Santa came!!!

 They LOVED this toy!!!  Konner wouldn't open anything! This was all he wanted to play with!

 Ashlynn opening her first present!

Konner and his new tractor!

We had a wonderful Christmas!  Ashlynn finally understood Santa and watching her anticipation and excitement was alot of fun.  Santa was very generous this year and Ashlynn got everything that she asked for!  We missed all out family in the states though.  We have really enjoyed creating our own traditions but it still just isn't the same without your guys! We love you all and miss you very much!  I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas and wish you all a very happy and blessed new year!

Thanks for reading this! Love and miss you all!

Stephanie

Turkey day!

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

For some reason it won't let me attach any photo's so if you wanna see pictures of the feast you will have to check out my facebook page!

We had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving!  We had everything, Turkey, potatoes and gravy, stuffing, corn, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, broccoli and cheese, veggies and ranch dip and cheesecake and pumpkin pie! It was YUMMY and we all ate WWWAAAAYYYYY too much!

Konner LOVED the green bean casserole!  He ate a TON of it! 

Ashlynn loved it ALL! She ate two plates + a piece of cheesecake and a piece of pie! I was impressed!

While we were eating, I told Ashlynn the story of the first thanksgiving and this is how part of the conversation went:

Me: "The Indians brought the Turkey and Corn, things they knew how to grow and cook and the pilgrims brought things they knew how to grow and cook!"

Ashlynn: "Oh like Marshmallows!"

It was very cute! Actually Ashlynn has said a lot of funny things today but just now she said something that truly amazed me!

We are watching "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" and after the lion was resurrected Ashlynn said:" What happened Mommy? He was dead and now he is alive!"

Me:"He was resurrected from the dead honey"

Ashlynn:"Oh, you mean like Jesus?"

Me:"Just like Jesus!"

Ashlynn:"Oh I bet that makes Jesus VERY happy!"

I love that she loves Jesus so much!  Makes me feel like I am really doing something right.  Everyday she does good things "to make Jesus happy" like personal hygiene, helping mommy and daddy, saying sorry and saying her prayers.  I love that she loves trying to make him happy!  Recently she told me she "couldn't wait to go back to Heaven and see Heavenly Father and Jesus again" and she was going to "Run up to them, hug them, say sorry for anything she had done wrong and tell them how much she missed them!" And she was genuinely excited about this!  I am so very thankful that she will get that opportunity and I hope that it is everything she dreams it will be!

Since it is Thanksgiving, I would like to share some things that I am thankful for.  First is my family!  They are my life and I couldn't imagine it any other way.  Kyle is very supportive and works very hard to support our family and for that I am greatful! Ashlynn reminds me everyday to enjoy the things in life that I take for granted like chairs and pizza and for that I am greatful.  Konner helps me to open my eyes and see things in a different way.  When he touches a leaf and studies it to figure out what it is and it inspires me teach Ashlynn about plants! And for that I am greatful!

I am also greatful for the rest of my family, whom without your love and support I would never be the person I am today.  For my mother who taught me to have faith and to love being a wife and mother, to have a passion for learning and improving myself everyday.  For my father who always supported me in everything I tried to do and encouraged my interest in history and reading.  For My brother and sisters, we may not always have gotten along but we were always there for each other! And I know that if the need should arise, they would be there for me now!  For my Aunt's and Uncle's who always supported and encouraged me, and who were always there for me when I felt like the ugly duckling in the family or the odd one out. 

I am greatful for the wonderful friends that I have made over the years.  Some are no longer in my life for one reason or another but all have enriched my life in some way!  For my friends here in Okinawa who have been like family to me when my family is far away.  I have had many trials and struggles of the last 3 years and with out the support of good friends who knows what would have happened! Especially Ashley Martin, who has stood by my side for 2 years and been the best friend I could ever have asked for!  She puts up with my whining and nagging and is always there when I need a shoulder to lean on or just someone to talk to.  She has truly been like a sister to me and  I love her like one!

I am thankful for my faith and those in my life that have nourished it and helped me to grow in it.  I know that the Lord is my light and as long as I stay strong and true to the faith, I will be able to handle everything life throws at me and I continue to grow into a better person!  I am also Thankful for my church.  I am thankful for the knowledge of the renewed Gospel and all the blessings that I have received from it.

I Love you and all and am truly blessed to have each and every one of you in my life!  May you all have a happy and blessed Thanksgiving!

Thanks for reading, I love you all!

Stephanie

Konner has his WHOLE crib to sleep in and he shoves himself into a corner EVERY night!

Not a lot going on around the Lee house lately.  Kyle has been on 2 TDY's  in the last month so we are glad to have him back.  He actually was only gone for 3 days the last time which must be a RECORD for his unit!  He was supposed to be gone for 3 days and actually was gone that long!  He is NEVER home on time! We were very excited to have him back, especially Ashlynn!   I didn't tell her when he was supposed to be back so she wouldn't be sad when he was late but he was here on time and I waited until we pulled into the parking lot to tell her we were picking up daddy!   She was SOOOOO excited!!! 

We are getting ready for Thanksgiving now.  I have been shopping twice and still haven't been able to find pumpkin pie filling!  Guess I will have to buy one from the bakery :-(   I wanted everything to be homemade but I may have to bite the bullet on this one!!!   I waited too long to buy my turkey and ended up with a TEN lb. bird!!  I have NO IDEA what our little family of 4 (3 1/2 if you count Konner since he doesn't really eat that much!)  is going to do with ALL that turkey!!!   Guess we will be eating turkey 3 meals a doy for a month! LOL!!  Should be good though!

Well, I guess that is all I have to ramble on about today!

Thanks for reading. Love you all!

Stephanie

Houston, we have take off!

So today, I was getting Ashlynn dressed and Konner was sitting in the floor watching.  Well all of the sudden he stood up.  Which in of itself is nothing since he stands un-aided all the time, but this time he had this look on his face! He was so happy!  I just thought he was in a good mood!  Well, he stood there for about 30 seconds then WALKED!! Took 6 steps towards me until he could lean and reach me!  It was SOOOO cute!!  I guess I better hold on tight cause things are gonna get crazy around here! TWO kids that can run from me! LOL!!

Kyle went TDY again today just for 3 days (The last one was supposed to be 3 days and ended up being 12...so we will see) and the last thing he said to Konner was "You better not start walking while I'm gone!" I am sad that Kyle missed those first precious steps but he will be running around here before we know it and Kyle cn see it alot! LOL!!

Well just wanted to share! For some reason my computer won't load any of my pics today so I am sorry for the lack of pictures of my adorable children! I will post some new ones soon! Promise!

Thanks for reading! Love you all!

Stephanie

Trip to the zoo and Kyle came home!!!!

This last week, Ashley and I took the kiddo's to the zoo! A fun time was had by all and I took about 100 pics but here are a few of my faves!

 Ashley bought the girls these shirts! They say "I'm with my BFF"!

 I wish I could read there minds here! What are those faces about????

 Cool Iguana....and not a bad picture either!

 Ashlynn is so pretty!

 Scary Alligator!

 Konner was SUPER excited...

I LOVE THIS PICTURE!! There were having a blast!

We had a blast at the zoo and by the end of the day we were all exhausted!  We hurried home to get some rest though because the next day Kyle came home! He evacuated for the Typhoon and was supposed to be gone for 3 days...well 11 days later he finally came home!  We missed him alot and are VERY glad to have him back home!

Thanks for reading! Love you all!

Stephanie

Trick-or-Treat, smell my feet!

 The treat sacks I made for my neighbors kids since I wasn't handing out candy!

 Getting the kids ready!

 Ashlynn as "Jessie" the cowgirl from Toy Story!

 Konner as Sheriff Woody from Toy Story!

 Both kids ready to go!

 Look what I got mom!

She was VERY happy about her candy!  She couldn't believe that people would just GIVE her candy!

All in all we had a GREAT time trick-or-treating!  Ashlynn was sooo happy to get free candy and Konner was really just along for the ride! But he looked awefully cute doing it!  We didn't go to many houses because we didn't really need the candy.  We bought TONS of candy to hand out but then with Kyle being TDY there wasn't anyone here to pass it out, so now we have TONS of candy for us! 

Thanks for taking the time to read this! Love you all!

Stephanie

More from the beach...

Got some more pics from the beach that Ashley took! Hope you enjoy!

(Sorry the lense was foggy because of the humidity so some of the pics are kinda blurry!)

 Konner was VERY tired!

 Comforting Konner after a big wave got in his face!

 The ONLY picture of all three of us EVER!!! 

 Konner was VERY tired!

Ashley got him to laugh!

Thanks for reading this! Love you all!

Stephanie

Ashlynn Jean Lee

Me to Ashlynn:"Come here baby!"

Ashlynn:"I'm not a baby anymore mom!"

Me:"You will ALWAYS be mommy's baby!"

Ashlynn:  "I am you big girl and Konner is your baby"

Me:"Well, even when you have babies of your own, you will still be my baby!"

Ashlynn:"Mom, I am NOT a baby anymore! I will NEVER be a baby again!"

Gotta admit, it kinda stung a little bit! So I decided to go on a little trip into the past on my hard drive and find my "baby" again.  So here are a few pics that I like the best! 

 Ashlynn's first trip to Granny and Choppers house! That was my favorite outfit EVER of her!

 Such a cute little yawn!

 The first time I actually got a bow to STAY in her hair!

 Learning to Crawl! :-)

 First time she sat up alone!

 Getting bigger!

 I like this one because I think she looks like Konner! What do you think?

 I LOVE her beautiful baby blue eyes!

Her first cupcake!

One of my ALL TIME favorites!  She looks JUST like Kyle!!

Going on my little blast from the past adventure made me finally realize, I mean REALLY realize that Ashlynn will be FOUR years old in 2 months!! She isn't even a toddler anymore! She is a kid!! Oh Where has the time gone?  Before I know it she will be asking to go on dates and wanting to wear make-up to school!   I guess I will just try to live in the present as much as possible and enjoy every minute of it!  She is so precious and she truely makes my life better! She makes me happier! Everyday she teaches me something new!  She teaches me to enjoy the little things in life!  Like smelling the flowers or stopping to see how something "feels" when you touch it!  I love being her mommy and I am so greatful that Heavenly Father has entrusted her "free" spirit to me (I call it "free" but most call it stubborn!)  I have enjoyed every minute of my time with her and am greatful for having it!  

Thanks for reading this! Love you all!

Stephanie 

A day at the beach...

Today we went to the beach with my friend Ashley and her kids! We had a blast!  It was kinda sad though because it is starting to cool off here so it could very well have been out last trip to the ocean on Okinawa!  Here are a few pics! Hope you enjoy!

Ashlynn watering the sand (so" her flowers would grow!")

Konner actually played in the sand more than he ate it!

A first for him!

 I am really going to miss the sky here!

 Ashley's daughter, Amelia, going  into the water...I really like this picture!

 Konner's absolutely perfect little tootsies!

 That must have been one good rake!

 Ashlynn building a castle!

 Like I said before, REALLY gonna miss the sky here!

 He made it to the water and LOVED it!

 After several hours at the beach, all the kids were sweaty, salty and sandy, so they got a bath!

And 4 naked kids in  ONE tub was just too cute not to take pics!

After a bath and dinner, all the kids were ready for bed! 

We had a GREAT day and hopefully *fingers crossed*  we will get another nice day again this week so we can have another chance to enjoy the wonderful waters of Okinawa! I think that is the thing I will miss the most when we move to Germany!  As excited as we are to go there we are a little sad to say goodbye to the ocean! Oh well, then we will have SNOW!! And hopefully that will make up for it!

Thanks for reading this! Love you all!

Stephanie

Not alot to say...

Well, there isn't really a whole lot going on around here now that Konner's birthday has come and gone.  I wanted to write anyway just to stay in the habit!  Konner had his 1 year appointment yesterday and things went well.  He is right on track developmentally and physically!  He still isn't walking but I recently learned that the actual expected age for walking is 14 months!!  Only about 10% of babies walk by their first birthdays!  Poor baby had to get 4 shots and a finger prick for an iron level test.  He screamed of course but was much happier when they gave him a sticker to wear (or eat in his case!)  The finger prick went a lot better! He didn't cry at all! He was a little upset about the band-aid they put on his finger though!  He kept trying to chew it off! And in the end he didn't get it off but he did get blood all over his face!  Since every time he would squeeze it, it would bleed more.  It took atleast 40 minutes before it finally quit bleeding.  I got my flu shot too....so today we are feeling a little blah!  We are watching Peter Pan which I think will be followed by "Booty and the Beast".  I am looking forward to a nice quiet night at home! We are going to relax, watch Disney movies and I will probably order pizza so I don't have to cook either! Should be a good night! The only thing that would make it better would be if Kyle was here with us! :-(  Well tomorrow is Friday and then we will have all weekend to hang out! I think we are going to go to the zoo if it doesn't rain.  However it hasn't quit raining for several weeks now so if it is raining I think bowling or ice skating! Ashlynn REALLY wants to go ice skating but I think we might save that for a birthday treat! Well, I think I have rambled on and on about nothing for long enough! Hope everyone is having a great week!  What do you all have planned for the weekend?

Thanks for reading this! Love you all!

Stephanie

Jungle Boogie!

On Saturday we had Koner's 1st bithday party!  It was a blast!  We had a jungle theme and a bouncy castle!  We ended up renting the bouncy castle from a friend at church who was kind enough to give us a discount AND let us keep the bouncer a second day for free!  Kyle and I are very tired and VERY sore but it was worth it!  The kids LOVED it!  Ashlynn suggested that we should buy one just to have all the time!  I took 150+ pics but here are just a few!

 Konner's cake! Not my best but still pretty darn awesome!

 Ashlynn showing off her mad baking skills!

 The birthday boy!

 My favorite!

Konner in the bouncy castle!! He loved to lay in the crack and bounce while the other kids jumped!

 Konner and his daddy!

 Konner and his mommy!

 Konner opening presents!

 He started to get sleepy!

 Who needs to open the toys when you can just climb all over them?

 After a long battle, Konner finally gave in and fell asleep!

 Ashlynn jumping! (or falling in this case!)

 Konner playing with a balloon in the bouncy castle!

 Not the greatest pic of me but Konner looks cute!

 Kyle was jumping and bouncing them! They were loving it as you can see!

 Konner checking out what was going on outside the bouncy castle!

Konner just hanging out!

The party turned out great!  Konner loved seeing all his friends and the balloons! The balloons were his FAVORITE!! We tied them to toys on the ground for him and he played with them for hours!  Then we blew some up and put them in the bouncy castle and it was really windy outside so they were flying around everywhere!  All the kids thought it was awesome!  Until they popped!  The netting was a little rough so when the balloons would rub against it they would pop!  By the end of the day they had all popped but the kids were still having fun!

Due to Konner's unexpected melt down and need for a second nap he didn't get to eat his cake! So we saved the piece with the candle on it so we can sing to him and let him eat it tomorrow on his actual birthday!  I will be sure to take pics and post them!  I have TONS more pics but facebook's photo uploader is being whacky right now and won't load them all! But when I get them uploaded I will post the link so you can see them all!

Thanks for reading this! Love you all!

Stephanie