kenny and i recently joined Netflix since we've been bored silly with nothing to do (ha!) having a few hours some evenings where we need to unwind. since rowan was born (three years ago) we've seen a total of five movies between the two of us. so we've been taking notes as to which movies (and television shows we don't have access to on rabbit-ear television) we want to see. netflix is the perfect fit for us since there isn't a "due date" and sometimes it takes us a few days to finish a movie.

our first two DVDs came in the mail on thursday and we had a few hours this afternoon (thanks to a great nap from the older two boys!) where we didn't feel like spackling the bathroom wall, or unpacking yet another box from the basement. so we settled into the futon with adam and popped in Winged Migration. this movie was recommended by my younger brothers, andrew and daniel. it was not disappointing at all. it was, in fact, fabulous.

i won't give you very many details because once you rent the movie (at once!), you also must watch the "making of..." feature which gives a lot of interesting information of its filming. what was surprising to us was that there were no special effects used in the filming of the movie. there are some incredible shots that we just can't figure out how they were done without using computer generated imaging. let's just say the film included some pretty brave cinematographers.

when the boys woke up from their naps, they jumped onto the futon with us and watched about 15 minutes of the movie. they were mesmerized. rowan called each of the different geese "robins" and they both roared at the funny antics of some of the geese. the film may have been intended for adults to enjoy, but our 2- and 3-year-old boys were just as fascinated. it's just as good as any baby einstein video. no, it's better.

and now i'm fascinated with the Common Loon (turn your speakers up for that link). i think it was because the images of the loon showed a female floating across the water with her chicks on her back. i want one in our back yard pond. wait, we don't have a pond. i can work on that.

an old friend stopped by the other day...

when i was in junior high school, every summer i would walk into church hoping to see the little piece of paper on the back table for summer camp sign-up. when it wasn't there by mid-june, i got nervous: what if they weren't having camp this summer? i'd DIE without camp. absoultely DIE. then it would be there the next week, and i'd have it filled out and ready to be mailed in before the church service even started.

i can't remember how many years i atually went to summer camp, but it was something i looked forward to every year. even though one year i cried every day for being homesick (6th grade?). the friends i made at camp are friends that i still keep in touch with - namely, lissa and julie. after our week at camp, we'd write each other 15 page letters talking about how much we miss each other and how we were best friends forever. Or how much our hearts were broken by that boy who didn't return our puppy-love glances across the fire ring during the 5th stanza of "Pass It On."

we remained in touch through high school and college and the few years post-college before we met our husbands.

the three of us were all engaged within six months of each other. we were married within six months of each other. lissa had the first child...and we all just had our 2nd or 3rd children within the past seven months.

it's fun to reconnect. our conversations don't revolve around camp anymore. we talk about our kids, God and our faith, our new homes, our work, our families, homeschooling and outside-the-home schooling, cleaning products, bread-baking, and potty-training.

so when lissa called the other day to see if they could stop by...it was our joy to hang out with them at our home and watch our six boys run around (well, four of them did - the two babies hung on their mamas) the yard. a lazy summer afternoon with an old summer camp friend...


sawyer (on the bike), rowan, liz holding adam; lissa holding gideon, joe (standing in front), and gilbert.

(click on the picture and make sure your speakers are on)

images have been deleted from this post....

i just can't help myself...i have to post these pictures of the four boys/man in my life. i am a blessed woman.

adam is getting so big. he's smiling and cooing and is awake for a good part of the day now. his sleeping at night is still amazing - he sleeps from 10:00 until at least 4:00, and sometimes until 6 or 7. Could a mama ask for anything more from a two month old? at his well-child visit this morning, he weighed in at 10#3oz - up a whole pound from 2 weeks ago! He's 21 1/5 inches long.



rowan loves to draw on his new easel that he got for his birthday. but in this case, he drew a rain cloud - all by himself - on his little etch-a-sketch thingy. he's brilliant. he's so helpful with the baby - always fetching me diapers or his pacifier or a blanket. he loves to kiss his baby adam. he's also proving to be a great teacher to sawyer. he teaches his pronunciations of words and always says, "good try, sawyer" if he doesn't get it quite right. :) (note the big boy underwear! three weeks of a fully-potty trained boy! mostly all of his own doing. there really is something to the "they'll let you know when they're ready" philosophy!)



sawyer is going to be one of those kids that you see wearing his halloween costume all year long. to the grocery store or the park. he's our free-spirit. he's still getting used to the baby in the house, but he's looking up to his big brother more and more on a daily basis. he's talking so much by putting 2- and 3-word sentences together.


and babe, i know you told me not to put this picture on our blog, but look how adorable you are wearing adam! based on what I've heard, a baby-wearing daddy is pretty rare these days...and your boys are the lucky ones benefitting from having a daddy who'll do anything for them. including wearing them, burping them, changing many diapers, building them a kick-butt jungle gym, giving them tractor rides...you're one awesome professional daddy! :)