WayfaringStrangers

It's the last day of August...which to me seems like the last day of summer. I know officially summer ends sometime in September, but the weather has been a little cooler here (thank You, Lord!) and it does seem like fall will be here soon. It's a new season in a lot of ways. Behn started his new semester. There's lots of church stuff getting started for the school year. I'm busy with a few more hours of respite care and Behn is going to be volunteering at a university library for extra props to his resume. We have a new Rat this year (aka VMI freshman) who we'll be getting to know soon. There's just a lot going on here in our little family, and we have to make sure to set time aside for each other, for prayers together, and family walks, and conversations. I feel like satan likes to prowl on us when we get busy and tired, even when we're busy and tired doing good things. Well, I need to get mowing the grass while the boys sleep. Precious naptime, I lo

This is the 3rd year we've been here for the Lexington Community Festival. The first year, we had just moved in days before, last year I was pregnant and working full-time, and this year we have Graham and I'm a stay-at-home mama and babysitter! Also, at the festival the first year we didn't know anyone, last year we ran into a few people we knew, and this year we could scarcely go 3 minutes without saying hi to friends! It's really beginning to feel like "our town." So, Hannah's boyfriend Ben has been here all summer. When they started dating in the winter, they decided that long distance relationships are tough. So, Ben found an apartment to sublet for the summer and a local job doing contracting and he moved here for the summer! Hannah has really enjoyed having him close by and their relationship has blossomed. But, now the summer is over and Ben has to go back home to school :( I know they're bummed, so we wanted to make sure we gave them a f

Cousin Time: Emmy and Seth: 1st Phillies Game (for Graham) Lots of quality time with Grandparents 1st Time at the Beach! Needless to say, we had a great week in Delaware, catching up with friends and spending time with family. Who knew it would be so fun to visit a place where you grew up? It really was a vacation. It was so nice to have a week off of work, and for Behn, off of school. Graham had a great time playing with cousins and experiencing lots of firsts. Thanks to everyone who took time out of their schedules to see us, we really appreciate it and love you all!

We've been busy on vacation in Delaware, spending LOTS of wonderful time with family and friends. The week flew by...we made so many great memories, which I'll be sharing on here. I thought I would blog while we were away, but ended up not feeling like it, and that's the great thing about blogs...you only have to if you want to! During our getaway, Graham hit the 8 month mark! At 8 months, Graham is: Crawling! He learned this early in the month and nothin' can stop him now! (Except a gate. Love having some gates in this house to contain my son). Pulling himself up to standing. He thinks he's SO big :) Continuing to enjoy lots of different solid foods and "puffs." Mmmm. Making more sounds and laughing easily when daddy tickles his face with his whiskers. Is a little blondie. Each day his soft hair grows in more. Does amazing putting himself to sleep. This was a tough love lesson to learn. I still nurse him before nap/bed, but put him down

Today I'm a busy bee! Well, except for stopping to blog for a minute. We're going to Delaware tonight to visit family and friends for a week! Thankfully Behn took the day off to help me do laundry, pack, and that other thing I do...oh yeah, watch babies (who are constantly underfoot). It's been an eventful week. Monday Behn was sick with a bad cold. My good, good friends Kiri and Dee arrived for a visit Monday evening. Tuesday, Graham woke up sick with Behn's cold. That didn't stop us from enjoying the day with my friends though! We took a walk at Boxerwood and then had a delicious lunch at a cafe. By Tuesday afternoon, I was coming down with the cold. We still enjoyed grilling out and having a little bonfire and s'mores that evening. Kiri and Dee left Wednesday morning and I somehow made it through the day watching the boys while fighting a fever. Anyway, we're all pretty much better now and getting ready for a MUCH NEEDED break next week!

I figured it was time for a little blog by me, Behn, and what better time than when I can contribute the "100th post" to Wayfaring Strangers??? I'm a guy that is not by any means long-winded, and hence, I keep things short and to the point. I guess you could say I take after my dad. So I'll be to the point here....this summer has been a challenging one. Yesterday, I turned in my SLIS 5080 final and unofficially ended my first half of graduate school through UNT. My two classes were thought-provoking and interesting, but 5080 stretched me about as far as I could go without breaking. It was a research methods and statistics course, and math has never really been a problem for me.....but, summer sessions tend to be a bit on the intense side. Modules, Projects, Midterms, Quizzes, Finals.....the pressure of graduate-level education during the blistering hot days of summer, the responsibilities of being a branch manager of a small but busy library, and of course being a hus

Is it just me and Behn, or is summer just dragggging on? It seems like it's been hot...forever. It's been an ok summer overall, but Behn has had to work really hard in his summer courses (he's getting A's, of course!). And the routine of every day- naps, feedings, intercepting little ones from crawling into danger, etc- just seems to make the days long and monotonous. And Baby F and Graham are into everything. Baby F is particularly speedy and Graham is right behind him. Little troublemakers ;-) But I'm rambling. The vegetable garden is not doing so well these days. Insects bored holes in the the stems of my squash, pumpkin, and I suspect my cucumbers. My beans have also died. Maybe I haven't watered enough. It stinks not having the garden in our yard (per landlord's decree) because carrying water to the field everyday is a lot of work. On the bright side, the tomatoes, herbs, and peppers are doing well! I canned some tomatoes this morning. Perhaps I'll