Getting closer....

Ava on the farm

I told you our calf loves to suck on fingers!

Speech therapy

This is Ava in speech therapy yesterday. I've taken plenty of pictures and videos of occupational and physical therapy but I don't think I've ever posted anything from speech therapy. I wanted capture it on video to show John some of the things we do since he has never gotten to experience it. I didn't even notice, but John noticed that she is pretending the spoon is an airplane flying into the baby's mouth (I think?). I don't normally do the airplane spoon thing. But her daddy does, and apparently she likes it. I'm sorry, but this girl cracks me up! I could watch her all day!

Yesterday I told Hope she couldn't have any pudding until she ate a bowl of delicious cream of carrot soup. I should have suspected something was up when she was suddenly eager to start serving herself! How do you like that portion size?

I walked by the girls' bathroom to see this sight yesterday. It gave me warm thoughts of 3 future teenage girls sharing a bathroom someday.





















Moses woke up yesterday with his neck all swollen and hard again yesterday! Could it be there is still a stick fragment left in there that just decided to react a month later? Poor little guy is going back to the vet (our old vet, not the one he's been to twice) today! :(

Spring Break Fun Day 1-Bowling

Our good friends, the Goffs, invited us for a bowling playdate today. The plan was to meet at the bowling alley, but Melissa broke down with a flat tire on the way, so I just swung by and picked up her 3 oldest kids and headed to the bowling alley while she waited for her husband to rescue her. I loved freaking people out by walking into a building with 8 kids! I couldn't resist taking a photo of all the cute little bowling shoes lined up in a row.


I thought it was so cute how the boys were all flocking to Hope, teaching her to bowl for the first time! She has no idea what a lucky girl she is!

Everybody had a great time. Well....almost everybody!

Updates and pictures

Thank you for your prayers for Barbara and also thanks to those who have asked about her. She has been discharged from the hospital and is apparently doing much better, praise God! I normally do not worry too much about her, she is quite self sufficient, but something in her voice that night told me she needed our prayers. Thank you all again! We will go visit her tomorrow and I promised to help her catch up on some organizing!

The little calf is doing well! We are all becoming quite attached to him! He is just like a little baby, jumps up and starts crying---well mooing, rather, when he sees us coming with bottle in hand, then he sucks it all down and moos for more. We have been letting him out of the barn on nice days and letting him run around. He loves to follow the kids around. One sure way to get him to follow you is to let him suck on your fingers. I've tried that on a kid or two as well. :) Moses has become quite the little protector.

John did buy me my dream camera, a Canon Rebel, for no other reason than that he loves me! I have been anxious to post some of my beautiful photography on here. The manual is, like 2,000 pages long though, and I feel like I have to read every word before I actually start using it because I wouldn't want to mess up on such a nice camera. I did experiment a little bit in the meantime and got some really great pictures of the kids playing with the calf and the chicks, some of the first soccer game, and the dog getting a bath on the first nice day of spring. However I followed the instruction manual word for word, and when it said to format, format I did, erasing all my beautiful photography. Maybe I should have just stuck with a point and shoot camera for dummies.

The Wrights came over last week to write and sign a Declaration of Independence, using quill and ink of course. OK so it wasn't actually ink, it was black paint. Same difference, right?

These two lefties got to experience first hand the wonder of the invention of the ball point pen. If you're left handed maybe you can relate. If not, think about it.

I got to try out my super duper zooming lens when two deer appeared in the front yard this morning. I loved watching Moses' cock his head to the side briefly, then instinctively dash through the fence to chase them.

And last but not least....I wanted to share this recent picture of Yulia. Isn't she beautiful? When I look at her face, I see my own daughter's face, and I can't help but think of the joy that somebody is missing out on by not having her in their lives. I know Yulia will do the same for someone else. Surely there is somebody out there who could use a little joy and fulfillment in their life! Could it be you? She has a grant of over $3,000 now!

Prayers for Barbara

I just want to ask for your prayers. The lady we visit weekly at the nursing home, Barbara, just called and said she is being transferred to the hospital. She is young, only in her 50s, and is in severe congestive heart failure and kidney failure and the doctors are extremely concerned about her. I have one kid down for the night and John is out for worship practice otherwise I'd be on my way to the hospital to be with her. We love her dearly! She has become like family to us. Please pray for our sweet Ms. Barbara!