Wednesday, September 20, 2006

It seems like only yesterday that we were dressing him in infants clothes, that he needed assistance getting those painful bubbles out, that his soft chubby baby skin was still pink. It seems like only yesterday that he was first talking, a bubbling little man full of life and joy. His favorite thing to do was put his pinky fingers together and "play golf." It seems like only yesterday that we took the training wheels off of his little bicycle as Dad stood by to catch him when he fell. It seems like only yesterday that he learned to read, write and so much more. His whole life is like a yesterday to me, and yet forever to him.

Our continuously growing not so little-anymore man, Caleb, was born into our family on this day, ten years ago. It seems so strange to me that he is now the age that I was when he was born. I'm sure he is much bigger than I was at his age, but at the time I remember thinking that I was so old, such a big sister, and I wonder - does he have similar thoughts?

Caleb has been such a blessing to our family of mostly girls. He is always there to stand on the outside of the sidewalk to protect his sisters, or to help them out of the car, or shut the door. And of course, he is always ready to show Jessica his latest bug find, or come give me a hug as he drips with sweat. He is usually the first to compliment a fine dinner or dessert, even when things don't taste the way they should. Though he is not perfect, Caleb is our little gentleman, and we love him dearly.

Happy 10th Birthday, Caleb! May God richly bless you, as you ardently seek His face, and fulfill His call for your life.

Monday, September 18, 2006

The Baptismal service yesterday was wonderful. Little Allen didn't seem too excited about the water part, but he quickly recovered and was soon quiet again. We had a huge Italian feast afterwards, consisting of spaghetti, lasagna, stuffed manicotti, bruchetta, pasta salad, Greek salad, stuffed mushrooms, fresh homemade garlic bread, Insalata Caprese, and I think that covers most of it...the dinner part anyway. For dessert we had a white baptismal cake and ice cream. The rest of our day at church was spent visiting, knitting, playing whiffle ball and wrestling (the guys did, we sat watching, rather amused ;-))

Afterwards, we took the Chandlers and Evans out to our property to show them our house. We had hoped the couple living there would have been out on Saturday, but the shop was still full of things and the house was not completely empty, so we just gave them a tour of the grounds. It is kind of odd hosting people just outside with no refreshments and such, but we had a blast and leaving and going our separate ways, as always, was sad.

Our moving truck comes this Thursday...and so does James! All of the little ones keep asking if it is really their Buba that is coming and can't wait for his plane to land. He will be here for two weeks, so it will be nice to see him again. It has been rather hard for us to convince people that we really do have an older brother since he never travels with us, but thanks to the Evans (who have met him) it hasn't been too hard this time. ;-) If you still have doubts, you'll have to come see him when he gets here.

Oh, and here is something for all y'all back in Texas...the high for today is 67. Are you ready to come visit, yet? ;-)

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

At this moment, I am sitting at the desk in our hotel living room thinking about everything...or so it seems...

We've signed the contracts on our home, had the inspection done, and the couple living in it now are planning to be out by Saturday, so we can take possession right away. Our moving truck won't arrive until sometime next week, I believe, so that still leaves us in the hotel for sleeping. But to look on the bright side, we will have somewhere to go during the day. The deck needs some repair and the living room is some bluish/green colour, so that will need painting.

The Pumpkin Festival began today and will last until Saturday. Hopefully we will be able to go out and experience it all before the festivities end. Tomorrow and the next day we have some more errands to run, Saturday morning we have a baby shower, Saturday we have preparations for Sunday, we might have something Saturday night and then we are having a Baptismal service on Sunday, and a feast...Is it just me, or do we sound busy? ;-)

Today, Mom Jessica and I went out to Home Depot. I'm sure you can all picture the funny scene. The three of us, looking for odds and ends for the house, with a cart holding two boxes so big that we had to pull it since we couldn't see over it, and trying to find a "how-to-build a fence" book. We asked an employee, and he started to tell us how he would build a fence and then ended with, "It is so easy. I can't imagine somebody taking the time to write a whole book on something so simple. Hee-hee..."

So, we bought some magazines with information on how to build a fence (which also listed two books on building fences), picked up brochures, went to a few other stores to find a decanter, bought shoes for Mother darling, grabbed some food to-go, came home, ate, put the babies to bed, sat in the hot-tub, and here I am, sitting at the desk in our hotel living room, thinking about everything...or so it seems...

Saturday, September 09, 2006

Last night we spent another pleasant evening with the Candler family. Our feast consisted of grilled hamburger, vegetable shish-ka-bobs, baked beans, cole-slaw, chips and two desserts. I think I covered everything. And as usual, the night was filled with laughing, visiting, playing down at the creek (which I have yet to see), swinging, and of course, dancing. ;-)

Today will be a test to see if I can find my way around town. Mom and I are going shopping for a few things this morning, and this afternoon holds cooking plans for church. Our room doesn't have an oven, so that is rather inconvenient, but our time here is almost over.

We've signed the contracts for our new home!! I'm not sure what the move in date is, but it should be soon. There are a few rooms that need to be finished, and the deck on the back is also in need of some attention. The house is situated on a private lake, has a nice large shop that some of us would like to turn into a ballroom, and plenty of garden/landscaping areas. I do have some photos, so I'll put those up for y'all.

Mr. Candler - the Grill Master

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Emma M. swinging

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Hannah C. and Emma M.

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Tuesday, September 05, 2006

My photo blog...Whispering Wonders