My princess nieces

One of my sisters recently posted an album on Facebook of her daughter and another of my sister's daughter. My two precious princess nieces...growing up so fast out there in the western part of the USA. Micah always has a blast with them when we travel out to see family. I miss you all! Love you!! Keep the pictures coming. :-)

Is IHOP hiring?

On Saturday I asked Micah if he wanted to help me make pancakes. Of course he said, "yes." It's become kind of a tradition to cook pancakes together at least 1 or 2 Saturdays a month. Usually we make circles, ovals, snowmen and Mickey Mouse shapes. However, Micah wanted to get a bit more creative this past time around. He requested a number of different animals and people. I tried my best, and here's what we ended up with:

A bee:

John (Jesus's disciple):

A dog:

I couldn't fulfill his request to make a moose or grass-hopper, and he kindly understand that it was too hard for mommy. I don't think I should put my resume into IHOP anytime soon, but it was fun to dabble in culinary arts with my imaginative 3 year old son.

Leaf Raking Season!!

The first layer of leaves have fallen from our oaks, but there are still plenty of stubborn leaves hanging on. So today I stepped into my backyard with a couple rakes, a stack of lawn bags, a trash can, some other misc. yard tools, and determination. Micah joined me with his Jeep and willingness to help.

Last year I was surprised when I discovered just how many leaves our oaks shed each year. I hadn't realized the magnitude of the job of raking leaves in our yards! So this year I feel better prepared for the task at hand, and am not kidding myself that I can get this job done in a jiffy. Micah and I were able to begin chiseling away at this fall-time chore (which really wasn't too bad), and it ended up being kind of fun for both of us.

Micah "drove" the full leaf bags through the backyard...

...around to the front yard and to the garage for me.

This is only the beginning (we had approximately 50 last year).

1/5 of one layer down...

...many, many more to come...

Micah's Circles

It's been a while since I've busted out Micah's hand-me-down computer to work on "projects."  But last week I took the time to get situated at the dining room table with my old lap-top for Micah to practice his computing skills.  I opened up a Paint file, selected the circle tool for him, put the first shape on, and he went to town!!  He successfully maneuvered the mouse to make each of the shapes thereafter, as well as switching colors occasionally.  Here was the first stage:

And then a bit later when his project was complete:

I was super impressed, and so was daddy.  This little art piece I simply had to print and stick on the fridge.  Just ask Micah about it and he'll tell you there's a pot on there somewhere, cookies, ovals, circles, a man...

Entering the world of pink and purple...

On Friday afternoon Scotty, Micah and I got to witness an incredible sight - the upcoming addition to the Ruth family alive and well in my womb.  We also found out the gender - a GIRL!!  I have to admit, I was shocked; I've been in boy world for 3 years now, I'll have some adjusting to do.  But wow, we are SO excited.

Seeing our little girl (that sounds so nice) :-) was a blessing.  She's growing and developing well.  We got to see the four chambers of her heart functioning beautifully and watched the ultrasound technician measure her skull, abdomen, femur bone, etc.  Her movements were adorable (with an occasional jab or kick that I felt and saw at the same time - so cool)! Here's a picture of her profile and belly (head on right, belly on left):

After the ultrasound, we spent the rest of the afternoon as a family, soaking in the news and just enjoying one another's company.  We picked up Micah a "big brother" book, as well as a little nameplate for our daughter (that matches Micah's), along with her first dress:

God is SO good.  We see His hand at work in our family now through joys and challenges, and we are excited to see Him continue that as little baby Ruth joins us in February.  Only He can continue to unite Scott and I in parenting and supply the wisdom, love and grace we need to raise children in His amazing ways.  Only He can work in the heart of our children to understand their need for a Savior and place faith in Jesus who loves them so much and died for their sins.

Thanks for rejoicing with us!      

20 weeks in utero!

Baby and I are halfway through pregnancy. We find out the gender (if baby cooperates) on Friday and we're so excited!

Talking to Mr. Elephant

One day last week I put Micah down for a nap. A little while later, I heard him being a little chatterbox upstairs. Usually I would tell him he needs to be quiet, because its "rest" time (even if he doesn't sleep). But his chattering sounded conversational, so out of curiosity I simply sat on the stairs and listened to what he was saying.

I soon pieced together that he was talking to one of his toys, Mr. Elephant, about the Bible (yes, the same elephant he previously pulled stuffing out of). Totally blessed my heart. Here are the little bits I picked up:

"Peter was not kind and then he was kind. The Spirit helped him tell the truth about Jesus." (In his kid's Bible that we've read and re-read this summer we've learned about Peter lying about not knowing Jesus, and then how once the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost, Peter truthfully declared Jesus as God's Son).

"Mary obeyed...and Moses obeyed...and Peter...and Jesus. And daddy obeys...and mommy obeys...and Micah and baby and elephant and big ball puppy and flopsy puppy [other stuffed animals]." (He's really on this talking about obedience kick, which is a good thing!)

Then he mumbled a little about shepherds, Peter and Jesus walking water...then it seems Micah felt the need to acquaint Mr. Elephant with his bedroom. He spoke of his curtains, light, floor, carpet on the floor, etc (throwing in "oh yeah" 's which made it sound like he was actually discussing things with his toy - too funny).

Sunday Afternoon Family Adventure!

Yesterday afternoon we all got in the car and just started driving...what lay before us was open road and mini family adventures waiting to be discovered! After driving for about 40 minutes, we pulled off the highway and stumbled upon beachfront access to Lake Michigan. The wind whipped at our faces, we got to hear the unique sound of waves crashing on the beach, and see the beauty of God's creation.

After enjoying the great outdoors, we emptied our shoes of sand and headed out on the road again. This time we stumbled across a HUGE orchard/bakery/restaurant/cider mill that was THE happenin' place in this little Michigan city. We stopped in to grab some fresh blueberry muffins and apple-cider doughnuts, but decided against the 1 1/2 wait to eat at the restaurant...

To fill our appetite, we found ourselves in Holland, MI, which is a quaint little town we have come to enjoy. After eating a hearty sub, and grabbing some chocolate at a shop down the street, we finally turned our car towards home. I really love living in MI! Thank you, Lord, for placing us here, and for a precious afternoon with my two men. :-)