Little Sarah

Everyone says how much Evie looks like Stephen, but my sister was looking through some old pictures and realized she actually looks a lot like I did when I was her age. The scanned picture isn't all that clear, but I think you can see the resemblance in these two pictures.

 Summer 1982. Playing with Nathan and Elizabeth in the pool.
I'm the baby in the picture.

Early morning playtime outside while the temps are still in the 80s!

Unexpected

To say that this post is unexpected is an understatement. Early Tuesday morning I gave birth to a tiny baby girl who is living at the side of Jesus. We don't have much to say and don't feel like sharing a lot yet, but I'm sure there will come a time for that.

The words that have been on my mind today come from Psalm 139. We were blessed with the privilege of holding our sweet baby of only 18 weeks, and after seeing how intricately and wonderfully she had been formed, these words seem truer than ever:

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
   you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
   your works are wonderful,
   I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
   when I was made in the secret place,
   when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
   all the days ordained for me were written in your book
   before one of them came to be.
¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
   How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸ Were I to count them,
   they would outnumber the grains of sand—
   when I awake, I am still with you.

Of course, we'd love your prayers, but know that we're doing well and are grateful for the Lord's goodness to us.

Chicago

For the final phase of our trip, we went to Chicago (actually Geneva, IL, but we always just say Chicago) to visit my brother's family. We were all supposed to spend Thanksgiving together last year, but my sister-in-law was only a month away from her due date after a very eventful pregnancy, so they had to opt out. We starting planning a summer vacation together to make up for it, but ended up spending a few days at their house instead.

We did a bad job of taking pictures there, except for the day we spent in Chicago. I sure wish I had a picture of chunky baby Will! But here are some of the pictures from Chicago:

 Nathan and Samuel on the train going to Chicago.

I'm not sure why the color is so messed up on this one!

 We went up in the Willis Tower, formerly known as the Sears Tower. The kids really had no clue what they were doing (besides looking at each other to pose for a picture instead of at the camera), but they were standing on glass so they could see below them.

 Wiped out!

 Uncle Matthew got some good practice pushing the stroller around all day!

 Evie was just as tired as the boys, but refused to sleep. She was struggling to keep her eyes open.

My request for the day was to have my picture taken with my husband. It was taken in the middle of our rush to catch the train back home, but I'll take it!

Northern Kentucky

After spending a day in Campbellsville catching up with some good friends from college, we made our way to my sister's house. This was my last time to see her before she gives birth to baby Ethan!

One of the reasons we planned our trip when we did was so I could be at my sister's baby shower. Here we are at the shower: 32 weeks and 17 weeks. Can you tell we feel silly holding our bellies?

A rare family photo! We went to Newport on the Levee, and then walked on the Purple People Bridge that goes from Newport, KY to Cincinnati. The kids were a little distracted by their green monkey and pink elephant balloon animals!

 As usual, we spent some time at the piano.

 Another family photo! My brother-in-law built this huge picnic table for their deck. It seats at least 16 large adults and doubles as a bomb shelter and play pen for kids! Kentucky evenings were so cool and beautiful compared to our Texas evenings, so we spent most of them outside.

Lewisport

Phase one of our annual summer trip was spent with Stephen's family in Lewisport, KY. (We decided after just a few hours in the car with the kids that this two week journey was a trip, not a vacation. Vacation implies rest, and although we absolutely loved every minute of our visits with friends and family, it was not restful. So, this was our summer trip.)

As usual, Nate latched onto his cousins and completely wore himself out running around with them all day. And he adores his Granddad, so first thing every morning he was by his side asking for tractor rides! Here are some of the pictures from Lewisport:

 I'd like to see how this picture turned out! 

 Waiting for the sun to go down so we could watch some fireworks.

 Cameron teaching Evie how to do a somersault!

Nate and Kate.