Praise God!

A family picture just before Mark went back for surgery

Bry's dad had quadruple bypass open heart surgery yesterday, and we are so very thankful that it went well! The surgeon said that he has a strong heart and everything looked good when they closed him back up.

We had a very special day at the hospital with Bry's family, cousins, grandparents, and an aunt and uncle. It was such a good chance to pray together, cry together, love each other, and find blessing in a trial.

Of course there will be some more hurdles on the way to full recovery (8-12 weeks), especially since he is still recovering from his ankle replacement surgery back in January. So please pray for Mark and Lori and for God's healing.

Our Drama Queen

 Sparkly tiara, sunglasses, and leopard print pajamas. Wow. We definitely have a girly girl on our hands. 

She's actually sitting in her highchair right now talking very passionately about "purple" and "pink" while she eats breakfast. And when I went over to help her with her grapefruit, she was going on and on about "shopping" for no apparent reason. So stereotypical.

People always comment on how challenging it is to raise rowdy boys, but the older Poppy gets, the more I'm realizing that the fierceness of a drama queen should not be underestimated. (not to mention the fact that she already knows how to swipe my credit card, and seems to enjoy it a little too much)

I do have to say though that her enthusiasm is usually very fun to have around. We hear lots of "Wows!" "Oh, Yeahs!" and giant gasps of amazement over the most ordinary of things. For example, she's starting to use the "big potty" now, so whenever she sees me peeing I get lots of clapping and cheering for my impressive skills. It's pretty great.

Of course I love boys too, but I would be very happy to find out that baby number two is another crazy, chatty little girl. 

The Latest News

That's right, number two is on its way!

Interview with the big sister:

And her real feelings on the subject:

We are excited and thankful! It's hard to imagine a new little person when all we know is Poppy, but we can't wait to see what God has planned for this one. 

I was queasy this morning for the first time...but it could have been the oatmeal.:) Yay for gummy prenatal vitamins with DHA. (best invention ever!)

It's still very early on so I haven't had my first dr. appointment yet, which means that we don't know the official due date. According to internet calculations, we think it will be sometime in March if all goes well.

We'd love your prayers!

The 4th in all its Splendor

4th of July with Bry's mom and dad at the lake. It was hot, hot, hot but we had a grand time nonetheless. I love water.

 (and a little sweet corn doesn't hurt either)

In all our packing I somehow forgot my camera, so Bry's phone had to do in a pinch.

...And Back Again

A couple of weeks ago, I had the privilege of traveling with my cousins Taye and Taryn G. to visit my SIL Javon in Japan (she's there for a three-month stay). It was an incredible trip. Japan is a very special and beautiful country with an intricate culture all its own. I was smitten.

It's also a very photogenic place, and so I couldn't help but take over a thousand pictures, but I'll spare you all. These are a few of my favorites...

Gardens at our restaurant the first night

Tuna auction at the early morning fish market in Tokyo

Waiting in line for two hours at the famous Sushi-Dai restaurant

Breakfast, Japanese style, at Sushi-Dai

Lanterns at Senso-ji Temple in Asakusa, Tokyo

Rickshaw at Asakusa

Birds-eye view of Tokyo

Kinkaku-ji, Golden Pavilion, Temple in Kyoto

School girls in Kyoto

Tranquility at the Rioan-ji Rock Garden in Kyoto

Rioan-ji Temple

Riverside in Kyoto

Train Station in the rain

Hundreds of torii gates at the Fushimi Inari shrine

The great Mt. Fuji

The front step of our Ryokan in Kyoto

Botanical Gardens in Tokyo

The fog before the typhoon in Karuizawa

Sunset Point above Karuizawa

The Stone Church in Karuizawa

Shiraito Falls in Karuizawa

Clear, cold water filtered down from the top of the mountain