Our Christmas

I quickly have to do our Christmas post before the New Year! Although Jared was sick for 2 1/2 gatherings, we still made it to all 8 gatherings this year! It was also a different kind of Christmas for us because God told us not to give gifts to anyone and to give money to World Vision instead. Our families were still generous in giving us gifts which we told them they didn't need to get us anything, but they did anyway. Kiera got a frog puppet which sings songs one note at a time when you move the mouth just like her puppy puppet, so she was quite thrilled about that!























She got a wooden puzzle and she figured out how to put one of the pieces back in!

Jared's dad built Kiera a little table with heart-backed chairs which I LOVE!


















She was very interested in the baby in the mirror (ha ha)

Although this was Kiera's 2nd Christmas, she was still confused as to what to do with the presents


















I got a bit carried away with the bread


















Kiera got a cute little piggy bank with $20 of change in it


















She also got a walker thing that turns into a little car, clothes, all-natural bug spray, shampoo, and body wash (I've been going all-natural with a lot of our cleaning products and my make-up products), clothes, a c.d., and a toy that makes "tropical" music all from my parents


















Jared + I with our gifts...I got 4 c.d.'s, all-natural body lotion, socks, cranberry hand soap, + lip gloss from my parents


















Kiera riding her "batmobile" (that's what we call it)























Looking back over the year, if I had to sum it up with a song, it would be "Great is Thy Faithfulness." It's been a very challenging year as Kiera has not always been an easy baby. God has answered many prayers concerning her and He has been working on our characters through the ups + downs. It's also been amazing to watch Kiera grow and learn new things. I'm in awe of God's faithfulness in every area of our lives.
"Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!"

In Sickness + Health

Many people have had the flu visit them this Christmas and it stopped by our house as well. Jared was sick with fevers from the 24th-26th. I was healthy until the 27th when Jared passed it on to me. I told him he was a bit too giving this Christmas. I went to church yesterday and then spent most of the afternoon on the couch. I felt well enough to go to a games night at one of our friends' houses last night, but by the end of it, I wasn't feeling too great. We came home and I spent the rest of the night fighting nauseousness and fevers. I had an ice cream pail beside my bed, but thankfully I didn't have to use it. I've been in bed all day today (I currently have the laptop in bed with me) and haven't been this sick in years. It makes me so thankful that I'm usually very healthy. I'm also incredibly thankful that Jared has the week off work, so he took care of Kiera all day today as I hardly had the strength to get out of bed to go to the bathroom. My stomach is feeling better and I managed to eat a little bit and I'm not quite as dizzy as I was this morning, so I think I'm over the worst of it. I was going to post pictures of our Christmas, but that will have to wait until Wednesday. Kiera is 14 months old today and still not walking...no surprise there. Oh well. It's incredibly cute the way she scoots around the house on her bum. Her sleep schedule is back to normal now, praise the Lord! She's also eating more, too, so I'm guessing it was a growth spurt. My friends said her hair has sure grown a lot, so maybe that was pretty tiring for her! (ha ha) She hasn't gotten sick and she's been pretty happy, so life is good! At least I'm sick now and not on our trip to Florida which is comin' up! I have much to be thankful for and look forward to. :)

Christmas Pictures

I've been feeling a bit artsy this week, so I plodded through a couple of feet of snow in our backyard to take these pictures:



































This is the same tree at night during a snowfall


















At a recent family gathering, my 89-year-old grandma guessed the number of smarties in a jar exactly (500) and won the jar full of them. She doesn't eat any sweets because she's on a strict diet due to her health, so I have no idea what she's going to do with them!


















These are some ornaments from our tree




























































The tree

























I was getting quite concerned because Kiera has been sleeping 17-20 hours a day for almost a week now. I prayed about it last night and decided I would call the health nurse if this kept up. Most kids are dropping naps at this age, not adding 4-hour naps and only being up for an hour or 2 at a time. Today she was up for 2 1/2 hours before going down for a nap, so that was better. Her nose is still a bit runny so she might have a cold or she might be teething. We'll see how this next week goes and in the meantime I will continue to seek the Lord for peace instead of worrying. That's such a challenge for me! I never thought I would be worried about her sleeping too much! Silly me. Anyway, I wish you all a very wonderful Jesus-filled Christmas!

Blessed To Be a Blessing

This past week-end, we had family gatherings on both my dad's side and mom's side. At both gatherings, Jared + I were put in charge of collecting money to donate to World Vision through their gift catalogue. Altogether between the 2 extended families, we raised almost $600 to help poor people around the world this Christmas. Awesome! Here are some of the things we bought:

Goat - $100
2 hens + a rooster - $55
Agricultural packs for 3 families which includes locally adapted seeds, tools, + training in crop management, irrigation, + nutrition - $35
Warm clothes for 25 children + their families - $35 (Most of us spend that much on just one article of clothing!)
Stock a medical clinic with $1400 worth of life-saving supplies donated by North American companies - $100
Deliver children from sexual exploitation in Asia - $75
2 mosquito nets that can protect up to 8 children from malaria - $30
Immunizations for an entire community - $100

I'm amazed at how a little bit of money can go a very long way to help change and save lives. We are SO incredibly blessed to be able to give to people who can't give back in a tangible way. This is what I've been looking forward to this Christmas! Thank you Lord for blessing us abundantly that we can give to others.

Cold, Sleep, and School

This past Monday, Jared wrote his final exam for Intermediate Accounting 2. He has been in school part-time for over a year straight since he took a course right through the summer this year. Now he has a 2-month break until his next course starts, so I'm very much enjoying spending time with him at home since he doesn't have to study every night anymore. In June, he will complete his Accounting Certificate and then take a break before taking more courses which will eventually transfer into the CGA program (Certified General Accountant). So far he's gotten almost all A+'s in the 9 courses he has taken, which means his final mark has usually been over 90%. He's a smart one!

Kiera got a bit of a cold this week and a mild fever. I'm thinking the -40 temperatures have something to do with it, although she's never outside for more than 30 seconds and she looks like this:























Then, 2 nights ago, she slept 16 hours straight without waking up for a bottle or anything! She slept from 9 p.m.-1 p.m. I heard her make a few peeps in the morning, so then I was reassured that she was still alive and o.k. Another strange occurrence was that she doesn't fit into her snowsuit properly this week and she did last week. I didn't really put it all together until my friend came over and said, "Kiera seriously looks taller this week than she did last week." Of course...she's going through a growth spurt! Hence the many hours of sleeping and not fitting into her snowsuit. After she woke up at 1 p.m. yesterday, she was up 'til 3 p.m., then went down for a 3 1/2 hour nap! She was up for 4 hours in the evening, and then went down for the night, so she was only awake for a total of 6 hours yesterday! Crazy! I don't mind the breaks I've been getting but I don't expect this schedule to last. This week-end starts our whirlwind of family gatherings as we have 6 in the next 7 days. Fun fun...I love family gatherings! That's one of my favorite parts of Christmas! What's your favorite part of Christmas? I look forward to hearing your answers (that means please leave a comment). :)

Happy 3rd Anniversary Jared!

Once upon a time, on a summer day, there was this guy who met this girl at church. She was immediately very attracted to him, but it took seeing her in a hot pink sundress a couple of weeks later for him to really notice her in a special way. They became friends and after their first time hanging out they knew that they wanted to marry each other and they told each other that. On Sept. 5, 2004, after asking for her parents' blessing, this guy asked this girl to court him with the intention of marriage. She said yes and 2 weeks later, she left to go to Bible School in England for 6 months. Before they had started dating, this guy had already bought a plane ticket to come visit her in Europe during her Christmas break, so they spent 2 1/2 weeks traveling around Europe together. After 6 months of dating long distance, this girl finally came home and 4 months later they were engaged, followed by their wedding almost 5 months after that on Dec. 17, 2005. They lived happily ever after.





































































Jared, I love you more than the day I married you. It's been an amazing 3 years and I look forward to growing old with you.

Kiera Is Now Mobile!

I'm very happy to announce that at 13 1/2 months old, Kiera is now finally moving around the house! She is not crawling or walking; she is scooting! She's now been getting into everything! She started doing this on Friday and just in that one afternoon she found the cleaners, light bulbs, knives, electrical cords, and almost pulled a lamp down on top of herself, which I caught just in time. I may eventually get cupboard locks, but for now I've just rearranged the things in the cupboards so that they're safe for her to open and I've hidden cords and been watching her a lot more carefully. It's an answer to prayer because I was having bad pains in my lower stomach and right hip area for about a week and at first I had no idea why, but I soon realized it was from carrying Kiera around because she's getting so heavy and my body can't handle her weight as she is almost 1/4 of my weight. I still obviously have to carry her at times, but now she can move herself to wherever she wants to go in the house, instead of fussing and putting her arms up for me to pick her up all the time. I got a short video of her scooting and also saying, "Hi!" in her singsong voice, so here it is.

Kiera Gets Her Groove On

Last night was our church's Christmas program. Kiera + I were both involved (I held her on the stage while I said my line and she shook her bell ornament) including me leading 2 Christmas carols by myself. That was quite a bit out of my comfort zone as I'm used to singing with a band and "hiding" behind a keyboard and not being the leader. It was just me + a boy playing acoustic guitar. It went alright. Here's Kiera in her Christmas dress that my mom sewed:
























It took me over an hour to edit that picture because she was sitting on my mom's lap and I wanted an all black background. At the end of the program, there were a few groups of kids who did some dances, which was Kiera's favorite part (and my favorite, too, because watching her was highly entertaining)! Here she is dancing along.

Week-end Getaway

On Sunday morning, Jared's dad + stepmom came and picked up Kiera and Jared + I drove to Grand Forks to stay at the beautiful Canad Inns hotel in celebration of our 3rd anniversary which is next week! A little while after crossing the border, Jared got a text message from our friend saying that his mom passed away that morning and asked for prayer for the family. She had cancer and almost every night Jared + I prayed for her healing. As we were driving down the interstate, we were both wiping tears. Right before that, I had been upset with Jared about something and suddenly that didn't matter. I know that she is now fully healed as she is with Jesus and I don't know why God didn't heal her on this earth, but He is still in control. She was in her early 50's and has 3 grown children. Although it's incredibly sad, we decided not to dwell on it for very long and just prayed for the family whenever we thought about it. We arrived at the hotel and because of the coupons we had, they gave us a free upgrade to a suite! This was the living room:
View #1


















View #2


















View #3


















Bathroom #1


















Bedroom View #1


















View #2


















Fancy alarm clock/radio/c.d. player thing


















Ensuite bathroom


















It was wonderfully spacious and for an hour on Sunday night, we watched our own t.v. shows as I wanted to watch a wedding show in the bedroom and he wanted to watch a fighting movie in the living room. On Sunday, we did some shopping in the afternoon, relaxed at the hotel, went out for supper to Buffalo Wild Wings, enjoyed the waterpark for half an hour


















and then relaxed some more until we went to sleep. On Monday morning, we enjoyed a free breakfast at Aalto's and drinks were included, so I had a cherry, apple, and lemonade slushy drink (I enjoy mixing flavors) with my eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, and toast! We checked out of our hotel at 11 a.m. and then went clothes shopping for Jared. He bought dress pants and a sweater and all I bought was a $10 black sweater the previous day. We ate "lunch" at Cold Stone Creamery where we shared "The Pie Who Loved Me" which was cheesecake ice cream, oreos, graham cracker pie crust, and fudge. It was amazing! We came home after that, Jared's dad dropped off Kiera, and we watched the finales of Amazing Race and So You Think You Can Dance Canada that we had taped on Sunday. It was such a wonderful time together! :)

Apparently Money Doesn't Grow on Trees

It's been another quiet week at home, but I haven't been quite as bored as last week. Yesterday, I got paid for December piano lessons (yay!) which we were desperately needing as we had no money left for groceries. It's been interesting seeing how God has been stretching our money. We had $8 to last us for a week of groceries and we made it! We had enough ingredients for all the suppers we had and we just had to buy things like milk + bread. I try to only buy what we absolutely need and I often buy the no name brands because it's cheaper and still we almost run out of money every time. We've never gone hungry, though, so God is faithful. He provides exactly what we need! We've talked about me getting a part-time job outside of the home since piano teaching is barely enough, but we both feel that God is calling me to be at home with Kiera full-time, so He will continue to provide. Thankfully Jared has been given insane great budgeting skills and he has a detailed spreadsheet in Excel that we carefully follow. We bought "So You Think You Can Dance" tickets with extra money that we're getting in January, but we rarely ever prespend money like that. I know that God wants to stretch our faith by stretching us financially and it's not a very comfortable thing, but He knows what's best for us and if by living off less we grow spiritually, then it's worth it.

Washington + Vancouver Videos

Since there's nothing very exciting going on in my life this week, I'm posting two 30-second videos instead. The first one was at Art + Jenene's house in Washington and the 2nd was at Casa Gelato in Vancouver.

My Purple Marshmallow

This is our little purple marshmallow this winter.























Just makes me want to squeeze her and squish her all day long! She's 13 months old now and still not crawling, standing, or walking. People keep asking me all the time, "So is she crawling or walking yet?" I try not to compare her to other kids, especially all the ones at church who are younger than her and crawling. I'm trying to be thankful that she's not able to get to the Christmas tree and pull ornaments off of it or get into all sorts of other trouble. She's wanting to stand more often these days and of course we have to hold her because her balance is terrible. I suppose that's a step in the right direction. One guy even asked me yesterday if everything was ok with her physically because she's not crawling and climbing over everything like his son was at 9 months old. She's fine! She's perfectly healthy and content to scoot around on her butt. She's talking more than some 13-month-olds, so at least she's not behind in every area. She says, "Hi Dad!" and although she's been saying "mama" for a long time, I think she's now saying it with the knowledge that that's who I am. I think it's great that she's starting to put words together. She might be like Jared's dad who didn't ever crawl and then at 16 months old just got up one day and started walking. I'm sure there will be days when I'll be chasing after her and thinking, "Why was it that I wanted her to start walking?" God has perfect timing for everything and He is never late!

Why It Was Worth It To Get Up At 3:30 a.m.

Kiera has been sleeping through the night a bit more often in the past week and a half now, but still not as much as I would like. Recently, she woke up at around 3:30 a.m. and so I went and gave her a bottle of water mixed with apple juice (like usual). When she was done, I picked her up and started gently patting her back. This time, she put her arm around my neck and started patting my back! Made my heart melt into a pile of mush! I momentarily forgot my exhaustion and frustration of having to get out of bed in the middle of the night and I actually didn't want to put her back down. I can only hold 22 pounds of baby for so long though, so back into her crib she went and I went back to sleep with a smile in my heart.

The "Magic" Towel

We did this when we were in Washington and I still don't really know how it works! My mom bought them at Wal-Mart.

A Little Bit About Me

I was tagged by Sheila to do this quite a while ago and I wrote some things down so that I wouldn't forget. Here are some things about me that you maybe knew or didn't know.

I am a wife, mother,
and sister to one

I love cats and monkeys
and not dogs as much because they smell

I used to want to be a monkey when I was a child
and would crouch down with a towel around me after my bath and make "EEE EEE" noises

I love happy movies and happy endings
and I hate scary movies

My house is often a bit messier than I would like it to be
because I can always find better things to do

I love playing games
and I'm extremely competitive

I'm a grandma driver in winter because I'm scared of icy/snowy roads
so I love that Jared drives most of the time

I love reading Christian books
and usually read at least 2 books a week

I spend too much time on facebook and blogs
because I love knowing what's going on in my friends' lives

I play Ticket To Ride online almost every day
which is one of my new favorite games

I love dreaming about the future (children and our next house)
and have to remind myself to enjoy the present


Now I'm tagging Jenene, Ruth, and Allison H to do this!

I think whoever came up with "Silence is golden" had at least one fussy child

Lately, Kiera has been driving me bananas at times. She has been very fussy, not taking long naps, fighting sleep almost every time I try putting her down, and not sleeping through the night all the time. The reason: 3 weeks ago she had 6 teeth and now she is getting her 11th tooth! 5 teeth in 3 weeks including 3 molars! Apparently it's not a comfortable process. I keep telling myself that it will be better when she is older, but I have been telling myself that for almost 13 months as Kiera has not been an easy baby. My pastor said something recently that has stuck with me: "If you aren't content now, you won't be in the future either." Paul says in Phil. 4:12 "...I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation..." and the key to that verse is the next verse: "I can do everything through Him (God) who gives me strength." I can't produce contentment from myself. I have tried and there is none to be had on those days when Kiera fusses and fusses and I'm exhausted. I need to go to God and allow Him to fill me up with His joy and abide in Him. That's so much easier said than done, but God has been teaching me and reminding me of that very often these days. I still wouldn't trade Kiera for anything. I know that "this too shall pass" (praise the Lord) and there will be different challenges in the future, but God is with me every step of the way. Silence may be golden for a little while, but having Kiera is way better!

My Grandma's 80th Birthday

On Sunday, we had a huge birthday party to celebrate my Grandma's 80th birthday! 80 years...what a blessing! I accidentally left my camera in the car and didn't feel like running out in the cold to get it, so I don't have any pictures of it. There were over 100 people there and at least over 200 cupcakes. A lot of us "kids" were asked to bring 2 dozen cupcakes and of course there were MANY leftover because they had other squares and food there as well. Jared and I are having some couples over for dessert this week to help us eat them! One of the highlights for me was when my Grandpa went up on stage and sung a song to my Grandma that included him yodeling! He did such a great job. It's so awesome to see them still so much in love after almost 60 years of marriage. My other grandma is turning 90 next year, so I've been incredibly blessed with healthy grandparents who have lived long lives (my other grandpa died at age 80) and who are prayer warriors. I know I've benefited from that in more ways than I will ever know! I'm so thankful for that heritage and I pray that by God's grace we will pass that on to our children and their children. Happy 80th Grandma; I love you!

The Distraction of Kiera

Last week, when I went to pick up my flat iron, the guy at the border (who was in his 30's) was oohing and aahing over how beautiful Kiera is and her beautiful big blue eyes...etc. Then he tells us to have a good day and my friend started to pull away when I told her, "He never gave us back our passports!" She quickly stopped and rolled down the window and then the guy realized that he had forgotten and then gave them back all because of a sweet baby. Hilarious!

This past summer, we went to the States and we were in a restaurant eating breakfast when an elderly man came up to me and handed me a $1 bill. He said, "Here, this is for your daughter. She is so cute." I was shocked and blessed! Maybe I could turn this into a business...ha ha.

When we were in Washington and we went out to eat, it seemed almost every waiter, waitress, and lots of restaurant customers would stop and tell Kiera how pretty she is and how she has such long eyelashes...etc. I can't take any credit because it is God who made her. I just didn't think she would get quite so much attention from strangers everywhere we go. Then again, they don't see all the times that she yells or fusses. She's definitely not perfect, but I do agree with them as any mom would.

Winter Theme

Yes, I decided to change my blog background again as some of my friends have been changing their's to Christmas themes and I figured that was a good idea. I love the beach, but I thought this was pretty, too. Do you all like it? Kiera is busy throwing her puffed wheat on the floor, so I should probably go clean up (yet again). Oh, and I ate part of the sticker on my apple this morning by accident. Paper is not the worst thing to eat, as Kiera has discovered when I haven't been watching her closely. Yesterday, I let her play with our dental floss and I didn't know that she knew how to open it. Needless to say, we now have a huge ball of floss sitting on our counter that Kiera pulled out. Well, gotta go take care of my daughter now before she finds something else to throw, chew, or pull.

Celebrating Birthdays With Straight Hair

Yesterday, my friend had to go to the U.S. post office where our mailbox is to ship some items, so Kiera + I went along and I picked up my wonderful Sedu flat iron!  Kiera fussed almost all the way there and back due to tiredness and not wanting to be in her car seat (it's an hour and 15 min. drive one way) but it was totally worth it!  As soon as I got home, I straightened my hair.  This is halfway through with one side done and one side not

The finished product

Later on, we went out for supper with Jared's family to celebrate my birthday, Jared's, Kiera's, Jared's brother Steve's, and Jared's sister's boyfriend, TJ's.  If Amanda (Jared's sister) was here we would be celebrating her's as well, but she's in Africa right now.  I think it's funny that all of the kids on Jared's side have birthdays in October, November, and December.  Here's the strawberry margarita I had that was very yummy

Here's TJ with one of his gifts

Kiera with her grandparents and daddy

I woke up this morning and my hair is still straight!  I don't think I've ever had that happen before.  Yay!

Counting My Blessings

Right now, I am counting my blessings as I am quite disappointed that I do not have my flat iron yet. It is sitting at our U.S. post office box, but due to some bad communication, it has not been picked up yet. Jared was going to go pick it up today, but today is Veteran's Day in the States, so the post office is closed. That frustrates me greatly, but then I remember that I have so much to be thankful for and why should I care that I have to put my hair in a ponytail for another week and a half.

We just booked our hotel for our upcoming anniversary and we got an AMAZING deal! Jared's co-worker gave him a Canad Inns coupon book, which previously was never an option for us because it's the most expensive hotel in Grand Forks. There's a coupon in there that from Sunday-Thursday you can get a room for $99 (regularly $129) and that includes 4 free passes to their huge waterpark (regularly $7.50 per pass). PLUS, upon availability at check-in, we can upgrade for free to a theme room or penthouse SUITE!! At the time that we booked, they were only 6% full, so our chances of upgrading are excellent because it's on a week night! Some of the theme rooms and suites have their own jacuzzi tub which would be sweet and romantic! I'm not getting my hopes up though, because as I found out today, it can be extremely disappointing. Either way, it's going to be A LOT of fun and wonderful just to spend time together with no baby distractions! The coupon book also included coupons for Gordman's, my most favoritest store. :) :) I praise God for whoever gave those coupons to Jared! I don't have to look far to find a reason to smile and be thankful.

New Header

I can't decide which header I like the best on my blog. Can you help me decide? The new one is at the top of my blog (obviously) and this was the old one.










I would love all of your input as you are the ones who read my blog. Thanks!

Very Random

Jared doing...laundry?


















The eggs, hashbrowns, sausages, bacon, and pancake feast we made for brunch on Jared's birthday


















Beautiful fall leaf....now it's gone (sob)


















Hope you enjoyed those random pictures. I've been at home (literally inside the house) since Tuesday so there is nothing to share. I know that's pathetic. That happens to me sometimes during the week when it's cold outside and we don't need any groceries or for me, library books. Thankfully I am getting out of the house in about an hour for a playdate, so I gotta go get ready!

Politics and Straighteners

Since the beginning of October, I have been saving up my spending money to buy a high quality hair straightener (or flat iron). I've had my $30 straightener for a few years now and it's not working anymore. It doesn't close all the way and when I do manage to get my hair kind of straight, it lasts for about 5 minutes. I did research on the internet to see which is one of the best straighteners on the market right now and I decided to get a Sedu Ionic Ceramic Tourmaline Flat Iron. Apparently it's used by some celebrities like Beyonce, Lisa Kudrow and Bon Jovi, which wasn't actually a big deal to me, but it got over 3000 5-star reviews which won me over. My friend, Jen, gave me a spray for my birthday that protects the hair from being damaged by the heat, plus this straightener is supposed to be better at protecting hair from damage than the others on the market. I ordered it online last Friday, so I'm hoping to have it by next week. I can hardly wait! It's $105 including taxes and free shipping (regularly $115) and it includes a $20 stand for free. :)

Last night, I was following the U.S. election which is weird because I normally dislike politics and I didn't even follow our own election. Maybe it's because I have a sister living there now. I have to admit that I wasn't extremely happy about the result, so all we can do now is pray for the new president, which we should be praying for the leaders of our countries anyway. God is still in control!

Kiera's Birthday Parties

Kiera had 2 birthday parties last week which were a lot of fun! As I mentioned previously, her first party was a surprise one at Art + Jenene's the night before we left to come home. My camera battery died during the beginning of "Happy Birthday," so I caught the tail end of it.

Art bought a chocolate ice cream cake and Kiera seemed the most interested in dipping her finger in the whipped cream, so she was being way neater than she usually is the one time we wanted her to be messy! She did manage to get some cake on her face after a little while.


















This is the present that Art + Jenene bought her (the book "Corduroy" and the teddy bear that goes with it).


















Birthday party #2 was on Friday, Oct. 31 and we had our families and some of my aunts, uncles, and cousins join us to celebrate.

This is the alphabet block cake that my mom made (I don't do this kind of thing!)


















The balloons which Kiera was very interested in


















Going to town on the cake

Mmmm....blue icing


















Kiera and her presents


















October was a crazy busy and very fun month! Thanks so much for all the birthday wishes for the 3 of us and for putting up with my l-o-n-g Washington posts...I just didn't know which pictures to leave out, so I didn't leave out very many! Hopefully it was enjoyable to read and that you weren't sleeping by the end. :) Speaking of sleep, I'm going to go do that now!

Happy 1st Birthday Kiera!

Wow, I can't believe my baby is now a 1-year-old! Kiera, I remember the day you were born I watched you as you slept and my heart physically ached because I loved you so much. I didn't think I could love you any more than I did that day, but it turns out that I love you more and more every day. It's been an amazing year with many challenges and much growth. I love watching who you are becoming and I'm excited for this next year as you transition to being a toddler! You are starting to try and repeat me when I talk which is awesome and I am confident that your crawling and walking skills will catch up with your talking (please...my arms are getting tired)! I've loved watching the first year of your journey and look forward to the amazing plans that God has for your life.

4 hours old























3 months old


















6 months old


















9 months old
















Exactly 1 year old


















Happy birthday Kiera! I love you forever!