).

Trying to make snowballs with Daddy (it wasn't really packing snow, unfortunately...that is also hard to explain to a 3 year old).

2012-01-21T10:22:00.000-08:00

Then, we pulled out the sled! My parents have the perfect little hill in their front yard for kids. At this point, it looks like Kirk is struggling up the hill a little and we might lose our kids...

...yup, 2 kids down.

Leah's turn down the hill!

Elijah could not have been happier to walk and play in the snow!

Besides that Elijah looks a little tipsy in this picture, I love it :). ps. Leah's face sums up how she responded in general...totally indifferent.

20 Questions for Elijah

2012-01-17T14:09:00.000-08:00

This picture is courtesy of Alexa's Photography. She is a fantastic photographer who also happens to be Kirk's cousin. She took great pictures of the whole Duncan family over Christmas and I will share more of them on the blog soon.

At Elijah's birthday dinner, I asked him 20 questions that I plan to (at least try) ask him every birthday until he is 18 (this was another pinterest inspired idea...you take a picture every year too on his birthday and then put all the pictures and answers in a book for him). Anyway, I was so impressed that he actually answered all the questions (although some of his answers were not quite true, I don't think :). Here they are:

1. What's your favorite color? Yellow

2. What's your favorite toy? Dump truck

3. What's your favorite fruit? Strawberries

4. What's your favorite TV show? Dora

5. What's your favorite lunch? Pizza

6. What's your favorite thing to wear? Baseball shirt

7. What's your favorite game? Baseball

8. What's your favorite snack? Crackers (this is one of the false ones...he eats sweets like it's nobody's business. I've never heard him ask for a cracker unless everyone else in the room is eating them)

9. What's your favorite animal? Cow

10. What's your favorite song? Drums (not sure this is a song, but at least he followed along with the music theme)

11. What's your favorite book? Jesus book (we have a Jesus Storybook Bible we sometimes read out of night..thanks to Lauren for that one!)

12. Who is your best friend? Campbell

13. What is your favorite cereal? Cheerios (sidenote, he has NEVER liked those...even as a baby)

14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Ride my bicycle

15. What is your favorite drink? Water (again, he would NEVER opt for water over things like juice and chocolate milk, but I would love it if he did!)

16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas

17. What do you take to bed? a blanket

18. What is your favorite breakfast? Apple bar (his word for nutrigrain bar)

19. What do you want to be when you grow up? Baseball player

20. What do you know about Jesus? Baby Jesus, Wisemen, Joseph (can you tell we just had Christmas?)

Elijah is Three!

2012-01-17T13:00:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, Elijah turned three! I remember the day he was born with such clarity that it is hard to believe it was that long ago. We are so proud of him and thankful for his life. He makes us laugh every day and is learning and growing so much! We had a small party with just family and a few good friends. Elijah has been most interested in trucks lately so I decided to do a few truck themed things.

Punch and cake table.

I take no credit for this cake idea (I get all my ideas from Pinterest these days) but I was really excited about it and proud of it. I just layered chocolate cake, pudding mixed with whipped cream and crushed oreos and put it in the back of a dump truck to make it look like dirt.

We got plates from the movie "Cars", which Elijah has never seen but somehow still loves.

We used some of his collection of trucks as the centerpiece for the table. He thought it was fantastic and I thought it was a really easy (not to mention inexpensive) way to get him excited :).

2012-01-17T12:51:00.000-08:00

After dinner, it was present time! Elijah looks a little excited!

He got games!

He got trucks!

Everybody looked on with great interest and anticipation!

He got jeeps and motorcycles!

2012-01-17T12:40:00.000-08:00

I think he was a little excited about this rescue vehicle set. He hasn't stopped playing with all his new toys and the firetruck has gotten special attention.

Kirk rolled the dump truck cake out into the living room to have Elijah blow out the candles. I may have been a little nervous about chocolate cake ending up all over the white carpet.

He only was able to blow out one candle.

So Campbell came in to help out. Thankfully we got all the candles blown out and kept the carpet clean :).

I wanted to get a picture of the 5 cousins all together. It was funny, as always.

2012-01-17T12:32:00.000-08:00

Just impossible to expect all 5 to look and keep their hands our of their faces (especially our cute little thumbsucker :)).

Mommy and Daddy with the birthday boy. We are very proud of him!

A normal smile is impossible.

Spier Family Christmas

2012-01-07T19:31:00.000-08:00

The weekend after Christmas we were able to get together with my side of the family to do a Christmas celebration with them. It is so fun to have 2 Christmases! We loved having everyone together and felt like the time was too short (and sad because several of the kids were sick). Anyway, in typical Chrissie fashion, I didn't take pics of anything but the kids, but here they are.

Norah is the sweetest little girl. She is getting so big and it was especially fun to see her interact with Leah. I think they will be good friends. Here she is enjoying her daddy and a bottle.

The eldest cousin, looking cute as can be!

Leah loves her new personalized chair from Grandma and Grandpa!

So does Charlie. This picture makes me laugh...he is the king of lounging.

Poor buddy was so sick, but still thoroughly enjoyed his Fire Chief outfit he got from cousin Norah! This present was a huge hit, and still gets put on every day. Somebody has to fight the fires, you know?

It's a...

2012-01-05T16:52:00.001-08:00

We decided to find out what we are having this time. Below are the shoes of our 3 sweet kids, from youngest to oldest!

We are thrilled with the news of a healthy, happy, kicking, baby girl on the way :).

A North Carolina Christmas

2011-12-29T14:05:00.000-08:00

We spent Christmas with the Duncan family in North Carolina this year. We had a great time with family and enjoyed the beautiful North Carolina winter weather (meaning sunny and mid to high 50s). All 5 of the Duncan children were home and it was really great to have some family time together, including a time of sharing goals for the new year and prayer with each other. Anyway, here's a few pictures of our trip! Thanks again, Mom and Dad for all your generosity and Konni for letting us take over your room for the week!

The Kirk Duncans on Christmas Eve.

I love love love this picture, even with my kids' funny faces!

My mom got this outfit for Leah at the after Christmas clearance sales last year. I am SO happy it fit her this Christmas. She looked just precious!

Leah is never happier than when she gets her hands on some soda! She snagged this one out of my hands and ran!

Playing with Aunt Kelly.

2011-12-29T14:00:00.000-08:00

Konni, all ready for the Christmas festivities to begin!

I love that Kirk's family has a lot of similar traditions to mine. Here is Dad reading the Christmas story to us on Christmas Eve.

Christmas morning I did not take many pictures because I was too busy enjoying watching everyone open their gifts. I did snatch this one of Leah climbing the ottoman though.

Elijah playing with his truck from Uncle Kyle.

Our Little Family Christmas

2011-12-29T13:49:00.000-08:00

I took not nearly enough pictures of our little Christmas, but I wanted to share the few I did take. I did get a couple videos, but we need to edit them down a little bit before posting them. Anyway, we celebrated with just the 4 (and a half ) of us last Thursday morning so we didn't need to load up our gifts to take to NC with us. The kids enjoyed it very much and Kirk and I loved watching them get excited about their new toys.

We go youngest to oldest, so Leah was first. She wasn't really sure what to do with her gift, so she just left it at her feet.

And then Kirk helped. It's a domino set with animals on it. Basically, it's another toy she can safely make a mess with. This girl loves a good mess!

We are so thankful for the generosity of some dear friends and family that made it possible for us to buy a kitchen set for the kids for Christmas. They love it and are really enjoying cooking Kirk and me all sorts of treats. Elijah even grilled a bagel for me today :). I wish you could actually see it in this photo, but I do have video of it coming soon!

Elijah asked Santa specifically for a garbage truck and Santa delivered! He LOVES his new truck that even collects trash from the trash can.

Of course, Leah needed a truck to play with so we pulled one out for her too to try to minimize the fighting :).

Souderton Parade

2011-12-29T13:36:00.000-08:00

Back in the first weekend of December, the little town of Souderton hosted a really cool Christmas Parade. Jess, Kirk and I took our kids (Kevin had to work) and we really enjoyed it. It was such a long parade we didn't even last until the end. I was very impressed with the size of the parade considering that it is a small town.

Cam and E getting ready for it to start!

3 out of 4 Jacksons.

2011-12-29T13:30:00.000-08:00

Elijah spent much of the parade back in this little alley. He doesn't like to get too close, but he sure did enjoy it from a safe distance :).

Some of the parade on the cute streets of Souderton.

Daddy and patriotic Leah.

Love this one! She totally has my heart.

Goodbyes :(.

2011-11-30T19:19:00.000-08:00

We were so sad to say goodbye to many dear friends in Indiana. I wish I had taken more pictures of our last days there, but I am thankful I did snap some pictures with the Harts. I am not sure how to accurately describe our friendship besides to just say the Harts are absolute God-sends to us. From our weekly (sometimes more than that) playdates, to our babysitting swaps, to our shared passion for Taylor U (they are grads as well, even though we didn't know them until post-graduation :)), they have shared life with us in so many special ways. The Harts are true friends and have been such an example to us of constant faith in good times and bad. We miss you all so much.

Hunter is Elijah's first "best bud". He still talks about him often and I am confident they will stay buds through skype and hopefully annual mini-vacations that Bethany and I are scheming :).

Love this girl!

How sweet are these 3 buds? Come spring, we will each have another baby to add to the mix too!

The kiddos and the moms.

Kirk's sister Kelly also came down for our last weekend in Indiana. She is in Chicagoland and we have so enjoyed having her within drivable distance. Our kids (and us) love her visits and will miss that proximity for sure! Kelly, you were such a huge help to us in our moving craziness, and we are very, very thankful! We love you!

2011-11-30T19:07:00.000-08:00

I had the chance to make the trip up to Upland during our last week in Indiana to see my dear friends, Kelly and Jess. Kelly has 2 little ones, very close in age to Elijah and Leah and we always have a great time when we get together. I will surely miss our playdates, and Elijah and Leah will too. We did our best to get a shot of the 4 kiddos together on the couch.

Max did a great job trying to direct everyone's eyes to the camera.

Elijah thought it was time to lay down and Molly thought it was time to play with Leah's hair.

Max senses everyone is losing focus. "Stay on the couch, people! Look at the camera!".

I just love these 4 cuties.

Thanks for letting us spend such a special day with you, Kelly, Max, and Molly! We miss you already and look forward to our next reunion :).

I sadly took no pictures of Jess and me, but that is probably for the best since we were both blubbering messes :(. Jess, I miss you so much and am so thankful for our evening together! Thanks for putting up with the Duncans and all of our craziness. You are greately missed by all of us!

Things Change. God doesn't.

2011-11-13T15:58:00.000-08:00

You know when people ask, "what's new?" and you feel awkward because you really have nothing new to report? I've been in that situation numerous times and I always try desperately to find something to share that may have carry a small amount of interest. Well, these days, I find myself in an entirely different circumstance. When people ask "What's new?", I truly don't know where to begin. So much has been going on in our lives. So many unexpected surprises and blessings, so many decisions, and so many chances to embrace God's perfect work in our lives...even when it seems so confusing. So, I think it is time to update the blogging world. I want to say that I am sorry I could not have this conversation in person with each of my friends, and if any of you feel shocked to find this information on my blog, I do apologize. A lot of the decisions have been made quickly and it is a difficult and emotional conversation to have. So, before I freak anyone out to much, let's just get to the point.

First of all, there's this surprise:

That's right! This little guy (or girl) will be arriving in our family sometime around the beginning of May. Because I know everyone's question is whether or not we planned this, I will just say that we know by now that we don't make the plans. God does. We are thankful for this little life and happy to report that he or she seems to be developing well and on track at 14 weeks! Our thankfulness, though, does not come without questions and concerns. Because we are unexpectedly expecting this little one, we have had to make some adjustments and admendments to our previous plans. As many of you know, we have been under a lot of financial pressure lately. We know that, especially with a third child on the way, we can not continue down the path we are on and have had to make some difficult decisions about our future. Because of that, we have made the extremely difficult decision to move to Pennsylvania and stay with my parents for a little while. They have graciously extended an offer to us and we are humbled to accept. We are taking a step of faith and trusting that the Great Provider will take care of our needs. Please pray with us: that our transition would go smoothly, that God would open up the right doors for Kirk to find a good job that can support us, and that in all things, Christ would be exalted.

This is a hard transition for us. Kirk and I have lived in Indiana for 9 years! This is home now. We are established and have some great friendships and memories here. We will be so incredibly sad when we leave here. Obviously, the idea of being closer to family is exciting and we will be so thankful to have them close, but we will undoubtedly miss the midwest and our incredible friends. We are moving next week. It is a quick move, but was a financial decision. Since we had already planned to make a trip out there at Thanksgiving, we figured moving there at that time would put the smallest burden on us financially.

So, how is that for an update? I want to say thank you for your prayers for us this past year as we have had so many transitions and decisions to make. We are so humbled by the outpouring of love and support from our friends and family...and even people we hardly know. We are also so thankful for the consistency of our God. He never changes, even when things seem to change at the drop of a hat everywhere else. We have seen God's faithfulness proved again and again and are more aware of his love for us now than we ever have been before. He is a great God.

And a few pictures of today to send you off:

Sweet Leah, who loves hamming it up for the camera these days.

Elijah doesn't love the camera, but is still cute :).

Love this one! They are crazy about each other!

And some family cuddle time on the bed. I just love my family!

"For the LORD is good and his faithfulness endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations." -Psalm 100:5

Long Overdue!

2011-11-06T16:49:00.000-08:00

I just saw Kirk had these photos on his iPod and realized I needed to get them on the blog. 2 weeks ago, we headed down to North Carolina for Kirk's cousins wedding. It was a great time with family. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera (I've been known to do that often), but Kirk pulled through with some pictures on his iPod. The quality is not great, but the memories are still there!

Grandma and Grandpa took us to a pumpkin patch (pretty much a field of a church with pumpkins, but the kids had a blast). Elijah and Leah were running around that place like they owned it!

Kind of sad Leah didn't look at the camera :(.

Uncle Kyle came to the rehearsal on his motorcycle. Elijah wasted no time forcing Kyle to take him to it and let him sit on it. Don't worry, that's as far as it went :).

I just love this picture. Elijah thinks Uncle Kyle is so cool!

I also wish this weren't so blurry, but here is Leah with her Great Grandpa Dunkelberger. So thankful my kids are getting some time with their greats!

2011-11-06T16:46:00.000-08:00

The wedding was a beautiful bed and breakfast set back in the woods and it could not have been a more perfect day, weather-wise! I really wish I had my camera to photograph more of the details. But you can check Alexa's blog for pictures (on my sidebar). She undoubtedly will have some fantastic shots!

A blurry shot of the couple!

So happy for you both, John and Amanda!

Kirk and I very much a date night while one of Konni's friends watched the kiddos. We love a good dance party!

Kitchen Cuties

2011-11-06T13:32:00.000-08:00

One of our kids favorite place to hang out (especially Leah) is the little space between the fridge and the wall. The other day, we caught them both in there. The reason we found this out was because Elijah yelled "Mommy, Daddy! I need help with something!" We ran over to find Leah sitting on Elijah's toes and he couldn't get out. We got a kick out of it and ran for the camera, but by the time I came back, Leah had moved. I still managed to snap some cute pics of my adorable kids though :).

He looks so grown up to me these days.

This little thing is just a bundle of energy.

...and she happens to love the spotlight.

Trick or Treat!

2011-11-02T07:12:00.000-07:00

We had a really fun halloween! I think there are few things more fun than dressing up my kids and they were both quite cooperative this year with their costumes, which made it even more enjoyable! My mom is here visiting us for the week so it was nice to have her here for the festivities. Also, she and my dad gave me a new camera for my birthday! Woohoo! Here are a few pics of the evening.

A cupcake and a very unhappy BJ (not sure what the problem was at this point).

Still not happy, but don't worry. The attitude turned around after a few houses with candy :).

Probably my favorite picture of the night.

Trick or treat!

Elmo stopped by for a little bit (our best buddy Hunter).

2011-11-02T07:05:00.000-07:00

Back home and happy to have our candy!

Leah wasn't fully understanding that this was HER candy.

Elijah, however, knew exactly what was happening here!

Leah dug right into her lollipop.

Elijah didn't waste any time either!

2011-11-02T06:59:00.000-07:00

I wanted to get a close up of the BJ's head. It was pretty funny.

These next few are the day after halloween. This is my very cool baseball player!

I tried to get Leah to pose with the pumpkin. She was quite distracted.

I just think she is so pretty!

Spider Craft!

2011-10-20T10:00:00.000-07:00

Now that Elijah doesn't nap anymore, I have to find more ways to fill his time (and keep myself sane). I am not at ALL crafty, but decided to give this hand-print spider craft a try. I will shamelessly admit I got the idea from Barney's Halloween Party episode, and since the little girl walked us through how to do it step by step, I assumed even an idiot like me could pull it off :). Elijah was thrilled to have craft time (or CRAP time, as he calls it...hahahaha) and I was thrilled to have him occupied for a brief amount of time :).

Getting excited about how his red spider is shaping up.

There she is, in all her glory.

2011-10-20T09:57:00.000-07:00

He is proud of his red spider!

Hard at work!

Admiring the craftmanship.

Singing the itsy bitsy spider underneath his display.

The final product (except we have since added a yellow spider, because Elijah just wasn't quite ready to be done). By the way, I resisted the urge to straighten out the eyes on the green spider. He's thinking outside the box!

A few pics

2011-10-18T17:00:00.000-07:00

I thoroughly enjoyed my birthday week last week. Kirk took me out to dinner the day after my birthday to Mama Carollas, our favorite Italian restaurant. The atmosphere is so cool: it is an old house that's been turned into a restaurant and the food is incredible! No birthday is complete without a slice of tiramisu from heaven. Thanks, Kirk!

So great to be kid free, even though I did spill my drink. The one time I don't have to pick up after kids, I have to pick up after myself! Come on, Chrissie!

The fun continued when my girlfriends from college rolled into town for our 5 year homecoming at TU. It was SO fun to be on campus together again. The picture below is Elijah and Leah in the hall of my old dorm. That was...pretty surreal.

Lauren (and Baby Herr), me, Jacki, and Mal at our 5 year reunion cookout at the president's house. We had a great time there and it was fun to see some old classmates. I am incredibly blessed by these friendships.

Hopefully I will get some more pictures soon from the other girls...they were better at taking pics than me. I didn't get a single pic of Kelly, our gracious hostess for the weekend. She and Brad live in Upland and put us all up...thanks again, Yordys!

A Birthday Cupcake

2011-10-12T12:42:00.000-07:00

While my big celebration is coming tonight with a dinner out with Kirk, I did have a nice little celebration yesterday. I shared a cupcake...

...with this guy...

...and with this girl!

Thanks for celebrating with me, kiddos! You are both excellent company...especially when cupcakes are involved.

We're Back!

2011-10-09T11:59:00.000-07:00

I am finally back to blogging world! My friend Jess is loaning me a camera while I wait for a new one (since my old one is definitely done for after we broke it on family vacation). Thanks so much, Jess. I have really missed blogging and I realized yesterday when we were at the farm how much I miss taking pictures of the kiddos!

Yesterday we went on our annual outing to StonyCreek Farm in Noblesville. They have such a fun fall festival and an equally fun Christmas festival, so we make 2 trips there every year: once in the fall and once for our Christmas tree. The kids had a blast and so did Kirk and I!

Trying to get a picture of the 2 kids is pretty difficult.

I don't know why, but I love this picture. I just love these 2 and their non-smiling for the camera ways :).

They both liked playing in the hay (and brought a good amount of it home with them in their clothes).

Family photo on the hayride. Kirk and I love this as much as the kids, I'm pretty sure.

Leah loved the pumpkin patch.

2011-10-09T11:55:00.000-07:00

Elijah really wanted to find a pumpkin small enough that he could carry around. This is the closet we got, but he only held on to it for about 3 seconds before he had to drop it.

An attempt at getting a picture of the kids with a pumpkin. Fail.

Love this one though of Leah.

And I love this one even more!

Daddy and his buddy on the hayride. Leah loves hayrides!

2011-10-09T11:49:00.000-07:00

Monkey man and me on the hayride. Elijah was in heaven the whole day at the farm.

Kirk and Elijah went through the giant inflatable "kiddie-pillar" too!

Happy as can be after that adventure!

So is Daddy! Such a good dad :).

Crawling through the giant tires.

2011-10-09T11:37:00.000-07:00

Scarecrow Elijah (with a tiny head).

Scarecrow Leah (with a tinier head). ps. Does anyone see the irony in the fact that the SCAREcrow has a crow on his shoulder?

Elijah rode the pumpkin train twice. Despite the fact that he looks terrified, he always says he had fun when he gets off.

See? Clenching his teeth and everything. Pure terror.

The animal barn was a big hit too.

This seems familiar...

2011-10-09T11:30:00.000-07:00

Leah has taken an interest in sitting in our toy basket lately. I think it's funny when she just plops down in there...

...and then I remember that this was a familiar scene as well when Elijah was about her age. Must be in the genes, because my mom says I did the same thing when I was little.

And this one is just funny to me. Leah took her place in Elijah's chair the other day and totally got comfortable. Play hard, rest hard.

Our Little Walker :).

2011-09-17T17:59:00.000-07:00

Leah is officially a walker! She has been toying with the idea for a while but just yesterday she decided to take it more seriously. I just love watching her learn and get excited. Enjoy the footage!

Grandma's Visit

2011-08-21T19:53:00.000-07:00

My mom came for a week for Leah's birthday a few weeks back and as always, we loved having her visit! Thankfully she had her camera along since mine is broken and snapped some good ones of the kiddos. I wish we had documented her being here, but I guess we were too busy having a good time with her! Thanks for coming, Mom! We love you so much.

I know she can't suck her thumb forever, but I think I'll be a little sad when she stops. It's just so cute!

This picture makes me sad that we have since cut his hair. I love those curls.

Buddies.

Again, how cute is that?

2011-08-21T19:46:00.000-07:00

Very focused on Barney.

This one just makes me laugh because it sums up Leah. Trying to get into something and loving every minute.

Aunt Rach and Uncle Shane (and cousin Norah) got Leah this walker for her birthday and she loves it!

She is quite pleased with herself (and angry when the walker bumps into something).

Grandma and Grandpa Spier got her this dolly. I'd say she likes her.

Leah's Birthday Bird Bash

2011-08-21T19:40:00.000-07:00

It's been several weeks since we had Leah's birthday party but I am finally settling in and having a chance to blog about it some more. We had a great bird-themed birthday party and enjoyed good food and great friends. IT was VERY hot outside, so we didn't take advantage of the lawn games as much as we wish we could have, but we still enjoyed celebrating our special little girl. Kirk and I talk about how sweet, funny, and lovable Leah is every day. She is always doing something to make us laugh or melt our hearts. She is happy and charming, and at the same time a little ornery and mischievous. We just can not imagine life without her. Thank you, Lord, for knowing that Leah needed to be a part of this family. We are so blessed.

My sister Jess made this cute birthday banner for Leah. I had seen one on etsy and was tempted to buy it but knew Jess could make one just as cute. Turns out she made it even cuter! Thanks, Aunt Jess. It was the perfect touch to the b-day decorations.

There it is, hanging in the shade. Where we hung out the whole time :).

Elijah spent the majority of the party in the volleyball pit.

Leah and her friend, Molly, who came to celebrate!

2011-08-21T19:33:00.000-07:00

Leah's Birthday Spread. Pretty good for a one year old.

Playing some croquet on her birthday in her tutu dress. Why not?

I just think she is so incredibly beautiful!

Some of our guests. We are blessed with such great friends!

If you come to my house, you will see this in a frame.

2011-08-21T19:27:00.000-07:00

This little stinker got into the fruit salad and needed no assistance.

The cake made by my friend, Melanie.

Leah's smash cake.

I love it!

One of Leah's best buddies, Hunter and his dad waiting for cake :).

2011-08-21T19:23:00.000-07:00

After a quick outfit change, Leah was all set for cake! Here she is getting ready to take her first bite. This picture kind of makes it look like she eased into it, but she didn't. She went straight to the heart of it with 2 hands!

Life is good for Leah.

I love her more than words!

No time for good manners here.

Elijah and one of his best buddies. Oh, how we love Jess!

2011-08-21T19:17:00.000-07:00

We tried to get a good pics of Leah with her parents...

...take 2: fail. But I do kind of like how she and I are talking :).

This girl loves her cake!

She is very pleased with her mess.

Elijah and Daddy played frisbee with Jess when the party was winding down.

Leah is One.

2011-08-05T19:02:00.000-07:00

My mom shared a lot of pictures with me that she took during her week long visit so I have a lot of blogging to do, but here is a sneak peak. I just love this girl more than words.

Safe to say she enjoyed her cake.

My favorite picture ever of her.

We had a bird party. Here is Leah's smash cake.

We are still here...

2011-07-10T17:46:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine asked me the other day if I had lost my zeal for blogging and I figured that means it's time for a post. I haven't lost my zeal, I just have a broken camera :(. It was dropped on our vacation to Maine and I haven't taken it yet to be fixed (I am crossing my fingers that it can be fixed!).

Anyway, thanks to those of you who still check to see if I have awakened from my blogging slumber. Since I last posted, Kirk has been offered a contract job at Eli Lilly. This is a huge answer to prayer and we are excited for him to get started. However, we are still looking for other ways to produce income since it was a significant pay cut from Roche. Please keep us in your prayers.

I have also started a business with Thirty-One Gifts. If you are not familiar with it, you should check out my website www.mythirtyone.com/chrissieduncan. I love the product and am excited to get started!

Here are a few pictures from back in May that were taken by my friend Molly Hayden. If you live in the Indy area and need a photographer, you should check her out! She took some really great pictures of my kids. I haven't shared them yet because I gave them to Kirk as a Fathers Day gift, but that is over now, so please enjoy :).

This kid is funny...

2011-06-08T17:16:00.000-07:00

Elijah gets out of bed just about every night . One night, I found him and Mr. Giraffe sleeping on his floor for the night.

The next night, I found him sleeping with all of his clothes (his drawers were emptied).

Memorial Day

2011-06-08T17:10:00.000-07:00

We had a fun Memorial Day cookout with our small group. It is really fun being in a group of young families and being able to enjoy growing up together! I only took a few pictures, but here they are.

Hunter and Elijah spent the majority of the afternoon splashing at the water table.

Bode was pretty chill, just soaking up the sun on his blanket.

The whole gang!

A few videos for Lauren (and whoever else is interested).

2011-05-29T16:50:00.000-07:00

Lauren texted me the other day and let me know that the blog needed an update (it's good to have a faithful follower) as I promised her a few videos of the kiddos. The first one is Elijah playing baseball (definitely his favorite activity) and the second one is Leah exploring. Unfortunately I haven't been able to capture her really crawling because she stops when she knows the camera is on her. Anyway, for anyone who is interested, but especially for Lauren, enjoy!

The pool is open!

2011-05-29T16:44:00.000-07:00

We've been promising Elijah a trip to the pool all week and we were finally able to enjoy it today! It was a beautiful sunny day today and we decided to head over to our community complex since the pool just opened up for the season. It was fun although the water was seriously freezing. Oh well, hopefully it will warm up as the summer goes on.

Leah spent most of her time just sun bathing and people watching. She's her momma's daughter :).

Hi cutie!

The side of the pool has some water spouts that shoot out water into the pool. They kept Elijah entertained for quite some time.

I actually got into the water for E. It was freezing.

Kirk had Leah in the clever holding cell.

Bring on the summer!!

Welcome, Norah!

2011-05-14T10:54:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, May 10th, my sister and brother-in-law welcomed a new precious little daughter, Norah Jillian. She was 6 lbs, 12 oz and 19 inches long and just as sweet as can be! Most of you who know me know that I can't wait to see my nieces and nephew when they are born. As much as I say I will wait, I never do. So, in true Duncan fashion, Kirk and I loaded up the car Tuesday night and headed out to PA. We made it into town by 4:30ish Wednesday morning and were at the hospital by 10:30 holding our new niece :). And, as always, it was well worth the trip! She is an absolute doll and I miss her already! Rach and Shane, congrats! I know you are going to be awesome parents and we can't wait to watch Norah grow. We love you all.

Also, shout out to Lauren and Jimmy...thanks for letting our crazy family of 4 take over your home! You guys are awesome.

Cuddling :).

Sleeping peacefully in my lap.

2011-05-14T10:50:00.000-07:00

Look at her perfect little face!

I just can't get enough of little baby hands and feet.

Elijah had fun playing with Grandpa (he's laughing here, not crying)!

4 Duncans and a Weaver!

I love her!

Happy Mothers Day to Me.

2011-05-08T14:58:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful mothers day today thanks to my hubby and kids. First, I got to sleep in while Kirk got up with the kids. Second, I was greeted by my 2 cute kiddos and handsome husband in bed. Elijah handed me a card that was colored on by him and had a poem. This is how it goes:

Mothers do a lot of jobs like clothe and cook and clean

And you do it joyfully, you never do get mean.

Mothers need a lot of grace for when we disobey

Thankfully you have more than most and love us anyway.

You show us God's love dailty from morning til "amen"

And we're the luckiest kids in the world because you're the best mom that's ever been.

Tell me that doesn't melt your heart (something tells me the kids had a little help writing it :)). Then, as if that wasn't enough, Kirk handed me a box with a gift. It was a charm bracelet that says "best mom" and has my 2 kids initials as well as some other colorful beads. I LOVE it. I am so blessed. We headed to church, to Panera for lunch and then had our small group over for some kabobs on the grill. It was a great day.

Thank you, Kirk, Elijah and Leah for making me feel so loved and cherished today. I love being a mom because of you 3!

I made sure to get some photos with kids today especially because it was so nice outside.

Love these 2 (ps. Elijah has his arm around me here...too cute!).

We even got E to smile for the camera (we may have bribed him with a trip to the playground if he did).

LOVE.

Elijah ran off but Leah and I continued our lovefest.

She is just too sweet.

Elijah thoroughly enjoyed wearing his sister's girly hat and yelling "baseball game" repeatedly.

I also want to give a quick shout-out to my mom and mother-in-law. Mom, everything I know about being a mom I learned from you. I aspire to be the kind of mom to my kids that you were to me. Mom Duncan, you raised a good man and that is no small compliment. I am very thankful for you and the example you have set of being a selfless mom (of 5...wow!). Thanks for welcoming me and loving me.

Happy Mothers Day!

Rock Star, Teething Baby, and a Big Boy Potty

2011-05-06T20:57:00.000-07:00

That pretty much sums up what our lives look like.

This is Elijah's "rock star" look. He puts on glasses (or one of Leah's headbands) and his guitar and rocks out.

Leah is gumming anything and everything. She has a big white spot on her bottom gum...pretty sure we're getting ready to see a tooth poke through!

And Elijah is a officially growing up :(. Sad face for the growing up, not for the becoming potty trained. I am excited for that!

A few Elijah videos...sorry about the lack of pants :).

2011-05-06T20:23:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter! Christ is Risen!!

2011-04-24T17:21:00.000-07:00

I LOVE Easter Sunday. I remember being a kid and getting up for sunrise service at the park and then going to the church gym for breakfast. It is a day filled with so much HOPE and JOY. I can not fully understand the sacrifice that Christ made on my behalf, but I am thankful that He offers us new, resurrected life! Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Church was great this morning, as usual. Our pastor reminded us that today is about LIFE conquering DEATH, and in order to really live that life that was intended for us, we have to follow Christ and put fear aside. We sang the song Christ is Risen by Matt Maher and it is a song whose theme is victory in Christ. Here it is...it's definitely worth a listen. The bottom line is this: Christ is ALIVE. He is risen and active. He wants to be in relationship with us. How humbling. How amazing.

After church, we went to Bravo (a great Italian place) for lunch and then came home for naps. We didn't even get around to taking pictures until after naptime. We might not look quite as sharp as we did when we left for church, but I still think the kids looked precious. Kirk and I continue to pray that they will someday accept the gift that Christ has offered to them of a new life and victory over sin!

Leah looked "picture perfect", as Kirk said :).

She sure can make a mess though!

Happy Easter, Leah!

I tried to get a picture of the 2 kids together. This is the best we could get (sorry about the placement of Leah's hand :)).

Just not interested in pictures. Sorry, mommy.

2011-04-24T17:13:00.000-07:00

We finally got around to giving Elijah and Leah their baskets at about 5 pm tonight. They both dug right in, as you can say (yes, Elijah is putting a hershey kiss WITH a wrapper in his mouth...no time to take that off!).

Happy Easter, buddy!

Mmmm...candy.

Leah promptly dumped hers out. All it had in it was sweet potatoes and hard boiled eggs...I think she may have been looking for the candy :).

I love her.

2011-04-24T17:03:00.000-07:00

My friend Amy stopped by this afternoon and took a few family pics for us. They aren't great but at least we documented it :).

The kids were not interested.

Elijah is so stubborn these days and refuses to smile for the camera. He was actually covering up his mouth here just in case he accidently smiled.

And this is a little bit more like what life usually looks like around here. Someone is usually naked, Elijah typically has no pants on and is wearing one of Leah's bows and Daddy is making them both laugh. I love it.

Happy Easter from the crazies!

OH NO!

2011-04-23T16:37:00.000-07:00

Many of you know I am a sucker for traditions. I absolutely love all the cheesy things about the holidays. Last year, I tried to color eggs with E which was a huge bust. This year, I thought it would be more interesting for him. Well, it certainly was interesting. I set up the dying station while Elijah was watching Barney. I left the room for a minute, apparently right when Barney was ending. I came back into the room, expecting to see Elijah in his chair watching Barney, but instead, found him standing in a huge blue spot on the carpet with the plastic cup in his hand. He apparently got up onto the table, got a hold of the cup, and either tried to drink it (unsuccessfully), or just pour it all over himself and the carpet (successfully). I definitely let out a big yell, which scared him, and lots of crying ensued. Anyway, we did finally get him cleaned up (the carpet is a work in progress) and colored some eggs. It all seemed a bit anti-climatic, however.

Not happy, feeling blue (pun intended).

The evidence.

"Water A-chin"

2011-04-23T16:30:00.000-07:00

The other day I set up a water station (or "water a-chin" as he calls it) in the kitchen for Elijah. He loved it. I just took a towel and a few bowls and filled them up with varying amounts of water and then let him sit down and go to town. He had a blast pouring the water in the bowls, and on the floor, and all over himself.

Hard at work.

"Ok, Mommy, just take the picture so I can get back to business."

Just because she's cute

2011-04-23T16:23:00.000-07:00

Leah is definitely an idependent woman. She likes to do things herself and she is trying to figure out how to get her hands on anything and everything. She hasn't figured out the whole crawling thing yet, which I think will make her a lot more content (not that she's not content, she just gets frustrated when she can't reach something that looks appealing to her :)). Anyway, here's a few recent ones of the cutie:

She wanted to hold the spoon. She sat in the chair well after her sweet potatoes were done, just enjoying the spoon!

Happy about it.

The other day, I went in to get Leah when she had woken up in the morning. She had gotten a hold of the comforter that came with her bedding set and it was draped over her head. By the time I got my camera, it had fallen off her head but it was still cute.

Happy faces in the morning. ps. I love her new bedding!

Hi, sweetheart! It's too early to be that happy.

Grandma and Aunt Konni.

2011-04-18T16:44:00.000-07:00

This weekend, we had a nice visit with Kirk's mom and sister. Konni is doing college visits and they stopped to see us in between 2 schools. We had a nice, relaxing weekend and we all enjoyed having them! Kirk and I actually feel sort of indebted to them because they watched the kids while we went to our apartment complex's easter egg scavenger hunt (for adults). The grand prize was a 32 inch tv and an ipad. Well, guess what? Kirk and I cleaned up (and by that, I mean, we beat the 5 other people who were there). That's right! We are the proud owners of a brand new iPad (we gave the tv to the couple who came in 2nd). It was a very exciting Saturday :). Then, Grandma and Aunt Konni watched the kids while Kirk and I enjoyed an evening out. It was wonderful...thank you so much, Mom and Konni! So here are a few pics.

Mom downloaded an app on her iPhone that shows pictures of animals and makes the sounds that they make. Want to entertain a 2 year old for hours on end? There's an app for that.

Leah's new favorite game is empyting out the toy bins and then crying when all the toys are out. It's great fun...and Konni joined in on the fun (although, she didn't cry when the bins were empty).

I love this one!

Leah loves Grandma!

Tomorrow will bring its own worries.

2011-04-16T20:05:00.001-07:00

Kirk has an interview Monday morning at 9 am and if you are reading this, I'd like you to take a minute to pray. Pray that Kirk will have a clear mind, a confident spirit, and a peace in his heart about it. Also pray that God's perfect will would be done in this situation. I KNOW there is power in prayer and I know that many who read my blog believe that too.

These are the verses I am claiming (which, by the way, I am certain was no accident were the verses I was scheduled to be reading today in our "reading through the Bible in 2011" plan):

"Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern. So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today." -Mt. 6:32-24, New Living Translation

A Colorado Wedding

2011-04-09T17:32:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, I headed out to Colorado to take part in the wedding of one of my best friends, Amy Jo. Amy Jo and I went to Taylor together, but we also attended Focus on the Family Institute together in the fall of 2004. It was very special to go back there for her wedding. We had such a fun weekend and I am so happy for her! She is now enjoying a 2 week honeymoon to Hawaii (jealous!), and I can't wait for her to return home so we can debrief about her awesome day.

A bunch of the girls at the rehearsal dinner.

The almost-Wagners at their rehearsal dinner.

At the salon getting our hair done. Julie, Amy Jo, Esther, and me.

The bride and me, pre-dress.

I had SO much fun with these girls!

2011-04-09T17:30:00.000-07:00

The bride and me, post-dress.

I had the very important job of putting Amy Jo's garter on.

Sorry I ruined this great picture by closing my eyes.

They're married!

The bridal party limo ride from the church to the reception was SO fun.

2011-04-09T17:26:00.000-07:00

This is why I want to move to Colorado everytime I go there. It is so beautiful.

Julie and me with the Ferrells. Matt was in my class at Focus.

And this is everyone who went to Focus and their spouses. Such a fun crowd!

and the TU photo (plus Jon).

I was apparently having a great time!

Amy Jo and Jon, thank you for including me in this day! I had such a great time and am so incredibly happy for you 2. Can't wait for my next visit to Colorado!

Leah

2011-03-21T12:06:00.000-07:00

Kirk and I have both said recently that we have to to be very intentional about giving Leah committed, one-on-one attention. Since her brother (who we adore also, by the way) demands a lot of attention, and she is pretty content most of the time, so can fall into the backdrop at times. I must say though, she is a huge blessing in our lives. I love walking into her room in the morning (she never cries when she wakes up, by the way), and seeing her look up at me with a huge smile. I love holding her, kissing her, hugging her, and listening to her giggle. She is a real gift from God. She also happens to be very, VERY cute. The comment I hear most often when we're out in public is that she is a "doll baby". I think that is a good description of her...she has perfect baby cheeks and is happy most of the time. Can you tell I love her?

Here she is recently:

I love this onesie. It says "I'm peachy" which Allie gave me when I was pregnant with Elijah.

These last ones are from playing on the bed with mommy yesterday :).

"I'm talking to YOU!"

Happy girl.

Duncan Family Vacation 2011

2011-03-13T13:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we returned from 5 days in sunny Orlando, Florida with the Duncan family. I can not tell you how much we loved having warm weather to enjoy! It seems like it has been a very long winter. Everyone was able to be there, at least for part of it, and we enjoyed all the family time.

Both Elijah and Leah did great on both flights. I just love how easy my kids are to travel with (which is probably because we have dragged them all across the country in their short lives so they have no choice but to be ok with it :)). Here's Leah enjoying the trip down there (sorry I cut you off, Kirk).

Elijah was totally content with Barney.

2011-03-13T13:29:00.000-07:00

We drove about and hour and a half one day to the beach and it was well worth the trip! We had a great time and it was perfect beach weather.

Elijah loved the beach just as much as he did on Spier vacation back in September. Only difference this time was he had more words to describe how awesome it was. He didn't want to leave.

We put Leah's toes in the water and she wasn't thrilled.

She looked cute though :).

Elijah loved playing with Aunt Konni in the sand.

Even though Leah didn't love the water, she was pretty content to lay under the umbrella.

2011-03-13T13:23:00.000-07:00

Close up of the beach bum.

Elijah, Grandpa, Aunt Konni.

The sisters enjoying the sun (it appears Dad is enjoying it in the background as well :)).

Building "castles" with Daddy. Kirk and I both admitted we have no skills in the sand castle department.

We love the beach!

2011-03-13T13:15:00.000-07:00

I told Elijah to give Daddy a hug so I could actually get a picture of them close to each other.

This will be framed.

I jumped in! I wish Elijah was looking at the camera!

The Duncans were sweet to offer a night of babysitting so Kirk and I could go on a date. We had a lot of fun. We went to Downtown Disney, which neither of us had ever been to. We had dinner at an Irish pub and then saw Cirque Du Soleil, which was incredible! If you ever have the chance, see it! Unfortunately we didn't bring our camera on our date, so these 2 are the best we could do with Kirk's ipod.

I always love dates with Kirk.

2011-03-13T13:02:00.000-07:00

One night we went minigolfing which seems to be a Duncan family vacation tradition. It was fun and Elijah loved having his own plastifc golf club and the fact that there were safari animals he could climb on throughout the course. Leah didn't seem to mind being there either!

Elijah, a zebra, and Uncle Kyle (who came in first that night).

Dad, Mom, Kirk, and Katie (behind the tree).

Checking out the baby elephant with Aunt Kelly.

I love this picture. I will probably frame it. I just wish Katie was in it too!

Kelly, trying to sink the ball.

2011-03-13T12:54:00.000-07:00

On Friday, our last day, we went to Sea World. It was really fun. Kirk and I were saying it has probably been 20 years since we were both last there, so it was awesome to go back. Elijah loved all the animals and Leah was an absolute champ the whole day.

The whole family (minus me) waiting for a show to start.

This show featured Clyde and Seamore, who were sea lions.

They were cute.

The family walking to the next destination. Elijah was Uncle Kyle's little tag along this whole day. Sidenote: he calls Kyle "Aunt Cow", which is hilarious to me.

2011-03-13T12:49:00.000-07:00

Again, with Uncle Kyle waiting for the dolphin show. Elijah was more still than I've ever seen him...probably because he was completely fascinated by the day.

Dolphin Show.

Before the day ended we got to see Shamu's show too.

Grandpa took Elijah down to the front before the show started to get a close look at the whales. He loved it.

On the plane ride home, Elijah stayed awake the whole time, despite the fact that we had gotten up at 5 am to catch our flight. However, right after we landed he fell asleep with his head on Kirk's lap. He got frustrated that he couldn't lay down completely, so he got on the ground and laid himself out at our feet and slept there for about 10 minutes while we taxied in to the gate. It was hilarious. He, of course, started to wake up when I got my camera out, but still worth sharing, I think :).

We had such a good week. Thanks, Mom and Dad, for making it happen!

Some Recent Ones

2011-03-13T12:45:00.000-07:00

These are just a few cute pictures I took before we left for Florida.

I just love this girl.

I love how easy she is to dress up. Even though Kirk says this tutu is "too much", I can't get enough of it and Leah doesn't ever complain.

Elijah is really into playing his guitar along with the Barney videos these days. He also has recently picked up "air guitar" which consists of him flailing his arms while yelling "BITAR! BITAR!" It's adorable.

Great blog and a giveaway

2011-03-04T10:42:00.000-08:00

My very creative sister, Jess and her friend, Monica have started a blog to share all their creativity with the world. It is excellent and you should check it out. Also, they are doing a fun giveaway today so there's a little added incentive for you :).

www.realhousewivesofbc.blogspot.com

Enjoy!

Leah is a Big Girl

2011-02-23T10:26:00.000-08:00

Leah is sitting up like a big girl these days. She is just too cute when she does...she gets very proud of herself. I had her 6 month appt last Monday and haven't had a chance to update with her stats. She was 17 lbs, 4 oz which puts her in 66th percentile and 27.75 inches long which puts her in the 68th percentile. Our doctor said she is healthy and strong, and just as sweet as can be! I have to agree with him :).

Anyway, here are some pictures I snapped of her today while she was sitting up on our bed.

See? She's proud and happy.

She is definitely in the phase of needing something in her mouth at all times and she is a full-blown drooler.

Eventually, she can't do it anymore and this is what happens.

New Place.

2011-02-22T12:37:00.000-08:00

For those of you who don't know, we moved into an apartment this past weekend. No, you are not out of the loop if you didn't know, it's just because it all happened in about a weeks time. Since we have to be out of our house March 1st, we thought it would be good to find a place we could move into right away, so we landed on a 3 bedroom apartment in Noblesville, just about 10 minutes from old house. We are actually pretty satisfied with the place, and in a lot of ways it's better for this stage of life than our 3 story townhome. We signed a 6 month lease, so we will hopefully know more about our future by the time we move out of here! Anyway, here are a few pictures.

I have to give a few shout-outs too. Brian, Tony, and Pete, thank you for letting us utilize your strong muscles to move all our furniture and giving up your Saturday mornings to help us! Bethany, thank you for watching my kids so we could get this done quickly and efficiently! Jess and Amy, thank you for unpacking our boxes and situating the house better than I could've done myself. You are all wonderful friends. And thank you to everyone who has been praying for us. Change has been hard on us in some ways, but we know how much we are loved and supported and that makes it a little easier!

Living room/dining room. We are looking for a small dining table for right under that light.

Kitchen, that door goes into the laundry room (so thankful to have a washer/dryer in the aparment!).

Our bedroom. We have since hung stuff on our walls.

Another view.

Leah's room. I was so happy to finally hang those cute bow holders that my sisters got for Leah for Christmas.

2011-02-22T12:30:00.000-08:00

We are using the dresser that we had in our guest room for Leah and every single drawer is filled with clothes. Thanks to a big girl cousin and a mother who likes to buy girly things, Leah is set up!

I love that she finally has her own space and crib after almost 7 months :).

Elijah's room is huge. Here is his big boy bed with his new trucks ,trains, and planes bedding.

Jess did a great job getting all of Elijah's toys and books set up.

This is Elijah's huge closet that we are using for storage mainly. His hanging clothes on the other side of the closet you can't see in the picture. So thankful for storage space as that was sorely lacking in our house.

Just because...

2011-02-22T12:26:00.000-08:00

Here's some cute ones of my kids from the past few days.

Leah is working on sitting up. She doesn't last longer than a minute or two, but I snapped this picture the other day because it was the first time she stayed sitting up even without me right there.

She seems a little frightened by the whole thing.

But she's beautiful!

Elijah loves to be in Leah's crib. They were watching the mobile and holding hands the other day. melt.my.heart.

I hope you always love each other this much!

Grandma McGuckin

2011-02-16T13:19:00.000-08:00

Today we lost my sweet Grandmother. She was a woman of dignity, grace, and Christ-likeness. We will miss her, but are so thankful she is with her Lord as well as her other family members who have gone before her. I will probably share some more thoughts on what I've learned from her in the near future, but for now, I will say I miss you and love you, Grandma. Thanks for the memories!

Here she is on my wedding day being escorted by my cousin, Jonathan.

Another shot from my wedding day and probably my favorite picture of her. Such a classy lady.

Holding Elijah when he was 2 months old.

With Jess, Cam, Elijah and me (and Charlie and Leah, not yet born :)).

A Valentines Day Tribute...

2011-02-14T13:21:00.000-08:00

Kirk, I'm not a professional videographer by any means, but here is just a little something the kids and I put together for you! We all love you so very much. Happy Valentines Day!

Learning.

2011-02-10T20:08:00.000-08:00

So, life has been a bit hectic and crazy right now and I haven't really stopped to update everyone on the situation. I figured everyone that cares enough to know what is going on in our lives reads or blog, so I am using this forum to fill you all in. In the event that you only come to my blog to look at pictures of my kids, I apologize. I may include a few in the bottom of this post just to keep you coming back :).

As you probably know, after four years of employment at Roche, Kirk got laid off at the end of December. We have known this was coming for quite some time, so we were not shocked or even really disappointed. Kirk was never planning on being in that job forever, so it seemed like this would be a natural transition time for our family. As part of that transition, we put our house for sale in November to see if we could generate any interest. We had very little movement on it until last week. We now have a lease purchase agreement set up, which means they will rent our home until they are in a position to buy (when their home in Pittsburgh sells), at which time they will purchase at our list price! This is a huge answer to prayer! However, we move out March 1st and we are still unsure of where we are headed.

So, here we are a month and a half after the lay off and Kirk still does not have a job. I am his wife and I can attest to the fact that this is not for lack of trying. He has been working hard, sending out resumes, doing research, and even dropping off resumes and cover letters at businesses with his full suit on and looking sharp! For a long time, we were frustrated and felt confused about what God was doing. But now, we are beginning to see the bigger picture.

Kirk and I have both admittedly struggled with issues of control. We both like to feel like "we got this", if you know what I mean. We are dependent on no one but ourselves. As you can imagine, God is using this time to show us that this could not be further from the truth. We don't have this. We are not enough to sustain ourselves. We need something bigger. Something greater.

As we have reflected over the last couple weeks, we have seen God at work in our lives in a big way. Our small group is reading the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan. If you haven't read it, you should. This was my second time reading it and it was better than the first. We are also taking a class called "Spiritual DNA", which basically helps us determine the gifts and abilities and passions that God has uniquely suited us with to bring glory to Him and His Kingdom. Through these different experiences and some other exciting movements happening at our church, Kirk and I have both felt a huge call to action, both individually and together. I am learning what it means to literally take life step by step. To trust God to give us just enough light for a few feet of our path. To know that His plans are better than ours.

So as frustrating and painful as it can be to not know what the next pay check will look like or where it might come from, it is also incredibly exciting that we are walking purely by faith. We are not making our decisions based on where a job is, but rather, where God's job for us is. We want to be a part of HIS work, not our own. We would never pretend to know where God is sending us next, but we have felt him leading us to stay here in Indiana, at least for now.

You may be thinking, I just read this whole thing and she hasn't told me anything about what's next for them! Well, my friends, that is just the way it is right now!

If you are still reading this, would you please pray for us? Pray that God's perfect will would be done regardless of how we feel about it. Pray that God would create opportunities for Kirk. Pray that we would, above all else, be sensitive to His leading.

I will keep you posted!

Here is a picture of me and the kiddos in Elijah's new big boy bed reading Elijah's new favorite book, The Napping House (or Poppy House, as he calls it). Sorry it's a little blurry since it was taken from Kirk's ipod.

Precious.

2011-02-05T05:19:00.000-08:00

Elijah and Daddy

2011-02-03T17:12:00.000-08:00

Leah is 6 Months Old!

2011-02-03T16:48:00.000-08:00

I can not believe it, but my baby girl is 6 months old! She celebrated this milestone on Tuesday and I just got around to taking some pictures of her today. Even though she's only been with us half a year, I can not remember what life was like before her. She is an absolute joy....just about as close to a perfect baby as they come. I love having a daughter and I am looking forward to watching her grow and grow. We don't have her 6 month appt until the 14th, so I will update with her stats then. Leah Doris, we love you so much!

She is literally happy like this 98% of the time. She rarely gets upset and she just radiates joy.

2011-02-03T16:43:00.000-08:00

I know I say this all the time but I just think she is SO pretty.

She's very curious and always looking all around. Her dad and brother are most interesting to her.

She does not take a pacifier, but rather prefers her thumb.

I know this is blurry, but you can see how she rests her little pointer finger on her nose. Adorable.

She wants to do whatever Elijah is doing. She is really started to reach and grab for things...soon she'll be on the move for things...no hurry there though!

2011-02-03T16:33:00.000-08:00

...and she loves to play with his toys when he isn't looking.

I am so thankful that she still loves to cuddle with me every once in a while and she gives me smiles every time she sees me (unless she's really hungry in which case she gives me screams).

She is quite the talker (please note the blurry hand...she talks with her hands too, just like her mom!).

She has recently become fascinated with her feet.

Caught, red-handed (or red-footed?).

BIG boy!

2011-02-02T16:56:00.000-08:00

Well, we hadn't really planned on doing this tonight, but Kirk got extra motivated to take the side off of Elijah's crib and see how he does with a big boy set-up. He's been down for about 15 minutes and we haven't heard a peep. I am feeling a little emotional about this...how is he growing up so quickly?? I'll keep you posted on how it goes!

Elijah's (Sort of) Birthday Party

2011-02-02T12:18:00.000-08:00

We wanted to have a birthday party for Elijah with his friends. We decided to do a party at BuildaBear. We had originally scheduled for January 8, but had to cancel because Leah and I had the stomach bug. So, we rescheduled for this past Saturday, which was extra fun since my mom and Steph would be here too. Well, sadly, about 24 hours before the party several of Elijah's friends got sick (it's that time of year!) and couldn't come, so it ended up being just Hunter and Elijah. My mom, Leah, Steph, and Peyton were there too, but Elijah and Hunter were the only 2 kids making bears. So, it was less of a party and more of 2 cute little guys making bears. I thought it was lots of fun, but both boys got scared at the part where they filled up the bear with fluff because the machine makes lots of noise. However, both boys love their baseball bears, so I consider it a success!

Bethany and me with our boys. I am so thankful to have the Hart family in our lives. Thanks for celebrating with us, Hunter and family!

Leah's Dedication and a Visit from friends!

2011-02-01T11:18:00.000-08:00

This weekend we were so fortunate to have my mom come visit. She also brought Steph and Peyton along with her! I loved having all 3 of them here, especially since we dedicated Leah at church on Sunday. We are praying that Leah will one day understand the sacrifice that Jesus made for her and follow Him and that we would be faithful to lead her in that way. Would you please pray with us?

She was definitely the cutest one up there!

I found the boots on clearance at Target...score!

I love this child.

My mom got both the kids smiling for a family picture. This will be framed!

Love my family :).

2011-02-01T11:06:00.000-08:00

I just love how great my mom is with the kids and they both adore her.

Being tackled by Grandma!

Thanks for playing, Grandma!

Peyton looked so precious all dressed up for church.

Hi, baby!

2011-02-01T10:59:00.000-08:00

We wanted to get some pictures of the girls while they were all dressed up from church. Not sure we got a total winner, but we got some funny ones.

Mom put Peyton on Leah's belly...she went straight for her bow with both hands. I think maybe she wanted it for herself.

A couple in Elijah's chair.

Leah thinks it's hilarious. Peyton thinks it's annoying.

Friends and their babies.

2011-02-01T10:50:00.000-08:00

We had Leah and Peyton doing tummy time together and it was hilarious. Leah looked like a monster next to Peyton. ps. Peyton is SO strong for being only 2 months old. We were so impressed.

This is my favorite pictures because it looks like Leah is telling Peyton a really interesting story.

Good job, baby girl! Notice my baby in the background on her back...she had already given up and Peyton was still going strong.

Steph gave Leah these sunglasses. We put them on her and she was completely unphased. Hilarious!

Well, hello there.

Trains!

2011-01-26T04:34:00.000-08:00

A big thank you to Aunt Linda and Uncle Joe for Elijah's birthday gift! They sent the big man a gift card to Toys R Us so we went yesterday to pick something out. He kept coming back to the trains, although he entertained the idea of Elmo, trucks, and balls fora while. Anyway, he loves his little train set...it kept him entertained for over an hour when we got home. Thanks Aunt Linda and Uncle Joe!!

The tunnel is his favorite part.

"Twain! Twain!" -Elijah

Tickle Time and Sitting Up.

2011-01-26T04:30:00.000-08:00

This picture is just too cute not to share.

I was tickling the kids yesterday and had them both laughing. So happy we captured some of this on camera.

I love how much Elijah loves Leah now and playing with her.

He nuzzles himself right into Leah when being tickled and she thinks it's so funny.

2011-01-26T04:24:00.000-08:00

Hug! Also, please notice E's leg...it's a full body hug.

It looks like he's strangling her, but he's actually being very gentle and she LOVES him.

Leah's been working on sitting up. I love this progression.

This is easy!

I'm having fun.

2011-01-26T04:19:00.000-08:00

Ok, it's getting a little harder.

A little help here?

I'm going...

And I'm down. ps. Isn't this outfit the cutest??

And this little kid just innocently watches on and laughs.

Bath Time Fun.

2011-01-20T07:16:00.000-08:00

Elijah got some new bath toys from Aunt Rachel and Uncle Shane for his birthday. Since bath time is already so much fun, we were excited to see how much more fun it would become with some new toys! He absolutely loves the bath crayons (or pens as he calls them). Here's a few pictures.

You may be thinking Elijah wrote his own name in the bottom left corner because it does look like a child's writing. It's actually mine. Leah loves being in the bath too!

All clean.

We had spaghetti that night for dinner, which explains why his face is stained red...and also explains why he's in the bath.

Look at that beautiful art work!

"I dwaw! I dwaw!" -Elijah.

Thank you, Aunt Rach and Uncle Shane!

Through the years.

2011-01-15T18:14:00.000-08:00