hot off the camera

Trips to town are long...
We try to enjoy the scenery

Field trips are fun...

Wherever we go or whatever we're doing... I'm drawing and writing notes... My stick figures have t-shirts nowadays.

Sorry Boone folks... it seems we skipped winter here this year!

Henry held a lamb... I held a lamb...

Lincoln's proud of his teeth, I guess... this is his prefered choice of smiles lately ... we can't get enough of it!

pretty typical moment in our home...

sandbox hasn't had a break this winter...

Ahhhhh, friends... God truly heard my mommy's requests!

Mommy turned old... seems to happen about once a year

It was with us for about a week before Mommy tired of fishing styrofoam from Linko's mouth- then we watched some youtube videos on demolition and went at it. It was a good house.

Ode to Mrs. Inglesby

Though we were looking shaggy there for just a little while...
Thanks to Mrs. Inglesby we've all reclaimed our style:

Soccer Milestone

Remember a few months back when Mommy tried to coach us in soccer... turns out, since he was up so high in the back pack, Lincoln must have been watching Mrs. Kuhn's group- b/c somehow he got it! So- not only has Linko surpassed me and Henry this week by walking right around a year old... he's rubbing it in with his fancy footwork...

And in other news tonight- for those who don't already know- we do, in fact, have the best Daddy ever!!! We started building this earlier but bedtime came a callin'. Little do I know, but he's still working and we'll have the big reveal in the morning... check back!

Linko's One!

Has it really been a year? Sometimes I just look at this face and think to myself "I should only be so thankful to be blessed with two sweet brothers God's given me to have as best friends!" Then I realize that voice in my head is really Mommy's voice ...reprimanding me for a sibling interaction gone wrong. But I really do love them. Linko's like my big, real live baby doll... only he almost weighs as much as I do. Promise this was the first time we fed him cake.

Since he's only one, we got to impose upon him our own idea of fun for his B-day dinner celebration... roasting hot dogs on the fire.

And we're all about baby sign language... Henry and I are thinking of switching over completely, ourselves, if it'll get us cake everyday!

But truly, we can't say enough how completely and utterly blessed we feel to be a part of this amazing little boy's life! Every time he cracks a smile... he melts our hearts! Thank you Jesus for a chance to love on and be loved by this little boy! We pray that he knows and trusts You sooo early in his life! And remains in You all of his days.Thanks for a wonderful year!

October

October info:

1. Preschool music (aka "preschool noise") has been meeting at our house and its soooo much fun (thanks Mrs. Wagner!)... Mommy's going to start practicing not falling off the stage with Henry soon- as we prepare for the Christmas program.

2. It's fall!!! Though it in no way compares to Boone... our three trees worth of leaves have been quite fun.

3. Mommy did "The Screamer"... thanks Miss Micah and Miss Amanda for encouraging her. I gave Mommy the longest biggest hug when she came down. I think that's my way of saying "Good job Mommy but don't ever scare me like that again!!"

4. I won third prize out of all the little people in the pinewood car derby @ the Harvest Party! My tie-died minivan blew Daddy and Henry's Scout away... but theirs was pretty cool looking... if they'd painted it pink they'd have surely won 'Best in Show'--- who paints a Scout baby blue anyway?

5. Me, Henry, and Mommy won first prize in the pie contest. Thanks Aunt Barbie... we won't disclose your secret recipe to everyone, but for those wondering... all you really need to win a pie contest is ridiculous amounts of butter and sugar, and a few blueberries too.

6. Mommy is forever indebted to Mrs. Brown! (Yay for prop closets, prairie dresses and friends!)

7. Lincoln is amazing... he's had a few brief moments of standing on his own... he cruises around the furniture... dangles from the kitchen table by his hands, and climbs all the way up the stairs when Mommy and Daddy turn around for 2 seconds. He also spits up on the sofa, spits up on the table, and spits up on the stairs... but always with a smile! We like him alot. I kiss him alot. He doesn't mind yet.

8. We had community soccer each Wed. this month... Mommy ended up coaching the wee ones a little... we're all still a little confused about the game after that. I think it involves kicking a ball.

9. Daddy's doing Program for 'Work and Worship' this weekend (that means he's the funny guy). We'll try to get a few pics up. He's really amazing at it and really just loves to be serving in ways beyond his day job.

My quote of the month:

(upon discovering a fallen branch of the juniper tree in front of our house... knowing full well that blueberries grow on bushes, not trees, after picking thousands of them at our old house)

"What in my mind?! A blueberry tree!!" ( I think I meant 'what in the world?' but the intensity and excitement with which I said it made it seem perfectly correct.

Henry's quote of the month:

(upon finishing the story of Zacchaeus with Daddy- after Daddy explained that Zacchaeus had a changed heart and gave back all the money he stole, tenfold)

"I don't like money... I just like food."

That Henry...We like him alot. I kiss him alot. He definetely minds.

a beautiful day in the "neigh"borhood

Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Thompson!

celebrations and vacations

First there was Nora's Princess party...

This was the beginning of my interest in playing dress up... I'm a late bloomer, I know... but now I'm hooked. Then we were off to Portland... first stop, Multnomah Falls- On to my favorite part... the hotel! We kind of stood out like the Beverly Hillbillys. Thanks to smart shopping on Priceline, Daddy booked us a trendy "boutique" type motel. That's Lincoln over in the corner in his own private suite.... a sheet covered pack'n play... being lulled to sleep by Phil Huxtable. The first night I was so excited about the ice machine that I filled the shiny bucket and snacked on ice through at least 3 Cosby Shows until I was shivering. Mommy and Daddy are so thankful I'm easy to entertain. Then for the zoo!! Our reaction was different than Mommy had initially hoped for... ever since the cow incident, it seems we're now a little nervous about large animals... but we did loosen up by the end of the day.

The next morning we woke up and headed for the coast!

It was the first time Mommy and Daddy had ever seen sun @ Cannon Beach! It was beautiful!

I found lots of pieces of sand dollars... not like the full ones Mommy and Aunt Amy used to find... though they did discover years later that all those perfectly round, bleached white sand dollars had been placed strategically on the sand moments earlier by their Uncle B who was casually walking a few feet ahead! Still makes a great memory, though! And mine will too!

Lincoln started out happy and sitting pretty in Mommy's dream confinement contraption.

Henry likes to wrestle.

I like to hug.

Lincoln, it turns out, does not like confinement.So we set him free to eat all the sand he wanted... it was a vacation after all!
Then back to reality after a full 3 days of action! And back to dressup. Here's me as "80's Prom Princess" and my handsome "Knight in Shining Underwear". We truly are everything Mommy's ever hoped for and more.

And Daddy went on another adventure to see Uncle Brady and Aunt Austin. One night, before he left,we were playing one of my favorite games ... "The Guess What I'm Drawing Game" (some call it pictionary-but not me, I just call it like it is). I surprised Mommy and Daddy with this picture of our family in an airplane b/c I'm so excited about flying to see them one day too. Mommy and Daddy are a little slow though, so I had to write out a hint for them... " T-e-c-s-s-i-s" (Some spell it Texas but not me, I just spell it like it is). I can't wait to see you Uncle Brady and Aunt Austin... thanks so much for taking care of our Daddy... We love you soooo much!

And after 30 minutes (past our bedtime nonetheless) of Mommy baiting us into luring you to come visit us through flattery and her amazing use of cinematography- here we are making one last plea... or two or three...