More Bahrain Pictures

Dixie, our (not-so) faithful BMW, the first car we ever owned together. It was hilarious....in a bad way.

Kai on his second birthday.

The first picture I ever took of Kai as a two-year old. This was the morning of his second birthday.

Me, fully pregnant with Quinn, on my 25th birthday. Shawn and Kai made me a torte.

More Bahrain Pictures

Kai hanging out with some neighborhood friends.

Shawn and Kai on our back patio.

Shawn and Kai in our yard at the Taj Residence.

Across the street--an Al-Jazira supermarket outside our compound.

Anniversary Fun

Shawn is always a gift-giver. I guess some might say that is one of his primary "love languages." He loves to surprise me with fun things on a regular basis. The flip side is that I am the world's worst gift-giver. My idea of a great gift is a gift card. That way, you know it's not the wrong thing and the person will actually USE the gift you gave them.

So for birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas and Valentine's Day, I have majorly been lacking as far as presents for Shawn goes. This anniversary I was determined to actually do SOMETHING for him.

Shawn is very athletic and likes to do physical stuff. My idea of physical stuff is going for a walk in the park. But I decided to branch out and do something I've never done before--rock climbing. I told Shawn that I was going to take him somewhere for our anniversary, but wanted to surprise him. Shawn teaches rope rescue and repelling, so he knows a lot about that sort of thing. However, he apparently has never been to a rock climbing gym.

My dear mother-in-law came to visit overnight so that she could watch the kids and we could get an actual date in. It was wonderful! A big thanks to her! When Shawn got home from work on Wednesday, I took him to Applebee's so that we could split a light dinner. Then we went back home to nurse the baby and grab some clothes to change into. I packed his bag, so he still did not know what we were doing. I had given him some vague clues in the past week, but he was still befuddled.

When we got to IBEX Rock Climbing Gym in Blue Springs, Missouri, he was really excited. It is definitely his sort of thing. Because we had never been there, we had to take an intro belay course before we started. The instructor told me when I called to schedule it that it usually took about an hour. We did it in about 30 minutes! It was basically going over knots and how to feed rope through the brake. Shawn can tie the knots they used with his eyes closed and with gloves on (literally! They made them do it that way when he was in the Marines). He has also had me practice those knots several times when he was prepping for teaching.

Okay, so rock climbing is WAY harder than it looks. But it is also a lot more fun than it looks (at least from my vanage point). It was a challenge to figure out where to place your hands and how to get leverage; figuring out what your next move would be. In that way, it is mentally challenging. It's amazing how quickly your arms can get tired doing it, though, and after a couple hours, both of us were pretty tired.

We took breaks in between climbs to watch other, more experienced climbers and to chat with other people in the gym. It was a nice atmosphere; laid-back and fun. All-in-all it was a great anniversary activity and Shawn was pretty happily surprised. He also said he was surprised how well I did. It was so fun and I would definitely like to do it again sooner rather than later.

Getting a kiss before dinner on our anniversary. You can see the roses on the table behind me that Shawn bought me for the occasion.

Us at the rock climbing gym.

Shawn messing around after climbing. He wanted me to get a picture of him to make it look like he had climbed up really high, but I didn't understand what he was asking me to do. So this is the result--a picture of him hanging about two inches from the ground.

Three Years

That's right. It's been three years since Shawn and I said, "We do." It has been a very exciting three years. Time is so strange, isn't it? Sometimes it seems like three years was a lifetime ago. Other times, it seems like we just met and the three years has flown by. Either way, it has most certainly been the best three years of my life. I am very grateful for the life that I have with Shawn and our babies. In honor of our three years, I've compiled some fun facts about the last three years of our life together:

3 Most Exciting Things We've Done
Well, I probably shouldn't post some of the MOST exciting things we've done, so I'll pick some PG things that are pretty exciting, too.
1. Had an outdoor wedding in January.
2. Lived overseas.
3. Had two homebirths.

3 Things I Like Most About Our Marriage
1. Shawn and I are total opposites in most ways, but somehow God really did make us complimentary to one another. He has strengths where I have weaknesses and vice versa. It has spurred incredible growth for both of us that might not have otherwise taken place.
2. We have fun together. I actually enjoy spending time with him, even after three years of being with him pretty much every day. I know it doesn't sound like something that is that impressive, but I think in today's society, it's pretty special.
3. We both desire spiritual growth and encourage each other in it as a matter of course. That is something that I think is the most vital part of any marriage.

3 Things I Like Most About Shawn
1. His heart.
2. He's a great daddy.
3. Life with him is always an adventure. That is something he promised me when we were engaged--that if I married him, my life would always been an adventure. He has not disappointed.

Yes, the last three years has been a wonderful adventure.

This year has been the hardest year of our marriage in lots of ways. By that I mean that our external circumstances have posed more challenges than previous years. However, it has also been the year that I think has been best for our marriage. Even though other things have been frustrating a lot this year, our marriage has been like the calm inside the storm, bringing peace and comfort when things around us have been crazy. I feel like God has really knit us together this year and worked through some of the hard stuff to help us appreciate each other. I look forward to what this next year will bring. I have so much hope for the next year of our life together. Thanks to everybody for supporting and encouraging our little family.

Goodbye, 2008

It has been an interesting year. 2008 brought many changes, lots of challenges. I think that it has not been one of my favorite years in my life, but I think that I will look back on this year later in my life and say, "That was where great changes began in me. That was where the growth started." It has been a tough year in many ways, but I can think back on other times in my life where it got tough for a while right before it got really amazing. I believe that is what 2009 will be--a year of seeing fruit where seeds were sown.

I keep a planner every year and I write memorable events in it as the days pass. Here are some memorable things that happened this year, 2008 (as according to my planner):

January 2: Quinn started walking.
January 7: Our two year anniversary.
January 10-12: A trip to Dubai for our anniversary.
January 13: Quinn went to the hospital because of a nasty stomach flu.

February 4-6: First felt quickening with Claire. I was 16 weeks pregnant.
February 23: Two years anniversary of the time we spent in Bahrain.

March 1: Back to the States from Bahrain.
March 4: Shawn and I passed the National Registry exam for EMT-Bs.
March 15: Shawn went to Harrisonville for testing during the application process for this job.
March 22: Shawn's 30th birthday.
March 27: Shawn offered job in Harrisonville.

April 5: Moved into our house in Harrisonville.
April 7: Shawn started job in Harrisonville.
April 15: Started my first garden EVER.
April 23: Kai's adoption finalized.

May passed relatively uneventfully.

June 13-15: I went to Louisville, KY for the Passion for Birth Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator seminar. My mom joined me.

July: The early part of July was spent developing, writing, printing and organizing my Lamaze course design.
July 27: Claire Elizabeth Cherri born at 2:56 AM, weighing 10 pounds, 3 ounces.

August 13: My first attempt at pressure canning.

September 8: Kai's first day of Playschool.
September 13-20: Shawn went to the National Fire Academy in Maryland for training in Community Education.
September 15-20: The kids and I visited my parents in Indiana; our first trip to their house there.
September 27: I learned to knit. I still haven't finished the scarf I started that day.

October 24: Attended the Kansas City Doula conference.

November 4: I turned 27 years old.
November 13: I began taking ballet classes again for the first time in years.
November 15: Kai turned 4 years old. That day we went to the circus for the first time.

December 8: Quinn's 2nd Birthday.

I pray that all of you reading this have a joy-filled and exciting new year--goodbye, 2008.

Our Family

Shawn and I are notoriously UN-photogenic. I mean, it's bad. If you get the two of us together in one camera shot, at least one of us usually has their eyes half closed, giving that lovely high look. Not attractive.

I am usually the one taking all the family pictures anyway, snapping pictures while the kids play. This means that I rarely have my picture taken (thankfully!). While we were all dressed up post-church, Grame Cherri took a few pictures of us at the Cherri Orchard. They turned out so (surprisingly) well that I had to post them on the blog.

So here, we are--Me, Claire (5 months), Quinn (2 years), Shawn and Kai (4 years.)

Christmas 2008

Shawn worked this year on Christmas. His brother, sister-in-law and their daughter were doing Christmas activities with my sister-in-law's family, so we thought it might work out best if we all had Cherri Christmas at the Cherri Orchard the day after Christmas. After Shawn got off work on Christmas evening, we drove over to the Cherri's house.

Last week at school, Kai made "Magic Reindeer Food" which consisted of dried oats and glitter. It had a little paper attached to it that said to sprinkle this on the lawn on Christmas Eve. Before he went to bed on Christmas night, we took him outside so he could leave some food for the reindeer. He also left some milk and cookies for Santa, which Quinn took bites out of while we weren't looking.

Kai's reindeer food.

We made sure to put it in a place it would be easy to sweep up. Kai is quite astute and I'm sure he would have known something was up if he had come out the next morning and there was still "Magic Reindeer Food" on the ground. He would discover the painful truth that there is no Santa well before his time.

Christmas morning we got up and ate french toast together as a family: Grame and Granda Cherri, Shawn, Kai, Quinn, Claire, Joe, Matt, Ashley Teal, Dolce and me (and Bo). We started opening presents and the kids had a blast! I think the adults had a lot of fun, too. I am thankful for a new blender, some pregnancy books and some clothes from Shawn and his parents. Shawn got a group gift from all of us--a tent. The kids got all sorts of little goodies from Grame and Grandpa, as well as Grandma and Grandpa Gabriel. We had a lovely Christmas dinner and spent the rest of the day playing with our new toys, eating and napping.

Christmas Morning 2008

Kai showing me a truck from his stocking.

The Christmas tree on Christmast morning, complete with presents underneath.

Grame helps Quinn open up her stocking. I don't know if Quinn was trying to open it with her feet or what.

Christmas Morning 2008, Part 2

Claire watches all the Christmas morning activities with an air of slight boredom.

Shawn decides to get festive.....

Quinn opening her stocking gifts.

Shawn helps Claire open her stocking.

Christmas Morning 2008, Part 3

Kai opening a new game for his V-Motion from Grandma and Grandpa Gabriel.

Shawn, Quinn, Kai, Grame and Dolce.

Shawn looks at Baby Jesus with Quinn and Kai. Grame watches on.

Every year, Shawn's family has a tradition where the best present of all is unwrapped--Baby Jesus. Here is Kai opening the present.

Christmas Morning 2008, Part 4

Grandpa Cherri opens a new gift--an Ohio State clock for his man cave.

Opening presents. Shawn, Quinn, Dolce, Kai and Grame.

Cousin Dolce and Ashley Teal open a bouncing Tigger from Uncle Joe.

Shawn and the kids open Candy Land.

Christmas Morning 2008, Part 5

Dolce checks out Claire as Aunt Ashley Teal watches on.

Me sitting with Claire.

Shawn shows Quinn her Christmas horse.

Grame and Shawn watch as Quinn and Kai try out their new trampoline.

Quinn's 1st (2nd) Birthday

As you guys are sending in your Mother of the Year Award nominations, just remember that my daughter never had a first birthday party. Last year, Shawn was in Australia when Quinn turned one. Since it was just the two kids and myself at home, I didn't make a big fuss (or even a cake) on December 8th. Life started moving so fast and in the mix, we didn't ever celebrate Quinn's 1st birthday formally. Sad, but true.

To make up for it, this year we made sure to celebrate it with cake and ice cream. Family, presents--the whole works.

Quinn checking out the horse-themed cake Grame Cherri made.

She was pretty excited about it, but didn't know what the candles were for. Shawn and Kai ended up helping her blow them out.

Quinn opening presents with my assistance.

The Fam. From left to right: Ana, Grame Cherri, Augusta, Quinn (barely seen on my lap), Dolce, Matt, Ashley Teal.

Pictures from the Cherri Orchard

This weekend we went to Shawn's parents' house, affectionately dubbed the Cherri Orchard. I decided to post a random assortment of photos we took during our stay there.

Cousins! Dolce, Ilene and Kai hang out on the couch.

Brothers! Matt, Joe and Shawn get ready to go out hunting. They didn't have any luck all weekend, unfortunately.

A guy and his dog. Here's Joe with his ginormous dog, Bo.

Claire hangs out with Daddy.