Fall Fun

There are a lot of things to like about fall: the beautiful colors, the cool, crisp air, and playing in a pile of leaves. Thank you God, for the different seasons for us to enjoy. Thank you for the renewing of life each spring!







Hope you are having as much fun as Hannah!!

Ohio, here we come!

Congratulations, Keith!! Keith just got appointed to go to the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio. He was chosen for a Master's Degree in Cyber Operations. He will finish his first Masters in February or March 2010, then we will move to Ohio in July/August for him to start another. Fortunately, this time, the Air Force will be covering all of his expenses. Basically going to school will be his job for nearly 2 years. He will graduate in March 2012. Of course, we are all very proud of him!!

Goodbye, Fat Louis

It was May 2003 when we first saw you at PetsMart. Scared and in a cage, but still rubbing your head against the bars so you could be petted. We didn't realize just how big you were until we got you home. Wow! We decided that you were big enough, so we put you on diet kibble. You didn't eat for 3 days, and would just keep looking back and forth between your bowl and us as if to say, "Really?? This is it?" You finally gave in and that Christmas when we bought you a can of cat food as a treat, you wouldn't even touch it and went back to your bowl of diet kibble.

Not that diet kibble ever did you any good. You never lost any weight despite our best efforts and always had a waddle to your walk. You had a hangy-down stomach and got mad at us when we tried to pet it. You'd bite our hands - never hard, but enough to make us know that you would really rather have your head petted and to leave your stomach alone!

You put up with those other animals, often reminding the dogs that cats, especially you, were really in charge. Never mind that they were so much bigger than you - that did not deter you from putting them in their place.

You always liked to be in the same room with us. You weren't much of a cuddler - unless it was cold, but you were never more than a foot or two away, perched on the back of the couch, laying near our feet, or just nearby. You tried not to look to obvious about it, but we noticed.

You put up with all the kids' antics and without a fuss. You would pose for pictures, get "dressed up", wrapped in blankets, cuddled with whether you liked it or not, you endlessly chased the laser beam, snuggled the catnip mouse, and you did it all without a fuss. Even when Hannah came home, you put up with her baby "soft" pats that weren't so soft.

You loved to have your had rubbed and your ears scratched. You would purr so loud! We liked it, too. You fur was so soft and thick, even softer than it looked and it looked soft!

Oh you had your problems, too. Don't get me wrong! You made such a mess with the kitty litter box that we ended up buying a special box that you had to crawl into from the top to contain your kitty mess. You had a knack for finding the clean laundry and sleeping on it! You liked to sleep in the closet and get kitty hair all over the bottoms of our pants - which of course we wouldn't notice until we were in a huge hurry and had trouble finding the lint brush. You tended to kitty puke in some of the worst places, or at the worst times. (Did you really mean to do it at the foot of my bed at 2AM so I would step in it in the dark? Ewww!)

We don't know what you were called before you came to live with us, but I wanted to name you BoJangles. Keith wouldn't have it - it wasn't "manly" enough! So, Brutus it was. You got called many things besides that: "Cat!" usually after you did something you shouldn't, "Bad Cat!" when you got up on the counters, "Fat Louis" when we had some young missionary girls come to stay with us. We had been gone and were coming home to meet them, but they beat us there. They didn't know your name, so they dubbed you Fat Louis - fitting!, and "Fat Cat" truly a term of endearment.

So, all of this to say...we are going to miss you! I hated to see you go, but it was definitely time. That mean old cancer had just gone too far, and I couldn't watch you suffer. So, goodbye, Fat Cat. Thank you for all the good times.

All Hallow's Eve

Hannah is the only person home who is not sick or recovering. However, after weeks of preparation, you can't just skip Hallowe'en. Hannah got to go down the street and back, but at least she got to go out!

All dressed up and ready to go!


Cheesing it up for the camera


After the trip down the street, Hannah liked giving out the candy with Daddy.


Jeremiah getting in on the action.

We went through 13 bags of candy in just a little over an hour. It all started at 6 and we had our lights off at 7:20. Fortunately, the crowds had really started to dwindle. I dont' know how many princesses, ghosts, goblins, and puppies we served, but I would guess close to 200!

Faith Fest

Our church hosted a "Faith Fest" tonight complete with food, games, and a choir concert. The theme was a hoedown, so we dressed in our best hoedown attire (or at least our version of it).

Keith and Jeremiah have been home sick, so they did not get to participate :(

Hannah and her "freckles"


Hannah and Mommy


She is getting so big! Hannah in her complete outfit.

Logistics and Hannah

OK, take one little girl, 8 rolls of toilet paper, 3 bathrooms, and the job of distributing the TP to the right places and this is what you get:


Trying to stack them...I don't think this will work!


Nope!!


How about this??


Nope!!


One more try...


Success!!!

Now we will talk later about the TP being all over the floor before it is used...

Art...I think

At church this morning, Hannah drew a picture of a "hand". I'm not sure if you can see the green circle palm and the white fingers, but that is what it is, so says Hannah. What I am excited about is the progress she is making in writing her name. Translation of the writing is: HanHann. She is getting there.

Adopting again...

After many months of prayer and seeking God's will, Keith and I have decided to adopt again. We are going about it a little differently this time by not going with an agency, but just letting people know by word of mouth that we are looking for a baby to adopt. We set up a website http://www.lovinganewlife.blogspot.com/, posted on Facebook, and put ads in the local papers. Now, we will wait and see what God chooses to do with it.

Cubbies

Hannah has been looking forward to being a Cubby for about a year now. SHe was so excited to get to start a few weeks ago. Our church does theme nights nearly every week, and tonight's theme was "Crazy Hair Night".

Hannah and Daddy. Keith is a Cubby leader and LOVES it!

Yes, Keith's hair really has a "C" cut into it! C is for Christ...is the beginning of one of their first memory verses.

Bunny kisses!

Up to now, Hannah has memorized 6 verses! Memorization comes very easy to her. We added an extra book to give her a little challenge, so she actually learns at least 2 verses a week. We are not proud...can you tell?

School work

We are back into a routine and that means Hannah is back into her schoolwork. How she loves this stuff!

Home again, home again, jiggity jig!

Well, it took a week...two days of driving, a couple days of waiting in Dover, a very expensive cab ride to McGuire, a couple days of waiting...then we got to take off. However, the plane broke and we had to land in ...Dover! After another 24 hours, we got back ont he plane and have finally landed in Germany. If we do not see the inside of the airport terminal again for a very long time, it will be TOO SOON!!!

Swearing his life away...

Part of David's scholarship requires him to enlist in the Air Force. Here he is swearing in...

The Oklahoma City Zoo

David had ROTC stuff to do today, so PaPa, Grandma Kathy, Keith, Judy, Jeremiah, and Hannah all got to go to the zoo. Hannah has not been to a real zoo since she was just 10 months old, and of course, far too young to remember anything!

She made plenty of memories today...

A close-up look at a peahen

Watching the seals and sea lions

Giving Jeremiah a ride in the stroller

Hannah and Mommy checking out the albino peacock.

Hannah and the bear

Hannah and Grandma Kathy

Jeremiah and David (LOL)

Move in day...or is it the official move out day?

David and PaPa unpacking

Jeremiah goofing around

David has flown the coop, left the nest, moved up (or at least out) and has moved into the dorm room at OU. He even got to meet his new roommate, Gregory. Life is always changing!

The rollercoaster ride we have been wating for...

David has been planning this picture for weeks...no, make that months! He broke his phone in May and purposefully kept the broken phone just for this picture so he could appear to be talking on the phone when it was taken. You gotta love the ideas that teens have!

Keith, David, and Jeremiah went to Frontier City today to have some "man time" and see Family Force Five in concert. They had a blast!

Sunday...happy Sunday!

Sundays are awesome! Today, we got to go back to Wilwood church to worship, then to our friends' Melanie and Travis's house for lunch. Yummy! Finally, back to Kathy's house with the rest of the family for homemade spaghetti and meatballs! At this rate, we will all weigh 200 pounds before we are done visiting...

Jeremiah with his cousins, Kobe and Joshua

Hanging out with Grandpa Bullet

One of the hard things about living overseas for such a long time is that you miss out on getting to know your family, especially if you are only 3 years old. But really, it is hard for all of us. Even though we have been in the states for a full week already, we have just really not had enough time to really spend with our family.

Today we say goodbye to Grandpa Bullet and go back to Oklahoma City. It's been a visit too short already!


Of course at Grandpa Bullet's you have to have a tractor ride!!


Playing a little hide-and-seek. Of course, if the pole was a little bigger, Hannah might actually be able to hide behind it.


Tractor races with Grandpa....kidding, of course.

Now, we are back to Oklahoma City. Time to get some things taken care of for David's college days!

To the Lake!

What did Jeremiah want for his birthday? Fishing! Well, not only did he get to go fishing, he got to go out on his Grandpa Bullet's boat AND have his friend Chase come for a visit! Yes, this is his friend Chase, from Germany who is in the process of moving to Missouri. How awesome is that??!!


Keith and David soaking up some rays!

Steven already has a tan, unlike those of us pale skinned folks.

Hanging out...

Grandpa Bullet teaching Hannah how to fish.

All tuckered out after a long day.

Happy Birthday, Jeremiah!

Happy Birthday to the most wonderful 14 year-old on the planet!

A Day with PaPa and the Route 66 Museum

I do not know how many times we have been to Clinton since the Route 66 Museum opened (obviously none in the past 4 years), but we had never visited the museum until today. It is rather nice, inexpensive, a little small, but definately worth it. The kids had fun looking at the old soda machines, early gas pumps, diner replicas, phone booths, and vehicles. It was a nice way to spend the afternoon. Not to mention...there was a visit to Sonic afterward. Oh, how I have missed Sonic!

Hannah posing as a "driver". Notice Jeremiah on his hands and knees so Hannah could have a boost!

Jeremiah and Hannah at the diner.

The kids.

Later that day, we were back at PaPa's. He had a surprise for Hannah after nap...fingerpaints!

David "helping" Hannah