sad sock day

Today the threadbare spot on the bottom of one of my socks finally became a real hole that I could feel as I walked around. So, I threw it away. Good-bye beloved sock! I spent $12 for the pair in 2002 and wore them ALL the time, so I guess it was a good spend.

Jonah... Guitar Hero?

Jonah can't stop playing air guitar, unless of course he is playing his real guitar at home. We have always said that Aaron will be a praise and worship leader, and now maybe Jonah will be the lead guitar for Guns and Roses (or pick your rock band of choice)!!! :)

Baptism Day, 6/7/09

Here are a few random pictures from last Sunday. We (the Mann and Smith families) baptized Ruby Wisdom and Canaan Jem into the Family of God. The baptisms went very well. We were happy that Pastor Chris didn't drop either of the babies as he was on crutches. We are all praying that both of these children will walk with Jesus as they grow and are excited to watch their faith and relationship with Christ develop.

It was a joy to have four of the children's grandparents there for the big day; Grammie and Poppy and Grandpa and Grandma (McCarty). Thank you to everyone who attended the baptisms and for everyone else who has joined us in praying for these wonderful additions to our family. God has truly blessed us.

The New Date Night?

Bryan and I are trying to regularly schedule a "date night" on Saturday evenings, provided that we're both conscious after bedtime and up for an exciting date! A few weeks ago we had our first real "date" since Ruby was born. We worked together on our garden and drank beer, then sampled some cheeses that we had bought in Leavenworth last month (Bryan's parents came for a visit and we took them there for an overnight).

It is funny how the world changes; dates are now beer and yard work. The funniest part is that I enjoy this new, slower side of life. I wish we had picked up on this years ago. I cherish the one-on-one time that Bryan and I get together. It is a blessing for both of us and gives us a chance to recharge a bit. I hope that as life gets busier and the children grow older that we are able to remember to set apart special time for just us. If it seems as if we've forgotten to do this, will you please remind us? Thank you!

Here are a couple pics of our garden now (please ignore the weeds)... our fingers are crossed that we will actually yield some veggies from it. The boys are very excited.

Cute Kids

Aaron and Jonah helped Grandpa make log benches at the farm on June 4th. The set they made was for neighbors out at the farm, but the boys were happy to help since the benches are the same design as the ones at our firepit here at home. Aaron is typically very serious about his hearing protection, but in this shot they are wrapped around his waist. Jonah says, "Hearing protection? Who needs hearing protection?"

Ruby is sweet and lovely; she liked the sound of the chainsaw, from a safe distance of course. She was trying to fall asleep, but we managed to catch a great shot of her while she was enjoying the outdoors. I'm sure she'll be in the middle of the action with her brothers in no time!














I think that this was Jonah's favorite part of the project. He really enjoyed playing with the pile of sawdust!

Hearing Impaired and Bubbles

Are all two-year-olds hearing impaired? Jonah seems to not hear anything that we say. I tried a new trick recently... I've starting asking him very quietly to turn on his ears. It is so sweet, although the effectiveness may be short-lived. He will stop his current activity, use his fingers to "click on" his ears, and he is magically able to hear what I am saying. Frequently, he will even respond in the way that I am hoping for. I guess he doesn't need hearing aids after all!

Ruby is making more vocalizations and has recently starting making a noise by blowing air through her lips. I don't know how to give words to the noise, but we've all made it before. Let your lips go loose and flop around a bit. The cute thing abour Ruby's "blpppt" is that she blows bubbles at the same time. She thinks that she is pretty fancy and her talking typically produces a bunch of smiles to show us how smart she is! What a lovely young lady.

How cute is this little lady???
Shots of Ruby on the front porch on Sunday, May 31st!