Life Lately...

Hi friends,

If you hadn't noticed, it has been quite a while since I posted an update! It proved much harder to keep up with the blog than I had originally thought. BUT, I am going to try to get back in the habit of doing some quick updates for all our friends and family both near and far.

What a great year we have had so far. Olivia Kate started walking in June, and turned 1 in July. I feel like life has been full speed ahead ever since. Of course she has grown so much over the past few months, so I will catch you up on some of her recent 'tricks' as we like to call them! :)

Some of her words include- dada, mama, dog, baby, ball and most recently to the great pleasure of her grandparents she has begun to say nana, pops, mimmie, and of course we are working on gottie

She LOVES animals, dogs in particular; she barks at anything that moves and is not a human. She also really enjoys books, stuffed animals, and other kids. She still doesn't love to eat but seems to have enough to get by. She is a pretty happy girl and the JOY of our life. Often we ask ourselves what life was like before her, neither of us can even remember because she has truly brought so much happiness to our entire family!

Jesse's job has been very busy lately. We are lucky to have a husband/dad that works so hard for us! Doesn't hurt that he loves his job and is great at it. I started work back in June and usually pick up 1-2 days per week at a local surgery center. We are SO blessed that my mom keeps Olivia Kate at our house on those days. She loves her time with Mimmie and it makes it much easier to leave her knowing she's in good hands.

The fall has been so fun thus far! For those of you that are not in TN, the weather here has been much warmer than usual and just beautiful! I went to Gatlinburg for my annual Ladies of Legacy women's retreat in late September. It's always a blast to spend time with 20+ great women. This year we learned about the legacy of life and loving the season of life you are in. Man did I enjoy it! And feel like the Lord truly showed me how to live in the joyous moments HE gives us daily.

Last weekend we had a huge fall fest at Jesse's parents house in Lebanon complete with pumpkin picking, a hay ride, and a haunted barn. A good time was had by all, but certainly by Miss Olivia Kate... she played until she passed out on Nana's shoulder! Already looking forward to doing it again next year.

We still have LOTS left to look forward to in the remainder of 2010. Olivia Kate will be the flower girl in our friend's wedding this weekend, Chris and Corrie Anderson! We are praying she walks down the isle, or runs. Just as long as she gets down! Pictures to follow soon. Of course we are excited about Livy's 2nd Halloween as she can really enjoy it this year. Jesse's family reunion will be in November followed by Thanksgiving, and Christmas! We always have a wonderful time through the holidays but they seem to be so much sweeter now with OKP around!

Finally, I should add how blessed we have been by our Lord this year! As always, He has showed up mighty in our lives, finances, jobs, families, and friends. We know that it is through His abundant grace that we are blessed tremendously with health and happiness.

Until next time friends :) (which could be a while but hopefully not!)