Busy Day

I had a pretty busy day today, and boy am I tired. It all started with signing a contract with DCH. That's right, I am officially Courtney, RN again. hehe Don't get me wrong, the sound of me saying Im not a stay at home mom makes me cringe. I love being a caregiver, a nurse and a mommy. God has given me this love and I feel like its something I need to keep in my life. I plan on only working no more than one day a week to one day a month. Its truely for the love of my job, not money or anything else. Nurses are always in need and its sad to think that people would possibly not get the best care availiable. :) However, my #1 priority is Ayla.

Ok... I'll move on....

Later that morning, we had playgroup! Yea! We always have so much fun. :) We got to play with alot of kids, and when I say alot.... the room was packed!

Then we got the pleasure of spending some time with my husband's cousin and her family. We rarely get to see them, maybe once a year. Ayla hasn't seen her cousing Julia since she was 1mo old! The kids played outside and it was SO hot. I finally corraled them for this one shot!

Later that evening, we had our couples small group. (I told you we were busy) We look forward to it every week. Lately its been really hard to get together. This summer has been one of the busiest I can remember! Now that we all have kids its getting even crazier. It always calms down once school starts though... I thought Id add a pic of all the kids from our group. This was taken at our July cookout.

House Updates

As I've posted before we are under construction on our new house. Things are going really well! We have about a month and a half before we'll be moving in. The addition got walls and under roof today, the cabinet maker finalized plans, and tile should be going on soon.

We are so excited and feel so blessed to be making this kind of move for our family! I will try to update you on the house as they come. We couldn't be more excited~

Good Weather, Great Company....

Ayla & I recently joined a mommy's play group. Today was perfect weather to meet up and swim with our new pals. Its so nice having this bunch of mommies to talk to, ask questions, or just brag to! We are already looking forward to the next outing! That may be a week or so, until then check out our cuties.... I could bet we have the cutest kids group ever! :)

Hanging in the pool

Baby Aspen and Baby Meredith.... SO sweet!

It doesn't look like much, but this is post hug.

Emily and Ayla

I told you they were cute. I wish I had pics of all the kiddos... maybe next time? :)

Moments in time...

I love black and white photos. They have a certain feeling to them, as if you can go back to that moment in time. Rewind to that rainy afternoon, playdate, long nap, weekend at gramma's, or your honeymoon. This afternoon was so hot & humid we stayed in and played. Ayla is so sweet and funny right now. I just love every stage of life she's been through! Here are some moments in time, frozen just for you.....

I don't spend enough time just slowed down to realize how fast she is growing up. I want to be the best mom I can be for my children. It is the most important job a woman can have. I think most of us get swept away in the "day to day", then look back and think "woah... where'd the time go, what did I do that impacted my family's lives, who are my children looking up to". I want to make sure I use all my moments in time wisely.

Love is in the air...

This weekend we had the priviledge of watching friends share their vows. How wonderful it was to see two people come together in love and faith to be joined as one. You can't help but stop and think about your own relationships and how they make you feel. I truely feel so overwhelmed by how much love my husband gives me! I can not imagine my life without him in it.

Ayla must have been feeling the love, too. She is getting so big. She said I love you for the first time tonight. Now, I know you're thinking "Wow that's a mouthfull for a little girl". It sounded more like "I -WUV- ou" in response to Jeff telling her he loves her. It was so SO SOOOoo sweet! Oh man. She melts my heart. I gotta tell ya, I have alot of friends who are expecting and with my little one getting so big... I may be getting the fever! haha :)

I hope everyone is having a great weekend! Im so excited its only Saturday- that means my favorite day of the week is left. I love Sundays with all their glory... church, family time, relaxing, and hopfully a nap! :)

Good Intentions

Ayla went for her shots today. Boo.... that's about all I have to say. I just hate doing it, and my friend Jennifer has raised a couple questions that makes me look at immunizations in a whole different light. As parents, we all do things with "good intentions" like immunizations, hoping to pretect or prevent our children from getting hurt. Right now there have been some red flags in the media which may cause some parents to think twice... like the possibility austism may be linked to immunizations- Woah! As a nurse, I tend to put faith in most medical interventions. However, I still feel a bit uninformed and lost when it comes to this issue. Any thoughts from other moms?

Well....To bring some happiness to this blog... I think I will add some pics of my little angel. I have the pleasure of staying at home with my little one. However, as most of you know, keeping a little toddler busy can be quite difficult. We like the park and seeing the ducks, swinging, and watching the other kids playing and laughing! (and mommy likes taking pics!) Enjoy!

Any Mommies & Babies can come and join us anytime!!

I just love her!

Under Construction...

For those of you following our story, most of you know we are currently "under construction". Recently, we were so blessed to recieve an opportunity to buy a home. Now... believe me we were not looking. We love our little home we live in now. When this opportunity came along we realized how special it could be to have a home we could bring all our future children into. Now that new purchase is being prepped for family living. :) I am so excited about it's possibilities and watch new things happen everyday! A wall moved here and stairs over there...our master suite was started. WOW- its amazing how God provides and what you hear when you are listening.



So, now we're waiting for the right owners for our current home to come along! Ugh. I know that someone will come and fall in love and take care of this home. Its beautiful and in a great neighborhood. If any of you know of someone, or yourself, looking for a home let me know. I do have pictures posted on my myspace page if interested! www.myspace.com/courtneyowensrn



Until then I'll try to keep everyone updated with pictures and maybe we'll do a big open house when all the craziness is done! Hope everyone is having a great week....

Helping Hands..

You obey the law of Christ when you offer each other a helping hand.

Galatians 6:2

This weekend we went to Cincinnati to help my bro-n-law move. They are expecting their first child, well any day now! Gina is about 38 weeks- glowing and beautiful! We have been craving some time to relax as a family, but we knew they needed our help! So off we went. Ayla was loving being spoiled since she was the only grandkid around! :) She was so cute, climbing into boxes and asking if we would pull her around- she'd say "vrroomm"! By the end of the weekend we felt great spending time with family and helping someone in need.

(ps. i so don't know how to flip it!)

When we got home, I recieved my confirmation for "Helping Hands for Mandi & Gabe". I was so excited to be able to give this family needed help! What a cool website. Whoever thought of it is very smart! Follow this link if anyone is interested...
http://www.lotsahelpinghands.com/c/605506/login/

On the way... in her big girl seat

Last time we'll see Aunt Gina before baby Ridge arrives!

Here we are....

We finally made it! This is our first official Owens Family blog site, and I am so excited. Hopefully, this will help us document our ever changing, always busy life! So... I thought'd Id start by rewinding to share a glimse of our journey & how we got here...

April 2, 2005 We're Married!!

....and baby makes 3

Ayla came May 8, 2007 (4 wks early)

... now she's one...

and walking!