Yes, I have neglected the blogging crowd. My now, most of you have probably given up even checking this. I just wanted to wish my baby a Happy 8 months old day. Since the last post, she has gotten two teeth, learned how to do the belly crawl, and said her first word, "Da Da." Its not that surprising since the time she entered the world, Jeremy has said that to her over and over again. He's so proud, and I must admit its pretty adorable. She has the biggest smile on her face almost all the time. I will try to post a picture, but I still have problems making it work on this computer.

(I just realized that since my last post, Kayla has lost another tooth. I'll try to get a picture to put up so you can see her new look)

There is an explanation below. I couldn't get the pictures under it.

our House of Glory staff

 

at the Dedication Service

a few shots of the House of Glory Its a little hard to know where to begin. It has been a wild and wooly couple of months, some really incredible things, some challenging things, and its great to look back and thank the Lord for His faithfulness through all of it. The girl's home started the first of June! We had a Dedication Service in the home that weekend, and it was such a blessing to have so many people there with a heart for this ministry. One of our supporting churches also sent a team down that same week, so they were able to put a garden in the front yard. We have also had quite a lot of company. Doyle and Kendra came for a few days, Jeremy's parents and niece Shelby and a pastor and his wife from one of our supporting churches came down to visit and encourage us.
In the midst of all the happenings, Jeremy had oral surgery to remove a cyst which had begun to eat away at his jaw bone. He had over a month of dental visits with root canals, etc. to prep for surgery and then many more follow-up visits after the surgery to check up on the healing. He is almost back to normal, but he still has a few more visits to the surgeon.
I am loving my job these days, especially now that the House of Glory is open. I am busier than I ever thought possible, and it is a challenge to have boundaries and juggle work and family, but it is also exhilerating and wonderful to be caring for girls that God has brought. One of my favorite parts is taking baby Janna to the home with me. The girls(at the home) love being with her, and she is therapy for them as they prepare for their own baby to be born soon. Its so fun to get to be modeling parenting and caring for a baby while tutoring, training, and loving on these girls. I'm realizing that I'm going to have to start specifying which girls as there are 2 groups of girls in my life, the ones at the girls home and the ones that live at my home, my 3 blessings. Kayla and Bella also love to go to the girls home. I'm looking for opportunities for them to be able to be down there and getting to know the girls that live there now.

One of the tougher things that happened this month was that one of our missionary families moved back to the States. We knew it was coming. They had fulfilled their 2-year commitment here in Lima. But it didn't make the "good-bye" any easier.  Michael, Laura, Noah and Ethan...we miss you terribly. 

Noah and Bella are the same age, and the girls really wanted to have a spend the night, going away party for Noah. So, here they are getting ready for bed.

Ethan and Janna are 10 days apart. (picture below) Laura and I were pregnant at the exact same time. We have always teased Noah and Bella about how they will get married one day, but when Janna and Ethan started holding hands at 3 months old, well, that was just too much!

When Grandma, Poppy and Shelby came to visit, we headed to the zoo.

(Don't worry, Grandma and Shelby, these pics and more are on the way to your house)

We sure did have a great visit. Looking at these pictures makes me miss you, but I'm so thankful that you were able to come down and meet Baby Janna and hang out for a little while.  We even got to celebrate Shelby's birthday with her!

that's right..that's Kayla. you may know her as a quiet sweetie, but the culture here is all about dancing. She's been dancing on stage at her preschool since she was 2.  She used to be a little shy, but as you can see, she's gotten the hang of it.

This is her kindergarten class.  Its a really big deal here because they will all Graduate in December.

Can you find Kayla?

Bella was getting a little patriotic before the 4th of July.

This was a really beautiful song that the kids at church did on Father's Day.

I wish I could turn this picture.

Happy 4th of July. Thanks, grandma, for bringing all the red, white and blue parafanalia. We went to a BBQ picnic with a bunch of other Americans. It was so much fun!

And last but not least, the girls were in a Scholastic Parade last week. Both of these pics are of Bella's class. I couldn't find one of Kayla's.

This week, all schools were cancelled because of the swine flu.  Then, everyone has 2 weeks off for the semester break. I guess they are hoping that will give the flu enough time to pass on by. In the meantime, we are enjoying some extra time with our girls and trying to stay healthy.