It's been forever since our last update and things have changed quickly in the Rasband house!
First of all, Alina and Will are growing SOOOOO... Fast and learning something new constantly! They both are quite the little team too. It's fun to watch them play together and talk about all kinds of things... As Will attests they enjoy "Balls, pigs, dinos, blocks," and so on. Alina is definitely the more free-spirited of the two while Will frequently gets Mommy's tone and tells Alina when she might be crossing a line... he even will threaten her with time-out. Is is just me, or wouldn't you think it would be the other way around?
Christian is busy working hard at church and work. When he's home he manages to get the lawn mowed and make Alina and Will the happiest kiddos ever. Lately they have met him at the door with "I'm so glad when Daddy comes home!" we're proud of Daddy's hard work, he qualified for MDRT... Which is a pretty big deal! We know the Lord blesses us as we keep His commandments and we attribute all to Him!
As for me, life's pretty wonderful! In the past year I've gotten back into running and even completely my first half marathon with my brother Christopher. I'm serving in Primary and love it so much! We planted a little flower garden and have fresh-cut flowers in our kitchen right now! I feel so blessed to have the family I have and to know what I know. We really have a fabulous life full of smiles, laughs, and love.
Another little something that deserves mentioning is... drum roll please... we will be welcoming another little boy into our home come September! We're all excited... Alina thinks of something new everyday that she intends to teach the new baby. She mentions him in every prayer, but has made me very aware over the last day or so that I am beginning to look "weird." Out of the mouths of babes, right?
We just got back this past week from a trip with my mom and dad to NYC for their annual Dental Convention. We spent time there with my brother Jon and his wife, Lauren. We had a great time touring the city and finding random and delicious places to eat. (We owe credit to a friend we met at church for some wonderful suggestions we never, EVER would have known about... we're talking a restaurant without a sign, behind a curtain, in a hotel! Only locals know about the place... And boy was it fabulous!)
We walked by the temple in NYC and attended church... It was 5 floors of church! Slightly different than what we know to say the least! I'm so grateful for the gospel and the refuge it is from the crazy, noisy world we live in. There really was a huge difference that we all felt when we walked off the streets of NY and into the chapel.
Hopefully I'll update a little sooner next time! Til then...