Through the generations...

My mom was always one of those that saved everything her kids did. Throughout my childhood I was always going up into our attic to look through the things I had done in previous years. I didn't have much from when I was a baby but once we got into school she saved everything. One of the most special things she saved were some of my dresses from my preschool days. I have always been very girly and enjoyed dressing up from an early age. Now MY daughter is very similar...she loves clothes and shoes, shopping with mom, and wearing pretty things. We've even had our first argument over shoes as she wanted heels and I wasn't going to buy them! What fun that was in the middle of Target! I have many precious things that I've been able to pass down to her but this dress is the most special...

Brooklynn is the 3rd generation to wear this dress. My mother wore it as a toddler and she saved it for me. I wore it and saved it for my future daughter. Now she has the privilege of wearing it. It was so neat to see her wear that. I hope she will save it for her daughter, should God give her that gift. It is special to have special things to pass on. Not to mention...she looks so precious!!

Fourth of July

The fourth of July is quite a big occasion in the Dorrance home. I have always enjoyed the 4th - the cookouts, parties, yard games, and fireworks are some of my favorite summer activities. Dylan has followed in his mommy's footsteps as he loves it just as much. We have been taking him since he was one, and he has loved it ever since!

This year we spent the 4th doing a cookout with my parents - hamburgers, pasta salad, fruit salad, corn on the cob, and peanut butter pie for dessert! Mmmmm! To our disappointment it rained all afternoon but that didn't kill our spirit! We drove to Woodland Park to give their fireworks a try but they were canceled due to the rain. Dylan sobbed - you would've thought we had ruined his life! So we ate a late dinner at a hole-in-the-wall pizza place where they play live music. We then made our way back down the mountain and up the highway to the Air Force Academy where we enjoyed their fireworks. It was chilly and wet but it was well worth it to see the kids' faces light up.

Family Surprise

On Thursday, June 11th, I came home from my first night at internship to find an envelope on the table that said 'Family Surprise' in Danny's handwriting. I was told I had to wait until the kids got home to open it; they were with their Uncle Ben and Aunt Tina in Woodland Park for the day. As soon as they got home we tore into the envelope (I don't do surprises well!) and this is what we found....

Danny had gotten us tickets to go see the Ringling Bros/Barnum and Bailey Circus! We were so excited! It took some time explaining what the circus was as the kids have never been before. That night a commercial for it came on the TV so that helped the process along! That Sunday we enjoyed lower level seats at the circus. It seemed like we could reach out and touch the animals! The kids laughed and cheered and danced to the music. They each got to pick out a souvenir and we ate slushies in elephant cups that they got to keep. It was such a special memory for our family. Kids faces are priceless! Thanks for a special surprise Danny!

Our silly girl...

Brooklynn is our little ham. She is constantly making us smile and laugh. Her trademark is her smile - which never seems to leave her face! I love her personality - she is very rambunctious and active. She has a very strong will and loves trying new things. Sometimes that is difficult to contend with!! On the flip side she is a little mommy. She loves nurturing others and is very gentle. She will often rub your back when she gives you a hug, and at times she will just sit and rub the side of a my face as a mother would do to a baby. Her most recent quote to tell people is, "I'm so proud of you" whenever they do something well. She is an encourager and is growing up to be a compassionate little girl. I am so excited to see her with this baby. She is so excited about it getting here.

As sweet and cute as she is, sometimes looks can be deceiving!! Brooklynn is our "ring-leader" when it comes to getting into things. Brooklynn LOVES making messes and creating things out of stuff that probably shouldn't be played with. I can actually hear her tell Dylan to do the things she isn't able to do. Dylan will say, "Brookie, you're going to get in trouble", and will back away for a while. But usually he ends up joining in. While it is frustrating to clean up their creations, I do love that she enjoys seeing how things work. Here is the latest creation by Dylan and Brooke.

As I entered their room I found her squeezing a thing of powder all in the air as both of them ran under it. Quite a mess to clean up - a job for the steam cleaner! I told them I needed to take a few pictures to show daddy what they did and they actually posed for it. As annoyingly comical as this was, they got punished for making such a huge mess!

I must end by saying that Brooklynn has grown leaps and bounds over the last few months. She was in therapy for a foot deformity and for a sensory-motor disorder. After just a few months of therapy she is thriving. Her feet now face forward and she no longer screams when being handled. She doesn't trip herself when she runs and enjoys running constantly now. She also loves riding her scooter which has helped her feet turn out as well. Now its hard to keep up with her! I'm so happy she's doing so well and even more thankful she doesn't have to go through therapy anymore! God truly does answer prayer!

What is Dylan up to these days?

Okay, now I have to give updates on the kids! I'll start with Dylan! Lately Dylan has become quite the little teacher. He loves explaining how things are done to anyone that will listen. At times it doesn't make that much sense, as he tends to adlib if he doesn't have much to say! He loves teaching Brooklynn how to do stuff and "learn the ropes" of life. He always does it gently and calmly and when asked what he is doing he always replies, "I'm teaching". I love his love for teaching others and hope that remains a part of his life.

He is a student as much as he is a teacher! Dylan asks questions constantly and must get some type of solid answer. He is so curious about everything that goes on. It's almost like you can see his little brain working as he absorbs all of the new information he gets everyday!! Of course when you get lots of questions they are bound to be precious. The other night when we were out he noticed the crescent moon in the sky. At first he asked if it was a star because it was so small. When I replied, no, it's the moon he immediately asked (very concerned!), "Oh, no! Is the moon broken?". We tried to explain how the moon has a different shape and that it will grow and get bigger again. He seemed satisfied with this and went on to explain it in 3-year-old form to his sister! Dylan's favorite thing to learn is music. He loves ALL types of music which Danny and I love because we are both very eclectic. But he comes alive when he hears contemporary praise music and classical music. He loves Fur Elise and hums it regularly. Baby Einstein is HUGE in our home because they play so much classical music. He plays the drums very well. He has a drum pad and sticks and "practices" regularly. His rhythm is excellent for a child his age. We are anxious to get him started in lessons. Here he is singing at the party last weekend! The above picture is him laying on the countertop singing a song to Danny.

May 2009 Events

May was the busiest month we've had in a long time! I cannot believe everything we crammed into one month. But it was one of the most memorable months to date. The first few weeks were spent preparing for graduation - Ben and I completed a tribute video to my father that we presented to him at our party, my mom, Tina, Brooke and I had an awesome girls night out in which we took Brooke to her first movie, and I completed my final school assignments. My mom got us tickets to go to a Sky Sox game and we had the hot tub for the night! It was such a fun time. It ended up being cold that night but we still managed to enjoy ourselves. Since I'm pregnant I couldn't get in for very long. The doctor said only a few minutes if the temperature was 100 degrees or below. Luckily it was right at 100 so I warmed up for a few minutes! We also got to enjoy the first fireworks show of this baseball season. It was a wonderful family night.

The following weekend was huge! I graduated from Nazarene Bible College...finally! Friday we had a cookout and music at the school followed by a rehearsal for the weekends events. Saturday started early with Convocation - we were given a charge by the school for our ministry ahead. The graduates each take a turn holding a torch as we pledge our lives in service to the Lord. Following Convocation we enjoyed our graduation party. Once again my mom did such an incredible job hosting our party. We had such good food, music, tributes, and wonderful fellowship with 100 of our friends and family. Saturday night we went to an alumni banquet in which we were inducted into the NBC Alumni Association. We finished out the weekend by receiving our diplomas in an amazing ceremony on Sunday afternoon. My dad gave our diplomas to both Ben and I. It was such a special time for all of us! We all went out to eat on Sunday night and crashed! I am so excited to be done but I still have a 10 week internship ahead of me. I am anxious to have that completed so I can move forward to the next phase of my life!

It's been an amazing and crazy few months as you can very well see! We are all still recovering from the fast pace! Hopefully June will slow down! We'll be keeping you posted...

Looking back - April 2009

Since its been a couple of months since I've posted anything I will take a look back over and post whatever I missed. Easter was a blast for us this year. The kids dyed Easter eggs and put stickers of Jesus as well as some Christian symbols on them. It was neat to have them be more involved this year. We spent Easter Sunday with my side of the family since we weren't sure if it would be our last Easter all together or not. It was a wonderful day of food and fun and a great way to spend our last family get together in my parents house. My parents moved out of their house at the end of April, which was pretty rough on all of us. But God has been so good to them and is restoring the difficult time they have been through. The day after my parents moved Ben and I (and our spouses) attended an all-day senior event that celebrates the end of our time at Nazarene Bible College. We had breakfast and lunch at the Broadmoor, where we also listened to a few of the faculty members speak about our time after graduation and what lies ahead for us. It was followed by a meal and music at the Flyin' W Ranch - a facility run for cowboys here in town. It's a great family place for eating and doing the cowboy thing! We had a blast! April was a busy month...but so fun!