Farm Song Medley

Viviane had been singing "Jesus Loves Me" before the arrangement and performance of this Farm Song Medley. That should explain the beginning. I've gotten loads of good laughs out of this one :-)

Tradin' Shades

We've got to do SOMETHING to entertain ourselves in the van!

The Double-Daters, the Party Animals, and the Babysitters

On Tuesday night, we had a wonderful double date with our dear friends and coworkers, Tim and Ruth Bixby. We enjoyed dinner at Olive Garden and then dessert afterward at Panera Bread. This was one of our last hurrahs with Tim and Ruth before they leave for France next Wednesday, so we were grateful to the Lord for the time with them. Here we are, the Double-Daters:

Meanwhile on the homefront, Micaiah, Miriam, and Viviane partied themselves out! When we got back home, they were having a blast running all over the place. At one point, I heard Miriam and Viviane thoroughly enjoying themselves in Viviane's bedroom and went in to find them both snuggled up in Viviane's bed. I told them to stay there so I could get the camera and then heard Micaiah say, "Wait, I'm coming!!" When I got back with the camera, they were all three in the bed! Here are the three Party Animals:

And, last but definitely not least, our dear friends the Hursts were the gracious babysitters for the evening. They were so kind to provide a pizza dinner complete with sugar cookies to frost for dessert! Thank you, Hursts! And, for our final photo, here are the Babysitters with their "subjects":

Tickled Pink

I'm not sure if this was pre- or post-"proposal," but I snapped the picture just when Micaiah and Viviane were both tickled about something (of course, Viviane was probably laughing only because someone else was :-) ). I reached back into the July 4th "archives" to have something new to share, but I promise more recent pictures are coming soon!

Big Girl Barrette

Today was Viviane's first official day to wear a barrette in her hair!!! We've graduated from headband-only length to it's-long-enough-to-hold-a-barrette-in length! Doesn't she look like such a big girl with her hair pulled back?

There's No Place Like [my sister's] Home

In just three weeks Viviane and I are flying out to Kansas to visit my sister Jenny and her family. I'm SO excited! It's been almost 2 years since our families saw each other; they've never met Viviane and we've never met Anna. Can't wait to see all 3 of Jenny and Lance's sweet kids: Ellie (7), Micah (5), and Anna (6 mos.)...and their parents too, of course! (The kids are pictured below; however, current pictures of their parents are hard to come by. Hint, hint. :-) )

This trip is another great reminder of God's provision: He made available the funds to purchase the plane ticket when we didn't think we could swing it financially, and He caused us to order the ticket at a time when the price had dropped $85 from what we expected to pay! Praise Him!

Looking forward to seeing you, Jenny, Lance, Ellie, Micah, and Anna!

Mystery Message

Can you guess what's written on the sign Viviane is holding? (Mommy's plans don't always work out the way Mommy is hoping!) Oh, and Becky...you're not allowed to guess because I told you about it!