We Love Nana!

we have had the privilege of doing a lot with nana (jon's mom) these past two weeks. carson adores his nana and has loved all the time that we have been able to spend with her (me too)! she took carson and i to a petting farm last week. there were baby goats running free all over the place. carson got to ride a horse and of course, his favorite animal had to be the big smelly pig!

jon, nana, carson and i went to the new National Space Museum near Dulles Airport today. it is amazing! carson wanted to ride every plane that we saw and had a hard time understanding why he could not...but he did enjoy the virtual ride with dada and the model airplane nana bought him at the gift shop.

thank you SO much nana for all the time you have invested in us these past two weeks. we love you much!









Carson even loves wearing nana's shoes!!

micah man

jon and i attended the most God glorifying memorial service today for our dear friends- the davis family. their three year old son, micah went home to be with the Lord this past week (after battling a treacherous bought with cancer). it truly was an honor to be there today and witness such a holy event. our hearts grieve with them and their entire family. mixed with tears of sorrow we both experienced so much joy and peace today knowing that micah, as is chase is free of all pain and suffering. because of the blood of Christ, our boys are able to run free today experiencing joy unknown to any of us left here on this earth. oh how much more i long for Heaven!

as we are well acquainted with the grief of losing a child, i ask that you would please pray for their family as they grieve in the days/months/years to come. luke and kriscinda are heroes in our eyes....how they have brought so much glory and honor to the Lord amidst so much suffering and pain. they have provoked jon and i both to love the Lord more through their suffering and savor and treasure all that the Lord has taught us and continues to do so through the life and death of our son. please see more about their extraordinary example on their blog: http://lukecinda.blogspot.com/

my little helper

i have not been feeling too well the past few days (a cold that is going around). before jon left for work yesterday he told carson how important it was that he 'help mama' and 'serve mama.' shortly after jon left i went to lie down on the couch. carson came running over to me saying, 'no mama, sarson help mama.' he then proceded to try to lift me up off the couch. every time i went to lie down...my 'little helper' would not let me!

quote of the day

i asked carson this morning 'who made you?' he thought for a second and then proudly said, 'Jesus (hesitating slightly) and Poppi (Mr. Smith)!'

fun in the sun

carson and i have been having fun in the very hot sun down in wilmington nc, visiting with papa, mimmi, auntie k, baby bobby and the rest of the foy family. it is always wonderful to be with family and carson has had 'fun' adjusting to not being the only grandchild around. we have been able to do lots of fun things...a trip to the farmers market, a boat ride, trips to wrightsville beach, painting with mimmi, bubbles...and most importantly...riding on the tractor with papa! here are some pics from our time here so far:

a very proud papa with his two grandsons



mimmi and bobby having snuggle time



auntie k and bobby smiling for the camera



fun at the beach


carson just being himself



playing on the porch (to keep out of the hot sun)



a trip to the local farmers market



fun at breakfast time (for carson)



fun at breakfast time for bobby too!

water water everywhere

we spent the morning at the water park in germantown with the hydoski family. we ALWAYS have fun spending time with our good friends and carson and kj are just too adorable with one another. kj is by far carson's best friend. if you ask carson at random what he wants to do, he will typically reply, 'pay width kj.' you can see from the pics below how much fun they have together!!!!










Can't forget adorable little baby Tate!!!!

another trip to the ER

last night we made another trip to the ER! after getting out of the tub, carson attempted to get back in himself and slipped, hitting his head right on the edge of the tub. after the initial pain and shock of what happened, he did GREAT. he was so excited to see the doctor. he excitedly cried out, 'hi docdor' to anyone who walked by dressed in scrubs. it was painful watching the procedure (jon was not there, so i had to hold him down myself), they could not use a topical anesthetic to numb the area because it was too close to the eye. they had to inject it with a needle. just like last time, when the doctor was done, he sat right up and was so joyful. i have been worried that these experiences are going to make him not like going to the doctor, but on the way home he was busy talking away to me...'docdor help sarson, docdor fiend.' the whole event got him wired and when we got home around 9pm, he was no where ready for bed! he got to stay up having 'special time' with mama! it was a sweet memory indeed.

here is a picture taken at breakfast this morning of his swollen eye!

quotes from the past few days

here are a few random quotes from my precious son...

i was busy in the kitchen after breakfast and carson was busy playing with his cars. this is what i overheard, "mqueen push king. king boo-boo. oh-no. jeses, pease hep king bo-bo...amen.' so precious to listen/watch him pray on his own!!!!

we got out of the car the other day to go to the store. on the street was what looked liked a smushed cookie. carson blurted out...'it happened.' i said, 'what happened?' pointing to the cookie he siad, 'the mess, it happened.'

carson was in his car seat trying to reach a book in the seat in front of him. he managed to get the book by pushing it up with his feet. with a huge smile on his face he said, 'help you feet, feet help sarson. dank you feet.'

a day with the hydros

i am a bit behind in posting pics...i have yet to download ones from this past weekend (father's day). they will be coming soon. the pics below are from a day at a children's music festival with kelly, kj and tate. carson and kj just adore one another and it is so much fun watching them do just about anything! home depot sponserd the event and offered free crafts for the kids to do. the boys were able to build thir own race cars...it was great.

pics will be coming from our time with the smiths for fathers day...but i have to share a quote (it is just too cute to wait). on sunday morning (father's day) i was rushing carson to get ready for church. carson associates church with sunday mornings, but also with dada (that he goes there to work each day). carson does not see jon on sunday mornings b/c jon leaves very early for mtgs before church. i was getting carson dressed telling him that we were going to church...that we get to worship jesus, go to class with his friends, learn about God. carson just looked and me with puppy dog eyes and in a sad voice said, 'church mama. no jesus, just dada.'

the things kids say

i have not posted in a long time...we have been busy enjoying the beginning of summer...the pool, b-day parties, picnic lunches at the park, feeding the duckies at the rio, going to the creek to throw rocks, doing some gardening, playing in the dirt, discovering ants, worms and bugs of all types (so much fun having a boy), going to 'story time' at the bookstore and hanging out with friends!

some of the things that Carson has been saying lately have just made me laugh...thought i would share a few:

he woke up from his nap the other day and went downstairs, directly over to his booster seat and sat down. he looked at me and said, 'bol please mama." then, 'spoo please mama.' then he looked me in the eyes and said, 'mama cook food.'

carson has been learning about the gospel and loves to pray to jesus, thanking Him for dying for his sins. the other night he could not sleep so i went in to comfort him. i sang, rubbed his back and prayed for him. as i was leaving, i told him that if he was scared or alone he could always sing to Jesus. i then layed down 'ducky' (a stuffed animal he sleeps with) next to him and told him he could also sing to ducky. five minutes later this is what i heard (being sung at a very high pitch melody) "ducky's sins...ducky's sins...jesus, ducky's sins...water...ducky...sins...jesus...ducky's sins."

more pics from our trip

Pu'uhonua o Honaunua National Park - where we swam with dolphins



Some beautiful coral at a local beach where Jon went suffering and we both were able to snorkel with sea turtles and many more exotic fish!



A small remote beach we found off the beaten path one day



A 800 ft water fall at Akaka State Park



A tree that caught my eye at Wapio Valley



A quick picture at our resort before heading out to dinner one night



Watching the sunset the last night before we caught our flight home

Amazing

We made is safely to Hawaii (after 15 hours of travel). The resort we are staying in has surpassed all of our expectations…2 bedroom, full kitchen, deck, fitness center, swimming pool, hot tub…it is beautiful. The wonderful thing about the time change (we are 5 hours behind) is that we are waking up around 7am each morning. saturday we were able to relax and catch up on needed rest at a local beach, then the pool and then to dinner. Today we ventured to Pu’uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park where we spent hours snorkeling. Amazing does not even begin to explain what we saw. I felt like I was in the movie ‘Finding Nemo!’ the area we snorkled in is known as a resting place for doplins. While we were out in the water a school of dolphins came ‘to rest.’ As I looked down a small dolphin swam directly under me (within arms reach) and then a school of 50+ followed….unbelielveable!!! once we had had enough sun for the day we jumped in the wrangler (the Lord was so kind to bless us with a jeep wrangler…a prayer of jons) and drove to Kealakekua Bay where we saw the most spectacular views. On the way home we spoted an adorable antique store and a local farmers market, where we stopped and browsed.

Yesterday we ventured out to a place called Waipi'o valley - its the most amazing beach/place we have ever seen! The trail down to the beach was only accesable by 4x4 vehicles - Jon loved that! the sand on the beach was black and we were surrounded by massive mountains and cliffs on almost every side.


We have now been here for three days and there has not been a day that has gone by that we have not remembered all of Gods many blessing this year - even in the midst of pain and suffeing. Nor has there been a day that has gone by that we have not thanked God for all those who made this trip possible. We are having the most amazing time! We have been stunned by the breathtaking views and beaches, our love for one another is only growing, and we have had our souls refreshed again and again since our arrival.

here are some pics of our time so far:

we can't believe this...

we are leaving for Hawaii in less than two hours! to all who made this trip possible...THANK YOU! we do not have the sufficent vocabulary to communicate our gratefulness for you and our current excitment for all that this trip will hold for us.

we are hoping to post some pics of out time away while we are there!

here is a pic of our resort...