Look Who is 13!

How can it be that we are now parents to a 13 year old daughter?  Rachel turned 13 on December 11th and we couldn't be more proud of the work that the Lord has done in her heart.  She is a true daughter of the King of Kings!  We gifted Rachel with a scrapbook full of notes from family and friends who have all helped us teach, nurture and pray for her since she was born.  She was deeply touched by all the love, encouragement and "charges" placed before her by her "family of God".  Thank you all for loving our daughter!

Dance Recital

We have three girls who take dance classes and they participated in a production of "Babes in Toyland".  Rachel and Sarah take ballet classes and Hannah takes "Modern" dance class.  They really had fun dressing up in the costumes and we were proud of their efforts to glorify God through dance.  They are truly jewels to us!

Our Leaf Treasures!

Leaves!

Piles of leaves are a glorious thing to a child.  Our kids are always eager to "rake the leaves" because they "rake them" with the goal of putting them into a pile to jump into!  Why is it so much fun?  

Hannah is 10 years old!

It is hard to believe that 10 years ago Ric was racing me to the emergency room to deliver Hannah Elizabeth!  What a joy she has been!  We had a fantastic party on Friday.  Four friends came and had a true "girls night" that was filled with a scavenger  hunt, games, banana spits, movie, dressing up, putting on a play, and staying up late!  

Luke is 5 years old!

Little Luke is not little any more. We have a 5 year old in the house. Luke celebrated turning 5 with family and friends. Batman presided over the party and adorned the plates, napkins and decorations. We played games, did an obstacle course, opened presents and ate chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream cake. Luke loves weapons of any sort, super heros, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Power Rangers, Teeenage Muntant Ninja Turtles, building stuff, jumping on the trampoline, pretending to be a spy, sitting on mommy's lap, having his back scratched, Special K Rasberry Granola bars, macarroni and cheese. We are so blessed to have some "boy power" in the house to temper all the girly stuff that goes on. I have to admit that I don't always make the "right" noises when I am playing with Luke (and he lets me know). Now he says it is time for Karate classes!

OUR TRIP TO MARYLAND

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Jeff and Cindy's Wedding

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Ric's brother, Jeff was married to Cindy this weekend in Maryland.  We had the delight of attending the wedding and visiting with family and friends.  We did LOTS of driving and were able to spend two days in D.C. seeing the sites and an afternoon touring the Naval Academy!  The kids loved the Air and Space Museum.  We also spent a day trying to see how many monuments we could see.  We were able to see The Lincoln Memorial, The Vietnam Memorial, The WWII Memorial, The Korean Memorial,  and The Jefferson Memorial.  We even visited the National Archives building and saw the Bill of Rights, The Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence!!!  Pretty Cool!  The places were fun to visit, but the highlight of the trip was spending time with family and friends.  Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Jeff, our new Aunt Cindy, Aunt Noelle, cousin Matthew, extended family and my good friend Jeannette Lee were gracious to share themselves with us.  Thank you all!  Enjoy the photos of our visit.

Hannah and Chocolate!

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We went on a cruise!

Just a few weeks ago, Papa and Sasha surprised us with the news that we were going on a Caribbean cruise with them!! We were so exited! We packed our bags and headed to Florida where we boarded the cruise boat. Because of Hurricane Ike we couldn't go to the Naussau like we had planned and we didn't feel to good with all of the big waves from the storm. After the first day, the sea calmed down and it was very pleasant. The boat had all sorts of things on it, a water slide, a pool, a gym, a spa, an arcade, some shops, a lot of restaurants, and even a little library. We went to the beaches and got some souvenirs at St. Thomas and St. Maartin. We had a lot of fun, but it is always nice to come back home!

By Rachel

Sarah is 8!

Sarah turned 8 on August 5th!  She had a "Safari" party at Papa and Sasha's house complete with swimming and ice cream cake.  Her favorite gift = Sock Monkey that she has named Simon.  It is hard to believe that our baby girl is growing up so fast.  She is smart, funny, loving and a joy to parent.  We pray that her heart will be filled with a passion to glorify God in all she does.  We count ourselves very blessed!

Beans, Beans, they are good for you heart!

I didn't know that my girls liked green beans.  The kid's tastes are always changing and it is hard to keep it straight who likes what.  I found out that they do like them and we decided to have some tonight.  I taught them how to "pick the beans" and sat them on the front porch "to pick". They tasted great and they were all eaten up!  Yea,  a new item for the menu!!!

Horse Camp

Sarah has just completed a week of Horse Camp.  The focus of the week was horse shows and she learned a lot about expectations when competing in a show.  She had a blast!  Riding everyday was a dream come true for her.  She fell off of "Spot" on Thursday and will probably have a bruise, but Ms. Lisa said that she got right back on with determination.  She was awarded the "Sportsmanship" ribbon for the week.   We prayed that she would be a "light" among the other campers, showing the love of Christ and God gave her many opportunities to "shine".  

Shearing A Sheep?

We finally invested in good dog clippers and had fun shearing our sheep (I mean our dog, Sandy) yesterday.  It took FOREVER!!!  I made a few mistakes, but she looks pretty good, if I do say so myself.  Anyway, at $60 a pop for her to go to the groomers, this should pay off for us.  

Harvest Time!

Our small garden is producing!  Ric has lovingly tended his tomato plants and he not here to enjoy the harvest. Maybe there will be a few left by the time he returns.  In the meantime, we are enjoying the tomatoes, and the yellow squash.  The peppers and watermelons are still growing.  

 

Papa Got a Paddleboat!

Yesterday Papa came home with a paddleboat!  We went over to his house late in the afternoon and took a ride.  Sasha shared that she had "christened" the boat by falling in the lake while she was trying to board the boat.  She hurt her arm a bit and had to shower off the yucky, stinky lake water.  Mommy and I  took a trial ride with Luke, Hannah and Sarah aboard.  It was quite a load to paddle around!  We had trouble figuring out how to steer and there was a long spell of going around in circles.  Our legs tired out pretty quick and it was really hot and humid.  We decided to go swimming and try out the boat again during a cooler time of day.  We think it will be fun to explore the lake and see where the swans nest.  Maybe we will discover some other wildlife or we could go birding.