Race day

 Sunday was race day for Christian and Aaron. We got all ready and headed down to watch Christian's race. Our campsite was maybe 200 yrds from the start line which was so nice. OF course, Gracie had to ride her bike to watch daddy.

Tyson was so cozy in his stroller. I was wishing that I had his setup. Gracie was so tired from day before. She decided to sit in the stroller and rest while we wait to see daddy.

Christian did great. He finished 5th out of maybe 15 or so. He felt good too which is so rewarding when you train so hard. We were a very proud cheering section.
Gracie wanted to do the kids race. She was the youngest one but they said that we could walk beside her on the course. She was so excited to have a number on her bike just like daddy and uncle Aaron. She smiled from ear to ear the whole race.  

At the start line.

Daddy coaching her and how it is done

notice the kid in the left had corner on the ground. Gracie was very concerned that this kid fell so she stopped to make sure everything was ok.

she is looking behind her to make sure that the lil boy got up

GO GRACIE GO

Gracie's cheering section

After the race there was an award ceremony:)

There she is getting her medal

So proud!!!

It was so fun to watch Gracie in her first sporting event. I am sure that there will be many more to come. I am however hoping that the next race she will let me put sneakers on her. She just had to wear her boots.

Here are some more pictures for you to look through from " Race Day."

Uncle Aaron getting ready to race. He did awesome as well. He got 3rd place in the open category.

I want to ride my bicycle I want to ride my bike

This last weekend we went on our first real camping adventure in our new camper. Christian and Aaron had a Mt Bike race in Whidbey Island. It was suppose to be raining all weekend, but we got lucky and the rain held off. It was actually a beautiful weekend. We arrived Saturday at lunch time and then the fun began.

We had some friends arrive the day before and reserved a spot for us. Gracie kept looking out the window at all the little boys playing(I think there were 5 boys between 5 and 3)She kept saying, "I need to go outside and help the boys." All the little kids played great together which was good. You never know what could happen when there are that many little kids together. After eating lunch Gracie hopped on her bike and she rode and rode and rode. It was the first time she had riden her bike outside. She has had it in the house since she got it a year ago. She did great. I think that it helped that there were crazy little boys to show her how it is done.

Daddy and Gracie getting ready to go on their first ride together

There they go. There were trails at our campsite which was really fun!!

 Even though it was dry, it was still pretty darn cold. Tyson stayed warm and happy the whole time. He enjoyed sitting in the stroller and watching all the kids run around.
Aaron showed up in the early afternoon and stayed with us. Gracie loves having her Uncle Aaron to play with. When he got there she got so excited and said, "yeah yeah yeah, Uncle Aaron is the best!"
All the guys went to pre ride the course and the ladies and kids headed down to the beach. Everyone had a blast playing in the sand a running from the waves.

Building a sand castle with her hands. This was huge for Gracie. She does not like getting her hands dirty. In fact, this was the first time that she has ever played in the sand. She learned that she can rinse them off in the water:)

I love this picture. I am not sure what they are looking at. Gracie was really wanting to include her brother in her activities.

The two babies

After playing at the beach we went back and had a snack. The boys had just returned also so Gracie and Uncle Aaron had a snack together.

Tyson in the background is hilarious. Don't worry he didn't sit in the stroller all weekend. I have the sore back and biceps to prove it. 

 

 

 

 

After snack time it was back on the bike. She rode until dinner time and then right after dinner it was back on the bike. In fact, the dark didn't even stop her. Uncle Aaron zip tied a flash light to her handle bars and daddy put and head lamp on her helmet. Her and uncle Aaron rode around and around and around. After Uncle Aaron hooked her up with her sweet lights she said, "Thanks for being so nice to me Uncle Aaron."

While they were riding I cleaned up dinner and got Tyson ready for bed. By this time it was a little cold outside for the lil guy. I put him in his jammies and turned the heat on.

Yes, he is a little big for his bouncer. However, he still loves. He never tries to get out. He will sit there and bounce himself.

Finally, Gracie got off her bike. I think she road until her legs were done. She actually told me that it was time for bed. I got her all cleaned up, tucked in and then I read her a story. She was asleep before the story was over and did not move until 8AM. She was so tried. What a fun day we had. We are so blessed to live in such a beautiful area.

Tyson turns 9 months

Happy nine month birthday to our little boy! As you can see from this picture, we did things a little different this month. Tyson is sick so I did not want to lay him down and use the puzzle pieces. The poor guy did not need any unnecessary commotion. Tyson and Gracie both got an ear infection a couple weeks ago. I took our lil man to the Dr on Friday for a follow up and found out the he still had it. I had no idea:( The Dr implied that he was going to get sick this weekend, and he did. Poor Tyson was miserable all day Sunday. He wanted to be snuggled and held all day. It breaks my heart to see my babies sick. I sure hope that he feels better soon. Anyway, I can't believe that he is 9 months already. Where has the time gone?

Standing firm on God's Word

Matthew 18:3-4
Jesus said: "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
This is how Jesus Characterized conversion. Like the Beatitudes, it pictures faith as the simple, helpless, trusting dependence of those who have no resources of their own. Like Children, they have no achievements and no accomplishments to offer or commend themselves with.

There are two things that you can always find near Gracie. Shoes and her "baby" Bible. After I put her down for her nap I was tiddy up and found these little shoes and her Bible just like this. It made me smile and I thought at just 2 1/5 Gracie is learning to stand on God's word. She will open the Bible and say," it says in God's word, "For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16"  She isn't ashamed of the Gospel. There is so much that we can learn from a 2 1/2 yr old. I never thought that my little girl would challenge me in my faith. It has been our prayer since she was still in the womb that she would hunger and thirst for God's righteousness and that she would turn to Jesus and follow Him at a young age. My heart rejoices as I see my prayers being answered. So. I challenge you to have the Faith of a Child and to stand firm on God's word. In a world that is crumbling before our eyes this is the one sure thing that will bring us peace. 

Our first fort

It was a really rainy outside and I thought that it was be a perfect day to build our first fort. Along with snowman making this skill is really lacking. Our roof kept falling down. I gave up and we waited for daddy to get home to help us. Gracie had a blast laying in her tent and reading her books.

Since her sheets were being washed she got to take a nap in her cool fort. That ended up being a bad idea. She woke up after only an hour crying because she did not know where she was. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

And we're the best of friends

There is not a day that goes by that I am not so thankful that I get to stay home and raise the kids. Although it is by far the hardest job in the world I would not change it for anything. I get to see and hear all the precious little things that the kids do and say everyday. Yesterday after we got home from bible study I was making lunch and Tyson was sitting on the floor playing. Gracie runs over to Tyson gives him a big kiss and says,"Tyson, your my best friend in the whole world." It is times like these that I melt. There are days when I feel like pulling my hair out but then there are moments like this that supersede all. Thank you Jesus for the blessings that we often take for granted.