Recent pics of the children

As you can see the children are growing and changing. Noah of course is now 10, Lydia 8, Elijah 6, Mercy 4, and Sara 19 months. Noah is involved cub scouts and Hip Hop dance class, Lydia is involved in girl scouts, piano, and jazz dance lessons, Elijah enjoys cub scouts playing with legos, Mercy loves to dress up and would love to be in dance, Sara is busy with just about anything she can get her hands on.

Large group gathering and volleyball

Recently we gathered out a BIC Navajo mission for a time of food fellowship and worship. Brian was also involved in a volleyball tournament at the mission the same day. Brian enjoys volleyball as an opportunity to meet lots of people within the Navajo community. There were lots of children around and even Sara made a new friend.

Noah turn's ten!

Well it is hard to believe but we now have a child in the double digits. Noah is growing into a responsible and hard working young man. Noah is doing well in his studies and enjoys working for others. Noah also enjoys earning money for a very special project the Lord has laid on his heart. If you want to know more about it ask him sometime and he would be glad to tell you.

scenic drive continued...

After traveling to Ouray we decided to continue on to Telluride. Telluride is kind of in a world by itself. The scenery is breathtaking and we were able to ride the lift up and down the mountain for more spectacular views. We even caught some elk grazing on the side of the mountain.

A scenic drive

This past Tuesday our family took a scenic drive on North 550 to Ouray, Colorado. We had put off the drive for a little while because we had heard the highway was one with winding turns and deep drop offs with no guard rails. Well the drops were everything we were told and more but the view was spectacular and absolutely gorgeous. The Lord blessed us with wonderful weather and a safe drive up and down the mountain passes. The pictures really don't do justice but we thought you might enjoy them just the same. Just as a side note Ouray is called the Swiss Alps of North America.

Time away

This past week we were blessed to have some time away in the Colorado mountains. This was our first family holiday where it was just us. We had a wonderful time relaxing and viewing the beautiful surroundings that our Creator has made.

The more the merrier

This past week we have had the opportunity to help a family and there three children. For the past 9 days we have been responsible for 8 children instead of just our 5. It has sure been busy but the Lord is good!

Mercy turns 4!

It seems hard to believe that we all have celebrated 2 birthdays here now. Mercy was planning her birthday for months. She wanted a cake covered in strawberries and clothes. Well she managed to get both. She had wanted to plan a pretty extensive guest list for her birthday party but that was a little tricky since her birthday fell on the holiday weekend. All in all she enjoyed her day of being a birthday princess!

Praise the Lord for a second vehicle

We praise the Lord for providing a second vehicle. We have been looking and praying for a second, larger, 4WD vehicle. Here where we are living there are quite a few places where 4WD comes in handy. With our family being the size that it is we really needed a larger SUV. This week the Lord provided us with a very affordable Suburban that is in great shape. We praise Him for the finances and for the convenience of having a second family vehicle.

Sara and a new face

Sara is learning to express herself in all kinds of ways. We thought this picture was worth a thousand words.

Meeting at Angel Peak

This past Saturday the "Freedom of Nations," congregation had a gathering at Angel Peak which is a famous landmark in our area. We gathered for food, fellowship and worship. The view was spectacular. Sara made a new friend with a puppy named Missy. We were situated overlooking a fairly large canyon with all sorts of shapes and formations. It truly was a beautiful tribute to our Creator!

harvesting

We got to enjoy our biggest home grown watermelon this year. Only two really grew but we were glad for those two.

This year we were also blessed with lots of fruit on our three fruit trees. Here you see the boys picking pears. We also picked lots of apples and are getting ready to pick peaches here

shortly. We have sure appreciated having our own fresh fruit, what a treat!

Sara enjoying her meal

Sara has become quite independent with feeding herself. It isn't always the prettiest but she is really gettin very good at using a spoon.

Lydia gets a kitten

While in PA we promised Lydia a birthday surprize. We surprized her with a new kitten. Lydia named her Mittens and is absolutely in love with her!

Elijah's birthday

Elijah turned six on July 20th. He and his friends enjoyed water games and Elijah chose a transformer theme for his party. The boys had a great time a few stayed the night. They put up a tent inside since the weather turned pretty windy.