pictures from the summer

Karyss and Riley are so cute together!!!
Karyss got a new haircut and she loves it!!!
My adorable Riley!!

Riley and Seth in nursery
Dan thinks this outfit is girly but I LOVE it

We loved our time at the cabin in Tennessee
Riley loves church nursery

Karyss LOVED her birthday party in Canada...
My parents, sisters and my kids

My grandfather will be 90 in February... So great for him to spend time with us and my kids!
My cousin's baby, Rylan is 3 months younger than Riley!

Karyss already loves my cousin Derrick and Riley really enjoyed him too!!!

So sorry

Wow, is there anyone still reading my blog?? I am so sorry that I have not blogged in so long.. Almost two months. That's scandalous!! Sorry.
Things are going fairly smoothly here for us. Karyss has started 3rd grade and has a WONDERFUL teacher this year. We are really excited for her but I cannot believe my baby girl is in 3rd grade. Wow! Riley is growing and changing every day.He is almost 8 months old now. He isn't crawling yet but he creeps along and is pulling up and wants to walk. Hard to believe. Dan is doing well . I am so so lucky to have him in my life. I am just thankful every day but more lately as we come close to the 2nd anniversary of my almost losing him .... I am just very grateful for all the blessings in my life.. Too many to count.

I know this is a short blog but duty (Riley) calls and I must stop writing. I will try to keep up better and include pictures next time. Hope there are some of you out there still reading.

Riley is 6 months old!!! And he has something new!!!

Yes, it's true. My baby is half a year old and he has something new, actually two somethings....





See..





TWO TEETH!!! I know it is hard to see here but there are TWO TEETH IN THERE!!!!

My baby is growing up.. WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Camp

Hi All!! I promised I would blog about camp so here it is!! Camp was FABULOUS!!! I had never been "camping" at a place where sponsors stayed in a hotel like accomodation and were treated so well. We really were. The messages by Tom Farrell were fantastic and challenging to both us and to our teens. It was great. Meals were rushed ( I think we had 15 minutes to get in and out) but overall it was WONDERFUL!!! Karyss has a BLAST. She had so much fun and Rileywas such a trouper. I am so proud of how well he behaved. Here are some pictures of camp:

The auditorium where we met for chapel. There were over 700 teens at camp.
One of our teens making a silly face (center)

It amazed me how they were able to get all those "too cool" teens to play these games and really participate even when they looked silly :-D

This is not a clear picture.. This is less than half of the stairs from the main area of the camp to where chapels and many games were held.. UGH!!! Noone told me I should have joined a gym a month before I went to camp:-D

Riley did so well but he was not always thrilled to rise and shine in the mornings :-D

Karyss had such a great time. She LOVED her counsellor, Becca. She had fun!!!!!! YAY!!!!!

A long time absent

Sorry I have done it again.. gone a while without writing. This week we are deep in the preparations for Camp. We leave on Monday to go to the Wilds in North Carolina. Having never been there, I am really looking forward to it. This will also be Karyss' first time at camp. She is at Junior camp while we are at Teen camp. I am nervous for her and am trying to prepare her to be a "big girl" while she is there.. Is it just me or do kids just grow up WAYYYYY too fast.?? I am looking at her and seeing how tall and grown up she is with her little pre-teen face.. I can't believe how much she is changing.
Riley is growing too so much that I can't stand it. We were finally able to find something to clear up his eczema. It looked so painful. I know he is feeling much better now.
My Daniel's birthday is Saturday so I am also in the middle of packing and preparing, trying to figure out a way to make his day extra special. Anyone out there have some ideas??

As I said we will be gone all next week but I promise to blog when we get back all about our wonderful time at camp

Karyss is finished!!!!

She is done with school for the year. Can you believe it?? She finished on Tuesday with her awards assembly. It is hard to believe my little girl is a third grader now. Wow.

Here are some pictures of her special day!

This is Mikayla, her best friend. Mikayla is not coming back next year. She is going to be homeschooled. Karyss is DEVASTATED by this.

She LOVED her teacher this year. Ms French is a first year teacher and was so special and sweet to Karyss. She is going back home to Utah and getting married next summer. Karyss will miss seeing her as well.

Sorry I haven't blogged much lately. A LOT has been going on. I will try to get back in the swing of things now.

Hope everyone (all 3 or 4 of you that read this :-D) are doing great !!

Riley is eating "real food"

Hi! Riley's doctor wanted him to start on "real food" now. He is only in the 20th percentile for height and weight. Anyway, I fed him bananas yesterday... I am not sure if he likes them or not.. You decide ;_D I am looking forward to the comments on these pictures :-D

Riley is 4 months old!!

Can you believe it?? He is 4 months old... Here are pictures from the weekend!

Karyss and Riley all ready for our Spring Picnic!!

Riley all ready for Sunday school :-D

Long time no Blog!

Hi Everyone. Did you think I fell off the earth?? It has been really busy around here with church and activities and all.. guess we're just gearing up for summer.... I took up the task this week of clearing out Karyss' toybox! There were things in there from YEARS ago!! I couldn't believe the amount of junk she had stuffed in that thing.. Which led me to ask.. Do any of you have any good ideas for helping kids stay organized?? I was terrible at it as a child myself and I am not all that great at it now but Karyss is really struggling. Her room is small and it is so hard for her to keep it clean. Any suggestions???

Appreciating the "little things"

The very recent events in Virginia have made an impact on me. I remember when Columbine happened, I was home sick from teaching school, pregnant with Karyss.. I remember thinking how horrible it would be to be a parent of one of those students there. Now that I am a parent and have my two precious children, my heart breaks for those families, wives, friends, children, and especially moms and dads of those who were mercilessly killed in Virginia... It has made me appreciate the little things in my life so much more... especially the little things named Karyss and Riley and the slightly larger thing named Dan and my parents, and my sisters, and my friends.... It gives me pause to thank God for what he has given. I know there are days I grumble and complain about things in my life but God has given me so much and I am so blessed. This tragedy has caused me to pause and appreciate what I do have and I am truly thankful.
Hug your children a little tighter today . I know I will and also pray for those families and that this may cause some to look to God for strength and turn to Him for help and salvation

My babies

Just found some pictures of Karyss as a baby and thought I would post. Do you think she and Riley look alike???

Karyss was probably a week old in this picture and Riley was less than a week old. What do you all think?? It probably would be a better comparision if I had done a picture of Riley with his eyes open.

Our Easter

Karyss loved coloring the Easter Eggs.. Riley helped by supervising :-D

She LOVES Green

Finished Product! Aren't they pretty??

Karyss' Easter Basket

Riley's Easter Treat

All Ready for Easter Sunday! She is so proud of her "princess dress"

Our little Easter bunny :-D

It was great day

What I did today

Hi All This is going to be one of those frivolous posts so if you are easily bored you may not want to bother reading but I was so pleased I had to share.

Today I decided to take on the task of cleaning out Karyss' dressers. As I mentioned before I am a big "Clean House" fan right now. I LOVE how they have been folding the clothes so you can see EVERYTHING in the drawers when you open them and they look neat. I just have to share some pictures because it really turned out GREAT in her room...

If you could only have seen what these looked like in the beginning!! I hope she keeps up with it.

Here is what Riley was doing while I was working:

Cutie pie

Hi .

Just had to share these adorable pictures of my adorable son. He is really growing up! I can't believe how fast he is growing. Doesn't he look cute???

Riley's Dedication

Hi everyone
Sunday was an eventful day for us . We went forward during the invitation as a family to dedicate Riley and ourselves as his parents to raise him for the Lord. He was sooo adorable. The whole time Pastor Howell was talking to us he stared up into his face with this expression of wide eyed awe, like he actually could understand what was being said. I wish I had my camera then. Here are some pictures of Riley and our family today. It was so nice as each member of the church came by afterward to share their love and pledge to pray for us as we raise our children. I know I need their prayers daily. Both of my children are answers to prayer. I know I will fail them so many times but I earnestly want to do my best to raise them to know Jesus.

Quiet day

Hi all. Just a quiet day here at the house of Basham. We are sitting just listening to a Mac & Beth Lynch CD while waiting for dinner to cook (Cheesy Shell Lasagna... DELICIOUS). Karyss and I played some games today and mostly just hung out together for her last day of Spring break. I took on the horrible task of cleaning out the computer hutch and right now I must say it looks wonderful. The worst part about our computer is that it is in the living room so anyone coming in to our house can see the clutter... Not now.. It is DE-Cluttered. What a nice feeling. I can sit down and pay bills ( with all the stress that goes with that) and not be stressed by the clutter. Does anyone out there watch "Clean House" on the Style network??? I don't know how some of those people live.. I think there might be a slight exaggeration before the designers get there.
Anyway, just wanted to check in with everyone about our quiet day.
Have a great weekend everyone!

A cute thing

Hi everyone. My daughter did the cutest thing this morning and I just had to share . I was back folding laundry in the bedroom and Karyss was in the kitchen eating her cereal. I heard her coming down the hall and much to my surprise she arrived at my door with a bowl of cereal. She wanted to give me breakfast. Isn't that sweet?? I must have looked hungry this morning or something :-D It was very sweet and I just had to share it. Here is a picture of her and Riley .

Happy birthday!

My baby boy is 3 months old today... I cannot believe it. Seems like we were just counting down to his birth and now he is here and 1/4 of a year old! Here's a cute picture taken today .

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RILEY !!! We love you

A thankful family

Hi everyone. Sorry I have been MIA the last week or so. I don't know where the time has gone. Anyway, I am posting today because something something interesting happened.... I cooked a meal and my husband and my daughter both loved it at the same time and both thanked me. Now, to be fair, my husband almost always thanks me for dinner but sometimes I know he is just being polite.... Tonight I was thanked and appreciated.. And it was a trial run of something new! Can you believe it?? Okay, maybe I am getting a little too excited but my world is very small these days so I take joy in little things. Are ya'all dying to know what I cooked?? Probably not but I will share it anyway. I found the recipe in Light and Tasty magazine. It was Pita Pizzas which I thought would be more pizza like but it is actually a mexican flair. Here is the recipe in case anyone is interested:


Pita Pizzas

1/2 pound lean ground beef
5 whole pita breads
1 16 ounce can fat free refried beans
1 c chunky salsa
1/2 c shredded Mexican cheese
5 T fat free sour cream
2 green onions, sliced
IN a nonstick skillet cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink. Drain. Place pitas on a baking sheet. Spread with refried beans. Top with beef, salsa and cheese. Broil 4 inches from the heat for 3-5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Top with sour cream and onions.
379 calories, 8 g fat, 26 mg cholesterol, 52 g carbohydrate, 7 g fiber

Also, on the cooking front, we had an activity with the young couples on Saturday evening and our wonderful friends' Chris and Joy's house. I wanted to bring a dessert and so Karyss and I set off in search of something scrumptious... We came upon another recipe in Light and Tasty. It was for Caramel Brownie Pizza..... This also met with several compliments. We have just finished it at our house and several ladies took some home with them. It was VERY easy to make and fun for Karyss to help with. here is the recipe for that:


Caramel Brownie Pizza

1 package reduced fat brownie mix (13 inch x 9 inch pan size)
1/2 c fat free caramel apple dip
1/2 c miniature chocolate chips
1/4 c chopped pecans
Prepare brownie batter according to package directions. Coat a 12 inch pizza pan with nonstick cooking spray. Spread batter over pan to within 1 inch of the edge. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted 2 inches from edge comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack. Spread caramel apple dip over the top; sprinkle with chocolate chips and pecans.
330 calories, 8 g fat, 2 mg cholesterol, 63 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber

Let me know if any of you make these and what your families think. Enjoy :0D

Proud Wife and anxious mother

Hello everyone out there! I must say that this weekend I played VERY proud wife! My husband's sister came to visit us on Friday. We were all set for a weekend of doing things with her but it didn't exactly work out that way. We knew there was a memorial service/funeral on Saturday. Pastor asked me to play for it but told Dan he didn't necessarily need to be there since neither of us actually knew the person that died. Saturday at around 11 o'clock Pastor called Dan to say "Guess what?? You are doing a funeral today!" Dan was shocked speechless ( those of you who know Dan know this is a rare thing!). Anyway, he spent the next few hours trying to prepare for the unknown. The funeral was at 2 O'clock. He had never done anything like that before. Luckily, another church member was asked to sing at the funeral and she is one of those people who know how to take charge and she helped us figure out how the service should be planned and how it should take place. That was a huge blessing. We survived that together and I was so proud of how he boldly proclaimed salvation at this funeral in a room full of people that were mostly unsaved.

Sunday morning, we were woken up by the phone ringing.. Guess who?? Pastor.. still sick.. Guess who is preaching today?? Again Dan had to pull it together to preach the Sunday service. Again, I was so proud of him.. leading singing, the choir and preaching without much notice. I just had to share how incredibly proud I have been of him this weekend.

Riley got a new outfit this weekend. I saw it at Walmart and just couldn't leave it in the store. I think it is adorable. Don't you ???

By the way, is it possible that my baby, not yet 3 months old is teething already?? He is drooling and chewing and crying for no reason! Anyone have any good comfort tips for teething babies???? HELP!

Riley

Oh my!! Riley is growing so much! I am so amazed every day at how much he has changed and grown!!! Here is a picture of him today all dressed up and ready to go.. (not that we are going much of anywhere today but still...)







The shoes on his feet are really cute. They have Maple leafs on them. They are special shoes almost like mocassins that children can't kick off. Here is a shot of them