2009/08/31

Date Pic


The waiter asked us if this was our first anniversary. What a compliment!

13th Anniversary

That's right. Today, only by the grace of God, we are celebrating 13 years of marriage.

We've moved 11 times, spent a year on food stamps and medicaid, birthed 7 children, miscarried 1 child, made the best of friends, loved each other with the greatest of love because of Jesus, and fought ugly fights because of sin. We wouldn't change a bit of it as it's molded who we are now.

We praise the Lord for His abundant mercies to us and humbly look forward to our future together.

Rejoice with us!

2009/08/30

Lap Baby





Samuel's beginning to enjoy hanging out in our lap's. He's smiling a lot now and just this week has started babbling. He's still waking up for chow 3-5 times a night.. I really don't mind though. I am so blessed to be a mom again and the late nights are the only time I get with just him.

2009/08/25

Don't Miss This!

As Christians we are called, no commanded to be hospitable. Isn't the Lord sweet that He made a command to also be such a pleasing thing? Who doesn't like gathering around the table with friends or family and delighting in fellowship with the enjoyment of a meal involved? Over at GirlTalk they have been discussing Hospitality for a good month now. They've compiled a list of helpful tips and great ideas for use in being Hospitable. Click Here for it, just download and print!

2009/08/23

Bit by a Chicken

(This picture is from 3 weeks ago at another families' home from the church)
We had the opportunity to worship at Trinity Covenant Church again today. This is the church where we are pretty certain we will place our membership. After church we were invited to eat with a family from the church. The kids were all jazzed up about it because we were bringing along some yummy treats to eat and the fact that the family had a chicken coop. Upon arrival the kids were ushered to the coop and permitted to gather eggs, which they were delighted with. Silas was thrilled about all the, "birds." Not long after, Libby (you could probably guess where this was going) started whimpering and crying exclaiming how she'd been, "bit by a chicken!" She had decided to lean against the coop fence and a proud chicken or maybe rooster came right up and pecked her on the bridge of her nose, right between her eyes! I have to say that it was a rather humorous event. I mean if you had to put my kids in a line up and guess which one would end up pecked by a chicken wouldn't you guess Libby? She seems to be fine with only a small triangle wound to boast. Though tonight during family reading she announced that she was, "Mrs. Thomas" and pointed to a picture of Jesus and called him, "Pastor Thomas." Either she's missing our friends or we may need to start therapy straight away!

2009/08/17

Yes Sir, Big Sur!







So we went camping at Big Sur. The views were spectacular! Jake surfed the waves and the kids had a blast surfing with the foam boards..(Jake tells me there are some who define surfing as riding the face..??) So, maybe not everyone actually "surfed", but everyone had a blast trying. The Pacific is much different than the Atlantic, from water temp to smell. The waves roll in here a lot different than on the Atlantic as well, blah, blah, blah.. Really I don't know what I'm talking about.

Back to camping. We all slept in the same tent and had a fun time of it. The baby and I shared a sleeping bag. He is so snuggly. Jake ended up sharing with Libby and Silas one night. That was a funny sight. Camping is a lot of work. The kids so thoroughly appreciated our efforts and were so thankful that it makes all the pain of it worth it!

2009/08/13

Ready, Set, Cicada!

My brothers and I used to love collecting the Locust shells as kids. Here's a clip of a Cicada molting!

2009/08/12

Samuel Camping


Really this chair is his favorite place to hang at home or at the campsite. We sit him in it and we put him on the table and bounce him while we lunch. During dinner, because there's so much chow on the table, we put him under the table and Jake will bounce him there too. It's a great little seat for the fella. During the witching hour (5-6 pm) the kids take turns bouncing him in it while I get dinner going and on the table. Thank you to the Bereans who made the purchase of this seat possible with the generous gift card to Target you gave us!

2009/08/10

Louisa is 6!





Lou turned 6 years old this past Saturday. We had so much fun celebrating her birthday that evening. She dressed up in her Munchkin outfit from the Wizard of Oz Showcase she performed in last May. We had just arrived home from a camping trip, so I bought the cake... It's the 2nd birthday I've done that for... She was so excited to pick out her own cake from the store! Thank you all who remembered her!

2009/08/03

Samuel 2 Months


Samuel had his 2 month well child visit today. He weighed 12 pounds 10 ounces and measured 24 1/4 inches long. He's thriving and his clavicle is just about all healed. The Doctor could still feel the bone callous from his fracture. His head is still a bit flat so we have to continue to sleep him on that left side. He had shots and it was very rough for him. He was so sad and had a few crying jags about it. Right now he's sleeping. I remember from all the babies that the 2 month shots are rough.
He's smiling all the time now and cooing and babbling frequently at me. It's so adorable. The kids love to help me with him and even Silas gives him lots of attention in the form of kisses on the forehead. Ahh sweet brotherly love.