Another Birthday

I realized today that I have been an official "blogger" for a little over a year now. It is hard to believe, but according to Blogger.com, I have written 75 posts since last August. There is something that is even harder to believe, though, and that is that my oldest child turned eight yesterday! It doesn't seem possible but according to the calendar, it is true.

Yesterday I remembered that on her fourth birthday, in Germany, she wore a button that my parents sent her as part of her gift that said, "I am 4 years old today". How can she have lived that long all over again already??! I also realized that when she doubles her current age, she will be 16!!!!!!! I am definitely not ready for that but maybe I will be when it happens next week....

Yesterday, the birthday girl, along with her little brother and sister, went to the Kansas City Zoo with me and my grandma. It was an overcast day so was much cooler than alot of the days we have had since we have been here and since we have passes, we just went and stayed a couple of hours and left when we were tired of walking. We fed larakeets, the kids rode ponies, and we watched a sea lion show, as well as looking at several animals in that part of the zoo. We then made a stop in the Zoo gift store and spent a long time trying to use the $3 Alley and Liam each had in the wisest way possible! We then had lunch at McDonalds on the way home. After Daddy got home from work, we ate dinner and then opened gifts. She got alot of stuff! She got drawing supplies, clothes, doll stuff and a couple of books. We finished up the day with cake and ice cream. I think she would agree that it was a special day all around.

As a bonus, we had lunch with my uncle Roger and Aunt Janie and my two cousins, Steven and Kent, on Sunday and then went to a park here in Kansas City that has a "spray park" which is basically different fountains coming up out of the ground that kids can run around and through. They had alot of fun doing that. And today, I took Alley and Liam to Penguin Park up here near my grandma's house which is a park that has a slide inside of a huge penguin as well as lots of other cool things to do. I went there as a kid and it was a little strange to be the parent this time, sitting on the bench watching MY eight and five year olds running around! Another reminder of how fast time goes by!

I am hoping to be able to post some pictures of some of these fun activities soon...stay tuned!

Adjustments

The kids and I arrived in Kansas City on Liam's 5th birthday, July 27th. That means we have been here almost two weeks. We already have library cards and a new bank account! We are enjoying getting to know people at the church we are attending and I am trying to learn my way around and get adjusted to all the new things around me. We are glad to be reunited with Michael, once again, and pray there will be no more causes for separation in the future!

My parents and my sister, Heidi, and my nephew Grant came to KC with us and were here visiting for several days. They are all back in Bristol now and so we are getting into a more "normal" routine, although that is a relative term since we are temporarily staying with my grandma while we figure out where in the city we want to live and find a place. So, even though we are here now, as a family, we are only partway through with the moving itself.

Please pray for wisdom in several areas and that God would provide just the right home for us in just the right location for all the places we want and need to go. Also pray for my mom and dad as they prepare their house to put on the market in Bristol so they can join us here soon.

Alley will be eight years old next Monday (I can hardly believe it!) and so we are trying to figure out what to do to celebrate. There are many things to choose from here but she did mention the zoo and we haven't been there yet since the weather has been unbearably hot. Thanks to my grandma, we have a family pass to the Kansas City Zoo so that might be the best idea! Maybe I can post a picture or two!