Moving??!!

We are ready to get out of the Sunshine state and head for quieter and more rural territory:) Hopefully we will be moving out by my mom in Washington State at the end of the summer/early Fall! Yay! So much to do, moving is such a pain, but it will be so nice to be close to my mom again. Hopefully we will eventually be able to get some land and have some animals in the near future. I am not really looking forward to winters again, but will be nice to have the seasons, esp. Autumn.

Camper

We sold our camper today. We've lived in Florida for three years and only used it once during that time, so thought it should go. Plus, we can't afford it keep it any longer. We got it in November of 1999. We took a road trip to the factory in Amish country of Indiana to save $600. I remember how brillantly cold and snowy it was but the Amish buggies were out in full force. Brrrr! We pulled it back to Iowa and looked forward to many adventures! I think our first trip was to Texas in February of 2000. We went with Jesse's Mom and Dad (they pulled their camper, too), and made stops in Oklahoma, East Texas, Austin (to see friends) and Galveston (where we camped on the beach!). What a fun trip. We had four kids at that time and they fit perfectly in the four bunks. We also took the camper to Florida for a vacation in July of 2000 and camped at Ft. Wilderness in Disney and then went on the Mississippi to see relatives. Our longest trip was out to Washington in August of 2003 to see my Mom and her new husband. So beautiful going through the mountains and we got to see Yellowstone, too. My favorite trips were not long ones though but times we spent camping in beautiful places around NW Iowa. Fowlers Preserve in Smithland, Stone State Park in Sioux City, to name a few. So many good memories from those times. Once during a Spring thaw in January, we took the camper out to Nebraska to a little campground in a small town (out in the boonies!). We saw a movie that night in quonset hut theatre from the WWII era! Here is a photo of our very last camping trip. We took it to Ocala State Park in December of 2005. I was still suffering from Morning sickness (being pg with Thomas). It rained the whole time and we brought our crazy dog, Charlie. It was kind of a miserable trip all in all. Oh, well!!! Fair adieu to our dear camper who brought our family closer through the years and carried us on many grand adventures.

Et tu, Brute?

I am teaching a class on Julius Caesar to Colton and two other boys his age, thus I have been reading the book, Cliff notes, etc. I never studied Julius Caesar in school, so it is interesting to read it and understand all the underlying symbolism...one thing that I have learned from reading is that humans and human nature does not change, no matter the century. Praise God for our Lord, Jesus Christ who brings salvation and eventually will usher in a new world!!! I can't wait!!! Will keep you posted on how the class goes.

Lots of birthdays!!!!

We celebrated Thomas's birthday on June 26th....he is one!!!! YAY!!!! A year ago on that day I walked into Parrish Medical Center in Titusville, Florida 9 months and 10 days pg....7 hours later I was holding little Thomas Levi in my arms....8 lbs 2 oz, 20 inches of him. He is a darling little boy, so active and fun. We all love him so much and are so blessed by him being in our family. We had a little party with a Jay-Jay the jet plane theme. He slept through most of his party, but it was enjoyed by everyone else.

15 years ago on July 2nd I gave birth to my firstborn, Colton James, in Sioux City, Iowa. That was a wonderful, scary experience.....amazing that those years have passed so quickly. Colton has a strong personality with a mind of his own. He is interested in being a film maker and is very opinionated!!! We got him a paintball gun for his birthday so he could play paintball with his friends, he has had to borrow a gun in the past.

Happy Birthday to my two beloved sons!!!!!

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.