Carter Lucas

Well folks, I'm an aunt again!!

Carter Lucas was born last night, October 17th, at 10:18pm. 6 pounds, 10 oz, 19.5 inches long.

I forgot how small they are!

New family photo.. minus Bridget.

I didn't get the best pictures of the new little man. These were taken right after birth. So I will hopefully get some better ones soon. I'm not sure who he looks like... but he has big lips and big hands. :)

My mom and I were blessed to be able to be in the delivery room again. Heidi did an amazing job just as she did with Bridget. I was really glad for Hyde because the labor was only about 4 hours long! It all went super fast, but every one is doing well!

Praising God for this precious little miracle!

Summer Birthdays

As you all probably know I have a lot of events/happenings that happened this summer that I never got to post about. But better late than never, right? :)

My entire family has spring/summer birthday's, all 5 months in a row(except Bridget and the little boy-to-be are messing up this trend...:). So lots of out-to-eat bills on Dad's credit card and family pictures in those months. :)

Out to eat for Father's Day. Poor Dad, his birthday is so close to Father's Day that they usually get combined.

We went to Heidi & Luke's for dessert afterwards. Grandpa loves to spoil Bridget with ice cream, and she knows it too!

We celebrated Luke K and Dad's birthday together one time too, I think... but I don't have any pictures. Sorry Luke!

For Heidi's birthday we went out to eat for Mexican, then to the Ice Cream Shack for dessert.

Once again, being spoiled by Grandpa.

3 generations

Mom with her daughters

For my birthday, it was my first day back from Mexico and I was exhausted. I slept till 11(I don't know if I've ever done that...), then went for lunch at Panera with some Schick ladies.

Everyone but Aunt Jeanne... someone has to take the picture!

That evening we had a young group thing, but Kendra came over afterwards to hang out.

That Sunday we celebrated my birthday with my family.

Hahaha... so my mom totally forgot to sing to me, so she started cutting and serving the cake. Then she remembered and put the candles in. :)

The Knapp Family

I love the summer evenings with my family... and now they're over. But Fall is such a beautiful season... I love the chill in the air, sweatshirts, and cookouts. And I could go on and on about the reasons I love Fall. :)

Miss Bridget is 1!

One year ago today I witnessed the amazing miracle of birth.

Today Bridget Ann turned 1! I can't believe how fast the year has flown by!

It has been soo fun to see her grow up and see her strong personality develop. :) Being an Aunt is wonderful. :) I love it that she knows me and wants to come to me when she sees me! :)

This little miss loves to say "Hi" to everyone all the time, walk all over the place, and is always trying to say new words! So fun.

Tonight we celebrated. She was definitely the life of the party! Warning: I took a ton of pictures and I posted a lot too. But you know, I haven't posted any of her in a long time so this will make up for it. :)

Just chillin'

She loves Uncle Luke!

Bridget loves puppies right now. Hyde got her this darling stuffed yellow lab. She would've been totally content with just that... she wanted to carry it around all night!

She got a baby doll and stroller too.... the baby soon became a bigger hit than the puppy.

That poor dolly is going to get some beating on!

Cupcake time!

No hair involved until the very end...

...and then it was bath time! :)

Happy 1st Birthday, Bridget Ann! Aunt Wendi loves you lots!! :)

Apple River Weekend

I'm super behind on posting happenings on my blog, but... I'm going to be on the ball for at least one post!

This weekend our young group went on our annual bus trip to Apple River. It was my second year going and it was once again wonderful. Although there was one specific person that was dearly missed this year.

...but this was my first year with Kendra so that was fun. :)

The first stop is always Tanners Orchard for some apples and hot cider.

In the afternoon we go hiking at Apple River State Park. All of the girls.

Saturday afternoon we sang at a nursing home and then we ate a really good dinner at a cafe in town that we rented out. We had a singing there too afterwards.

Then we went back to the hotel for games, snacks, and just to hang out.

I was a "mom" of a room with 3 younger girls. My old tired self must have rubbed off on them because we sure didn't stay up late at all. Thank goodness. :)

These cows were sooo cute all lined up watching us as we got off the bus. :)

We had a morning service, then ate lunch in the reception tent on the property because they had just had a wedding there the day before. There was one on Sunday too right after we got done with our afternoon service!

An awesome car.

Me & Kendra with the gorgeous church in the background

The entire group!

Sunday afternoon was more hiking, dinner, talking and enjoying the beautiful weather!

Short Update

I am blogging simply because I haven't in forever and I thought I needed a new post at the top of my blog. :) Shelly informed me last weekend that I need to update my blog, so this is for you Shel. :)

I'm not going to post much because we're on our way home from Kansas right now, but here's just a bit of what I've been up to...

This weekend our family spent the weekend with Larry and Jill's family in Kansas. It's always such a fun and entertaining time when we're there! These 2 little girls are so cute... and so grown up now! Kayla(on the right) is just little miss talker.... something I've never seen in her! :)

I went to Silverton, Oregon for Labor day with Kristin(well, and Eureka yg). It was such a wonderful time, and I WILL post more pictures sometime. But for right now, here's one on the coast.

...and one on our hike. I loved getting to know the people out there, they are all so sweet! It was a plus that the Wagenbach girls were out there too. :)

So those are my highlights with what is new with me. Besides that, it's been school and craziness.

Oh, and spending time with this little sweet pea:

Adam was laying on the floor and she came up with a pillow and layed right next to him. :) She is SO cute!! Bridget is at such a fun age!

...oh, and my new nephew to be should be showing his appearance within the next month. So excited to have two special little ones in the family!

So for now, that's it. I'm afraid I won't have many posts until the end of this semester... or possibly until I'm just done with school period. But you never know, I might suprise you... no promises though! It's been a tough semester and I'm trying to be careful with my time... so blogging isn't #1 priority!

Enjoy this beautiful fall weather!!

Time Flies By...

.... or crawls... I'm not sure which one.

I know it's been a while since my Mexico post. As you probably know/figured out, I am home from Mexico and just got done with my 3rd week of school. CRAZY third week. Wow. The last few weeks I have been running around 90 miles an hour, getting no sleep and functioning on coffee, studying, and trying to figure out what I could possibly eliminate so I could have more TIME towards school, family, and most importantly God.

This semester is the hardest I've ever had. But one of the biggest things is how to know how to prioritize, because my time seems very limited lately.

TIME. That's what my life has been revolving around. "Do I have time to go there, do I have time to do this, or get this project/homework done in time?" etc. etc.

I read something this week that made me think and get me re-focused!!

We are so conditioned by time that our minds cannot begin to imagine what we would do without it! Try to envision no watches, no need to hurry, and no night ever again in that blissful place called the sea of eternity.

In heaven, which is our ultimate goal, there will be no such thing as time... and right now that sounds simply wonderful. Just another reminder that this is not our home, and this lifetime of ours will seem like just a moment in eternity.

So right now it's just time to trust HIM!

Psalm 56:3 What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee!

Psalm 31:1 Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.

Praying this semester will fly by like the summer did!!