Car Troubles :(

Beautiful Boy

Yesterday, Isaiah and I had a wonderful afternoon at the beach with Jakki, Jason, Jen, Ava, Harley, and Damon. I'm not sure if it's because Isaiah is walking now, but it was so much more relaxing for me at the beach than usual. There were also quite a few of us there too, so I could let him wonder a few chairs away from me and still see him because he's moving upright now! We took a few dips in the ocean which was cool enough to be refreshing, but warm enough for Isaiah to like it! The waves at Reggae beach are pretty small, so it's a nice place to take the kids.

Isaiah walking ready to head to the beach!

Isaiah also got to have some fun playing in the sand with Damon and Ava's sand toys! He is definitely not like Josh or I when it comes to the sand! Josh and I absolutely hate sand and would love it if a there was a beach made of mattresses or something soft that didn't get stuck all over you and make you quiver! Isaiah, on the other hand, loves it! He loves to roll in it, stick his hands in it, and yes....even eat it sometimes! With the sand, he reminds me of how my little cousin Alex used to be at Ocean City licking his crackers and then dipping them in the sand!

Eating sand off the rake

Isaiah is walking all over the place now! It's crazy that in just a few short days he is almost like a new person! He did great walking on the sand for the first time and kept wondering around, so we took quite a few walks together yesterday too. It was nice to spend time with Jakki while both our husbands were studying and she too felt like she really got a nice chance to relax, so it was a great afternoon!

Ava, Jen, and Isaiah

I think I mentioned it before, but our car shut off on Joshua on Saturday morning, so Josh called a garage this morning and they came out to look at it and get it back to their garage this afternoon. Apparently Dorothy (our car) needs a new radiator! We also knew that we needed to get new brakes, a new A/C belt, and an oil change, so with all that it's going to be a nice chunk of change, but hopefully it'll keep the car in good running condition for the next couple of years and pay off in the end with saving us from having to get a new one! The guy from the garage was really nice when he came to look at it, so I feel like Dorothy is in very capable hands. They aren't sure though how long it is going to take to get a new radiator, so please pray that they can get the car back up and running in the next day or so. It's a busy time for Josh with finals and I feel bad relying on Jakki to take Isaiah and I everywhere, so it would be so nice to get the car back quickly!

Isaiah giving Ava a hug and kiss...she wasn't so sure about it though!

Today, since we were waiting on the mechanic to come look at the car, Isaiah and I just stayed here at home. We were hoping to go to the pool and lunch with Jakki, but instead she brought over some leftovers they had for lunch and we watched a couple episodes of the TV show, Glee, which I really like! Isaiah took a 3 1/2 hour nap this morning and over lunch, so it was nice to hang out with Jakki and watch some TV without constantly running after Isaiah when he gets into something!

Big man sitting in the beach chair

Isaiah has been in a good mood since he woke up and hopefully that will continue into this evening. Since he took such a long nap I'll probably try to keep him up the rest of the day and pray that will help him sleep at night! We haven't been sleeping well since Isaiah hasn't the last several weeks and Josh needs his rest the next couple weeks to study for finals, so Isaiah (and maybe me too if I need to) is probably moving into his room tonight. We might try letting him cry it out a bit and see if he'll learn to sleep through the night, but we'll have to see how it goes. I feel like we've tried a bunch of things and nothing seems to get him to sleep all night and we're running out of ideas and don't want him to be miserable when we come home!

SO CUTE: Homeboys Damon and Isaiah at Reggae!

I got to talk to my Pap McCahan when I called Mom at work today and he sounds GREAT! I was so excited to get to talk to him and he sounds really happy with their new apartment and is doing so well. I feel like maybe this hospitalization was a blessing to get him back on his feet. He and Nana have been getting out of the house to eat out everyday again and got out to two different Thanksgiving dinners on Thursday, so I'm really happy that he's doing better and they're getting to be more active again! I'm sure he loved getting to visit the girls at the store and I bet they loved getting to catch up with him too and I'm sure it was good for him to be out of the apartment for a few hours! Thanks to all who have been praying for him.....God is good!

Too much fun at the beach...he fell asleep on the way home and slept for over 2 hours!

I hope everyone has a good start to this new week. Now we're at less than 3 weeks...only 18 more days until we head home. I know I say this all the time, but I really can't wait to see everyone and get to spend some time relaxing at home!!! XOXO

Sunday at Reggae with friends!

Busy Boy

The kids had fun playing and running around!

Yesterday we got to attend our second (and final) Thanksgiving dinner of 2009. This dinner was hosted by Jen and Jason Chin at their apartment on the street above ours. All of our friends from orientation week were there as well as a few people Jen works with at the school and a couple of Jason's friends from class. It was a perfect afternoon/evening spent with our newly formed family here on the island. Everyone brought something with them and we really had a feast of great food! I made Mom's broccoli rice casserole and turtle pumpkin pies for dessert and Josh made a HUGE mocha devastation cake that was totally vegan and tasted AMAZING! It was really big though, so I think everybody took some of it home with them!

BFF's (Jakki and me)

Isaiah was on the move the entire time except when he sat and ate in his high chair for me. It was later in the afternoon, so we kind of had a combined lunch and dinner and Isaiah was getting a little fussy, so Josh went ahead and fixed Isaiah a plate and we had to ask Josh to go back for seconds of Harley's mashed potatoes and Mimi's broccoli rice casserole that I made! Isaiah had a great time playing with different toys and chasing Ava and Damon around the apartment. There were also a couple of dogs there....Kristen brought her puppy Ottley along and after that, Elena brought her dog Torpedo for a while. Isaiah really enjoyed that! He didn't even take an afternoon nap and didn't really get fussy until around 8:00. We left just before 8:30 to head home and get him ready for bed. He was really tired, but still wasn't totally ready for bed until he fell asleep around 9:30.

Long, Liz, Alex (sitting), and Jake

For church today, we had another beach service at Angeles Beach since we got bumped from our usual spot at Frigate Bay resort and also another resort we had booked too! Isaiah didn't do so well at the last beach service with wanted to get down and be in the sand and not sit still, so Josh stayed home with him this morning while I went to church and sang with the worship team. It really is nice to have church at the beach every once in a while. It makes it really easy to praise God and see how incredible he is when you have amazing mountains, clear ocean water, and gorgeous blue sky right in front of you!

Autum, Kristen, and Erin

Isaiah fell asleep a little after 10 this morning for his nap. He hasn't been sleeping well again, but has been taking pretty good naps for me the past few days, so at least that helps me get a little break and sometimes a nap too when I haven't gotten a great night's sleep! Josh went to school with Autum when I got home from church to study for the day. He's not sure when he'll be home and since our car is out of commission for now, we're at the mercy of others. Isaiah and I are planning on going to Reggae beach this afternoon with Jakki and hopefully meeting Jen and Ava and Harley and Damon there too! It'll be nice to get out for a couple of hours and see some other people.

Joe and Jakki Moses

We are now at less than 3 weeks until we come home and I think I get more anxious by the minute! I think it's 19 days now!!! I feel like we've done well here this first semester and are settled in and we're liking it okay. It just hit me that Thanksgiving, although we had a great time with friends here, just wasn't the same being away from home and I don't really think it'll feel like Christmastime until it's cold and snowy and we're home with all our family! This is my favorite time of year too and it just doesn't feel the same when I look out my window and it's blazing hot and everything's green and there won't ever be any snow! I know all of you at home that have been griping about it being cold might think we're lucky, but Josh and I have decided we need to live someplace that has seasons! Eternal summer isn't as great as some might think!

Josh and Taylor

I think that's all for now. Hope you enjoy the pictures from our dinner yesterday. Hopefully I'll remember to take pictures at the beach today and can post some tomorrow. Love you all....see you in 19 days! :)

Another day to be thankful for!

Our first Thanksgiving as a family!

I wanted to be sure to post pictures of our Thanksgiving Day meal today, so you all could see. It was a nice time, but I have to say that for my first Thanksgiving away from home, I really missed all of you! I was doing okay in the morning until I started watching the parade on TV and that made me feel like I should be sitting in Grandma's kitchen with my Mom, Aunt Karen, Jen, Grandma, and probably Aunt Linda, and Aunt Donna helping chop and peel things and get ready while watching the parade on the small kitchen TV set! I had a few short bouts of tears in the morning, but felt better once we got to Skype with the Hanns in the morning and then most of the Henry/Bussard clan in the afternoon! We also got to Skype with some of the Fix family after we got home from dinner too, so it was nice to still see a lot of familiar faces even if we weren't there to share the day with you in person!

Harley, Erin, and Damon

Our dinner at the Frigate Bay Resort with our church group (CCF) was great! There was tons of food and a really good turnout...probably close to 50 people! Isaiah was getting kind of tired though and didn't want to sit in his high chair, so it wasn't quite the nice relaxing holiday meal that Josh and I had imagined! Although...I'm not sure that nice, relaxing holiday meal will exist for quite a few years again in the future, so we should probably get used to it! It was nice to spend time with our friends and nice for all the students to get away from campus and be able to talk about things NOT having to do with school for a while!

The right half of the room

Isaiah decided about halfway through Thanksgiving Day that he was an ace at this walking thing and hasn't really slowed down since! I think he's really proud of himself and we are too! Yesterday he walked almost everywhere....I told Josh he only crawled about 2% of the time yesterday! He's getting so big and looking more grown up everyday! He continues to improve his language skills as well.....I think he's up to 13 or 14 words he can say now! What's even more crazy that he can say that many words is that he knows what they mean! Yesterday he was flipping through a book he has that's about a family of ducks. I was doing something in the kitchen not really paying attention and he just started saying, "Duck, duck, duck" and I turned around and sure enough he was pointing to all the little ducks in the book! When he wants a drink now too, he'll come over to my cup and say, "wawa" for water. I'm just amazed that he's putting it all together in his head already!

The left half of the room

Yesterday was a regular day at home except Jakki came over and we ate lunch together here at our place and watched Angels and Demons together. We had a good time and it's always nice to spend time with her! Isaiah calls her "Jak" and even put the "K" sound on the end of it yesterday for the first time! In the evening, we ran out to the store to get some ingredients for Josh to make a vegan dessert for our dinner this afternoon and realized we are having some car issues, so Josh decided to take it to the garage this morning. He returned to ask if I wanted to hear the bad news or the really bad news first! EEK! The garage was closed because the owner is out of town until tomorrow apparantly, so Josh turned around to come home and as he was pulling into our driveway, the car shut off! We're going to see if some friends that are good with cars will take a look at it sometime this weekend and see about getting it to the garage on Monday....prayers would be appreciated that we can get everything taken care of quickly and affordably, so Josh can get back to studying for finals!

Josh and Isaiah chatting with some friends in the back of the room

This afternoon, we are headed to Jason and Jen (and Ava too) Chin's apartment for Thanksgiving dinner with our family away from home of our great friends here. Everyone is bringing a dish or two to share and Jen and Jakki are both making turkeys and I'm really looking forward to it. Things are usually crazy here with all the student spouses needing to study, so it's really nice when we can all relax and spend some time together. Isaiah is napping now, so hopefully he'll be in a good mood and be a little more cooperative this time around too! I hope you all had wonderful Thanksgivings with your family and friends. We missed being home with you, but we have also really realized what a great support system we have here in our friends and church family, which has been a blessing too. We're excited though to spend the next holiday at home with all of you who we love so much! Have a great weekend!

A different kind of Thanksgiving...

Definitely NOT the Thanksgiving weather or scenery we're used to!

This year, Thanksgiving is different for us than it has ever been and I find myself having time and space to reflect on the past year and all we have to be thankful for! The thing we're most thankful for is having our son, Isaiah here with us for our first Henry FAMILY Thanksgiving! He is such a wonderful blessing and we are so lucky to have him as our son. He is growing and learning and changing all the time and we are so looking forward to all the future has to offer him and us as we watch him grow!

Josh also got accepted to vet school this year, which was really a dream come true! With that acceptance, we also made our big move here, to St. Kitts, which was a huge change and very scary for us to be so far away from home and our families! While we definitely miss being home, God has really provided so well for us here. We have amazing friends, who have become our family away from home, we have a wonderful church family who God is working through to help Josh and I both become closer in our relationship with Jesus Christ, and he's provided a great home, a working car, and good health while we've been here! We are very thankful that he is working in our lives and so blessed that Josh is getting to pursue his career in what he feels he has been called to do.

Lastly, and still very importantly, we want to thank our family and friends back home! Your support over the past year as we prepared for our move out of the country has been incredible! I don't know if we could've done it without knowing you were all behind us and praying for us the whole time! We miss you everyday and can't wait to see you again for Isaiah's big birthday bash in just a few more weeks! We know we are SO lucky to have so many people loving us, praying for us, and supporting us on this somewhat unconventional journey we are on! You all mean so much to us...I don't think we can thank you enough!

So...I hope you all are as lucky as we are to have so many things to be thankful for. Please take time today to tell those you love that you do. Maybe it's that whole 'you don't know what you got 'til it's gone' thing, but being away from those we love really puts things into perspective that a loving family makes a huge difference in our lives! We are wishing we could be sharing the turkey (at least I am) with you and can't wait to spend Christmas at home with those we love. Only 22 more days until we fly home, so we're getting there, slowly but surely! Thank you all again so much for your love and support and know we're thinking of you today!

Cutest Little Actor!

Chilling in his hat

I wasn't going to post anything today because I hadn't taken any pictures since the ones I posted yesterday. Then Isaiah just looked so darn cute relaxing and watching his baby DVD in his diaper that I changed my mind! After he nursed (and I planned on him falling right to sleep for his afternoon nap, which still has yet to occur!) he just started chatting away, so I decided to try to get some of it on video and he turned out the best performance ever! He said things when I asked him to and walked when I asked him too and as always, was just so darn cute all the while! So...I hope you enjoy the photos and videos today because they are the main reason for my post!

I love it when he puts his little hand on his hip while he's watching his DVD!

Isaiah and I have had a quiet day here at home today. We are going to pick Josh up at school a little after six and headed to Jakki and Joe's to rehearse Christmas carols. Josh and I are singing in a quartet for a Christmas celebration on Ross' campus with Jakki and Keith, who is the director of on campus housing at Ross and sings with Jakki in the community choir on the island. We practiced last week and (without trying to sound arrogant) I think we sounded pretty darn good! Jakki was pleasantly surprised at how nicely Josh sounded and I was proud that we as a couple make up half of the quartet! I'm really hoping that Isaiah got the singing genes and isn't tone deaf! So that should be enjoyable again this evening. Nothing gets me in the Christmas spirit quite like Christmas music, so it's been nice to be singing it and thinking about the holidays coming up!

Big beautiful eyes

Tomorrow for turkey day we are headed to the Frigate Bay Resort where we usually have church and instead tomorrow will be sharing a Thanksgiving dinner with our new church family here. Josh and I both feel so blessed to have found this church group and a new support system while we are so far away from home! I'm making pies (Turtle pumpkin pie) and we're taking some vegan stuffing for Josh and might take another vegetable for Josh too if we find something good at the supermarket!

Isaiah's video: Take 1

That's about it for us I think! We're pretty boring right now with nothing too interesting going on. Josh has started studying up for his upcoming finals even though they are still a few weeks away. I have full confidence that he will do a fantastic job and be able to celebrate a more than successful semester when we come home! It's now only 23 days away and I continue to grow more anxious by the day. I also feel like my resolve is weakening...I was better at being this far away when we first came and now I just can't wait to come home for a nice long visit! Your thoughts and prayers for the next few weeks to go as quickly as possible are welcomed and we can't wait to see you all! Love to all and have a blessed Thanksgiving!

Regular Tuesday

Mismatched pj's, but so cute!

It's now only about 24 days until we head home and it's starting to feel like it's finally getting closer. Josh is now done with all of his exams until finals, but has already started the studying process to keep up with all the material he is learning to be ready for finals. Let me correct that...I guess he does have one more exam before finals. He has an anatomy exam on Friday and then the following week is when he has a final each day including his anatomy final on Monday. Seems kind of redundant to me to have an exam on Friday and again on Monday in the same subject, but I'm sure the faculty here know better than I do! Josh did well on an anatomy quiz he took Friday and also did well on his microanatomy exam he took yesterday. He's now putting the pressure on himself to do very well on all of his finals with the hopes of getting a 4.0 for this 1st semester! I'm just hoping that he relaxes a little bit and doesn't drive himself nuts in the next few weeks!

Looking out the door to the yard

(hoping to catch a glimpse of Shelby, the neighbor's dog)

Sorry I didn't get to post yesterday, but Isaiah decided that he didn't need a nap in the morning, so I didn't get any time for the blog! He finally gave in and fell asleep at 2:15 in the afternoon and slept until 5. He is taking a morning nap today though, so I'm hoping that we can have a nice day together! He's still working on his 2 front teeth and they seem to be bothering him quite a bit the last week or so. The one on the left looks like it could come through anyday, so we keep hoping! He did, at least, sleep a little bit better for us last night, although I would've liked to sleep past 6:15 this morning! At least he was in a good mood for me until he went down for his nap.

Reading "The Foot Book" to himself in baby gibberish

Josh, Isaiah, and I all went to the grocery store last evening to get some things for the week and mainly to get supplies for the food we are going to make for our 2 Thanksgiving dinners. We are having the first dinner with our church group on Thursday evening and the 2nd with friends on Saturday afternoon. I'm making Turtle pumpkin pie for both (which I'm hoping is as delicious as it sounds/looks) and Josh is making a vegan chocolate/espresso cake for Saturday, so we had quite a bit of items to get at the store for those things. It was a successful trip though and it's so nice to have Josh along at the grocery store! We did have a few things we didn't find at the store though, so Isaiah and I are going to head to the other main store on the island when he gets up from his nap to try to find the couple other things we are missing.

Reaching for the closet doorknobs (Josh loves it when he does this!)

Isaiah and I will then be headed to the prep school for our weekly gymnastics/cheerleading groups this afternoon. Josh is then going to take Isaiah for me while I go to praise band practice and grab some pizza at Jakki and Joe's for supper. It's a lot easier to sing and learn new songs when I'm not chasing Isaiah around, especially in a house that's not child proofed for him! I think it's also good for Josh and Isaiah to get some "guy time." Isaiah definitely favors me more since I'm the one he sees all the time, so it's good for him to see that Daddy still knows how to take care of him every once in a while!

Dimple

Now I feel like we're just trying to make it through the next couple of weeks until finals (when I'm assuming I won't see Josh for about the last 2 weeks we're here!). Although I keep telling myself that while those couple of weeks won't be very enjoyable, I'll know that I'm SO close to getting to come home, so I'm hoping that will get me through! I'm getting so excited for Isaiah's 1st Bday party once we get home and the chance to visit with everyone again! It's still so surreal for me that we're living this far away and I'll be so glad to at least have 1 semester done and out of the way!

Sleeping on our bed for the second half of his nap

I guess that's all for now. I hope you enjoy the pictures (I think there are some really cute ones here today) and we will see you all in just over 3 weeks! Love you!

Sleepy Boy

(This reminds me of his birth announcement photo)

Another Sunday at the beach!

Hey everybody. Hope everyone is having a good weekend so far and has a nice relaxing Sunday before the work week begins again! Only 26 days until we leave the island and come home for Christmas break and I'm getting so anxious. I'm starting to think of everything we need to pack and everything we need to get at home to bring back with us in January! We are hopefully going to order some presents online and have them sent home for Isaiah for Christmas. It's really just a few things that he needs (a booster seat, new sippy cups, etc), so nothing really fun for him, but we figure with presents from people at home for his bday and Christmas and him only being 1 (OMG...can't believe he'll be 1 soon!) that he won't mind too much this year!

Look how cute in his shoes!

Yesterday afternoon, Isaiah and I ended up going up to Jason and Jen's to hang out for a little while instead of going to lunch with some of the girls. We had a good time hanging out with Jakki and Jen and we got to see Jake too for a little bit before we left. We came home around 2:45 because Isaiah was starting to get a little fussy and acting tired. He definitely was tired, but it took me until 4 to get him down for a nap! He's been crazy and unpredictable with his naps lately and it's driving me a little nutty too! He slept for an hour here and then we needed to pick Josh up at school and he slept the whole way to Ross and then stayed asleep until we got to the grocery store, so he ended up with a decent nap, which he really needed!

Napping in the car again!

Last night we just came home and made dinner and Skyped with each set of parents for a bit, which was nice. My parents were keeping Ella and Lydia, so we got to see the girls and talk to Ella a bit. She's so funny and growing up so quickly! She started calling Isaiah "Zaybert" because my Mom does and if he was fussing, she'd say, "Zaybert, don't cry! It's okay, it's okay." She was so sweet. She also said, "I can't wait to see you Zay!" I know 2 kids who will both be happy to be reunited come December! I think they'll have a lot of fun together (at least I hope so)!

The Marriott and Royal St. Kitts Golf Course from Jason and Jen's

A view of our place from Jason and Jen's pool area

(the white roof is our building and we park where you see the cars)

We went to church this morning and then came home right after. Josh got ready and headed off to school to study for most of the day until later this afternoon. He has his last microanatomy exam tomorrow until finals week, so he's reviewing everything he's been studying today to make sure he's prepared for tomorrow! I have total confidence in him. He's doing really well so far, but he's putting a lot of pressure on himself now to try to get all A's this semester. Any thoughts and prayers for him over the next few weeks would be appreciated because I think he's going to start to stress himself out here soon!

My happy boy

He's going to head home this afternoon and we are headed to Godfather's beach area for a Birthday cookout for my bestie here in St. Kitts, Jakki to celebrate her bday today! It should be fun and there are a bunch of friends from our orientation group and church coming, so I'm sure we'll have a good time. Hopefully Isaiah will behave himself and I'm just praying we don't get eaten alive by bugs like we did during the last cookout! I'm going to try to remember to take my camera and get some pictures of us at the cookout, so hopefully I'll have some to post tomorrow. That's all going on for now. Josh has his test tomorrow and then no more for a couple of weeks, so hopefully we'll have a nice relaxing week after the micro exam is over! Hope everyone has a great week ahead and we'll see you soon! :)

4 weeks and counting...

Josh and Isaiah at Spratnet

It's Saturday and exactly 4 weeks from now we'll be waking up in Everett for the first time in 3+ months. Josh and I are both getting excited to see everyone and be back in our familiar surroundings for a while. We are also anxious for everyone to see our little man and how big he's gotten! He took 11 steps by himself for me yesterday, so I think he should be a walking pro or close to it by the time we get home in 4 weeks! He's also saying more words (the new ones are down, door, and go). When he says go he also moves his little left arm forward and back, which is so adorable!

Isaiah ready to head to dinner

Thursday evening I went to see New Moon at the movie theater in town. I haven't read the books, but loved Twilight the movie and also liked New Moon. I think New Moon was better and I can't wait to get home and get my hands on the books because I'm really anxious now to read them before Eclipse comes out in June! It was also nice to have an evening to myself when I didn't have to be worrying every second what Isaiah was getting into or going to injure himself with! He's just so busy right now! He had a good evening with his Daddy, which is also good. I feel like he doesn't get to see Josh near as much since he's gone all day, so it's nice for them to have some time just the two of them every once in a while!

VIDEO: Isaiah saying "ball"

Yesterday, Isaiah and I just hung out here for the day. He was pretty good and took good naps for me in the morning and afternoon, which he didn't do Wednesday and Thursday, so that was a nice change! I think he's getting to the point where he'll start only napping once here before long, so sometimes he plays around with that and skips a nap or takes 2 really short ones, but usually ends up fussy in the evening, so I think for now, he still needs them both! (And I like him taking 2 naps too, so I can get some things done and also have a little time to relax...and BLOG!) We picked Josh up at school a little after 6 and headed to Spratnet, which is a restaurant here that a lot of Ross students really like. They have different specials available that usually include lobster, fish, ribs, chicken, shrimp, and pizza. We've always gotten pizza (since that's the only vegetarian option) and it's really good. The place is really affordable too, which is also good. They also have high chairs, which is rare on the island, so that's nice for us too when we go out somewhere. We went to dinner to celebrate Lara's birthday. Lara and her husband Lloyd, who is in 6th semester right now, go to our church, so there were a lot of people from church that we knew and a couple faculty members who also come to our church, so it was nice.

Asleep in his carseat

Today, Isaiah and I got up and took Josh to school around 10. Isaiah took a quick nap on the way home, but woke up when I got him out of the car because he heard our neighbor (and landlord, Mala) outside with her dogs and he went nuts saying, "Doh, doh, doh!" It was so cute. He's been in a pretty good mood since, so I think that's all the nap he's going to take this morning. We are probably going to lunch with a few of the girls and then we're supposed to pick Josh up at school around 4 and hopefully we're going to head to the pool at Frigate Bay for a little family fun before it gets dark!

VIDEO: My little Clark Kent :)

Josh has an exam on Monday, so I think the plan for tomorrow is for him to head to school after church and study until late afternoon. Josiah is having a beach BBQ for Jakki's bday tomorrow, so we're planning on heading to the beach around 3:30 for some fun in the sun, good food, and good company! Hope you enjoy the videos...Isaiah's a little more entertaining now with walking and talking! Hope everyone has a great weekend! We love you!

New Moon!

Perfection

I hope everyone is having a good week. The pictures I am posting today were just taken this morning with Isaiah playing around on our bed. He's getting to be quite a little model and this first one where I got his big smile just melts my heart! We have really been blessed with such a sweet and happy little boy. That's the number one comment we get from people when we are out anywhere..."he's just so happy!" If I could only get him to sleep through the night he'd be completely flawless! Anyway...I hope you are all enjoying the pictures. I try to post a lot so you can all see how he's growing and changing and hopefully experience things right along with us!

Our lunch yesterday went well. We had a good time getting to know Lara better and Jakki and I always have fun together! The only downside was the restaurant didn't have high chairs or booster seats (like many of the restaurants here), so it's always interesting to try to wrangle Isaiah on your lap while trying to get him to eat and trying to eat yourself! Jakki is a big help to me though whenever we go places and I'm so lucky to have her here!!! Thanks Jakki for cutting my cheeseburger at lunch, so I could eat and taking such good care of us! :)

Mexican night was also a success. I think everyone brought something along with them and we ended up with tons of food at Jakki and Joe's! Isaiah had a great time chasing after Damon and Ava. He was trying to walk so much more last night, we think because Damon and Ava walk everywhere and it was so cute. He and Damon were giving each other high 5's and Ava and Isaiah gave each other kisses. They are so adorable together and you can tell that Isaiah just loves both of them! I forgot to take my camera along, so I didn't get any pictures while we were at dinner and I was a little bummed. I love to get pictures of Isaiah with Damon and Ava. Isaiah did really well and ate a whole bowl of rice that I took for him along with some shredded cheese and chicken from the tacos. We stayed after some people left and played a game with some of the others and had a really great time with everyone! Isaiah talked the whole way home in the back of the car babbling and he kept saying "Doh" over and over (dog). Our friend Kristen, had her puppy Ottley with her at Jakki and Joe's, so he got a lot of practice saying Dog all evening!

Babbling to Mommy

Isaiah and I are just relaxing here today. He only took 2-30 minute naps yesterday and we were both so frustrated yesterday afternoon because he was so tired, so I'm hoping by having a quiet day here at home that he'll take a couple good naps for me and catch up on some sleep! Josh is going to keep Isaiah this evening and I'm going to go see New Moon with a group of people from Ross, so I'm excited!!! I can't wait to get the books when we're home on break and start reading them too to catch up!

I guess that's all for now. It's now less than a month until we come home to all of you and we can't wait! Hope everyone has a wonderful Thursday! Love you.

Girls (+Isaiah) lunch!

Isaiah's new favorite indoor toy (His pool floaty)

Yesterday afternoon and evening sure was busy and today is shaping up to be a little busy for us too! (When I say busy it's a relative term...not busy compared to my schedule back home, but busy for Isaiah and I here in terms of doing something during the day vs. nothing!) We went to gymnastics and cheerleading yesterday afternoon. Isaiah fell asleep on the way to campus and stayed asleep in his stroller for 2/3 of gymnastics. Our little gymnasts are getting better each week and are usually pretty well behaved. I can't say the same for our little cheerleaders. They are less motivated and I think we've gotten tired of fighting with them, so we did a little dancing, a little cheering, a little cheer jumping, and a little goofing off and I think we all had a pretty good time!

He started rolling around and got an arm stuck in a leg hole!

After cheerleading, Isaiah and I headed to Domino's with Jakki to pick up dinner (pizza before praise band is becoming a weekly tradition!) and then headed to Jakki and Joe's. We ate dinner and watched an episode of How I Met Your Mother on the computer. Josh and I really miss that show since the time change and our earlier bed time here! (Now it doesn't come on until 9 here and we're usually in bed or heading that way by then!) Praise band practice was a little crazy with a few new songs, but went well I think. Hopefully God will be with me on Sunday and help me remember how they sound! Josh came to Jakki and Joe's at 6 when praise band practice started and watched Isaiah for me there, which was nice to not have to worry about doing two things at once! After praise band practice, Josh and I practiced with Jakki and Keith (on campus housing director at Ross) for a caroling performance coming up on December 2nd. I guess they're having a little Christmas celebration and wanted some carols to be sung at some point, so we're singing in a little quartet. It was fun and I LOVE Christmas carols/hymns, so I had a really nice time. It was nice to hear Josh's voice too....he still sounds SO GOOD (although I might be a little biased)!

That's the cute little face that gets me anytime he does something

he's not supposed to and I can't be mad!!!

Hopefully after Isaiah's morning nap (if he ever takes one that is!) we're heading to lunch with Jakki and Lara at the golf clubhouse. I've never been there before, but Jakki said the food was really good, so I'm looking forward to it. Lara's husband, Lloyd, is a 6th semester and in praise band with me and she just got back to the island after being home working for a few months, so I'm excited to get to know her a little bit better too.

Back to climbing in drawers

He now realizes thought that he can reach things on top of the

dresser by standing in the drawer!

Then the plan for this evening is MEXICAN NIGHT at Jakki and Joe's with many of our friends! We all miss mexican food so much and you can't really find it on the island anywhere, so this will be the 2nd mexican night of the semester! I'm looking forward to some TACOS! I'm making some beans for Josh to put in his tacos, plus I think I'm going to make black bean and corn salsa and take some chips, and I might make some rice to take to share and for Isaiah to eat along with supper. I'm sure we'll have a great time. It's really nice when we can all get together and just RELAX! So...hopefully tomorrow I can post some pictures from our evening. Hope everyone is having a good week so far....only 4 1/2 more weeks until we head home for Christmas break and I can't wait to see all of you!!!

XOXO, Karen :)