Five Months Old Today

Hannah Joy is 5 months old today! How the time has flown! She is still living up to her name, she is such a joy. The picture of her in her carseat with all the animals is particularaly precious because her big sister Elizabeth gave them all to her! The red and white polka dot outfit is from Aunt Katy. Thanks, Aunt Katy! Hannah also has figured out how to roll from back to tummy. I'm brainstorming the baby-proofing, because it's only a matter of time now before she's crawling!

I love this picture of the four of them playing a card game about space on the floor one night after dinner.

We've been busy! We travelled to N. GA this weekend to visit David's brother Mike and his family. The kids and I had such a great time playing the Wii, hiking, swimming, jumping on the trampoline, catching frogs and lightning bugs and visiting with their cousins.

Speaking of Lightning bugs, who would have guessed that lightning bugs don't live in Montgomery, AL! If I'm wrong about this, please post a comment correcting me! However, I have yet to see one, in either of the houses we've lived in over the last 20 months.

More on bugs...does anybody have a clue whether we should spend $290 on a yearly termite insurance policy? The money goes into a pot with everybody else's and then, IF we get termites, despite the treatment they gave the house, they will pay for any damages done by the sneaky little critters. The guy who worked for the company who came and inspected to make sure we didn't have any, seemed to think it wasn't really necessary. The lady who answers the phone thought differently, of course.

And, regarding bugs and Elizabeth, that little beauty will pick up just about any worm or beetle on God's earth! We found a big earthworm under a rock on our hike this weekend and she wanted to put it in her pocket and then feed it to Skippy, the pet turtle! So, we did just that!

I never cease to be amazed at these young lives I have been charged with. They are learning their place in the world and their place in God's kingdom. I sure love 'em a lot!

Rachel

Summertime Fun!

Well, though it is not "officially" summer, you could have fooled me! In Montgomery, AL today it was 98 degrees! We began the day at swimming lessons, where at 8:45 I had sweat streaming down my face!

Swimming lessons. Boy, the kids were really fearful about them. I made them repeat, "I can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens me" and I shared some other Scripture with them about not being afraid, and then we prayed about it. Well....once we got there, I could barely keep them out of the pool! Elizabeth grew bored with her class and wanted to come join Andrew's to be with him, and Andrew really was struggling sitting still on the side. Once he realized he could jump in and touch the bottom, he wanted to continue doing that the whole time! They both practiced floating, which they weren't very comfortable with, naturally, and Andrew practiced kicking while holding on to a kickboard. Elizabeth practiced kicking while her coach helped her balance on a noodle. Today was the first lesson of 8, so hopefully they'll be swimming/floating more adequately by the end!

The kids were fortunate enough for their dear parents to acquire a FREE swingset over the weekend. David put it together on Sunday, and those kids played on it almost every waking moment on Monday, heat and all! They played on it all afternoon and this evening as well! I really never would have imagined that so much pure joy and laughter would come from getting a swingset! We have really enjoyed it and are so grateful to the family who outgrew it and passed it on to us.

Rachel