Don't leave yet Summer; we'll miss you terribly!

Makaylee's brother came over for the weekend. He is such a sweetie.

Nyah loves the park!

She was a little unsure of the steep slide







but ended up loving it.

Let's go again!

hangin' out

I can't believe she can go down the pole. I wasn't brave enough when I was 5. This is my

"can do it" girl!

time to go

keeping the little gymnast occupied...

while the big gymnast practices

Petsmart shaved Ella for us. You're not supposed to do this with King Charles Cavaliers but I was getting tired of all the barkdust she was tracking in! It should grow back just in time for the cold weather coming in the Fall. Now she can sleep in our bed because she won't shed!

Homeschooling

I bought Marquez's Abeka curriculum from a missionary family off of Craigslist. The cool part is that they gave it to me 50% the listing prices on the ABeka website. We are so excited to start it! Marquez even wants to be homeschooled this year because he doesn't want to leave Nyah. At the end of last school year when we came home from Ethiopia, Marquez didn't like going to school and being away from her. They have a very special relationship.

When I think of homeschooling I think of very intelligent, polite, well-rounded, happy, respectful children. That's because all the homeschoolers I've ever met are those things. I've had some people question our decision to homeschool Marquez and they are mainly worried about the social aspect of it. I have my teaching degree in Elementary Education so we are okay on that front. It's actually going to be pretty easy I'm guessing since he's been using the ABeka curriculum the last two years at his private school. So I know right where's he at, and if he gets to return to the private school next year, he will have learned everything his classmates did and won't be behind. The part I'm looking forward to is getting to spend more time with him. I am going to give him piano lessons for his music. I took them for 8 years. Thankfully he didn't ask for guitar lessons or something like that! For P.E. he is joining the homeschool swim lessons at the local pool. It is two mornings a week and only $40 a month, which is a great price! He will still see friends at AWANA on Wednesday nights and at Sunday School. The neighbor boy is homeschooled also and they hang out at each other's houses. He'll be with the same team and coach for YMCA basketball for the third year in a row now.

Overall, it will be a positive experience and if we like it, maybe we'll do it next year, too, with Makaylee!

Nyah's getting so big she's climbing right out of the pool now!

My mom cooked us a gourmet dinner as usual and spoiled us rotten.

Nyah skipped her afternoon nap because of all the excitement from family being over. She was out as soon as they left. Such a sweet baby. I just held her for an hour because I didn't want to put her in her crib. All the information I've read about the bonding/attachment process in books and on the internet hasn't really amounted to anything. I am so attached to her. It is just instinct. And babies can feel that. They know when they are loved and they respond in turn. That's all there is to it. Pretty easy, really. I wasted so much time before we went to Ethiopia worrying that she wouldn't bond with us and reading about things I could do to facilitate that process, but it is as easy as falling head over heels in love with them and they know it. More than one person has told me that Nyah is spoiled and acts demanding. You can't love a baby too much. There is no such thing as over-loving a child who has been without a mommy to give her individual attention for the first 6 months of life. And she is only a baby once. Good, if she acts spoiled and demanding, that means she knows that I am there for her and she is confident that if she cries I will meet her needs or pick her up.

First night in her own room

This is how I found her sleeping the first night out of our room. I guess she wants a pillow? I know, this doesn't look very safe. Maybe she should come back to our room... just a thought... I had better find a better excuse if its going to convince Orin. That was the best night of sleep he's had in a long time!

Anniversary

We have been married for 8 years on Tuesday! Papa and Nana wanted to watch the kids so we could have a nice date and some time to reflect on what else, each other. That is rare. Everything we do is for the kids so it was nice to spend some time with one another. I love our marriage; it is not perfect and we don't always agree on everything, but we are best friends, we have the same goals in life, and there's no one else in the whole world that we'd rather spend a Sunday with than each other. Who would have known that we'd be where we're at 8 years ago. If you would have told me I wouldn't have believed you. What is going to happen in the next 8 years? I can't wait to find out. God is full of awesome surprises!



...but we soon found our conversations and activities drifting back to the kids, wondering how they were doing, working in the yard for them, school shopping for them, etc.


Babies R US called and Nyah's crib finally came. It came 2 weeks ago except they made a mistake and it was black. I am going to be sad to see her leave our room. She's almost always slept in our room and I can hear her breathing at night so I know she's okay. So today, on her 10 month birthday she says goodbye to the travel crib in our room -

-and hello to her own room. I might move into the twin bed in there if I miss her too much.

Meanwhile the kids were having fun at Papa and Nana's house. Orin's dad killed a mole and it was the first one Marquez had ever seen. It wasn't what he expected it to look like - so small. Marquez is practicing target shooting with a Pringles can so someday he can join the hunt.

Nyah barely acknowledged me when we came to get them
because she was having such a good time with Nana. She wants to stand up all the time now. I think she'll be walking soon. Happy 10 month birthday, baby. If I loved you any more, I think my heart would pop!

Family Fun Night

Orin and I love doing yardwork together.

The kids really enjoy getting in on the action, too - because they know we'll head to Dairy Queen afterward!





Nyah wants to do everything the big kids do. So cute.

Ella discovered that Nyah's spit up tastes really good. Gross!

Soon Mommy and Makaylee were tired and ended up in the playpen with Nyah.

Orin worked over 75 hours last week in the 100+ degree heat last week. But he is such a good sport when he hits the couch and gets mauled by his adoring fans. Did I mention how much I love this guy? Our 8 year anniversary is in 2 weeks and grandma is babysitting.

I miss Marquez. He is at Trout Creek Bible Camp for the week. I went there when I was a kid and my parents both worked on staff as teenagers. (My mom had a crush on my dad that summer and now their grandson is going to the same camp. How weird is that?) Anyways, so us girls drop Marquez off yesterday morning and he is a little nervous looking around at all the hoards of unfamiliar kids. Suddenly he spots three buddies from his class at school. Cabin assignments are being made soon so the four boys link arms and circumnavigate the crowds so they can be sure to be in the same cabin. He is going to have a blast. Pray for him though because he was a little worried when he found out that he wouldn't be able to call us the whole week. He admitted he gets "a little" homesick at nights. Today we mailed out 3 letters to him. Mail is passed out in the lodge where the campers eat and if any camper gets 3 or more letters on the same day, they have to kiss the moose in front of everyone. Or the big, ugly boarhead on the wall. It is embarrassing but memorable!