Latest addition

We started a new blog for our newest set of toes.

http://sarahgracekilcup.blogspot.com/

Lanie is ONE!

Okay, I know I have been the world's worst blogger this year. I can't believe we started this blog a year ago, nor that I haven't posted ANYTHING since January. I apologize to those who have come back to find nothing new over the last nine months. I could have had another baby in that time and no one would know it! (Don't worry, I haven't.) I did actually try to post a few times, but my computer would not cooperate, so I gave up. Then I just let busy-ness keep me from coming back.

Well our sweet Lanie is one now. We had a fun birthday party with family, including my wonderful grandparents, my mom and step-dad, my sister-in-law and her precious kids, Darrell's parents, and our good friend Bryan. Lanie loved her cupcakes! Here are some pictures of the fun, and also of the last few months of Kilcup history.




Myck and his 91 year old Great Grandma Ann. Doesn't she look great??


Great Grandpa Pete joining Bob, Ruth, Darrell and girls


Fun bike ride!


Intrigued, but not sure about the candle


First taste!


You boys just stay away from my cupcake!


I think I like it!


Yup, I do!


Oooh! Chocolate too!


Mmm! Why didn't you give me this one first Mom??


Aaaaaack!! Get this stuff off of me!!!!!


Pretty new outfit from Grandpa Fox and Grandma Susan


This is what Darrell has been doing this week--bringing home this big boy! Grant called him in and Darrell took him down. Way to go guys!!! Awesome!!

Here are the guys with faithful friend Jeff Cox. Thanks Jeff for helping Darrell haul and clean up this beast. He couldn't have done it without you!!


The Olympics inspired some equestrian action in our house. :)


Elli, proud of her newly organized closet (and slightly mismatched outfit.)


Happy Lanie!


Lanie? Nope--Cari


Lanie loves books...


and Daddy tickles...


And telephones...


And peek-a-boo


And bath time!!


This is what we found on the morning Darrell and the five oldest were to leave in the van for a backpacking trip in the White Mountains. Darrell had to saw off some of the limbs before he could get the van out. Unfortunately, it didn't damage the van enough to call the insurance company. :)


Here they are in the beautiful White Mountains!


Are you old enough to remember Jiffy Pop Popcorn? I saw this and couldn't resist. While Darrell and the five oldest were backpacking, we had some fun with Jiffy Pop, the pre-historic microwave popcorn. (If your mom made you Jiffy Pop, thank her! It was a lot of work--okay compared to microwave. You have to shake the thing constantly for about 7 minutes so it won't burn while it's popping.)


Bethany's new 13 year old look--hair cut and ears pierced.


I'll take a Bucket-O-Baby


July 24, 2008 a very special day--Elli and Ben are baptized by their daddy.


What a privilege for a father, and so exciting for all of us.


They were so happy!


What a way to hike! Camping in the White Mountains...


Taylor, Lanie and Dad walking up from the stream.


Swinging in the woods is the best!


Gotta get dirty when ya camp!


Lanie disagrees.


Hudson helping Myck with dish duty.


Fishing was great! Grant caught his limit!


Ben caught a bunch too!


Grant turned 11 in June


Cari's grandparents, Carlyle and Annamarie Peterson, being welcomed to their new Sun City home by their Phoenix great grandchildren in June.


Camping at Knoll Lake for some paddle boat and canoe fun. (Lanie and Taylor)

Lanie Wakes Up on the Good Side of the Bed!

The End of a Year and New Beginnings

Our apologies to those of you who have checked on us recently and not found anything new since Thanksgiving. You all know how busy this time of year is for everyone, and it's just chaotic around here. It's a wonderful fun chaos though!






What a blessed year we have had. We are so thankful for what God has done in our lives this year. We began the year with our oldest son turning 16, starting college classes. We also found out about the expectation of our youngest who would arrive in September. The spring brought a hiking trip down to Havasupai Falls for Darrell and the four oldest, and a spring musical for our three oldest. The summer held camping trips and preparing for baby's arrival. Lanie Ruth arrived safely on Sept. 11. Fall found us enjoying the beautiful beach in Mexico in October and Thanksgiving in November. Decemer was full with a performance of "Cheaper by the Dozen" with our four oldest, a trip to Des Moines for Cari and Lanie to see Great Grandma and Great Grandpa, our 20th anniversary and of course Christmas.






Lanie's sweet presence in our lives has brought us such joy, and yet we feel the loss of our little Grace and wonder what she would have been like at each stage Lanie grows through. I am sure we will always have these thoughts, even though we are so happy that Grace gets to "grow up" in heaven. She will always be a part of our lives. As we think of her, we are so very thankful for the new life we see in Lanie. God is so very good.






Here are some pictures from this, the last crazy month of 2007. Have a very happy and blessed New Year!







"Cheaper by the Dozen"

Taylor, Bethany and Grant


Taylor and Grant


Myck (right)



A visit to snowy Iowa. See the big tree on the far left of the picture? That's my Grandma's street. I just had to walk down to "Beaverdale" to get a cup of coffee. (Grandma doesn't have a coffee maker.) It was about 20* and snowing. To this desert girl, that's a big deal!


Cari's grandparents' house


A picture of joy



Mom gave up on keeping the thumb out of the mouth. Lanie never complained about the socks, but she never forgot about her thumb either. Oh well. :)


All bundled up for 11* weather





Happy Lanie


Four generations: Lanie; Lanie's mom,Cari; Cari's mom, Betty; Betty's mom, Annamarie


Lanie with Great Grandpa Pete



3 months old!


Picture for Dad's annual handprint t-shirt


Lanie's contribution to the handprint t-shirt (Just try getting a three month old to unclasp her hand long enough to slather it with paint and stamp it on a shirt, without making a mess or getting paint in her mouth!--Feet work much better.)


Enjoying Carol's quilt


Phoenix December tea party


Bethany on a visit to Cabela's


A crazy Christmas party


tree decorating


20th Anniversary (yikes we're old!)


Christmas fun


Taylor the family photographer

Happy Thanksgiving!

We hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving. We did! We have so very much to be thankful for. God is so good!

Here are some pics from the last couple weeks.



Lanie's first Thanksgiving


Happy Hudson


Elated Elli


Beaming Ben


Myck decided to ride his bike to a friend's concert--20 miles away! He rode from our house to Central High School, stopping in at Grandma's on the way. She was surprised!


Beautiful girl


She's getting SO big!


All dressed up for a morning out


Pointing at a silly sibling


Mom's solution to the thumb-sucking. Easier to stop it now than later! Actually, she isn't upset by the socks at all. She just chews on the socks.


Getting a tour of the back yard with Myck


Loves her biggest brother

8 Weeks Old

Lanie is 8 weeks old, she is up to 13 lbs. and is starting to smile enough to catch her with the camera! She is charming us all. She is once again giving us a full night's sleep..about 11:00-6:00. Yay!

In other news...Taylor finished making a quilt for her bed. Her Grammie taught her what to do and she now knows how to run a sewing machine much better than me (Cari). The quilting tradition is being passed down from Great-grandma, to Grammie, to my girls. ( I had some sewing days when I was younger, but I seem to have run out of time for it.)

I finally broke down and gave Hudson a little boy hair cut. His curls were so cute, but when I started to give him a trim, I decided it was time to go shorter. I am not very good at it, but it'll do for now. He looks so much older, I think, and much more like Ben!




Lanie with Grammie



...with Ben



...with Taylor




Smiles...



smiles...



and more smiles!



Princess Elli


Taylor's finished quilt. Yeah!



Hudson loses some weight



We've had five finger sucking children. I thought Lanie was going to be finger-free, but just last night, and this morning, she found her thumb. Shoot.

Mexico!

We are back from an adventurous trip to Rocky Point, Mexico! We were given the privelege to stay in a beautiful beach house by some very generous patients of Darrell's. It was an amazing gift to our family We experienced trials and joys and were blessed through it all.

The trials: two days of sandstorms, three days without electricity in the house, one day without running water, and one stingray hit on Darrell's toe. One thing is true about trials, they make you very thankful for things you normally take for granted. We were all very grateful when by midweek, these trials were over, and we had health, power and water again. God is so good!

The blessings: More than we can list, but here are a few...playing in the sand and waves, seeing so much of God's beautiful creation, the luxury of a beautiful beachside home on a private beach, great time with our family and our friends Bryan, Amanda and Andrew, kayaks and paddleboats, fireworks, braids, walks on the beach, gorgeous sunsets, good food, a washing machine, dishwasher and coffee maker :), and learning how God uses trials in our lives to bring us closer to Him. Thank you God!

THE BEACH HOUSE


MYCK


TAYLOR


FRIEND AMANDA, AND BETHANY (AND THE DOGS)


GRANT, FRIEND ANDREW, AND BEN


ELLI AND HUDSON


LANIE

"I'm not sure about this Dad"...


She likes it!


Elli, Bethany and Ben hang out with Lanie on the bed.


Hudson digs himself into a hole. Well, he had some help. Lots of digging was done to make a huge hole with a wall to protect it from the waves.

BRAIDS!



The girls like to have their hair braided when we are in Mexico. Altogether the four girls (Taylor, Bethany, Elli and Amanda) got 150 braids. Bethany had 52 on her head alone! The braid lady's fingers were flying, but it took about 4 1/2 hours. If I (Cari) attempted this, it would take me all day to do one head, and it would look terrible.

One of the fun things to do in Mexico is fireworks. Here are the pyros with their stash, Grant, friend Bryan, Darrell, and friend Andrew.

Near the end of a week without shaving, Darrell decided to try something different. It's kinda cute, but he won't keep it for long. :)

CRITTERS!

Two of the less desirable critters we saw, a snake and a stingray. Although Darrell was hit by a stingray (probably not this one--there were many!) no one was hurt by the snake.

One of the fun creatures we saw. Taylor caught this cool shot of a starfish climbing to higher ground.

We also saw huge pelicans, playful dolphins--very close to the shore at times!, lots of little fish that would jump when startled, clams and many many different kinds of shells. The sea is truly teaming with life!

Sunsets at the beach are so beautiful and relaxing, especially at low tide. And with this sunset I will end our Mexico entry.

10-17-07

We've been busy getting ready for our annual trip to Rocky Point, Mexico. So I don't have time to write a lot. (I've already spent too much time posting the pictures!) But I had to post an update for the Grandmas, and anyone else who likes to check our site. Lanie turned five weeks yesterday. Enjoy the latest pics of the last week and a half...


Sleepy angel


Bathtime



Proud Dad!



Waiting for an important call

Gotta love those pants! (Thanks Semmlers!)

Sister secrets

Hangin' out

Couch potato

Tired out

Swingin' pretty

Thursday night house church girls (and one baby boy)

A few of the Thursday night house church guys.

Three weeks old

Tomorrow, Lanie will be four weeks old, but these pictures are from the last week. I think time flies faster every day older you become! Sometimes I think if I blink too slowly my kids will be grown up and out of the house when I open my eyes. By the end of this week Myck will have completed 14 college credits. (These last couple weeks have been grueling for him as he has been cramming to finish an 8 week biology class meant to be done in 16 weeks!) It is alarming to think that when Lanie is 16, Myck will be 32!!

Lanie is doing just great, settling into a schedule wonderfully, and delighting us all. This week the big event was our church network's semi-annual garage sale, which we do to raise money for an organization called Voice of the Martyrs (VOM). VOM helps people all over the world who are persecuted for their faith in Christ. You might be surprised at the number of countries where persecution exists, and at the severity of persecution suffered--imprisonment, beating, loss or destruction of property and home, loss of income, torture and death. If you'd like to learn more, check out their website at http://www.persecution.com/index.cfm During our sale, we met a woman who had escaped from Romania with her family because of persecution for their faith. She and her husband along with their eleven children (they eventually had 14!!) came to America as refugees. She will be coming to share her full story with us in a month or so.



Beautiful girl!


Getting one of many Bethany kisses!


Asleep in one of her favorite places--Daddy's tummy.


She's getting more alert and looking at things more intently, especially faces.


Rah! Rah! Rah! Hooray for the Kilcups!


Gettining some Elli love.


Our four girls--two very sleepy!


Setting up for garage sale.


Elli by the VOM info sign.


Lots of merchandise!


All the kids enjoyed the puppies they were giving away next door (while they lasted!)


Grant manning the money box.


Lanie helping out--just being cute!

Great Grandma's Quilt

Lanie got a precious gift this week. My (Cari) wonderful, sweet, talented, 90-year old Grandma Ann made her a quilt. She has made quilts for each of her 7 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. This one is so special, as it is so personal, with each of our family members represented on it. I appreciate the love that went into each stitch, and I know that Lanie will treasure it always. Thank you Grandma!!!! (Yes, it is hand quilted!)

Lanie meets more family!

Friday Lanie met her Grandpa Fox (Cari's dad). Saturday, he came over with Cari's brother Craig and his family, so Lanie got to meet her Grandpa, Uncle, Aunt and three cousins (on Cari's side). We all had a lot of fun!


All dressed up!


Comfy on Grandpa Fox's lap


Aunt Amy and 7 month old cousin Pierson


Bethany holds 2 year old cousin Phoebe.


Ben and Grant hang out with Uncle Craig and 4 year old cousin Payton.

Two weeks old

Apologies to family who have been checking for new pictures. This week we have started "back to school" after a two week baby break, so it's been busy. Early in the week our computer "ate" a batch of pictures--bummer! Tuesday Lanie turned two weeks old, how time flies...
Wednesday we visited Carol, my midwife, for checkups. We checked out fine! Lanie has gotten back up to, and 2oz. past her birth weight, weighing 9lb.12oz. She hasn't slept ALL the way through the night for the last three nights, getting up once or twice to nurse. But I am NOT complaining!!! She is still a great sleeper, and I'm getting plenty of sleep. I am very thankful for that. We are all so thankful and blessed to have Lanie in our family. Enjoy the latest pictures...



With biggest brother Myck



Visiting Carol (she's holding her grandson, who is about 3 1/2 weeks older than Lanie)


Stylin' in blue striped leggings. :)


Snuggled up in bed--such a good sleeper!


Taylor found this T-shirt and thought it was perfect (on sale too!)

A few more pictures...

I just love baby feet--they're so adorable!


Grant and Ben love their little sister.


Bethany is Mommy #2.


She loves Lanie!


Looking up at Grandma.

Sleeping thru the night!

Lanie is 10 days old today. We are enjoying her so much! She is really blessing her Mommy by sleeping seven hours at night. She's done it five nights in a row now. I (Cari) am so thankful and am really feeling rested. Here are some of the latest Lanie pics...

Nice weekend

We're finally putting up more pictures! We've been enjoying a relaxing weekend with our family, and a few visitors. Lanie is a precious blessing, but she isn't much for having her picture taken--at least when we try to plan it! Today we tried to do a little photo shoot, and she just wouldn't cooperate. She didn't want to be put down, and that's understandable since she's been held almost constantly since she arrived. We have plenty of willing arms to hold her in this house. So here are some picures from the last couple days. Enjoy!

New pictures- by Taylor

Hello there! Here's a few pictures of our new family member and her family! Enjoy!

-Taylor

Her Name

Lanie Ruth Kilcup

We had been so sure this was a boy (without having had an ultrasound, just going by size and heart rate) that we hadn't settled on a girl name until Monday. Maybe that's why she was waiting to come--we didn't have her name yet! As I waited for labor to progress, I surfed name sites and came up with a list of six or seven and emailed it to Darrell at work. He liked Lanie the best, and we wanted to use Ruth (after Grandma Kilcup) for a middle name. We didn't know the meaning, we just both liked the sound of it. We found out today that Lanie means "torch" or "bright light". Our prayer is that Lanie will be a bright light for God in this world and will touch many with her friendship (Ruth means "friend"). We thank God for this precious blessing, and for giving us the right name for her.

Darrell and I have been having a relaxing day, and haven't taken any new pictures today, but here are a few more from last night. Taylor was the photographer, and that's why she wasn't in the earlier pictures. And of course, the proud Grandmas!

Tonight the gang will all be back! My mom has been such a blessing in keeping them since Saturday. Thanks Mom!!!!!!

Love to all,
Cari

Lanie Meets Her Brothers and Sisters

Here are some pictures from last night when kids got to meet their new sister.

We didn't get a lot of sleep last night. It wasn't that Lanie was up all night, but Cari and I kept waking up and going over to look at her. She is beautiful. She is a gift from God. We are very blessed!

We are so blessed by all of the love we have received from all the emails, comments, and phone calls. Thank you for the prayers. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

More Pictures

It's a GIRL!

WOW...That is all I can say!

Lanie Ruth Kilcup!
Born at 5:02 p.m.
9lbs, 10oz
20 3/4 inches











More Pictures to come...

2 Minutes Warning!

Hey this is probably the last up-date that does not have baby pictures. Cari is doing great her contractions are getting stronger and stronger and are getting closer together. Oh Yea BABY!

Today is the Day

Those were the first words Cari said to me this morning. She has not uttered anything that confident before. Hmmm 9/11...I confess that I have a difficult time keeping all the birthdays of our kids straight. However I don't think I will have any trouble remembering this little ones birthday if it is indeed born today. If he/she is born today I pray that God has a great purpose for this one to destroy the works of the Devil...like those of 9/11/2001.

We will keep you all posted. Thanks again for praying!

One Day Closer!

When I started this I never imagined that Monday I would be posting that we are still pregnant. I thought I would be posting pictures on Saturday night and that would be that. I am reminded of these verses:

Proverbs 16:9 We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps.
Proverbs 19:21 You can make many plans, but the LORD’s purpose will prevail.

So we walk by faith knowing that God is smarter and better then we are. I rest in this fact!

Romans 11:33-36 Oh, what a wonderful God we have! How great are his riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his methods! For who can know what the Lord is thinking? Who knows enough to be his counselor? And who could ever give him so much that he would have to pay it back? For everything comes from him; everything exists by his power and is intended for his glory. To him be glory evermore. Amen.

Knowing Jesus is the most significant, meaningful, and comforting thing in my life. I agree with Paul:

Philippians 3:8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I may have Christ.

So tonight we hit our pillows knowing the King is on the throne, and that He is in control!

Boring Update

Hello, it's Cari. Waiting...waiting...waiting...I'm sorry we don't have more exciting news yet. I am having contractions every 20-35 min. Some are strong, some not so strong. I've been searching for more girls names, because we haven't settled on one as yet. We've both been pretty sure this is a boy, but I decided we should probably be prepared just in case. I miss my five other kids. My girls are bored to tears. My house is clean, laundry's done, I can't believe I'm running out of things to do! You'd think I'd appreciate the quiet and the clean, and I do, but it's BORING!

Well, that's the latest, for those who wanted more updates. Thank you for your prayers. I am thankful that we can trust our loving Father, and that His timing is perfect. I confess that my complaining is not right. No excuse. I have much to be thankful for!!!

One Weird Weekend

I cannot remember when our house has been this quiet this long. With just Cari, Taylor, Bethany and I here since Saturday night our normally loud and crazy dwelling has been still like a library. Obviously we don't have a baby yet. Cari continues to have mild contractions with an occasional strong contraction with no steady pattern. This morning she is bummed...like it is her fault. The baby continues to be extremely active. I wonder if it is playing tricks on the uterus?

I am going to go to work...THAT will do it! Plus I have always thought it would be fun to get called at work to come home cause the baby was coming. Believe it or not in 16 years of practice and 7 kids over that time I have never gotten that call at work. (Edited by Cari: Yes, it happened once--with Elli. At the same time Darrell was coming home from work, our real estate agent was on his way over with papers for us to sign to sell our house!)

We are blessed by all who are interceding for us. Thank you so much. Pray for my wife's encouragement. Pray for Cari's Mom and Step Dad who have had 5 of our kids. Talk about a weird weekend! Their lives have been radically turned up side down!

That is all for now...we will keep you posted if anything develops today.

Well Rested and Fueled up on Thai Food

Cari had a great nap. Carol recommended some spicy Thai food to help get her labor fired up. My parents were nice enough to pick up some spicy Thai food and bring it over. If it is supposed to happen tonight we have done all we can do to make it happen. Cari continues to have contractions of varying intensities and intervals...but nothing that is enough to get this very active baby in arms.

AND...That is all about that!

A Quiet Afternoon

Carol went home about 10 this morning. Cari was at "5" and she was VERY tired. I fed her a great omelet and sent her to bed. She has been sleeping ever since. Hopefully she will wake up rested and her body will be ready to rock and roll!

Bethany and I are washing our cars. Wow they really get dirty after months of not washing them!

Obviously pray that things will get rolling with Cari this afternoon and that we can be holding this gift at a decent hour.

Thanks for the prayers!

Still no Baby! :(

Its me Bethany, it's 10:18 A.M. and still no baby! Everybody is up except Mrs.Denny. I probably got about 5 hours of sleep last night, I was really excited and nervous I couldn't sleep until about 3:30 A.M. and woke up at 6:30A.M. then went back to sleep and woke up at 8:30A.M. Thank you for your prayers for my mom!

Good morning--no baby yet.

It's me, Cari. It's 8:45 a.m. No baby yet. Darrell, Carol and Taylor are sleeping. Bethany and I are up. This baby seems to be taking it's sweet time. I think he/she is having too much fun doing gymnastics to want to come out yet! Last night at 1:30 a.m. I was dilated to 7 and having contractions every 5-8 minutes. We decided it would be best to try to rest and see what happened. Well, the contractions sped up for about the first hour then died down to almost nothing. Unfortunately, I was not able to sleep much. I finally had to get up and eat something. Carol says it should pick up again this morning, and that my body needed to rest. We'll keep you posted! Thank you for the prayers.

What else is there to do while we wait for the baby?

It's 10 pm and for the last 2 hours Cari has been having mild contractions. This one is going to be one of those late night babies. The house is quite, except for the phone calls. Betty came around 7:30 and picked up all the kids except my oldest two girls. The girls are going to stay here and comfort their Dad. Our midwife Carol will be here soon. It is just a strange waiting for things to get going. We will post pictures of the newest Kilcup here with all the details just as soon as we can. Thanks to all who are remembering us in their prayers. Here is the star of the show: