The Bertolinis

Little update on our almost 22-month-old!

2012-01-22T13:35:00.000-08:00

Wow, time flies! I realize I haven't done a Callie update post in a few months, and boy has she grown and changed! She is talking up a storm now and singing almost as much! I have sung to her each night since she was born while I put her to bed. The songs are whatever praise song comes to mind, most what I remember my mom singing to me when I was growing up. A couple nights ago, Callie started singing with me while I was rocking her. It was such a sweet moment as I realized these "Jesus" songs were sticking in her head, and hopefully, making their way to her heart. She talks about Jesus now and sometimes sings, "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus" when she's working on something. When you ask her "who's Jesus?", she may respond with "Light of the World," "God's Son," or from her favorite Newsboys song "the King." The song says "Make a way for the King; the King is coming!" Callie belts out "Make a way for" then, "King Jesus!"

She loves to get in your face and tell you stories. You know it's a story because you'll catch words here and there while she rattles off paragraphs of other "words" and then looks at you with hopeful expectation for the appropriate response (which by the way, is always praise for such a great story!) She can pretty much repeat anything-the bigger or more interesting the word is, the more likely she'll try! Her favorite word right now is "camouflage." And she can tell you that God makes the animals camouflaged so they don't get hurt. (Now, you have to know she's saying that to get it, but once you do, you can definitely tell!) She loves movies and books about animals, though since our Disney trip, we've been a little stuck on 2 famous mice!

Other quick updates: She's eating better now! Yay! She usually has dollar pancakes or small waffles, sometimes hash browns for breakfast. An almond butter and jam sandwich (1/2) for lunch, and meat with green beans, corn, or rice for dinner. She likes apples, dried cranberries, Rice Chex, or applesauce for snacks. She also very much enjoys cookies :-). She's eating dairy free & gluten free to avoid painful rashes, so her diet is not as varied as we'd like, but I'm just happy she's finally eating!
She is wearing 2T clothing-pants are still big on her skinny waste but shirts/jackets/jammies fit great! She's 26 lbs. Size 4 diapers for the last few months. Size 5 shoes. We can get her hair into a pony tail or pig tails now-both make her look older and pretty adorable :-).
She loves books, puzzles, cars (very enthralled with the Pixar Cars movie characters), Wild Animal Baby Movies (which she calls "Dancing Babies"-they are very educational and the source of her knowledge about camouflage!), Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Tinkerbell, and her babies (which include: monkey, bunny, Pooh Bear, puppy and her 2 dolls "Abby" and "Becky") She still sleeps with monkey, bunny and Pooh. Abby, Becky and Puppy sleep in the doll crib across her room.
She wants to walk and run everywhere on her own. She really doesn't care for the stroller that much, as she'd rather be walking.
She's close to being able to sing her ABC's! She loves working on it and also sings many parts of "Baby Beluga," & "Jesus Loves Me."
She can count to 14 but consistently leaves out 7.
We are potty-training! She's doing great when I watch the clock and take her every 1/2 hr or so. She is very M&M motivated :-). I'm hoping she'll start telling me on her own soon. We'll see!

It's hard to believe our baby is getting close to 2! She keeps us hopping, and we are so thankful for her!

The never-ending picture recap of Christmas!

2012-01-02T13:35:00.001-08:00

Christmas Preparations!

Making cookies with Mommy

Having a great time!

Gingerbread house decorating

Pretty proud of her masterpiece!

Our "dreaming of a white Christmas" version

1st "Christmas" with Uncle Dandy

Callie got a "My Little Pony"

Pretty exciting!

Love you, Uncle Dandy!

He also gave her a stuffed animal barn with animals and a cool puzzle!

The barn doubles as a purse!

Hugs before jammies

Christmas #2-Christmas Eve Morning with Daddy and Mommy

Coming down the stairs!

Checking out her present pile

New b-ball hoop!

Sheep book!

Broom so she can finally sweep at the same time as Mommy!

And the big gift...a Tinkerbell outfit!

Pretty adorable!

The full look!

She loves it :-)

With Mommy

Christmas Eve Service at church

Playing with Daddy since we didn't make it through the service in the sanctuary :-)

Family picture

Christmas Morning

Mommy and Callie ready for church

opened some presents when we got home

almost ready for Grandpa and Grandma "Woof Woof's" (Bertolinis)

Her new dog from Great Grandma Bertolini

Puzzle from Great Grandpa and Grandma Stewart

Christmas #3 with the Bertolinis

Grandma showed Callie the Christmas story through these little boxes

(each had a different part of the story inside such as Mary, Jesus, angel)

Callie played with the boxes for quite a while

Callie was Santa for a little while

Aunt Ashley gave Callie a Tinkerbell toothbrush.

Couldn't wait to brush her teeth!

The Bertolinis

AND on to the Davis side! Christmas #4

These 3 cousins adore each other :-).

Opening presents-we attempted to keep them on the couch the whole time-they did okay!

Sophie and A.J. sharing Callie's excitement as she opened

her Bitty Baby from Grammy and Poppy.

Callie gave baby "Abby" a hug right away!

and carried her around in her "backpack"

Disclaimer: The next few pictures are small because I thought

they would upload faster-not the case!

Uncle Josh and Aunt Anna gave Callie a "Boom Truck!" So exciting!

Fun and rare picture of just the two of us after 7 years of marriage!

The "Davis" girls!

Poppy and his granddaughters!

The cousins taking a rest!

The whole family :-) Only our 2nd take and all smiling-pretty impressive, right?!

What a fun Christmas week we had! While there were lots of presents and Callie loved the Christmas tree and lights, she's also getting really good at the Christmas songs about Jesus-

her favorite being "O Come All Ye Faithful."

We look forward to watching her grow and learn more about Jesus in 2012!

Christmas Card 2011!

2011-11-27T21:43:00.000-08:00

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

Dear Family and Friends,
Once again, I'm surprised it's Christmas time again! It's funny to think that at the beginning of the year, we were amazed that our daughter was standing, and getting her to drink a bottle was an accomplishment that literally made my day! We now try to get her to stand still for just a second and alas, we have yet to get her off the bottle! Callie Sue is such a delight to us-her endless chatter and constant movement can be exhausting, but they bring such joy to our hearts, and we praise God for our healthy, happy little girl. We are enjoying seeing Christmas through her eyes. She is in love with Christmas lights-she yells "CWISMAS YITES!" every time she sees them! She is super excited about Dave's Lego train around our tree and says "Hi and bye-bye Choo Choo" as it goes around each time. Our little music-lover is enjoying the Christmas music, as well. Each year, we buy a new Christmas c.d. This year, it was Matthew West's album. There's a song on it where he sings about Jesus being the "Light of the World." A couple days ago, I had it in my head and sang the first line; all of a sudden Callie burst out saying "Yight of da Woold!" It was so cute, so all day we worked on "Light of the World is Jesus." She never quite said it, but when I put her to bed that night I said, "Jesus loves you, and He's always with you." Around her binki, she nodded her head and said, "Yight of da Woold." So, I guess she did make the connection!
While my days mostly consist of playing with Callie and doing a passable job of keeping the laundry and dishes at bay, I am still enjoying working at the real estate office a couple mornings a week. I feel blessed that I do have so much time with our daughter and get to take part in each accomplishment and milestone as it comes!
Dave just began his 6th year working at Grace Community Church. He once again had the opportunity to preach several times this year and has done a great job coordinating and choosing topics for adult Sunday School and Life Groups. He is also still working on his Master's of Divinity and continues to watch Callie when I'm at work. They are so much fun to watch together. Dave manages to get Callie's belly laugh out faster than anyone, and it is so sweet to hear "I wuv you, Daddy." Callie and I joined Dave at one of the youth camps he spoke at this summer. The youth pastor Dave interned under in college was the camp dean, so it was fun to re-connect with his family! Callie LOVED camp, especially the pool! We enrolled her in parent/tot swim lessons this fall to encourage her love of the water. She had a great time and is quite the fearless little jumper! She now jumps all over the house while saying "pool, jump!"
Callie adores both sets of grandparents, as well as uncles, aunts, and her cousins! She regularly points to their pictures throughout our house and tells us who they are and what she imagines they might be doing throughout the day! She spent two nights at my parent's house this last month while we went to a Family Life conference and did great! Even though Josh, Anna, and the kids live several hours away, we Skype often enough that the cousins are close friends despite the distance. (Although, Callie regularly tries to blame A.J. for anything she does wrong! It is a common occurrence to hear "A.J. did __________" whenever we tell her no!)

That sin nature starts early! And because of that, I am once again so thankful for the reason we celebrate this time of year. Jesus, God's Son, came as a baby to live the perfect life, to pay the price for our sins in a gruesome death, to be the "Yight of da Woold," offering us the choice of salvation! We pray each and every one of you accepts that Christmas gift and chooses to make Jesus Lord of your life. When we choose to believe in and live for Him, Jesus tells his followers that we are to be the lights of the world! Matthew 5:16 says, "In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." With that being our goal, perhaps all the Christmas lights this month can remind us to be lights in this world, pointing others through the darkness to the Way of Life!

Lots of love from our family to yours!

Dave, Amy, & Callie

Thanksgiving in Pictures

2011-11-26T18:46:00.001-08:00

Big hug for Daddy before our Thanksgiving praise service on Wed. night.

Making waffles with Daddy for breakfast!

Thanksgiving morning-ready with her "guys" to go to Gpa and Gma's house.

We decorated for Christmas after Thanksgiving dinner. Callie LOVED the train!

Callie and Grandpa watching the train.

Aunt Ashley and Callie reading together.

Gma, Gpa, and Callie!

Mommy, Daddy, and Callie-Happy Thanksgiving!

18 months-where's my baby?

2011-10-19T11:04:00.000-07:00

Oh my sweet Callie Sue, you are now 18 months and a full-blown toddler with almost no sign of the baby who was just here, so it seems. This month you decided you are quite independent. When Daddy and I try to do things for you we hear, "NO, Calyie!" You want to do everything by yourself if possible! You are saying so many words now I won't bother to list them all! You can repeat almost anything, including long words like "babysitter." You also put small sentences together like, "what's that?" & "I say no!" (which is emphasized by you wagging your finger at your cousin :-)). This month, I was changing your diaper and said "nasty." You then repeated "natty, natty." Your daddy was quick to say it couldn't be you making that smell-it must be some beast. You then chimed in with "natty beast!" And now each day we hear when you have a "natty beast." Someday soon, we hope you'll be potty training more consistently! You have gone several individual times on the toilet now and regularly cheer for mommy and daddy when we go to the bathroom! Daddy says he's never felt so encouraged :-). You have so much energy and love to run, jump and dance! You also enjoy snuggling, reading books, and giving kisses to loved ones, your "guys", the mirror, books, toys that catch your fancy (such as Legos), etc. Daddy is doing his best to drill into you that we don't kiss boys beyond him and your grandpas! You make us laugh, smile, wring our hands and want to pull out our hair on a daily basis, but most of all our hearts are filled with so much love for you and gratitude to God for blessing us as your parents!

Here's some facts and pictures:

At the 18month check-up: 32.5" long (70%) and 22lb, 9.9oz (22%), 31.71% head circumference.
We are at a transition for sleep schedule-you are down to one nap most days 11am-near 1pm. About once a week you take 2 to catch up on missed sleep. You are sleeping from 8:30pm-7am most nights. We would like you to get more sleep but know things are just changing and will get sorted out soon!
You gave up baby food completely this last month and now your diet consists of spelt bread, almond butter, beef and chicken, apples, apple-cinnamon oatmeal, veggies, and beans and chips!
Your favorite words are "NO WAY!"
You love Legos and anything with wheels but also adore your stuffed animals and baby doll.
Your favorite color is blue! You want to drink from the blue bottle, have the blue cup, car, book, etc. You also like to say purple and pink.
You like to "read" books on your own and to Mommy and Daddy.
You have been working very hard on talking nicely and saying please when you need help instead of screaming.
You love swimming and really enjoyed this last month of swimming lessons-especially going down the slide on the last day!
You would like to wear your swimsuit everyday and do "up/downs" (Mommy and Daddy's workout video) with us.

Callie in her "boat" with her guys!

Loves her Daddy!

Isn't this just the cutest outfit!? We bought the bunny slippers, but we seriously have the most wonderful hand-me-downs from friends!

Ready for a walk (she's showing off her teeth and her "new" winter jacket)

Jillian video in her "up/down" outfit with her weights.

Stylin' in Mama's shoes!

17 months!

2011-09-10T11:52:00.001-07:00

17 months has been the month of the "Boom Truck"! Known to most people as a common garbage truck, these trash-disposing vehicles have become the highlight of Callie's week. We spend at least part of every day running to the window, looking for the Boom Truck whose "distinctive" diesel sound can easily be confused with the common diesel engine-thus resulting in heartrending disappointment 6 out of 7 days a week! Dave built her a garbage truck out of Legos to pacify her on non-garbage pick-up days :-). The "Boom Truck" was dubbed when Callie began describing to us, with sound effects and hand gestures how it picks the garbage can up in the air and then goes "boom" when it drops the garbage inside. She is pretty impressed with big trucks of any kind and "truck" is a regularly used word in her vocabulary. After several days of Callie being very excited about trucks, Dave asked her, "Callie, did you know Daddy has a truck?" She looked at him very confused and then said "no" while shaking her head. Dave was then convinced that he needed a bigger truck, as his daughter doesn't even recognize his little white truck as a truck! I quickly crushed his growing dream of a shiny, new Toyota Tacoma by reminding him that Callie wasn't likely to consider that a truck either, as she would really like her daddy to drive a garbage truck :-). So, if he has a drastic career change in the future, you will know the reason!

Our girl is not all tomboy, though. Yesterday, she rediscovered the baby doll my sister had given her for Christmas. It was time for her nap and I told her I was getting her bottle. She quickly ran around and gathered up her "guys"-her bunny and monkey stuffed animals that she sleeps with. Then she spotted baby and emphatically announced "AND Baby!" She has been insistent on sleeping with baby ever since. She is also quite good with her little kitchen, especially enjoying cooking apples in her microwave.

My parents bought the grand kids the "Baby Can Read" videos last year. Callie has watched one of them nearly every day since. Last week when the words "cat" and "teeth" came up on the screen, before the video said the word or showed the picture, Callie read the words out loud! It's fun to see her recognition. She also learned to count to 3 this month while we ran through the sprinklers. She will raise her arms up and bring them down with each number, enunciating as best as she can. It's pretty adorable. It's been very helpful for meal time, as I can say eat 3 more bites and then you can go play. (1/2 of our bites are airplanes now and 1/2 are "boom trucks" that go "boom" in her mouth!) Now we are trying to get her to understand that there are numbers after 3!

We visited my sister's family last weekend. Callie adores her cousins! It's so fun to watch them play together and see Sophie and A.J. teach Callie how to do new things. We are looking forward to a family vacation in Eagle Crest at the end of this month.

I haven't weighed Callie lately, but we will have her 18 month checkup next month. I'm interested to see where she is on the growth charts now. While she's looking a lot older and seems to have grown taller, she's definitely still petite. She is solidly in size 4 shoes and 18 month clothes (the bigger of the 18 month sizes now.) She's gotten better about eating more solids. She loves barbecued steak and has successfully eaten some homemade meals in a puree form. I would love to get her completely off the baby food soon, as it's a huge expense, but it's still the easiest thing to get down her when she's having a blood sugar meltdown and refusing to eat. She's still taking 2 naps most days 10:15-noonish and 3:30-4ish-5:15ish. Sometimes the second one is just a rest time. She goes to bed at 8:30 and wakes up around 7, but we get her up at 7:30 so she has time to wake up without being cranky (and we do, too!).

She is still quite the little daredevil-loves to climb, jump, stomp, dance and run everywhere! Her favorite thing is to bounce-pronounced "bous" on Mommy and Daddy's bed (when we are each on one side blocking any fall routes) because our dresser mirror is positioned at the perfect height for her to see herself while she does! She loves going to the park and is especially enthralled with swings right now! We had quite the scare on the church playground this past week when she was headed up to go on the slide. She's already done it 5 or 6 times so Mommy and Daddy were on the ground near one of the openings. She slipped as she was going up the stairs and fell out of an opening we weren't blocking! It was completely terrifying as she landed on her head and was screaming for several minutes. We credit God with a miracle as she only had surface scratches on her face and a swollen lip! We have all relived it several times and are so thankful for our Lord's protection! Sometimes, she seems like such a big girl, we forget she's still just 1. I think it was a good reminder for all of us.

Busy Baker

2011-08-26T09:03:00.000-07:00

We found this kitchen on Craig's List a few months back but just moved it into our toy room. Callie loves it and spends quite a bit of time microwaving meals--hmm, please don't take this as an insight into my cooking techniques! She's also quite good at washing the dishes...putting them away is another matter altogether, as they lay strewn across the entire downstairs!

P.J. & Callie-Blackmail pics for the future?

2011-08-25T16:39:00.001-07:00

Well, we finally got some hot weather, so we enjoyed some pool time with our friend Parker! You'll notice Callie doesn't get too close when P.J.'s in the pool-he's a wild swimmer :-)!

Her Easel!

2011-08-25T16:22:00.001-07:00

My Aunt Neva bought Callie an easel! We just set it up today,

as she has recently begun to LOVE coloring!

So happy!

Cheese-ball grin!

Thank You, Aunt Neva & Uncle Phil! We will get LOTS of use out of this present!

"Daddy, Church!"

2011-08-17T10:32:00.000-07:00

Telling Mommy that we're going to see Daddy!

I said, "are you going to see Daddy?" This was her in the middle of saying "OH YES!"

And here's her adorable hair :-)

Callie adores her Daddy-this is nothing new, but lately she's been way more verbal about it! Yesterday after waking up from her nap, she kept saying "Daddy" "Daddy" "Daddy!" Finally, I told her if she finished her lunch we could go see Daddy at church. She was SO excited-she quickly ate the last 3 bites in between yells of "Daddy, Church!" We then got her dressed in a cute outfit and she sat still while I "fixed her hair pretty for Daddy." Both Daddy and Callie were excited to see each other when we got to the church. We played on the play structure for a little while and then went home. As soon as we got home Callie started to rip out her barrettes from her hair. I asked her if she was done with them and she pointed to them and explained to me that those were for "Daddy, church" so clearly she didn't need them anymore!

Callie's first time in a REAL pool!

2011-07-26T16:33:00.000-07:00

Picture (AND word) overload!

2011-07-26T15:24:00.001-07:00

Callie's "seat" on the plane :-)

First flying experience

Dave speaking at Mt. Gilead Camp

Callie and Sadie

First time in a pool!

"helping" Daddy arrange his notes

A little snack at camp

Too Cool!

Cousins

15 months old!

*late edition to this post-don't know how I missed this the first time, but 2 of Callie's favorite and most said words are "eyes" while usually poking someones! and "ICE!!!" always said very excitedly, especially when we're using the crushed ice button on the refrigerator! And one of her favorite real foods is corn.

I am woefully behind on blogging, so here is a quick recap of the last couple months! Callie has changed, seemingly overnight, from looking like our baby to looking like a full-blown toddler! She is also talking up a storm and can repeat, or come very close, to several words. On her own accord, she says: Mama, Dadda (and sometimes Daddy, which is Very cute), Poppy (my dad), puppies (which I believe refer to all dogs, but especially those of my in-laws and may refer to my in-laws themselves, as well-since they always bring the puppies), yes, yeah, mowr (more), peas (please), tree, bruge (bridge), rock, ba-ba (bottle), bu-ba (bellybutton-not incredibly different from ba-ba, but definitely distinct in her mind!), muma (her favorite monkey stuffed animal), ball (she doesn't quite emphasize the ll's very well), pool, and ba-ball (basketball-her favorite so far, though Mommy has not pushed this at all :-)). She has been very impressed with the results when she says "mowr peas" and will now say that for anything she wants, such as going outside! She does the sign language sign for more while saying it, thanks to one lesson from our friend, Amber! She loves the idea of counting and can do a pretty good job repeating what sounds like the numbers through five (or at least getting the inflections right).

She's our little dancer and would love to have music on constantly if we let her! Her almost 4-year-old cousin, Sophie told my sister that she was going to ask Callie for dance lessons 'cause she's got such great moves! She loves any music with a good beat (especially an electric beat). Christian Rock is preferable to anything else (I think this is due to her constant exposure in the womb to youth group music), and don't tell her dad, but she fussed when I had it on Country music one day!

She is still mostly on baby food, but she is also a junk food addict. Oh, that is another word she can say on her own-"pie"! She also enjoys cookies, anything with cinnamon, and just this month discovered ice cream (though she preferred the waffle cone to the actual ice cream). She will also eat bread, apples, cereal, sometimes hamburger, chicken, or beef, cucumbers, carrots, apples (one of her favorites!) and waffles or pancakes. Mostly, it just depends on her mood, and if she doesn't want it, it often gets thrown across the room along with a tantrum. (we are working/praying through this!) I will be extremely glad when she will just eat on her own and when she understands "two more bites and then you can be done!" (At this point, I'm sure all she hears is "wah, wah, wah, DONE!" because she always says, "Yes, peas!") I know that soon we will be at the "NO" stage, but right now, we are enjoying Callie's "yes" response to most everything. Yesterday in the car, she was hitting herself in the head. After repeated attempts at, "NO Callie, No hitting" I said, "Callie, do you want me to stop the car and give you a spanking?" She smiled sweetly and said "yes, peas!" (I realize I often talk to her like she's 5, but she understands a lot of it!) She also knows how to work a situation, so I'm never sure how much she doesn't understand and how much she's just playing me! Her Sunday school teacher this week greeted me with "Your daughter is a little player! After she finished her snack she asked for more and I said no. She then stuck out her bottom lip and sweetly/pathetically said 'more peas.' Who could resist that!?"

She continues to follow in her Auntie Anna's footsteps and runs nearly everywhere, not caring to walk much at all! Not surprisingly, this has resulted in several bruises on her forehead, much to my chagrin, as her little legs cannot keep up with her momentum! She loves playing with big kids and gets rather frustrated when her little body limits her. She's stayed at 22 lbs. even for about a month, but we're pretty sure she's grown taller.

This past month we had several adventures-the first of which I'm kicking myself over because I didn't take any pictures!

1. My mom stayed with me and Callie for a week while Dave spoke at a high school camp in Michigan. We had a wonderful time with her spoiling us, and the week went by so quickly! Callie loved having her here and was soon calling her Mama, also with a slightly different inflection :-). She would look to Grammy or me, depending on the situation, as a "first-base ump" if the other had already told her "no"!

2. My cousins, Micah and Heather, and their 2-year-old son, Ezra visited us for a day! Callie loved playing on the slide and in the tent and tunnel with Ezra, and we had such a good day catching up with them!

3. Callie experienced her first plane ride when we flew to Santa Rosa for Dave to speak at a junior high camp last week! She did fantastic, not complaining about her ears at all, and very much enjoying looking out the window, climbing all over me and Dave and flirting it up with other passengers. We were thankful the flight was not any longer, as she did get bored the last few minutes. (On the return flight, we were thankful it was not longer because there was no changing table in the very small commuter plane bathroom, and it became VERY necessary!)

4. Callie LOVED camp and enjoyed being outside for most of the day AND swimming in a pool for the first time!

5. Callie and I visited my good college friend, Jessica and her daughter Sadie (who is 6 months older than Callie) in San Ramon. The girls had a tea party, fed ducks at the outdoor mall, ran through the water fountain at the park and discovered each others' belly buttons! They were pretty adorable.

Okay, that's about it! Hopefully, that explains the pictures :-).

Pool Party!

2011-06-19T12:18:00.000-07:00

14 months

2011-06-07T20:27:00.000-07:00

Lincoln City outside Moes

Relaxing with Daddy

Playing with buddy, Parker

Cracking herself up (a very regular occurrence)

This month has been a month of very busy discovery (I'm blaming this as the reason I'm late again for the monthly post!)-new toys, new skills, new words, etc. Callie doesn't usually just say words by herself, (with the exception of balloon) but she is starting to try words when we say "say_______" or "can you say___________?). She has successfully said: tree, cat, hat, ball, boon (balloon), woof woof (dog), Poppy, & corn (a new favorite food)! One day, Callie found our church directory and started looking at all the pictures. She came to a woman wearing a hat and pointed and said "hat" in a surprised voice, like "hey, I know what that is!"

She's also gotten really good at her hand eye coordination and dexterity. She's getting the hang of the shape sorter toy, though we will continue working on that for a while! Her throwing skills are getting more practiced and improved. She loves books-wants to read them over and over again. She knows (and will point to) eyes, ears, mouth, nose, head, hair, toe, foot. She will also, point, wave, blow kisses, kick her foot or a ball, and put toys or objects back where they belong-when she feels like it! She has started giving real kisses when she's feeling very loving. They are seriously the sweetest thing!

She is now eating a lot more! Going through at least 3 things of baby food a day, 16 oz of milk and various snacks (cereal bars, graham crackers, fruit). She lets me know when she's hungry by running to the snack cupboard, squatting and saying "mm, mm" over and over and then pointing to the cupboard. Apples are a favorite snack. She loves to just hold the whole thing herself and take little bites (she sat on the counter with an apple for 15 minutes while Mommy cut vegetables for dinner). If I want her to actually swallow what she's eating I have to give her peeled, small pieces.

She still loves being outside, but walks have become more difficult as she wants to participate actively instead of just riding in her stroller. I always laughed when I saw a baby on a leash, but I finally realized the necessity of them (and the genius behind them) this month. She wants so badly to walk herself but won't hold hands, so it's really the only way to keep her safe. She now has a very cute puppy backpack "harness" (it sounds so much better than a leash :-)).

We've gone a couple days with only one nap. However, on these days she still sleeps for the same amount of time (1 1/2 hours) as one of her 2 normal naps, so we are all a little cranky by the end of the day. I've decided we will stick with the 2 naps as long as possible. I get more done and enjoy my more cheerful daughter the rest of the day. It does make it a little difficult to go anywhere, but that will come soon enough. At this point, I'd rather stay home with a happy baby than be gone with a cranky baby any day! She's still sleeping from 8-7:30 at night...though now with the help of makeshift blackout shades.

Flashback 7 years ago!

2011-06-02T15:26:00.000-07:00

This weekend is the weekend Dave proposed to me 7 years ago! Here's a flashback engagement photo just for fun! AND in case you were wondering-it rained that weekend! (as it does every first weekend in June :-)) The following is our engagement story if you've never heard, or want to hear it again. (I tried to include all the good details, but it's really the best when Dave tells it!)

My easy-going boyfriend was a wreck, as the rain was just one of the problems that evening! We had a wonderful dinner at Old Spaghetti Factory on the waterfront in downtown Portland. After dinner we planned to walk along the waterfront, but because it was Rose Festival weekend, a lot of roads were blocked off and we couldn't figure out how to get down there! I could tell Dave was getting agitated and wondered why it mattered so much. I suggested we could take the walk another day, but for some reason, it seemed very important to him that it work that evening. After being detoured several times we ended up frustrated and back on I5 headed away from Portland. By that time, we both had to go to the bathroom and his truck was nearly out of gas! After stopping at Fred Meyer we decided to give it another go and eventually found a place to park near the waterfront! Just as we got out of the truck and pondered which way to walk, it started raining! Poor Dave :-). We huddled under the nearest bridge (I wasn't wearing a coat, as it WAS June! Little did I know, Dave was very worried I would think he was horribly rude for not sharing his, but he didn't want me to discover the ring in his pocket!) While we waited, an "interesting" man offered to paint our picture several times. Just as we were thinking it would be better to just get a little wet than tell him "no, thank you" one more time, the weather cleared and the sun came out!

After such a comical beginning the night was about to become as perfect as I could have pictured it. We strolled down to the Riverfront Hotel where they have a large circular patio that hangs out over the Willamette River. I remember thinking what a fun and funny night and then before I knew what was happening, Dave was down on one knee with a ring box telling me how much he loved me and wanted to spend the rest of his life with me! I really couldn't have been more surprised, but suddenly, all the events and his subsequent reactions throughout the evening began to make sense. I'm sure I had a ridiculous smile on my face as I excitedly answered YES! and looked, not quite believing this was happening, at the beautiful ring on my finger! Conveniently, there was a bench not far away where we sat and talked about a wedding and our future together for quite a while, just enjoying each other and the confidence you feel in knowing you belong together. Finally, we decided to get back home and announce to our families (who already knew what Dave planned) our big news! Dave stepped in front of me and pulled me up from the bench. I could see the river behind him as he leaned in to kiss me, and at that EXACT moment the Rose Festival fireworks went off over the river! The night that started off as a disaster ended as a fairytale! (of course, if you ask Dave about it, he will tell you that was all part of his plan and the detours/stress, potty breaks, painter guy, etc. were all necessary delays so the fireworks would be at the right time :-)). Anyway, 7 years later, I'm still so thankful for that evening. While our lives are not exactly a fairytale all the time, we are learning together to follow Christ and I couldn't ask for anything more!

On her way to being a great Mommy!

2011-06-02T13:14:00.000-07:00

Callie tucking in her babies :-)

One Sunny Day!

2011-05-27T21:07:00.000-07:00

...and we made the most of it!!

And an Easter Blooper :-)

2011-05-08T18:43:00.001-07:00

Just in case you needed a laugh today-click on the picture to make it bigger! Not exactly the family Easter picture I was going for-Callie was in quite the funk...I have no idea what I'm doing with my face, and no, I don't know what Dave's hiding in his hand either! Scroll down to the next post for some slightly better pictures :-)

Easter Pics

2011-05-08T18:31:00.001-07:00

The first picture is our family at church on Easter Sunday-the rest are the church Easter egg hunt. Callie didn't quite understand the concept! She picked up one egg, and we told her to put it in her basket-which she did. A little while later, she spotted a second egg and took the first egg out so she could have the second egg :-). We went home with 4 eggs (3 of which we picked up for her because she had discovered on the second egg that they open and had candy in them! She spent the rest of the time sucking on a still wrapped Jolly Rancher while Mommy worried about the potential chocking hazard and tried to get her interested in other eggs!). Maybe next year!

13 months

2011-05-05T14:47:00.000-07:00

Enjoying the sunny day at the park

Spending some time with Poppy!

Family :-)

Celebrating Mommy's b-day

13 months and a week old...this post is a week late because, well, that's the kind of month it's been! Callie turned one and for the next week, I was pretty sure this was my favorite stage ever. She was the sweetest, most adorable kid all through the day, sleeping all through the night, making us laugh when she was up and when she was asleep and we reviewed all the adorable things she did all day, AND THEN, one year and 1 week came and, a different kid emerged :-). Actually, I didn't know it at the time, but what really emerged was her first MOLAR! Suffice to say, I have now decided 11 months is my favorite stage thus far!

Along with the molar came tantrums and lots of them! And not just any tantrums, the exact kind that her mother used to throw-kicking, screaming, hitting, rolling all over the floor banging into things, tantrums! (I have absolutely no recollection of this, and were it not for documented evidence in the form of very UGLY photographs, I would deny any knowledge of said behavior). So, I have been listening to my mom yuck it up, as it's now payback time for my former disgusting behavior :-). Actually, Mom has been an encouragement, assuring me this is normal and all my frustrations are the same ones I go through every time she's teething-it's just compounded 'cause these are big teeth! We recently discovered her 2nd molar coming through-pretty sure she's going to get all 4, one right after another.

SO, with the yucky reality out of the way, here are some sweet things!

Callie adores music and dancing! Whenever she hears music-and sometimes when she's just happy, she breaks into "happy feet" (aka: footfire if you're familiar with basketball/football drills. We think it looks a lot like the penguins in the movie, thus the name :-)). She also does some very cute bobble-head movements. We went out to a Mexican restaurant for my b-day and she spent the whole time grooving in her high chair to the background music! Later, we got in the car and Dave said, "Callie, what do you do to Mexican music?" She immediately, broke into a smile and started "dancing" in her carseat!
She is still not saying many words, but her comprehension is amazing. She knows the names of all her favorite stuffed animals, toys, food items, people, etc. and will go to them or get them when we ask. She will also respond to "do you want to do this?" with "yeah!" or shaking her head. Dave's mom got Callie a little stuffed animal puppy, which she loves since it's a dog, for Easter. When we got home Dave told her to go show puppy her tent. She looked at him, grabbed puppy and marched him right over to the tent!
She's been growing-she is now whacking her head on things she used to walk under. She's still confused why this is happening! It seems like she's constantly hurting herself regardless of how close I am-I can't predict her crazy movements! She's sleeping extra, and I'm loving that! Solid from 8pm-7:30am most days and still 2 naps. Mostly 1 1/2 and 1-1/2 hours each, but some days she's taken 2 two-hour naps-AWESOME! Lest anyone think I'm bragging, I'm not! I'm counting my blessings and am all too aware that it could change again at any time-and in fact, wasn't so great just yesterday!
She wants to run everywhere and do everything by herself! I can't keep her in her stroller very long because she wants to get out and push it! She now starts in the stroller for our walks but ends up doing half the walk herself!
She is still very in love with animals-especially dogs. All animals get a "Woo, Woo, Woo!" from Callie (we think she's trying to say "woof" like a dog).

I'm sure there are other things I will remember later, but I want to get something accomplished during her nap, so I'll close for now-hopefully, I'll get the Easter post up soon!

Birthday Pictures!

2011-04-04T20:35:00.000-07:00

Our Sweet Baby is ONE!!!

Spring Flowers Party :-)

Love you, Grammy!

and she loves her Poppy, too!

What are you looking at?

So excited!

There are presents, too?!!!

Opening presents is serious business!

Grammy, Mommy, & Callie

Poppy & Grammy got Callie a Noah's Ark!

She was too intent on playing to pose for any pictures!

Cake time!

Not quite sure what she thinks about it!

We tried several times for the family picture, but clearly the cake pose was the best :-)

What a great day with Poppy and Grammy!

Dave's Aunt Danna sent Callie her b-day outfit! It was so cute! We are looking forward to celebrating Callie's b-day with the Bertolini side when Callie's great grandparents visit in June.

ONE YEAR OLD!!!!

2011-03-29T21:19:00.000-07:00

Giving monkey a drink before bed :-)

In her new tent with her babies

Her new baby crib/bunk bed!

Our one-year-old!

We are so very thankful the Lord gave us such a Sweetie! Happy Birthday Callie! Here are some cute things she's done recently!

Whenever we get her up, she has a system of saying goodbye to her bunny and binki...she used to just pop the binki out and hand it to us so she could start chattering. Now, she's a little more hesitant to give it up. We don't run right in to get her when she wakes up because she likes to have some alone time with Bunny prior to getting out of the crib. As we have watched from the door, she chatters away while periodically giving Bunny some big hugs, wiggling its ears, and then more hugs. When we do go to get her we say "Say bye-bye to Bunny." She'll give Bunny another big hug and then several pats on the back (like Mommy used to do to Callie when burping her :-)). Then she turns around and waves to Bunny just as we're going out her bedroom door! She also loves to hug/pat her baby doll and monkey stuffed animal.

Since she loves her "babies" so much, we found a mini bunk bed crib for Baby and Monkey for Callie's b-day. She is such a good little mommy to them! When we gave it to her today she put Baby in the bed and I told her to give Baby a kiss good night. Callie immediately started blowing kisses!

Callie has also become quite the snuggler lately (which we LOVE). She will run into our arms and give the best hugs (followed by pats). She'll also throw her arms around our legs when we're standing and then pat our legs. She also just likes to recline against us and will regularly back up and then flop on Dave's legs when he's doing homework on the couch. Yesterday, when I was about to put her to bed Dave kissed her and said "Love you, Callie." It really sounded like she said "Wuv ooo" back :-). She's not consistently saying many words, but there have been several times when we've said something and it really sounded like she repeated it, only to never do so again! She DOES regularly or semi-regularly say "Mama" "Dada" "Ba Ba" (bottle) and "Baybee" (baby-she really stretches it out when she says it. She says this when referring to her doll or monkey). Everything else she signals by pointing at it and saying "boom." We think this is because we had some balloons in the house for a while due to Dave's b-day and then a baby shower we had at our home. Callie loved them and each morning she would point to them first thing when she got up. I would always say "balloon." So now, she points to things she wants and they're all "Booms"! She KNOWS far more words that she says. We said bounce the other day and she pointed to the trampoline, and same with camel (her stuffed animal camel), monkey, books, shoes, bunny, etc.

She is still obsessed with bellybuttons and giggles and lunges to touch it each time she sees one! This could get embarrassing this summer if halter tops are back in style :-) (hopefully, they're not!)

Walking turned to running in about 3 weeks! Today I was following Callie around the house-one second we were playing in her room and then we were downstairs, and before I could even process how fast it happened, we were back upstairs in her room! I am continually struck by how much she's changed in this last month, let alone this year!

She is quite the climber and is getting scarily close to being able to climb in and out of the bathtub, laundry basket and anything else she thinks she can fit on or in! She loves bouncing on the mini trampoline and can stand up and bounce a little herself (and grins so big when she does it!). Actually, she's nearly always proud of herself for something :-).

She loves to read-usually she starts with the books upside down. Not sure why this is? She will turn the pages herself and "talk" quietly while she does it. However, the most chattering lately has been from the top of her slide. She will climb to the top and then survey the room, pointing to different objects and then apparently telling us a story about them! The other day she pushed her baby doll down the slide in front of her. I caught baby at the bottom and then held her up and said "Callie's turn! Baby's going to catch you!" She pointed at baby and gave me a funny look and then pointed at me and chattered away. It seemed like she was saying, "Mom, that doll is way too small to catch me; you better do it!" Sure enough, when I said, "Do you want Mommy to catch you?" she smiled and came right down the slide!

Eating can still be a frustration for me. However, I have discovered that when she's hungry enough or distracted enough she eats just great. The best was when we turned on March Madness b-ball and moved her highchair into the family room! Mostly, she just wishes she could have exactly what Mommy and Daddy are having!

She is quite the little prima donna. The other day she was throwing a fit. I put her in a dress with a frilly skirt and then showed her in the mirror. She immediately burst into a huge smile and from then on her behavior improved! I guess if you're going to look like a princess, you have to act like one!

She still LOVES animals...we've encountered a few dogs on our walks around the neighborhood recently. The owners said they were nice so I stopped so Callie could look at them and pet them. We stayed for a couple minutes, but both times Callie burst into tears when I started pushing the stroller away. Apparently, we will have a pet in our future-though right now, Callie is all I can handle :-). I am very much looking forward to taking her to the zoo this summer!

Well, that's pretty much all for now...we have her doctor's appt. next week, so I'll have 12 month stats then. But here are the practical details so I can refer back to them when I forget :-). She's still taking 2 naps (10:15ish-12:00ish) and (3:30ish-4:30ish), nights are from 8pm-hopefully 7:30am. 3 meals with baby food and bottle and 3 bottles each day. She's wearing 18 month shirts now with 12 month (or still the bigger 9 month) pants. She's got a long torso! Her hair is now curling in the back which I just love!

Happy Birthday Callie!

2011-03-29T15:19:00.000-07:00

A LOT can change in a year!

One week before giving birth!

March 30, 2010

1 month old

2 months

3 months

4 months

5 months

6 months

7 months

8 months

9 months

10 months

11 months

12 months :-)

All By Herself!

2011-03-21T10:35:00.000-07:00

Well, we are entering the "I can do it myself" stage! While she doesn't actually SAY this yet, the hand motions are pretty clear. There are quite a few things that she can do herself. Here's an example that she just discovered this morning!

Busy Baby!

2011-03-21T09:34:00.001-07:00

Callie Sue's almost a year old! B-day posts and update soon, but for now, here are some recent pictures!

Watching a show with her "babies"

"Playing Summer" :-). Mommy realized she wouldn't be able to wear any of her summer clothes in this size, and they were so cute I wanted to see them on her...SO, we turned the heater up and played summer!

New BIG girl carseat!

"New" jacket

"Don't worry, Mom, I'll help myself!"

11 Months! 30 days left of being a baby!

2011-02-28T19:02:00.000-08:00

Wow, our baby is 11 months old! I can't believe her one year old b-day is so quickly approaching! She's turned into quite the little daredevil this month, and thus, we have more bruises than Mommy would like. Thankfully, a few cinnamon maple "Lil' Crunchies" seem to take care of any injury! She LOVES forts/tunnels/anything she can crawl under-especially our dining room table. It's becoming quite dangerous as she gets taller, so we are going to buy her a collapsible tunnel for her b-day. She has a great time playing with Cousin Sophie earlier in the month. They had matching jammies and looked adorable!

Highlights of this month

Callie stood for the first time by herself on SuperBowl Sunday, Feb. 6th! The video below is from a day or so later.
She also took her first steps a couple weeks later! She has taken up to 8 steps in a row so far, but this past week, she hardly walked at all and was quite clumsy...maybe she's going through a growth spurt?
Her hand-eye coordination is getting very good. In the pig video, she's slapping down the coins Dave put in, but she can now put the coins in by herself.
She's getting much better at eating baby foods-she loved spaghetti with meat sauce and chicken noodle is now a favorite. We are also okay with organic veggies, raspberry pear and turkey vegetable. When she won't willingly open her mouth, I give her Cheerios, or Ritz crackers and when she's about to take a bite of that, I scoot a bite of baby food in first :-). She also recently tried her first dessert-a bite of a Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookie! She LOVED it!
Her morning naps are now about 1 1/2 hours consistently-sometimes a little longer. Afternoon nap is 1/2 hour to 1 hour and she usually wakes up very cranky so we have some snuggle time with books after nap.
She loves to "wrestle" especially with Daddy and find bellybuttons!
She's still way impressed with ceiling fans. Dave lays her on our bed and turns the ceiling fan on and they watch it go around and around. If you say "want to play 'round and 'round?" she'll get a big grin on her face!

10 months (the rest of it!)

2011-02-02T10:50:00.000-08:00

Pushing baby doll around on the firetruck :-)

Just being Callie!

Modeling her new yellow shirt and yellow ponytail!

Can't keep the girl seated for more than a second!

Cracking up!

Well, Callie is OFFICIALLY 10 months now, and I'm very surprised to report that after many rough days of teething throughout the month INCLUDING the first fever hot enough for Mommy to get out the thermometer (101.3), the new tooth(teeth) didn't come in yet! (Oh, and I'd just like to say a big thank you to whomever created the 1 second ear thermometer and of course, Tylenol!)

And here's the rest of the Callie facts for the month :-).

She has discovered balls and enjoys throwing (her aim isn't great yet, but she's getting it!) and kicking them (Mommy holds her fingers so she can walk up to the ball and she kicks it with her right foot!)
She likes music-recently playing more with the xylophone and just discovered Daddy's guitar. Daddy played for her and then Callie tried strumming the strings herself.
She loves to impress her Daddy. Mommy tries very hard to use this to our advantage-"Daddy's watching-show him a big girl bite!" She melted his heart last night when she woke up crying. Usually, I go to her at night, but he hadn't been home before I put her to bed due to a meeting and really wanted to see her so he went in and tried to give her the binki. She was still crying so he picked her up, and she melted into his arms and went right back to sleep. Little does he know this may not be a fantastic thing for him, as I now know that she doesn't need Mommy specifically at night! ;-).
She loves to eat at restaurants and people watch! I guess I have to tell Daddy AND Callie that we can't afford to eat out now!
She's in 12 month clothes now. (Has been for 3 weeks-always grows out of jammies first)
She loves climbing! She can do the stairs in about 10 seconds, and loves it when the little trampoline is scooted up to the couch and she can climb from the floor to the trampoline to the couch. She rarely sits still! She loves to sit on the trampoline with her big plastic jacks while Mommy and Daddy spin them or make them "jump" by popping them up from under the trampoline.
Paper continues to be a big hit whether she's tearing it or trying to eat it!
She loves laughing and will crack up if you're laughing or sometimes just start randomly on her own!

Oh, and one more cute story: The other day, I was changing Callie's diaper when Dave walked in and asked if what he was wearing looked good for church. I said, "what do you think, Callie-how does Daddy look?" At that moment, she said "Dada" and clapped her hands!

This one's for you, Cousin Emme!

2011-01-16T11:49:00.000-08:00

A couple posts back, I noticed that Callie had the same jacket as her cousin, Emme! So here is Callie sporting the matching jacket and the "Party Pigtails" hairstyle that Emme loves to rock :-). If we didn't live a few thousand miles away, I'm sure those wouldn't be the only things Callie would be imitating from Emme! (Please ignore our messy house and focus on our cute baby!)

I struggled to get her to look at the camera, but wanted you to see the whole look!

Finally, there she is!

Before the pigtails but showing off her teeth!

Walking!

9 & Now almost 10 Months!

2011-01-15T15:08:00.000-08:00

SOOO, if you can't tell from the title, somewhere between Christmas and New Year's, I missed an important blog post! My baby girl turned 9 months old! While I didn't document this important feat in words, I DID take her in to have 9 month pictures taken, so don't judge too much :-).

Callie's 9th month was lots of fun. With her newly discovered skill of crawling, she decided independence suited her and she didn't need "Mama-mama" quite so much. I loved this, as I could move into the next room without her screaming, and if she wanted to, she'd just follow! She also did fantastic in the church nursery, as she finally felt like she could move like the big girl she always thought she was!

The second weekend of December, we took our first official vacation since Callie was born. We went to Sunriver with our good friends the Elliotts. Callie LOVED having friends to play with all weekend! She did much better than we expected on the 3 1/2 hour drive there (and back, actually). Sleeping and eating were a challenge all weekend, but we discovered after we returned home that teething might have added to that problem. The week following Christmas into the first week of January, we discovered 3 new teeth! (YES 3!!!) She now has 4 teeth on the top and 3 on the bottom. (I'm pretty sure the bottom 4th is coming soon, though!)

So, here are some 9 month Callie highlights!

Is a pro-crawler now!
Only crawled for about a week before she started pulling herself up onto EVERYTHING!
Went on her first vacation to Sunriver, OR
Discovered Cheerios and "cookies"-which she loves
Decided avocados are pretty much the best food in the world and thereafter refused to eat ANY "baby food"
Celebrated Daddy's 30th b-day with a surprise party and did WONDERFUL with Grammy and Poppy for the evening
Celebrated Christmas 4x. Callie loved Daddy's Lego train around the tree and the pile of presents. She would crawl over and make selections each day, but didn't open them. She did pretty well around the tree, only starting to take ornaments off toward the end of the month. She loved the Advent calendar Grammy made for us and got so excited to put the new "ornament" up each day!
Got 2 top teeth at the beginning of the month and then 2 more and another bottom tooth the last week of the month right around her 9 month b-day.
I completely weaned Callie this month. She made the transition to bottle pretty well, since she could look around much better this way and bite it if she wanted to! It has been a good thing for Mommy and Callie. (though, we discovered formula is NOT CHEAP!)
Callie really started looking like a "big girl". Chubby cheeks, pulling herself up on everything and crawling very fast add to this look!
Loves her fire truck toy from cousins.

10 months!

About a week after Callie turned 9 months, she pulled herself up on her push toy and took off walking! She is so delighted with this skill and loves to demonstrate it for anyone who will watch. (We hold the webcam up so Grammy and Poppy and Aunt Anna can see her on Skype. She watches the computer the whole time-making walking straight a little tricky, but she wants to see their impressed reaction!) She is doing better with sleeping at night. When she does wake up, it's usually because she scooted out of her blankets and just wants to be tucked back in. Nap times are changing. Her consistent 10am morning nap is now more like 11. This is wonderful for church, since she is happier in the nursery. However, on normal days, we're still struggling to find the time for her afternoon nap. Sometimes she goes down between 2 and 3. Other times, she will just play and play and just wants a short nap before 6.

Much to Daddy and Mommy's delight, Callie started giving Wonderful hugs! Her Daddy loves to lie on the floor and have Callie crawl over to him. When he lifts her up on his chest, she buries her face in and gives him a big hug! She also has started giving her stuffed animals hugs, which is pretty adorable.

Dave is having so much fun with Callie as she gets older and more able to "play." Yesterday, when I was at work I received the following text message from him: "Callie LOVES animal cookies!" And when I got home I discovered Daddy and Callie had built her first fort with blankets and the kitchen chairs. Inside the fort were all her favorite toys and the bag of animal cookies :-). They had a fun morning!

2011

2011-01-01T16:26:00.000-08:00

I've had a lot of things on my mind the last few days as I think about this new year. First of all, I am so thankful for the Lord's sustaining blessings throughout 2010. It was a challenging year, but God is good and His love and faithfulness really do endure despite our temporary pain and frustrations. As I get older, I have become more and more aware that it is because of the pain and frustrations in our lives that we are able to better appreciate His blessings and grace.

I am so thankful for my sweet Callie Sue and the joy, laughter, love, AND pain and frustration she's brought us this year. Parenting is not for the faint of heart, and yet, there really is nothing like watching your child accomplish something for the first time, call your name, melt into your arms, or burst into giggles! Days are often long and exhausting, but mostly my heart is so overwhelmed by the way God has shown his love to me through my little girl. I pray that she falls in love with her Savior and chooses to devote her life to Him and that I can point her to Jesus every day by my choices and words.

I feel that I wasted a lot of time in 2010 by worrying about things outside of my control (and really how many things can we TRULY control?) instead of entrusting them to my faithful and loving God who always has the best plan. I also just plain wasted time, whether it be on Facebook, watching TV or just being lazy. I have been reading Francis Chan's book, Crazy Love. If you haven't read it, make the less than $10 investment. It may just change your life. I know I have become more aware of just how spoiled I am and how little time, energy, money, etc. I devote to the things that God would have me invest in and the thoughts He would prefer I meditate on, and the people with whom He wants me to interact. I pride myself on being a somewhat organized, logical and wise person with the things God has given me. Yet, as the premise of the book says, true love makes us a little crazy. How many crazy things do I do for God? How many would I be willing to do this next year? I love the idea of a fresh start and a New Year's resolution, but when it comes right down to it, most of mine have been broken before March-many before the end of January. What will make this year different? I hope and pray that I will rely more on God's strength and less and less on my own "resolve" this year. I want 2011 to be the year that I fell "crazy in love" with my Savior and my pursuits were the result and outpouring of that love. If you're reading this, I'd love for you to remind me about this throughout the year and ask me how it's going!

Christmas Day

2011-01-01T16:02:00.001-08:00

Christmas morning we opened presents just the three of us--As you can see, Callie was tired of waiting!

This is NOT her present, but she didn't really care any more! Besides, the wrapping paper is the exciting part!

New books!

So excited!

She was happy to help Daddy open his presents, too!

In the afternoon, we went up to my parents house to celebrate! Dave and brother-in-law, Josh were excited to find Dutch Bros. gift cards inside of these old VHS tapes that served as clever wrapping solutions so they didn't guess their gifts!

Grammy helping Sophie as she listens to the baby's heartbeat.

Callie was excited to awake from her nap to open MORE presents!

She got a Little People Nativity Set and her first doll. It looks like she's worried Daddy's going to steal it in this picture!

This video is of Callie watching the Tinkerbell movie Dave got her for Christmas!

Christmas Eve

2011-01-01T15:52:00.000-08:00

Callie making a present selection in her Christmas Eve church dress.

Playing with Grandpa and Grandma Bertolini

Family ready for Christmas Eve service

Callie received her first Bible from Great Grandpa and Grandma Stewart!

And, she got lots of other fun gifts she was excited about!

Christmas "Card"

2010-12-21T13:43:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas Loved Ones!

The beginning months of 2010 were spent on last minute preparations for baby! Dave finished up her room and putting together furniture, stroller, high chair etc. I did the baby registry and baby showers and did my best to find a comfortable sleeping position (yeah, right!) and together we went to regular doctor appts. and looked into life insurance. AND THEN, Callie Sue arrived bright and early Tuesday morning, March 30^th, and our lives were changed forever!

I spent the spring and summer months transitioning into motherhood and wondering how my mom made it look so easy! Along with adjusting to being a father, Dave also took several seminary courses over the summer, wrapped up 6 years of full-time youth ministry and began his new job as Associate Pastor. If change equals stress, you could say we were basket cases! We are so thankful for the Lord giving us the strength for each day and all the prayers from family and friends.

Other noteworthy news this year:

My parents celebrated their 30^th wedding anniversary on March 15^th!
Dave led a group of 20 teens on a mission trip to Alaska this July, along with our new youth pastor and some wonderful adult helpers!
Brother-in-law, Josh, was hired as the Children’s Pastor at Skyline Baptist in North Bend.
Josh and Anna received an offer on their home just days before moving to North Bend after a long 11 months on the market. Praise the Lord for his faithfulness!
While this year has been grueling on my parents with my mom’s health issues and business challenges, we praise God that the cancer has not spread, and she has not needed chemo or radiation. We greatly appreciate your continued prayer for my Mom and Dad.
Dave was able to arrange his work schedule to have “Daddy/Callie time” while I’m at work two mornings a week.
We celebrated our 6^th wedding anniversary on December 18^th.

We are so excited to share Christmas traditions and began to explain the meaning of Christmas with Callie. Having it be Callie’s first Christmas has made us step back to evaluate what Christmas is all about to us as a family and what we want Callie to grow up remembering and prioritizing. It's not about all the presents under the tree but the true GIFT of Jesus Christ and the salvation He offers us!

A few thoughts about Callie: She’s pretty much adorable all the time. She has the most kissable little cheeks. She loves to make funny faces and does an awesome snort. She loves to blow bubbles with her saliva-very attractive on a girl! She has the sweetest giggle that is awfully contagious. She adores her daddy and gets so excited whenever she sees him-her whole body shakes and she breaks into a huge grin and chatter. She thinks cats and small dogs are hilarious. She loves playing patty cake. She enjoys “Skyping” relatives. She started crawling as soon as we got out the Christmas lights and is now pulling herself up on anything and everything!

We hope this holiday season leads you to be more in love with our Savior, Jesus Christ and brings you blessed times with family and friends!

With love, Dave, Amy, & Callie Bertolini

8 Months!

2010-11-30T20:17:00.000-08:00

Well, this picture pretty much captures Callie's entire personality-fun-loving, happy, playful and spoiled little Diva :-)! Each month she is developing more and more of her own personality, which is so cute and exciting some days and entirely frustrating others! Normally, she sleeps well in her crib but occasionally (and unfortunately seeming to be more often) she throws tantrums when we put her down. I have watched her from her door as she screams and then puts her pacifier back into her mouth to see if I respond. If I don't in the allotted amount of time (about 3 seconds), she whips it back out and screams again, only to repeat the process! We had some exciting "firsts" this month. Callie's first word was "Mama"-cried out in the middle of the night on November 19th. It has since been the go-to word whenever she needs something-whether that's me, food, sleep, etc. I was a little concerned, though when she saw a hippopotamus on the t.v. and said "Mama!"

The second exciting first occurred when I was putting the lights on the Christmas tree this past weekend. There was still a pile of lights on the floor and it didn't take long before Callie figured out how to crawl over to them! We were suspecting Christmas decorations of some kind would do the trick, as she'd been VERY close to crawling for about 3 weeks now.

I would love to report that Callie enjoyed her first Thanksgiving and tried mashed potatoes and green beans. Unfortunately, eating is still giving us fits. She really doesn't seem to like any baby foods, so we think it's a texture thing. As one friend said, "She just has refined taste buds!" So far, we have tried sweet potato, squash, pear, applesauce, and peaches (along with rice cereal and oatmeal), but all have been met with the same disgusted reaction. She does enjoy "Puffs" and Rice Wafer crackers.

It seems she is working very hard to get her first top tooth. I'm praying it will break through soon, so I can trade in the tantrum baby for my sweet girl! In the meantime, I'm off to call Dave to bring home more infant Tylenol!

November 2010 in Pics!

2010-11-30T20:04:00.000-08:00

Ready for a walk outside to admire the Christmas lights Daddy just put up!

Here we are with our tree!

There were some sheep at the tree farm, too!

Callie and cousin Sophie at Davis Family Thanksgiving

Callie's first Thanksgiving!

One of our Christmas presents arrived in a box that was just the right size for Callie and Daddy to play Box Racer all around the living room!

Possibly the Best Deal of the Season!

2010-11-27T10:20:00.001-08:00

Well, yesterday was Black Friday, so I'm in a money-saving kind of mood. And, since Thanksgiving's over, it's that time of year, when I begin to think about Christmas cards. I LOVE receiving Christmas cards and hearing what all our friends and family have been up to the past year! Most of all, though, I LOVE the photo cards-getting a glimpse of this year's vacation spot and how children have changed! Photo cards can get expensive, which is why I am SO excited about this awesome deal from Shutterfly! Shutterfly is a great site for designing your Christmas cards with lots of fun holiday backgrounds and templates to choose from! And right now, they're running an awesome deal! Get 50 free holiday cards when you write about Shutterfly on your blog! These aren't just your run-of-the-mill cards, either! They have so many great designs to choose from-whether you have that one perfect picture, or can't decide so you want to do a collage of best shots from 2010! Check out their holiday cards here! I'm so excited to put our Christmas picture card together-but looking through all the options on Shutterfly, it's going to be a tough decision-there are so many to choose from!

So, if you're like me and want quality photo cards at a great deal, check out this link for Shutterfly's 50 free Holiday Cards promo deal! Happy Christmas card writing!

Callie's First Snow!!!!

2010-11-23T11:58:00.001-08:00

Possibly the Best Deal of the Season!

2010-11-20T08:09:00.001-08:00

So, if you're like me and want quality photo cards at a great deal, check out this link for Shutterfly's 50 free Holiday Cards promo deal! Happy Christmas card writing!

7 months

2010-11-02T17:18:00.000-07:00

So, this month has been a fast paced and exhausting 2 steps forward and one step back kind of month! Callie started eating rice cereal-wasn't sure about it, couldn't get enough of it, ate it well some days and others not so much, wasn't sure about it, and now, won't eat it at all. Tried sweet potatoes. Let's just say she feels the same way about them that her parents do. Following the last few days of rice cereal and the days we tried sweet potatoes, she got a tummy ache and ever since then, we have been going through SOOO many diapers; I will be forever grateful to the person that invented disposables! (After all, I'm having to pre-treat half her clothes; I don't have time to wash diapers, too!)

Therefore, we are taking a break from solids (since I can't get her to open her mouth anymore). Next week we are going to the doctor to get her weighed and measured, so hopefully, they will have some good advice-or maybe by then she'll be ready to eat them again anyway.

She is trying very hard to become more mobile. She's working on going from sitting Indian style to rocking forward to put herself into a crawl-like position. Daddy has been practicing crawling with her by moving her legs while she does the arms. He's very excited about this new stage (clearly not realizing how much child-proofing we have to do!) Meanwhile, Callie does a mean "back scoot" to try to get where she wants to go. It's very obnoxious when she's on the changing table doing this! I think Callie is frustrated at not being able to move like she wants to or talk like she wants to-she tries very hard and then starts crying when it doesn't work.

She must be growing because I had to mover her jumperoo up to the next level again. (We're on 3 out of 4 now!) She's also been taking better naps most days, so that's a plus! We are seeing a lot of her tongue again, as she's pretty impressed with how far she can stick it out! She's also been exploring new things she can do with her hands, such as: exploring mommy and daddy's faces and hair (sometimes a rather painful experience), knocking over towers that we build for her, turning pages in books, doing her best to hold her sippy cup and pulling the pommel part off of her bumbo seat! Well, she's about to wake up from a nap, so I better get some pictures in this post!

Our Little Monkey!

2010-10-29T20:01:00.000-07:00

Our little monkey ready for Harvest Town!

Both my monkeys :-)

Trying to steal Parker's banana, as monkeys do ;-)!

Happy Harvest!

Purple Polka Dots!

2010-10-19T10:31:00.001-07:00

Love this outfit!

Pumpkin Patch!

2010-10-18T10:06:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, Callie had her first Pumpkin Patch experience! She was very intrigued by all that was going on but thought that she might have just preferred to be in her warm bed instead! We finally got a good smile after SEVERAL tries. This Mama figured that since we had already gone to the trouble of getting there, it was at least going to look good in the photo album :-)!

6 Months!

2010-10-06T14:13:00.000-07:00

Well, Callie is 6 months old! I find myself watching her when I feed her at night (the only time she's not wiggling constantly) and thinking of those first days when her body only took up half the Boppy! She's in the 78% for height now! We are working to fatten her up but think she's pretty adorable just the way she is!

New this month!

She sits on her own unsupported for quite a while!
She is eating rice cereal each day and LOVING it!
She now takes a bottle every day without fighting it and will take it from me, Dave, or Grammy (so hopefully others, too)!
She tries to hold the bottle/the cereal spoon by herself.
She takes good naps about 3 days a week :-).
She wants to go to bed closer to 7pm than 8pm (Mommy is rather worried about Daylight Savings Time coming up!)
She's taken a couple of long car rides without crying!
She loves sitting up to play with toys and is really enjoying toys that make sounds!
She takes her binki out of her mouth and can put it back in herself.
She enjoys "Skyping" relatives.
She pants like a dog whenever she gets excited--not sure where she got this!
She loves watching the neighborhood cats when we go on walks and giggles and coos whenever we see one.
She "sings" a lot.
She splashes and kicks in the bath and wants to stay in longer.

Still the same!

She still loves to be outside!
She sleeps through the night with the exception of one feeding (unless we're away from home)
Naps longer than 45 minutes are a struggle and something Mommy gets very excited about!
She's a good roller all 4 ways
Still has beautiful very blue eyes!
Has only one tooth but drools constantly!
Has a delightful disposition most of the time with a temper that can turn on instantaneously!
Thinks her hands and feet are amazing and at least one (sometimes tries all 4) should be in her mouth pretty much always! She also enjoys holding up her hands and just marveling at God's creation :-)!
Melts Mommy and Daddy's hearts (and her grandparents, and aunts/uncles as well!)

For All YOU Busy Moms!

2010-10-06T10:10:00.000-07:00

This Blog has been such a blessing to me! Check it out! It's a daily devotional for moms, specifically for moms with young children! It's such an encouragement and has the Bible passages linked so they're just one click away in case your kids are in the computer room and Bible is in another room. I hope you enjoy it!

http://www.dropsoflivingwater.com

Finally, some real food!

2010-09-27T14:34:00.000-07:00

This big girl just had her first serving of Rice cereal (as you can see, she enjoyed it-the little she got in her mouth anyway!). I think she was most impressed with the spoon! She's working very hard on getting her second tooth! Lots of drool and lots of fussing has been the routine at our house lately. She wasn't wanting to take a bottle today so with her 6 month checkup this Thursday, I decided we'd try some cereal! Sorry the first picture's a little blurry!

Other events this week included...

Callie and Mommy right before Parker Pearce's one-year-old b-day party.

Still in her party dress! Showing off her sitting skills!

We enjoyed the beautiful weather and moved the jumperoo outside today!

Oh, and here's some recent playtime with Daddy!

New Accomplishments

2010-09-22T16:55:00.000-07:00

Callie has one tooth (it came in a week ago Sunday) and is working on more! The rubber spatula is a favorite teething toy right now.

She is now sitting up on her own for sometimes up to a minute! In the below pictures, she is modeling a sweater that my grandma made for me when I was a baby!

How We Spend Our Days

2010-09-15T20:53:00.001-07:00

"Helping" Mommy with laundry and other household chores. (As you can see, she is quite pleased to be Mommy's helper!)

And jumping! in her Jumperoo!

The 2 sides of Callie

2010-09-13T10:14:00.000-07:00

Sweet princess :-)

Spunky attitude!

What a Month!

2010-09-06T13:08:00.001-07:00

What a crazy month this has been! On one hand, it felt like it flew by-on the other, I really thought we’d never get through it. It’s been full of fun firsts like our trip to the beach and Callie’s first camping trip (Church family camp-we stayed in a little room connected to the bathroom…about as rustic as I’m willing to get, especially with a baby!). Callie turned 5 months old! Now, I understand why people say it goes by quickly! I’m trying to make sure I get her into as many of her cute outfits as possible before she grows out of them! Now, if only the weather would cooperate; we have far too many unworn summer clothes! We have been working every day to get her to take a bottle; what a challenge! She’s been doing well the last couple of days, taking a little bit from Dave. Hopefully, it will be old hat soon! In other Callie news, her hair is getting longer, which means she’s losing her spiky Woodstock look, as it now lies down much better. This is a bittersweet thing for Mom and Dad. She’s also on a pretty good schedule now with regular feedings, and mostly regular sleeping times (afternoon naps vary but she goes sleeps from 8pm-5am, eats and sleeps again til 8:30am then goes down for morning nap at 10am). Her favorite toy is the straw she likes to steal from my water bottle (I think it feels good on her gums). She is also very interested in Daddy's watch and looks longingly at whatever we're eating! We are excited to start feeding her food probably next month after her doctor okays it!

Snuggling with Daddy on our camping trip! Note that Callie is already dressed for the day as she had been up for quite some time already!

Loving being outside most of the day while camping!

Trying out the "Jumperoo" for the first time!

Enjoying her evening massage/play time without clothes before jammies :-)

Our little cutie pie! She's such a happy girl!

The month has been full of other changes as well. My sister and her family moved to North Bend (Oregon Coast) after almost a year's job search and trying to sell their home. The end of July, Josh was offered the position of children's pastor at a wonderful church there. However, they still had their house in Eugene to sell. God is so good-just 2 days before they were scheduled to move to North Bend, they accepted a solid offer on their home in Eugene! Praise the Lord, they will not have to stress about 2 house payments or figure out how to manage a rental 3 hours away! The really exciting thing was that Josh and Anna had requested that all their friends come to their home or pray where they were the Saturday morning before they were to move for the sale of their home. While we were praying, Anna missed a call from their realtor saying they had a showing the next day. That showing ended up being the people who would buy the house! We are continuing to pray for a good home inspection and a successful closing, and of course for Josh, Anna and the kids as they adjust to their new job/home in North Bend.

We would also greatly appreciate prayer for my parents. They are going through some really difficult circumstances (outside circumstances, not their marriage) right now and my mom's health has really been suffering as a result. Please pray for righteousness to win out and for my dad's wisdom in knowing how to deal with the circumstances and for both of their health (especially my mom) as it's a lot of stress on them. They know that God is in control and that He is good, but it's very hard to feel His peace in the midst of attacks and trials.

One final note and prayer request: Dave just finished an almost 7 year career as a full time youth pastor and is now the associate pastor for our church. Please pray for his wisdom as he begins this new position and for our hearts to be right and useful for God's plans. Please also pray for time management as he will now be preaching for 7 weeks this fall along with the new job, going to school, and being a husband and father.

First Trip to the Beach!

2010-08-07T09:16:00.000-07:00

Okay, Mom-I'm ready to go! Yes, she did this all herself!

Umm, yeah-why did we come here? It's cold!

Not quite impressed :-)

Mommy and sleeping Callie

Lots of seals! They were noisy!

Dave playing the invisible stringed harp at Ripley's.

We ran into Johnny Depp!

Outside some kind of ancient ruin on a wobbly bridge! We had a fun day and look forward to taking Callie back to the beach when she's a little older and perhaps it's a bit warmer, so she can appreciate it more!

The Giggles!

2010-07-26T12:07:00.000-07:00

Callie and Mommy's week at Grammy and Poppy's!

2010-07-22T12:06:00.000-07:00

Callie and I missed Dave a lot while he was on the mission trip in Alaska, but we are so thankful for the team having the opportunity to serve the Lord up there and Callie and I had a nice visit with family and friends! Hopefully, I'll get some pics from the mission trip later!

Kate and I were born just a couple months apart and grew up together. Now our girls are just a couple months apart, too!

The grandmas!

"Poppy" and Callie!

Grammy and Callie

Right after bath!

Great Uncle Rick and Callie!

My awesome family!

At the farmers' market with Auntie Anna

Auntie Anna and Callie

Callie's Dedication

2010-07-05T16:31:00.001-07:00

We had the privilege of dedicating Callie to the Lord on the 4th of July. We were very blessed to have both sets of grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins there for the occasion!

Dave and I are so grateful for the godly heritage our parents have passed on, and we pray Callie grows to love the Lord with all her heart and walk in His ways all the days of her life. We desire to be good examples for her and show her how much we love God and each other in everything we say and do.

3 months!

2010-06-28T15:35:00.000-07:00

What do you think; are the overalls a good look?

I'm going to get you!

Finally, a warm enough day to wear my cute outfit!

I love sitting up like a big girl!

Happy girl!

Our Girls

2010-06-22T17:53:00.000-07:00

Callie with Cousin Sophie!

Crazy Changes & Graduation!

2010-06-04T14:24:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of Callie (one of our wonderful 2010 graduating seniors) holding Callie (our sweet baby). The class of 2010 is very special to us as they are our first and only class we got to work with in youth group for all 4 years! We are so proud of them, the work they've put in, their achievements, and most of all their love for the Lord! It's been fun looking back at pictures from their freshman year, when Dave and I first came to Grace Church through now. They have matured physically, mentally, and spiritually! Dave will most likely be transitioning into a new role in the fall, so this last round of graduations is an emotional and exciting time--it kinda feels like we are graduating, too.

Callie (our baby) is doing great! She is regularly sleeping through the night and is a wonderful baby during the day as well. God has really blessed us! She has a beautiful smile, which she loves to show us-along with her very talented tongue! One of her favorite things to do is be in her swing while Daddy does his exercise video. She especially likes it when he gets to the "jab/cross" punches. Dave says "jab/cross, Callie" and she smiles and does it with him. Here's a picture of her smiling-notice she's getting chubby cheeks!

2 months old!!!

2010-05-27T15:01:00.001-07:00

We had Callie's 2 month old check up this morning. She is a healthy, happy baby for which I thank the LORD! She weighed in at 10lbs 8oz. Not sure where exactly she gets the petite size (Mom was 11lbs 11oz by 2 weeks!) but she's pretty adorable and still a nice size to snuggle :-). Last week, Jayme Fridley, a friend from college and an excellent photographer, took Callie's pictures. Here are some fun ones!

It starts so early!

2010-04-30T17:05:00.001-07:00

So, I realized that I haven't taken a picture of Callie in almost a week after barely putting the camera down for the last month! Now, before you think "shame on her", I do want to state that I think I'm doing my daughter a favor. You see, this week, she broke out in some serious baby acne! While still adorable, it's definitely not her cutest look, and one that I'm hoping for her sake will not be a constant state of being during her teenage years. (although, maybe that would keep the boys away...hmm, that could be a good thing!)

So, in lieu of a bunch more pictures, I will update you on her accomplishments this week :-).

1. Has made excellent progress in getting on a somewhat consistent schedule

2. Is sleeping 4-5 hours at a time during the night! Yay!

3. Is getting very strong, lifts her neck and looks around when she's up on your shoulder or on her tummy.

4. Loves playing with the baby in the mirror (we have a little mirror that we put on her blanket when she's on the floor).

5. Has decided she's a binki baby

6. Has outgrown most of her newborn clothes and is on to the 0-3 month sizes

7. AND MOST IMPORTANT!!! Is now only taking 1/2 hour to 45 min. for feedings (instead of 1 1/2 hours - 2 hours) Which makes Mommy VERY happy and more rested!

I promise I will have pictures for the next post, baby acne or not!

Life with Baby

2010-04-27T14:34:00.000-07:00

Wow, how my life has changed over the last four weeks! Yes, I said 4 weeks! Today, I had my 4-week follow up appt. which I went to by myself. I fed Callie right before I left and put her down for her morning nap. Amazingly, she went down without even fussing and slept the entire time I was gone-2.5 hours (that's how long it takes when you live 1/2 hour from the doctor and then have to wait at the pharmacy for another 1/2 hour). I was so grateful that she did so well, since Dave thinks he's coming down with a cold; I was hoping he wouldn't have to pick her up! My sweet baby also slept in 4.5 hour stints last night AND even more important in my mind, only took 1/2 hour-45 minutes to eat when she did wake up! This is a HUGE improvement from the 2 hour marathon feedings we were doing every 2 hours the first couple weeks! I'm finally starting to feel somewhat sane and enjoy being a mom to my sweet little girl now! It really is amazing how fast they grow, and it IS important to enjoy the time--but just a little side note of advice for anyone who cares--DON'T say that to brand new moms. It's not helpful, because it really doesn't feel like time is going by fast when you're not sleeping, you can't figure out why the baby's crying and you're in constant pain!

It was very strange to be alone for the first time in a month this morning. My hands felt empty as I got out of the car just holding my purse and I almost wasn't sure how to walk without the extra weight of the carseat on one side and the diaper bag on the other! Having over 5 years as a married couple without kids before Callie came, it's been, and continues to be, a huge adjustment for me and Dave, but we are so thankful that God has blessed us with such a sweet (and adorable :-)) baby, and we are enjoying her more each day! We are so aware of people's prayers for our family. Thank you! (and please don't stop!) Now, here are some pictures of our cutie!

She's Here!

2010-04-13T13:57:00.000-07:00

Callie Sue Bertolini arrived Tuesday, March 30, 2010 at 5:44am.
She was a healthy 7lbs 10oz and 19 1/4 inches long.
We are praising God for her and enjoying lots of time snuggling our sweet baby!

The Room is Complete...

2010-03-27T09:49:00.001-07:00

Everything is in its place...well, minus the baby that is!
We hope she decides to show up soon!

The curtain turned out so cute-thanks Aunt Kathleen!

The duvet cover is beautiful and matches the curtain-thanks Aunt Neva!

Dave got Callie a "bunny lamp"-which is very sweet.

My friend Biz did a great job on the crib skirt which matches the ties on the curtain.
Hospital bags are packed-minus our everyday toiletries, and we are excited to meet
our baby girl! 5 more days til the due date.

Getting Really Close (we hope!!!)

2010-03-22T09:01:00.001-07:00

38 weeks this past Thursday. Nursery's ready to go. Dave even got the pack 'n play, stroller, and high chair seat out of boxes yesterday so we could figure out how they work! We're excited for out little girl to get here.

Callie's Room

2010-03-08T19:05:00.000-08:00

Well, we have done quite a bit of work on the baby room since I last put up pictures, so here are some updated pictures :-). The room is pretty much complete minus the bedspread, and curtain (that my wonderful aunts are making), the crib skirt that my friend Biz is making and a bunny lamp and clock that we are hoping to get. The blanket on the crib was made by Dave's Aunt Michelle! We're counting down now- 37 weeks on Thursday! (I hope Callie's listening :-)) A very sweet lady from church came over this afternoon and gave me a massage. It felt wonderful!

Below: Dave installed the ceiling fan all by himself :-)

Below: We are planning to put a glider rocker in the left corner. My mom made the rug by the crib for my college dorm room, but the colors work great in Callie's room, too!

My sister Anna made the chalkboard so we could keep track of all the things the doctor will want to know in the first few weeks.

5 more weeks!

2010-02-27T20:21:00.001-08:00

35 weeks and just 5 more to go! We're getting excited about meeting our little girl (and scared about the labor process!) She seems to move a lot more when people talk to her but DOES NOT like it when the doctor tries to measure her by squeezing my tummy! Lots of sharp kicking followed that! First baby shower is tomorrow. It will be fun to start putting things in her room.

29 1/2 weeks!

2010-01-18T09:36:00.000-08:00

Feeling her move ALL the time now! And getting more and more difficult to breathe normally as she sits on my lungs!

Dave wanted everyone to know that he has been working hard NOT to gain a baby bump! Looking good, Honey!

January and New Beginnings

2010-01-12T09:52:00.000-08:00

Well, it's 2010...seems so weird to think about all that's transpired in the last 10 years! Graduating high school, college, getting married, moving, buying a house, several fun vacations, births, deaths, extreme highs and extreme lows, but through it all God has been so good to us! Our prayer for 2010 is that we grow closer to Him and learn to trust Him more, especially through the trials. My goal or New Year's resolution is to memorize a passage of Scripture each month. This month, I have been working on 1 Peter 5:6-11. It's been such an encouragement to me, especially as we pray for my mom and healing for her body!

We've kicked off January with Dave finishing up a LOT of work on the baby's room--including, painting the walls AND ceiling, installing a brand new ceiling fan (all by himself :-)), putting the crib together, hanging a shelf and pictures, and new blinds. It's looking very cute; we both find ourselves in there all the time just enjoying it and imagining what it will be like to have a baby. Pictures to come soon.

Speaking of baby, she is moving a lot more these days! And I'm getting big! Just 11 1/2 more weeks. Exciting and scary at the same time!

We've also kicked off college group and high school youth group again. Dave has been busy planning for the spring and summer and just announced to the kids that the summer missions trip will be to ALASKA! We are praying for just the right team to come together and for the money to be raised, as this is a significantly more expensive trip than we've done in the past. There are a lot of needs up there, though and we look forward to seeing God work through the team.

Well, I guess that's it for now--I promise my next post will have pictures!

Prayer Need

2009-12-24T10:43:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, we learned that my mom has breast cancer. We are experiencing a flood of emotions right now, and we're so thankful for prayers for her and our family. I am also so thankful that my mom has a wonderful relationship with God and that He is in control. Please pray for the doctor's wisdom as they discuss a treatment plan and for my mom's physical, emotional, and mental strength. Please also pray for my dad and my sister and the rest of our family.

My friend Megan shared this verse with me:
Isaiah 43:1-3:

"But now, this is what the Lord says- He who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior."

24 weeks!

2009-12-10T12:06:00.000-08:00

Christmas Letter 2009!!!!!!!!!

2009-12-03T11:24:00.000-08:00

Dear Family and Friends,

It's once again our favorite time of year, when we celebrate the birth of our Lord, break out the Christmas music and the peppermint hot chocolate (or mocha for Dave), go crazy decorating, and enjoy thinking about ways we can bless family, friends, and those in need. Our tree is up, and we are enjoying the yummy smell it gives our home. We are looking forward to the kids' Christmas play at church this weekend and all the time with family this month! We are also enjoying one last year with everything set up the way we've always had it, as next year we will probably have a crawler to think about as we decorate!

2009 has been a very busy, fulfilling year for Dave and me. I cut back to working just a couple afternoons a week for another real estate agent at Windermere in January. This relieved a lot of stress for both Dave and me, as we are not both "on call" 24 hours a day now. It also allowed me to get more involved with women's Bible study at our church and continue helping with youth group. Our first nephew was born in May, so we are having fun being Uncle Dave and Aunt "Mamy" to both Sophie (2) and A.J. (7 months)! We enjoyed a wonderful family vacation with the Bertolinis in Disneyworld this last Spring and a relaxing week in Eagle Crest with the Davis side in August. In between vacations, we also had a week of VBS (where Dave transformed into the "crocodile hunter"--complete with blonde wig and a clean shaven face that I had never seen before!), a high school mission trip to Tumalo, Oregon, and a nice visit from Dave's grandparents and uncle.

Dave once again had the opportunity to speak at Hartland Christian Camp in California. This year, he did their winter camp in February. He has stayed busy with youth group and men's ministry and also filled the pulpit several times this summer and fall while our senior pastor took a short sabbatical and went on a missions trip to Peru. In September, Dave began taking classes at Western Seminary in Portland to work towards his Masters of Divinity. He hopes to be able to complete this 3 year program in 5 years while continuing to work full time. (we'll see what God has in store!) He has really enjoyed the classes so far, though the homework load far surpasses what we remember from our undergraduate classes! We have been very blessed by the recent hire of a part-time j-high pastor, who has taken over j-high youth groups and rotates Sunday morning teaching with Dave. He and his wife have been such a blessing to us personally and to our church! Without the j-high responsibilities, we kicked off a college/young adults group at our home on Sunday nights this fall. We've been studying the book of James. It's been nice to continue the relationships with our recent graduates and get to know some we never had in youth group. Dave is also in charge of our new "connection program" at church to make sure anyone who walks in our doors gets connected in some way to the church body for encouragement and accountability.

When we are not busy with church activities and planning, we have been working on getting our spare room ready for our baby girl who is due to arrive the first of April! We are so thankful for your prayers for her healthy development and for us as we prepare to be parents. It's been exciting this last month to feel her move and begin decorating her room with little girl things!

Like so many this year, our family is going through some tough times right now. We praise the Lord for His faithfulness and ultimate plan even when we can't see it, and we are so glad to know that in our weakness, our Lord is our strength! We thank God for each one of you and pray He fills you with peace this Christmas!

With love,
Dave, Amy, and Baby Bertolini

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

2009-11-29T14:55:00.000-08:00

Our new Christmas Village-a gift from Mom and Ashley :-)!

Our biggest/most beautiful tree ever :-)

We LOVE Christmas!

Thanksgiving!

2009-11-29T14:44:00.000-08:00

So much to be thankful for this year! With the current economy, I have been very aware this year of just how many material blessings I take for granted on a daily basis! I am so thankful for our beautiful home, providing us with a warm, dry place to live...our comfortable bed-again with warm blankets, our jobs, the money to buy necessities and some extras, working vehicles, and on and on the list could go. I am working on being more prayerful for those who don't have as much and having an increased attitude of giving this year--as really, none of "my" stuff is mine. Rather, God has blessed me with it for this time, and I should be using it to bless others!

I am also so thankful for our family, as always, and Dave and I are getting excited to welcome the new addition to our family. We are enjoying beginning to decorate her room, think about doing things with her in the future, and as we set up our tree last night, wonder if we'll have to keep her from crawling towards ornaments next year!

We enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with both sides of our family this year, complete with turkey, pie, cheesecake, stuffing, and some rousing games of Yahtzee! We praise the Lord for His many blessings in our life, and now look forward to celebrating His birth!

Baby's Room

2009-11-29T14:39:00.000-08:00

BEFORE (our junk room)

AFTER (the beginnings of baby room)

We are making progress on the baby's room :-)...We sold our bookshelves and weight bench on Craig's List and found a matching dresser and nightstand combo and crib (that's also a pretty good match) to replace them! (also from Craig's List) After A LOT of cleaning/organizing/throwing out/Goodwill run, it's starting to look like a baby's room and makes for a good before and after shot!

It's a girl!!!

2009-11-02T19:34:00.001-08:00

Here's the 18 week baby bump picture. And after our ultrasound today, we can say with some confidence (baby wasn't in exactly the right position, but the tech was nearly certain) that it's a girl! Due date was bumped back a few days to April 4th--which is totally okay with me because I really did not think an April Fool's Day birthday would be very nice. It looks like we will probably end up having another ultrasound in a few weeks because the tech wasn't able to get one of the pictures the doctor wants because of how baby Bertolini was sitting. Now we get to start thinking of nursery ideas and what little girls need! We've known so many people that have had boys lately, we had kind of been thinking that way (assuming it was something in the water!). But God had different plans, and we look forward to raising the little girl He has blessed us with! And with all the boys in our church, we're already getting offers for an arranged marriage!

Halloween/Josh's B-day Celebration

2009-11-02T19:29:00.000-08:00

So my family came over for Halloween and to celebrate my brother-in-law, Josh's birthday. We had a nice time and took Sophie aka: cute little pink poodle, to our church Trunk 'n Treat. She didn't really understand the whole trick or treat thing and was kinda overwhelmed with all the people, but she looked adorable (as you can see) and managed to get about 4 pieces of candy--which was probably just the right amount for a 2 year old! I'm sure she'll have it all figured out next year and can teach her brother A.J. and her new cousin!

Pumpkin Patch!

2009-10-07T18:08:00.000-07:00

Today, I got to go to the Pumpkin Patch with my sister Anna, niece-Sophie, and nephew-A.J. We had a great time navigating the hay maze. Sophie surprised us with her sense of direction! Anna and A.J., unfortunately, got stuck in the hay maze when the stroller was too bulky for one of the corners. However, Anna used her muscles (very well toned from hefting that porky, oops, I mean precious, baby of hers :-) ) and managed to shove the stroller through!
A tractor pulled hay ride took us to the pumpkins where Sophie had lots of fun pointing out the "icky" ones that had gotten smashed. We did, however, find a nice one to take home. Such a fun day! I look forward to taking our baby next fall and getting cousin pictures with the pumpkins!

Our family is growing

2009-09-12T14:33:00.000-07:00

Well, something I didn't mention in our summer update is the discovery that we will be having a baby sometime this next Spring (end of March/early April). It's an exciting/terrifying time in our lives! Exciting, because babies are always a wonderful miracle, and it really is cool to think that the little guy or gal is a part of me and my sweet husband. Terrifying because let's face it, being sick all the time, then getting fat, and then having to go through the worst pain known to mankind all before bringing into this world a very real person that we will be responsible for is a pretty overwhelming thing! We are praying that our baby is developing well, and that he or she will accept our Lord at a very early point in life and live for Jesus. We are also praying that we will be good parents and that God will give us the wisdom and strength to do the right thing, even when it's hard! We are so thankful for the support of our wonderful, godly families and friends and know that God has truly blessed us.

Summer's coming to an end, but it's been good!

2009-08-25T17:10:00.000-07:00

well, it's that time again when I've been looking at other peoples' posts and am embarrassed that it's been so long since I've written on our page! So, I think I left off in June. We finished the 2008-2009 youth group year with a j-high retreat, which was lots of fun! And we spent the month doing last minute training and preparation for our July mission trip to Tumalo (a small town near Bend.) The mission trip itself went great! We were so impressed with our teens who really stepped it up and put on an awesome VBS, painted the church fellowship hall, did a bunch of yard work around the church and really connected with the kids in the community. We camped on the church grounds and one of the moms and I were the cooks for the week. Needless to say, we were exhausted when we returned, but as always we were so aware of the Lord's work and Him blessing us probably more than we blessed the church in Tumalo.
Our pastor was out of town for the month of July, so Dave had the opportunity to speak for 3 weeks at church and took us through the book of Habakkuk--a cry out to God in the face of unexplainable circumstances and suffering. It was a great series and seemed to really touch a lot of people.
I worked in the church office for the month of July as we transitioned to a new secretary who wasn't able to start til August.
We also had a wonderful visit from Dave's grandparents and Uncle David at the end of July! It was so nice to catch up with them and enjoy some time together!
August has been one of those months where we realize summer's almost over and try to squeeze all the things we didn't get done into it! We've hung out with some friends we haven't seen in a while, which has been wonderful! Dave's been preparing for seminary (which starts next week!) as well as the fall youth group schedule-which is always exciting/overwhelming. We also enjoyed a wonderful week at Eagle Crest with my family!
Okay, I think we're mostly caught up now! Pictures to follow :-) or maybe they come first (I can never figure out where they're going to appear when I post them!

Sorry it's been so long! An update on our lives...

2009-06-19T13:06:00.000-07:00

Okay, so anyone who follows our blog realizes by now, I'm really bad at this! I've never been a journaler and apparently online journaling isn't my gift either! Of course our pastor would tell you this "lack of gifting" is the most common excuse for laziness, so maybe that's my problem! Anyway, a lot has happened in the last few months, but I will share just the highlights that I have pictures for--because let's face it, that's the fun thing about blogging!
May was an exciting month because my new nephew was born!!!! He weighed exactly 8 lbs. and in 6 short week has blossomed into a hefty 12 lb handsome boy! Sister Sophie is, for the most part, adjusting well--though Dave and I plan to stick close to help her through the difficulties of being a first born! :-)
Just a few days after Aaron's birth, (oh yeah, I guess I forgot to mention his name! Aaron Joshua Kintigh) we got to go on vacation to Disneyworld with Dave's mom, sister, and brother-in-law! We had a WONDERFUL time and will treasure those memories for a long time. Oh, and if anyone is thinking about going, we got a great deal on a beautiful condo just a couple minutes from the parks that I'd be happy to tell you about! Below are some picture highlights of our trip!
We are now very much back to work. Dave has VBS this next week at church and is in the process of taking on more associate pastor roles. He is also thinking of seminary in the fall. It will be weird to have him doing school again, but we are also excited about what he will learn. I am adding a couple days a week as church secretary to my schedule during the month of July. (A new secretary has been hired, but they need someone to fill in before she starts). We will also be taking a team of high school students to Tumalo (a small town outside of Bend) to put on a VBS for a church that doesn't have the resources to do so on their own. We are looking forward to a visit from Dave's grandparents at the end of July and also during that time, Dave will be doing some preaching, as our pastor is out of town for 3 weeks. Hopefully, somewhere in there, I will have another blog post to tell you more!

A day in the life of my very busy and wonderful husband

2009-03-15T13:07:00.000-07:00

I just got home from church not too long ago, and as I am home alone for a bit, I'm thinking about my wonderful husband still at church. Today, he got up at 6:30 (or maybe it was earlier--I don't know for sure, because I didn't want to roll over to check!). After getting ready for church, he went over his Sunday school lesson a few more times just to make sure he was as prepared as possible. Then he left for church to disciple a few high school boys prior to first service. Anyone who has attended our church knows him as the announcement guy for both services. Right after first service he rushed over to the youth center to practice with the high school worship team for Sunday school prior to going back over to the main building, giving announcements and then coming back to the youth center, leading worship, then teaching Sunday school! THEN he quickly ate a PB&J sandwich and is currently co-leading men's Bible study! I'm exhausted thinking about his day, but most of all I'm so thankful that he is using the gifts God has given him to impact so many people! I personally think Dave is a wonderful speaker, worship leader, mentor, and friend, but what means the most to me is what a great husband he is! He is such a great example of God's love to me! And for those of you who are reading this, I would so appreciate your prayers for Dave's continued love and commitment to the work God has called him to, because as this little glimse shows, it's not easy!

Day with Anna and Sophie!

2009-03-04T17:18:00.000-08:00

Sophie mopping Aunt Amy's floor! What a deal :-) Oh, and she is very good with her "babies". Here she is feeding the monkey. Pushing baby and monkey around the house for a ride and showing baby the backyard. We had a fun day keeping up with our busy toddler!

New Haircut!

2009-02-20T11:07:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I'm really bad at trying to take pictures of myself, but I think you can get the idea!
This past weekend Dave spoke at Hartland Christian Camp in Badger, CA for their J-high Winter Camp. I got to spend the weekend with my parents in Oregon City. We both had a great time. Dave spoke 6 times over the weekend to 100 kids and enjoyed an awesome tube run in a couple feet of snow! He said it was beautiful at the camp. His topic was Romans 12 and overcoming evil with good. I had a very nice, relaxing time with my parents. It was good to be able to hang out and catch up with them. My dad barbequed us a delicious steak dinner to make Dave jealous! My mom was very gracious and helped me a lot preparing the decorations for our church dinner/talent show next weekend (I will take pics and hopefully do a post about that!) She also gave me my new haircut :-). Dave was surprised when I met him at the airport with my new look!

Behind the Times!

2009-01-24T15:55:00.001-08:00

Wow, I cannot believe it's almost the end of January and this is the first I've written since our Christmas letter! Sorry about that!
Well, here's a quick update on our family.
We enjoyed being snowed in for a while in December and had a hard time transitioning back to work. It was very nice to have the extra time together. We played a lot of games and read a lot of books!
Christmas was a wonderful time with both families in spite of plans being changed due to weather. We went up to the Davis side for New Year's Day instead of Christmas to give time for the snow to melt. Dave and I were thrilled with an assortment of books, games, movies, and clothes for Christmas. Dave also got a couple of "Restaurant Recipe Cookbooks" that both families are excited to fully experience :-)!

Dave and a few men from church have recently started up a men's ministry program. Last Sunday was their first men's Bible Study. They are working through the book, Disciplines of a Godly Man. They had a great turnout and a good discussion on the first chapter. We look forward to the men's ministry taking off at Grace and are so grateful for the way God blessed this effort.

In January, I started a few new jobs--I am now working as an assistant to another realtor in my office a couple days a week instead of being an agent myself. This means I can't personally represent buyers or sellers, but I can refer them to Yolanda and receive a referral fee. It also means I don't have to pay the monthly dues or advertising fees, which in this economy, is VERY nice! I am very much enjoying the change of pace and not having to stress the finances. I'm also nannying one day a week for a friend's little boy (Bronson Deets) and putting a few hours in for my parents testing their software program. I am so thankful and aware of God providing each of these opportunities for me this year. I was praying about what to do and each job was offered at just the right time. God's timing is an incredibly scary yet wonderfully freeing thing!

Last weekend, we had our first 2009 J-High Retreat! We joined 4 other Dallas churches in putting on the retreat for 95 students. Dave and another youth pastor spoke on coming out of the darkness into the light. On Saturday, we bused the kids up to the Lloyd Center and went ice skating and shopping (That was one of those stressful afternoons that I spent constantly counting to make sure my charges were all there!) Overall, it was a great time, but boy were we thankful for our bed when we got home!

Other than that, things have been pretty routine with youth group 2x/week and Sunday School keeping us busy! Dave is looking forward to a church Super Bowl party next weekend, and I am excited that my family will be coming over on Saturday to celebrate Anna's 23rd b-day! Sophie is apparently saying quite a few words now, and of course her baby boy continues to keep her tummy growing! I am a proud auntie!

Christmas Letter 2008!

2008-12-12T10:48:00.000-08:00

I don't have everyone's email addresses, so I decided to post our Christmas "letter" on the blog! Here it is :-).

December 2008
Dear Family and Friends,

The last two nights at youth group, we've had our annual Gingerbread House Making Contests and talked about the 300 plus Old Testament prophecies that Jesus fulfilled when He came to earth to be our Savior. The probability of one man fulfilling only 8 prophecies by luck or by effort is staggering (10 to the 17th power!), and Jesus fulfilling over 300 is definitive proof of His Lordship! We are so grateful to serve a risen Savior and have been overwhelmingly blessed by His work in our lives and those around us in 2008!

We began the year with more work on the youth center at church. We were able to knock down a wall (with the help of several wonderful church members) to enlarge the main room, allowing up to 55 high schoolers to squeeze in there for youth group! (With that many kids, we are thankful that Oregon doesn't have too many warm evenings, or it begins to smell like a locker room after game time!) Shortly after the new year, Dave put together a high school mission team to spend a week in Ensenada, Mexico. We held training meetings each month leading up to the trip, as well as putting on two major fundraisers--a dinner talent show and an all-church garage sale! Through generous donations, the team raised enough to cover travel costs and had an additional amount to bless the church we were partnering with in Ensenada!

The summer was, of course, a busy time. We did some home improvement projects, adding a deck to the back of our house and carpeting Dave's "man cave" (also known as the laundry room) downstairs. It has been so nice to have those things done, especially for enjoying barbeques outside! We spent 10 days traveling to, working in, and traveling home from Ensenada the end of June--a challenging but very rewarding time! In July, Dave became "Dr. Wienerschnitzel" for our church's VBS--complete with spiky white hair to give that mad scientist impression! Immediately following VBS, Dave once again had the opportunity to speak at Hartland Christian Camp in California, along with his dad. His mom and I got to go along, and I was able to speak to the girls one of the nights when Dave spoke to the boys. We also enjoyed playing in the church softball league, taking the youth groups rafting on the Deschutes, and I led a Bible study during the month of August for the girls.

I continued to work in real estate this past year, but with the current economy, I have decided to get out of it for a while and pursue other things. I keep very busy with youth group activities, and I have been co-teaching the J-high Sunday School class with one of the dads. Dave and I have enjoyed lots of wonderful family time this year. Our niece, Sophie is now 16 months old and is a joy to be around as she discovers and delights in the things around her! We are also experiencing the toddler stage with Dave's parents' puppy, Blue! Dave has had the opportunity to preach in church service several times this year.

We are so grateful for each one of you and pray this Christmas season finds you drawing ever closer to our Savior!

With love,
Dave and Amy Bertolini

Family Time with the Bertolinis

2008-12-11T12:18:00.000-08:00

Dandy and Ashley came down for family pictures the 1st of November, but I haven't been able to post them til now because we were giving them as a surprise for Dad and Mom and Gpa and Gma for Christmas. We spent a couple days at the beach with Dad, Mom, Dandy, Ashley, and Blue and Red (their dogs), this past weekend and celebrated early Christmas (because I couldn't wait anymore to give Mom the picture!) and Ashley's 21st birthday (which was actually yesterday).

We took a Nintendo Wi to the beach and all enjoyed "bowling," "tennis," "golf," and "boxing." It was a lot of fun, though I'm sure we looked ridiculous! While Dandy and Dave mastered the art of staying in one place and flicking their wrists, Ashley and I were jumping all over the room, as if playing the sports in real life! We also enjoyed walking on the beach--again, God blessed us with beautiful weather. We are especially grateful for that, as we hear reports that it might snow this weekend! Mom and Ashley brought a little tree, so we could maintain the Christmas spirit, and we went to Moe's for lunch before we left. Though Mom was sick the whole weekend, she was a great sport, and we all had a good time!

The Oregon Coast!

2008-11-20T15:03:00.000-08:00

Lately, there has been a lot of emotional strain and drama through work, so we took a day off and enjoyed some time at the beach. A couple from our church generously let us use their beach house for a couple nights, so we left Sunday afternoon after church, spent all of Monday at the beach, and came home early Tuesday morning to be back at work at 8:30am! Though it was quick, it was such a nice, relaxing time to be able to spend together without our cell phones on--well, most of the time anyway! We slept in, did some Christmas shopping, ate a picnic lunch at the beach, and really enjoyed some needed time together just relaxing and getting refueled. We praise the Lord for the beauty of His creation, the wonderful sunny day (it was 70 degrees!) at the beach, and His faithfulness to us as a couple!

Youth Group Harvest Parties

2008-11-04T19:17:00.000-08:00

Well, we survived last week :-)! It was a flurry of Harvest parties, then the church Trunk 'n Treat and then Dave preached on Sunday. The Harvest parties for J-High and High School went really well. We had a scarecrow stuffing contest (which was very fun! We gave them some straw and some old clothes and a sheet for the face. They turned out great!), a pie eating contest (no one got sick this year, so we called it a success!), and a Bible character costume contest. We had everyone from Ruth, to Noah, to a leper (which was quite disgusting!), and of course Mary. I dressed as King Eglon, complete with pillows in my shirt and the hilt of a "sword" sticking out. I was quite proud of my costume, and it was a great excuse to wear sweats to youth group! It is exciting to watch the groups grow.

As our pastor has been on a missions' trip to Peru for the last few weeks, Dave preached on Sunday and will preach again this Sunday. I always enjoy his preaching, though it makes for a very busy week for him as he prepares his sermon and 2 youth group nights. We are excited to have a new church website coming online sometime this week where you will be able to download the sermons, see youth group pics, etc. (http://www.graceindallas.org/ Check it out!).

Wildhorse Canyon!

2008-11-04T19:13:00.000-08:00

A couple weekends ago we took our high school group to Wildhorse Canyon--the Young Life Camp in Antelope, Oregon, for their High School Discipleship Camp. Josh and Anna took their youth group as well, so it was fun to hang out together. This was the first time we had been to this camp, and we were thrilled! Not only do they have the largest zipline in the Northwest (that drops you into a freezing cold lake at the end), a giant 3 person swing that drops you 60 feet and then you swing out over the canyon, an indoor skate park, and 4 b-ball courts, the food was fabulous and most of all, the speaker was really good! We are looking forward to making this an annual event. I will hopefully post some pictures of our weekend later.

Family Pics

2008-10-21T07:57:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures from our fun Saturday in Eugene!

This one is for Dave's grandparents' annual Christmas calendar :-)...every year around November, my mother-in-law asks me for pictures from this past year and Dave and I have to go out and do a photo shoot right then. So, I am very proud to say that we got our 3 pictures for the calendar spaced throughout the year this time!

This last weekend was my brother-in-law, Josh's b-day. We took the opportunity to take some fun family pictures in the beautiful Fall weather! We also enjoyed going to Izzy's and playing with Sophie! She was very enthralled with the box Josh's b-day present was in and proceeded to climb into it herself. Uncle Dave had fun pushing her around in the box making "Vroom" noises. Anna called me the next day to tell me that Sophie was now pushing her baby doll around in the box making those same noises :-).

Student Leadership Retreat

2008-09-25T10:23:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we took our student leadership team to the beach for a weekend of leadership training. This is my favorite youth activity we do all year because it's all the "good kids" and we get to stay at a beach house! This particular year is extra fun because our two best couple friends are helping us out with youth group this year, so they were there, too! When we got there on Friday night, we had a rousing game of Boys vs. Girls Cranium. (The girls dominated, of course :-)!) On Sat. we shared testimonies, sang worship songs, and Dave taught on leadership. We also had fun putting together a video to share the "Rules for Youth Group" with the rest of the kids in a fun way. It turned out great!
And God was so good to us--the weather was perfect. Saturday was absolutely beautiful! The kids had fun playing on the beach and even getting wet! On Sunday when we woke up and packed to go home to church it was raining. We knew we had been given a blessing to have such a perfect Sat. on the Oregon Coast.

The only unfortunate part of this weekend is that I get sick every year! Inevitably, there is at least one kid sick and therefore I and 0ur friend Kenny are now sick.

SEE YOU AT THE POLE
Yesterday was See You At the Pole--the national pray around the flag pole event at schools. We had an awesome turnout this year. Dave went to the junior high (the youth pastors split up so there was at least one at each area school). I guess there were over 70 kids at the junior high. Yesterday evening we had the rally with all the area youth groups. We enjoyed a great time of worship, testimonies, and encouragement to continue praying for our city.

Princess Sophie turns ONE!

2008-09-05T18:07:00.000-07:00

August 18th, 2008--Sophie Jean Kintigh, our adorable niece, turned one! This year has gone by so fast! We are having so much fun watching Sophie really come into her personality. She is sooo close to walking, and though we don't really have a clue what she's saying, she will readily carry on a full conversation with you! She enjoys talking on the phone, playing with her many toys, and going down the slide that was Anna's awesome garage sale find! Josh and Anna are fabulous parents.

Finch Wedding

2008-09-05T18:01:00.000-07:00

We think Dave may have been in his last wedding for a while this summer! Dave's good friend, Andrew Finch, married his college sweetheart, Kathleen Studenny. We enjoyed seeing some college friends at the wedding, as well as the close proximity of the church to TCBY :-). Dave was thrilled to get out of the tux at the end of the day, especially since the shoes they gave him were 2 sizes too small!

Summer Camp

2008-09-05T11:09:00.000-07:00

Hartland Christian Camp 2008!

Dave once again had the opportunity to speak at Hartland Christian Camp for a week this summer. He spoke each morning to about 350 high school kids and his dad spoke in the evenings. My mother-in-law and I got to go along for the ride, and as you can see, we even got to drive a bulldozer (is that what that is?). Anyway, it was very fun and just might be my next career if the real estate market continues in this decline :-)!

On the Wed. night of the camp, I had the opportunity to speak to the girls on the topics of self-esteem and purity while Dave encouraged the boys to live as godly men.

MEXICO!!!

Earlier in the summer, we took our high school group to Ensenada, Mexico for a 10 day mission trip where we did VBS, a sports ministry, lots of clean up and a building project at the church we were assigned to. Some other highlights included camping in a field of tents in 115 degree weather, visiting an orphanage, sharing testimonies and some major team bonding (especially since we only had a shower every 3 days! We were so proud of our students and plan to make this an every other summer trip.

2008-01-24T15:06:00.000-08:00

We had such a great time in Disneyland celebrating our 3rd anniversary! This is right in front of the big Christmas tree in the middle of Main Street! What a fun break from work and the cold Oregon weather! We enjoyed high 60's all week and even went on the water ride in California Adventure!

2008-01-24T15:05:00.001-08:00