We are very excited to have "Grandma Cattin" back to stay with us for a couple of weeks. What a help and joy she is to have in our home! We were so grateful for her help about a month ago... Catherine and Ethan just couldn't stop talking about when she'd be coming back!
We are very grateful to all of our friends and family who have helped us through our pregnancy challenges over the last 9 weeks. Their compassion and service has been priceless!
Back when the early labor started, 12 weeks seemed like an eternity, but now with only 3 more to go before we can go ahead and let this baby come safely, we are beginning to feel the relief that comes at the end of a long journey! We are so excited for this baby to come to our family. We feel very blessed to be able to have children and especially blessed with this one that we have made it to 33 weeks!
With all the challenges that come in pregnancy and raising children, the blessings are so rare and priceless we would do it all again in a heartbeat!
Our garden is growing BEAUTIFULLY and we are very grateful for the yummy cucumber we ate with dinner the other night. The kids have helped with every stage from building to planting to tending to harvesting, and they love every minute of it!
Ethan is our HAM! This photo captures his personality PERFECTLY! The kid would love to be naked all day everyday if I let him, and you rarely find him without a ball in his hand! He's 100% boy!
Catherine absolutely LOVES her preschool with mommy at the dining table! She amazes us with her love of learning, imagination and how quickly she grasps and remembers everything! I found her practicing her letters on her writing board (we've actually only covered A, B and C in our preschool curriculum) and this is what she explained to me when I asked her what she wrote:"C, A, E, F... That's the word DOG!"
Our family LOVES to share, and we all take a turn! Starting with Mommy going to the hospital with the flu almost 3 weeks ago, we have all had a turn with the flu and the cold/cough/congestion thing... Daddy is the last one trying to recover from his cold this week. Needless to say, we were all more than thrilled about the loving and thoughtful care package sent by Ben, Adrienne, Brighton and Brandon Donner. The kids are showing off their Easter Eggs from their special "egg bags" as Catherine labeled them... filled with candy and treats not to mention the beautiful pictures colored by their cousins, Brighton and Brandon, the rice crispy treats, taffy, MUCH - LONGED - FOR book, 'Broken things to Mend' by Jeffery R. Holland for mommy and movie tickets for Daddy to go out for a much needed break from all of his hard work! Thank you, Thank you!!! You not only made our day, but our whole week and into the next month! We are so blessed to have such wonderful siblings/aunt and uncle, and cousins! We love you!
We were so fortunate to have a special visit from Melanie's "Nana and Grandpa" Christiansen! We love them very much and wish we could see them more often! They are a wonderful example to all of us of perseverance, sacrifice and love. Catherine and Ethan adore them and talk of them often! We are grateful that they have had an opportunity to develop such a wonderful relationship with their "great-grandma and great-grandpa"!
Much quieter and shyer than her younger rascal of a brother, Catherine often goes unheard or unnoticed... Thanks to the cover of the sunglasses, we were able to capture a glimpse of her fun personality... our Hawaiian baby giving the shaka. We believe her mind and heart will always live in Hawaii. Catherine is a dreamer and is growing up to be as beautiful and noble of a young lady as she was the day she was born! She adds so much to our family with her compassion, imagination, innocence, and Christlike example of forgiveness and love. She is loved by all who know her.
