Thank you

To my wonderful family:

Thank you for your prayers.  I have felt the strength to carry one when things were dark.  Now our home has a bright new spirit.  God has lifted me when I felt I could not go on another day.  Miracles are happening.  It is so humbling to realize that God does hear me.  He knows what I can handle, He knows when I need help.  He knows each one of us and He keeps reaching out to us, no matter how many times we turn away from Him.  In His infinite patience, He knows we will eventually relinquish our self-imposed exile and turn to Him.  And He's there, waiting with open arms and gracious mercy to welcome us back.  I have hope that my family will be together forever.

Meet Scout

This is our new puppy, Scout. He is about eight weeks old. He chews everything and is very clumsy.
When he's quiet, he's the sweetest little thing.


Scout likes to sit on this little shelf in our kitchen. He also likes to chew on it, but not too much. He's learning to sleep through the night.

We love this little puppy so much already, and it's amazing how fast he learns the basics we're trying to teach him.

Montana's lego video

Montana made a Lego video for Christmas. It's about 12 minutes long.


Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kq3mlq5xTcw to view the video.

Braces

On Monday the 20th, I went to the orthodontist and got my braces taken off!  Oh, sweet liberty!  Tuesday I went back and got my retainer, which I first despised and now reluctantly accept.  Hooray for easier flossing!  Hooray for straight teeth that don't get food caught in them (or the braces)!

Summer Vacation is Gone . . .

. . . But not the memories!
I can't recall another summer when we spent so much time playing and going from beautiful place to beautiful place.  Sorry the post is so long.  Here are some of the recent highlights:

Getting ready to swing into the Lewis River during a backpacking trip

There were lots of military vehicles at the capitol one day, the kids loved sitting in a tank and a helicopter

Here's A., my horse-riding gal.  Check out the pink boots!

She just got glasses, but it only adds to her loveliness.

At the Wildlife Safari we met Eeyore's brother.

E. was antagonizing the llama, who threatened to spit on her by pinning its ears back.

Cute girls lounging by the fire at our camp near Crater Lake

The North Rogue ran right behind our campsite; what a stunning natural beauty!

"Happy Holidays from Crater Lake" Perfect strangers thought this shot would make a good Christmas card.

These guys went on a 3.5 mile hike without us girls.  We found a sunny sand pit and whiled away the hour playing.

11-year-old Scout building a proper campfire.  He built (and lit) two evening fires completely on his own.  Well, Dad split the kindling for him, but that was it.

One of two cakes this girl got for her 7th birthday!  I think this one was the prettiest.  I like the confetti.

Here's my glammed-up girl with lip gloss, eye glitter, and every hair accessory she received for her birthday.

In August, we went backpacking with our friends along the Little North Santiam.  This waterfall was amazing!

I love this yummy baby so much! 

Who would have guessed he would actually touch a farm animal.  Not me, I assure you.

This animal lover was in heaven with all those puppies running around her cousins' yard.

Slip

I made a slip for A. because I can't find them in any stores. 

I went ahead and did french seams (not called for in the pattern) and added the pretty lace trim it does call for in the pattern. 

 Usually I skip the trimmings because I lack ...something.  But I really think it looks pretty and I don't mind that I had to go over the same strip four times to get all the trim in place.

Summer Fun

We broke down and bought a pool last weekend.  I wish we would have had it for that super-hot spell last week.  But I'm sure there are more hot summer days ahead.  It really doesn't have to be all that hot for the kids anyway.  They could hardly wait for us to get the pH and chlorine balanced so they could finally take a dip on Monday (the temp. was only around 70-75).  Now we've got to get some fun toys to play with in the pool!

Look how big our sunflowers are getting!