Thanksgiving in Oklahoma!

We are currently out in Oklahoma visiting Blake's family for the Thanksgiving holiday.  We have been so looking forward to getting out here and seeing everyone.  We come out once a year, either for Christmas or Thanksgiving, so it has been since last Christmas since we've seen everyone.  I have been thinking a lot about our trip last year and how Karis was only a little under 6 months old, just started to roll over, and was so much smaller then.  Now, she's running around and laughing at her big cousins!  She has grown so much, but I know that's how it goes!  

I want to share some videos from our time our so far and will hopefully share some more as the week goes on.  

One thing I was really anxious about was the plane ride out with Karis.  Being her first time on a plane, I was really expecting and preparing for the worst.  We had an hour flight and then a 3 1/2 hour flight.  I prayed for abundant grace and mercy, and the Lord was so gracious to us!  Karis did SO well on both flights!  There were no issues with her ears popping, so was fascinated with looking out the window, she looked through the "Sky Mall" magazines, and we set her up with this..

She's a natural traveler!  However, she does get cranky when she doesn't really nap during the day.  On our day of traveling Karis only slept about 45 minutes on the second flight.  She was a sleepy sleepy girl when we finally arrived.  Here she is while Blake was getting our baggage.

She slept well that first night for sure!  It's been a great trip so far.  We are in Oklahoma City right now visiting Blake's mom and sister's.  Tomorrow we will travel to the Tulsa area to see Sondra, Blake's step-mom.   Finally, we will head to Kansas City to see Blake's Dad's side of the family.  It's going to be a quick visit with everyone, so we'll see about getting more posts on here!  

We miss everyone out in North Carolina but are thankful for the opportunity to spend some time with family in Oklahoma.  Hopefully there will be more to come!  

Currently on my mind....

There have been so many times that I have thought about blogging certain things, but then I get busy doing other things (chasing my walking one year old around, cleaning up the house, taking a nap!) and blogging gets put aside.  But tonight, Blake is taking a break from working on the computer, and so I get a little time to update and share some things!  I am quite excited!  

For the past few weeks, I have been so encouraged and challenged by my time reading in the Bible.  I try every day (although, it doesn't happen every day, but I still try) to take some time while Karis is napping, to just sit, read, journal, and meditate on the Bible.  There are a few verses that I keep coming back to that God has been using so much in my heart and life.  First is Colossians 1:9-12 and also 2 Peter 1:3-8 (I will share more about the 2 Peter verses in a later post).

With Colossians, I have been really challenged in the area of my prayer life by these words...

9 "And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding"

10 "so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God."

There are so many examples in the Bible of great prayers to pray for others.  I was humbled by the fact that not only do I not pray like this for others, but often times I go without praying much for others at all.  Clearly Paul had a huge heart for prayer for the people that he ministered to and cared for, and it is my desire to cultivate a heart like this for the people in my life.  These verses have been so challenging for me, but I have seen growth in my prayers!  God's grace for sure!  We are about to do a book study at church based on the prayers of Paul, so I am very excited to dig deeper into the example of prayer that Paul gives us in the Bible.  I will have to share my learnings on here once we begin (not until October).  I am really looking forward to it!  

So that's one way I have been challenged lately, how about you?  Are there verses or an area that you feel challenged to grow in?  How is the fight for growth and faith going?  I would love to hear!  

One of Karis' many talents...

For a while now Karis has been a pro at drinking from a sippy cup.  She has no problem with chugging her water down!  But, there is something else that she has discovered that she can do with the water she drinks.  Here is evidence of one of Karis' many talents!  

We will have to teach her that this may not be the most polite thing to do at the dinner table with water.  It's cute for now though!  : )  

My poor pregnant mind....

You know you've got a pregnant mind when....

....You have been driving a car for over a year, fill it up with gas a lot, and yet somehow forget for the first time what side the gas tank is on.  Oh the joys of getting back in the car and driving over to a different pump that's on the side where your tank is.  

...You have lived in a town for over 3 years, have eaten at all the available restaurants numerous times, and yet forget for the first time that there is an Arby's in the town.  I LOVE eating at the Arby's here and just ate there a few days ago, but I still forgot for a moment that we even had one.  Man, that's bad!

....You are trying to remember the third item for your list, but you can't remember it.  I totally had three examples to share, but I can't remember the third.  My poor pitiful pregnant mind!  

Hopefully it will all come back to me!  : )  

Friday Videos

These are two new videos of our little girl walking and talking!  During the talking video, it is so cute to hear Karis having a "semi" conversation.  We were laughing so much at this!  She's going to be quite the talker one day....soon probably!  

Update: A wedding, a walking baby, and the bun in the oven

It has been forever again. It always happens with me. What can you do but pick up, brush off, and write a new post! : )

We have had some busy but really fun times in the past few weeks! Here are a few highlights from what's been going on.....

We did some traveling for my friend Summer's wedding! I was excited to be the matron of honor, but with that came some responsibilities that were stretching for me! I planned the bachelorette/lingerie shower (which I have never ever done anything like that before), I ran around doing some last minute things with the lovely bride, and entrusted my child to the gracious care of my mom and sister for the majority of the week we were there! It was crazy at times, but the wedding was wonderful and so much fun! It was one big college reunion for sure! So many faces that I haven't seen in forever, and it was just wonderful to catch up with some of them!

Also big news....Karis is WALKING now! Hello big girl! She started out taking a few steps and would then fall and crawl, but just in the past 2 weeks or so, she has taken off! It has been so much fun to see her discover her new ability and all the cute faces she makes when walking around! A video of this magnificent ability is definitely on the way!

Finally, in the current events in the Hollander family, we found out yesterday that we are going to have a little BOY! We are so excited to add a little fella to our family, and are praying for a continued healthy pregnancy and delivery for the little guy!

So, that's a little update. Things are going well here! I will try my best to post more and be a bit more consistent, but with a walking crazy little girl, we shall see! : )

Karis is One!!!

I can hardly believe the words that I am typing now, my daughter is ONE. It does not seem like a year since she came into our lives. I think having kids, not just getting older, makes time go by so so much faster! This first birthday for my little girl was wonderful! We had cake and several varieties of homemade ice cream! We celebrated Monday night (before her actual birthday I know) with some great friends and family. My mom and step-dad were able to be here which was so nice! We had our old neighbors from our seminary apartment come over, and then lots of folks from our church. There was a house full for sure! I know Karis won't remember it, but with pictures and videos she will be able to look back and see how cared for she was on her first birthday! We are so thankful for everyone that was able to come celebrate, and wish that all our friends and family could have been there with us. For those who couldn't be there, here are some sweet pictures of the birthday girl at her party!






We are so excited to see what the Lord does in our little girl's life! I already see such a fun little personality, and such a friendly spirit within her. She loves people, and I pray that the Lord will use her as a mighty tool for His kingdom. He formed her, He is sustaining her, and He has the plan for her life. We love Karis and are daily blessed by her. It's hard to believe that on her 2nd birthday she will have a little brother or sister! Crazy! God is so good!

Also, for video Friday......

check out this link to a video of Karis enjoying her birthday cake! My mom videoed this for us while Karis was trying to figure out the whole eating cake thing! It's cute!
Click Here!!