big boy!

Liam is spending time away from home for THE FIRST TIME this week. He left on Saturday to go stay with Nana and Papa and will be back on Tuesday. Sounds like he's having a ball and doing great. But we miss him, of course. From time to time Audrey will say, "I wish Liam was here with us." Before he left as they were saying goodbye to one another, she took his face in her hands and said, "Now you be sure to call me every night." "Okay," he replied. Such a precious scene almost erases all the arguing I heard between them last week. Almost.

lake chelan!

We just returned from nine wonderful days in Lake Chelan. We started the week with the Dobbs Family Retreat which included boating (thanks to Kelly and Derek for bringing their boat!), ping-pong, Uncle Luke's 30th birthday, and a trip to the waterslides. We spent tons of time in Nana and Papa's pool, visited GG at the Resort, hung out with friends, and ate lots of yummy food (of course!). The last weekend was filled with activities for Patrick's 20th high school reunion. Busy, busy, busy - but oh so much fun!

Audrey and Liam at the waterslides.



Abe and Ethan having lunch together.

Picking blueberries with Papa to go with our morning cereal.

Making bead neclaces with Aunt Stefani.

Tubing on Uncle Derek and Aunt Kelly's boat.





Celebrating Uncle Luke's birthday.

Ethan's first time in the pool. He loved it!

fancy nancy party

Audrey loves Fancy Nancy books. If you're not familiar with Fancy Nancy - she's an adorable little girl who loves using big fancy words and wearing lots of accessories. Our local library held a Fancy Nancy party yesterday and Audrey got to go with McKenna, one of her best friends. She got all dressed up in her Fancy Nancy finest (thanks again, Grandma!) and had a ball.

Letting Ethan examine her up-close.

Waiting for her ride.

Posing while the boys look on.

Pretty, pretty princess!

leaving a legacy

I have not been able to get this song by Nicole Nordeman out of my head since I first heard it a couple weeks ago. It has become my daily - no, hourly - prayer. I sing it loudly. I sing it quietly. I sing it with a smile. I sing it with tears. Oh - how I want to do this job well. I get caught up in the day-to-day busy of this life I lead. But it's so much more than changing diapers and kissing scrapes. It's leading these precious ones to their Father. And in the end, nothing else matters.

I want to leave a legacy
How will they remember me?
Did I choose to love?
Did I point to You enough
to make a mark on things?
I want to leave an offering
A child of mercy and grace
who blessed your name unapologetically
And leave that kind of legacy

darrington bluegrass festival

We went to the Darrington Bluegrass Festival today. It's become an annual tradition that we look forward to each year. It was a fun day of music, sunshine and ice cream.

sleeping like a baby....finally!

Ethan is sleeping all night! Just did his 6th one in a row last night. It took 3 nights of letting him cry (at 11:30pm for about 10 minutes and 3:30am for about 15 minutes - he was very consistent!) and then that was it. He now sleeps 7:30-6:30. And he's just doing one nap now from 1-3pm which is nice.

He's SOOO much happier lately. Talking more, playing by himself more. Less whining. Guess I wasn't the only one who was tired all the time!

Good thing I'm not superstitious - or I'd have to be knocking on some wood right now! Although I never did understand that one.....

family fun day

Our church holds an annual Family Fun Day and it's a blast! I took the big kids and the weather was great. There was horseback riding, a bouncy house, a big slide, a dunk tank (both kids hit the mark and dunked the poor high-schooler who'd volunteered for the job!), yummy food, face painting, a train ride, all sorts of games, and a magic show. It was a fun, memorable day.