Zoo

We enjoyed a trip to the zoo yesterday with my sil Debbie and her dd, Jewel. The Brevard zoo is nice...small and nothing compared to the zoo in Omaha but really fun because it has a place where you can feed the giraffes at their level. I love going to the zoo. It is a quirky reminder of God's sense of humor and incredible love for me:) Why else would he come up with such amazing creatures, such a variety. The anteater looked like something out of a Star Wars movie....it came right up to the fence and sniffed us. The little monkey looked like a wise old man. Jesse handed the spider monkey a stick that it reached for with its tail and quickly dropped as it wasn't food. The pythons lazed around on little cots with heating pads...in 90 degree weather! The train was out of order so Garrett was disappointed but he had fun running up and down the paths.

Friends....

Julia has four friends that she spends time with. She met each of them different ways... one in the neighborhood, one in school, one through dance and one in our homeschool group. She has had a really difficult time with these friendships and had many ups and downs. Only one of these little girls is a born-again Christian and she doesn't see her very often. As we haven't settled in a church yet she just hasn't had the opportunity to make many Christian friends her age. She has several things in common with each of these girls but doesn't consider any of them to be a best friend. I am constantly talking to her about trying to be a good example to her non-Christian friends and always doing what is right. I just have to praise God that I am homeschooling her as I know what goes 0n in the schools...starting in 3rd grade (maybe earlier, but this is when it started for her) she began to be pressured to have a boyfriend and focus on boys..etc. Now that is not a concern. Julia is a mature 11 year old and always a big help to me around the house. She is also an emotional child and moody which sometimes can be very trying to me. She has many goals and plans. She loves making candles and especially loves dancing. I think God has much in store for her.

Birthday Party

Today we went to Jesse's co-worker's dd's 2nd birthday party. Garrett and Thomas also got to come and were entertained by a lady dressed up as Ariel the Mermaid. She did face painting (Garrett wanted nothing to do with that!), puppets, games and balloon animals. It was fun but hot, as we sat out on their screen porch. Garrett wanted to open the birthday presents himself but was thrilled when Tara, the birthday girl, opened our gift, a Belle doll. He clapped and cheered. Thomas enjoyed playing with the balloons and balls and crawled around getting into mischief. The grand finale was when a huge power wheels (4-wheeler) was rolled out. Garrett was beside himself. He got to try it out for a bit and was devastated when he had to let Tara take it over. A power wheel gator was also brought out and Garrett had fun trucking around in that. All in all he was carried out crying. He went down for his nap murmuring about buying a John Deere and woke up saying the same....

Finally a tooth!!!

Thomas's first tooth poked through last night!!! YAY!! He is a bit over 11 months and has been seriously envying other babies his age with 4, 5 even 9 teeth!!! Having no teeth has not stopped him from wanting to eat everything under the sun. He is a gummy chewing monster! I will miss that little gummy smile but a toothy one is just as adorable. I guess walking will be the next milestone...wahhhhh! Where did my little baby go?