More pictures

Here are some pictures of Jed's birthday yesterday. He turned 7! We were joined by Uncle Derrick, Uncle Wesley, Aunt Lindsay, Amy P., Cherilyn, and Andrew and Alicia for a barbecue dinner and then fun times outside. Uncle Derrick brought his motorcycle, much to Tucker's delight! Wesley got a workout trying to keep two energetic little warriors at bay. Andrew spent the night with Jed for the first time. We were amazed at how well they did. They're such good friends, it's precious to see. Andrew is a great kid. We love having him in our house.

And...we have a new mini-van! We bought it from a used car dealer in Nashua. It's a 2000 Grand Caravan, a slightly newer version of what we had before. It's a step up in several ways, like a better engine and power locks and windows. Yes, it's a little old and has a few dings, but it's paid for! After researching the option of making car payments, we knew we didn't want to go that route. We are so grateful for the Lord's provision.

If you know of anyone who wants a '98 Grand Caravan, let us know!

Just a few recent snaps of our family. Jack is five and a half months old now. Isn't the shot of Tucker at the beach is priceless. Notice how his waistband is folded over to keep his shorts from falling off. And they're a size 2! (He'll be 3 in a few weeks.) The piratey pictures of Jed were taken yesterday at his closing Drama Kids play. He did an outstanding job. He seems very comfortable on a stage. He needed a little prompting with his lines, but overall he did great. His best friends Andrew and Alicia and their mom came to show their support.

Hmm, what's new at our house? Nothing terribly exciting, just little stuff, like...

• We're almost done with school! It's hard to tell who's more excited, me or Jed. Friday is our last day. I'm really looking forward to having free mornings. Maybe I'll be able to get some ironing done for once or fold the clothes before they sit in the basket for five days.

• Last week we were having trouble with our water. Usually I can take a shower while the washing machine is running, or give the kids baths without the water running out before we're done. But last week we were facing a serious drought in our house. One day I had to skip a shower altogether. Not cool right after a sweaty workout. But then we got a bunch of rain the problem cleared up. The only thing we can figure is that the water table was low. So though I'm not thrilled with the yucky days we've had lately, I'm thankful for the rain!

• Jed has graduated from speech therapy. Our dear neighbor, Mary Phillips, who lives in what some of you will remember as the Andersons' house (or the old Bible school), is a speech therapist and has been working with Jed since the fall. The other day he had his last lesson. He's made so much progress that you can understand what he says now and he no longer needs her services. He was pretty sad about it, though. He loves going over there. Free cookies are a big draw. :-)

• We are sprucing up our kitchen and I'm so happy! The last person who lived here did a beautiful job decorating it, and she transformed it into a great little room. I have just wanted to make it mine. So, in another month or so stay tuned for some pictures of an all-new room. Then we'll move onto the living room and the mudroom and the dining room and....

Well, I'm running out of stuff to write. We're watching the presidential debate at St. A's right now. Oh, Evan and I (and Jack!) got to meet Gov. Huckabee the other day at a small pastors' meet-the-candidate luncheon. I was impressed with the guy. He's worth serious consideration.