So here we are at the end of summer. I have thought to myself, "where did the summer go?" but I can honestly say that I know exactly where it went! God has blessed us and we enjoyed our summer to the fullest. We had days to just spend at home together and work on the house, but we also took two trips out of state as well as a short trip to the beach. We made many wonderful memories and I wouldn't trade them for anything! (Now I might have traded some of the 10 hour car trips, but you take the good with the bad, right?)

I am thankful for the way God provided for us over and over. Russ was able to do a few paint jobs which allowed some extra money for the trips, but on the same hand he was able to stay at home with us mostly and enjoy our summer together. Even if he did spend much of his time in the yard and repairing the house. :o)

I want to thank God for some prayers that He answered for us this week:

1. God provided good insurance for Rusty and we will have his cyst removed in the next few weeks.

2. My mother got a good job with great benefits and we have been praying for that for several months now.

3. God provided Hannah with the finances she needed to spend this next semester in England. (Also, Mom's insurance came in just in time to keep Hannah from having to buy the school's insurance. Isn't God's timing perfect?)

With school starting back, we will be paying for babysitting again, but I know God will provide and I am thankful for the boost in my faith with these answered prayers.

We've had a chance to get together with several of our friends at church this summer and become closer with many of them. We love our church family and it is refreshing to have good Christian friends to have fun with.

Every single one of Rusty's grandparents (Which includes 6 great-grandparents, 4 grandparents, 1 step-great grandparent, and 2 step-grandparents), aunts, and uncles got to see him and how he has grown. Rusty was at a very enjoyable age and loved to show off for all of them! He made best friends with his papa and still talks about him and holds his picture.

So here I am working on bulletin boards now and getting ready to start the new school year. I am sad about having to be away from Rusty, but I refuse to dread what God has called me to do! (Just pray that I can keep this attitude :o)

Some shots I took around the house...

Mimi brought Rusty over a Push Pop last night! He loved every drop of it, even though this picture sort of betrays that thought.

"oooooooooh"

Thank you, Mimi!

Daddy and Rusty are enjoying a book that Rusty's friend, Clay, let him borrow.

Sporting his new outfit!

Daddy and Rusty making beautiful music together!

Look out, Jared, I see a new Subway spokesman on the rise!

Rusty to the rescue! Obviously this was right after supper and right before the bath.

Thanks for stopping by for a brief look at our lives!

Sader Spirit

Wow, so after spending 2 and a half very hot and sweaty days inside our school gym with the girls--I am PUMPED about cheerleading this year. We have some new cheers, new stunts, new cheerleaders--I love it!! I feel like I am a new coach, too. We did have one girl take a pretty good blow to the nose, but besides that we all had a great time. I have an awesome group of girls and I am looking forward to this being our best year yet.
I wanted to get these up this afternoon because three of my cheerleaders are heading to Missouri on a missions trip for the next 10 days. Please say a quick prayer for them when you read this.

Working on our high "V". This was obviously before perfection was reached. :o)

Hmm...Katie is pondering.

My favorite new motion :o)

The one split-second that we had Billye in a one-legged stunt. Should that stray hand up there disturb me a little?

"Please, don't let me break my nose..."

And of course what is a post without some of Rusty? Thought I would show you how we are coming in the process of learning to feed ourselves. Russ and Rusty have suddenly taken a liking to "Cup-O-Noodles."

Having his daily dose of oatmeal.

Love to all, especially my girls! I will be praying for you.

Catching Some Waves!

We had a special treat this week. Mimi and Papa Dale (Russ' Mom and stepdad) had rented a condo at Daytona Beach Shores (which is just a little south of Daytona Beach) and we went over there after church Sunday night and stayed until Wednesday morning. We had such a fun and relaxing time. Russ and I found 9 sanddollars! I am working on a way to clean and preserve them. Rusty especially loved the waves and the sand. We even came up with a "going to the beach" dance which he is still doing!

Rusty was very good about leaving his hat in place.

He wasn't quite sure what to think about the sand moving under his feet.

Running to the ocean!

Rusty understands that vacation is all about the food!

Russ was a good sport to let us bury him!

A picture of our setup. It was so nice and spread out. Papa Dale was enjoying himself here and we were definitly on our way to break his solitude!

Little Word Game

Sending a little love...

Browsing through a friend's blog list and saw this and thought I would give it a try, too. You're suppose to answer the following using the first letter of your first name (like Scattegories). Give it a shot!

What is your name? Rachel
4-Letter Word - rock
TV Show - Regis and Kelly
City - Raleigh, NC
Country - Russia
Boy Name - Rusty
Girl Name - Ruby
Occupation - Roto Rooter
Something You Wear - Ring
Food - Raspberry
Something Found In A Bathroom - Razor
Vehicle - Rav4 (What I drive :o)
Something You Shout - ROLL TIDE!

Mountain Vacation

So while we were in Tennessee I had more than one person say to me, "Hey, I see that little guy (talking about Rusty) on your blog!" First of all, I think that is great and wonderful. I use my blog as sort of a virtual "brag book". However, my dad is always quick to point out my numerous typos (even as I typed that I'm not sure it is spelled right) and I justify it by saying, "Well, it's only family that looks at it, anyways." So now I'm going to be second-guessing everything I post.


However, I don't have a special talent at writing so if you look at my blog please feel free to just skip down to the pictures.


So we began our week in the mountains by taking in Cades Cove...

Our tour-guides were very capable and charming as well!

Russ and Rusty hiking through the trail behind the cabin.

We floated gloriously on innertubes down the river (until we were stuck on the occasional rock, of course)






Rusty had a blast playing with Papa!

Then we were off to the wedding...

Congratulations to my good friends Jason and Haley Zimmerman!

Playing with friends

Well, we are getting ready to pack up and head to the hills of Tennessee! I'm excited to see many friends and to get Haley and Jason married, but the thought of traveling just takes the life out of me.

We did have a great evening tonight! Some friends from church, Chase and Mary, came over and they have two kids. Their son Clay is just two months older than Rusty and they had a good time together. Rusty needs a few lessons in sharing I'm afraid. I would welcome some advice on that. (Having another baby is not an option at the present time. :o)

Anyhow, thought I would ask everyone when they see this to pray for us, and to pray that there is no rain on Haley's wedding day. (next Saturday)

Love to all!

Having Fun!

Well, everything is just "hunky-dorey" here in sunny Florida! Our garden is growing and we will soon have tomatoes coming out the wazoo :o)

We had neighborhood Bible time last week at church and had a great time there. I helped in the kitchen and we actually had callouses on our hands from dipping ice cream for all the teenagers one night! (It was much like trying to dip out dried concrete. )Then last weekend we had a cook-out and invited some friends over. We also bought Rusty a pool and he has been having fun with his outside "bath" as he calls it.

Russ and I celebrated our anniversary on Tuesday and we went to our favorite Japenese restaurant "Kotobuki." It was fun and kind of neat because we were the only ones at the tapenyaki table to watch our food get cooked. Like a private show. Russ' birthday is coming up on Monday. I know many of you probably know this, but Russ was born on 7/7/77. Pretty neato, huh?

I helped Russ with a painting job this week to make a little extra money before we head for the mountains next week to get Haley and Jason married. So much excitement going on around here!

Rusty has taken his "where's the ball? game to a new level"

"I know I left that bat around here somewhere!"

"I guess the light saber will have to do"

Always time for a "yum"!

These are just a few improvements we've done this week. I finally finished painting my bedroom and put my new bedding on (thanks to Granny). I still need to hang curtains and pictures so this is a bed-only shot.

Our new piece!

I was taking a picture of the finished music room when Rusty tripped over the chair.
My lamp that my dad bought for me.

Rusty's got the keys! I think he must be ready to head up to the mountains! Happy 4th everyone!