Laundry Basket Fun

Who knew a laundry basket could be so much fun?! The other day Lily discovered all the potential of one of ours. First she started playing in it- piling anything she could find in it and on top of herself. But then she realized that it was much more fun to play on top of it! Here she is just having a blast. Shortly after this video she realized that it was even more fun to jump off of it. So we piled up pillows and blankets all around it and let her go for it. I love her little adventerous spirit!

My First Kiss

I got my first kiss yesterday...from Lily.

She's been giving hugs for a while, but when I ask her for a kiss she usually just hugs me or turns her cheek so that I can kiss her.

But yesterday she came right over and gave me a big kiss.

Melt my heart.

Playdough!

So Lily got to play with Playdough for the first time the other day! I had a bunch of cans of it from a Lifelines program I did a few years ago- and I saved it hoping that I would one day have a little one to play with it! Well, she had a great time! It was a little difficult, however, in the beginning to convince her not to eat it!:) I got out my meansuring cups and teaspoons so she could play with those too- and then on her own she went and got one of my frying pans- and we began cooking up some playdough! I loved playdough when I was little and now it's like I get to be a kid all over again! You want to play with some right now, don't you?!

An Up and Down Sort of Weekend

This weekend was sort of up and down, good and bad, all over the place. It started off good with the visit I wrote about earlier with our friends Friday morning. Then Lily woke up from her nap that afternoon and everything had changed. What I thought was teething at first turned into a nasty little cold- and she has been some kind of fussy ever since. Saturday was just mostly bad. With Lily being sick we were trying everything to entertain her- including a swim in her baby pool. That was cheering her up until she climbed out of the pool and sat down on the deck (to eat a few grapes I thought)- until I turned back around to see her playing with something strange- ok gross- ok, it was poop (that had squirted out of her diaper when she sat down). I quickly ran her up to the bathtub and tried to wrangle her soaked, clingy swim diaper off of her. Not only was her diaper full, but it was baby diarhea (which is the worst kind). And now it was everywhere-all over her, the bathtub, and all her bath toys. So, I quickly ran her to our bathroom downstairs to shower her off. Then I had to call Joe in from mowing the lawn to watch her while I dealed with the now 3 room biohazard. It was just about all cleaned up when I realized that we were out of bleach (we needed to soak her tub and all her bath toys). So I quickly ran to Hannaford to pick some up. Only as I'm leaving Hannaford I'm in a car accident. I was completely backed out of my parking spot (and ready to shift into drive) when I see someone back straight at me (totally oblivious to my presence). I tried to get out of the way, but of course she still hit me. Thankfully she was a very sweet lady and after she apologized many times (aparently her neck was bothering her and she hadn't looked all the way behind her) we exchanged numbers. Well, all I can say is that you've got to love a plastic car (a Saturn) because there was very little damage (just a little paint scraped away). Joe said that someone let him off once so we decided to return the favor and fix the paint ourselves. I think she was relieved. So, that was Saturday. It was just crummy. But Sunday seemed to turn around again and we enjoyed a fun afternoon at the American Folk Festival with our friends Brave and Jenny (and their two kids). The kids danced to the drum music at one of the performances (this is a picture of Lily dancing), did a few little crafts, and enjoyed some really good festival food. With the little ones it was hard to go to many of the performances, but that was ok because it was just wonderful being with our friends and especially watching Lily and their kids play and chase each other around- too cute! Thanks for a great time Brave and Jenny! So we ended the weekend on a good note. Unfortunately Joe is really sick today too- so we're starting off the week crummy, but that must mean that the good is yet to come!

Lily & Addie

Yesterday Lily and I had a wonderful morning with my friend Becky and her little girl Addie. We met Becky and her husband at our childbirth education classes, the girls were born just a few days apart, and we have been getting together here and there ever since! They are so cute together (although trying to get these two little girls to pose for a picture didn't work out so well- this is the best I could get). Anyway, we had such a fun morning swimming, playing with new toys, and enjoying lunch. Becky makes the most amazing chicken, pesto, and motzarella panni sandwich- so good! Thanks for the fun Becky and Addie!

It Starts Today!

As I write this Joe is leading a white water rafting outreach with 30 guys from one of the fraternities on campus! It's the unofficial start to our "Lifelines season." And I think it's going to be a bit crazy. We sure would appreciate your prayers for these trips- we want so badly for God to work in the lives of these students. So here is what's going on:

Tuesday- Rafting trip with the Husson women's soccer team

Friday- Freshmen arrive (we'll have a Lifelines booth so that they can sign up to come on a rafting, paintball, or rock climbing trip.

Saturday- Rock climbing trip with the U-Maine women's ice hockey team.

Sunday- Challenge Course outreach with all (600) of the incoming freshmen at Husson! Even if a quarter or half of these students come it will be by far the biggest Lifelines trip ever (anywhere)! Crazy!

And then classes start on Monday- and from there on out we have trips every weekend! All of our rafting trips are full, but we still have a lot of rock climbing and paintball trips to fill (Sundays)- so please pray that we would find groups that want to do these trips! Here we go....

Down To One

Down to one...nap. Yes, today I officially gave up the struggle to keep two naps. Lily wins- I knew it had to happen sometime- but oh how I loved those two naps! She has been sleeping later in the morning (and she sleeps 12-13 hours at night)- so I really can't complain. And yet this picture (taken at just a few weeks old) reminds me of when she would sleep often during the day. Crazy how quickly time passes. My little girl is getting big.

My Husband's Got Skills!

Joe just amazed me with how much he had accomplished in the kitchen by the time I got home on Sunday! He (with a little help from his dad on Saturday) had done all of the plumbing and electrical, put in all the cabinets and counters, and installed the new sink and dishwasher! Since I can't begin to fathom how to do even one of these things I am continually amazed by his skills! Since Lily and I have been back work has slowed some (working around the babe makes things a little more difficult), but he has installed the microwave and finished the flooring. Today he is working on trim (as you can see in the picture) and we are hoping to get the tile (for the backsplash) in tonight! We also bought our new stove yesterday and we are just waiting to find a few people to help us lift it through the window! There is still a lot of finishing to do, but it looks amazing and I'm thrilled!

Nonnie & Grampy

Lily and Grampy out exploring the yard (and doing a little "bat hunting")

The beautiful lily Nonnie planted in the yard- I can't even explain how amazing it smelled!

We are back! I want to say a huge thank you to Nonnie & Grampy (aka Mom and Dad Cousins)- they were just the biggest help- letting us stay with them, feeding us, helping entertain Lily- thank you so much! I have these moments in my mind that hopefully I'll remember for a long time- the first was Lily running around the house with Grampy chasing her. She would stop for a second and Grampy would sneak up on her and she would just laugh so hard! The second was yesterday watching Nonnie teach Lily how to blow bubbles out on the lawn (and she was doing it herself- amazing)! It is so fun for me to watch Lily with her grandparents- we really are blessed to have four of them who love her and just love to interact with her! We also had a great time visiting with my two sisters-in-law and their kids- I sure wish we lived closer to them!

Destruction!

Joe worked all day long and his friend Brave joined him this evening to finish off the destruction of our kitchen. No turning back now! We moved Lily's booster seat into the living room and ate all of our meals in there today. And with the kitchen sink gone I had to do the dishes in the bathroom!:) Lily and I will be leaving tomorrow to stay with Joe's parents until Sunday. Hopefully the next time I post our kitchen will be looking a little better!

The Beginning Of A New Kitchen!

After years of dreaming and planning and saving we are finally getting our new kitchen!!! The cabinets arrived today (and as you can see they are currently in our garage)- and the demo has already begun! We have already removed everything from the kitchen and as I write this Joe is taking out the kitchen sink! We are under a tight budget and a small time frame (we start Lifelines trips in less than 2 weeks)- but we are excited! Lily and I will be heading down on Wedn to spend a few days with Joe's family (thus allowing Joe 3 full days of work- since he will be doing everying- cabinets, plumbing, etc- himself). Pray that it goes smoothly, quickly, and that we can stay within budget!:)

Great Shoes!

On our late night shopping trip to L.L. Bean I got these wonderful shoes! They are called "Java Mary Janes"- and I just love them! They are so soft inside- one of the most comfortable shoes I have ever had- and the are cute too! I've also decided that this is a great "mom" shoe- pretty much a slip on (so no trying to tie your shoes as you are trying to run out the door with a little one)! If you are looking for a cute/comfortable shoe this might be the one for you!

Cheesecake!

To follow up on my post about raspberry picking: Joe made jam and with a little helpful advice from my grandma it turned out great! Lily has really been enjoying it on her little waffles. My mom also made a raspberry swirl cheesecake (the only part I did was the raspberry swirls)- and it was wonderful! So, here is the recipe as I promised!

1 cup of graham cracker crumbs
1 cup + 3 TBL sugar
3 TBL butter, melted
5 pkgs of Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
3 TBL flour
1 TBL of vanilla
1 cup sour cream
4 eggs
1/2 cup crushed sweetened raspberries


Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Mix crumbs with melted butter, press firmly into bottom of foil lined 13x9 baking pan. Bake 10 min.

Beat cream cheese, 1 cup of sugar, flour and vanilla in a large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed
Until well blended. Add sour cream, mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating on low speed after each addition, just until blended. Pour over crust.

Gently drop jam or fruit by small spoonfuls over top of batter. Cut through batter several times with knife for marble effect.

Bake 40 min. Or until center is almost set. Cool and then refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

We also thought this would be good with an extra 1/2 of crushed raspberries swirled in the middle- so it would go cheesecake, raspberries, cheesecake, raspberries. Either way it's delicious! Enjoy!

We Need A Team!

Right now we have two other full time staff assigned to our team, Steph and Ryan (who just got married last weekend). We also have two full time interns (John and Tessa) assigned to our team. Unfortunately all of them are still raising their financial support and can't report to our team until they are finished! So, that leaves Joe and I (and since I'm really on campus just one day a week- it just leaves Joe). The fall is our busiest time of the whole year and I just can't even begin to imagine doing it on our own. I know that God has a plan- personally I just hope it involes finishing the support of our team and allowing them to be with us soon! We would appreciate your prayers to that end- specifically that we would have at least one or two (or really all) of them to join us here in ministry full time in a couple of weeks! We'll keep you updated!

P.S.- Apparently I don't take enough pictures of our staff team (I'll work on that)- so here is one of Steph and I from a little while back.

Glasses!

I just couldn't resist sharing these cute pics. Apparently Lily has a thing for glasses these days! She likes to put mine on, so my parents bought her these cute little yellow ones of her own (here she is modeling them at the park). Then on our drive home from Bar Harbor she found my moms glasses- and that kept her entertained for a good part of the drive (here she is with them on upside down). Enjoy!

Grammy & G-Pa

Well, my parents (Grammy and G-Pa) left for home this afternoon. It is always sad to see them leave. Our visit was good- but spoiled a little bit by bad weather (lots of raining- and today it barely hit 60 degrees) and illness (both my parents and Lily were sick while they were here). It felt a little more like fall than summer- so we missed out on doing some of the summer things with them- but we did sneak a few in. Here are some pictures from our trip to Bar Harbor/Acadia National Park yesterday (in the one with both my parents Lily is eating wild blueberries that my Dad picked)! In addition to the wild blueberries we also hiked around Jordon Pond, had lunch at the Jordon Pond House (I just can't get enough of the popovers), shopped in town, and enjoyed dinner at a local lobster pound. Fun times. Mom and Dad, we miss you already!

Bret Favre- A New York Jet?

Please, say it isn't so! Oh, but it is. Last night Bret Favre (the starting quarterback for the Packers since 1992) was traded to the New York Jets! Side note: The Jets have had 15 starting quarterbacks since 1992. It's just sad. Personally I think he should have just stayed retired- he had an incredible last season and was going out on top. But after months of speculation aparently it's all done. As far as the Packers go I can understand that they want to move on- and yet I can't help but wonder if they are being complete fools trading one of the best quarterbacks ever. Guess we'll see. So sad.

Please Pray For This Family!

I just wanted to ask for your prayers for this family. Although it's been years and years since I've talked with him, Ryan (the husband) was a good friend of mine during college. His wife, Lora, was diagnosed with a rare blood cancer this spring (while she was 5 months pregnant with their 3rd little girl). Ryan and Lora are also in full time ministry (in Minnesota)- and I have been so encouraged and amazed by their story and their complete faith. From reading their blog I've heard that Lora will soon be having a bone marrow transplant. Please pray for this family- that our Lord might choose to heal Lora and that their lives and faith during this time might reach many who don't know the Lord that they serve.

If you want to read more about their story (which really is incredible) you can check it out here at: http://www.wdio.com/article/stories/S527989.shtml?cat=10335

You can also check out their Caring Bridge Blog at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/lorakesselhon

Thanks for your prayers!

Late Night at L.L Bean

After our friend's wedding on Saturday Joe and I decided to do a little late night shopping at L.L. Bean! Their flagship store in Freeport is open 24 hrs/day and we had a gift card to spend! So even though it was 11:30p.m. and we were exhausted we decided to go for it! Joe still had his tux on and even though I had already changed out of my dress I still had my hair and makeup all done up- so we must have been an unusual sight at the store! Even though we were so tired I have to say that it was wonderful- there were only a few other shoppers (unlike the mobs that are usually present during the day)! So, if you are ever in Freeport at some crazy time at night or in the morning I would recommend a visit! These adorable little boots for Lily were one of our late night purchases!

A Walk Down The Aisle

Joe and I got to walk down the aisle for a second time yesterday! This time it was as bridesmaid and groomsman in the wedding of our good friends Ryan and Steph! Even though I look totally exhausted in these pictures (which I am right now)- we had a wonderful time throughout the whole weekend. Steph and Ryan are perfect for each other and we felt so honored to be a part of their day. It was absolutly the smoothest wedding I have ever been to- so relaxed right from the start of the rehersal to the moment they drove away. Perfect!