God Answers Prayers!

Just an update on my camera......I prayed very specifically that God would show me HOW to clean my camera. After some research on what to do and what NOT to do, I found a solution here that I was able to use to get most of the ink off the lense. It is not perfect....but, oh, SO much better! Thank You, God!

Yep.....he's TWO!

Notice how this picture is quite blurry, and how there are black smudges......well......let's just say, that ANY time a 2-year-old is quiet for any amount of time......rather than count your blessings......it might be a better idea to go find out WHY he is so quiet. Today (as I was counting my blessings because my 2-year-old was so quiet, and I was actually getting some school done with the boys), my dear Benjamin decided to go to my room, open my drawer, get out a permanent marker, and proceed to get my camera out of its case, turn it ON, then use that permanent marker to color my camera lense. Oh, and he also decided that my glasses needed adjusting, so he took that upon himself as well, and twisted them into fine form. Well, enough on the adventures of Benjamin.....time to go see WHAT IN THE WORLD I'm going to do to fix my camera! I LIKE my camera!!!!!! Oh, and Benjamin......I do still love you......really!

Happy 12'th Birthday, Marc!

As per Marc's request, Grandma baked up a "bread" breakfast. She made homemade doughnuts, gummy rolls, banana bread, English muffins......the works. Marc was delighted, and we all enjoyed a YUMMY breakfast! Thanks, Grandma!

Grandpa made up clues for Marc to follow in order to find his gifts. Aunts, uncles, and cousins joined us for gifts, cake, and ice cream.We took Marc to town for a Brazilian birthday lunch......in Portuguese they are called "pasteis". We also had milkshakes to go along with our lunch......we had over 70 flavors from which to choose. It was a fun time.Marc joins the ranks of those with Airsoft guns......watch out!

Unfortunately, Keith was not able to be with us for Marc's birthday, so we had to settle for 2nd best, and that was to talk severl times via Skype. During this particular conversation, Marc opened his gift from us.......Marc was surprised and delighted with his gift!Marc wanted a cake with tools this year.....so we did our best to make cake in the shape of tools.........he was happy, so we were happy!

Grandma's Day

My mom has Grandma's day every Friday afternoon. My boys are delighted that they get to be a part of it for a few weeks, while we are here. This past week they decorated the Christmas tree as well as did some reading and other things. They always have a blast!

Annual Triathlon

Last week Word of Life held its annual triathlon. The contestants had to first swim the length of this lake, then ride their bikes around this lake and another lake 4 times, then run around those same lakes 2 times. It happened to be pouring rain, and was not a nice day at all. Many from my family participated. Here are some pics to give you a glimpse of the "fun". My Dad (72) and my niece Kelly (10) got medals for being the oldest and youngest participants.

My sister and her team won first place for the team category (the contestants could either enter as individuals, or as teams.)

My brother Steve won 2nd place in the individual category, and his son won 3rd place!

Here is Joshua running along side my dad to cheer him on to the finish line.

GO Kevin! (In all that mud......well you can only imagine what these guys looked like! )

This is the lake that they had to swim across.

Fun in the Sand

Life with cousins is always lots of fun!

Scott reading to Benjamin

Scott was doing his school reading yesterday, and Benjamin wanted to listen in.

Benji Dancing to Christmas Music

My mom has been decorating for Christmas this week, since she has a Christmas party at the house next week. She has several decorations that play music, much to Benjamin's delight. Before long we will all be very tired of these songs, as Benji plays them over and over!!!

Where's the SUN?

Even though it was only in the 60's today, and quite cloudy and cool out, the boys WANTED to go swimming. Normally these pools are heated, so it wouldn't have mattered, but today, they were NOT heated, and it was QUITE chilly. I was cold just watching them. But, they had fun all the same, and I guess that is what really matters!

All set for an adventure!

All set and ready to go.......thanks, Amy for taking us to the airport!
I LOVE this next picture.......Benji was quite excited to "Go bye-bye on an airplane!"
Excitement was high as we boarded the 767 to Brazil. On each of our seats was a packet with toothbrush, lotion, eye masks, etc. Wow.....you would have thought it was Christmas already!

Yay.....he's sleeping......unfortunately, this was very short lived. In the middle of the night, Benji decided that it was time to throw a fit.....he literally screamed for one hour straight......right while most everyone was TRYING to sleep. I've prayed for mothers of uncooperative children while on previous flights.....this time I got to experience what it was like to BE the mother of an uncooperative child......let's just say, it's a good thing, this was not my first trip with a 2-year-old!
To watch the sun rise from 33,000 feet was really neat. It also was a sign that this trip was soon to end......thank you, God.......we are READY to arrive!!!!

Fall Pictures

Since Misty kindly donated the gift of time to me, I was able to actually post some fall pictures.....sorry, but THREE is ALL YOU GET! Anyway, for now......enjoy, and happy fall!

Bye, Dad!

Our family tradition is to gather out on the porch and wave good-bye when Daddy leaves for work. This was a chilly morning, and the boys were snuggling together on the swing.

Air Show

A few weeks ago we went to the local air show. The nice thing was, that Keith's office looks right out onto the air field, so we were able to sit in comfort and air conditioning, and still enjoy an amazing show.

Mommy and Benjamin take a break.....it was a hot day, and after some walking, we sat down for a while as the guys checked out the planes.

This is the plane on which Keith was a mechanic while he was in the Air Force.

This was, in my opinion, the best part of the air show.......the thunderbirds put on an amazing show!

Our baby in 3D

When we were at the hospital today, the ultrasound technician flipped a switch and suddenly we were seeing our baby in 3D....it was very cool!

Our youngest child

Here's our baby at 12 weeks......what a BLESSING!

A nice STRONG heart beat

God has blessed us with a baby with a STRONG heart beat......so far, baby looks very healthy, and is growing as he/she should be. Thank-you, God!

Hat or Helmet?

The boys LOVE to ride the motorcycle with Daddy. After a ride one day, Benjamin wanted to "wear that hat".

I love you, you love me!

MUCH better than school!

The city had a leak in our yard. When they came to repair it last week it was quite the form of entertainment......in fact, it was MUCH more entertaining than school, for sure!

My 2 Keiths

Keith took KM with him on a business trip last week. Here they are ready to leave. I think they both had a good time. I missed both of them while they were away!