Dear Zoee...

Dear Zoee,

Oh my little princess! We love you so much. You still smile more than any baby I have ever seen. You wake up smiling and smile most of the day (as long as your tummy is full and you are rested, you are smiling!!). You are almost 9 months old and we are soaking in every moment of your little life. You still spit up some but we are trying not to ever let that steal our joy in this season. I know that it will go by so fast! Here are some things going on with you...

You love your brother. You think he hung the moon! I love seeing how you adore him!

You love to splash in the water. I will often just let you play in a bucket of water outside and you will sit there forever just splashing away. =)

You love food! Bananas, peaches, waffles... whatever you can eat- you will eat (and then spit up some of it later). We pray daily that the Lord will heal your spit up but for now He has decided to still let you have this small problem.

You love to dance. Whenever music comes on, you start bouncing away and smiling- it makes everyone smile!!

Zoe-bear, you are a joy. You fit your name so perfectly- you are so full of life (Zoee), joy and adventure (Scout). We are so thankful for your surprise entry in to our lives! We pray that you will continue to love life and find all of your joy and peace in the love of Jesus. We love you!

Love,

Mommy

Dear Asher...

Dear Asher,

You are such a fun toddler. We enjoy you so much. It is such a blessing to watch you grow and see the way that you love others. Though you have times where you get mad a Zoee for wanting every toy you have, you are mostly so kind to her. You love to give her hugs and kisses and hold her. I just love seeing you love her. The other day yall were in the bath and Zoee started to stand up (which will lead to her getting into trouble) and you said gently but firmly, "Zoee, sit down." Once she obey you, you said "Good girl." Precious. That's what you are! Here are some more things going on in your life...

You got 2 fish from Daddy as a present for being a good boy while we were at camp with the students. We named them Bites and Ivy (for Poison Ivy and Chigger Bites which the students brought back from Camp). You love to feed them and talk to them =).

You are not a big fan of sprinklers or even small baby pools- you just don't really like getting water on your head. Its so funny. You will enjoy pools once we convince you to get in, but the convincing takes so long it is almost not worth it!!

You love your Little Tikes tractor that Mimi and Papa got you and your tricycle that Grandma and Grandad got you. I let you play with them in the house and you love riding around on them. Right now you are watching Cars while sitting on your green tractor. You are "all boy."

You love to make others laugh. You play peek-a-boo with Zoee almost every day- you just enjoy making her laugh.

You love to imitate Daddy. After he boxes in the garage, you want to box. If he climbs the ladder to get into the attic, you want to. You often get on your tractor and tell me that you are going to go "bye-bye to work" just like Daddy. If he eats ANYTHING, you will at least try it because you saw Daddy do it. It makes Daddy so happy to have a little "mini-me." It makes me smile to see you imitating him- you have a wonderful father.

That's all for now. Son, you are such a joy to Daddy and me. We are honored to have had these 2 years with you. We pray that you will continue to grow in love and obedience. We pray that you will grow to love Jesus with all of your heart and mind and soul. We love you!

Love,

Mommy

Home with the Howard's

Ash and Zoee vs. Daddy... kids win!!

Not a good habit to be forming!! Gotta love Baby Einstein!!

Daddy and Ash... Ash just loves to be where ever his Daddy is...

Because our "work" schedule is so different than most people's, we try to take Thursday as a family day. We just spend the whole day together- resting, playing, enjoying each other. Thursdays are my favorite day of the week. I realize more and more why the Lord wanted us to have a Sabbath. We all need at least one day a week where we just REST. No agenda- just enjoy God and your family. Thank you Jesus for days of rest!

Lupe Tortillas

Daddy and Asher...

Papa and Zoee...

Mommy and Ash...

Kisses for Mommy!!=)

Our family of 4 =)....

We are not very brave when it comes to dining out with our family... it just gets so hectic with little ones and it seems like you end up spending a lot of money to chase your kids and try to keep them happy and make sure they don't disturb other people. The only place we really venture out to with the kids is Lupe Tortillas because they have the HUGE sandbox and we can eat outside and be loud without feeling like we are disturbing everyone else. We usually go there with my parents and with the 4 of us we are able to entertain the kids! Ash and Zoee both love the sandbox and we all LOVE the fajitas!

Ash making Zoee laugh part 2

Here are our sweet kiddos! We spend so much of our day laughing with them at the funny and sweet things they do. I pray that they will always love each other's company as much as they do now. They bless my heart!

Happy 4th of July 2011!!

One smiling... one on a mission...

Both looking... one smiling...

Neither looking... both on separate missions...

One looking and not smiling... Mr. Serious with a new haircut!!...

Both smiling but neither are looking at the camera...

This 4th of July fell the DAY BEFORE we left for Camp Mitchell with our students from http://www.tvccstudent.com/%22Life_Site%22/Welcome.html ... thus our 4th was quite uneventful. I had dressed the kids up in patriotic outfits thinking that we would be going over to our friend's house to celebrate but Sonny ended up needing to do some last minute shopping for camp and did not get home until after 8pm (and we were leaving around 6am the next morning to get ready to leave for camp so we knew we could not be out late). So, since I had the kids dressed up, I decided to take some pics in the front yard. Ash is sporting his new haircut (we wish it was longer but the barber's just can't get the "leave it long" request down). Oh-well, it will grow back. He does look much older though!! We just played in the front yard and I tried with all of my might to get just ONE decent picture of my 2 kids smiling... it just isn't that easy with the two of them always on a mission (and different "missions" for that matter). We ended up just going to bed early and trying to get rest.

The kids did great while we were gone at camp. Sonny and I missed them a ton but honestly we didn't think about how much we missed them until we went to bed at night (which was usually around 2am or so). It was such a joy to see them when we got home. My fears about them not wanting to see us were all unnecessary- they were so excited to see us and it blessed my heart. Zoee would not stop looking at me and smiling and Ash gave me a big hug and wanted to play with his cars- just like normal. We have had a great week adjusting to being on our schedule again. It was nice to get away with our students and be with the Lord but I sure am glad to be home with our little ones again. =)