Here Comes Summer...

You know it is warm when Samuel is out mowing.

Well, it doesn't have to be warm but the grass must be showing

for Samuel to feel like having his mower out is legitimate.

It has been warm, however, and today Pancho indulged Samuel

 and raked the front and the side yards with a special

blade on the mower.

When I asked why he didn't do the back he said,

"I thought I would leave the back for another day

since you know Samuel is going to be asking

everyday."

True enough.

So here is Samuel's inspiration...

And here is Samuel.

I wonder if Joel will be out with them next spring?

Joel Thorne -- 7 months

Our girl

Our girl is getting so big.
She is learning to read really well and
thrilling us each evening as she reads us her
school books.
She is a great helper to Samuel and Joel and
to both of us.
She finished her AWANA Sparks book and is
going through it a second time.
She is such a joy in our lives and we are
so thankful for her presence in our family.

Hanging with Papa

Who Would Have Thought?

My brother Shawn and I are 14 months apart.

When we were little kids we were

quite close.

At least that is what my mom says.

I'm not saying that we are not close now,

but you know how it is, right?

I have another brother, Nick, who is a bit younger

than Shawn and those two are as close as close

can be; so I do not feel super close to

either of them.

Do I love them dearly?

More than they will ever know.

Am I proud of them?

(NOT that I had anything to do with whom they have become,

but again, you understand)

More than words can express.

But now I have something in common with Shawn

that I never imagined we would have in common:

We are both parents.

It is not that I didn't think Shawn would have children.

It is simply that I never consciously pondered it, dreamed about it,

nor made plans for when that happened to him.

And now, he is a dad and I am a mama and it is so neat.

He came over for dinner with Noelle while Leanne was

away for the day and had dinner with us.

What a joy to see him with his little girl,

the newest sparkle in his eye.

The love he shares with her is SO evident.

It is SO beautiful.

The love she shares with him is also SO evident,

SO beautiful.

Shawn, who would have thought that one day we would

be parents together?

It is one thing that I really enjoy about getting older,

having more in common with you.

And Nick, don't think I have forgotten about you...

I am dreaming of the day when the three of us will

have this in common.

I am praying it will be soon!

Welcome Noelle!

We have a new family member to introduce ...

My brother, Shawn, and his wife, Leanne, adopted 

Noelle Hope Gehring 

on January 12th. 

Katrina, Samuel and Joel are thrilled to have 

a cousin state-side 

(they have one cousin, Veronica, in Venezuela). 

Noelle, we are so thankful God saw fit to add 

you to our family. 

We love you so much! 

*Joel looks like a GIANT in this picture, right? 

6 month comparison

Here are the kids at 6 months . . . 

Thoughts?

Our girl in 7 photos

This morning as Pancho and I drank our coffee together 

I teared up thinking that 6 years ago this morning we 

were in the hospital on one of the highest emotional

mountain tops we have ever been on.

Katrina was born at 10:19 on a Sunday evening, 

February 26 to be exact. 

I didn't sleep that night because I was on 

such an emotional high.

We had waited so long for a child and 

we had been blessed with such a gift,

a miracle, really. 

The past 6 years have been amazing.

This little girl is becoming my closest girlfriend

and I am so thankful God has given her 

to us. 

It is a HUGE responsibility to raise her, 

one that neither Pancho nor I take lightly, 

and yet we are so thankful for God's

faithfulness in guiding our parenting

decisions and helping us impart 

His wisdom to her. 

Katrina, 

tu papa y yo te amamos mas que nunca! 

You are such a gift to us and our prayer is that 

you will love Jesus more and more each day.

We see Him working in your heart and that is 

such a blessing and encouragement to us. 

Build-Your-Own Birthday Bash

This year for Katrina's birthday, 6 years old already, 

we blessed her with 6 special activities leading up to her big day.

Monday -- date with Mama to the mall

Tuesday -- date with Papa to Culver's

Wednesday -- date with Samuel for a smoothie at McD's

Thursday -- date with Nani to Clay Corner, birthday party dinner with the Drexler's

Friday -- family date watching Dolphin Tale

Saturday -- family date to the dog show at the mall

Then, on her big day, we went to her favorite restaurant, Noodles & Co.

and came back home for a family build-your-own fruit pizza party.

We held a contest where Katrina was the judge of who built

the best fruit pizza. There were few guidelines and some of the 

contestants really went all out. 

Katrina had a clip board and was writing down everyone's names

while they built their pizzas. 

She was making rounds, 

"checking in on all the contestants." 

She made sure I was taking pictures of each finished pizza

and then she gave the contestants the 

go-ahead to eat their creations.

At the end of the building she had planned to look at all 

the pictures but when she saw Uncle Nick's design she told me 

secretly, "I don't have to look at the pictures. I know 

Uncle Nick won." 

She awarded Uncle Shawn second place and 

Aunt Leanne came in third. 

It was a fun party and a fun game! 

Afterwards Pancho said, "Boy, Shawn and Nick 

sure are competitive!"

Katrina requested 6 candles in her fruit pizza so we 

obliged and sang to our big girl! 

Happy birthday, Katrinita! 

what a great big sister I have...

We brought some tricycles into the house 

for some middle-of-the-winter fun.

Katrina and Samuel played Safety City.

She told him, "You are going to be a STAR

at Safety City, Samuel, if you listen to everything

I teach you!" 

Even Joel got a ride!