5 Freeway Blowout

Births, funerals, and weddings have all brought us down to so-cal  3 times in the past two months. Karis has been a total trooper. Once we flew, she did great. The other times we have driven, she did great. Poor kid has experienced more of the 5 freeway than most adults. This past trip I think she let us know that she had had enough of the long car rides. I heard a strange noise coming from the backseat...I turn to see this face-

 

Me: "Hmmmm....Brad maybe we should pull over."

Brad: "We're like 30 miles away from where we were planning to stop. Let's just keep going."

Me: "Yeah I think she can make it, she seems to be drifting off back to sleep."

15 MINUTES LATER

Please note: Once we made the decision to keep going the 30 miles there was literally no where else to stop.

Karis: " WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA  WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"

Brad: "It's okay sweetie we're almost there, only 12 more miles."

Me: "Wow, she is angry!"

Once we get there I quickly hop in the back to get her out when I see the real reason why she was crying, I see the reason behind the face above, I see the reason I heard strange sounds coming from the back seat.


MAJOR DIAPER BLOWOUT



We were quite a scene in the parking lot of In & Out trying to clean her up. Literally poop everywhere. I think we learned our lesson in trying to just push that extra 30 miles. Luckily, next time we go down- we're flying!

A year ago today....

A year ago today I thought I had contracted some rare illness. Surely there had to be some reason that I was so tired I could barely make it home from work without literally falling asleep at the wheel. Perhaps it was the first month of school that had done me in, maybe it was my early morning runs catching up with me, or maybe I had somehow contracted a rare illness. On this day a year ago I remember Brad had a double header softball game. I went to cheer him on the first game and had to leave home before the second game even started for fear of falling asleep in the bleachers. It was then on my drive home that I started thinking about this "rare illness" I had. While putting the pieces of it all together I suddenly remembered my mom telling me, "I never really got sick at the beginning of pregnancy, just really really tired." UH UH OH MY GOSH UH UH....was said out loud multiple times in my car as it all started coming together. When Brad got home that night we got a pregnancy test. Surely it couldn't be positive...I was after all on the pill.

A year ago today I had no idea our lives would be changed forever. A year ago today we had not planned on having a baby.THANKFULLY, a year ago today God knew EXACTLY what he was doing. A year ago today we discovered I was 4 weeks pregnant and God began preparing our hearts for the best gift we would ever receive. A gift we can't imagine our life without!

Karis & her hand...

Lately it's been hard to snap a picture of our little one that doesn't include a hand in her mouth. I'm pretty sure she's convinced if she sticks it in there far enough she will be able to swallow it....so far it has only proven to lead to continuous gagging sessions.

Circle of life...

This past weekend we truly experienced the circle of life. We said goodbye to my Grandpa and hello to our new nephew! Grandpa's funeral was perfect. Complete with an official folding of the American Flag to honor his service to our country. Each of his kids spoke sweet words and my dad led an amazing service, which felt more like a celebration for Grandpa now that he is with our maker. How exciting for him! After the funeral the whole family came back to my parent's house and we shared funny stories and memories about grandpa and were each reminded just how important family is.



Most of the family in front on the playhouse....

  The day after the funeral the three of us headed to Long Beach to meet our newest family member. May I introduce Blake James Boekestein....

God has such an amazing way of weaving our lives with a balance of goodbyes and hellos. It was a weekend full of love and gratitude at an awesome life lived and the hopes of beautiful life ahead!

May I introduce....

My little family...

These are my loves...

And this is KARIS!