Blogging takes a back seat.

This is the reason for my absence...



For the past month I have been working on this baby quilt. I volunteered to make it as a fundraiser for Norfolk Area Right to Life to be raffled off at our County Fair. The fair began this Wednesday. I finished it at 11:45 Tuesday night! All of my free time has been spent quilting and now that it's done...back to blogging! I hope I can get caught up on a month's worth of living.

Good-bye Curls!

On Mother's Day weekend Andrew got his first haircut...or should I say trim. I wasn't ready to for him to change from my baby into a little boy yet, so we decided we would just trim the edges. Plus, his curls in the back are just so darn cute. Aunt Sommer started snipping away, but Andrew wasn't enjoying it all that much.

The finished product...What a handsome boy!

And we still kept some of the curls!

A month later...

Hot summer days are in full swing and Andrew is getting pretty shaggy. It was time! This time Sommer used the clippers and boy was he unhappy! He did not want to be messed with!

Fortunately he has recovered from this traumatic experience and he still likes Aunt Sommer! Although he is a big boy now, he's still adorable...even without the curls.

A quiet Memorial Day

With all the traveling we have been doing lately, it was so nice to be home for a change. We usually go back for Memorial Day so Jarod can participate in the Legion services in Brainard. However, this year we decided to take it easy...and it was perfect! The three of us got out our lawn chairs, fired up the smoker, and sat around enjoying each others company and the not so nice weather. Even though it was cold and dreary Andrew loved being outside pushing his "Lightning McQueen" around.

Jarod claimed he made the best ribs he's ever smoked before. They were darn tasty, maybe a little too spicy for me, but Andrew didn't seem to mind

Farmer Boy

About a month ago we went to visit Grandpa Dave on the farm during planting season. We got to ride in the tractor and got a complicated lesson on the new high-tech tractor that drives itself. This was Andrew's first of many tractor rides to come. He had a good time and especially liked to grab the steering wheel. The cutest part was after we got home that night, the only toy he played with was his John Deere tractor! We may have a future farmer in the family!

Grandmas are Great

A couple weeks ago we had the opportunity to spend a day and a half with Great Grandma Kastl in David City. She needed some yard work done and it was a beautiful day so we all went outside and got dirty! Jarod did most of the work, I assisted, and Grandma watched Andrew, or should I say chased him around the yard! I am so thankful for the time we get to spend together. Grandma Kastl is the only grandparent we have that is still living...our only connection to a way of life that is completely different than we have ever known. It is so interesting listening to her tell stories from when she was growing up, falling in love, and raising a family. I want our kids to know where they come from and appreciate how much things have changed over the years. I want to make sure that I know all the unwritten steps to making kolaches and rolls taste so good. Thank you Grandma for sharing your life with us!

Introducing...Baby Kastl #2

Ultrasounds are AMAZING! Our baby is 20 weeks gestation and just look at this precious little miracle! I feel as if I could be holding this baby in my arms and gazing into his/her sweet face already. We chose not to find out the sex of the baby, although I was very tempted after looking at this face. I wonder who this is? What will he or she be like? The amazing this is God already knows...

(Look, baby's smiling!!!)

(baby's feet are crossed)

(legs from knees to feet)

"You formed my inmost being;
you knit me in my mother's womb.
I praise you, so wonderfully you made me;
wonderful are your works!
My very self you knew;
my bones were not hidden from you,
When I was being made in secret,
fashioned as in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes foresaw my actions;
in your book all are written down;
my days were shaped, before one came to be."

Psalm 139:13-16

Spring has sprung...FINALLY!

Today is such a gorgeous spring day! My tulips are blooming and the sun is shining...something we have not seen much of this last month. I don't think I have ever done this before, but I am anxiously awaiting for Andrew to wake up from his nap. Normally I am praying that he sleeps just one more hour so I can clean the bathrooms, or work on my photobook, or take a much needed nap. Not today. Today we need to be outside!

Thank you Kristi for my beautiful wreath. It's perfect for this spring day!