Catching Up!

It is hard to believe that we have been in our new home for nearly 6 months. We have been enjoying the extra space, better layout, and the boys have especially enjoyed the play structure in the backyard.  We had a busy summer of unpacking, painting, gardening, canning, general settling, and getting ready for the arrival of next our baby.  Here are some of the highlights in pictures:

Samuel enjoying our new backyard

Beach Trip

Washing bikes

Helping Mama can pears

Playing a little music

Benjamin finished up his time in the ESD preschool.  He no longer qualifies for the preschool services (praise God - he's caught up!)  He still gets periodic visits from Karen, his ESD PT to help with his ankles that like to fold inward, but he is progressing at a typical level.  He got to pick from different group projects to bring homeon the last day...he chose a huge paper-filled fish.

Samuel turned 2 in October!

We celebrated Grandma's 60th Birthday with surprise party at the beach.

Benjamin got flew his kite all by himself

Mama made the boys shepherd costumes for Halloween.

Now it is November already and our 3rd little boy is due literally any day.  The boys are excited to meet their new little brother and Mama and Papa praise God for another full term pregnancy.  We appreciate prayers for health and safety for Mama and our little one in the coming days.

Playing Pirate

Benjamin recently had a check up on his eyes.  After 2 corrective surgeries the alignment isn't quite where the doctor wants it to be.  I was waiting for those dreadful words that I have heard so many times..."he'll need to have surgery..." but praise God they didn't come!  At least for now.  Instead, we were sent home with a box of patches.  I typically would have groaned at this...one more thing to do, but if it has a chance at preventing surgery, we are on board.

For 2 hours every day, Benjamin has to wear a patch over his left eye to encourage the right eye to work harder and get stronger.  Yesterday was the trial run.  To my surprise, he was completely compliant (course bribing him with a movie and fruit snacks probably helped.)  When the 2 hours was up, I went to take it off and he wanted to keep it on to show Papa when he came home from work!

We are praying that God will use this to strengthen that right eye and when we go back in 3 months that the problem is corrected and no surgery needed.

There Once was a Little House...

Over 9 years ago, there was a single, 25 year old girl that needed a project and somewhere to plant roots (both literally and figuratively.)  She found a house that needed some help.  It was a humble house, built in the '30s with a strange layout, one tiny bathroom, lots of quirks, and yet lots of charm.  It was painted a drab gray-blue and had 14 holes in the walls ranging from the size of a quarter to over a foot in diameter.  It had been vacant for over a year and needed quite a bit of TLC.  Soon the place came to life with patched wholes, new paint, and flowers in the yard.

That little house would come to witness many things...a wedding proposal, the first home of a newly wed couple, the surprise of a baby on the way, the bigger surprise when baby came early, welcoming him home after months in the hospital, a college graduation, a second baby brought home right on time.

As the family changed, so did the house.  A wall and a garage were added, large bushes came down and a fence and sandbox went up.  Year after year, a garden was tended. It's rich, loamy soil produced abundant food, and jars of home-canned food lined the cupboards.

Now the girl is 34 and her family is growing again.  Sadly, it is time to say goodbye to the little old house which holds so many memories.  She will never forget the living room that witnessed a first kiss, the same place where she danced with her baby, newly freed from the oxygen tank.  The place where she would spend many, many nights feeding a hungry baby or soothing a sick child, and cheering over each milestone passed.

Thank you little house, for being my home for these 9 wonderful years.  Thank you for keeping my family warm, dry, safe, and allowing me to be transformed alongside of you.

Surgery #9

Today was Benjamin's 9th surgery - a bilateral myringotomy, aka tubes in his ears.  It went really well and was the easiest by far.  We were able to do it in a surgery center so we were discharged just over 2 hours from the time we arrived!  The staff loved him, and said they wanted to keep him because he was an easy patient.  He's had lots of practice!

Benjamin and Cookie in their surgery attire.  Benjamin was quite intrigued by the "flashlight" on the end of his finger.  Pretty cool that Cookie got to wear a fun hat and ID band too!

 A special post-surgery gift from the Dumlers - Benjamin gets to play his guitar in the hospital now just like Cody!

Musical Boys

Benjamin loves music.  He amazed me by starting to clap on beat before the age of 3.  Both him and Samuel love it when Brian brings out his guitar.  For Christmas, Ben and Lisa gave them tambourines and they both love to play.  

Check out this video of Benjamin playing the tambourine with his Papa:

http://youtu.be/99kQtbtmX6c