Thirteen

I have been so negligent with the blog these past few weeks!  So much has happened - birthdays (5 of them!), swimming for the first time (an experience none of us will forget!), the first summer at the lake for all 13 of us, lots and lots of cooking, gardening and canning, and visits with friends new and old.

 

It's late and this mama is headed to bed, but I wanted to post SOMETHING to get me back in the swing of blogging.

Here are a few photos of Jesse on his 13th birthday.  The boy loves his bicycle.  He's growing up and growing into such a neat young man.  He started basketball conditioning with Isaac this summer preparing for the long season coming up in October.  He's been taking guitar lessons . . . more on that later . . . and really loves church.  We were talking about tithing tonight and he said, "Mom!  EVERY Sunday I want to take dollar to church.  When I get there, I forget and then I almost cry."  Sweet, sweet boy. 

I have so many posts and photos to share.  Some fun, some funny, some serious, some informative and hopefully helpful to someone.  If there's anything you'd like to ask or know about large family life, homeschooling, and/or adoption of many and older children, please feel free to ask.  I could use a few good prompts to get me writing again!

I'm knee deep in planning for the upcoming year with ELEVEN students!  Feeling pretty good about what's to come and praying for a good year.

Adoption is beautiful, but also stretching in ways we could have never imagined.  Just when we feel like we've figured something out, a new issue arises.  No sleeping on the job around here!

Hope you're all surviving the heat!