Luke and the Dirt Hole

Our dog, Chewy, loves to lay underneath the trampoline in our backyard on hot days. Recently, in his favorite spot, there has appeared this hole that he's started digging.

Today, when I was hanging clothes on the line, Luke meandered over to the hole and decided to investigate. He didn't realize that I was watching him as he gave himself a "dirt bath"! He was so cute and having so much fun, that I couldn't bring myself to make him stop. :) Here's a couple pictures and a video I snapped while he was busy having some good 'ole little boy fun!

Luke, Chewy & their dirt hole

Look at that dirty little tush!

July Happenings

It seems it's been weeks since I posted a family update! July has turned out to be a very crazy month for us here at the Knutson house. From celebrations to sadness, it's been a little of everything. Here's a few highlights:

July 4th weekend was so hot, but we still braved the heat to celebrate the holiday with our good friends Misty and Brandon, and their brand new addition, Madison. That morning we arrived at church with goodies in hand for all the girls' friends. Thanks to Lish at A Beautiful Mess: Project Alicia, we made some super cute red, white, and blue star shaped homemade sidewalk chalk. It was super easy, and can't wait to try some different shapes!

Then off we headed to Brandon and Misty's to enjoy a cookout and some fireworks. We used a FREE printable from Twig and Thistle to create these sparkler party favors.

The kids had a blast (John David experienced his first sparkler burn. Do you remember yours?), and we stayed till late into the night, laughing and enjoying our friends.

The next weekend, we embarked on a family campout courtesy of our good friend's the Minters. We pitched our tent on their five acres in the country, and had fun cooking s'mores, and enjoying the outdoors. Apparently John David was having a rough couple weeks. He ended up with pretty significant "road rash" after a tumble on the four wheeler. He was very brave though!

The next week was my surgery, and I spent the next several days recouping. Every thing went very smoothly, and hopefully the " girlie maintenance" will help me in the future. The ladies at our church were fabulous, and helped me feed my crew with some really fantastic meals!

Last week, my sister-in-law has some very serious complications with her diabetes and ended up in the ICU for a few days. It was a wake-up call to all of us. She is doing much better, and after a new opinion from a new doctor is on the right meds, and regaining her strength. At one point I thought I was going to be heading to Tennessee to help out with my niece and nephew and try to be a help anyway I could. But our Lord is in the business of answering prayers, and Crystal, my sister-in-law, started making big improvements.

Then on Friday night we received word that our friend, Nat, had passed away. He had been struggling with cancer for many months. Preparing for his funeral, I also received word that my grandmother had passed away. Needless to say, when it rains it pours, but God is my comfort! We are heading out tomorrow morning to attend my grandmother's funeral, and help show my grandpa that he is not alone in his grief. Looks like we will be returning sometime on Monday.

Even though it's been a hard last couple weeks, we are looking forward to the month ahead with two big reasons to celebrate! Our baby boy, Luke, turns two on August 18th, and my best friend's son gets married a week from this Saturday! God is so good! Even when it seems you're traveling through a valley, you can be comforted by the realization that a mountaintop is just ahead!

Wordless Wednesday - Changing......

Snapped this photo over the weekend. Thought her hair looked pretty, and then when I saw it, I realized just how much she's changing! {sigh} :)

Wordless Wednesday - Halloween Early

Luke got into some stuff in the girls' room and decided he wanted to wear their witch hat from last Halloween. He's had it on all morning! :D (Excuse the no clothes, but it is 105 degrees here today!)

On another note - my surgery has been scheduled for Monday. I'll keep you updated, but things should go pretty smoothly.

Wordless Wednesday - Hmmm... I Think He Forgot Something!

Recap

I thought it was probably time to catch you all up on the odds and ends around the Knutson household. The last few months have been super busy, but we are enjoying the summer, although it's been over 100 degrees most days this week!

Shortly after we returned from our Wisconsin trip, we found out that Caitlyn is going to have to have some orthodontic work done. We could wait, but if we do some of the work (a few brackets and a spacer bar) sooner rather than later, it will save her some pain, and us some money. Needless to say, it isn't free of course, and we're in the process of budgeting things a bot differently to pay for it. I guess we better get used to it, we've got three more heading that way! :) It looks like she will probably be getting them in December or January, and will have them on for about a year.

That same week, we also found out that I am going to be having surgery. Nothing serious, just a simple outpatient female surgery that I've needed for awhile. And now that we aren't going to be having anymore babies, I can get the work done that I need. We haven't scheduled it just yet. I'm waiting on the doctor's office. But it should be soon, and the recoup time should be very minimal. Please keep me in your prayers. Recouping may not be quite as easy with four kiddos! :)

Caitlyn is taking a year off of violin and starting in September will be focusing more on her dance with another year of ballet and her first class in Irish hard shoe dancing. She is really excited to get started! She is growing and changing so fast these days!

Kylie and John David are still busy with Tae Kwon Do, and recently moved onto their yellow belt. They passed the test with flying colors and have been enjoying the challenge of earning new belts and working their way through the various skill levels.

Jeremy has been doing some handyman work on the side to earn a little extra cash. He does an excellent job, and really enjoys doing this type of work. About a week ago he built a staircase for a guy and was able to witness to him at the same time. God has been good, allowing Jeremy to get many leads on new jobs. Please pray that he will be able to continue doing that.

He recently built me a clothesline in our backyard that you can see in this video. I was doing a 30 day laundry challenge with a company that I have been working with on My Four Monkeys (my website). the challenge was to line dry your clothes for 30 days to save money and electricity. I actually really enjoyed it, so much that I asked Jeremy if he could build me a clothesline. Boy did he build one! That thing is so sturdy, and with four lines across it, there's plenty of room for our big loads!

Here's another video of a recent trip to Washington, D.C. We went to check out a WNBA game and took the "big kids" along. We all had a great time!

Luke is growing like a weed, and running around crazy everywhere. :) He is talking quite a bot now, and mimicking everything that comes out of our mouths. He is obsessed with matchbox cars, and anything that has wheels, and is fiercely independent. He loves the outdoors, and riding his tricycle. Luke has really changed over the past few months, sleeping in a big boy bed now, feeding himself with a fork and spoon, and understanding more and more of what we say. I am so glad that he was able to get the tubes put in his ears, because it has made a huge difference.

John David, on the other hand, is still having some trouble with his hearing. Please keep him in your prayers as we take a trip back to the ENT.

Well, that's all I can think of right now. Love you all and thank you to God Almighty for a blossoming and growing family!

Playing Around

I was playing around with some photos that I had taken awhile back of Luke, and wanted to show you this one. I know you can't see his face, but the way the sun is shining down on him is something just heavenly!