Youngest son...2 Chronicles 22:1

Here are G's stats: 32 1/2 lbs and 39 inches tall.  It was more convenient to weigh and measure him since I'm helping out in The Man's office today and all the measuring stuff is handy to the computer.

He is still behind on his language development, but is slowly catching up.  His vocabulary is fine, but it is uncomfortable for him to make some sounds. With a lot of practice and a bit of bribery, he is developing new habits.  Sacagawea's real name is now pronounced in 3 recognizable syllables instead of the 2 he had been using for a while.  The current consonant sound we are emphasizing with him is the hard g sound.  He can say "giggle" when we ask him to, but it isn't a all-the-time habit yet.

We can usually decipher what he wants to say to us, but it is a challenge.  Sometimes we can understand Baby S easier than G. However, more and more he is able to explain things rather than just crying about them.

He came in crying the other day because "I picked up a stick and a bumble bee stinged me."  I thought the most likely culprit was a honey bee or a yellow jacket, but he seemed to be fine after I removed a splinter from his finger. 

G and I just got back from a walk to the bank to make a deposit.  It took longer than usual because G wanted to stop and smell all the flowers in the planter boxes lining the sidewalk.  So we did.  On the way back from the bank we stopped by the post office and picked up the new camera cord I'd ordered off of ebay.  Hopefully that means I'll actually transfer more pictures to the computer promptly and you will get to see more pictures here!

A time to sew...Ecclesiastes 3:7

Now for Sacagawea's update.  She is 62 1/2 pounds and 53 3/4" tall.  She's been enjoying a summer filled with swimming lessons, water color painting, and playing with her friends and siblings. She's also spent a lot of time sewing all kinds of things out of treasures she finds in the scrap box. 

This morning she helped keep the little ones corralled in the kitchen.  Baby S has decided she'd rather use a potty chair or toilet than her diapers, so we'll be hanging out where there are easy-to-clean floors for a few days. They had a lot of fun playing together. I call this picture "Playmobil Meets Beverly Hillbillies."

I think I was the most thrilled when afternoon nap time rolled around.  Unfortunately it was over too quickly and Baby S is already awake again...with dry undies! Yay! Round 2 begins now.

Arm be broken...Job 31:22

S will be in 8th grade this year. He is also growing! He measured 60 3/4" inches this morning. His weight is 95 1/2 pounds, which he wants you to know includes his clothing. 

He fell on July 11 and injured his wrist. After a weekend backpack trip with The Man, I took him in for an x-ray on the following Monday morning. He is thankful that he is still young, growing, and flexible. His injury was "just" a greenstick fracture (If you don't know what that is--I didn't--go ahead and look it up.  I'll be blogging about it again in a few days.) and was given a wrist splint to wear for three weeks. As proof that time flies when you're having fun, we just now realized that he actually wore the splint for 4 weeks! 

Now that he's all better,  he's regaining his strength in his arm by mowing the lawn, washing the dishes, and all the activities that he couldn't do with the wrist splint.

(psst.  *I* know that you're reading, but I don't tell the kids unless you leave a comment.  I know it is a lot easier to give feedback on fb, but since I'm trying to get back into the blogging habit, please indulge us for a few weeks.  Let us all know that you're there. Thank you!)

Bring forth frogs abundantly...Exodus 8:3

Now for an update on the next son! J will be in 10th grade this year. He will be taking Algebra II, Chemistry Botany/Zoology (I knew that, but was confused when writing this post), History (medieval), English, music lessons (most likely trumpet this year), foreign language TBD, p.e., and other various activities. It will be after Labor Day before we start our school year, so we still have time to figure out a few things. I think he will be interested in starting driver training, but that will probably be in January or later.

J rolled his eyes when I asked him to go weigh himself and measure his height. Hey, I need this information for the baby book, right? His height measures 67 3/4", which is about 5 inches taller than my height. His weight is 118 pounds (he hasn't passed me up there :P ). With a shoe size of 10 or 11, he passed up M's shoe size.

He has grown a lot this year and is dealing with the problems that can come with that, including, but not limited to, knee joints locking at inopportune times and pants that resemble tattered capris. I'm only sort of kidding about that last part.  We do have him properly clothed most of the time. He is just about at the point that he can no longer receive M's other hand-me-downs, and he does like to wear his familiar, comfortable clothes no matter how small or worn out they get. I usually don't mind what he wears here around the ranch, as long as he is presentable when we "go to town." 

The Man told J to just be careful how he bends and twists his knees since his problems usually occur when he is kneeling on the couch and shifts around. Yesterday he came in the living room to sit down on the couch beside me and I told him to be careful with his legs. "I should probably just cut them off," he said. I raised my eyebrows in surprise at that declaration. Then he realized that I was more concerned about his knees than the gaping holes in the knees of his pants!

We have so many tree frogs this year. In the evenings we can sit on the front step and watch the frogs hopping all over the yard. We've even had quite a few make their way into the house (ick!) which we've never had issues with before. 

I'll end this post with a picture I took in our front yard this past week. I'm sure the tree frog was very thankful for his long legs as he was able to escape the jaws of baby garter snake. 

As I said on facebook, maybe the snake will have better success next time. If you only go after the ones you're sure you can get, you'll never know your potential!

That he understandeth and knoweth me...Jeremiah 9:24

I'm ending my blogging hiatus and I hope I'm back for a while!  There is so much to update on, but I think I'll start with the oldest and spread out the kid updates over the next few weeks.

This little kid is at college.

That picture was taken in the fall of 1995 when we lived in Berrien Springs, Michigan. M has returned there, and is now an official freshman at Andrews University majoring in Engineering. How did he grow up so fast?

I'm not missing him as much as some folks think I should be. Probably because he was gone for 4 months this spring to AFCOE, and I've had no less than 14 phone conversations and 1 Skype session with him since I dropped him off at the airport last Thursday. He's also living with his grandparents near the university, so I'm not worried about him not being taken care of. We spent 18 years training him up in the Lord, and we'll let Him guide M the rest of the way.

He told me today that his final piece of luggage was delivered, so he has some of his Legos with which to study.

Thy word have I hid in mine heart...Psalm 119:11

I've added a new link to the sidebar. For over the past month, my morning computer time has been monopolized by a website that helps a person memorize scripture. This is the first software I have found that works well for me. Since I don't always have access to the same computer, it is helpful for me to have a web-based application.

Right now, I am polishing up a few passages that I've learned in the past:
Genesis 1
Deuteronomy 8
Psalm 1
Psalm 19
Psalm 40
Psalm 119 (learning...if I can learn the longest chapter in the Bible, I can learn anything! Right?)
Matthew 5
Acts 1 (learning)

I'm also "learning" several smaller passages such as John 3:16 & 17. These have helped me "learn" verses quickly according to the algorithm and are giving me the momentum to keep going.

Go have a look and feel free to tell them Tree River sent you!

Some new thing...Acts 17:24

Still crazy busy. Too crazy. Too busy. We're trying to remedy that situation. I've been recording most of the little things the babies are doing on facebook and not here. I really need to change that since the blog is much easier to find things later.

"Mommy, did you know M used to have TWO lizards????" G had heard this juicy bit of news from S and that was very exciting.

"Yes, G, I knew that." I was tickled that he thought it would be news to me, but then I recalled that the last one had died over six months before G was born. No wonder he doesn't remember them!

M has been gone from home for the last few months. We'll be seeing him this weekend for his last few days of childhood. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with an 18 year old baby.