We built a house for the Hello Kitties. 

That's six kitties and a giraffe in one house for a tea party. And you thought your house was too small to entertain!

In all seriousness though, this article about gratitude is very inspiring.

Moments after I took that picture, Quinn came into the room and started sharing the Gospel with the kitties...kind of. Luckily I caught it on video.

So, get out there! Share Christ with your neighbors, invite people over, remember that all that you have is from the Lord.

Three silly, sweet things happened today that I have to record so I can laugh about them in the future.

When Quinn woke up this morning she said, "Panda shoes walk. Mousie boat." I reviewed what a dream is and asked her if she dreamed about those things. She giggled and said, "yes!" 

Ever since Jonathan went to Nashville for work, the pre-dinner dance party has consisted of country music. Quinn loves it! Today we introduced her to "Green Grass Grows" and "Wide Open Spaces" and she was clapping and cheering. 

During bath tonight, Quinn was playing with her bath sticker family. She lined everybody up and said they were at the park. Then she started doing her fake cry and I asked her if the family was sad. When she said yes, I asked why. She told me they left their sunglasses at home.

She just cracks us up all day. Such a fun little chickie.

After a ton of sanding, priming, and painting, our picnic table is complete. Jonathan did a ton of work on this project. We got the table for free on Craigslist. It was handmade, very old, and very coated with thick stain. We decided to paint it the same color as our front door - a cheerful yellow.
Here it is post-sanding:

And fully finished:

We had our first dinner on it with Jonathan's sister Chelsey while she visited this weekend.

Quinn and I spent most of last week in Eugene with family because Jonathan was gone on a business trip. It was so nice to just lay around, not cook, and not have any projects hanging over me. Plus, Quinn loved all the extra grandparent attention. Lots of tea parties, stories, stair climbing, sports, and jokes. Gosh, she is such a fun age!

We went to the Multnomah Days Festival in our neighborhood over the weekend. It feels good to actually recognize people out and about that live in our area. We are pretty amazed at how God has provided for us, we just love where He has us right now.

This summer is sure flying by. We've had a lot of fun since I last posted. Spray parks, pools, parks, ice cream, berry picking, Nana and Madoo (both grandmas) visiting, painting projects, parties, hikes.

Quinn's verbal skills are pretty fun lately. She's putting together 2-3 word sentences and asking for the cutest things. Like "honey bring?" (can she bring the honey bear bottle) or "Mama, play?" or "couple more berries?" always with a convincing "peeease". She steals my heart fifty times a day. And she's starting to actually sing songs in a way that someone other than me might be able to tell what it is :). We are really enjoying the 22 month stage.

Ah, wedding weekends. Our friends Matt and Holly (who Quinn talks about constantly) got married on Sunday. Jonathan was a groomsman, so Friday night he went the bachelor party in Portland. Another groomsman stayed at our house that night and then all the Portlanders carpooled to Corvallis Saturday. The rehearsal was at the best man's house. They have a beautiful backyard and garden. We all went to dinner and then Quinn and I stayed at my college friend Sara's new house. Quinn thought Sara's kids were pretty cool. We met with my dear friend Mary and her son for breakfast Sunday morning, had tea at my friend Kendra's house (while Quinn had a quick nap) and then zipped over to the wedding.

It was a very sweet wedding. We're so happy for Matt and Holly!

After the wedding, we grabbed dinner with some friends and then stayed at the Albers' house. Quinn thinks their daughter is the best. First thing in the morning Quinn wanted to go find her to play.
Monday was my birthday so we went out for breakfast and wandered around Corvallis. It was so fun to see old faces and places. I loved getting to catch up with old friends. But I love returning to our house. There were blueberries and veggies waiting for us, and a giant dahlia welcoming us home. We went to our favorite restaurant for dinner and stuffed ourselves and ended the evening at the park, as usual. After late nights and short naps, Quinn was ready to crash, as were we. Lots of living this weekend. A great birthday. I couldn't ask for better. God's been spoiling me for 29 years running.