I Enjoy Watching Myself

So a little preface to this video:
I recorded Porter a while back on our digital camera and was talking and playing with him(so you'll hear both of us in the background on the video that Porter is watching). I then played the video on our computer for Porter while he was playing in his crib. And this is his reaction(...or interaction?) to it. It's funny how he'll mimic what he hears himself saying or doing...like "bababa" and waving. I'm aware that some(no, probably most) of you might find it annoying, but it's cute to his parents :) Heck, his dirty diapers are "cute". ha

Where IS that "black hole"?

Ever wonder where that ever-illusive "black hole" is? Well, wherever it is I know it's gotta be pretty well outfitted with footwear and underwear, and equipped with all sorts of odds and ends from the home...like stamps, pens(oh the pens!), hairties, keys, cellphones, any cords that you rely on to view or download pictures, videos, and the likes, and let's not forget tampons! You swear you JUST bought a box of them, you put them right under your sink in their usual spot, yet where are they? You ARE the only female in the house, right?

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm




AH, HA!

The Whole Clan

Our little family was fortunate enough to get to visit our family back in the mid-west over Independence Day. Porter and I had not yet met everyone in Luke's family because they're spread out from coast to coast. It was so much fun watching Porter interact with his 14 cousins! He's number 14 of 15...the oldest cousin is in the Airforce and the youngest hasn't yet had his 2 month birthday. I feel so fortunate to be a part of their family. I have to pinch myself during visits with them because I feel like it's a dream that will surely end. I always had the dream of being part of a large extended family, with so many relatives that you lose count. I am the oldest of 6 children in my family as well as the oldest cousin...that goes for both sides. I have one cousin on the maternal side and three on the paternal. And we've always been so spread out it's been difficult to keep in touch. I can not wait for Porter to enjoy all of his relatives!

(In this first photo, we have everyone but 2 of Luke's siblings and their spouses, as well as the newest cousin. Also, note how strong some of the family genes are!)

Kansas City's Crown Center

After Luke left Mo. to head out to the course, Porter and I met up with one of my childhood friends from Columbia. We met up at Kansas City's Crown Center and took our kids to Kaleidoscope which is a really fun, interactive, fairytale-like "imagination machine" as they call it. The kids loved it...okay, we totally loved it too! Afterwards, we ventured outside to the "dancing water" and let the kids play until they were ready for a nap.It was a fun-filled day!


















This was as close to the water as he'd get.

America the Beautiful

Please take a moment to reflect and listen to this Canadian broadcast by Gordon Sinclair given back in 1973. It's one of my favorites.

To live in America is one of the greatest and most precious blessings one could have. I am so blessed to be a part of this great nation; a nation prepared by God for us. A nation whose Founding Fathers were so inspired by God to compose the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence some 200 years ago that it still stands as a model to other nations as well as our own. In composing those documents (as well as others) they secured Liberty, Freedom, and Independence for generations upon generations. Our freedom is not something to which we are entitled. Our freedom is a gift. An unfathomable number of men have paid for the freedoms that we have today with blood and sacrifice so great, we may never come to comprehend.

Not a day goes by that I don't thank my Father in Heaven for the freedom that we have to worship freely, to travel, to buy homes and cars, to teach anything, to learn anything, to choose whatever profession interests us, to speak freely, to bear arms, and most notably, to bring children into the world and have the peace of mind (that we so often take for granted) that they won't be exposed to war or tyranny, but will enjoy the same freedoms we enjoy.

So get out there and do your part to preserve what we have by voting (we've gotta keep those politicians in-line), and being an active participant in this country's (and our children's)future. I encourage you to find a Hero this Independence Day and thank him, and to thank our Father in Heaven for this blessed land in which we live.

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." -Preamble to the Constitution

"We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness—That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness..." -Declaration of Independence