Goin' On A Trip!

Kaden has been begging to "Go on a trip to see Grammy & Grampy!" So, Mother mine, if you are reading this - I'm a comin'! I was going to try and totally surprise you, but Aaron says that you suspect something, so my secret's out. For my dear friends and fam., here's the plan: I'll be in Bangor from Sunday night the 27th thru Thursday morning the 31st. Then, I'll be heading up to Canada (as Peter likes to say) to see my Quint clan. I'll be up in Hodgdon from the 31st thru Wednesday the 6th, and then I'll come back down to Bangor and stay until Saturday. This will give me about six days with each family - not too shabby. This will be a decent hold-over until Christmas! Kaden and I are both super excited!!!

On a different note...
I just can not tell you all how in love I am with my little family. God has been SO good to us, and He has blessed us so deeply. Kevin is my bestest of best friends, he is my soul-mate, and he is the love of my life. Adding Kaden to our family has only deepened and solidified our love for each other. Kev knows me better than I know myself, he is so very perceptive to my needs, he sacrifices and works so hard for our family, and he serves and loves me selflessly. He is the most amazing father, and he absolutely loves spending time with Kaden and building into him. Kaden adores him and lives for the moment that he hears the key turn in the lock and he can yell, "Daddy's hoooome!" There is nothing I love more than watching the two of them play and wrestle together laughing at the top of their lungs.

And my Kaden......oh how I love my little boy! He is my joy! I never imagined that I would love motherhood like I do. He delights me, he stretches me, and he teaches me lessons daily. He loves me unconditionally, he makes me laugh constantly, and he is saying and doing new things every day that constantly amaze me. I love spending our days together, I love reading books, snuggling together when we both first wake up, cooking together, and going on adventures with him. I can not wait for all of you to see how much he's changed and grown. He is so sweet, so tender, and so full of life and love.

I am blessed.

The Greatest Birthday Ever!

Last Sunday was my 29th birthday, and my hubby outdid himself! He took me to dinner and a movie one night, a couple of days later we did a family day trip to a fun State Park out in the boondocks where we played in a river and had a picnic.....and that was all just to throw me off the scent of his real BIG plans!

Kev wanted my first birthday away from home to be special and memorable - so he planned a huge surprise birthday party for me, and he invited just about every person that I have met thus far out here! It was SUCH a blast and a total and complete surprise! When we got home from church, he suggested for us to go and spend the rest of the afternoon and evening at a local park where we could just be outside and Kaden could play on the playground. When we got there, he told us to go on ahead and play while he ran to the bathroom. A few minutes later, he comes running up to us all excited saying that he found another really cool playground that had a really huge slide for Kaden to play on. So, off we go trekking across this huge park to find another playground. (Or so I thought! - I KNOW THAT I'M GULLIBLE, O.K? It just made planning this surprise that much easier for Kev!) We came walking around a corner, and suddenly about thirty or forty people yelled, "Surprise!" It was so sweet - Kev had invited friends from our apartment complex, friends from MOPS, and friends from church - my whole Philly family! We had a huge BBQ, we played fun games, and I had lots of fun gifts to unwrap. I was totally blown away!!! This was a truly a birthday to be remembered....Now how am I going to top this for his 30th this fall???

Other big happenings.....we went to Six Flags this past Wednesday where I rode my very first roller coasters! This was very fun and exiting, and I think that I could become quite the adrenaline junkie. However, I think I am phasing out of the whole commercialized entertainment scenario. We were there for seven hours and only managed to go on five rides. That's a whole lotta' waiting in my opinion. I'm far more drawn to the fun of ocean, lakes, and rivers, 4-wheeling, camping, and conquering new unexplored territories. Maybe I'm just starting to grow up, but I am beginning to MUCH prefer the quiet solitude of country and God's creation as opposed to large crowds of craziness.

On a VERY exciting note....Kaden and I are coming home for a few days at the end of the month! (Mom, I was going to try to surprise you, but Aaron says that you already suspect something....so....SURPRISE!) Anyway, sweet Katya is coming to PBU for college, and since I have the month of September off from classes, Kev and I decided that this might be a good time to skip home to see family and friends for a bit before Christmas. I'll catch a ride to Maine with the Burt's, and my little bro is going to take some time off from arresting people to give me a ride back, and then he'll spend a few days with us here. So, I am SUPER excited and cannot wait to get home to breathe the fresh air of Maine and see some loved ones for a few days. Good times! See you soon!

Happenings.....

So, the heat index for today is supposed to hit 115! They say the regular temp. may possibly hit 106, and if that's the case, it will be the hottest it has EVER been here! Oh, how blessed we are to be able to experience personally this glorious event. I can't tell you how excited I am about this!!!

Actually, it hasn't been too awfully horrid. Kaden and I went to our favorite Tyler State Park and played in the water all morning. The huge sign by the bridge clearly reads "No Swimming," so we had to play it cool and look like we really weren't swimming. We would build sand castles, collect shells, try to catch little minnows, and then......WHOOPS!!!.....Mommy all of a sudden "fell" in! How terrible - whatever am I to do about this? I mean, I'm already wet, so I might as well just play in the water now, right?! Good times! Kaden is getting very brave and loves to see just how far out he can go. He says, "I big boy Mommy! I SO brave!" This is our new favorite place to go and have a Mommy/Kaden date. Very fun! Today we saw tons of dogs swimming, lots of geese, huge fish, and a big ole' snake swimming in the river. Very exciting things for a little boy to see.

My season of Saturday classes is over after this coming Saturday. It has been a great class, but I am ready to have my Saturdays back to myself and my family. I am learning lots about communicating effectively, what true leadership looks like, and all kinds of good stuff like that. We are learning to really analyze ourselves - our strengths, weaknesses, gifts, compulsions etc., and seeing how we can first bring about change in ourselves before we ever seek to try and change those around us. They are also hammering home to us the fact that TRUE leadership is servant leadership. The example that Christ gave us to follow was in washing His disciples feet. He took the lowliest job that even the lowest servant despised, and he initiated this service for His loved ones. He was more concerned about the "towel" than the "title." This is such an unnatural thing to strive for, but such a needed thing in today's society. Very challenging stuff.

Before graduating we each have to write a five chapter book on a program that we would like to see implemented in our church. I have been hashing a couple of ideas around in my head, but I think I am finally beginning to narrow my topic down. I think I am going to write something about marriage and family - and particularly the role that we women play in marriage. The basic premise of my topic will be based around the book For Women Only by Shaunti Feldhahn. (Thank you, Esther, for introducing me to this book!) Shaunti has done significant national research by surveying and interviewing hundreds of men. She has compiled tons of information and has written this book to give insight and show women things we need to know to not only better understand the man in our lives, but also to know how to support and love him in the way that he needs to be loved. Many churches have begun implementing programs for men - I know our church back home has a "men mentoring men" ministry, and there are established MOPS programs for moms, but I haven't really seen anything specifically yet for women and their role in their marriages. What do you all think? I still have a month to decide before I finalize my topic, but this is where I'm heading.

Well, I guess that's a long enough ramble for now. Stay cool!