as we were entering this new chapter in our lives, we were really curious how hannah and kaitlyn would take to the addition of their new baby sister and brother. with hannah being 5, she was a bit more predictable. we pretty much thought she would be a little mother and want to hold and feed. we were pretty much right on.

but kaitlyn not even being 2 we were a bit curious how she would take the change. much to our surprise, she has taken this all very well. i guess the epitome of it all, and i wish i had a picture, is when she sits down unexpectedly next to one of us and holds out her arms saying “me, me.” knowing that she wants to hold them is the cutest, but then you also have the desire to hold the bottle, or coming up to pat on the back for a burp, or letting us know that the baby is crying, or getting a paci when one is crying, or climbing on the bed to help change a diaper, or handing us wipes. she even knows where to point when you ask her where her brother or sister is. the list is endless and i love it!

well, i’ll blame the busy-ness of the summer on the lack of posts. there has been a lot going on in the bowden world.

first, the prayer request. about 2 weeks ago dana’s dad was diagnosed with lymphoma. he has a rather large mass in his abdomen and pelvis and small mass in his neck. he started chemo today and this should run 6-8 months. i think there is a 50/50 chance of beating it. tack this onto a recent move from nashville (where they lived 30 years) to atlanta. dana’s mom and dad are dealing with a lot.

second, we are in the market for a new house. i won’t go into it all here, but through random circumstances a lady made an offer we couldn’t refuse on our house and we took it. we have to be out by sept. 28. we’ll take boxes if you have spares!

kaitlyn has turned one and also started walking and hannah is getting ready for school. you can see that dana has her hands full.

as you can see there is lots going on. last night i posted new pics to the photo gallery. they include red river, kaitlyn’s birthday, and kaitlyn’s presentation to the church yesterday. enjoy!

random thought of the day while walking - if a 1.5 foot tall plant is growing out of your gutter, it might be time to clean them out!

i’m biased, of course, but i will say that we have two cute daughters. the oldest has quite an imagination, too.

on most days, hannah is supposed to take naps in the afternoon. some days she takes long ones, but on others she just sits on the bed reads or plays with her stuffed animals and lets her imagination run wild. just last week, we had two such occasions.

the first we didn’t really discover until that night when dana and i were getting her bed ready. we were pulling back the comforter and i found something not quite right. it seems that either her curious george doll was cold or playing dress up. george had been dressed in one her baby’s doll clothes. i felt for him, but really had to laugh.

the second occasion was more special. dana heard hannah in her room talking but sometimes it’s hard to hear the specifics. so, when dana went in to get her “up”, she walked in to hannah sitting on the middle of her bed surrounded by her animals, but this was no ordinary situation. hannah was re-enacting the manger scene. hannah was mary, baby bear was Jesus, dora was a wise man, beanerella bear (ballerina bear) was a shepherd, etc. hannah even had her blanket on her head as a covering. when dana walked in she was carrying kaitlyn. hannah decided that kaitlyn needed to participate. she decided that kaitlyn needed to repeat her role in waco christmas celebration as baby jesus. you just have to love the fact that she is getting into the spirt of the season!

kaitlyn will be 8 days old today at noon. now that we’ve had her home for a week, the good news is that there is nothing huge to report. kaitlyn is eating and sleeping well, so in turn we are too!

hannah has been the best and shows no signs of jealousy. she wants to help at every turn and does a great job with everything. she doesn’t really want to let kaitlyn out of her sight.

mary jane (dana’s mom) left this morning to drive home, but yesterday we picked up julie and chase (dana’s sister and our nephew) for a visit. we’ve had lots of visitors and more are welcome!

now, for two odd stories i found on the web today:
Squirrel Attacks 7 People
Man Missing After Pulled Into Ocean By Turtle

she is a pure joy to hold and love on. her big sister hannah has enjoyed every minute with her and doesn’t want to lose sight of her. her mother was a trooper and flew through delivery with flying colors.

for those that are curious, kaitlyn means “pure” and grace is for “grace of God”. some scriptures that we chose for her are:
Philippians 2:15 “…so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe.”
2 Corinthians 12:9 “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

thanks to all of you for your prayer and support throughout this pregnancy. it was definitely felt and will follow kaitlyn throughout her life. God has graced us with many blessings and we feel truly blessed with the newest gift.click on the picture or her name or the “Latest Photos” section to see the beginning of many pictures to come.