Isaac's birthday party

Is it sadder that it took us a month to have his birthday party or that it took me two months to post pictures?? :)

My big boy certainly had a blast at his Star Wars party!  He invited a few friends and their families for an evening of Jedi training, galactic grilling and Wookiee cookies.  Keith trained all the young Jedi to be ready for battle: running through a little obstacle course, whacking Storm Troopers while avoiding Princess Leia, balancing, "thermal detonator" toss, and then finally destroying the Death Star pinata (that took me a week to make and 30 seconds to destroy).

We're experiencing some technical difficulties

Sorry for the long silence here...my computer is down and only works in safe mode, which means i can't get my pictures off my camera.  Apparently my computer wasn't a big fan of Isaac playing Lego games online :) 

So we've been busy little bees around here since my last post: the boys went camping, Grandma came for a visit, Grandan and Bubbe came for a visit, planning for home school, replacing and painting the boards on our front porch, and just all the normal stuff of life.
Luke is huge!  3 months old now and around 15 pounds.  The boy is the most contented baby I've ever seen, such a little sweetie!  He's sleeping from around 10 pm till sometimes 9 am!  He LOVES to suck his thumb (which may be why he's so very content), but he also loves to talk to people and see their faces.  It really is like a conversation in baby talk :)

Isaac turns 6 this Thursday!!  I can't even believe how quickly these years have gone!  He is a great reader, but we're still working on that love for reading :)  He and Samy were begging me to start school this past week after some of our stuff arrived in the mail, so I read them some history stuff which they weren't so excited about.  But have been having a good time with the geoboards and rubber bands :)

My parents arrive Wednesday, the last of our summer visitors.  Can hardly wait!  For them to arrive, I mean, not that they be the last :)
Whenever my computer is up and running again I'll post some pictures and hopefully get a few more posts about life in the near future!

Sundays and such

Most of you probably know that we love spending our Sunday evenings eating popcorn, drinking lemonade and watching America's Funniest Videos.  While since the NBA playoffs were on last Sunday evening, we had our popcorn on the front porch, followed by football and tag.  Isaac and Samy were too cute sitting together on the swing talking about Star Wars and princesses I'm sure :) 

Luke is growing like an adorable little weed!  He's grown 3 inches!!!  I haven't weighed him, but I guarantee he's still at the top of the chart.  I caught a few smiles on camera this week and had to share those.

While Daddy was away

Keith got to go to the NEXT conference in Orlando over Memorial Day weekend, which meant me alone with three kids for four days.  So I purposed to do lots of fun things we don't normally do, knowing that my temptation toward anger would be that much greater without Keith here to help.
As soon as Keith left Saturday morning we headed out to pick strawberries!  They weren't nearly as sweet as last year, but maybe it's because it's the very beginning of the season.  Samy had only one strawberry in her bucket at the end of it all because they all went straight to her mouth!  No wonder she had a tummy ache :)  When she had had her fill she started picking flowers instead.  Isaac lasted a little longer, and Luke slept the whole time.  We'll have to go with friends later in the season so they'll be more distracted and I can get more berries!
That afternoon Isaac's best little buddy from school came over along with him mom, and little brother and sister since his daddy had gone with our daddy to the conference.  The kids  had a super time running around and I got some time talking with my friend.  Then mac-n-cheese for dinner (their fav!) and ice cream for dessert.
Sunday after church we went to a little deli for lunch and ran into a couple Keith met through his evangelistic bible study last month.  They were so happy to meet the kids as they had already dubbed themselves Aunt Gloria and Uncle Peter :)
Oh, I should also mention that I woke up Sunday morning with no voice!  It was almost gone Saturday night, but I could scarcely speak by Sunday morning!  Allergies are in full bloom here ya know!  And then I must have pulled something in my back putting Luke in the car after lunch b/c I couldn't get the car seat out when we got home.  I could barely move without shooting pain!  I was finding all this somewhat humorous since Keith was gone when I lost my voice and could barely move :)  God's grace was quite evident that I was reacting in laughter instead of anxiety or anger!

Since it was blisteringly hot Monday I got out the Slip-n-Slide for the kids and they had a blast, though Samy was to afraid to actually slide, she just scooted herself down :)  Before he left Keith had gotten the A/C unit in the kids' room but forgot about the one in our room.  It was an adventure getting that heavy unit to our window, especially with my back out of whack :)  but Luke and I needed to sleep in the cool, it had to be close to 90 in our room!  Again, laughing that we were having a heat wave while my hubby was away, as well as our neighbors, so no help there.
Tuesday Isaac was back to school, which means out the door by 7:30 to pick up our friends' kiddos and make it on time.  Well, getting three kids out the door that early after a rough night (because Luke was in the room with me) was hard enough, and we were already a few minutes late, but then I went and locked my keys in the house after getting everyone in the car!  I called Helen and said I was so late and she took her boys to school.  And I was just grateful that it was so hot that day because I had already opened all the windows downstairs, so I pried off a screen and climbed in :)

Let me just tell you, I was so happy to see my dear hubby that evening :)  But truly, there was so much grace in the midst of all the hiccups in my plans!  I know how I have reacted to such things in the past, with anger and harsh words toward my children (whether it be their fault or not), but the Holy Spirit was working miracles in my sinful heart this weekend!  I truly was finding humor in the myriad of difficulties and seeing all the good gifts of friends and fun and not setting my expectations too high.  It was only by the grace of God! 

Here's some pics of the weekend and lots of little Lukey :)

Catch up: The Fair

So blogging has been pretty far down the list lately as I spend a lot of time on the couch nauseous.  House work has definitely taken a hit.  Cooking is just unpleasant no matter what it is.  But it's good to know my body is doing what it's supposed to and baby is growing!  I had my first OB appointment today and she did a sonogram (which I guess is normal up here), so I got to see the little bean and hear their heart beat.  And I must say I was thankful there is only one little bean :)  all this sickness has made me wonder.  Oh and the due date is the end of April--20th according to the sonogram or 24th was the original.

Ok, so onto some catching up :)  We went to the county fair last month with the kids and had a good ol' time!  It just adds to feeling like country bumpkins to go pet livestock and sit on tractors.  The pig races and magician Steve Trash (he used lots of trash as props, supposed to encourage recycling I guess) were definitely the highlights!  They had a little corral with giant stuffed horses for the kids to sit on, and dozens of tractors.  There were even camel rides!  Enjoy the pictures :)  oh and a cutie pic from a visit from a friend from the PC class before last :)

Mark and Kim's visit

My big brother and his family came up for a visit a week after we moved in. It was good because it made me get unpacked super quick instead of putting off all those boxes! We had a wonderful time with them that went by way too fast! I didn't have my camera out much though.

The kids had a great time playing, we hardly saw them after their arrival. They went into DC on Monday, and Isaac cried and cried that Mika had gone without him. So, the kids and I joined them on Tuesday at the Smithsonian. We managed to make it through American History and Natural History, plus a stop at Georgetown Cupcakes on the way home.

One funny from their visit:
Isaac: "Oh, I don't want ..." (in a whiny voice)
Keith: "Isaac, no. Try that again." (meaning the right way)
Isaac: "Oh, I don't want..." (same whiny voice)

Kim could hardly keep from laughing :)

Settling in

I have quite a few pictures that didn't make it onto the blog since I'm so far behind, but thought I'd toss this in while I play catch up :)  Here's Isaac and Samy having breakfast the morning of our move.  Just too funny.

So I guess I posted about the actual move, now I'll let you into my world post move in.  I'm still feeling so out of the groove of normal life it's hard to sit back and enjoy our new home still.  Plus we've got quite a few projects in the works.  We have radon, which means it's a good idea to get it mitigated by sealing the basement floor and installing pipes and fans to suck it out.  Well, our basement isn't your model citizen for this job.  There are two crawl spaces at opposite ends of the house that open into the basement through big holes in the wall (kind of creepy!), there are also several holes in the floor (not sure where those came from), and can you believe it, we found a well down there!!  I asked the previous owners if they knew that was there, and in all their 28 years here, they never knew that!  It was kind of crazy to remove all these old boards to find an 8-inch pipe that goes 30 feet deep with water at the bottom, especially in your basement. 

A friend of mine told me a few months ago about these really cool tag sales, and I managed to get there just before my brother and his family came last week.  I scored a great table and four chairs for the kitchen that I'm going to repaint and reupholster.  I'll have to be sure to do before and after shots :)

I've loved getting to know our neighbors!  On one side they go to church with us and the kids made fast friends. On the other is Mickey--she's 72 and lifts weights, swims daily, keeps her yard immaculate, and does amazing oil paintings!  Her late husband's family has owned the land she now owns since 1712!  She is so much fun to talk to, and I'm hoping one day to explore all the old stuff she has in her basement :)

So, this no A/C thing has been a little tough in the nice heat wave.  There were a few days we were really wishing we hadn't bought a house with no air conditioning when it was 100 degrees and like 90% humidity.  We got our big window unit into the kitchen just before my brother and fam arrived, and that has helped tremendously.  Most days though I still open the windows even in there until the mid-afternoon.  The house has a great breeze always coming through.  The third floor (where the play room is) is just hot, no way around that, so the kids are usually dragging toys to the kitchen to play on the floor or the hall where it's cool.  Good thing I've got such a big kitchen now!

it's official!

We are officially home owners again! Closed on the new house yesterday, and to say we are amazed at God's kindness in the whole process is an understatement! From beginning to end buying this home has been a JOY, not a hassle, not stressful, not complicated. The owners are just as wonderful as they come! They were relaying to us on the final walk through how their grown son was crying the last night saying goodbye to his home of 28 years. I would be a mess and the husband was certainly fighting back the tears. I loved hearing our realtor, Wes (who is absolutely the BEST realtor in the world!!) telling the sellers that it is God's grace through them, through their love and care over all those years that would cause their son to be so touched in saying goodbye. It was just such a sweet time signing the papers, talking, and just feeling like a bunch of old friends! I'm confident we will be seeing more of these dear people as the years pass. And to top it all off, they gave us a very generous gift as they left! As if this wonderful house and the many great things they left in it for us weren't enough! Oh, we are amazed as we look at God's perfect timing and order and sovereign hand ruling over our everyday, right down to that haircut that started it all :)

We went straight on over to the new house with our dinner and explored and started painting the master bedroom. Our neighbors even came by to welcome us and introduce themselves. The kids are thrilled and Isaac is just asking all the time when we're going back over. Here are some pictures from last night:

Dinner on the picnic table they left for us :)

Samy finding her room. She laid right down like she was going to bed :)

Isaac enjoying the view from his window.

The adorable package of cookies the settlement attorney gave us, that looks a bit like our house.

And the four of us on the front porch.

Little House in the Big Woods

We've been reading Laura Ingalls Wilder's book "Little House in the Big Woods" to the kids after dinner, and they have loved it! We're always surprised how much they (well particularly Isaac) remembers. Isaac remembers that Pa said he would never go into the woods without his gun, Samy remembers the color of Laura's dress :)

Well, we had our own little adventure in the "big woods" this past weekend--our first camping trip as a family! Aside from the massive amount of work it is ahead of time, we all greatly enjoyed it. And the kids were almost always playing "Little house in the big woods" as they ran around in the tall trees chasing chipmunks and climbing on stumps.

Here's Isaac with his "bear bopping stick". If we saw any bears, he was going to drop it on their head :)

And this is a little friend the kids made almost as soon as he arrived. They had a great time with Ryan!

The campground has a great lake for swimming and we spent most of our time there.

Samy surprised us with how bravely she played in the lake. She was the first one in every time, and was bouncing around as deep as she could without going under.

Isaac is always a water bug!!We took two little hikes, one to see the falls and one to see the Catoctin Iron Furnace. On the first hike we found a family of lesser weasels (according to the ranger we showed them to). There were about 10 babies running around, pretty cute actually :)

For the full photo album you can go here:

camping

Missing the pool

Can you tell they miss the pool already?? They were running around pretending to swim in the house :)

August

So here comes a little catch up after a terribly slack job at blogging last month :)
My dear friend from last year's PC class came with her husband to the Worship God conference so the kids and I got to spend a day with her and Charis! It was so good to see them again!!!!

One Saturday we packed up and headed to Mount Vernon, George Washington's estate. It was so neat! It's more than just a house, it's a whole plantation. Washington wanted to be self-sustaining so he raised his own food, and even had the servants' clothes made there. It was very educational and the kids actually enjoyed it :)

Samy had her first haircut! Isaac was getting his cut and she really wanted hers cut too, so I evened up the back. Then they both got ice cream because they did so well.

After much anticipation, Keith's dad and step-mom arrived safely one Monday afternoon! We had a wonderful week with them and made lots of memories. The kids had a blast playing "wolf" with Grandan in the basement everyday, as he'd jump out and scare them. We all went to DC on Wednesday and saw tons of sights (even ran into one PC family!) in the hot sun, the kids were such troopers! We made a trip to Bruester's for some ice cream, played a few games. We never made it to the pool, much to Isaac's disappointment--he really wanted to show them how he can go off the diving board. It was such a wonderful time and we're so grateful they would make the long drive to see us!

There's also a few pictures from the Pastors College ladies' lunch and orientation day.
Here are some pictures...

And we're off!

The new Pastor's College year has officially kicked off with Ladies' lunch and Orientation almost two weeks ago (I have been so slack with blogging!). We're enjoying getting to know all the new families and being re-envisioned for this year.
Isaac is, of course, eating up meeting all the new friends in the neighborhood (there are 5 townhouses in our neighborhood where PC families live every year). One funny story...when the first family arrived way back in June, they moved into our old sitter's house. Well, I knocked on the door to introduce ourselves and as soon as it opened Isaac ran in and took his shoes off and headed straight for the basement to play :) It's always been Rachel's house to him!
Keith is back in the swing of things and preparing for his first Greek class of the year this Friday. You guys better watch out, he's brutal :)
We have had no shortage of things to do this summer (mostly the pool) and now that the Pastor's College year has begun, our calendar looks almost ridiculous to me :) But God is so very faithful to order and provide in the midst of what He calls you to!! We are so glad to have found a sitter who has courageously agreed to serve us regularly! Yippee!!!!!!
Many more posts to follow soon I hope :) I have tons of pictures to share and lots to catch up on.

Making a splash

Since about a month ago, Isaac has been determined to go off the diving board. We told him he had to be able to swim all by himself to do it. So every time we go to the pool he wants to go out in the deep (4 ft) and practice. About two weeks ago he still couldn't really take a breath and keep going, but yesterday he jumped off the diving board! Our little fish is quite the swimmer! Keith was waiting in the water for him the first few times, but Isaac really didn't need any help, he swam right to the ladder! He was SO excited! And he went like 10 times in a row, Keith had to make him rest :) I was so bummed I hadn't brought the video camera, so I'll try to remember next time we go and share with you all.
We went to Mount Vernon on Saturday, which was incredible! Unfortunately my batteries were dead in the camera so i only got a few pictures. I'll post more about that sometime soon. Today we're preparing for Grandan and Bubbe's long awaited visit!

Places to go, people to see

We had a whirlwind of a trip last week, all well worth it! We set off for Knoxville Friday afternoon to see my family--my parents and all my siblings and their fams. And then Saturday our very dear friends from Orlando (now living in Georgia) came up with their kids (such a special treat)! So for 24 hours there were 11 adults and 12 children running around my parents house. It was a blast :) We had a cookout Saturday night and Isaac decided to pick blackberries on his own and slipped down the hill into the bush, which sent us in to pick out the stickers and get him a bath, so we missed out on the campfire we had planned.
Monday we went to the mountains and played in a little school house, then let the kids play in the river, had a picnic and took a short hike up to a look out tower. I was too concerned with keeping Isaac's feet on the ground to enjoy the view at the top :) And we ran into our dear friends, the Coopers, while we were there! They were our care group leaders before we moved to FL, Craig was the first person Keith met when he went to UT, and Craig also told us about this job. Where would we be with the Coopers :)
Keith and I left the kids with my parents on Tuesday and took a two night "personal retreat" at a bed and breakfast nearby called Whitestone. They have hundreds of acres of property right on a lake. We got to enjoy lots of uninterrupted conversation as we strolled the beautiful grounds, went canoeing and paddle boating, had a picnic, got some planning done, lots of reading in the hammock, and some wonderful time praying together!
We picked the kids up Thursday and headed for Lake Lure, NC for our own little family vacation. The kids had a blast playing in the pool that allows floats (ours doesn't) and in the lake. We checked-out Saturday morning and headed for Chimney Rock park before making the long drive back home.
We certainly made lots of memories!

Summer time!

Don't you just love summer? Swimming pools, grilling, Popsicles, lightning bugs. We haven't seen lightning bugs in 7 years (not sure why there aren't any in Orlando). And knowing that it's pushing 100 degrees down there now, I'm rather glad to be so far north. I guess the spring and summer do make the cold long winter worth it :)

So the Weltons have been busy, busy since all the PC students left. The kids and I have spent lots of time at the pool, which has afforded the opportunity to meet LOTS of other families from our church and the community and get to know a couple ladies better (though expectations for pool conversations are extremely low!). Our care group has also been having weekly dinners at a local park (or at a home when it rains), so that has been a blast. Keith and I have been planning our family vacation and it is quickly approaching. We're also looking for a good weekend to take the kids camping, which should be a real adventure for all of us :)

The kids are still growing like weeds. Samy's vocabulary seems to expand daily. My favorites are all her "H" words like "hi," "hand," "hold." She begins every "h" word with "a"--so she says, "a hand", "a hi", "a hold". It's so cute! Her current favorite thing to play is dress up, but not just any dress up, she's always getting ready for the ball!! She must have a dress, slippers (pretty shoes), satin gloves, and her crown to be ready for the ball. One day I'll post a picture :) and everything is in some way always related to Cinderella--"Rella" as she calls her. And if you put her on the potty she almost always goes! Now mommy just needs to be more disciplined to put her on :)

Isaac seems more grown up everyday. He is quite the little fish and picking up swimming very quickly since he has other kids to watch. He's started making everything into a gun and shooting things. We are regularly (pretend) frog hunting by our pond. We borrowed "The Fox and the Hound" from the library and I think that is what is spurring the hunting on :) He can memorize Bible verses and songs in no time! He always asks at bedtime if he can do his verses. And he's frequently singing around the house--though the words are usually made up to what he hears not the actual words :) He can write his name all by himself and no longer needs me to make his choo-choo tracks connect. He's growing up so fast!

The heat is on...

The heat is on as July approaches, so we spent the weekend eating popsicles and washing the car/playing in the water.
We also had our latest installment of our Dinner Club. This month was Greek food--yum yum! We are so grateful to God for our friends and the fellowship and fun we have with them! At the end of our evening we played telephone charades--what a hoot!