Ruth is 4 Months Old!

Are You Gone?

I am so behind on blogging. Frankly, there have just been other more important things that have needed to be done. We start school on Monday and I have been working hard on lesson plans, organizing manipulatives, etc. Sarah starts 3rd grade with the BJU online classes and Benjamin starts K5. I will be using Saxon Math and Explode the Code with him as well as some other little things to help with reading. Rachel will be sitting in on Benjamin's lessons and will probably pick up quite a bit from that. She is excited about doing "school" (to her that means having her own pencil box and workbook!).

Garth and I took a long weekend alone (with the baby) back in upstate New York recently. While there, we got this picture that we intended to take when we lived there and just never got around to it. This sign indicates the name of the chain of funeral homes there. It is the family name of the owners, but is so hilarious to us!

For the Love of Oreos

Pictures are worth a thousand words, right? I will suffice to say that my girl that we have always called "Munch" loves her cookies. She opens them carefully, licks off the cream, and relishes every little crumb. Love that girl!

Ruth - 3 Months

Excited for School!

New school books arrived in the mail today and it was instant excitement! All the kids started pouring through them and Sarah asked if she could start on them right away. Even Rachel was busy reading Sarah's Handwriting book!

And you just have to love the mismatched pajamas...a sonic shirt & elmo pants...a mario shirt & spiderman pants. Whatever's comfy, right??

Ruth - 2 Months

Head Circumference: 40.25 cm (80th percentile)
Length: 24.25 inches (95th percentile)
Weight: 11 pounds, 9 ounces (60th percentile)

Overstuffed

Garth made another amazing cheesecake this week. For the crust, he and Fur used crushed Nilla Wafers and Oreos. Well, before crushing the Oreos Fur took all of the cream out of the cookies...and that resulted in a giant overstuffed Oreo!

A Morning at the Park

This past weekend we met my sister and her daughter at the park for a little while. It was a great day to celebrate such a hot day here in Washington...outside in the sunshine!!

Nana and Papa

For months we anticipated Garth's parents' visit from Guam. They were here a week and we crammed so much into that one week! We took a ferry ride to Seattle and saw lots of sights there...went up to Hurricane Ridge...had dinner with some mutual friends...stayed up late talking and talking...and much, much more. The kids warmed right up to their Nana and Papa. Here are just a couple pictures from that week.

Garth's dad preached Sunday night. That was a special treat!



Garth's dad told some stories about Garth and I loved watching his reaction to his dad!



Nana got lots of cuddles in while she was here!

Bring Them Home!

Our friends, the Brownings, are endeavoring to adopt two special Down Syndrome orphans from the Ukraine. The price for adoption is astronomical. To help offset the costs and bring these sweet children home sooner, the Brownings are hosting a blog auction. There are many wonderful things up for auction and I encourage you to check it out!

Also, if you are a coffee drinker or know someone who is, you can help support them by buying Just Love Coffee. A very generous portion of each purchase goes to the Brownings for their adoption.