One more thing

I think I finally got one to work!

Two notes: sorry about the sound effects . . .she was laughing just seconds before, so I was trying to get her going again. And the bouncing really wasn't as violent as it looks on this video ;)

Exhaustion

photo by Bronwen









my tomatoes. they were delicious, but 2 is all we've had. I was anxiously awaiting a big juicy one, but before it ripened, it disappeared and I found it later in the grass with two big bites missing. It must have been a squirrel.











Doesn't she look like she has a secret about me?









Bronwen must really be made of sugar and spice and everything nice because the mosquitoes have been merciless. She woke up Monday morning with bites all over her little face.

Noah plays with Grandma Martha's magnifying glass. My what big eyes you have!

So glamorous! Move over Mae.

Watch out for those sharks in the bathtub.

I've been unable to write lately. Mostly because by the time the kids are in bed, I'm too exhausted to put two sentences together verbally, much less write them. Tonight the computer is free and I have a lot to catch up on, so I thought I would try. So please forgive any sentence fragments, runn-ons, misspellings, grammar infractions etc. I hope you enjoy the pictures of some of the moments of our weeks .

Half Birthday

These are a few of my recent favorites.

Annabelle is six months today.

Trying to sit up for some pictures.

An art project

Noah's assignment to find the alphabet and photograph the letters

Extra days

We were excited to learn that we get an extra day or two of summer this year. The first day of Autumn is on the 23rd and I think it usually lands on the 21st. Anyway, even though I wouldn't consider it warm enough to run through the cold sprinkler water, Noah insisted it was.

These are pictures of their celebration with Madelyn and Chloe on the last day of Summer. Bronwen preferred to watch from a safe distance.

Ouch!

I just caught a sweet conversation Noah and Bronwen were having at the lunch table. Bronwen had just bitten her tongue and as she was wimpering Noah sweetly said, "Awe, did you just bite your tongue? I know that hurts because I bit my tongue once too."

Bronwen said, " [gasp] Oh my word! what happened?" (She is very dramatic) She quickly forgot her pain and listened as Noah described his really bad tongue bite from a year and a half ago.

We went to the ER for this one, so it made a big impression on him. After 4 hours waiting to see the Dr. he sent us home saying they don't stitch tongues because it would be too traumatic and that they heal really quickly anyway. He did want us to see a specialist in a week though, just to be sure that it did heal properly and that his speech wasn't affected. Here's a picture of the wound, the day after. It had completely closed up and was just a line across his tongue. You don't even want to know what it looked like when it happened. We never did see the specialist. It was amazing to watch it heal.
Well, Noah's story got her mind off of her own pain and it was a treat for me to listen in. And now . . .nap time! (for Bronwen, not for me.)

Hi Aunt Jayme!

It all began with a

first date, September 13, 1996.

Legend

I was thinking about the meaning of the word Legend and what it takes for someone or something to become one.

There are fantastic tails of daring, music legends, movie star legends, and sports legends.

And then there's the legend on a map.

We say things like, "He was a legend in his time," "Legend has it . . . " "Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the legendary (insert name here)"

Some of my favorite legends are:

The epic poem, Beowulf

Robin Hood

Nat King Cole, Frank Sanatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Senor Pavarotti

Gene Kelly, Fred Astair, Cary Grant, Gregory Peck, Audrey Hepburn, Kate Hepburn

There are more, but I'm a little fuzzy headed right now.

The legend on the map of Chicago

This last week the world lost three legends: Dr. D. James Kennedy - legendary evangelist, Senor Pavarotti - legendary tenor, and Jane Wyman (President Regan's first wife) and a legendary actress - They always seem to happen in threes don't they?

Actually, the more you say the word, the more common it sounds!

Lessons from the Bible and a Dove

For now, Noah's Bible lessons will be coming from the Adventure club program at church which begins this Thursday for the new school year. I'll be expanding on the lesson throuhout the week, preparing him for his Thursday class.
We had a few lessons left over from the spring when Noah missed a few weeks when Annabelle was born. So I used them for last week and this week.

You already know I was feeling a little anxious and very excited about school starting. I put in hours of preparation for the lesson plan for the year and our weekly and daily schedules. Amazingly, the first lesson we worked on had this verse (I think I shared it before,)"'I know what I have planned for you,' says the Lord." Jeremiah 29:11
That really spoke to my heart last week as I realized that all my well laid plans were really in His hands. My nervousness melted away as confidence grew. I carried it with me through the whole week and as we began the new week yesterday. Noah and I are really clicking and he seems to have gotten through the learning block he was struggling with and is now just absorbing everything. It is so awesome to witness!Feeling very good, I opened the next lesson and found this verse: "God gave these four men wisdom and the ability to learn." Daniel 1:17a
Can I hear an "AMEN?"
If you haven't found it yet, you can follow our first grade year at http://littlegrayschoolhouse.blogspot.com/

Now, let me say that I have such a wonderful man! Tonight I came home so exhausted and really ready to crash. Noah was too excited to wind down for devotions and prayer and had to tell Daddy about his entire day. Bronwen didn't want me to leave after we tucked them in, but she was much better tonight, so I thought I just might be able to crash on the couch for a little reading, or if Josh doesn't need the computer, maybe a little writing! But Annabelle was having a difficult time settling in, which is pretty unusual for her. So she wasn't able to calm down until close to 9. When I came downstairs and plopped down at the computer, I found a card and a Dove DARK chocolate bar!!! (I can't tell you how much I was needing chocolate tonight.) The card and candy was to thank me for editing his papers for class. . . and for thinking about making dinner for him last night. Yes, that is all I did - just think about it. I had such a full day yesterday, that I forgot to get the crock pot out first thing in the morning, so I was going to as I was dashing out the door. But he stopped me and told me not to worry about it. Gee, if that's what I get for only thinking of making dinner, I wonder what I would get if I actually did make dinner! He's awefully understanding as I'm trying to get our schedule balanced. He's wonderful and I don't deserve him.

Here's where I need to do just a little more bragging about him. He's almost finished with his MBA from the University of Phoenix (well,6 more classes to go- he'll be done next August.) In the class that just finished last night, he's carried a 100% until the last paper. His team mate forgot to correctly site a few sources on the joint effort, so they received a 96% making Josh's 100 drop to a 99. He just turned in a 28 page paper for the last class, so he doesn't have that or the final grade yet. Do you think he should go to Phoenix for graduation?

From Russia with Love

I wanted to play chess tonight, a flashback to many of our dates. He has a beautiful chess set that he brought back from Russia. But he's been so busy with his studies that he hasn't been able to get away for a game.

The Aquarium

The house is a wreck, but the first week of school was great. Here are a few pictures from our trip to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. If you've been there, you know how dark it is in most of the rooms and you aren't supposed to use flash photography. Most of the pictures turned out poorly, but you get the idea. (We snuck a few flash photos. tsk-tsk.)


Turtles! We saw so many different and funny looking turtles. Bronwen really took to them. Noah made a game of counting as many as he could find in any one tank. They both went through most of the day wide-eyed. Noah couldn't wait to see "Nickel" the sea turtle we saw last year. She was severly injured in the ocean when she was hit by a boat's propeller, slicing through her shell almost to her spine. This injury causes her to swim head down and tail up. She would not have made it if left in the ocean, but someone rescued her and now she lives in Chicago! She's huge . . . I think she grew since we saw her last.

Bronwen was so intrigued with the fish. I thought she might be scared by some of them, but she wasn't. She really enjoyed seeing everything up close.

It was crazy to see sharks swimming right by her head and seeing fish that were so much bigger than she is.

The dolphin show was amazing and all three were all eyes. Later, we went below and saw the dolphins from under the water. It was floor to ceiling blue and those beautiful beings were shooting through the water around us. I was in awe.

This is a leaf gecko; I think he looks like a cartoon. He amuzed the kids.

From the top he really looks like a leaf and when he was on the trunk, you could hardly see him. From the underside, it looks like he's made out of silly putty!

<-----bearded dragon

chamellion ----->

Leapin' Lizards!

Annabelle didn't sleep much all day (which made for a long night for me.) She was taking it all in and didn't want to miss anything.

Yea! the Komodo Dragon is still here!

He was so still, it's hard to believe how dangerous they are.

By the time we were through with the lizards, we were all very tired and hungry. After closing the museum in the gift shop, they finally decided on a little something to bring home. Noah bought a stuffed penguin and named him Pinguini and Bronwen picked out a blue rubber lizard - currently without name - to commemorate their day.

The picture on the left was taken last Sept.

They've grown so much in a year!

Afterward we went to the Rain forest cafe (appropriate, eh?)

We sat by the elephants. Occasionally they would trumpet and thunder would rumble while the lights flashed on and off. This really frightened Bronwen who has recently become afraid of storms. But by the time dinner was over she was telling the elephants to shush.

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