Our Little Monkey

We have known for quite some time that B is fearless. Fearless of water, heights, falling, you name it. Upon realizing her lack of fear and her crazy ability to climb, we removed Z's ladder from his bunk bed. This evening, B was being very quiet. We THOUGHT that she was in her room playing. We decided to check on her and headed to her room (which was empty). Z looked into his bedroom and saw her on his TOP bunk....ladder tucked away safely in the closet. This little monkey had climbed up the end of the bed all by herself. Boy, was she proud! She was able to touch the ceiling and had a HUGE smile on her face (see picture). I am going to go gray WAY too early. :)

Aside from being INCREDIBLY fearless, this little one is talking and talking and talking! She is starting to put two words together...so when M is tickling her instead of just saying "NO!" through her laughter, she is saying, "NO, daddy!" She is just growing up SO quickly!

New news of adoption...we should be finalizing within the next month (if all goes well with paperwork etc...) We were told by our adoption worker that we should finalize by November 5th. We will keep you updated! We are planning to have a huge adoption/second birthday celebration!

Number Two and Still Counting!

M and I celebrated our second anniversary this past weekend. We decided to head up to Ashland to watch Romeo and Juliet and take in the sites. We had such an amazing time just being the two of us. We both had to admit that we missed our children dearly, but the time away was wonderful too!

We watched the play in the outdoor theatre. That was AMAZING (cold, but amazing)! We really enjoyed it. We spent most of the day wandering around enjoying holding hands. It is not often that our hands are free to hold!

On Sunday (our real anniversary), we attended Applegate Community Church in Jacksonville. The church service took place outside in an ampitheater. We really enjoyed the message and seeing two people that we know from our home church! We live in such a small world!

We were thrilled to come home to our three beautiful children. They had spent time with grandma and grandpa feeding fish in the new pond and spending time down at the creek. (Thank you grandma and grandpa!)

Our time away reminded us to slow down and hold hands, to be silly now and then (see pictures), to enjoy each and every moment that we have together, and to keep our eyes on Jesus. We are truly blessed.

An Apple A Day

My sweet little ones were out in the backyard playing as I was baking corn bread for dinner. I had cut up an apple and was sharing it with my youngsters when I looked out to see A and B sitting on a step beside the hot tub. A had his arm around B and they were having quite a time. I almost feel like these pictures can't even begin to capture what I saw looking through the window. But it can at least give you a glimpse. :)

Z then went out to join in the fun! They are all are growing up so quickly! Where does the time go?

Speaking of time...M and I are celebrating our second anniversary this weekend! At times it feels as if we have been married for ages and other times it feels like it were just yesterday that we were getting married on that beautiful sunset filled night. We are planning to head up to Ashland to watch Romeo and Juliet to celebrate. We are really looking forward to it!

Losing Teeth

Our cute little A has lost his second tooth in a week! This particular tooth has an interesting story though... Our family was eating at Applebee's this evening and A was showing us how loose his tooth really was. I asked him if he wanted me to pull it out in the bathroom (sometimes pulling a tooth out can cause tears so I wanted to seek some privacy). He asked if we could tie a string around it and attach it to a door (something my grandpa did once to me). :) I told him that instead I would make it disappear using a napkin. ;)

He finally agreed so we walked back to the bathroom and his tooth was extracted in seconds. No tears, just excitement. He went running back to the table to show daddy, brother, and sister. He also asked if I would please tell the boy waitress. I did while he beamed. He later said that he needed to call his teasing grandma because one of his other teeth was lost in her bathtub...two teeth lost in a bathroom! Ha!

So now you can see a picture of his toothless grin. He is such a cutie!

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

Phew...the last three weeks have been a blur. They have been filled with joy, frustrations, and MAJOR transition. Again I thank you for your continued prayers. I could not have made it to this day without them! The principal put the following quote in this week's newsletter to the teachers:

"Pain nourishes courage.

You can't be brave if you've only had

wonderful things happen to you."

Mary Tyler Moore

I felt that this was SO fitting to the last couple of weeks. God is developing my courage I guess! :) After a LOOOOOONG week of school my family enjoyed a very relaxing weekend! I have included pictures of our lazy Sunday afternoon. M enjoyed working on his motorcycle while B watched and drank out of her crazy straw cup (actually stolen from big brother A). Z and A enjoyed some time riding bikes, reading, and playing with the Leapsters. I just sat and watched my family with a HUGE smile on my face.

P.S. We got our camera back! Hooray!

My Favorite Job

Being a mommy is the best job in the world (next to being a wife)! There are times when I miss my "stay at home mom" status. I do feel that I am missing out sometimes, but I know without a doubt that I am exactly where God wants me to be! I tried so hard to add a picture that the boys' mom took of them, but it didn't work. It just captures what a neat relationship they have. Z is an absolutely amazing older brother and A really looks up to him. They play SO well together. I know that I need to count my blessings in this area. I remember growing up and needing to sit in separate seats in our mini van. My sister sat in the middle seat while I sat in the back seat (maybe it was the other way around). We just couldn't keep our hands to ourselves. :) I think that the boys would die if they were separated in the car! B is not enjoying sitting by herself in the middle seat very much lately. She would MUCH rather be in the backseat with her big brothers. Hmmm...maybe later.


Another favorite job is teaching. It is amazing when you know that you are doing exactly what God created you to do. I am in heaven in my classroom...a little busy, but in heaven. It has been a HUGE adjustment coming from a different school. I have found that different schools have different ways of doing things! It is amazing how we become creatures of habit. Slowly, I am making the adjustments! I do miss my friends and families at RCS, but I am thrilled that I can teach at a Christian school again. The boys are SO happy here! It will be a blessing when B can begin attending the preschool. Two and a half more months!


Speaking of B...we just signed our Home Study report at State Adoptions today! That is one HUGE hurdle cleared! We have a few more hoops and then FINALIZATION! We are looking at mid October! Woo Hoo!

So Proud...

I just need to share how absolutely proud I am of A. He has been an absolute joy to have in my class! Today when I went out to pick up my class from their morning recess, the yard duty came up and told me that she needed to talk to me about my son...uh-oh...that sometimes makes the hairs stand up on the back of a mommy's neck. :) Instead of telling me what I was dreading to hear, she told me how A had blessed her during recess. She was picking up garbage around the playground and picnic table area and our little A volunteered to help out! Way to go, buddy! He has been doing so well the first two days of school. I am really impressed. His reading has improved SO much this summer as well. I tested him today (in order to place my students in reading groups) and he FAR surpassed my expectations of his current reading level. I was actually BLOWN away!

We were sitting together in the living room this evening and he began to tell me the story of how he asked Jesus into his heart at Sunday School. It was absolutely precious. He told me that he would like to be "babatized". I am one proud mommy!

Please continue to pray for me as I teach my precious son, but know that God has done a MIGHTY work in him this summer!