Sissy's Birthday :)

Sissy is 12!!!!!

Happy Birthday sweet-girl! We love you!!! You are such a JOY to have as a daughter :)  You are always filled with Jesus' joy...always laughing and full of fun energy! It really is hard to believe that it was 12 years ago that you were born ~ it truly seems like just yesterday that we were in the hospital with you. You were born in the evening and I have such a sweet picture of you and Daddy that next morning - your first morning :) You were such a peaceful and sweet baby.

We had more of a Birthday weekend for you since today was also ORPHAN SUNDAY at church ;)  Yesterday we went to the tailgate for the football game and then to In and Out for dinner and opened your gifts from our family. You got some Ugg boots from us and a cute outfit from the boys ;)  From Nana and Papa and Uncle Dave and Auntie Tera you got gift certificates to the pet store to get a fish tank and some fish - wahoo! This morning Koslon helped Daddy make waffles for breakfast and we headed off to church and this afternoon Auntie Julie took you to go shopping for a couple of new, cute shirts :) Then we had your family party at Nana and Papas - a FUN B'day weekend!

Our sweet 12 year old!

Opening your gift from the boys

The boys made you a sweet card

Grandpa got you a special gift - a music box that was Grandma's favorite. It plays Happy Birthday and was from one of her very best friends! He misses Grandma so much everyday and I know it meant a lot to him as he was able to pass something so special on - what a sweet and thoughtful Grandpa!!!

Working on the treats for your classroom

Yummy Pumpkin Cookies ;) Your favorite!!!

SO.... we named about 25 things that we LOVE about you...but here are 12:

1. You are an ENCOURAGER - always building others up and "cheering us on"

2. You are PLAYFUL and FUN

3. JESUS SHINES in you as you love and FOLLOW Him!

4. You have such a GIFT of working/playing with/helping young children - they all love you!!!

5. You are a SERVANT- ALWAYS willing to help even without being asked ;)

6. You are very THOUGHTFUL and THANKFUL

7. HONESTY is ingrained in you

8. You are FULL of ENERGY

9. You are OBEDIENT and TRUSTWORTHY

10. You are HOSPITABLE - you love to bake, decorate for parties and welcome others into our home

11. You have great JOY - non-stop JOY!!!

12. HELPFUL - "when your sad she'll come and help"

We love you sweet Sissy!

Dear Jesus, please cover Sis with Your Love. Fill her with Your Spirit ~ she is Yours and we ask You to guide her and strengthen her so that she may follow You well all the days of her life. Please go before her and behind her. May You be her Best Friend ~ her Everything! Thank You for blessing us with her as a daughter. Help us to parent her with Your wisdom and love. In Your Holy Name, Amen!

Our Very Special Weekend :)

We had a weekend full of Special Events! We started off with our Friday Game Day!

Go Cubs!!!

Keeg's looking ready to Run!

Sis is ready to play VolleyBall!

Kols is their #1 Fan ~ can't play sports at school till 4th Grade ;)

We also Celebrated Brodie's Birthday! His family came into town and we went to the Bulldog Game ~

Happy Birthday to the BEST husband and dad ever!!!! We love you, Babe ;)

Here are some of our favorite things about you:
1. You LOVE Jesus more than you love us ;)
2. You LEAD our family well!
3. You PLAY football with us (boys)
4. You are FUNNY and make us laugh :)
5. You PLAY with us and throw us in the pool (kids)
6. You have COMPASSION and teach us to care for others
7. You HELP around the house and love being HOME with the family
8. You make Date Night and our MARRIAGE a priority
9. You're not afraid to TALK to anyone about JESUS (we really do love this about you - even though we sometimes complain or joke when you go to the store for one thing and take too long because you ran into someone who needed to hear about Jesus -hee hee ;)
10. You are very wise and You read the WORD to our family and pray with us every night

We love you!!!

At the tailgates with Jim and Joelle

Sis and Keeg enjoying their food :)

Our family with the Courages before the game started

And today we Celebrated Keegan's Baptism!!!  

Keegan has had a deep understanding of Jesus and the Sacrifice that He made from a very young age. His faith was tested and made real a couple of years ago when he went through the trial with his neck injury. Even amidst the extreme pain he was feeling, he determined to trust Jesus and believe that He would eventually bring something good out of that pain. Now, two years later, he will still refer to that time in his life where he learned to trust Jesus no matter what. Keegan came to know that Jesus was real when he saw Him answer prayer after prayer and then eventually heal him. He has been wanting to get Baptized for some time now but hasn't wanted to stand in front of the whole church. He recently told us that he feels that God is telling him that it is time to take this step of faith and obedience...so he was feeling excited and ready to get up there! Brodie had the privilege of baptizing him and Kolson read his testimony and did an awesome job!!! We had some family and close friends over after to celebrate and had a wonderful day ;)

Keeg~ We are so proud of who Jesus is growing you into!

Keegan’s Testimony

I first asked Jesus into my heart when I was 3 with my Mom. I asked Jesus into my heart because I wanted to follow Him for the rest of my life. My Dad and Mom helped me understand that Jesus is my Savior by teaching me the Bible and reading it to me.My faith grew when I hurt my neck in 1st Grade. I knew God was in control and I trusted Him. 

My favorite verse is Proverbs 31:8: “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.” I like this verse because it reminds me of my little sister that we are adopting. I want to get Baptized because I want to follow Jesus for the rest of my life.

We will post a video from Keeg's Baptism tomorrow - it is taking forever to load!

Kolson's 8th Birthday!!!

Kolson, how could you be 8 already??? You are growing up so fast! Jesus is strong in you and you are a JOY!!! We had a FUN Birthday day  :)  We woke up and Sissy and Keeg got your present all set out for you. It was a Lego set which you have already almost finished building (with the help of Keeg). Then we went to Mimi's for breakfast. Since you share a birthday with Claire and it was her 1ST Birthday, we headed off to her party which was so much fun! Then we went to Boomers as a family. You are a special boy and we are blessed to have you as our son!

Breakfast at Mimi's

Fun at Boomer's

Laser tag

Kolson hit the jackpot and earned 500 tickets!!!

Wa-hoo!!!

Since you turned 8, we each listed 8 things that we LOVE about you..here is a list of some of them:

1. You LOVE Jesus and want to be like Him

2. You LOVE your family and always want to be with us (especially Sis and Keeg)

3. You are caring and kind

4. You are compassionate and you are always there to help others

5. You are very polite and respectful

6. You are FUN to play with and FUNNY

7. You have tons of JOY

8. You are good at soccer and legos  :)

Your birthday wish / prayer is to SHINE Jesus' light wherever we go and to be more like Him

We love you, Kols!!!

Keegan's 10th Birthday!!!!!

Keegan,  WE LOVE YOU!!! It's so hard to believe that  you are 10!!! It seems like just yesterday that you were a baby and we were rocking you to sleep  :) Wow! God has blessed us with you!!! We had a fun day celebrating YOU!!! First of all, your cousins spent the night last night...so we woke up and walked over to the donut shop (your Birthday Breakfast choice), then we went to Anna's birthday party at the pizza parlor and played tons of games, then Ben and Alese dropped by to show you some love...and then Ms Ashley brought you balloons!!! Then we were off to T Joes for some ribs (your dinner choice). And finally, we went to spend your gift cards that you got for your birthday...whew! What a day!!! On our way home we all listed TEN things that we LOVE about you...here were just a few of them:

You really want to follow Jesus and be more like Him

You're a great leader and other kids love to follow you

You are a loyal and fun friend

Your laugh is from so deep within you  :)

You look out for your brother and sister

Your solid faith in Jesus and persevering through your trial with your neck injury

You are nice to your siblings and "the best brother in the world" 

Always helpful

You want the whole world to know Jesus (and you pray regularly for this!)

Cares for orphans and "the least"

Hard worker

There are SO many more wonderful qualities in you, Sweet Boy! We LOVE you  ;)

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

***Keegan's 10th Birthday wish, "That I would never stop following Jesus"***