Naomi's Birthday

Naomi has been counting down the days, and it was finally here! Not wanting to miss a minute, she got herself up promptly at 6 a.m. and was ready to get the party started!! As per tradition she opened her birthday stocking before eating her birthday bagel.

The big event of the day was a little party with a couple friends. The theme was Candy Land - Here is her Candy Land-inspired cupcake mosaic:

That should cover it in the sugar department, right? We started the party with some parachute games courtesy of former PE teacher Mr. B (That's Kevin, for those of you who didn't know him in his Remington Elementary days)... Lots of fun popping balls in the air, making an "igloo", and the ever-popular "popcorn" free-for-all!

Next, a pinata. This pinata designed for little people was supposed to open a trap door when the right ribbon was pulled from the bottom. Everyone waited in anticipation as each ribbon was pulled. Finally we came to the last ribbon:

Naomi pulled it.....

And the ribbon snapped off. Not be detered, everyone took a swing at it with the bat. When a crack showed, Kevin helped it out a little!

I filled the pinata with little toys and trinkets (and confetti) - I think the cake had enough candy, don't you?

Naomi got lots of help blowing out her candles.

After cake and ice cream, we ran off the sugar in the playroom, fighting fires with Fire Chief Johnathan and his new fire truck tent.

Next, birthday lunch - mac and cheese! After "rest time" and her birthday dinner of chicken nuggets and 7 layer dip and chips, Naomi opened gifts and we had our Daddy/daughter birthday cake. Daddy is 35 tomorrow!

Happy Birthday, Cutie! Watching your enthusiasm for friends, family, and fun is a gift to us!

What I learned from my pastor... 7-19

We "dived" into the book of Jonah this Sunday with a sermon entitled "Fear" - something I'm quite skilled at (in the worldy sense). Jonah's fear led him to try to flee from God's presence in the boat, and the sailors' fear of the storm led them to cry out to their gods. But when the sailors saw the power of the one true God, they feared Him in the way in which we were intended to fear Him. Kevin pointed out several ways we respond when we truly fear God, including witnessing and living purely. He shared a quote from A.W. Tozer: The fear of God is... astonished reverence. I believe that the reverential fear of God mixed with love and fascinaiton and astonishment and admiration and devotion is the most enjoyable state and the most satisfying emotion the human soul can know. I want to grow to truly fear God so that my human fears will diminish.

Gang activity in Kurten, Texas

Gang activity? In such a small town? I'm afraid so...

May I introduce the group known around here as "the Kurten Guineas":

They can be a noisy bunch, but they eat bugs, so they're welcome in our yard.

Friday Fun

Naomi finished her swimming lessons today - Wow! She's learned a lot these two weeks. She's become so much more comfortable in the water, trying all kinds of strokes and going all the way underwater - voluntarily! She even rode the log slide:



"I passed Frog level 1!"

After her lesson, we hopped in the van and drove to Brenham, about 45 minutes away, to go to the Blue Bell factory. We took a tour of the factory and saw how they mix and package our favorite ice cream. Then, of course, we ate some!

Mmm - vanilla!

Rainbow sherbert on my tongue!

After the factory tour, we went to the Blue Bell Aquatic Center to swim and let Naomi show off all her new swimming skills. Naomi slid down the banana split slide and splashed under the giant ice cream sundae.

Even the pool is full of ice cream!

A fun day off with Daddy!

To Johnathan on your 3rd birthday...

You're not a baby anymore, are you, buddy! You're 3 now and suddenly you're a little boy who has so many things to say and such an imagination. We love hearing what's on your mind and learning what makes you tick... You love music, and seeing you turn hockey sticks or pens or my arm into a guitar is so fun! I smile every time I hear you singing "Blessed Be the Name of the Lord," or trying to repeat a praise song you just heard. Keep praising Jesus, buddy. We also love watching you play - you love lining up your cars, putting out fires, and cooking cake for us. It's been so fun to see the wonder in your eyes when you see the cows across the street or a lizard on the front porch of your new home in Kurten. And its great that you love to read - seeing you poring over an animal book is amazing!

We also love seeing how much you love your family. Just the other day, I asked you if Naomi was your friend. You emphatically stated, "No!" but then you added, "Naomi my bes' friend". And you just light up when Daddy gets home from the office. And Mommy loves that you give such great squeezes and ning-nings before bed.

I know being 2 hasn't always been easy, son. You've had your share of days when it looked like life was pretty rough for you! But you've learned so much this year and have gone through some big changes - a new state, house, and routine. We are thankful for every day with you, whether its a rough day or a happy one, and we can't wait to see how you grow in the coming year.

Love you, Johnny!!

Johnathan's Birthday

Johnathan's big day was packed with activity and fun! He started off the morning much earlier than he normally would so he could go to Naomi's swimming lesson at 8 am...

Whose idea was it to make me wake up so early today?

Opening the "birthday stocking"... (I realize some of you may have never heard of a "birthday stocking" - in the Stata family, because we love our Christmas stocking gifts so much, we started the tradition of having your own stocking on your birthday, too!):


You mean I get presents? Well, maybe I can wake up for that!

After a quick breakfast in the car, Johnathan watched his sister swim. Then we met Mrs. Linda to go frog catching and duck feeding at a park near her house.

Look out, little frogs! Mrs. Linda is going to get you!

We spotted lots of herons and gave the ducks some donut holes (whatever was left after Naomi, that is).

After some errand-running in town, Johnathan chose to pick up lunch at "Old MacDonalds".

While Johnathan rested, Naomi and I made his cake:

Johnathan's birthday cake contained all his latest favorites: Vanilla, chocolate, trains, guitars (the Quincy figurine is playing one), and, of course, Rocket!

Opening presents!

After a dinner of his favorite "hamagers and hot dogs", it was time to blow out the candles!

To top off the evening, we went to the Kurten's home to ride Polly the pony. What a fun way to finish off Johnathan's 3rd birthday! Thanks, Mr. Jimmy, for saddling Polly up and teaching us how to ride. I think we combined all Johnathan's favorite things into one big day.

At "Rocket's House"

We've been asking Johnathan for a few weeks now what he would like to do for his birthday, trying to discern the mind of a 2 year old whose whims change daily. One request that became a theme was, "I want to go to Rocket's (from the Little Einstein series) house". So, with the help of a couple from Zion who have a beautiful cabin here in Kurten, we took Johnathan to "Rocket's house" for an overnight trip on Sunday.

We had so much fun - We rode the Gator through the clearings, looking for deer...



Johnathan loved "driving"




We clomped around in our new rubber boots (to protect our feet from snakes!)

And we did a little fishing and caught some perch (I think) and a few bass.

Daddy and the kids stayed up way too late making coyote howls from their bunk beds, and we topped off the little trip by swinging by our neighbor's house to see some newly hatched baby chicks. A fun weekend and successful trip to "Rocket's House"!