Life in the Midwest has definitely brought change for the Kannel family throughout the past four months! The house we have been renting is a huge blessing to us and it's amazing to think that we moved from a one bedroom apartment to a three bedroom house! Even more amazing...we had so much furniture crammed into that tiny apartment and in our storage units that our new, big house is already overflowing with furniture! Olivia loves to play in the back yard and likes to look for frogs and toads with her daddy.
She also likes to spend time helping us pull weeds and enjoys riding on the lawn mower with Chris. It seems like these are simple, mundane tasks...but when you haven't had to do it in about ten years, it's kind of nice to get back outside and take care of a yard. Things like that are often taken for granted, but we lived in a place for six years that had no yard and no garden...so seeing the fresh green grass out back is quite refreshing every day.
Olivia's "helping" doesn't always end up being so helpful, and in fact, this time it actually gave Chris a little bit more work to do since he could only use one hand!
Yes, she's asleep!
Olivia turned two on August 26 and we had an Olivia the pig birthday party with friends and family. She was very excited about her piggy cake! (I accidentally scraped off one of the nostrils on the top of the fridge...I promise it started with two!)
Chris and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary on August 27...my how time flies! We celebrated by going to the drive-in movie....it's been so long since we'd been to a drive in, and it was a lot of fun!
5 year anniversay picture More changes? After we have the house unpacked and everything seems to have a nice little home....we're planning to move again! We're making a few changes and moving across town in mid-October. So, everything will get packed away again and we'll make a new home some place else!
More, you ask? Baby Kannel #2 is due in March! I'm 16 weeks pregnant, have an expanding waistline, and am feeling great! Olivia likes to poke her finger in my belly button to tickle the baby who is "hiding inside from Olivia!" :)
12 Week SonogramChris is working full time for his dad at the insurance office and is also working on some architectural projects on the side. He is still involved with the church building project in New York where we attended, and was also involved in a major project with the firm he worked for in New York. He traveled back to New York twice in September to attend some very important meetings and make presentations to councils for his projects. And, he's headed back again several times within the next few months!
A side note...check out the new website Chris designed for the family business: http://www.kannelinsurance.com/.
Three generations at Kannel Superior Agency, Inc.
He is also doing some architecture work for a few organizations here in town and is trying his best to get his name out as a local architect. If you know of someone who needs an architect, send him/her our way!
We haven't found a church home yet and we are constantly still searching. We've visited several and have ruled some out. But we just haven't been able to put our finger on the right one yet. We're praying that God lead us to the right decision so that we may grow in Christ and also teach our kids about God and His sacrifice for us. We'll find the right one eventually.
Montpelier hosted the Williams County Fair in September! Because it was right here in town, I decided to buy a weekly pass and we went to the fair almost every day. Olivia really enjoyed walking around, riding in the stroller, seeing the animals, watching the rides, and looking at all the people. It's been a great outing for us all week, either going in the morning before lunch or after nap time....and sometimes both!
This is the goat that wouldn't stop eating her pants! The next time we went to see it, it ate her stroller!
She cried/screamed through the first two laps of the pony ride...but then sat happily and (mostly) enjoyed herself after that.
Olivia is slurping down the last few drops of her daddy's Dairy Producers Chocolate Milkshake...don't miss a drop!
Stay tuned as we prepare to move again, remodel a house, decorate, and make more changes to our lives! It seems never-ending!
