Directed Steps

Farewell Friends...

2011-11-23T10:46:00.000-08:00

The LORD is so good to bless us with many friends but everyone now and then he blesses with extra-special friend relationships. The P Family* are just such friends. Brian has know them since his first days in California and over the years they have proved to be encouraging, available, full of wise counsel and a ton of fun! Since long before we met them Dan and Rachel's goal has been to serve the Lord on the mission field, over the years we've known them it has been convicting and neat to watch them move through life with that goal ever before them. Finally, after many years of prayer, a couple changes in designated countries and lastly support raising, they're finally headed to the place the Lord has for them to serve him! We will miss these dear friends so very much! We'll miss having dinners together, game times and late night chats, but at the same time we're so very excited for them! Being so close to them these past years has made their goal and ministry very special and important to our hearts as well. We're filled with hopes and prayers to our sovereign God for this special families safety, health and joyful perseverance in their new ministry!

Chloe with some of the P kids and a few other neighbor kids.

*Due to the place this Family is going to I figured it might be best not to state their last name or their new home country.

Our little Princess

2011-11-21T15:09:00.001-08:00

Chloe is such a fun combination of total girly girl (princess dresses, dancing, crowns) and an outside loving, invites bugs to crawl on her hands, loves getting drenched in the rain kind of girl! Over the last months I've enjoyed watching her play skills develop (yes it does take skills to play;). She's getting better and better at playing with other kids as well as imaginary play by herself (or with imaginary friends). Here are some of my favorite pictures that we've taken of her this past year in the midst of her imaginative play! I hope in some small way they help communicate to you in ways that words can't just how much fun Chloe has on a daily basis.
PS- These are all my favorites from January up till now so you'll probably notice a change in Chloe as you scroll down.

I took this not too long after Colton was born. Chloe had been attempting to put a diaper on her baby the way she had seen me put them on Colton.

...sittin' in her "boat"

Her jewelry box she got for Valentines day

Playing princesses with Alicia

Hiking with Dad

Being "Mommy" to her baby monkey

Cinderella! This was not an attempt to be like cinderella as she had not seen it at this time. This is just Chloe, doing Chloe-ish things.

Right before I snapped this Chloe told me that she wanted to "do this like the people who sing..."

Like her mommy before her she loves this baby and prefers to carry her around on her hip

First time using scissors!

She loved it!

She fixed her hair all by herself!!

What does a princess do when her yo-yo gets tangled? Turns it into a necklace of course!

Chloe and her "honey" kitties. (Honeys is how she refers to kids)

A quick visit from Grampa Casebolt!!

2011-11-16T14:26:00.000-08:00

We love having visitors! And Grampa Casebolt is no exception. We got to have an oh so quick visit with him when he flew down to help Nathan drive their car and moving truck to Nebraska. Grandma asked for some pictures, so here ya go Gramma!

Goodbye to Auntie Kristin and Uncle Nathan

2011-11-16T14:19:00.000-08:00

I've never liked saying goodbye... when I was younger I would ball my eyes out hours and sometimes even a day or two before the actual goodbye was even set to take place. I think I've grown up some because the tears are easier to control, but the act of saying goodbye is no more enjoyable. We recently said a hard goodbye to Brian's brother Nathan and his wife Kristin. Kristin has been a dear friend of mine since the summer of 2003 and its been fun to go through this time of life together. Brian and I were both in their wedding (before we were dating), they were both in our wedding. They've been at the hospital for the birth of our children, spent time and energy feeding us and hosting us in their home, hung out at our place many a time, encouraged us through hard times, counseled us through tough decisions and even followed us to a knew church! :D But our roads are dividing, God provided Nathan with a great job in the red, corn filled state of Nebraska and they are heeding the call. We're excited for them! Good ol' So-Cal is a hard place to live and thrive, we're thankful anytime someone can spread their wings and go elsewhere! Nathan and Kristin, we miss you tons already! Can't wait to see you at Christmas and pray that you'll settle in well to the life that God has for you in cornhusker country!

Lately, if I want to give you Brian's views on an event I copy his Facebook status. Hope you enjoy reading what he had to say as much as I did:

" Once upon a time there lived a man of humble beginnings. The eldest of the warriors twelve, he spent his time in studies and thought, discerning the weaknesses of his foe: Planet Earth. There was nothing, he thought, that could repel his assault once it had begun, as he so desired to achieve world domination. After studying under the likes of Janice the Schooler and Robert the Jones, his march on mankind begun, with his keen gaze fixed upon the fortress of Los Angeles. "This soon shall be mine", he thought. And he thought rightly, for there were none prepared for his onslaught. From the the alliance of the two strongholds of Grace, to the peasant folks whose homes had been destroyed by fire and flood, one by one they fell, and there were none to rescue them. As those who opposed him grew few, and as the dust of warfare subsided, he looked over his vast domain, and desired more. This land was rich indeed, but it was only the beginning of his conquest. He had achieved victory in the battle, but the war was far from over. His gaze soon turned to the lowly countryside of Neb, and the village of Lincoln. And so, gathering his forces, with his queen at his side, he marched to his next destination, to the land unconquered, the land that would soon be his."

Brian submitted to a hug from Nathan...

...but got more than he bargained for...

Ben joined in...

...and then Caleb...

Colton: 12 month post

2011-11-09T13:57:00.000-08:00

I finally got Colton's 12 month pictures taken with his horsey!!

Here's some of my favorite pictures that we took of Colton while he was 11 months old.

Daddy let Colton have some coffee fumes.

This is one of Colton's newest and goofiest funny faces.

It's a little hard to tell what this picture and next are showing so I'll explain. Colton is pointing! I just love when they learn to control their chubby little index fingers!! In these pictures he's pointing at the pictures in a book we're reading.

First time coloring! He had fun! Although he was a little frustrated as I stood there and reminded him to not eat the crayon but to color on the paper. heh! Maybe he's a little young for this yet!

Colton loves to be outside!...

He also loves to play with balls!

Yet another silly Colton face!

Here's one of my favorite Chloe/Colton pictures taken this past month!

And finally!.........Drum roll please!!!....... His 12month pictures with horsey!! Colton so much prefers to be moving, it's hard for me to get even one good picture of him and the horsey! Anyway, here's what I got...

This dump truck was a gift from some friends/neighbors. Every little boy needs a dump truck!

And some with him and Chloe!

Happy 1st Birthday Little Colton!!

2011-10-19T21:08:00.000-07:00

Our little Colton turned 1 yesterday!! Life with Colton Wayne is so... fun... sweet....happy, that's a good word. Oh he has his sad times, don't get me wrong. But for the most part he's just about always happy! I still remember when he was younger and would need to cry for some reason, but still couldn't wipe the smile off his face. O how we've enjoyed this past year!

Last night we had a birthday party for Colton. Aunties, Uncles, Cousins and the Powell family pretty much filled our house. Thanks everyone for making it a fun evening!!

Even though he's only one I wonder and pray about what kind of man Colton will grow into. We pray daily that our Lord will save him and make him a godly man. I pray he will grow up to be like his Daddy in many ways. I hope that I will be faithful and diligent to be the Mommy that he needs me to be!

Lord God,

Please bless Colton Wayne Casebolt! Please draw him to yourself! Allow him to experience your special grace that you pour out on those you have humbled and brought to repentance. Please help him to grow up to be a kind, patient, mans man. Thank you for his happy smiles and loving snuggles. Help Brian and I to be consistent in our love, discipline and training with him. ~Amen

I love my little man!!

Decorating for fall!

2011-10-08T09:30:00.000-07:00

I LOVE FALL!!

I love when the weather starts cooling down, I love when the wind blows and kicks up crumbling leaves on the ground, I love orange, I love seeing people in scarves, i love that smell in the air that can't be described with words except to say "it smells like fall". I love getting out my fall decorations!! This year I had thought to do it on my birthday, but when my husband surprised me with the day off I decided to wait until the next day. I think part of the fun of getting decorations out now is that I have Chloe to help! It just adds to the enjoyment to have my little girl excited about and exclaiming over everything!!

How very blessed I am!!

2011-10-07T15:09:00.000-07:00

Birthdays are wonderful opportunities to reflect on the life God has given us. I definitely have an amazing life. This day spent celebrating the completion of my 28th year was full of joys. My husband surprised me the evening before by telling me that he had taken the day off!! I was so pleased! I think that, all by itself, made my day!! From a delicious breakfast at Egg Plantation to the pumpkin pie (with a match for a birthday candle) we had for dessert that night, the day was full of reasons to be thankful! The top four being; the salvation I have as a gift from my faithful God, Brian Casebolt, Chloe Casebolt and Colton Casebolt. What more do I need really!? Before I post a few pictures from our adventures throughout the day I wanted to share my husbands Facebook status that he posted: It made me smile and tear up all at the same time. I have the most goofy, sweet, funny, loving husband a woman could ever hope for!!

"28 years ago today a hero was born. Her super powers are none like the world has ever seen. Not only is she breathtakingly beautiful, but there are none who could match her in brains and brawn! She can change a diaper while catching a flying, plastic disc! She can frost a cake while delivering a deadly round-house kick to the head! She can fend off hoards of mutant dust bunnies while creating pillows and aprons for needy children! She can survive large amounts of avocado, and still make the best carrot cake the world has ever tasted! Her name is Josi Casebolt, and I am her husband!"

Thank you Brian Casebolt! You made my day!!

Me and my little man!

We went out to Egg plantation for breakfast! Mmmmm mmmmm! It was so yummy!

Chloe was pretty excited about her food!!

One more fun blessing that the Lord "poured out" on this day was RAIN!!

While we were at the mall we decided to treat Chloe to a ride on the carrousel for Mommy's birthday!

Here's what my husband bought me for my birthday. Not just the earrings, but the holes too. He paid for me to get my ears pierced!!

Ouch!!

Recently Brian and I went on a Starbucks date and I mentioned that this tea was oh so yummy!! An added plus: It's decaf, yeah!!

My husband also took me to get my hair cut, I loved that he was there the whole time making sure that the lady cutting it did exactly what he wanted!!

My oh so very fun birthday present from my Hubby!!

They work great!!

Two of my most favoritest people singing happy birthday to me and waiting for me to blow out my matchstick candle :D

Yes, I have to say, it was a very good day!

"The God-Given Task"

2011-10-04T09:25:00.000-07:00

It's so easy for me to focus on the wrong/negative things in life; to complain... I'm tired... my head hurts...my house is a mess...I'm struggling with that same sin again... and so on. Lately I have striven to focus on being thankful and joyful in this life and job God has blessed me with, that of being a wife and mommy and keeper of our home. Yesterday I was reading in Ecclesiastes and read a passage that made me smile, because it seemed to fit what I had been convicted about. In my Bible the passage is titled "The God-Given Task" and i thank the Lord for the reminder, as well as how simple His desires for us are.

Ecclesiastes 3:9-13

"What gain has the worker from his toil? I have seen the business that God has given to the sons of man to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in it's time. Also He has put eternity into mans heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil- this is God's gift to man."

What could be more straightforward or simple than that? There is nothing better than to be joyful and do good, eat, drink, and take pleasure in toil, what a wonderful God given task!

Chloe's Art

2011-10-03T10:48:00.000-07:00

Up until very recently Chloe's "Art" has been simple toddler scribbles. Even when she would try to draw specific things they just looked like little doodles. But all of a sudden her "art" actually looks like something. I'm hoping she got more of Brian's skill in the drawing area than mine. Brian can draw just about anything, my abilities are not much more advanced that what you see Chloe doing here :)

This one started out as an attempt to trace the bunny paper doll in the picture up above, but ended with her own added extras. :D

This is Colton

This is me

Our little Cubbie!

2011-09-21T11:47:00.000-07:00

Chloe started cubbies!! We're excited to give her this opportunity to learn more verses from Gods word and to learn from other people who love our great God!

Labor Day!

2011-09-06T11:17:00.000-07:00

HAPPY LABOR DAY!!

We decided to celebrate labor day by going on a little family picnic to one of our favorite parks! Hope you all had a great day too!!

Trip to Montana Part 2

2011-05-24T14:38:00.000-07:00

After we left Brian's parents house we headed home... sort of... we took a very round about way up through the north western part of Montana, into northern Idaho where we stopped to visit my Mom, younger sister Jessica, brother David (who sadly, never made it in front of my camera) and surprisingly my Army brother Daniel (we didn't know he was getting in to town the same day!) then on to Washington, Oregon and then home to California!

After driving for a while we stopped to feed Colton and stretch our legs. These little guys we all over the rest area and not afraid of us at all. Which made us slightly wary of them.

Playing with uncle Daniel

Playin with Auntie Jessica

My Mom had gotten Chloe an early birthday present!

who is that weird guy!?

And of course, being a Gramma, she had to get Colton something too!

After we left spokane WA. where we stayed the night with my Aunt Jennifer and her family we headed west and the south to my Aunt Julies in Oregon.


One of our stops along the way was at Multinomah Falls. Probably my most favorite waterfall ever!! This is the view from the hwy.

...from the path walking in.

One of the things my Mom gave Chloe was these big wooden buttons and spools that are made to lace a string through. It was so nice to have to keep Chloe busy while we were driving!!

Here's what she made!

Next stop: Aunt Julie and Uncle Bill's!! This is the house my Dad helped build for them. We (our family and Terah's family) all drove up there a couple summers ago to help work on it.

Aunt Julie with the kiddos!

Here Chloe and Aunt Julie are joined by Julie's little Grandaughter.

Chloe and her new friend having "tea on the veranda"

The view from "the veranda"

More chickens!

The room that Chloe got to sleep in!

A friend of my aunts came and painted all this for her!

I love the little bugs!!

While we were at my Aunts we went on another family walk. It was so green and beautiful!!

Colton loved it!!

Their dog loved it too!

...someone too throw sticks into the water!

Chloe learned the hard way what happens when you run to fast down a sloped gravel road

But Aunt Julie made it all better!!

after driving for another day-ish we stopped to sleep at a hotel...

...Colton liked the comfy pillows.

Our last stop before making the last leg of the trip was to see the HUUUUUGE trees. I hadn't seen them in years and Brian never had, so we took a 5 hour detour and went into sequoia national forest.

The light was at that weird dusk level where your eyes tell you its light but cameras have a had time working right. Here's the picture with no flash... and Chloe's blurry head...

...and here's one with the flash. Now it looks dark!!

The tunnel tree!

It's a little hard to see cause it was getting dark, but this is the road going right between those trees. Imagine our car driving through there with plenty of space on either side and that might give you an idea as to how HUGE those trees are!!

Whew! What a trip! We were definitely glad to be home and out of the car by the time we got back! But also so very thankful for the opportunity to go!!

Trip to Montana Part 1

2011-05-23T18:58:00.000-07:00

Well we're back from our trip to Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon!! :D We ended up being gone for almost three weeks! After filling out a couple applications and meeting with several different people, we've decided that for now the Lord has not made it incredibly clear that we are to pack up and leave Sunny Southern California. For now Brian has a job working for a friend whose family owns 6 car washes. He will work with them doing maintenance and random stuff until we figure out where to go from here. I took a ton of pictures on our trip but I'm gonna try to only post my very favorites. I'll put a link at the bottom for the rest!

Cousins watching "Tangled"

Colton and Auntie Kendra

Brian, meeting his newest nephew Logan

"Tiffy"

Sarah was very brave to let Chloe paint her nails!

Gramma's swingset with Cousins

Fun with Uncle Josh

Gramma didn't want Chloe to get left out when it came to dessert time, so she figured out how to make strawberry icecream AND marshmallows!! Or as Chloe says it "marsh-pellows"

Enjoying the tasty-ness with Gracie Fish

Loves for Gramma!

Chloe got her 2nd haircut ever by the oh so amazing Auntie Mandy!

We made our specialty, BBQ pizza for everyone one of the Friday evenings for dinner.

One evening after dinner we all went out and played a nice game of ultimate frisbee! The weather was a bit chilly and windy, but felt good when you're running around.


One day Brian made crepes with a strawberry creme cheese filling mmmmm they're so yummy!!

Playin' a game of Bingo with Grampa

And "grab and scream"

A beautiful tree in Mom Casebolt's yard

Spring!!

Uncle Matts goose

Uncle Matt's chickens!

Chloe loved the chickens! She would sit there and softly call "chickens!" and they would come running to eat the grass she poked through the fence.

One day Brian took us on a walk through the neighborhood, showing us places that he played when he was little.

While we were out, we stopped to visit Margaret, a special lady that goes to Brian's folks church. Brian has known her since she was just a little guy.

These next couple pictures make me smile. You can tell that Brian's Dad is very comfortable holding babies. Colton would just sit in the crook of his arm and...

...watch him do the dishes...

...listen to him talk to Gramma...

or, read the newspaper.

We spent almost exactly two weeks here and it was a very restful time. Lots of hanging out with family and talking and praying about our future. I think Brian and I both really needed that break!

If you want to see ALL of the pictures I took go here: https://picasaweb.google.com/105298764728557227230/TripToMontana5201102?authkey=Gv1sRgCJfi-47Wx6HVMg#

Off to Montana!!

2011-05-03T18:54:00.000-07:00

Well! Brian has some job possibilities in Big Sky Country, so we're off!! Lots of prayer going on lately!!

Cowboy land

2011-05-03T18:50:00.000-07:00

Most of the time I'm not to amazingly brilliant when it comes to decorating my home but i do enjoy trying to make it look nice. The most recent place I've been working on is Colton's room (or half of the room:). I decided while I was pregnant with him that I wanted the theme to be Cowboy! So, with the help of my sister, and the use of her sewing machine, this is what we came up with.

Both Brian and I have Grandparents that spent a lot of time around horses. Plus, my Dad was a rodeo cowboy before I was born. Eventually the area under Colton's name will have pictures of those family members.

The spurs up on that shelf were my Dad's when he was a rodeo Cowboy.

Colton's name up on that lattice is made out of horse shoes, welded and shaped by my Grampa Charles Sheahan.

I just finally finished his bumper the other day!!

Easter Sunday

2011-04-25T13:48:00.000-07:00

He arose! He arose!! Hallelujah, CHRIST AROSE!!! Praise the LORD!! Had a wonderful time of worship with our new church family and then enjoyed an afternoon of fellowship at Dad and Cheryl's house. The only time I really got my camera out was for the egg hunt that Dad and Cheryl did for the girls. Enjoy the pics!

Family Hiking Adventure

2011-04-22T13:47:00.000-07:00

With Brian being out of work right now we decided to make the most of it and take advantage of a beautiful day and the greenness that still currently surrounds us. We went on a family "hike"... more like a walk really. Sigh! The weather was beautiful, the hills were so green! It was so relaxing and enjoyable to be out, enjoying Gods creation together!!
Enjoy the pics from our adventure!!

Colton loved this adventure!!

So did Chloe!

My handsome hiker!

There was some beautiful scenery and flowers along the way!

We also found tadpoles!! I loved finding tadpoles and watching them turn into frogs when I was little!! I wanted Chloe experience it too so we decided to bring some home!!

Colton: 6 months old!!

2011-04-22T13:46:00.000-07:00

Half a year! Colton has been a part of our family now for half a year! Part of me feels like its been longer than that, and part of me feels like he was born couple weeks ago... how does that work? He's such a happy guy! It's been so fun to watch him grow, and to watch him learn to interact with Chloe!!

Colton's Milestones for the past month:
Sitting, Woohooo!!
Rolling, from his back to his tummy!!

He he! I love the toe grabbing!

6 Month photo-shoot with horsey

I took this one and the next one because Brian sleeps this way and Chloe started sleeping this way around the same age. I just think it's so cute!!!

Here are some pics of Colton plus some of our favorite people.

Reading with Daddy

Colton and Grampa

Colton with Aunt Julie while she was visiting.

Easter Crafts

2011-04-20T13:47:00.000-07:00

The time when we celebrate the resurrection of our savior is quickly approaching. This year Terah and I decided to do some crafts with the girlies.

The crafts were little nests to hold the hard boiled eggs they decorated.

Terah got this idea from someone... we boiled the eggs, and while they were still hot we colored on them with crayons. The crayons melt and make neat designs on the eggs!!

Abby got tired of coloring on her egg so she peeled it....

...and ate it.

Our 2nd craft was little Hills of calvery. Complete with a small tomb on one side. The girls had a lot of fun decorating them with grass, rocks and leaves.

I tried to think of sins that Chloe would recognize to begin to try to help her little two year old mind understand why Christ had to die.

The plan is to put a little wrapped up "jesus" in the tomb on good friday and then take it out Sunday Morning! "He is not here for he has risen!!"

Meeting Violet Elizabeth Casebolt

2011-04-13T13:44:00.000-07:00

Introducing

Violet Elizabeth Casebolt

April 8th, 2011

Born to

Ben and Julia Casebolt

Baby sister to

Caleb Joel Casebolt

Cassie and Co.

2011-04-12T13:44:00.000-07:00

My cousin Cassie came to visit with her Husband and kids. It was so fun to see all of them!! We took a trip to the zoo with them, walk around the Hart museum and did a lot of hanging out! Sadly I didn't get any pictures of Cassie and her Husbands faces. So I guess you'll just have to use your imagination to figure out what they look like. Thanks for stopping to visit Kraft Family!!

This was Chloe's first trip to the zoo!!

My cousin and her son Court

This painted elephants were all over the zoo! No, they're not real...

Somebody needs to eat a little less and run around a little more. Pretty sure they never get this fat in the wild.

Left to Right: Kourt, Alicia, Chloe and Alexa (2nd cousins)

Cousins!

2011-04-08T18:35:00.000-07:00

Every now and then I get one of those cute "cousins" pictures that I just have to post...

Celebrating 4 wonderful years!!

2011-04-07T13:43:00.000-07:00

Four years ago the Lord blessed me with the most wonderful husband in the whole world!

Brian Casebolt!!

I wish I had words eloquent enough to explain what this man means to me! He's the most consistently kind, patient and loving person I've ever met. When I'm emotionally high-strung, he's steady as a rock. When I need to talk, his ear is ready to listen. When I need him to help me think through a problem, he has a way of looking at it in a way that is so very simple and straightforward (which is the very opposite of my ability to over think and emotionalize everything!) In no way am I under the illusion that Brian Casebolt is perfect, but the way he humbly learns and grows is such a conviction to me!! I loved the man that I married four years ago, and I love the man he is today even more than I ever knew I could!! His Daddy skills are top notch by the way. He can change diapers like a pro and his dancing skills with our little Chloe are something to behold. I'm so very thankful and extremely blessed to be the wife of Brian Casebolt!!

Here we are on our Anniversary date. Brian took me to Rattlers!!

Brian's Facebook post: Brian Casebolt "...has now been married to his beautiful wife for four whole years now. What does it take for a regular guy like me to marry a super-woman, you ask? Well I'll tell ya. A raised eye brow, an irresistible half-smile, and a strategic, consistent drug to slip into her drinks to impair her judgment!"

A baby shower for my Sister!

2011-04-04T09:03:00.000-07:00

I love my sisters daughters, but I also have always wanted her to have a son, even more so now that I have my own! Well, the Lord is finally answering that prayer! Terah is due to have her baby boy on June 10th, Chloe's birthday!! Her idea for the baby's room is emergency vehicles and primary colors, so I thought it would be fun to do her baby shower in the same theme!!

I used a box mix for the frosting, so it was a little on the runny side for this type of thing, but it worked when I had a million other things to do and not much time to make frosting. My husband drew the little vehicles and my sister-in-law Hannah helped me pipe them with royal frosting.

Thanks to the movie "Cars" there is a plethora of adorable emergency vehicles to be found. I'm so thankful for the help of my friend and sister-in-law Kristin for finding these!

I'm so thankful for all the women that were able to come and make this day extra special for Terah!

A visit from Uncle Matt!!

2011-03-28T21:47:00.000-07:00

I love all Brian's siblings, each one of them are so unique, and yet help to define what makes up their big, fun, family as a whole. I love being with all of them at the same time, laughter is definitely plentiful when you fill a room with Casebolt's! But, on occasion we've had the opportunity to have just one sibling come to visit, i enjoy those visits because there is much more opportunity to get to know that one individual a little better than we did before. Yes, I did mean to say we, mostly referring to the kids and I, but even to Brian, though he knows them much better than i do, he's still been gone from home for close to eight years. We recently had just such a visit from Brian's little brother Mathew, (aka Matty-poo, Matt or Uncle Matt). This was the first time Matt came by himself and we had a lot of fun with him! I enjoyed watching him with Chloe and Colton, visiting, hearing his plans and thoughts as he prepares to move out on his own. It's neat to see what a fine young man the Lord is growing him into compared to the little squirt I met many years ago! When asked what Uncle Matt says, we taught Chloe to say. "Huh, whatever!"

Playing with Colton

Nathan, Kristin, Matt, Hannah, Brian, the kids and I went miniature golfing!!

Chloe and Uncle Nathan driving some cars.

Hannah was the victor!

yep, Casebolt's are definitely goofy@


Chloe had a ton of fun with Uncle Matt!!

Aunt Julie's here!!

2011-03-28T16:35:00.000-07:00

My Mom's sister Julie came for a visit the other day!! It's always a joy to see her and get a hug from her. She loves our girls (Terah's and mine) and always brings fun and laughter along with her. This was her first time meeting Colton. He he! She looked like she was gonna melt into a puddle when I brought him down from his nap, It was fun to watch! This visit she brought little clothes for Colton and Terah's baby boy due in a few months and some cute matching jackets for the girls! She also brought the girls some little aprons that she had made for them and all the fixings so they could make cupcakes together!! Watching them do that was quite fun! Susan, a dear friend of Aunt Julie's, who we've known for many years came with her, you'll see her in some of the pictures.

Thank you for coming Aunt Julie and Susan! It was so fun to see both of you!!

Colton: 5 Months Old!

2011-03-18T17:27:00.000-07:00

Our little guy is getting so big!! I'm amazed!! It's so fun to watch him and Chloe together, it's plain to see that he just loves his big sister! Colton finally rolled from his tummy to his back! He doesn't seem to love being on his tummy so I'm kinda surprised he didn't do this sooner. Oh! He blows bubbles too. So cute!!

Getting stronger on his tummy!!

Ahhh!! I just love that little grin!!

Check out his little mohawk he's getting!!

5 Month Photo-shoot with horsey!!

Favorite Chloe and Colton Pics

Mr. Eichholz

2011-03-15T14:23:00.000-07:00

Last week was Shepherds Conference and that always means seeing far away friends. This year we got to spend an evening with the Father of a family we've known since i was barely four years old. Mr. Eichholz is more like an Uncle than anything else and it was so good to be able to see him! He had met Brian before but only in passing, so i thought it was fun that he was able get to know him a little better!! It was also fun to be able introduce our kiddos!

New Family Pictures!!

2011-02-28T10:41:00.000-08:00

Once again we got to be a part of "Portraits for Missions"!! Once a year some friends (and extended family ;) do a fundraiser for Missions! Lukas and Suzy VanDyke are amazing photographers! It's so much fun to be able to support Missions and get some new fun family photos!!

We even got some with Julia, Caleb and Auntie Hannah!

Me and my Munchkins!!

2011-02-26T17:30:00.000-08:00

Brian took these pics of Chloe and I and Colton and I. I love my children so very much!! These pictures kind help communicate the fun it is to be their mommy!!

Work with Grampa

2011-02-24T10:41:00.000-08:00

The other day we went over to my dad's house to sand, stain and varnish a cabinet that he built for us. I hadn't done any of that in awhile! It was fun to be out there working in Dad's shop like I've done all my life!

Chloe had fun in the sawdust!

Brian took this pic. He thought it was neat that there were three generations in it.

Chloe helped Grampa pick some oranges!

Colton: Four Months Old!!

2011-02-18T10:42:00.000-08:00

Happy four month birthday to my happy little man! I can't believe Colton is four months old!! The pictures below are some that I took throughout this past month!

Not too long after I took this picture I moved Colton out of the cradle and into his crib in Chloe's room.

These smiles light up my day!

He's getting so strong in the bumbo chair!!

I love this face. I get to see it often. I'm glad I was able to capture it on camera!

Below are some of the pictures I took for his four month photoshoot with his horsey.

I couldn't resist adding these. Some of the pictures I took this past month of Chloe and Colton together :D Chloe loves to hold Colton! I love to watch her hold him, I just love how his face lights up when he sees his sister!!

Chloe and her Cousins!!

2011-02-17T10:40:00.000-08:00

I had these cute pictures I'd taken recently of Chloe with Cousins. I thought they would be fun to post just because!

Chloe and Alicia

Chloe and Caleb

What does our Great God have in store?

2011-02-16T10:05:00.000-08:00

On Mon, January 31st, Brian's boss told him that, due to how slow the work was he should probably start looking for other work. They were able to keep him busy Tuesday and part of Wednesday but after that they told him to stay home and they would call if things picked up. It's been a couple weeks now and still no work. Brian's been looking for other things, the most promising and exciting one we found so far is for the maintenance department at the Masters College. It would be so amazing!! I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much, but praying for the Lords will!

A Valentines Gift from Grampa!

2011-02-15T10:36:00.000-08:00

On Valentines Day, Grampa came over and brought a special "project" he wanted Chloe's help with. Here it is:

sort out all the needed pieces

Hold things up for Grampa

Putting nuts on bolts

Tightening it all down

Take some time to dance!!

Yay!! It's a Chloe size bench!!

It has been decided...

2011-02-05T10:19:00.000-08:00

Well, after two visits to Lake Hills Community Church, and two visits to Placerita Baptist Church, and lots and lots and lots of prayer and talking together, Brian and I have decided to land at Placerita Baptist! We liked the size of Lake Hills (only about 100), and the Pastor and people, but it's still a bit of a drive for us. We're excited to become a part of a church that is truly "local", to get to know the people, and to find areas of ministry that we can serve in as well as glean from!! They're starting a new membership class on Sunday and we're excited to be taking that important step towards becoming a part of that body of believers!

Colton: Three Months Old!!

2011-01-18T21:25:00.000-08:00

Colton is three months old already!! He's such a sweet happy little guy! We're so thankful and richly, richly blessed!!

Here are some pictures we took throughout the past month. He's growing so much!!

Patient Daddy trying to get Colton to take a bottle. Colton didn't like it to much, I'm surprised I even got this picture.

My happy little man!

Below are a couple of Colton's "3 month" pictures that I took with his horsey.

Colton with his Big sister!

Chloe was playing and pretending to talk on her toy phone. She put it to Colton's ear and said "say hi to Gramma!" As you can see, he thought that was just the greatest thing in the whole world!

Winter getaway to June Lake

2011-01-11T21:22:00.000-08:00

What do you get when you combine 6 adults, four kids, lots of food and nerf guns? You get a whole bunch of noise and just as much fun! This past weekend Mark, Terah and their girls, us and Dad and Cheryl went up north to a rented "cabin" (more like a nice condo) in June Lake (not the actual lake brrrr!! but the town.;-) It was a fun weekend! The weather was not horribly cold, the drive up there was beautiful!! We mostly just ate, hung out and took care of kids :) kinda like normal life, but fun just cause we were all together!!

We got up pretty early to get on the road. Here's our little snuggle-bug all ready for the adventure!

We saw this from our car as we were driving up. I want to go for a ride!!

Just "hangin' out!"

Building the train track with Grampa

Mission complete!!

Three words: Nerf...

...gun...

...battle!!

Ready to play in the snow!

Scenes like this make me wish I had a better camera and the eye of a photographer.

This ice is frozen to that branch juuuust above the water. It looked really neat!

Mmmm mmmmm!

Yummy snow!!

There's nothing better than a mouthful of snow!

The victors at the top of the Summit

My Daddy

Left to right: Alicia, baby snowman, daddy snowman, Chloe


Blowing snow!

Headin' home!

Uncle Jon again?!

2011-01-06T14:17:00.000-08:00

Brian's brother Jon has finished up his leave here in the states and is heading to Germany for two years! He spent Christmas at home in Montana but Tuesday night he flew into LA and had one night to spend before flying out. It could have been a lonely, boring, foodless night for him, but we couldn't allow for that, now could we!? Instead Ben, Julia and Caleb, Brian, the kids and I drove down to the hotel near LAX where Jon was and livened up his evening for him!! Aren't we sweet?

We went out and got some amazing Chicken wings, then went back to the hotel and just spent some time hanging out for awhile.

I couldn't decide which picture was better so you get to see both! :D

Hugs for uncle Jon!

Snow.... Snow.... Snnnnoooooww!!

2011-01-04T21:55:00.000-08:00

It actually snowed in Santa Clarita!! AMAZING!! It was actually large fluffy flakes that stuck on the ground and stayed for several hours!! We were at Mark and Terah when it was actually snowing but when we got home, we took this:

Nope, thats not ash, it's real cold, wet, frozen, snow!

New Year!! 2011

2011-01-04T19:56:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Welcome to 2011!!

Wow! I can't believe it's 2011!! So much has happened this past year! We are so very thankful!!
If we were to list 5 top "happenings" this year, that we are thankful for, they would be:

A healthy pregnancy and delivery of our son; Colton Wayne Casebolt!
A celebration of Brian's Dad's 25 years of faithfulness as Pastor of Livingston Bible Church!
The celebration of Chloe's 2nd Birthday!
An anniversary of three wonderful years of marriage for Brian and I!
A Casebolt wedding!! Brian's sister Mandy became Mrs. David Sykes!

We look forward to what this new year my hold for us! We rest secure in the knowledge that no matter what may come along our God is in control and He is faithful!!

Bring on the new year!!

A new developement...

2010-12-30T21:30:00.000-08:00

Lately Brian and I have talked a lot about our involvement, or lack thereof at Grace. We're kind of at a point where we need to change something in order to be able to be more active in the church body. We no longer have a Bible Study we're going to, Crossroads (the college group that we have been attending) is constantly changing, and unless one is a part of a Bible Study, it's very easy to get lost in and amongst the 800ish people that are there on any given Sunday. The change that needs to take place is we either need to find a new Bible Study/ministry or make the transition to a new/closer church. Brian and I love the church, we love being able to serve and fellowship and learn. Sadly, with two kids and the 25 min. drive that it takes to get to Grace, our time spent there has greatly dwindled, which has been hard on both of us. We have been talking a lot to my sister and her husband as they are in a similar place in life and considering many of the same things, they have decided to make the switch to a smaller church out here in Newhall called Placerita Baptist. We talked about just making the switch with them but decided first to visit it and one other church in the area that we've heard good things about, before making a decision. This past Sunday was our last time at GCC and this coming Sunday we plan to visit Lake Hills Community Church. In some ways it was hard, that has been my home church for the majority of my life, but we're also excited to be taking this step. We will visit Lake Hills twice, and then Placerita Baptist twice before making our decision!! We trust that the Lord is leading us, and will give us wisdom (as we are asking for it daily) to decide where our family should land!

Christmas 2010: Christmas morning!

2010-12-29T17:00:00.000-08:00

Oh my but Christmas morning was fun this year! Chloe understood so much more than she did last year and it was so much fun to watch her get so excited!! As usual I was so involved with everything I didn't take many pictures, but here's what we did get.

My Mom always put "breakfast" type foods in our stockings so we've carried on that tradition. This is Chloe's stocking!!

Here she is eating her Christmas breakfast! I made special cinnamon rolls just for her!!

Mmm... This was my breakfast. My sweet husband got me a little tub of watermelon!!

Colton got squishy blocks!

Chloe's stash!

Colton's stash!

This cooks set was part of a gift from Auntie Mandy and Uncle David!

Christmas 2010: The decorations!

2010-12-29T14:16:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned, I love Christmas decorations!! Here's some of what goes up around our house!!

This is our Nativity Scene! I love it! No worries about kiddos breaking it! Chloe loves to play with it and most days I take some time to read/narrate the Christmas story to her while acting it out with the little people. Next year we want to get the wise men. :D

I discovered a setting on my camera that accentuates a certain color, I thought it looked kinda neat with all the red pulled out!


My Grandma painted this for my Mom many years ago. It's been a part of my families Christmas decorations for about as long as I can remember. Also in this picture is my candle from my sweet husband!! I had one of the exact same brand (Candle Barn) and smell (Apple Cinnamon) for years and it was just about used up, so Brian bought me another one!

Christmas 2010: Family Christmas Party

2010-12-28T10:00:00.000-08:00

Having family close by is always a blessing, but it's extra fun when there's Christmas parties to have!! Mark and Terah and the girls, and Dad and Cheryl came to our place for some fellowship, singing, picture taking, present opening, and cheese and crackers! :D

I found scraps of fabric at the craft store that reminded me so much of Alicia and Abby! I got the scraps and made each of them a little apron and matching pot holder.

This was Chloe's present from the Madrid family. She loves it!!

Visit to the Shealy Family!!

2010-12-21T13:52:00.000-08:00

You might remember from my last post I mentioned that after left Jon we went on to visit The Shealy Family. This post is about them. When I was a very tiny little girl my parents used to invite a young single man to eat with us and spend time with our family. Later when I was about 6 that same man came back into our lives, but this time bringing with him his wife and baby daughter. Ever since then the Shealy family has been a part of our lives. We haven't always lived close to them but whenever able we have made it a point to see them. I have so many fun/happy memories linked to this family! They now have 8 kids and live just north of San Fransisco where they are part of a wonderful church and small seminary. As usual I leave a place and with I had taken more pictures, sadly I didn't take one of the whole family :( But here's their Christmas card pic that they gave us while we were there!

Here they are!! Brian and I are looking forward to more opportunities to go visit them!!

Colton; flirting with girls already! :) This is Lindsay, as you can tell by her face, she was hating this task ;).

All the Shealy's, kids and parents, had so much fun with Chloe and Colton. In a family with eight kids there was no fear of babies :D.

Chloe with Savannah. Savannah is the oldest of the Shealy kids and is that "baby daughter" that I talked about up above. You may recognize her from past posts as she spent a year at Masters and would hand out with us when she had the time.

Little Caleb is their youngest and loved Colton just as much as everyone else did!

This is how Brian always looks after driving for hours at a time.

These wind mills just fascinate me!

Colton: Two Months Old!!

2010-12-21T12:38:00.000-08:00

Our little guy is such a joy to have around! His smiles are coming more and more regularly for pretty much anyone who will look at him (especially, as you can see in the pictures, for his Daddy). I'm looking forward to the time when he and Chloe can interact more, it's already fun to watch her with him. :)

Visit from Uncle Jon... Drive to Oakland/Vallejo

2010-12-20T19:51:00.000-08:00

Brian's brother Jon was in town for a week. It's always good to catch up with him, hear what the Lord is doing in his life and watch him play with his niece and nephews!! At the end of his visit we drove him North to Oakland where we met up with Sarah, Matt, Emily, Danny and Josh. They came down to go with Jon to a Bronco/Raiders game the next morning. We spent the afternoon with all of them and then continued on about another half hour to visit some friends the Shealy Family! (See next post)

About 4 hours down the road we stopped for a break and to feed and change Colton.

Brian and Jon got in some Frisbee

Chloe loves any opportunity to play in daddy's seat.

We met Sarah, Matt, Emily, Danny and Josh at their hotel.

In Oakland there's a Chicago Style (deep dish) Pizza place called Zachary's that we had heard praised by many people. So we all headed there for a late lunch.

Mmmmmm... it was so yummy!!

California Casebolt Christmas Celebration # 4

2010-12-17T19:57:00.000-08:00

Once again all us California Casebolts gathered to celebrate Christmas together. I think each year has gotten just a little bit more fun as we add kids to the mix. Plus this year we had Auntie Hannah (who was in CA last year but couldn't make it to our Casebolt Christmas), AND Uncle Jon (home on leave from a year in Korea before heading off to Germany.)!!

Here we are with our ever growing family. (Julia is Due with their 2nd in April!)

Auntie Hannah and Colton

Caleb and Auntie Kristin

Reading with Uncle Jon

Playin' with Uncle Jon

Kristin's beautiful tree!

A tiny Mrs. Clause perhaps?

It's becoming a tradition: The Pumpkin Roll

Chats with Uncle Jon

Oh those fun white elephant gifts!

Playin' with Auntie Kristin.

Christmas 2010: Decorating!!

2010-12-16T19:52:00.000-08:00

Sigh!! Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year. Besides the joy of getting to celebrate the birth of Gods Son Jesus Christ come to earth as a human baby boy. I just kinda love the decorations and music, Christmas trees and nativity scenes, lights and garland, hiding and then wrapping presents! I think you could say it brings out the kid in me!! This year was even more fun because Chloe was old enough to take part in and really understand everything!!

It's a Chloe tree!!


And a Mommy tree!

And a daddy...something :D

Fluffing the branches of our fake tree and putting the lights on is not my husbands most favorite part, but he's so sweet he does it anyway, just for me!:)

I love the part where we add the red berries and pine cones and other decorations to the tree. Partly because it's so fun to see how picky Brian gets about everything being just so. My laid back husband is typically never picky about anything! :)

Chloe loved helping with the ice-cycles and candy canes!!

Visit from Auntie Sarah

2010-11-30T19:54:00.000-08:00

Brian's Sister Sarah came for a visit over thanksgiving weekend! We had a blast! Sarah and Hannah spent part of thanksgiving day with us. Friday Sarah and I went out together to see what amazing black friday sales we could find. There's not much left when you don't go out until after 10:00am but it was fun to get out! When we got home Sarah helped me start to break out Christmas decorations!!
Sarah and Chloe are like two peas in a pod, they have so much fun together, i could just sit and watch them all day! Sadly, I didn't take a lot of pictures of the weekend. :( But I did get some of the two of them and a very fun little video that gives just a glimpse of how much fun Auntie Sarah and Chloe have!

...well I can't get the video to load... I'll have to try a new page.

Photoshoot with the Halls

2010-11-29T10:37:00.000-08:00

A couple that we know are starting a photography side business and we got to benefit from it! Colton was six weeks old exactly the day they came. It was fun to just hang out with them and watch the two of them work together to get some fun pictures!!

The Photographers name is Rich Hall.

Go here to see more of his work! www.PhotographyByRichHall.com

Colton: One Month Old!!

2010-11-23T14:21:00.000-08:00

On November 18th our little Colton turned one month old! And he's already smiling!! At about 3 and a half weeks he looked right into m eyes and grinned! I love it when his eyes light up and his little mouth grins up at me!

This Onesie was from Auntie Terah and I love it!!

Not his first smile, but the first one I caught on Camera!

First Bath!!

Every month I'm going to do my best to take some pictures of Colton with this little horse that he got from Uncle Ben, Auntie Julia and Caleb.

I know all this cute hair is going to fall out so I HAD to take a picture of it! :D

Harvest Party!!

2010-11-08T09:48:00.000-08:00

On Saturday we went to Dad and Cheryl's and had a "Harvest Party". There was games for the kids (planned by Dad, Mark, and Brian.), Costumes, and yummy food!! What more do you need!?

Pirate Chloe

Princess Alicia

Little "Chica" Abby

We attempted to teach them how to play the apple on a string game...

They tried really hard at first...

...but eventually used their hands.

Finding treats in the sand!!

Colton, all dressed up in his pumpkin bib from Auntie Terah.

My handsome "Indiana"

How do you play with a newborn?

2010-11-02T09:55:00.000-07:00

Chloe wants so badly to be able to play with "baby brudder". This attempt is so cute!