Day Four with the folks!

Yesterday, we decided to take the day off. We began the day by waking Josiah up & giving him tons of hugs & kisses while Dustin prepared breakfast.

Dustin spoiled us by preparing his famous crepes. He offered three different kinds (strawberry, peach & raspberry). They were DELICIOUS! As Josiah says, "Mmm Mmm Good...Yummy!" After a great breakfast & conversation Granddaddy & Grandma went outside to play with Josiah.

They haven't had the opportunity to check out his new sand & water table they bought him at the beginning of the summer. Tons of sandcastles were built & food was prepared inside his playhouse. I don't know who had more fun...Josiah or his grandparents.

The rest of our lazy day consisted of watching movies & eating...our two favorite things. Granddaddy & Grandma played hard with Josiah all day & were ready for a good night's sleep.

33 Months Old!

Thursday, September 11, Josiah turned 33 months old. We cannot believe that he is only 3 months away from turning 3 years old. It is exciting to see the wonderful changes he is going through, but also sad to see him grow up so fast. Time really does fly when you're having fun!

Day Three with the folks!

After breakfast on day three, we decided to head to the mountain. Yes, Mt. Rainier. You cannot come to Washington State & not see Mt. Rainier. It was a gorgeous day to go drive to 5400 feet elevation. Mt. Rainier is 14, 410 feet high. It is a huge active volcano!

On the way up the mountain, we stopped off at Narada Falls, inside Mt. Rainier National Park, for a picnic lunch. We were entertained by a bluejay while we were munching down on sandwiches, chips, fruit & Rice Krispy Treats...mmm!

Dad & Mom standing in front of Narada Falls!

Dustin & Carla with Josiah in front of the falls!

At the bottom of the falls was a beautiful rainbow. This was Josiah's first rainbow sighting & he knew exactly what it was as soon as he saw it!

Mt. Rainier from 5400 feet at the Paradise Visitor's Center!

Grandma & Josiah posing for the camera in front of the beautiful mountain!

What a great adventure that will always be remembered by all five of us!

Day Two with the folks!

Day two was more of a relaxed day. We went grocery shopping & hung around the house playing together. It is great to have them here with us!

Josiah & Granddaddy playing together!

Grandma giving Josiah a bath with his new bath toys they bought him!

Day One with the folks!

Dad & Mom arrived in Edmonds, WA on Tuesday morning. As you can imagine they were tired & hungry. So, we headed straight to a family favorite...IHOP! After munching down on pancakes, eggs & bacon, we took Dad & Mom to our house for the official tour. With it being their first time to our new home, we showed them every corner of our new home. It was exciting to have my family in my house. If you know my parents, then you know they came to town bearing gifts. They brought a ton of stuff from them & some from Chris' trip to Disney World last week. Josiah was immediately spoiled & has been ever since.

Josiah opening & displaying gifts from Granddaddy, Grandma & Uncle Chris!

They're Here!

They're here! My Mom & Dad pulled into Edmonds, WA yesterday to visit with us for two weeks! YEAH!!!!! Saturday night my parents boarded an Amtrak train in Washington D.C., where they were staying with my brother, Chris. He took them to the train station & they began their journey there. THREE DAYS LATER they arrived in Edmonds, WA, which is 5 minutes from our house in Lynnwood. They are such troopers for being on a train across the country to see their daughter, son-in-law & grandson. It has been one year & one month since we last saw them. They looked great & well rested for having been through this long journey.

As soon as they got off of the train, Josiah & I couldn't get to them fast enough. Josiah jumped into Granddaddy's arms as I jumped into Mom's arms. Dustin soon came running up behind as he was making sure we weren't going to get towed from a no-parking zone (there weren't any parking spaces left at the station).

Anyway, we have two wonderful weeks with them & we can't wait. Stay tuned for more posts of the adventure in Washington with the folks from North Carolina!

It's a New Season!

It's a new season at Holy Seed Community Church!

Let me tell you why.

This past spring we started a new church/community of believers in our home. It has been wonderful so far & we have grown to really enjoy our gatherings. In the beginning we chose to meet bi-weekly on Sunday evenings for dinner, fellowship & a spiritual challenge in our home. We did not want people to have to choose between their existing church & our church. Also, for those who didn't go to church, we did not want them to have to give up their sleeping-in day. We wanted this to be something they wanted to come to, not something else for them to put on their ever-so-busy schedule. God wants us to COME expecting, not make ourselves come because we have to.

Dustin & I had been feeling for weeks that it was now time to begin meeting weekly. As God was urging us to do this, some of the people attending began informing us that they wanted to meet more often & that they wanted Holy Seed to become their home church. This was all complementing what we had felt led to do. So, we spoke with everyone involved & discussed the options.

Today was the beginning of this new season in our ministry. We began our weekly gatherings today at 11am. We had brunch, fellowship & then spent time in the Word & discussion. The kids went to their new Kid's Church room & learned as well. Everyone came in the door excited about the new time of day & had a fresh energy for what we are doing. God has been faithful every step of the way & He continued "showing off" in our community group today.

Go Seahawks!

Today was the Season Opener for the Seattle Seahawks & the kids were ready. Yes, I know they lost, but the kids still looked too cute. Joslyn & Shaylen showed up for church as Seahawks cheerleaders. Too precious! So, Josiah had to put on his Seahawks jersey. I had to take a pic to show everyone. Go Seahawks!!

Say, "Ahhh!"

Today was Josiah's first trip to the dentist. We went by last week to meet his dentist & he was very excited to meet her. He kept saying, "Hi Dr. Bender!" Well, today was a different story. He did well considering this was his first time, but he did not want her fingers inside his mouth.

So, Mommy jumped in the chair with him to help him to feel more comfortable. Things went better after that.

Josiah really enjoyed wearing the cool orange glasses they gave him to keep the light out of his eyes.

He also enjoyed the suction straw they let him hold & put in his mouth. As you can see, he also enjoyed sticking it in Mommy's mouth as well.

His favorite part about the appointment was when Dr. Bender said, "You're all done!" I don't think Josiah could have jumped out of the dentist chair any faster. HA! He immediately ran to Daddy. Better luck next time, I guess!

5 Little Monkeys!

Saturday morning, the 5 of us decided to have a family outing & head to the Seattle Zoo. This was Josiah's first trip to a zoo & was very excited to go.

The animals were absolutely beautiful. Josiah was in amazement that the animals were actually real. There were several times that he wouldn't even take his eyes off of the animals in order to take a picture.

I think one of his favorite spots was the home of the gorillas. He enjoyed watching the gorillas moving around their habitat. One of the gorillas had a baby on her back. This was especially sweet. He kept saying, "Ahhhhhh!" He kept pressing his face against the glass because he was so excited to see the gorillas.

Sadly, the most anticipated moment of the day was a disappointment. Josiah couldn't wait to get to see the elephants. Once we got to their habitat, they were no where to be found. We finally found them locked up in the cages not really moving around. This small statue of an elephant seemed to make him happy anyway.

One animal, found in his books, that Josiah loves to read about is flamingos. He thought that seeing real flamingos was the coolest thing. He has been trying to stand on one leg ever since.

As we were leaving the zoo, we started to find that all of the animals, including the hyper monkeys, were all napping. So, we decided that the 5 of us monkeys better get a nap too. Kudos to the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle for a fun-filled day!