Fall Fun with "Family" Friends

As you can tell by the title of this post, I'm not feeling all that creative as I sit here typing this. It does capture the feeling well though. We love going to the pumpkin patch each year with our "pretty much like family" friends. Fun times with the Curtis and Booth families!

This morning the Little Miss asked Mr. Wagner, "Why are you wearing THAT shirt?"...

thinking she should have asked more about the hat

 

Love these girls!

Mr. Wagner likes to make fun of my new muck boots...I think they are stylin'

"Old" friends

We tried to get a pic of all the kiddos but they were pretty much all outtakes.
Those are some cute kids though!

Flips, Flying and Fun!

We celebrated our girl's 7th birthday with family and friends doing flips, flying and having fun! OK, so it was mostly the kids doing the flipping but children and adults alike enjoyed the party at our local gymnastics gym. The Little Miss chose the venue and had a terrific time playing with her friends on the beams, bars, trampoline, foam pit and vault. Fun times!

Blooming

Dear Little Miss,

It amazes me to think that you turned 7 years old today. Wow. You are becoming quite the young lady. A true blessing to your parents and so many others. Your kind heart, joyful spirit, desire to be right yet strong dislike of being in trouble (a trait your parents sure do appreciate and hope carries on into your teen years!), your contagious laughter and beautiful smile...you shine the light of Christ to everyone around you.

As I think back on the first day that you entered this earth 7 years ago, I am overwhelmed. It used to be that I was overwhelmed with questions of "why?" and feelings of failure and grief because both your parents missed out on your first moments (I was "sleeping" at the time and your daddy was driving like a mad man to race from work to the hospital which was several hours away). It took me your first few birthdays to not be overwhelmed with reminders of those trials.

Today, on your 7th birthday, my heart was not overwhelmed with those thoughts. They came to mind some but much less so. Today, I was overwhelmed with thankfulness to be able to hold our precious 7 year-old beauty in my arms. To be your mommy. To stand beside you in church and worship Jesus together. To finally feel like God made even those first moments precious. Moments that I wouldn't trade or do differently. Moments that years down the road, will make you even stronger.

You, My Girl, had to be a fighter from your first breath. You didn't give up. Most of all, GOD didn't give up on you. He has amazing plans in store for you Sweet Child. Plans that I am excited to get to be a part of. I am honored to watch you bloom.

I love you more than words can say, forever and forever.

Mama

Photo courtesy of the amazing Joani Curtis

First Day of 1st Grade

It's official, school is now in session! The Little Miss had her first day of 1st grade today. She LOVED it. It helps that she knew her teacher in advance since she is a friend of both Mr. Wagner and Yours Truly from our church college group days. That made the transition much easier, both for our girl and her verklempt mama. Can't believe how fast our 2.5 lbs baby is growing up!

Summer 2013

It's amazing to think that summer is coming to an end already...craziness! The time has flown by and I was reminded this week by my dear dad that it's due time for a new blog post. Since it's been awhile, here's a quick recap of our summer:

June - Thanks to her daddy's patience and persistence, the Little Miss learned to ride her bike without training wheels. A big accomplishment for our cautious girl! She'll be mountain biking before you know it.

July - We headed to Bend to celebrate the 4th with a Family BBQ and most importantly, the Pet Parade. The Little Miss got to walk "Bandit" for the 2nd year in a row thanks to my uncle who had him groomed and ready to go (flag-themed bandana and all). It was a special way to remember Aunt Jenny who loved both the little girl and her dog.

In July, the Little Miss and Yours Truly also enjoyed a camping trip to Lemolo Lake with Papa & Mimi and my brother and SIL (Mr. Wagner had to stay behind to study). Lemolo was our family's favorite place to camp and ski when I was growing up so it was extra special to get to share it with my daughter. The Little Miss also enjoyed our day trip to the coast where she got to "drive" the boat with Papa.

Toward the end of July the Little Miss got to join in the annual Gossers Grandkids Camp. We are so blessed that they include her as one of their own and that she gets the time to learn bible lessons and play with "cousins". Always one of her favorite weeks of the year!

August - This month started off with a camping trip to Timothy Lake with my extended family. We had a terrific time swimming in the lake, canoeing, biking, visiting and eating great food. Such a beautiful location and fun company! August also included a couple of short trips to Bend and ended with the Little Miss and I going on a girls weekend to Lincoln City with two of my good friends from high school and their daughters. This was our second annual trip and I hope it is a tradition in the making.

Other activities that we enjoyed this summer included swim lessons, outings to our neighborhood pool, and trips to the horse barn to see Lucky. Now off to enjoy our last few days before school starts...

Life Goes On

Hello Dear Readers (if any of you are still out there), the West Coast Wagners are still around. Life has been busy and full of it's ups and downs the past few months. A few of the high and low lights:

1. We listed our house for sale. So far we have had a number of lookers but no buyers. If we sell, we are hoping to find a place closer to our girl's school with a little more land (or at least a larger lot). We're trusting God's timing (in keeping it real, I admit I am doing a lot of praying and confessing because I often feel impatient with the whole process. Being an extreme planner, the current waiting/holding pattern is definitely refining).

2. The Little Miss graduated from Kindergarten at the end of May, crazy to think she is going to be in 1st grade next year!

 3. We lost my dear Aunt Jenny. I am thankful that I got to be with my aunt and uncle (who had just recently celebrated their 39th wedding anniversary) during her last few days and cherish those very special moments. She entered the gates of heaven on Monday, May 20th with my uncle, brother and I by her side. We miss her dearly. Holidays in Bend and trips to Hawaii won't be the same without our favorite hostess who loved preparing big meals and celebrations for family and friends. Sundays aren't the same either without our weekly calls. Aunt Jenny adored her great niece, who thanks to her just inherited about 500 teddy bears (literally). We may need to up the size of that house we are looking for...

Aunt Jenny with the Little Miss in 2006



Our Dear Old Man

The girls of the Wagner house sure love our 'old man'...in this case I'm not referring to Mr. Wagner (tho' of course we love him too!). The 'old man' of whom I am speaking is our horse, Skip's Lucky U-2 (i.e., "Lucky"). Lucky officially turned 28 on April 6th. It's crazy to think I won him when he was 3 months old (he wasn't even weaned!). He has been one of the biggest blessings of my life and I am so happy to get to share him with my own daughter. The Little Miss is turning into quite the horse girl!