Small Update

Wow! This month has flown by! I can't believe that it is already the last half-week of September and soon will be October. This month I have felt pretty busy, so I haven't really been blogging as much as I would have liked. (Obviously- I posted one small blog at the beginning of the month!)In honor of my friend Kristy, I will now make a list of my random thoughts and happenings in attempt to catch my readers up with what we have been up to this month.

1. Adyson is officially one year old, and she is getting more and more independent every day! She can bark when we ask her what Charlie says, she named her blankie "ney ney", and she stands up all the time.
2. She learned how to go up the stairs(but not down), and she spends all free moments of her day attempting to do so. She cracks us up!
3. We finally put locks on all of the cabinets in the kitchen to keep her from grabbing sharp and heavy objects. For example: The blade of my food processor! Oh yeah, that really did happen! She's okay, but she definately got a few cuts on her fingers.
4. I started a new Bible study. It is on the life of Jesus, and I have really enjoyed it so far. I have some increddibly Godly women at my table, and I am excited to gleam from their wisdom.
5. Scott is just starting his traveling season, and although it doesnt really start until winter, he will be taking 2 trips next month and more after that. By God's grace, he is still enjoying his job, learning lots, and doing really well.
6. We have continued our search for a new church, and I think we may have finally found one we are excited about. We've heard the pastor speak a few times now, and we are very impressed with his love and knowledge of the Word but also of his ability to teach it clearly. The nursery is also the nicest and best-kept nursery that we have seen at all the churches we've visited. They know and love Adyson already, and it's such a blessing to know she is well taken care of when we aren't there.
7. I am officially weighing less than I did before I got pregnant, and I just got a new pair of jeans this weekend that are a size I havent worn since high school!?! I'm not trying to brag; I am just really proud of myself and all my hard work! WOO HOO!!
8. I've been really struggling with loneliness and a little depression, and this month has been especially difficult. I know that there were several people I could have called or gotten together with, but the feelings of depression made me feel apathetic and unmotivated. Tricia was so sweet, and she came down last week to help watch Adyson for a day so I could get my hair cut and highlighted and just have a day for myself. It was such a refreshing day, and really helped me get a little hope in my perspective. So... A BIG thank you to her! What a blessing!
9. Scott's brother is officially engaged to his adorable and sweet girlfriend Sarah! They are going to get married this winter- December 19! It will be so nice to have her in the family. Love you, Sarah!
10. I started decorating for the fall. Our house has some fun spots to add fall leaves and pumpkins. I even started putting some white-lights in the window for later in the fall. I just love decorating for the different seasons. I'll try to post a picture of my cute wooden turkey. He makes me smile.
11. We went hiking this weekend (Scott, Ady, Charlie, and me), and it was absolutely beautiful out. We were up in the foothills, and the air was so crisp and warm. Charlie has been so well-behaved and attentive, so he gets to hike off of his leash a lot now. As he was exploring and sniffing the trail, we suddenly heard a loud rattling sound. It sent goosebumps up my arms and neck! Charlie quickly jumped back, and we saw a LARGE rattlesnake all coiled up and ready to attack. It was really fat and probably 4 feet long. We slowly got out of the snakes way, and found another trail to take. We were so thankful for Charlie finding the rattlesnake before we did. That could have been bad! Luckily no one got hurt!
12. Scott took us to a new soda shop in the Springs called "Squeak". It is so yummy! They make pop the old fashioned way, and they have 49 flavors to choose from. We enjoyed sitting on their porch in the shade and sipping on our sodas. It was a great find!

Well, that is about all I have to report right now, but I hope to write another blog this week and post some pictures.
Have a great week!

More Pictures

As promised, here are some more pictures from Ady's first birthday! Enjoy:)

The birthday cakes I made for Adyson. Funfetti cake with cream cheese frosting! MMMM!

Little heart cake:)

Emily Farrenkopf's little lady: Charlotte! She is 7mo old, and it is fun to watch her and Ady play together. It was great to have her at the birthday party!

Cousin, Daniel- Mark and Lani's son. He is such a sweet-heart! (18mo old)

Is there anything better than being at Lake Loveland with two of my most favorite girls? Azureya is starting 7th grade, and she turns 12 this weekend!! She is a great cousin to Ady and a wonderful neice to me! Love you, Reya!

Uncle Mark and Daniel! Such handsome guys!!

This was the first time EVER that we have all been together since having kids, so we took a family picture. Our family is getting bigger and bigger.

All the grandkids! (Atreus-5, Azureya-11, Amante-7, Adyson-1, and Daniel-1.5)

Just a view of the guests.

tee hee! Love this hat.

Me and Ady. Did you know that Ady means "Smiling or Distinctive"? I think it fits her, don't you?

YUMMY CAKE!!!!

Sharing a moment with Grandma.

Opening presents! She loved getting to open her presents! Thank you, everyone, for your generosity and creativity in picking gifts for her.

Well, are you pictured out?!

Thanks for reading and sharing this special day with us.

Lots of love,

Karen

Happy Birthday, Adyson Ruth!

A year ago, on August 30, little Adyson Ruth Willcutts was born at 6:09AM. She weighed 8lbs and 13 ounces. She was pretty sick with an infection when she was first born, so she spent the next four days in the NICU recovering. By God's grace, she healed very quickly, and we were on our way home.

Shortly after being born, the pediatrician discovered that she had Hip Dysplasia, and that she needed to see a specialist right away. Over the next 3 months, she had to wear a special harnass to correct her loose hip joints. Again, by God's grace, this was corrected, and she is doing great!

Ady is such a blessing to Scott and me, and we can't imagine life without her. She laughs and smiles all the time, and she loves people. She loves to crawl and play with her toys, and she especially loves her pets Izzy and Charlie. This year has been full of adventures, but we have gotten to see God's amazing grace and His hand in our lives as we've started this journey of parenthood. Our prayer is that Ady will continue to grow in stature and health, but that she would also grow to have a tender heart toward the Gospel. We can hardly wait to see what will happen in this next year!

Here are her 1 year old pictures:

We love you, Doodle! Happy Birthday!

This weekend we had a birthday party in Loveland for Adyson. Thank you to all of the friends and family who came! What a blessing it is to Scott and me to have so much love and support as we raise Adyson. You were all so generous, and you made her birthday so special! We had so much fun! Here are some pictures from her birthday party. (I'll post another blog with more pictures next time.)

Waiting for birthday cake in her special Birthday hat!

Ahhh! The first taste! Mommy made this birthday cake.

Needless to say, Ady loved her birthday cake! She was so excited!

One of my favorite moments: Ady sharing cake with her cousin Azureya. She wiped it in her face! It was so cute!

One other favorite moment was when we all had just finished singing "Happy Birthday", Ady clapped really animatedly. I think she wanted us to sing it to her again! It was precious.

I will write one more blog hopefully tomorrow with some more pictures and stories so stay tuned!

Have a great day!

love,
me