A Yearning

Yearning as defined by dictionary.com - noun, a deep longing, especially when accompanied by tenderness or sadness.
Over the course of the past six months or so we have developed a friendship with this dear elderly man at our church. He will soon celebrate his 80th year of life (09/16).

I can't explain what I feel when I see him each Sunday. The best way to define it is a yearning. I see him as a grandfather figure. Not to my children, as much as to ME. I lost both my grandfathers at an early age in life. I was a mere seven years old when my maternal g'pa passed away and 15 1/2 when my paternal g'pa passed. I have always had a very tender place in my heart for the elderly. It could very well have to do with the fact that my mom worked at the local nursing home for 20+ years. Or that I myself worked there throughout high school. Or that my maternal great grandmother and paternal grandfather spent their last years in a care center. Needless to say, I spent many many hours around the "old." Anyhow, we make it a point to sit next to Joe each week. He lights up when holding our babe which in turn makes me light up. I love learning a little more of his life's story each passing week. I wanted to take the opportunity to snap a couple of pictures (on my phone) of Mr. E holding our sweet McKenna Jane so I can always remember this time.

If you are of the praying type I would ask that you keep Mr. E lifted up in prayer. He has been dealing with bad pneumonia as well as enduring ongoing chemotherapy maintenance. I want him to experience complete healing so he will be around a long time to come to love on my family and for us to love on him in return.

Tender. Why, yes!

1st Grade

Today was the beginning of a new school year for the Olathe School District and for our 1st grader, Gabrielle. I was surprised I actually had to wake her this morning to get ready. Unlike other days her eyes popped right open and she sprung out of bed with enthusiasm. She was eager to wear her fun new outfit GG bought her and to show off her new hair cut and tinsel additions (apparently it is an up and coming fade much like the feather "extensions"). I think she looked adorable for her first day!



What she is most excited about in this school year:
Reacquainting with old friends
Making new friends
The fact that she has a "boy" teacher -Mr. Herrig
She gets to eat school lunches (praying this leads to an expanded pallet for her)
and most of all ...
They get TWO recesses in 1st grade!

This will definitely be a time of transition within our family as we aren't used to her being gone all day (8:10am - 4ish). I fear Dawson will be lost without her as she is his very favorite playmate. And truth be told, I won't know what to do with my uninterrupted afternoons when both "little" kids are napping. I have high hopes of reading a good book or two and spending some time working on McKenna's first year album along with the other must do "to do" lists.
Time will tell!

Ms. Sassy pants,
Here is to wishing you the best time ever in the 1st grade.
You.Are.Beautiful!!
We love you,
Daddy, Mommy, D & McKenna Jane

Okoboji

We made plans on the fly to take a four day, three night trip to West Okoboji lake to relax and spend time with "family" away from family. The Morris's graciously opened their lake home to us during our stay. They always have a way of welcoming us with open arms, make us feel loved, spoiled, and as if no time has past since we were last together. We leave our time with them with our bellies full of laughs and good eats (helloooooo kandy korn sweet corn!).
This is just a handful of pictures documenting our time together.
Friday day it was just our fam'.
We spent the morning at Treasure Village.

Face painting followed by The Twelve Dancing Princesses play (no photos)

And a game of mini golf.
Gabi was really into it however, Dawson lost interest about mid way through the 27 hole course.

The afternoon was spent drawing with sidewalk chalk

and lounging at the deck side pool - ha! while Daddy and Mommy enjoyed adult beverages on the deck.

The kids were estatic when Matt & Molly arrived Friday night and were even more excited when it was time to head out on the boat Saturday morning. This is how little miss rolled with it. She was such a trooper in her life jacket while we soaked up the sun and water.

Mo & Gabrielle were the 1st to hit the water on the tube. G was IN HEAVEN and was less than thrilled when it was time to head in for lunch.

The excitement from the morning wore the Dawsonator plum out and he fell fast asleep during our drive back into the harbor. Could my little man child be any cuter?

Dawson and Matt taking in a little water play in the harbor outside the lake house

I can't look at this picture without laughing. Check out the look of terror on poor Dawson's face! You can't blame him as the two of them were quickly dumped on their first attempt out on the tube. G'pa Terry wasn't too sure how fast to gun the motor during "launch."

Our sunkissed sweetheart.
She is made for the water and LOVES Matt and Molly so she was in heaven!

And our trip wouldn't have been complete without Travis and I both taking our turns out on the water. Fun times! We are already looking forward to planning a return trip next summer.
Morris family, we love you and can't thank you enough for the gift of this little get away!

Miracles CAN Happen

Several miracles took place today in the Hicks household. They have left an impression so much on this momma that I had to take a brief moment to document them for memories sake.
1st and most importantly - Gabrielle had a happy plate at supper this evening. She sat down with us at dinner, didn't say one word about how she didn't like what we were having and begin whining for a different option. She sat down and promptly dug right in, clearing her plate in a matter of moments. WHAT? Yep. That's exactly our response. Here is the real kicker. It contained meat AND beans AND tomatoes. Double what? She is a self professed vegetarian so this was monumental! Thank-you Rene VonMonster for the enchilada bake that our oh so stubborn, picky eater divulged in this evening. There is a VERY high probability that she will never touch it again and I'm OK with that.
2nd and almost as important as the above mentioned - Dawson finished his supper this evening at 8:30. Yes, you read that right. 8:30. He is normally our good eater but the past couple of weeks have been murder at meal time. So tonight when he watched his sister chowing down on some Ittibitz and I firmly told him he could enjoy his own cup WHEN HE HAD FINISHED HIS SUPPER he dug his heels in. This momma stood her ground and 30+ minutes later he was choking down his now cold supper.
Momma - 1
Stubborn D man - 0
And lastly {and also not so important} - I have intentionally scheduled "ME time" from 8:30 - 10pm this evening. This also NEVER happens. Our regular routine around this household is to tuck the kiddos in and have "down time" watching the TV, reading the paper, etc. Tonight Daddy is putting the kids to bed and I am reading a little of my current Bible study, eating far too many brownie bites, typing up this here little blog post & catching up with a friend via the phone.
That's all. Just wanted to document it as it is a miracle for reals around here!
G'night!

6 Months Old

This post is coming a little late, but better late than never.
Our little miss is now SIX months old.
A little hard for me to grasp. OK, a lot hard for me to grasp.
I want to capture time in a bottle and keep her my last born babe forEVER.
I say that, however with each new milestone I grow more eager and excited for the next.

This past month
* I finally ordered and received your birth certificate
{let it be known your mommy is a professional procrastinator}
* You have taken a real interest in your toys - reaching for them, chewing on them, exchanging them between your hands
* GG, Aunt Shari, Uncle Derek, Aunt Teri, Dylan, Logan & Connor all paid a visit
We learned you will welcome a new baby boy cousin in late October
* You first began to sit up solo at 6 months, 4 days and had the art of sitting up perfected a few short days later
* Your preferred method of "transportation" hasn't changed. You scoot yourself in circles or across the room on your back, pushing with your feet
* You HATE (I simply can't emphasize the word hate enough) baby food. You want NOTHING to do with it. This includes cereal, fruits and vegetables.
* You have proven yourself a lover of the water. We have spent ample time at our neighborhood pool and have taken family outings to Splash Cove and Black Bob Bay water parks
* Your babbling is sweet music to our ears
And we still get lost in these baby blues!

Stats: 15 lbs 25th percentile, 25 1/2 inches 50th percentile, 16 3/4 HC 50th percentile
Diaper size - 2
Clothing 3-6 months

Thank you for being our daily dose of sunshine, our source of many smiles and laughs and for bringing us to a whole new level of loving within a family.