Grand Time with Grandparents

We had BaBa and Papa Rex stay with us for several weeks this summer during their annual trip back to the States.  Now we are trying to adjust back to normal life.  Titus enjoyed the many books his grandparents read to him multiple times a day and I enjoyed a couple of mornings of sleeping in.  Together we all enjoyed a trip to Branson/Silver Dollar City, eating out, shopping, and lots of ice cream (IT'S REALLY HOT HERE!!!!).  Papa Rex and Baba are ending their ministry in Moscow and will soon be living minutes away from us.  So, there will be lots more Papa Rex and Baba over the next several months. 

Splashing Good Time

For a little over a year I have stalked Cr*igsl*st and garage sales for a water table.  Since we currently have a postage stamp for a back yard we are a bit limited on what toys we can and can't have.   But, a water table was the perfect fit for some summertime fun. And with 3 months of 100+ degree weather this summer it was a hit! Titus loves his water table and has spent countless hours outside almost every day playing, splashing, and exploring.

Reading is fun!

One of my favorite childhood activities was our library's summer reading program.  So, when I found out Titus could join in the fun this year, I didn't hesitate to sign him up.  He loved going to the library every week to find his star, check out new books, and to color in his reading log. 

To add to the summer fun, our library also now has a computerized return book drop.  Titus loves to return his books one by one, watching the computer scan the book and then go down the conveyor belt to the different bins.  The fun at the library never ends!

August Mini Get-Away

Since Daddy had a busy work week, Titus and I decided to join Papa, Grammy, and Cousins Hadley and Braxton for a mini get-away in Branson.  Our original plan had been to take the kids to Silver Dollar City for some fun.  Unfortunately, they were closed for the week so we had to come up with other alternatives to keep three kiddos entertained.

One of our alternatives consisted of a visit to College of the Ozarks.  I love the idea of this college!  It is a non-denominational Christian college where students work their way through college with zero tuition costs and when they finish zero debt.  The students work hard and earn their degrees.  What a concept in today's society!  ;)   On their campus they have many things to see and do.

Our first stop was to the Ralph Foster Museum.  It contains the original clunker car from the show The Beverly Hillbillies, a huge weapons display, Native American artifacts, many taxidermy wild animals, a collection of Kewpie dolls, musical instruments, and historical pieces from around the Ozarks.

They also have a beautiful chapel on their campus.  I love looking at old churches, what a spiritual history they hold within their walls. 

The next stop was Point Look Out.  The highest point in Taney County.  What an incredible view!

Branson in the distance

College of the Ozarks also is home to a mill, a basket weaving shop, a jam and jelly kitchen, a dairy farm, and a tractor museum.  

A grave reminder of Matt 18: 5-6: "And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.  But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea."

A Walk in the Park

After months (literally) of daily high temperatures being in the 100 degrees, this week was a very nice reprieve.   It has been in the low 60's each morning this week and the afternoons have been in the 70's and 80's.  Ahhhh, autumn...we are so ready to welcome you!

The heat has kept us from taking walks and playing in the park, and we have been missing it a lot.

Extraordinary Days

Year after year August was a fairly insignificant month on our calendar.  The thirty-one days of August would float by without too much significance in our little family's life, minus a couple of special family birthdays scattered about.  However, now and forever more, one ordinary day in August is now engraved into our memory and etched in our hearts forever.

August 21st, 2010 is one of those ordinary turned extraordinary days...and I can pinpoint 6:57am as the moment that change our little world. The moment I finally held my son.  In the blink of an eye, there he was in the flesh and I was a mother.  His mother forever and ever.  My heart was filled with more love and joy than it had ever known before.

For four months I had stared at and memorized the thirty-two photos we had, read and re-read the monthly emails about our precious boy, day-dreamed about our little one's personality, and wondered what he was doing at any given moment on the other side of the world.

Today marks one year ago when we finally held our precious boy.  Those incredible days have come and gone like a blink of an eye...but not one passes without a prayer of thanks to our Father from a happy mama's heart.
Our sweet Titus Andrew, thank you for making every ordinary day extraordinary.  Your daddy and I are so proud of you, and we are so very much in love with you.

Thank you Father for this child~and giving us more than we knew to ask for.

Now all glory to God , who is able through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.  Ephesians 3:20

In the Good Old Summertime

What do you do when you live in the Midwest and it's 100+ degrees?

We beat the heat by doing lots of this.

And this.

Fun with Friends

The #1 reason we went to STL was to see old friends and meet new ones from The Home of God's Love.  We had a wonderful time picnicking together, watching our children play together, reminiscing about Taiwan, and marveling at God's amazing design of creating our individual families. 

Our attempt at a group photo.  :)