Jastef

I know I don't typically post about Kara until her new month of age arrives, but I just can't help myself.

This little sweetie-poo has captured our hearts in a major way. She is full of fun personality and life. I love that she has such a sense of humor at only 9 months of age! She shows total interest in things; often putting her eyebrows down to really concentrate and she's a big fan of watching something and then trying to copy it.
We're having to use that new word "no-no" on her and its so terribly cute to see how she responds to it. Thankfully she (so far) responds quite well.
She absolutely adores Ethan. I know I've said it lots of times, but I cannot tell you how very adorable it is. She thinks the world spins around him. When I bring her out first thing in the morning she sees him and her face lights up and she starts clapping her hands and kicking her feet, like she wants to jump up and down. Its super cute.
He loves that he's like magic to her, so he's often going out of his way to make her laugh/smile. He plays peek-a-boo with her many times a day, sings the alphabet to her, counts to 30 (he's convinced she can also count to 30) and recites his Bible verses to her - he's sure that she is now a Christian, because she listens and smiles. :)

I love watching my kids interact together. I love watching them learn basic values and life situations when dealing with each other. Ethan and Rachel have hit ages where there seems to be more fighting than getting along, so we're spending a lot of time learning to practice self control, kindness, gentleness and selflessness. Ethan is learning how important his role is, not only as the oldest, but as the big brother.
He seems to be doing great with his role with Kara, but he struggles with Rachel, since there's major competition there. :)
Rachel has learned to hold an opinion and in Ethan's world, his opinion is the only one that should be considered. So we're basically dealing with what it means to obey God's commands and to be Christ like. I taught the kids the What Would Jesus Do motto and they love it. This morning Rachel took some crackers from the kitchen and tried to sneak them into Ethan room (away from me) and I heard Ethan say "But Rache, what would Jesus want you to do?" and she said "He would not want me to sneak crackers and then he would die on the cross for me."
I had to laugh. ;)

I can't get over how fast these fun years are going by. I look forward to my kid's teen years, but I'm soaking these little years up, since they go so fast. I often find myself looking at parents of older kids and feeling envious. Those years, though hard in and of themselves, look like they are so exciting and rewarding! It will be fun to see some of our hard labor during these years, paying off in the future. :)

Oh, camera update: I'm filing a police report to send in to the insurance company so they will replace our camera for us. So stay tuned!