A Family Picnic Date & Rest of Weekend!

It has been so nice to have Tom back home from his trip to Wilsall, MT with the high school youth group.  Which by the way, they had a very good trip there and God did some great things through them.  The students led VBS there all week at the Wilsall Community Church, teaching the story of Daniel with storyboard form.  I think the all time high attendance for the kids was around 30, quit a difference from ours here but Wilsall is a much smaller town.  In the evenings they did different community service things and they even got to go work on a ranch there and their entertainment at the ranch after the work was all done was shooting gophers!  How about that for a missions trip adventure?!  Love it!

But I survived 5 nights without my love and so did Titus, although we missed him very much and at one point when Tom called, he was good and called everyday, Titus I think cried most of the phone call cuz I would have it on speaker so that he too could "talk" to daddy.  We are glad he is back indeed!  This weekend we just relaxed and went to our annual church picnic on Saturday and I took a hot out of the oven Strawberry/Rhubarb pie with even a homemade crust!  I am loving making those lately, it is so easy and quick to do.  Then yesterday we went on a picnic up on Mt. Jumbo, Tom made us some turkey, bacon & avocado sandwiches to enjoy and we packed some snacks for Titus too and even some toys for him to enjoy.  I think he loved it, he has really loved the backpack experience so far!  I think we will be trying it at the Saturday markets with him, he loves his jogging stroller but not there for some reason, I think there is too many people around or something and he wants to see them all and not be down in a stroller?

Our little picnic area on the Mt. Jumbo saddle.

Also yesterday, Titus and I got to go meet one of my old MVC co-workers new baby!  She is so sweet and tiny and beautiful, what a treat!  Titus was having a hoot with her 3 cats and really busy trying to get into everything!  He also got jealous while mommy was holding the baby and threw his first fit on the floor when mommy had passed baby Jaylin to her mommy and then I picked him up before I realized that I wanted a picture of her and her baby.  Well I set him down and the next thing I know he is laying on the floor crying!  Wow!  So it begins, teaching him the right reaction and behavior, God give us wisdom on this!

Jaylin Joan Watson 7lbs. 14oz., 20 in. long, June 21st @ 9:39 pm.

She is so cute and precious and tiny and 5 days old here!  Makes me want a second one!

This was the kitty Titus wanted to chase around, it has it's summer do on!  Got shaved most likely for the hot summer so his tail looked like a fluffy cotton tail at the end of it!

This poor kitty had to flee for it's life, Titus seriously cracked up when he found it here, it was so funny!

Beautiful new momma Janiece and baby Jaylin!  Her name is combo of Janiece and her mom, grandma Linda, isn't that precious!  Her onsie says "Mommy adores me", um who wouldn't? 

Summer Adventure Week!

What a blessing to be part of SAW this last week with Titus!  This was the first year that I had the privilege to help out with this huge event that our church holds every summer!  SAW is also better known as Vacation Bible School (VBS) and I am not quit sure why they decided to change the name but they did, so you go with it!  Our congregation is huge (our sanctuary seats 700, and between our 2 services I am not exact on attendance but I am sure it is around 900!) so this event is huge in every way!  The upcoming kindergartners-6th graders come Monday-Friday for a week from 9-11:30 am everyday and they are split up into 5 different age groups and each age group has two groups to it because the attendance is so large!  The kids earn points for their attendance, if they bring a friend and if they memorize a verse, which there were 6 different verses selected to go with this years story for them to memorize!  I was so happy to be a part of this because that meant I got to memorize God's Word and hide it in my heart too!  Every morning we would ALL be together for music then our groups would leave the sanctuary from there and get to enjoy a different drama, activity & snack and a craft or experiment every day!  VERY ORGANIZED and it's FREE! 

This year they did the story of Esther from the book of Esther in the Old Testament!  Esther was chosen by God and the King of that time to be Queen and God used her to save her people, the Jews, when the 2nd man in command, the bad Haman, plotted to kill the Jews with the King's permission when the Jew, Mordecai, Esther's cousin, would not bow to him because he served God and only bowed to God!  The King did not know that Esther was also a Jew, so Esther went to the King, unsummoned, knowing that she could lose her life unless the King extended his golden scepter to her to spare her life!  She knew even then that 1) Salvation is found only by trusting Jesus and that 2) God has a plan for every one's life & that she needed to 3) Follow God even when it's hard!  "And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?" Esther 4:14

It was so amazing, I mean can you imagine all the little kids as they watched this played out with live people dressed like bible times!  By Friday we had 449 kids in attendance, the largest ever!  It was so cool, and very glad there was 200 volunteers around to put this on!  I just got to be a "guide" meaning I was with half (about 40) of the 3rd & 4th graders as they moved from drama to activity to craft/experiment places and helped them along and kept them paying attention.  They do provide nursery for the volunteers kids and even have groups for the pre-school age kids of volunteers but Titus was not up for the nursery.  We tried Monday and Tuesday morning to go early and mommy tried to lay him down because that is usually his nap time and he just screamed.  I think it is just too many kids, I am not sure?  He did well in my backpack going to everything tho and then we would come home and eat something quick and he would just nap all afternoon!  So that worked and the kids in my group loved him anyway and a few other moms did that too.

The kids also had a chance everyday to hear the gospel and make a decision for Christ!  Many did, Praise God, many of these kids don't even attend church on a regular basis!  And they also had a chance to give an offering everyday that went to a local need, the Carole Graham Home, a place for single moms and their children to live while they get back on their feet.  The total offering given by the kids was $1,059!  And on Sunday, yesterday, was SAW Sunday, so the kids are encouraged to come and bring their families to church and they get to redeem their points that they have earned all week for different toys and such!  And the congregation gets to hear all the awesome songs that the kids have been learning and they get to see a part of the drama that the kids have seen earlier in the week!  They actually did 2 of them yesterday!  Can't wait for next year, they are doing the story of Moses!

These are some the girls that just loved Titus!

Peytyn & Katy with Titus!  Peytyn kept asking me all about Titus and if we are coming back next year and she kissed his hand on Friday before she left!  So sweet!

What a sweet smile!

Titus' face is so funny here!

Grandpa & Grandma's Visit!

It was so good to see Rich and Carol the 3rd -12th of June here.  They made it just in time for Titus' 1st birthday party and spoiled him rotten the rest of the time too!  Tom had to work a couple of days while they were here, so one day Grandpa & Grandma took Titus and I out for breakfast at one of mommy's favorite places, Paul's Pancake Parlor!  We actually all got pancakes, usually I do not!  I tried their strawberry Swedish crepes, Carol tried their German pancake and Rich got some other pancake that looked more normal than ours but I forget the flavor!  Titus' liked my Swedish ones!  Tom and Rich went fishing a few days that they were here, the first two tries though they got a little wet from the rain but the last day on Saturday that they went, they got to go on a boat with a friend of ours up to Browns Lake near Seeley and they brought home 3 trout to eat!  Mmmm so yummy!  Meanwhile during the boy's fishing Grandma got to play a lot with Titus and she had also brought some of her art supplies with her and she made a beautiful watercolor picture while she was here of a nature scene!  I wished she had grabbed a local Independent paper to see what all was happening around town on those days that the boys were gone.  Grandma, Titus and I could have got out a little and enjoyed some stuff around Missoula!  Next time I will remember!  We did make a trip to Costco hoping to get Grandma some chips but that was unsuccessful, she needs the real salty ones for when she gets low on sodium.  On Saturday before the boys left for fishing we did all go to the market which was fun.  I had wanted to show a couple of neat vendors to Carol while there but we didn't find them!  But we got some fresh rhubarb and I made a pie that night for us to enjoy after the boys finally returned around 10pm!

This was just the neatest little "garden" I thought, this vendor uses mortar in the bottom to hold the rocks together and then she plants plants in them.  This one she called a "fairy garden" with the little fence and there is a clothes line!  So cute, she said she would be there all summer, but she wasn't when we took Rich & Carol!  And she had really reasonable prices!

I thought this coffee table was super cool!  Did not see this vendor there again but I had not asked them if they would be there all summer!

I loved these lamps, but this vendor was from WA and just passing through the weekend we saw him at the market!

We did take Grandpa & Grandma to some our favorite places to eat, like Vietnam Noodle & Fiesta En Jalisco for some good Mexican on Sunday before they pulled out of town to head home! Thanks Rich and Carol for coming to visit! Titus really loved playing with grandma and it was so enjoyable to watch!

P.S. They stayed out at those Jellystone Cabins which were really nice for anyone that may have family coming to visit sometime but the bed was not comfortable for them so they used our air mattress with the mattress on the bed and that worked well for them. 

The First Birthday Celebration & Our Big Boy!

Titus turned 1 on Sunday and we had a great barbecue birthday party for him on Saturday at an awesome park in town.  The park was complete with a huge wood castle basically for playground equipment, a splash deck to cool off from the hot summer sun and our charcoal grill equipped with dad for some perfectly tender & juicy barbecue chicken and some juicy hot dogs for the kids.

Titus also had his 1 year check up today with the Doctor!  She had nothing but good to say about him, his development is coming along just great and his weight today was 20 lbs. 5 oz. and he is 31 3/4 in. long, putting him in the 10% for his weight and the 95% for his height!  Which she said would be expected for him with two tall and slender parents, thanks for that compliment Dr. Rogers, I will take it! :)

Titus thoroughly enjoyed his cupcake, neck first, then cupcake and then the head of the horse!

These are the cupcakes I made, vanilla & chocolate cupcakes with both flavors of frosting, vanilla & chocolate creme wafers for the neck, chocolate covered pretzels for the tails, white chocolate dipped circus peanuts for the head and chocolate frosting for the mane!  From a book called, Hello, Cupcake!

Titus opened his presents the following day after his party, look at my little sweetie!

Look at the way he is sitting on daddy's leg, so cute, he did this while they opened a couple of presents.

He got a Radio Flyer soft rock and bounce pony that also makes sound by touch from Grandpa and Grandma Johnson!

And his Auntie Daisy made him an "Aunties Purse", whenever she holds him in church, she has to get things out of her purse to entertain him, so she made him his own without making it embarrassing for him with the label!  So cute, and she filled it with random things for him and it came complete with a key chain picture of Mia on it, so sweet!

Our first bicycle ride!

We did our first family bicycle ride on Saturday!  REI is having their anniversary sale this week and we got the cycling kit on sale for our Child Transport System just in time for summer and to practice up for when my family visits in July!  We want to do the Route of the Hiawatha then with my parents, sisters, and nieces!  That trail is 15 miles long but very easy as it is an old railroad route, so it has many tunnels and trestles along the way!

We just did a 8 mile loop from our place around the Miller Creek area!  Tom thought this was only like a 4 mile loop, but we checked it yesterday in the car and it was 8!  My guess was at least 5 miles but I was wrong too.  Titus did pretty good, he got crabby a little over halfway through I would say, but he wasn't too bad.

Daddy did the harder job!  Although he said it was pretty easy.

Who is that little man, eatin his snacks?

This was along the road, I thought it would be cool to get a pic!