Another Special Birthday in the Family!

 Thanks to all who made Wyatt's birthday celebration so special!  

Happy Birthday, Richie!

It is such a joy to feed you!!! 

It makes us so happy to see you enjoy our home cookin' so much! 

Love it!  

 A few of the party guests . . . :-) 

 Thirty-four years young! 

 Pausing for a little party snack . . . 

 Love how excited you were over your new flashlight!!!! 

 But this . . . 

this is the best little gift of all time! :-) 

We love you dearly, Richie!!!! 

Thank you for being such an awesome son, brother, husband and father!!!! :-) 

We thank God for you on your birthday and every day of the year!  

They Had Been With Jesus . . .

"When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus."  Acts 4:13

Wow, I love this verse!  It speaks to me in a number of ways!!! I love the part about Peter and John being "ordinary men", because I sure feel ordinary..  And then, I love the part about how people could tell that there was something different about these "unschooled, ordinary men". . . . because they had been with Jesus. Oh how I want that to be said of me!!!!   I recently ran across this devotional by Greg Laurie on this verse and he says it so well! 

"The number of people who claim to be Christians today has never been higher.  Yet our moral and spiritual climate has never been lower.  You see, most people don't understand what it really means to be a Christian, to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

The Apostles Peter and John were men who were like Jesus.  One day when they went to the temple to pray, they healed a man who had been lame since birth.  Then they preached with such boldness that 5,000 people believed that day (see Acts 3–4).

The apostles were arrested and questioned, but those who questioned them, even though they were nonbelievers, could hear the voice of Jesus speaking through Peter and John.  They could see Him in their eyes.  They could tell that these were followers of Jesus: 

'Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.' (Acts 4:13)

It was unmistakable.  Even their enemies could see that Jesus Christ had profoundly impacted these men.  Could a statement like that be said of you?  Could it be said of you and of me that we have been with Jesus?"

Quadruplet Sightings

Kyle is currently in Colorado at a Summit Ministries conference for the next two weeks! 

I was so blessed to have 2 very special hours with him from 4-6am Sunday morning, 

on the way to take him to the airport.   We will sure miss him, but it is going to be such an awesome experience for him in many ways!

He sure is a very awesome son and person in general. 

 So mature, Godly and smart and also so fun to be with! 

So proud of him! :-) 

 And the quad sisters (with a bonus little sister) 

had a special time together recently in Oregon at Taylor and Victoria's house! 

(Taylor was away for the day serving friends by lending his helping hands on a home building project.)
They are less than four weeks away from holding their little baby in their arms,
and blessing our entire family with this precious bundle of joy!

Daily Dose of Cuteness!

Every week when Pure Joy Labradors has a little of puppies, Valerie puts together a photo shoot to take pictures of each individual puppy (and some group pictures and video) to post on her website for so the puppies' new families can watch them grow.

(This one is from yesterday's photo shoot! Flowers to the left are courtesy of Lydia's garden! :-) 

This is no easy task!  And Valerie really goes all out, too, to create a fun, seasonal setting for the photos.  She also really loves having her little helper in many of the pictures, especially when the puppies are either too little to pose for a picture, or too active to sit still for the pictures! 

I thought it would be fun to put together of few pictures that Valerie and Brielle have taken over the summer of two litters.  I think you'll notice just how much Brielle enjoys her work! :-) 

Fun Times Rock Painting with Friends!