The Birthday Girl

Today is Emily's 9th birthday. I don't know how it is possible that she could be 9 years old today. Where did time go and what happen to my little girl? She is growing up so fast. On one hand it seems like she should be about 3 years old still and coming down the steps with her pink puppy in hand but on the other hand she seems so mature for just turning 9! We are so proud to be her parents and love her very much! God has been so gracious to place her in our care. Emily, we love you very much! Happy Birthday!!

A summer storm

This photo was taken late August. I just loved the powerful looking clouds as the storm rolled in over the fields. We were driving somewhere and I had Ted slow down so I could take the photo. What a beautiful world we live in!

Puppy Time

Last week some good friends of our who also raise Golden Retrievers asked us to puppy sit for their ten 6 week old puppies and the mama. Of course we all excitedly agreed to this. It has been such a long time since we had pups around, I think it was the first part of 2007 when we had a our last litter. We had so much fun playing with them. Millie was a bit unsure of them but Sydney just adored them! The pups would walk under Sydney looking for a teat and she would stand so patiently for them to discover that there wasn't anything for them. Sydney played and played with them. She was a bit rough but gradually learned to play a bit gentler with them. I can't believe how big Sydney looks now! Our puppy has grown up! The kids had so much fun with the pups. We were blessed with really nice weather, it only rained the last day we had them. Our kitten Griffin was glad for Sydney to have different playmates. Most of the time Sydney is chasing Griffin around the yard and getting him all slobbery.
We are hoping to have a litter sometime last this year or early next. We found a really nice "husband" for Millie. I can't wait for Millie to have pups. It is a lot of work but so much fun! I think the kids will really enjoy the whole experience this time.

Emily and a pup (love this photo!)

Logan and a pup

Playtime (Sydney looks enormous!)

Millie's future husband Riley

Sydney covering Griffin in slobber~ yes on top the picnic table....

Almost Autumn

Emily is quite excited that tomorrow is the first official day of autumn which means her birthday is in a few more days! I must say fall time is a beautiful time of the year...but so is winter, spring and summer! I love winter especially after a good snow when there are no tracks in the snow, everything is so clean and crisp. But I also like spring, seeing the plants come back to life. Summer is great especially on a nice warm day when you can sit outside and read a good book. Fall is an amazing time. After the heat of the summer (although not this summer) crisp cool days are so refreshing. Seeing the leaves change turn into brilliant shades is wonderful as well as watching the crops being harvested. We saw a corn field that had been harvested yesterday. I think living in India for the time we did makes us appreciate the beauty of our part of the world. I don't ever remember thinking how beautiful corn fields can be! I wanted to share some photos of our neighbor's pond that I took the other morning. It was so pretty, the morning fog with the reflection of changing leaves...autumn is approaching.

Andrew and Bethany's wedding

In August Ted's youngest niece Bethany married a really nice guy named Andrew. Weddings are always a lot of fun. It was a great time to visit with family and friends, eat lots of yummy food and dance the night away. Bethany was a beautiful bride and we wish Andrew and Bethany a life of happiness! Congratulations!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Butterfly Farming

Several weeks ago the kids and I collected 3 monarch caterpillars on the milkweed plant and put them in an aquarium to care for. Emily diligently gathered milkweed leaves every few days for the caterpillars to munch on. Then one by one they formed a chrysalis and remained that way for about 21 days until a beautiful butterfly emerged. The aquarium had been moved out into the garage as the whole thing rather disgusted Logan. But when the time was close for the second one to open up I brought it in sure that I would be able to witness this incredible moment when the caterpillar-chrysalis emerged as a butterfly. But nope, I left one day for about 25 minutes and when I came home there she was....fluttering about! The process was really amazing. We released her after one day, gave her wings a chance to dry up. We still have one more we are waiting on.

Back to School

The kids are back to school and getting back into the routine of school in the US again. Things are going well for the kids. They are getting to know the other kids again and seem to be adjusting just fine. Every year I take photos of the kids the morning of school, up until a few years ago I was able to photo them getting on the bus they were too big for Mom to be taking photos of them getting on the school bus. Of course last year I took the photo of them getting into the van driven by Bhaskar! Now I take photos up by the house plenty of time before the bus comes. It is neat to see how the kids grow each year. I pray this year will be a good year for the kids and the teachers that are teaching them!

Emily 3rd grade, Logan 6th grade and Mason 8th grade