Pumpkin patches and Fall Festivals

Hello all,
Happy Fall to each of you once again! The leaves are really changing here lately and can I just say that I LOVE Fall! Except for the time change situation; anyone who has babies or kids knows that they do not observe the whole time change concept therefore getting up an hour earlier than usual and being hungry an hour earlier as well. This I have found does not iron itself out for a few days... but they are still FUN days together :). Min and I too have really felt the day light savings this year; we are both ready for bed at 9pm! Maybe we are just getting old; who knows :)
We are enjoying the Fall days together and the nice chilly weather too; I cannot speak for Min as he is out in the elements daily but for Ayden and I it is really nice to be all cozy warm in the house when it's cold outside. We were able to take Ayden to the Pumpkin patch for his first time last Sunday. We left our house as the sun was going down and got there in enough time to pick our pumpkins, take bunches of pictures and have lots of fun before it got dark. Ayden loved the pumpkins and most of all he LOVED riding in a wagon; that is what we used to pick and pull our pumpkins around. We were just happy to have family time together and laugh in the beauty that God has created!

We carved our pumpkins mid week and Min and I did ours one night and then the next day we did Ayden's little one. We introduced him to pumpkin guts and he was not very fond of them at all. So we didn't force him to do anymore with the pumpkin, except look at the cool pictures once they were all carved! He liked that part :)

We took Ayden to our church's annual Fall Festival on Oct.31st and it was a great night! He really enjoyed just being around people and having the freedom to walk anywhere and everywhere. Our son loves to walk around! We are blessed with a wonderful church family that puts on events like this a couple times every year to encourage family time together!

We are planning a small trip to the mountains this weekend to see the beautiful wonder of the Lord in the Fall colors. We are traveling to Virginia and we are very excited about the beauty that awaits us. I also am very excited to take some great pictures of our little boy in the leaves!! Pictures to come! For now enjoy everyday and may we each be blessed right where the Lord has us!!
Love from our family to yours!

Walking and words!

Hello all,
We have had some fun and busy days in our household lately! I cannot believe that it is already October 20th. Where has October gone already. I told Min last night that I feel like yesterday should have been Oct 1st. I think that as Ayden's 1st Birthday draws near the time in our household seems to fly by even faster than usual... this makes me happy yet sad that our baby boy is turning one! Happy in many ways but sad that the first year and all the fun milestones; I have been told though time and time again that it gets better with every day, month, year... and we anticipate that very much!In the last month and a half or so, Ayden has grown bunches. He is now walking, as of the last two and a half weeks, and has began to mimic us in words and sounds, actions and giggles!! He is too funny when we are laughing about something he will just break out in laughter. :) His personality is continuing to develop in ways that we just love and he is beginning to learn more and more the word no-no; for the most part he is a very good listener, and we are thankful for that... but we know the two's await us. :)Ayden loves to walk!! He loves to hold toys or really anything in his little hands as he walks in circles around our couches and kitchen! He lately has become obsessed with our bedroom because Daddy's computer is in there and he loves to play with the keys on the keyboard and mouse. His room is straight down the hall from ours and when we leave his room he 9 times out of 10 makes a MAD dash for our bedroom, even if the door is closed he will attempt to push it open in hopes for some computer time :) I love these moments because we see his personality even more.Last week because of the rainy weather conditions Min was able to be home early from work a few days and this was really a fun time for the three of us! We are so thankful for God's timing and just the ability to take time together!! We are hoping to make it to the pumpkin patch this weekend, weather permitting, so that Ayden can discover pumpkins!! I am very excited about the pictures that will come from this adventure!!In the next few weeks we have some fun things to look forward to:
1) The Fall Festival at church on October 31st; this is Ayden's first time and it should be fun!!
2) Grandma Ho is coming to visit on November 17th!! We are so excited for her to come and see Ayden and our home!
3) Ayden turns ONE on November 19th!!!! Wow how time has flown and how thankful we are for Ayden's life!!
4) Ayden's Birthday party on November 21st!! First taste of cake and ice cream coming your way Ayden James!! :)
5) Thanksgiving! One of my favorite holidays of the year!!!Okay so lastly I will share some of the fun words that Ayden came now say... some better than others!
mama, dada, baba, night night, uh-oh, dog, star, stinky, and lots of other babbles and giggles!
He can makes the sounds for a doggie, snake, monkey and make a fishie face... now he is forsure not a pro at these things but these are the fun words and mimics that we have had so far :)
May you be blessed in this week as you seek and serve the Lord right where He has you!!
Our love sent your way :)

Williamsburg, VA and new jobs...

Hello all,
It has been about two weeks from our return from Williamsburg and we are so blessed to reflect back and thank the Lord for our mini vacation spend with greats friends and family! We traveled to VA in six and a half hours, the drive was great and Ayden slept like a champ!! We were blessed to stay right in Colonial Williamsburg, which was neat because everything was really in walking/shuttle distance. The first night we just hung out and had pizza; we walked around the shopping part of the area and came back pretty early so Ayden could get a good night's sleep. We had not slept with Ayden in the same room as us for a long time and we were not too sure how hw would be and if he would lay down. So we laid him down shut out all the lights and laid down ourselves until we knew he was asleep. He did okay and we were able to put lights back on while he was sleeping. He was a trooper the entire weekend!!
Saturday morning we had the bet continental breakfast I have ever had, it was quite the spread, and I went to watch the kids from the Army Retreat for the morning, while Ayden napped and Min hung out in the room.
It was a really neat experience for me to meet kids from different families; there was one family with nine children. I spoke with them and their mom (dad was deployeed) and found out that they were believers!! It was really neat chatting with the kids, and playing games with them. There were a total of fifteen kids and four adults. We were with them both Saturday and Sunday morning and I had a blast meeting them as well as the other ladies who were watching them. The Chaplin that was holding the retreat for the families was a Christian and had the couples/spouses watch Fireproof and even send them home with a copy. I was encouraged at the retreat knowing that they were learning Christian values for their marriages and families!
Saturday afternoon we met up with our friends Harry Howard and Katrina! It was such a blessing to see them both again. We saw them during our time in DC last year as well and times with them are always fun and full of laughs! Harry was in our wedding and has been a good friend since high school to Min and I, and we are thankful that we have met Katrina through Harry! We also loved that Ayden was able to meet them!! He loved hanging out with them!!! :)
Sunday after watching the kids once again we headed to Jamestown to watch them blow glass and to maybe finds an adventure there. :) We enjoyed our time there; saw the water, ships and some other neat things. After that we ate some lunch and traveled home. We were really blessed by the time away and the weekend that was provided for us with the retreat. I look forward to more opportunities like this maybe in the future... who knows.
Min began his new job two days after we got home and it has been going well for him! He is learning new things, meeting new people and I think overall he is very thankful and blessed by this job that the Lord has provided for our family!
This is just a side note but our good friend Brian Douglas had been deployed in Iraq for the last four months and his wife Kimberly and I are in a weekly Bible study together; he just got to come home for tow weeks and a little r&r. We were so blessed to see him and spend time with him!! We are hopefully going to have them over for a Korean meal this weekend! I will take pictures then and post them later :) We praise the Lord that He has kept Brian safe in a distant land and that He has given him strength to fight well for our country!!
A little update on our growing boy... I took him to the doctor this past Friday 8/28/09 and he is 29 inches long, almost 21 pounds heavy. Min and I were convinced that he would weigh more but we were wrong. :) Ayden is doing well he had a wonderful checkup and the doc said that his top gums were swollen so that means we have more teeth on the way shortly!! He is growing physically and in personality everyday!! We just are so in love with this little boy of ours!!
We pray this finds you each doing well and thanks again for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers!!!

Love,
Kimmy and the boys :)

A long Silence

Hi there all,

I am sorry for the long period of not having time to sit down and blog about our lives. Some days are better than other for time but I just seem to fill it in other ways then to sit here and type about life. There are always thoughts running through my head though and sometimes I think, man if I blogged that maybe it would help ease my mind... but I never end up blogging. :)

Well live in the Ho house has been a fun last few months, we find ourselves very blessed each and everyday to have life physically and spiritually!!

Ayden is growing by leaps and bounds it seems; he is all over our house and we really let him crawl where ever. We have doors that close off the rooms and bathrooms so really that just lets him explore, which is FUN for him and us! I am not sure if the last time I posted Ayden had cut any teeth... but now he has two on the bottom and I believe that more are a coming, just based off his mood the last few days :)

A little bit about life for Min and I the last month or so has been consumed, in a good way, with finding jobs. Min is already working at Lowe's here in Indian Trail but it is not full time work. So really over the last two months I have found nanny jobs and interviewed probably at least fifteen times, and well none have worked out. Some were not willing to pay a decent amount for the job they were asking to be done and other families didn't like something about me or my philosophy of children. I have been trying to keep encouraged and persevere and remember that if the Lord wants it, it will be! So Danny Williams, he is Min's best friend and our family here in NC; Danny has been working at a new company and told Min a few weeks back that there should be an opening for a job, he just didn't know when. Well as we all know when there is not full time work the money in bank accounts can easily run low due to bills, etc. And Min and I both know that we needed to have something in place sooner than later, and my interviews had be flopping and we had this glimmer of a hope of a job for Min just no start date. Well last week Mark (another worker for CSI: the company) called Min and told him to go down to their office and fill out paperwork and do a background check and drug test. Well Min came home Monday 8/10/09 with papers that looked like he had been hired, we just had again no start date, which in construction you never know things could happen and they not need him anymore. So we have been praying all week and really since January when min left Trio-K, that the Lord would open doors and provide for us. And may I take a moment and tell you that in the last eight months we have seen the Hand of God Provide for us in multiple ways. I will tell you a brief story that took place a few months back...

I was nursing Ayden and Min was just hanging out in the living room, well while feeding Ayden I was praying for the little things that were needs for us, like diapers and asking the Lord to continue to provide. Well as Ayden finishes, he and I make our way out to the living room and a friend of Min's had stopped by, someone he had not seen in like a year. He has come by to meet and see Ayden and brought size 3 diapers, the size that Ayden was in at the time. And seriously I almost cried then and I tear up now just thinking about the fact that the Lord is the Provider in all of life and how He so loves and cares about us and meets out needs, not always our wants, but ALWAYS our needs! He alone get the glory!!

Ok so back to the job story, sorry for the sidenote. Min got called tonight, while working at Lowe's, and was told that he would start Wednesday of next week 8/19/09. One day after our two year Wedding Anniversary!! Min text messaged me this news tonight and I just looked at Ayden and said we need to praise the Lord!! For He has provided again and will continue to do so in our lives!! SO we are blessed to share that good news with you that the Lord has opened a door and allowed Min to walk through!! Please pray that Min would learn quickly and that the Lord would be glorified in him as he uses his hands and feet to provide for our family!

We also are very blessed to be able to go to Williamsburg, VA this weekend! I have had contact over the last couple of months with a nanny agency here in NC, and they do childcare on the weekends sometimes for military marriage conferences. In the past months I have told Christine that I would love to do it and to keep me informed about opportunities. Well last week this time I got an email saying that there was a conference in Williamsburg, VA and that our room, food gas, mileage and hourly pay would be included. I quickly emailed back and let her know that I would love to, in hopes that Ayden and Min could join me... I talked with her on Sunday night and she told me that they could come and we would have our own room!! SO we get to go away this weekend, and really get a blessing again from the Lord, through this opportunity! We are going just in time to celebrate two wonderful years of marriage and a beautiful family that the Lord has blessed us with! Seriously as I type this I am just blessed beyond!! I promise to take lots of pictures and post them shortly after we return! Please pray for traveling mercies as it is a six hour drive, with Ayden in the back :)

We are so blessed by family and friends, here in NC and at home in CA too! We find ourselves blessed everyday by God's Hand in our lives and hope that you can find that blessing too!!

Much love to you!!

Kimmy and the boys :)

Happy 4th of July!!!!

Well, the 4th of July is really not until tomorrow, but it is everyday that we have our freedom, and that gives us something to be thankful for EVERYDAY!!! We have freedom to worship the Lord freely in this country and we as a family are thankful for that; we are thankful to all the men and women through the years that have given their lives and served time in the military. For our freedom they have fought; may we be reminded to remember them today!

We are looking forward to tomorrow, we are having a potluck with some friends; it should be a great time. Our friends the Deese's just had their little boy Hunter on June 1, and our other friends the Brigg's are due to have their little boy any day now. So Ayden is going to have some buddies to play with here in a few months!! Exciting times!!
We have had a good month and a half. Ayden has cut his first two teeth; he cut the first and then a week later we saw the second poking through. He has had some really fussy moments but all really due to the pain of teething. We cannot seem to photograph his teeth quite yet but soon enough there will be some pictures up with some teethies :)

Min had his 1st Father's Day on June 21st! It was a nice day, we went to church and had lunch at the William's house. Min had to work at 3pm so we ate a later dinner. He liked it, it was steak and really we are not steak eaters, except on special occasions and well this was a special day for a very special Daddy and husband!! Min is a wonderful father to Ayden and I just cannot wait until Ayden gets older and can verbally tell Min that he is thankful that God choose Min to be his daddy!!

We took Ayden to the Park for the very first time a few days ago and he loved the swing!! He really just likes to be outside and listen to the birds and take in nature. He is learning to pull up and stand on his own and while we were at the park he stood solo for about 5-10 seconds, we are guesstimating :) But it is so exciting that he is getting brave about trying new things. He has began, for about three weeks now, to babble TONS!! Sometimes Min and I look at each other and wonder if he is always going to be chatty. We won't mind at all, I am pretty chatty so Min is used to it :) He began by saying ma-ma, when his teeth hurts him he would make a mmmm sound and then learned to say mama! And just the last week he has said da-da, which is SO fun for Min!! If we ask Ayden to say Hi Dada, he will mimic us, he is really learning and it is just too much fun to be a part of his life!! We are truly blessed!!

We hope you enjoy the picture updates and pray that you and your families have a wonderful Independence Day!! Remember the freedom that comes with knowing Christ; we are a truly blessed people!!