Great Catch!

Robert and Sharon, excuse me, Grandma and Grandpa love to fish. Every chance they get, they love to spend time on the water fishing for crappie. It was high time we join them. Matt, Siena and I were able to get away for a few days and head down to Truman Lake to spend time in their favorite spot. And good grief, Siena just had to get out on the boat and try out her new fishing pole! (I think Sharon has had that fishing pole since the moment Siena was born...turn her into a little fishing girl! After watching her throughout the weekend, I don't think there was any push to get Siena to love it just like they do...and me too, for that matter!)

Have to take care of the chores around the camper - watering the grass, flowers, feet, and outfit are very important.

Grandpa and Siena found a friend - a turtle! One of these days, Siena will be old enough to ask to keep him as her new pet. Thank goodness that time hasn't come yet... :)

We got out on the boat a couple of times while we were down there and that was the highlight of the trip (aside from maybe the food, which I will get to later). It has been so stinkin' hot lately that we didn't dare stay out there all day for fear of melting, literally. But for 3 hours each day we had a ball on the boat. The first day out, we caught 30 keepers! And I might add that I caught the biggest fish. Ha! (I'm the author of the blog, so I can write whatever I feel is important to share - and that's very important.) The second day out, we caught 34 keepers! It was awesome! Oh, and I suppose, if you insist I share...I caught the biggest fish the second day too. It's a tough job, but someone's gotta catch the 13.5 inch fish down there! Just saying!! Okay, okay...Matt probably caught the most fish throughout the weekend and Siena, bless her heart, caught 3 fish with her Dora fishing pole. And well, Robert and Sharon were the very best "tour-fisher guides" ever! They provided the boat, the spot, the fishing equipment, the ice-cold beers, the tips...and hardly charged us anything! Very noteworthy as well.

We had a ball on the boat. It was such a treat to just be able to be on the water, spending time with family. Seriously. I loved listening to Robert say, "Here, drop the hook right there. There's a fish down there for sure." And sure enough, almost without fail, someone would pull up a fish. Or watching Sharon give up her nice, adult fishing pole to show Siena how to use her pink Dora pole...and reel a few fish in for her. And if she wasn't fishing, Sharon was keeping Siena occupied with something so that everyone else could fish for keepers. Or watching Siena, in her cute pink life jacket, absolutely get into the idea of fish. She would watch them all come in, hand out crappie nibbles, aka Nibbs, to us, put her hands all over the fish, put her finger in the fish's mouth, and kiss every. single. fish. Really, she did that. It was just a perfect few hours each day. We were just happy together.

Our fishy kiss - from us to you!

Daddy and his sweet girl.
Siena's first catch! Way to go, Peanut! You're both keepers!!
Searching for more "...fish in the sea..." Can that be any more sweet?
Biggest catch for Day #1. (Had to document it.)
A very proud fisher girl...with her Dora accessories right alongside her.
A few of MANY kisses for the fish.

Bringing me back to reality - they weren't all proud moments.....
Student driver!
A successful day out on the water!
One more kiss for good measure...
Biggest catch for Day #2. What can I say? Well, if I had to say, I would say it had nothing to do with me and everything to do with the boat, spot, and fishing equipment - none of which belongs to me. :)
Our little wilderness nature guide. She knows all the spots where the fish are biting.

When we weren't on the water, we were playing washers, sitting on the deck (until we thought we might evaporate into thin air because of the heat), chatting in the trailer, swimming in the pool, or eating.

Bringing up the toys from the bottom of the pool...
...and going back down for more!
Matt and Siena jumping into the pool together!

And when I say eat, we ate. A lot. There's this place about 30 minutes away from the trailer that we schedule our trips around. It's open on Friday and Saturday evenings and it's worth it every time. It's a small buffet of some of the best home-cooked restaurant food I've ever had. I don't know what they do back there in the kitchen, but it's right. And we accidentally went there both Friday and Saturday night. Had to. Just to make sure it was really that good - and it was.

The food's so good, you really do have to study the plate to figure out where to start and what to eat first.

So, coming back Sunday morning at 6am (due to a meeting before church) was so worth it. Every minute of it. It was a real treat. Thank you, Robert and Sharon - Grandpa and Grandma - for sharing your sliver of heaven with us. It was the best of times.

4th Festivities

I'm having to backtrack a little bit...I guess that's what happens with busy summer days and too many other things to do besides sit in front of a computer and type! We have been blessed with wonderful summer moments this year. Siena is just blossoming more and more and it's amazing to watch her...and to be with her every day, all day is something I wouldn't trade for a million dollars.

We were in town for the holiday weekend of the Fourth. It was a treat to have all of Matt's family in town...we got to spend time together doing all kids of fun things. Matt's cousin Lisa put together some really fun little activities for the kids and it was sweet to see them all get into it. Who says face painting, tattoos, washers, glow-in-the-dark finger lights, and fireworks are just for the big-time carnivals!? Hello, Marble family!

Siena LOVES her cousins! She always prays for "Eye-ack" (Isaac), "Kay-ah" (Kayla), and "An-roo" (Andrew). More recently she's been obsessed with "Baby Way-gan" (Raegan) and "Jack-in" (Jaxon). We had to remind Siena that Raegan is still a little baby - not a toy baby doll - and she can't handle Siena bear hugs and hands all over her face...yet. Between the company and the pool, Siena was happy as a clam. We were pretty happy too.

Siena got to pick what she wanted to have painted on her face. Why am I not surprised she picked a PINK flower. If it's pink, she's happy.
Told ya...she's very happy showing off that new addition to her cheek.
Now this picture makes me laugh every time I think about it. A true swimmer on our hands. Seriously? Pink baby goggles?! Leave it to Grandma to find the perfect thing for her! Hilarious.
Speaking of swimming, I'm pretty sure Siena might start growing gills. She is a fish. From day one, Matt has not let her have the option when it comes to swimming. Not in a mean way, but just showing her the water, playing with her in it, and doing things with her that she has learned to LOVE. And when I say love, I mean loovvveee. As of now, she is going to the bottom of the pool and picking up rings (and coming up saying, "Missed one!" if she didn't get them all on the first dive down to the bottom), she's running and jumping into the pool (even off a diving board), Matt's flipping her in the air and scooping her out of the water when she lands, and she's even starting to grasp the concept of putting her head down in the water and trying to swim. I am just amazed. Her and Matt have so much fun in the pool. I love swimming with her too, but I'm not daring enough to do the things with her that Matt does. I'll just cheer and clap for her from a nice raft floating in the sunshine. Is that so wrong?! :)
Watching the fireworks in the driveway...Siena was telling everyone to "be careful!" She really like the fireworks but she liked to be near someone when one went off. Can't blame her.
Some of the cool pictures caught while doing the glow-in-the-dark finger lights! Great find, Lisa!!

To Michigan We Go!

While Matt went to Peru a few days after I got back, Siena and I took the opportunity to see family in Michigan. It's a great way to do things. We'd be missing Daddy like crazy if we were just sitting at home. Might as well go and spend some time up in Michigan to pass the time! :)
When you have an almost 2 year old, you just never know what you're going to get on a trip. Especially just the 2 of us traveling...with one plane seat. Once again, little miss Siena rose to the occasion and was a champ. Sure, there was hardly any room for me to breathe, let alone put all of her "keep her occupied under every circumstance so we don't get kicked off the plane or get dirty looks" toys. We survived and even had pleasant rides to and from GR!
What was extra special about this trip is that my family from Seattle was in town the same time we were. They hadn't met Siena yet, so it was about time! Spending time with just about EVERYONE at Grandma and Grandpa's house was perfect. (They even got me to involve myself in a 3,000 piece puzzle!) And combine that with wonderful nights out on the deck with Pappa and Joyce and Em...I'm one very happy, very lucky girl.
Here's our week, in a nutshell of pictures:

The first couple of days were nice...the rest cloudy and kinda rainy. We got a quick swim in between rain showers. But Siena and water have a magnetic attraction, so here we are (I'm freezing)!

One night, all the girl cousins planning a night out. We had so much fun telling stories, talking about the past, and just spending time together as friends. I love them dearly. Oh, and then that night we played Telephone Pictionary. HILARIOUS game. Must be played.
We went with Oma and Opa to Fredrick Meijer Gardens to see some of the fun stuff they have for kids. It was so cute to watch Siena (try to) be independent and do things on her own and explore. They had a fun children's garden and a trolley ride. It was the perfect thing to keep a very busy girl occupied. :)




Siena and her buddy, Radar.
Siena with her very favorite Oma and Opa...
...and Auntie Em too.
We spent a lot of time with Great Grams and Gramps. They are such wonderful people and I love them dearly. Siena loves them too. It was the pefect catch-all for the family. We all crashed there multiple nights...just being family.
My wonderful family from Seattle! So wonderful to see them! Briana and Chris, we missed you!!

My very favorite, wonderful cousins: "Coubin", "Nic", "Hez", "Magan", "Kawri", "Bice" and "Wiwy" (not pictured: "B-Money" and "Ty").

Siena stuck between her Momma and her very favorite Grammie!

Going home is always a good feeling too. Especially when that means we get to see Matt! Our trip back to KC was a little more eventful. Our plane got delayed out of GR and that was going to cause us to miss our next flight. After going through a LOT of runarounds with that, we finally got put on a plane to Minneapolis. Once we landed there, we (and by we, I mean I) RAN as fast as we could to another terminal. Mental picture moment: Siena stuffed in her stroller with her legs hanging out the side, holding on to my purse. Our carry-on bags (all 3 of them) stuffed underneath the stroller. YaYa, the monkey, flopping under my arm. Me, running as fast as I could, pushing the stroller and pulling our other carry-on suitcase. All the while, Siena is saying, "Momma, what doin?" "Oh, nothing honey. Momma's just running her butt off so we don't get stuck in Minneapolis!! Just hold on." It was a funny moment - once we got to our gate.
All flights were good. Safe. Home at last. And another wonderful trip.

Peru 2011

Well, I finally made it back down to Peru...and boy, was it worth it. From the moment I came back from Peru in 2006 I knew I would go back...and I finally did! Amazing how different a trip can be when you go to the same place...and this one was even better.
We went with a group of 26 from church to Chilca, Peru - back to Hannah's Home. It's an orphanage that now houses 10 kids. To be back down there and to experience that again was precious. I think instead of going through the day to day, I want to share what I have taken back or been most impacted by.
I think the number one thing that struck me that week was something internal. I have always asked God to speak loud. To make HImself very clear and known - in decisions and life in general. I think what struck me in Peru is that I used that as a pretty lazy excuse to not have to dig for Him on my own. Of course God speaks loud. Of course He makes Himself known. And when He does, that's amazing. But for me, in that moment, I just felt like God was saying, "Nope, for YOU, I'm in the quiet moments." That doesn't allow me to just wait for Him to speak loud. It forces me to seek Him out and find out what He has for me. It was a good realization - one that I want to continue to work on.
God speaks to me through kids. That's where I see God's face; where I can really see Him at work. I've been called to work with kids and I'm using my gifts to do so. I love that. So I think it was also cool to just see the little orphans' faces. They are precious, loved, fun, and full of potential. Milagros (who I'll talk about later) even remembered me from 5 years ago! How touching is that?!
One of the days, we marched in Peru's Flag Day Parade. It is one of the biggest days of the year. The kids practice for 4 hours a day for 3-4 weeks. We practiced to make it right - so as not to make fools out of ourselves. It was such an honor to march for Hannah's Home. When we got to the grandstands and municipality, the entire crowd came to their feet, cheered, and thanked us for marching in the parade. I had to pep-talk myself to hold it together - it was just one of those powerful moments where you feel proud, humbled, nervous, and filled with joy at the same moment. It was an honor to represent Hannah's and the United States.
During one of the VBS days, I was making shapes with a little girl using sidewalk chalk. She didn't want to talk or even look at me. So I just kept drawing. Finally, she took her piece of chalk and started to draw exactly what I did and a big smile came across her face. In that moment, all I could think of was, "Be imitators of Christ." Powerful moment.
There are a couple women who stay at the orphanage and help with the kids each day. Dalia and Karen are precious women who are the perfect examples of pure service. To see their love, commitment, dedication, consistency, and affection towards the children was beautiful to see. One night, we gave all the women and girls manicures and pedicures - to make them feel special. I was working on Karen's nails when she looked at me and through a translator said, "No one has ever taken the time to do this for me. This feels so special. You are Christ's hands and feet, coming from afar. Thank you." Tears streaming down my face, I just hugged her and told her that she deserved it and God was smiling down at her for all she has done with her life. A very cool moment to be a part of.
There were 100 more moments that I want to treasure forever. The beach and Ocean Devotion time. The dolphins, The daycare with tons of little kids. The church service on the last day - amazing worship. My roommates - Mary and Alyssa. The bus rides - the scary moments and the good conversation. Having a note from Matt and Siena to open each day. The translators - Jasmin and Mirari (their stories are so powerful). The food. Milagros. Chicken foot soup. Foot washing. Calling home and hearing Siena say "Momma". Etc.
It was a very special trip. I'm thankful for the opportunity, the adventure, the friendships, the conversations. I know I'll be back there again soon. Until then...

Playing on the beach with the kids the first day. The waves were huge and our toes just needed a dip! Fun!
Just one of those moments.
A sweet little boy in the daycare we went to.
Our sweet, precious Milagros.
Painting Karen's nails. A blessing.
Mila painting my nails.
My Peruvian match! One of the only children down there with curly hair!!
Karen and Dalia. Servants at heart.
Mirari.
Jasmin.
Some of my favorites - Mandy and Mary.

PS. I did miss Siena. However, she was in wonderful hands with her Daddy, I was in a place I knew I was supposed to be, I was having a wonderful time...it was a great chance for me to prove to myself that I can be away and it's good for everyone. (I will say one night when I called home, I heard Siena crying in the background. Matt put the phone up to her ear and she stopped crying and said, "Momma? Momma? Peru? Airplane? Helpin' kids?" "Yes, baby, Momma's helping kids right now. I love you and I can't wait to kiss your sweet face." "I love you, Momma." That's a conversation I'll hold onto for a while...)

Cole!!

(drum roll, please)
Introducing...our sweet new puppy, Cole!

Matt and I have always wanted to be a dog family. We both grew up with dogs and knew that's what we wanted for our kids too. Siena has only confirmed that that's just what we need. :) She is obsessed with dogs and can't keep her hands off any dog she comes into contact with.

So, when a friend from school sent out an email to the staff about free black lab puppies, we investigated. A wonderful man living out on a farm in Lone Jack owned male and female purebred labs. They had a litter of puppies, and instead of selling them for money, he just wanted to find good homes for them.

We took Siena out to see the puppies on Sunday afternoon. Of course the puppies were absolutely adorable. However, I think both Matt and I were more impressed with the mom and dad. They were both on the property, both super sweet dogs with great disposition, and both of them not too big. They licked all over Siena and were sweet as can be. If they were any indication of what their puppies will be like, we've got a great thing coming.

Before we went to see the puppies, we told ourselves we would not leave with a puppy. And we didn't. We went home, talked about it a lot, talked logistics, pros and cons, all of it. After a few final things came together, we went out Monday afternoon (Memorial Day) to pick out a puppy.

There were 4 males puppies left and all of them identical and adorable. We ended up picking out Cole because he was the littlest and also one of the 2 that paid the most attention to us when we came to play. He pounced around a little bit, showed some love, but also cuddled too. We took him home to Siena, who was very surprised to see her very own puppy at her house!!

For some reason, Siena thought the puppy's name was Huggie. Not sure where that came from or why she kept calling him that, but we'll give Cole the middle name of Huggie...not a very manly lab name. Now she's got it...his name is "Cold." :)

Cole has been great! He's just like a newborn...plays hard for 20 minutes or so and then is wore out and has to take a nap. Siena loves him to pieces and he just puts up with the neck "hug" strangulation, squishing when she wants to sit right by him, and the constant in-your-face contact. The perfect puppy for an almost 2-year-old.

It makes me smile to think that Cole might very well be the dog that Siena has when she's in high school. He is such a sweet dog. (Please remind me of the sweetness when he's going through chewing stages and figuring out his big, awkward body.) We love our little COLE! :)

To Siena, this is a hug. To Cole, this is...well, what his hugs will be like from now on.

Cole's first bath.
Exhausted after the first day with his new family.