Jacob

We haven't written much about Jacob lately.  He will be going back to preschool next week and is really looking forward to it.  He turned 5 this summer and we went back and forth with sending him to kindergarten this year, or waiting until next year since he has a late birthday.  We opted for waiting and feel pretty confident that we've made the right decision.  He is very smart and social, but also very much a homebody and we thought 5 days a week would be a lot for him this year.  Everyone we talked to said to wait and we figured we can't hurt him, but only give him an advantage.  The thought of kindergarten next year is crazy... I'm not quite ready to cross that bridge just yet, but we know he'll be ready next year and we will have to be also.  Jacob is maturing so much lately into such a thoughtful, caring boy.  He is so kind to his sister and has such a sweet heart.  Abbey got a late birthday present the other day and as she opened it Jacob said "I'm so excited for you Abbey."  Tonight we were playing memory and Abbey still isn't quite sure how to play, but when it was her turn, Jacob would help her out by telling her which cards were matches.  Then, when she would make a match he would smile and tell her "good job".  Abbey also hurt her eye tonight and as he went to bed he reminded me and daddy to pray for her eye.  At dinner lately he has been thanking me several times during our meal and telling me how good it is (he's going to make some girl so happy someday).  We are so thankful for the blessings of our children and it is such an encouragement to us to see them growing into these neat little people.   

Abbey's Dream

When Abbey got up this morning she kept telling us about the dream she had last night.  She was at the pool and.... I'll let her tell you about it.  Make sure you pause the music on the blog to hear her.  She keeps us laughing :)

Bedford Pool

Summer is coming to a close.  Today we spent one of our last days (maybe our last) at Bedford Pool.  We have spent many fun days there this summer running through the sprinklers, playing in the pool, jumping off the side and having popsicles at the concession stand.  This summer has gone so fast (kind of sad), but we have had many conversations with the kids about fall and the excitement that the new season brings... pumpkin patches, hay rides, pretty leaves, sweatshirts, hot chocolate and preschool (for Jacob).  So, as this summer comes to a close, we look back at all the memories we've made, and look forward to what is to come.    

Scout & Sophia

Scout and Sophia are the two black labs that live next door to us.  Over the last 6 years we have gotten to know our neighbors Denise and Jessica really well and have grown close to them and their dogs.  We spend a lot of time with them outside talking and playing.  Scout is actually Sophia's mom and about a year ago we watched her have her puppies.  They kept Sophia so we have known her since she was first born.  They are really good dogs and the kids love spending time with them.  Here are a couple pictures of the kids using the ball thrower to play fetch with the them.    

Our Little Love

It doesn't take much to make our Micah smile.  He is such a happy, laid back, go with the flow baby and he's a joy to be around.  It's hard for me not to get the baby itch when I see this face. I'm ready for another one like him (or like any of them )  :)

Abbey & Micah

No one can make Micah laugh like his big sister.  She hardly has to do anything and he thinks she's hilarious... (pause the music on the bottom left to hear)

Happy 3rd Birthday Abigail

Ms. Abigail turned 3 on Saturday and we had a small afternoon get together with family and friends with snacks, cake and some activities for the kids.  We had a moon bounce, a teen from our church made the kids balloon animals and a pinata. It was a fun day. Some people ended up staying after the party for pizza that evening and the kids unpackaged all her presents and had fun playing with her new toys.  I was feeling pretty sick that whole day due to my surgery and felt a little "out of it" the whole party, but I made it through the day.   Abbey really enjoyed her special day and we loved celebrating our sweet girl.

Shelley's Kidney Stones...

Shelley had her kidney stone surgery on Thursday.  Overall the procedure went very well.  But before surgery she was given two antibiotics by IV and she had a reaction to the first.  She got what is called 'red man syndrome' and had extreme itching on her scalp and upper stomach.  The first nurse that was taking care for her dismissed the symptoms as nerves (she wasn't a very good nurse to say the least), but later in the day another nurse said that definitely was a reaction to the medicine.  The doctor was able to break all the stones into tiny dust like particles that will easily pass.  They placed a stent into the tube that connects her kidney to her bladder and the doctor had warned that it is painful, having the stent in your body.  They will remove the stent next Thursday and Shelley will be very happy to have it out.  It is definitely bothering her... mostly in her back.  They gave her some medication for the pain, but she is trying to take it very sparingly because although the doctor said it was o.k. while nursing she knows that whatever goes into her body is coming out at least a little so she likes to stay on the safe side.  

They will be running some tests over the next couple months to try to determine why her body made these and hopefully this will be the first and last time that she will have to deal with these...  

More Construction and Garage Sale

I worked for the past two days on our basement and was able to finish some more of the walls.  While I was working downstairs, Shelley was outside running our garage sale.  We needed to get rid of a lot of stuff that had just been accumulating in our basement.  Overall we did pretty well at the sale and we were able to make a few dollars.  We tried to sell some of the kids old toys, but once they saw them in the boxes, they just took them out and started playing with them all over again!  We can't seem to get rid of any toys.  We will be so glad once the basement is finished and we can put the toys down there and out of sight.