Kiera's Piano Lesson

Kiera had her first piano lesson a while back and it turns out that she's already composing her own music! Quite the talented baby I must say. Here's her debut performance of Beethoven's 5th...or her own interpretation of it :)

Happy 9 Months Kiera!

Kiera has now been "outside" longer than she was "inside." It has flown by so quickly. She is becoming more and more interactive and entertaining. Here is what she has been doing this past month:
Fine-tuning her piano skills


















She got her first glimpse of what prison would be like


















She's learning how to drive


















And as of yesterday, she has FINALLY figured out how to roll from her tummy to her back (yay!!)



I wish you many more months and years of piano playing, eventually driving on your own, rolling, and no jail time!

Kiera Talks

Kiera may not be crawling, rolling, or standing like other 9-month-olds, but she has been doing a lot of talking, though not very much of it is English. She always has been a talker, just like her daddy! This is her latest favorite word (in English!)...

The Big Chop

Now that my sister's wedding is over and after months of Kiera pulling on my hair, it was time for a drastic cut. A big weight has been lifted off of my shoulders, literally.
Before




















After
















P.S. I'm doing much better than my previous post. I think most of my tears have dried up, at least for a while. The heavy sadness is gone, although I'm sure I'll still miss Jenene quite a bit at times. My heart is much happier, though, so I'm thankful. My heart feels lighter along with my hair! :)

My Sister's Wedding

This past Saturday, my little sister, Jenene, got married to Art. It was a beautiful wedding and she was the most gorgeous bride I have ever seen. My goal throughout the day was, "Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry" and I made it! Art was the one who actually cried the most during the ceremony and the reception. He's such a teddy bear...I love it! A "manly hardcore into working out" teddy bear. I was the matron of honor, so I was a bit nervous about my speech, but it went well and people actually laughed when they were supposed to! Here are some pictures and one very short video that I captured of the day.


My little munchkin








































Art's mom, Sally, and his younger sister (one of the bridesmaids), Mary


















The groomsmen: Art's younger brother, Joe, on the left and his friend, Cameron, on the right


















The yummiest dessert ever, Skor trifle, which I practically inhaled in less than 2 minutes


















The very pretty punch fountain/dance floor area


















Jared and I (in case you hadn't figured that out)























The bride + groom's first dance to "Just the Way You Look Tonight"























The new Mr. + Mrs. Morgan























I'm so happy for them that after 2 years of having a long distance relationship, they are finally together, but at the same time, I'm incredibly sad that she's moving to Washington State, which is where he's from. I held it together on Saturday, but yesterday (Sunday), I finally allowed the floodgates to open. I cried about 5 times. As tears were streaming down my face, I asked God how this joyful time could be mixed with such sadness, and I was reminded that He gives and takes away, but still I will choose to say, "Lord, blessed be your name." It feels like she is taking a piece of me away as we see them off at the airport tonight, but I know that God will fill in the gap. It's so hard for me to be "losing" my one and only sibling, but I was reminded by a song this morning at Bible study that God sees my pain and that He is incredibly faithful. So, I am clinging to him during this really hard time in my life. Sometimes I wish that there was an end to the tears, or maybe a maximum quota per day, but I know that it's good to be able to release them. By the grace of God, I can smile through the tears as I think of the past 23 years He has given me with my sister. Congratulations Art + Jenene and I wish you an awesome, exciting, Jesus-centered marriage for the rest of your lives!

An Afternoon at the Park

And the winner is...mom! She guessed it right; it's Kiera's baby food. Blended up banana to be precise. Yes, it looks disgusting, but I can assure you it was not rotten. It was safe to eat and Kiera quite enjoyed it. A couple of Sundays ago, we took Kiera on her first trip to the park. At first, she wasn't too sure about the swing, but then she decided she liked it.

Wordless Wednesday

Who can tell me what this is? Guess away!