Dorks.

SO, for Halloween...Chad and I were DORKS. It was fun and rather entertaining. Oh, and CHEAP. I'm a huge fan of anything affordable....so the $4 it cost for suspenders was a great deal. We were going to make cheap costumes for the kids this year too, but when we were at goodwill searching for something else, we came across a rack of halloween costumes for kids. I found one that fit Piper that I was going to buy full price anyway, and here it was only $2. I was thrilled. :) Then I found a peanut costume...same rack only $4. What a great deal!?!?! For something that is only worn 1 day out of the year, 6 bucks isn't bad for kids costumes. Passerbyers loved their costumes..and although they all didn't match...they were perfect.

After Halloween came and went, it was coming closer for us to say good bye. Chad headed back to Springfield, MO for a temp fill in before they move him officially to Kansas City in March. It's been rough, but we have been doing well. We talk every day and thanks to Facetime, Kieran and Piper get to see Chad every day, several times a day.

We will be following to either Springfield or Kansas City soon, depending on a few things. We aren't fully sure when we will make it, but we are excited to be reunited again. Miss our family together!!

Now, if only our house here would sell........keep us in your prayers.

Introducing....Piper Rose

This is Mama's little cutie pie. I am in absolute heaven with this little girl. She's so precious. :) She is four months old and growing so fast. She is much more needy than her older brother Kieran, but I was expecting that since she was nicknamed Princess at birth. :)

She's already rooting for the right team. Rock Chalk Pretty Piper!! She's so adorable. 

Kieran had his first real experience playing in the grass. Needless to say, he loved it. He spent at least 20 minutes rolling around and crawling in it. So fun to watch :)

Studs. Two men and two babies. 

Kieran loves his Nana sooo much!!!!! This is the day we drove out to the Red Rock area just South of our home so we could see the pretty mountains. He liked them... :)

Chad leaves in only a few short weeks. We aren't looking forward to being separated for a while, but we are excited for the future to come. Our house is still on the market (siiiiiigh!!) and we are just crossing our fingers a buyer will come a long wanting to take it off of our hands. We loved the house while we were there....as short of a time it was.....wish we could take it with us back to Kansas City (along with my parents..) :)

Before Chad leaves, we are hoping to do a few more things. Bellagio Buffet. Beatles Love. Jimmy Buffett. and anything else Chad wants to do. 

Keep us in your prayers. 

We hope to sell our house and we hope I too can find a compatible job for my speciality (Public Relations/Social Media).

--Ciara, Chad, Kieran and Piper

Milestones that make a lifetime

After searching for months..we came across a great opportunity. We are able to have a home built and customized just the way we want it. We are very excited at this opportunity. Just a few of the options we chose were granite counter tops, specific flooring (tiles and carpet), and appliances. We had a lot of fun at the studio where we got to choose everything and we are very excited to see everything start to go up.

We know that even buying a house is a major life event -- and its crazy to think that we are HERE now, at this location with the opportunity to buy.

Chad and I were just thinking, five years ago, never did we imagine ourselves here, now. Who knew we would've had the chance to live overseas, who knew we would've added to our family making a family of 4. WHO KNEW?!! It's amazing and beautiful how the Lord works in your lives, isn't it?

We laughed a little when we asked ourselves, "Who knows where we'll be in another 5 or 10 years?!" Who knows. We'll be where the Lord takes us. ;-)

Chad has been very busy with work...as he always is. Some might call him a workaholic. His hard work and dedication to taking care of our family doesn't go unnoticed. I feel so blessed to be his wife.. <3 LOVE!

Yesterday, I did an experiment...made homemade butter, bread and ice cream. It was actually pretty awesome. It feels cool to know that everything you eat is all created by YOU...I am definitely on to something. Next things: jam, soap and face wash.

I am so stoked.

We are also in the process of making beer. Right now, it's in the process of fermentation. We currently have a jug full of hops, yeast, and peanut butter. That's right, you heard it..we are making a peanut butter porter. Delicious. In about a week, we will be able to bottle the brewskie and three weeks from there...we will be ready to enjoy some homemade beer. Psh, we will...what I meant is Chad and my parents will be able to try it.

I got my hair done recently...not really what I wanted. If you want to read about that..you can hit up my personal blog: http://jesuisciara.blogspot.com/

Enjoy.

Gotta love this crazy world...

We're alive and well....not to mention, all in the one place.

After being separated for an entire month, Chad, Kieran and I were finally reunited on January 7th!!! WOO HOO.

Not only was I reunited with my immediate family, but I've also been reunited with my parents and brother as well.

It's crazy how much can change in the matter of a few long plane rides :).

After arriving at Las Vegas Airport late in the evening -- I was ready to crash. I'd been flying since early in the morning and I was ready to be grounded. Kieran was completely exhausted too..you could tell he was in 'awe' to see his mommy after so long, but so ready to be in bed, asleep.

My first few days, like always coming from Germany, were a complete CULTURE SHOCK. It's always hard getting used to all of the commercialism. It's slowly but surely making its way back into my every day life.

Updates on everyone?

Kieran is doing great. He was sick the 1st week I got back..with just a minor cold that cleared up pretty quickly. His lower front tooth has just poked through the gums and he is sitting up like a bandit. For an almost-9-month old, he is making leaps and bounds. Although not crawling yet, he is so ready to walk. Hahah.. he loves to stand with assistance and would much rather stand and attempt to walk than to just sit. He is also very clingy, so we are working on that. ;-) There is also a chance he might not even crawl..and just go strait into walking. He can officially say "Da da, Ma ma, Na na, and Pa pa," and boy does he. HE LOVES talking..loud and proud. haha

Chad is doing great too. He is working as a General Manager at a Famous Dave's here and keeps very busy. He usually works 5 random days a week, all ranging from early early mornings to late evenings. Although the hours aren't my favorite thing, I LOVE that Chad loves his job again. That's the most important thing ever. He seems to really enjoy it.

For now, it looks like Nevada is where we'll be hanging our hat ...... at least for a while.

Myself? Being a stay-at-home mom isn't quite what I expected. I LOVE spending all of this time with Kieran..but I never really anticipated how much time, energy, etc. it takes to be a mom, full time. I thought I would have all the time in the world to work on housework and my hobby-businesses (diaper cakes, wreaths, photography...the list goes on..) however, with this little nugget, it almost feels like I have hardly enough to to take care of the essentials.

THANK GOD my parents are here to help. They are letting us stay with them for the moment, until we figure out where we'd like to live and get approved for our VA home loan. Mom helps out a lot in baby sitting and that alone is a heaven sent gift...LOL..

This is me signing out..I'll be back soon, hopefully?

OH, the announcement already made on Facebook... IT"S A GIRL!! We're having a GIRL, 6 JUN 2012.