Lately . . .

It seems we've been busy lately. Scott's been keeping the road hot on his recruiting adventures while Kilee and I have been running around doing various things together. Not that we've kept the world's craziest schedule or anything, but I've been finding myself excessively tired. And no . . . I'm not pregnant. :o)

I am really enjoying the Mom 2 Mom group at church. It has really been an encouragement to me to meet with other moms and discuss how we can grow as wives, mothers and followers of Christ. We have a lot of fun talking about our kids, too! I'm learning a lot. We've had a few projects going on at home in addition to the usual ones. I've been trying to get all of our clothes "switched over" from summer to fall for about a week now, we've had a "no eating out" policy for over a month so I've been cooking constantly, and I've found some other home improvementish tasks to do as well. Kilee Anne is constantly on the move! Scott and I think she is really close to walking now. She "cruises" around all of our furniture and walks holding onto me with just one hand! Is it really possible that our baby is almost a year old? It can't be true!

Things with Scott's job are starting to get a little less hectic far as his schedule is concerned, although he will have to travel a bit this month, too. He keeps busy, but he's been so good about coming home and making special time to spend with us. He's been hunting a few times, but no deer yet. I'm sure it's only a matter of time -- he's pretty good with a bow.

Tonight we dressed Kilee Anne up like a puppy dog for trick or treat! She was SO cute. Like, seriously . . . she was the cutest baby EVER. I speak the truth, (and yes, I am her mother). :o) We will be posting pictures soon. Scott borrowed a video camera from work and got some great footage of the whole trick-or-treat experience. We had so much fun! God has given us such a wonderful blessing in little Kilee!

Take care everyone! More to come . . .

Fall Events

These past few weeks have been a blur! We've had a lot going on. We've enjoyed visits from family, trips to the Zoo, birthdays, and picking pumpkins! Scott's already been on the road quite a bit recruiting Summer Staff for 2008, so that's been busy for him -- and I've been busy with different activities at church, playgroup and visits with Kilee, and generally just keeping up with the little girl! Her latest feats include crawling (she's amazingly fast), walking while holding onto furniture, pulling up to anything and everything (all toilet lids MUST be in the down position at all times), and "cleaning out" all of our baskets, drawers and cabinets. It's exhausting, but VERY fun! I can't say much more, not because there's little to say but because I have GOT to go to bed! Here are some pictures you might enjoy. They're from my birthday where Scott and I had a cooking date and made a cake in the shape of a pumpkin, a trip to the Zoo, and our latest outing (today) picking pumpkins at Gallrein Farms in Shelbyville. It was a blast, we rode a hayride to the pumpkin patch, listened to live folk/bluegrass music, and picked some awesome pumpkins. Kilee Anne LOVED it!

"Welcome Home, Honey" in 1955

This was sent to me by one of my friends at church. It's an actual 1955 Good Housekeeping Magazine Article. You'll probably have to click on it to read it. This is how I greet Scott every night when he comes home from work. Just kidding! A few of the pointers are probably very valid! Scott said it sounded nice! Ha. :o)

GO Cats!

UK's secret to success against U of L last Saturday . . .

Vacation in Florida

We were blessed by some friends to be able to go to Florida earlier this month for our family vacation. They let us stay in their condo for a week for FREE! The condo was in Clearwater, FL and it was absolutely gorgeous. We brought food to cook all week and we just basically became beach bums. Kilee Anne LOVED the beach! Our friends even babysat Kilee for a day so that Scott and I could have a date on the beach. They recommended the coolest restaurant on Anna Maria Island called the Sandbar. It was so great! This was definitely a dream vacation in every sense of the word. Kilee Anne was a good traveler to be in the car for so long, too. Thanks Cushings for a spectacular time! I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves about how much fun we had.

Our Trip to the Zoo!

Hello everyone! I just wanted to share some pictures from our trip to the zoo on Saturday! It was a great family day. Kilee Anne really enjoyed seeing the animals and Scott and I had fun, too. We started with all of the big animals, which Kilee really enjoyed. The picture where Scott's holding her is from the Elephant exhibit where they were looking at the new baby elephant, Scotty. She loved the giraffes, too. We walked through the petting zoo as well and Kilee was very interested in the goats. We brought some snacks with us and sat down and ate for awhile and soon Kilee Anne was asleep! Scott and I enjoyed the rest of the zoo, especially the Herpaquarium with the Albino alligator, "King Louie." We were walking through the snake exhibit in the herpaquarium and just when we got to the dark room with all of the snakes in it, I stepped on a straw that some kid had left in the floor and nearly screamed! Scott thought it was pretty funny. After the zoo, we went out for Chinese food. It was great day! We were so excited to get to take our kid to the zoo! Enjoy the pictures. . .

New Pictures

Here are a few new pictures! This is from our anniversary date last night. We went to PF Chang's and ate incredible Chinese. One of the perks of PF Chang's is that they have a Gluten Free Menu for Scott, so he has a lot of food to choose from. It was great! They brought us free desserts, too! One for me and a special GF one for Scott. They were so thoughtful. Then, we went to Java Brewing Co. for some coffee and on home to relieve our wonderful babysitters, a couple of college students from summer staff. Kilee Anne did really well. We hung out for awhile and then went on to bed. Scott and I are both sick with the same virus Kilee had! Oh well.
Here are a few pictures of Kilee playing in the living room that I thought you all might enjoy. She's a sweetie!

August Update

Hello Everyone! Sorry it's been so long since we've posted. Camp is now over and we have moved back home until next May. It was such an amazing summer. So many youth and children surrendered their lives to Christ, to full-time ministry and decided to get real in their relationship with Christ! It was hard to be away from home at times, but when we look at the big picture -- it was a tiny sacrifice when compared to the bountiful kingdom harvest we witnessed at camp. We are so blessed to be a part of such an amazing ministry!
Kilee Anne continues to grow like a weed! She is now 7 and a half months old, sitting up by herself, scooting around in circles on her belly, and babbling endlessly (da da da da ta ta ta ta ba ba . . .) It is too cute! We laugh because sometimes she talks in a rough-sounding voice like she's growling. We were watching Independence Day on cable the other night and Bill Pullman plays the president in it. He's always been known for his growly voice and Scott and I just started giggling because we were thinking, "Please God, don't let our little girl's voice sound like Bill Pullman's." She's stayed pretty healthy over the past few weeks, but this week she came down with a random cold virus. The doctor told us there's no medicine that will help, just to wait it out. She's been a trooper -- I'm just exhausted from being up with her all night suctioning out her nose and giving her Tylenol and Benedryl. We'll make it.
As of tomorrow, Scott and I will have been married 4 years! We have a big date planned, complete with a babysitter and reservations at a fancy restaurant. I am SO pumped! Well, i need to get to sleep while little miss Kilee is sleeping. Here are some recent pictures -- enjoy!

Father's Day Weekend

We had a great weekend at home! Camp is great, but it's so nice to have some family time at the house. Here are a few pictures of things we did together!

June Update

Hello everyone! It seems like forever since we've posted anything on the blog. Camp is in full swing now and to be honest, we haven't really had time to get on the computer other than to pay bills and check email. Crossings is going so very well. The summer staff is very mature and is making it their daily goal to share Christ with students so that the students can "cross over from death to life." (John 5:24) It has been such a blessing to watch the Lord work through them. Scott is doing such a great job. He is very tired but he has some amazing help from his assistant program directors Reagan and T. Week 2 starts on Monday!

We have been living out at the camp with the Associate Director's family, the McGraths. Kari McGrath is a great friend of mine, so it has definitely been a blessing to be there! It definitely makes it feel more like home. Kilee Anne has been enjoying herself as she is passed from one summer staffer to another -- I'll never be able to set her down again after the summer! Oh well, I want her around all of them -- you can never start too early with role models! Ha ha. Kilee Anne and I are traveling home on Wednesday of every week because I tutor 2 girls that evening and then we go to playgroup on Thursday morning. It's nice to have this time at home every week to mow, catch up on laundry and just have some normalcy. I will say though, we have never enjoyed camp more! God is teaching us so many things as we are just learning how to abide in Him day by day. I think one of the most interesting things He has been bringing to my attention is that this world is not my home, that my citizenship is in heaven. Therefore all of my struggles, material desires and earthly needs are temporary and pale in comparison with the eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison that awaits us. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18) This puts everyday in an eternal perspective! Please pray for me in this as I'm sure there is a reason I'm learning this right now.

Kilee Anne continues to be the most adorable baby on the face of the earth ( no bias here). Ha! She is doing so many new things. Here are a few: everything within reach goes right into her mouth, if something is not in reach she will roll and wiggle to get it, she's babbling vowel sounds constantly, she can pull her leg up and put all of her toes in her mouth, she can sit unassisted for short periods of time, she flails her arms and whacks things (like our dinner plates on the table while we eat), she is fascinated by animals like the camp horses and our pets, she can laugh whenever she thinks something is funny, and she's showing signs that she might crawl soon! It is absolutely crazy how much she is growing!!! We just continually thank the Lord for her -- she is such a miracle!!! Here are a couple of pics of her that I took this morning as she played in her exersaucer -- a toy which evidently tastes great!

New Experiences

Hello Everyone! Just another update. Kilee Anne is helping me type ... check out her mad skills ...,kfvg NNNNNNNNNNNNn. Pretty impressive, huh? Sheer genius! Scott is spending his days and nights getting ready for camp here lately. He works so hard! Staff will arrive a little later THIS MONTH! We are getting excited. I haven't been up to much out of the ordinary. Just being a mommy! Kilee Anne has been so much fun lately. We're trying solids (just rice cereal now), but she's getting really good at eating from a spoon. She wears more than what actually makes it into her belly, but that's the fun of it all! She's sitting supported in her little "Bumbo seat" which she loves. And anything that is lying within a foot of her goes right into her mouth as soon as she reaches it. We're still not sleeping through the night, but we have faith that she'll make it through the night someday! We took her to Long Run Park the other day and fed the ducks and geese. She had a blast and took a great nap in her stroller while Scott and I had some time to hang out together. Here are a few really fun pictures for your viewing pleasure. Love you all!

Update

Hey family and friends! Hope you all are doing well. We're doing really well here! Kilee Anne is growing every day and is surprising us all the time with what she can do! Right now she can sit supported, she's learned how to squeal, chuckle, and do the "airplane" (on her stomach with her head and feet off of the floor). It's pretty exciting!
Scott and I are doing well. Camp is getting so close and it's starting to get REALLY busy around here. It's hard to believe that in just a few weeks, life will be completely different as we switch to "camp mode" and move out to Cedarmore. Please pray that Kilee Anne weathers the change well. It will be a big change for us and for her! Our staff is all ready to go and will be arriving in just a few weeks. The theme this summer is "ONE", focusing on "One Truth, One Lord, One Hope, One Call, Only ONE." from Ephesians 4. Go to the website, located under our "Links" and check it out! Pray for Scott as he prepares, it's a LOT to do! Please pray for me that I would be understanding of his schedule and support him prayerfully and patiently. And also please pray for Kilee Anne, that she would make the most of her time with Scott while he's home in the evenings and not be too fussy! Thank you so much for your prayers and your friendship. Enjoy these pictures! Scott took them! Isn't he great? I've also posted the camp logo for Summer 2007 so you can see it.

3 Months Old!

Wow! Has it really been three months since we met Kilee Anne? Unbelieveable. She is doing so well and is growing up fast! **Mother wipes tear from eye** We are officially in our 3-6 month size clothes now. It was so sad to pack away those little tiny outfits that she can't wear anymore! But this stage is very exciting, too.
Here are a few new pictures of her. We tried to pull our Wildcats through the other day -- even Kilee Anne was dressed to cheer them on, but no luck. She has started to smile all the time now and really enjoys playing in the floor. Every day she's doing something new! This week, Scott taught her how to splash in the tub. It was SO adorable! He would splash his hand in the water, and then she would get her legs and arms going with a big grin on her face! We have GOT to get that on video. We're still not sleeping through the night every night, but we're getting closer all the time. On good nights, she's sleeping from about 11 pm to 5 am. It's wonderful!
Enjoy the pictures!!!

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures

We have been snap-happy with the camera these days! I just wanted to post a few of our favorite Kilee Anne pictures for your viewing pleasure. She is doing really well. Her colic is getting resolved and she is a much happier baby every day. She is doing so many new things!
The pictures are titled: Before Playgroup
After Playgroup
Grrr . . . Bathtime.
Little Swimmer

Enjoy!