I was very happy that Colin got dressed for the day all on his own. Now we have to work on matching the clothes. Oh, my!

Manhood

Upon our engagement (way back when), Jason had to enter the hay-zone. It came with me. Kind of like a dowry. I'm glad to know he loves me enough to help with hay. That is true love. After all, it is not to feed his horse.

So, each hay session, he dons his haying garb, complete with a lively feline anaesthesiologist's cap. Real men wear cats.

Colin's Bowling Debut!

Okay, it has been several years since we last bowled. Why? Who wants to smell like smoke and breathe in deathly carcinogens? Not us! The new smoke-free law has great ramifications. We can bowl again! John and Mike Maynard won some free bowling at Colonial Lanes and invited us. This was Colin's first time bowling.

The poor fellow could barely lift the ball. I think we are going to take up archery and get some upper-body strength!

Down the ball went. It went slowly. I don't mean kinda slow. I mean painfully slow.

We played a few games (one of which I was the victor over Jason). Then, we ate non-healthy food.

We had a fun time and sore fingers!

The Nicer Side of Stormy Weather

A reminder of God's promises.

"From Every Stormy Wind That Blows..."

The crazy storms have left their mark. A few weeks prior, we lost a tree to the violent winds that came up our hill. Then, the storm with 60 MPH winds, took out another tree and our garage door.

The storm had finally abated. I gathered my little chicks to pile them in the car (which was parked in the garage) to meet Jason at the tree nursery. After buckling them in, I looked at the inside of the gargage door. It was sticking inward! I stood there a few minutes to register that my garage door had blown inward, then unbuckled my chicks and brought them back inside. I would not be able to open the door. I called Jason (who was by now at the nursery) and non-chalantly mentioned the situation. My dad (who lives next door) saw what happened and came over. Together, we managed to open the door. The door was not happy; it was a mess, but I had to get my car out.

We have sinced replaced the door (wow, are they expensive!) with a stronger one. The pictures didn't quite capture the extent of damage, but it will give you an idea. Moral of the story: If you ever build a house on the hill that faces due west, get a strong garage door.

This is after my dad and I got the car out and put the door back down.

You can see the line on the cement where the door would normally be. Apparently this door does not have a hurricane-approved status.

Storm Watchers

The series of violent storms we have had as of late have left their mark on our house (more on that later). We cannot help but marvel at the power of something God has made. We love to watch the storms when we should be cowering in our basement!

Vacation Bible School

A few weeks ago, Colin participated in Faithway's Vacation Bible School. He really enjoyed himself. This was my first experience with a VBS. For some strange reason, our church doesn't have one (hint to all you young, single, energetic, children-loving people at Ann Arbor Baptist).

Anyway, Colin loved it! These pictures are of the day they were to come wearing swimming gear (the VBS theme was Sea Quest). So, he finally got to wear his swimming duds. The poor fellow has never actually gotten them wet. We just aren't "swimmy" people. He looks cute anyway!

Daddy's Girl

Here is Victoria having "Daddy Time". She gets very excited when he comes home from work.

Don't let him fool you; Jason doesn't know how to play the piano. The sounds that go wafting through the house when those two sit there are...interesting.

Baby Dedication

A couple months ago, we publically dedicated Victoria Rose to the Lord. This is not a baptism-type action; rather, we wanted to publically declare our intention of raising our daughter to know the Lord as her Savior. Furthermore, it is our prayer that she would live life for Him and not this present world.

We had dedicated Colin as well. Many know that we were told we would never be able to have children (for various reasons), but the Lord has given them to us anyway. We do not take the responsibility of parenthood lightly. These are eternal souls entrusted by their Creator into our care. What an honor!