Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3...

Just checking to see if anyone is out there! I thought about writing a post today, but I'm still not sure... I have lots of new blogging material, you'll just have to stay tuned for the next 2 weeks to find out what's going on!

Oh yeah - and Brendan's going to be a big brother in (less than) 6 weeks!

Pumpkin Patch, Combine Ride and Small Pumpkin

What a great weekend! Imagine the fun to be had by an almost-2-year-old at a wide-open pumpkin patch, followed by an afternoon of riding in a real-life combine with Uncle Jeremy. We are so thankful to have a camera again to capture the weekend in photos! Here are a few favorites, and you can catch the rest in our Picasa album.

We're off! Great pick, Daddy!
Hmm...the wagon is getting a little heavier!
Brendan, why are you picking a not-yet-ripe green pumpkin??
"I picked this punkin all by myself"

Seriously Mommy, did we come for punkins or to take pictures?Our best attempt at a family shot...

Brendan and Daddy got to spend the afternoon on Sunday at the farm, where Brendan got to take his first combine ride. He clutched his red combine in his hands the whole time! He had so much fun he was too tired to tell Mommy about his "Pombine" ride when he got home. What a big weekend!

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And, in the spirit of Not Me! Monday, I know I've missed a few weeks but I thought this was the only appropriate way to say it...I most certainly did not:

Hide my bulging wasteline for the last 11 weeks from my dear family and closest friends and keep it a secret that Brendan is going to be a big brother!! I did not lie when asked or avoid the topic in conversation altogether. I definitly did not have a hard time not blurting out "I'm having another baby, too!" at Mom's group a couple of weeks ago when I was congratulating my other newly-pregnant friends. I also did not have to tell a couple of weeks earlier than planned because of my very quickly growing belly. (And I really did not complain about my recent "weight gain" to co-workers to divert the attention.)

It's official! We're excited to make our family a family of 4 and welcome a new life to our already busy and often crazy lives. We're so thankful for the joy that Brendan has brought to our family and can't imagine that it could get any better. Thank you, God, for bringing us this far into this wonderful journey and we pray for the exciting things you have planned for this new little life!

In case you missed it above, we asked Brendan to pick out a pumpkin for the baby and went right for the little green not-yet-ripe pumpkin. How perfect!

11 Weeks

Not me! Monday

Okay, so this is my first time to do something like this, but it looks like fun so I'm going to give it a try! If you follow along, I think it will be even more fun! Check out MckMama's blog for more info...

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First off, I am not addicted to MckMama's blog and I definitely do not check it every day...more than once. Not because her writing is so clever and witty, nor because her children are beautiful, nor because I feel God tugging on my heart to pray daily for her unborn son Stellan - that God will perform a miracle and he will be born with a perfect heart. And I definitely don't read MckMama's blog daily (and share her antics with my husband) because she challenges me to be a stronger woman of God, a better (and healthier!) mom, and a better wife.

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I did not leave my (less than a year-old) digital camera outside for 10 days, only to be found by my husband during a rain storm. I really didn't...that would be completely careless. I didn't sit it down in a pile of leaves to chase a toddler down the street. I also didn't order a new camera (too cheap to be true) from a bogus website, only with the hopes they actually "cancel" my order and don't charge my credit card. That would be doubly irresponsible. I didn't do that. (However, my husband really didn't get mad at me!!)

What kind of person would do such a thing? Not me! I hope I don't do anything like that for quite a while...hopefully next Monday I don't have anything more exciting to write about.

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Happy Fall! (and enjoy these pictures...not only were they very expensive, they may be the last ones you see for a while!)

To: Gracie

This one's for you, Gracie! When Brendan got up from his nap he was wearing your new pink crocs. He's getting so good at saying your name, isn't he! You have such a cute cousin... We miss you and love you! (...and we'll send your crocs tomorrow!)

We love your two-year pictures, too!

Summer in Review

Okay, so we know it's been a while. As much as I've enjoying seeing updates on all of our friend's blogs, I should keep ours up to date a little better! I could never get tired of seeing our most recent post with Brendan's 18-month pictures, but I'm sure that you (the few readers we have retained) would like some updates! We actually didn't take very many pictures this summer at all - it seemed like we never had our camera (and if we did, the battery was dead), and we're still working on getting the promised pictures taken by friends and family. So here we go, starting where we left off...

We celebrated our 6th Anniversary on June 15, as well as a special Father's day! We celebrated by going to the Kapp family reunion in Chillicothe, OH. It was really nice to see family that we hadn't seen since our wedding 6 years ago. Brendan was surely the hit of the afternoon. We took 2 (yes, two) pictures that day... (again, more to come...)

Brendan has also enjoyed lots of swimming/sprinkler time this summer. He really enjoyed having Daddy home 3 days a week, and he is definitely looking forward to having Mommy around more when Daddy goes back to work. Here are a couple of backyard fun pictures with Daddy, and then the pool with Mommy and Daddy one Saturday morning.

We had a really fun summer, and packed in lots of fun memories with Brendan. He is absolutely a delight to spend time with, but yet has challenged us as parents like never before. We've learned that after a long day (or long hour...), we have to stay strong in our relationship together and not let anything get between us in our marriage. We've begun to experience signs that the age of 2 is right around the corner...and all of those time our parents warned that paybacks would be coming, well, I'm beginning to think they were right! We've been committed to prayer as the strength of our family, looking to HIM for our daily guidance. What an amazing privilege to teach our little Brendan to pray, praising Jesus for all that he's done and asking for his help as we walk each day. I've been able to do a little reading this summer, and there are also several blogs that have been an amazing source of inspiration for me. (I've added a link to Angie Smith's blog to the side...if you haven't visited before, plan on spending some time...and tissues)

I'm closing with this for now, and while I only got caught up though June, I promise more will come! In my next post watch for some highlights on our recent trip to the Zoo!

**Brief disclaimer: Neither this post, nor any other post, is inclusive of all Russell family adventures. By no means does this mean that our time spent with you that remains unmentioned was any less important or less significant! :)

Happy 1/2 Birthday, Brendan!

Tomorrow Brendan turns 1 1/2! We had his 18 month check-up today, and he's a very healthy and happy little boy! He weighs 22 lbs 12 oz and is 31.5" tall. (That's 20th% and 25th% for his age) Although he has gained weight since 12 months, the doctor would like to see him gain a little more. After seeing how active he is she wasn't surprised at all that he's burning so many calories. Here are a few fun pictures from the doctor's office - Brendan was practicing making faces while Mommy said "smile". We've also posted a few more from the last two weeks below. Enjoy, and have a great weekend! We're headed to Wabash to visit Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Dawson.

This picture was taken last Friday night, May 30. We were under a tornado warning and had 2 touch down within about 10 miles two directions from our house, and our power was out for 16 hours. We made a nest for Brendan in the downstairs bathroom, and he didn't have a clue that it was storming. It was a little scary at times, but Brendan slept right through it!

Brendan enjoys playing with Daddy's shoes...

Last week Brendan and Katie spent the afternoon playing together. These two have a lot of fun! Check out Brendan wearing Katie's sunglasses...his new word for the day was "cool".

Memorial Day Weekend

What a fun weekend! We enjoyed some beautiful Indiana weather with family and friends - it was a very busy, typical holiday weekend in our house! We started off with a fun party to celebrate the end of the school year (almost!) with Adam's co-workers, but unfortunately we didn't take any pictures. Brendan was the hit of the party, of course!

Saturday we celebrated with Tiffany's cousin Matt as he graduated from high school. Again, no pictures...we were so busy chasing Brendan and trying to keep him out of the pool that we didn't get the camera out. He was pretty worn out by the time we headed back home on Saturday, and here is proof from the back seat...

On Sunday, Adam enjoyed his annual guys' day at the Indianapolis 500. This year they didn't get to park in "Turn 3" like they had planned (even though they got in line at 5:20 AM!), but lucked into some really great seats to watch the race from the stands! Tiffany and Brendan hung out with Stephanie and Kaylee, and Trisha and Elias. Here are a few pictures from our afternoon...

Elias didn't seem to mind giving Brendan piggy-back rides

Kaylee enjoyed the Bumbo seat a little...but it was only while Brendan wasn't looking!

Note the new Crocs...we found a Crocs outlet store in Edinburgh! Brendan just had to have the red Mickey Crocs...or maybe mommy did, I'm not sure. :)

It's very fun to watch Brendan and Elias interact together. They are only a few months apart, so they make great little buddies!

On Monday, we loaded the family minivan again and headed for Muncie to wish Nana a happy birthday! It was very last minute that we all got to go up together - Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Dawson were even there! Brendan and Katie enjoyed exploring outdoors, and Brendan brought his tractors up to share. It's only the beginning of many years of conspiring between these two...

Uncle Jeremy's tricycle is a little big this summer...maybe next year!

Hmmm...I don't think you're supposed to be playing with that...Brendan!

We hope everyone had a wonderful, safe Holiday weekend! We want to encourage everyone to offer a special prayer for our troops overseas this Memorial Day holiday.

We have also been praying for the family of Steven Curtis Chapman in their tragic accident last week. The loss of thier daughter Maria has weighed heavy on our hearts...I have been touched by the updates and stories on their family blog in the last week: http://chapmanchannel.typepad.com/inmemoryofmaria/. The video is absolutely precious, but be prepared to wipe away some tears!