A Story for the Bath

Why are pictures of little kids in the bath so cute and sweet?  I captured a happy bath photo and a little video of Georgia 'reading' a story to Lola, who surprisingly happens to be listening pretty intently.  Don't tell me they aren't just the sweetest.

Adventureland

Even though it was an emotionally turbulent summer at times, we still had sparks of fun here and there. A trip to Adventureland with Nana and Papa, aunts, uncles and cousins was a major highlight. We went at the end of August, with most schools already back in session. It was the perfect day of weather, not to mention free parking and free pop all day long. Here are some pics and video from our day.



 

 We're here!



 Airplanes

 

Semis - I totally embarassed myself climbing up there and trying to squeeze into that truck!

 

Bumper cars with Daddy - she loved it right up until the last minute (see video)

 

I was afraid she wouldn't like the tea cups, but she kept saying, "Let go of me, Mom!"

 

Infant Ocean

Totally tuckered out

 

Cute cousins

Train ride with the whole fam

 

It was a wonderful day and we look forward to doing it again next year!

 

The Schumacher House: A Work in Progress

Ok all...I'm getting back on the blogging wagon.  I have been missing it!  Our biggest news is the building of our new home here in Davenport.  It's in a growing community of young families, has a park right across the street and is just a hop, skip and a jump from the library.  We've already met several of the families in our area and are excited that this is where we'll call home.  Here are some pictures of the progress that started back in mid-September.

 Our lot

  

 Being marked out

 

Staked and ready for digging

 

Let the digging begin!

 

Footings poured

 

Foundation in place

 

Water-proofing

 

Plumbing roughed in

 

Dirt filled in and our new neighbor Lily

 

 Basement and garage floor poured

 Framing!

10/12/12 Standing in the future interior foyer

 

Clearly there is still a lot to be done, but now that the house is taking shape, it really will start to look different each day.  We hope to be under roof (and possibly shingles) by the end of next week.  They are still giving us an estimated completion date of the first week in December.



For the Moms

I just got done reading this article for stay-at-home-moms on Tim Challies' website and I'm sitting here at the table crying.  I'm not really sure if I'm crying because of how the article moved me, or if it's pregnancy hormones or maybe the fact that it's only 1:24 pm and I'm already eating my second lunch.  It could be a mixture of all three.  For the sake of this blog post, let's say the article moved me because I really want to share it with you.

When in Rome

Last week we hosted a vacation bible school at our church.  The theme for this year was Rome.  Georgia is still too young to participate, but they do have a small pre-school class and nursery provided for the children of parents who want to volunteer to help with the rest of the program.  Georgia's class of 3 did get to participate in a few activities and almost every night she cried when it was time to go home.  I guess that means it was a success!

I was a Roman who worked in the grammaticus shop, helping kids to make and learn how to use an abacus.  I greatly underestimated the ability of the kids to learn how to use the 'Roman calculator,' but each day I was surprised as they showed me they knew how to use it.

Andy also participated in the dramas each day as the apostle Paul, chained in prison in Rome, complete with his own prison guard.  One of the evenings Georgia's class got to visit the prison and it was in a darkened room with Andy chained by the ankle to a chair.  I guess it scared her and she wanted to know why the 'shoulder' (soldier) was mean to her daddy and if his foot 'got hurted.'

It was a superb week with lots of planning, amazing volunteers and over 90 kids hearing the gospel.  Praise the Lord!

Happy Girl

Can you believe this little thing is 17 months already?  She is such a firecracker!  She loves to talk and her vocabulary is growing daily.  Some of her words are: mama, daddy, Georgia, baby, ducky, hi, bye-bye, uh-oh, bible, drink, keys, what's that and oh man.  She is often making noise and I still hear from Georgia, "Lola, be quiet!" It's not very effective.

She's taken a few little steps, but not quite walking yet.  She walks on the inside of her feet and I hope a trip to the chiro might correct that to make walking and keeping her balance easier.  

Though she is a little rambunctious, she is very cuddly and squishy and is free with her hugs and kisses if you just ask.  Such a happy little girl.

Update on the House

The other day we got a call from the realtor of the home we're trying to purchase and he asked us for an extension on the closing date.  When we put in our offer at the end of May we added a closing date of July 28, knowing that it may not go through by then.  It won't, so we've extended the closing date to the end of August.  Our realtor says this is a good sign that things are progressing.  We are trying to think positive - hoping that if they thought it would take longer than another month, they would've asked us to extend farther.  I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but Andy thinks we may have more information by the end of July.