Apple Time!

We hit a couple of orchards last month, one for picking and picnicking, and one just for photo ops and apple purchasing. But I think we got some great pictures, and we definitely got great apples! Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, and Jonagold - my new favorite. Makes the best apple crisps. We've had two so far - they don't last very long! Next on the plan is an apple pie, but I have to work on a gluten-free crust that doesn't taste like a glue stick. Might have to stick with the crisp after all!

Nate's Baptism

Nate was baptised three weeks ago today, and I just wanted to share a couple of sweet pictures! We were very surprised and deeply moved to have half the congregation (at least it seemed like that many!) stand up with us when our minister gave the standard "Anyone who wishes may come stand in support of the family" invitation. Every baptism and dedication is special, but this one was especially meaningful to us after Nathan's questionable start to life. His life has been rooted in prayer and in faith more than anyone I've ever known! So his baptism was very meaningful to our family. It was, of course, a beautiful ceremony, and we were so blessed to be able to share it with most of our family. Betsy was the perfect little lady all day, gracious and well-behaved - I was so proud of her! It has to be hard to be 4 years old and have someone ELSE getting the attention! Ha ha!

Nathan wore his dad's baptism outfit, a little Feltman Brothers john-john, and it fit perfectly. Once we got home, though, I changed him into another outfit - my little spitter was not going to have a chance to stain the 35-year-old outfit! He was very well-behaved all day, listening intently to the minister (seriously! he couldn't keep his eyes off him!), and having a good nap and a nice lunch despite the barbeque we hosted at home following the service.

Welcome to the fold, Nate!

We're still here!

I decided to take the summer off of blogging, but summer turned to fall before I knew it, and I am just now posting for the first time since school got out at the beginning of the summer! We had a great summer, enjoying our newly enlarged family. Betsy and I did homeschool throughout the summer, and she made some great improvements! She learned to identify every number, 1-10, with no problem, and she learned to write each one (although they are often backwards!) We worked on letter sounds and sounding out words, and we worked on spelling groups of rhyming words. We cooked and baked a lot for our math lessons, and had some time observing the world outside for our science. She worked her way through several 4K workbooks, and even started work on books for 5K! She is increasing her knowledge about Bible people and Bible times, thanks in part to a great Sunday School program we were able to attend a few times this summer. She is continuing to work on all these things in school this fall, and 4K seems to be off to a great start.

Nate just kept getting healthier and healthier all summer, and now has absolutely no sign of his breathing issues. Just a healthy, bouncing baby boy! He is a joyful, peaceful little man. He is a great sleeper, though sometimes he still likes to have one extra feeding in the middle of the night. But I don't mind! He is growing great, and zooming up the percentage charts after a bit of a small start. He now has all four of his frontmost teeth, two on the bottom and two on top, and he likes to suck his lips in to "feel" his teeth - like a little old man without his dentures! And everything - EVERYTHING - goes straight into his mouth. I believe our latest discovery is a piece of pinestraw, clamped firmly behind his little pursed lips! So we have gotten him a pretty big "playpen" that we have set up in the den so that he can have an area safe from small objects. As of this post he is not officially crawling, but he is so close it is quite possible he could be crawling within the hour! He still manages to get from point A to point B, through a combination of scooting, rolling, and changing positions, and he has developed a love of standing on "all fours" (feet and hands). Yesterday he would not sit down in his playpen, and just stood there, grinning, holding onto the side. We think he may want to walk before he crawls! Definitely a boy!

We were able to have some quick getaways to the beach and to the mountains, and just generally had a great summer. I have a wonderful little family! So blessed!

My How Time Flies

It's been a while since the last post, but we have had a lot going on! I misplaced my camera transfer cable for a while as well, so i haven't been doing much transferring of photos to my computer. But I've found it (actually Chris found it - thank you dear!) and I have a lot of catching up to do!

Nate is 4 months old now, and his favorite thing is his doorway jumper. He just goes to town in that thing - it's a sight to see. Here's a photo from the very first time I put him in it at 3 months old - I think his grin says it all!




We all tagged along on a business trip with Chris in early June. Betsy was thrilled when we pulled up to the Grove Park Inn - she thought it was a castle. We got to eat wonderful food and enjoy one anothers' company in the close quarters only a hotel room can provide (Praise the Lord Nate is a good sleeper or we never would have made it)! But I'm pretty sure Betsy's favorite part was playing on the playground. It was starting to thunder and lightning, so her playtime got cut short, But here is my little monkey on the Grove Park playground equipment:

Mountain Trip

Last Friday we decided to hop in the car and take a ride to the mountains. We visited the stand of Chris's favorite "peanut man" and got a paper bag full of hot boiled peanuts. Chris and I used to split a bag, but now with as much as Betsy loves a good boiled peanut I have to fight for my share. :) We had a great afternoon driving around the mountain overlooks. It was a little bit rainy, but it made for a very pretty, name-appropriate view of the Blue Ridge. We stopped by a roadside produce stand on the way home and bought some fresh-from-the-field strawberries. We went picking last year, but with Chris on crutches this year it looks like we'll have to wait for blueberry season.

The top photo is Chris with the children at a little waterfall off the side of the road, and the bottom one is Betsy and me at a state park overlook.

Mother's Day

(Is it Mother's Day, or is it Mothers' Day?)


Anyway, I digress. Mother's Day was a sweet day in our household. Chris's dad came over early in the morning to pick Chris up to go to church. They loaded up the wheelchair and hit the road, with my father-in-law promising me he would do his best to get Chris settled into one place with his leg elevated. :) Later in the morning, Bug and Pop picked up Betsy for church. I was able to grab a shower, get dressed, and sneak Nate into the service a little late. We stood in the back of the church and watched Youth Sunday. The kids did a nice job. I sneaked out early (Nate still wasn't supposed to be out, but we only have one more week to go), then we went home for Nate to "lunch," then we headed to Bug and Pop's for lunch. That evening, Chris wanted to take me out to dinner, so we all went to one of my favorite restaurants. Betsy gave me a gift that evening that she bought with Bug's help - a pack of plastic-bead bracelets and a pair of hot pink flip flops. Love it!

We had our waitress take our picture. Even though it's not very good, it is the first time we have had a "family" picture made since Nate was born!!

Let's Go Around the Table

Tonight as we sat down to dinner, Chris said, "let's all go around the table and tell God something we were thankful for today." Betsy jumped up and said she wanted to go first. She was so excited and started walking around the table with her eyes squinted almost all the way shut, praying out loud. Chris was just about to ask her, as a good father would, to please sit in her chair, but then I realized what she was doing. He did say to "go around the table," and that's just what she did! Maybe you had to be there, but it was so funny. And she was so pleased with herself afterwards.