I sit here at my computer, in a town far away from home, wondering how I managed to miss the birth of my best friend's 2nd baby girl. April & I began a friendship long ago, probably before she & Chris even knew they were destined to be together. We met Valentine's Day in Frisco at the Stonebriar Mall for a triple date with Brad & Jenny (then just dating). I always tease April on Valentine's Day & make a big deal of our "friendship anniversary." She laughs, calling me cheesy-but I know she secretly loves it! So April & I began a long distance friendship, chatting it up on the phone almost daily. Then in no time Chris was being transferred here & they picked up life with us here in Denton like they'd always been here. Over the years, we have had our differences, but come to appreciate them & the honesty we know we can count on from each other, no matter how brutal sometimes!

When I had Joss, April had just taken a pregnancy test that resulted in a negative result, but she knew it was just too early for the test to tell. Sure enough she was pregnant with Avery Kate. So 9 months later Ave came into this world, born to be Jossi's bestie. Luke & I rolled into the hospital with 9 month old Jossi in her stroller to visit brand new baby Ave. We stood there at the window & Joss got so excited over seeing her, I said to Luke, "aww, see Joss needs a sibling. A baby brother!" Everyone in the nursery laughed at my insanity. Turned out we were pregnant with Trip & just didn't know it yet! 9 months later, Trip Henson entered this world. I was just waiting for the Lord to take charge of Chris & April's timing & for her to tell me she was pregnant (they were admittedly "not ready"). It was all apart of my plan. My plan, no one elses! So FINALLY on Trip's first birthday party at Chris & April's house, Ave comes out in a new outfit & April has this funny look on her face. She just stands there staring at me, about to burst, until I read Ave's shirt & it says "Big Sister" on it! I just about died! It seems like that was just weeks ago & here we are with Allie Grace here already! And I'm not there. I know the Lord's timing is perfect, but I still wish I could've been there to hug April & cry as I always do when babies are born, tell her how proud I am of her & of course how excited I am for Trip to have 2 amazing wife prospects out of her & Chris now. ;) But I'm not there to say it in person. So I'm thankful that April is a blog-a-holic & I know she'll see this eventually.

Brand new Ave & 9 month old Joss (we called her babyzilla because she looked so huge next to Ave!)

Us girls at the hospital when Trip was born.

April Holding Trip on my 27th birthday. He was 5 days old. She made me chicken pot pie for my birthday dinner.

Ave & April arrive at the hospital to see Trip.

The girls celebrating with a little dance!

April & Ave at when they told us they were pregnant with Allie at Trip's 1st birthday.

I can't wait to meet Allie & to see Avery in action as big sister. I'm so excited April gets to live her dream & be a stay at home mom. Life is such an adventure & ours has taken us far off at the moment, but I know we will still journey together.

~Keri Jo

Monday, Monday. Wait is it Tuesday?

Does any one else feel this way? I don't know if there is enough coffee in this little town to get me going this morning. I think sleeping all night for the first time since we moved here had a weighty effect on me. Last night Luke & I were in the study & we heard a noise in the house. We looked at each other, silently asking did you hear that? So Luke went towards Jossi's room & found her getting back into bed. He said "Joss are you ok?" To which she replied "Oh sure. I'm just getting back into bed. You guys are going to have to use the gate." Luke could hardly contain his laughter until he got out of her room. We used a child safety gate at home in Denton to keep Joss from sleep roaming & have just been testing out night time with out it here in the new house-hence the sleepless nights & wandering Jossi! So we put up the gate & went to bed. It was her suggestion! And we slept all night.

This is an older pic from back in May, at the cabins in Texoma. But I couldn't resist posting it, as it's a true personification of Morning Jossi-no matter how little sleep she gets. Sweet & sassy.

Pop & Honey Visit: Around the house shots

What a blessing to have my parents come to Colorado for a long weekend. We had such grand adventures with them here. We took so many pictures & did so many things together. They came in on Friday & left his morning. They brought the last load of our belongings from our Denton home. There was still some unpacking to be done & lots of decorating fun to be had (for me & mom). For dad & Luke it meant lots of hanging, assembling & handy-man work. The house is really coming together & feels so homey already. Here are just a few shots from around the house, in our downtime.

Joss working hard in her outdoor kitchen

Kolbe's favorite person-my dad. Have you ever seen a dog smile so big?

Honey & Joss work on a project

Trip-who wouldn't take off his sunglasses, trying to lay a smooch on Jossi

Looking cool for a morning jog

The guys-ready for some cardio

Baldridge Park

On Monday afternoon we'd about had our fill of the boxes & unpacking so we went to check out the park. We had been here on the 4th of July for the most amazing (and waaay too long) fireworks show ever, but it was dark then. It is a really cool location for a park. The river branches off & an icy cold stream runs right through the play area. The kids love it. I put my feet in to see how cold it was & I had to let out a girly yelp. As did Trip when Luke decided to dunk his little chubby feet in.

You can see the little stream running through the background

"No Doddee that's cold!"

Exploring

What an angel ;)

swinging siblings...Trip has to try everything Joss does these days

Sliding is such a thrill to Jossi

It's nearly impossible to get a shot of both of them together, much less smiling. This is the best I got that day.

"cheese!"

We are enjoying all kinds of new adventures & scenery. I will do my best to post more soon so you can see it all with us. My mom & dad are driving as I type, to come visit & bring the rest of our stuff. So keep them in your prayers & I will post on that soon!

Love to all,

KJ

Camp Thorkildsen has relocated

Yes it's true as most of you already know we have moved. Our new address is 2832 Glen Eagle Dr. Montrose, CO 81401. We are right on the Southeast edge of town, wedged between the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Forest & the San Juan Mountains. I still can't believe it when I run to the store how beautiful our surroundings are. Our house is in a subdivision, but right when you pull out there are horses, sheep, fields of corn so it's this perfect mix of rural, but right in town. Luke did a fantastic job finding us a new home on his own. It turns out he has exceptional deal finding skills & great taste in houses. Here are a few pics he took before we moved in. These pictures are the only thing I had seen until the day we got here & moved in. A little scary but I was delighted when we arrived to see the pics didn't do it justice!

This is our new home from the street

The back yard is so open & beautiful. We see deer here every few days.

My new kitchen-lots of cabinet & counter top space. Yay!

The back porch view

The back of the house. The two big doors are in the back dining room & the living room. Then to the left is our master with a door to the porch. This is the kids favorite eating & playing spot. We've been eating lunch & dinner here every day. It's too cold already to eat breakfast out here in the mornings.

Ok I hope everyone is grateful for this post. I paused in unpacking to answer the call of the masses!

Love you all dearly,
~KJ