One Who Plants a Garden, Plants Happiness

 

Our New Little Friend

 

 

Anna and John Caden got to meet sweet baby Caleb for the first time this weekend.

And guess who came to our house for lunch today?  I think John Caden was a little disappointed that Caleb wasn't too interested in playing trains with him yet, but John Caden made the most of it and gave Miss Alicia a lesson in all the trains' names instead.

Searching for a Little Peace and Quiet

 

 

 When the drum playing and guitar strumming get too loud, what's a dog to do but tuck his head under a chair or run to his bean bag cushion to hide?  I often feel the same way, Hudson.

Math is the Ticket Out

While waiting on our bill at a local restaurant this evening, John Caden asked, "Daddy, when are they going to give you your math to do?"  So cute!  Considering that John Caden's not a big fan of math, rather than explaining a restaurant bill, tip calculation, etc. to him, in hopes of motivating him to want to improve his math skills, we probably should have went along with his ideology that you have to be able to complete a math assignment before a restaurant will allow you to leave . :)

 

Happy 8th Birthday, Anna!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pickle Day

I've been attempting all summer to come up with the perfect half sour pickle recipe.  With every batch we have to wait anywhere from four to seven days before we can try them.  What great lessons in building patience this has provided!  The first words out of John Caden's mouth this morning were, "Hooray, It's pickle day!" Yep, indeed it was the day to pop the top of this latest batch, and thankfully I think I'm done experimenting now.  This vinegar free/salt water recipe was definitely a winner!

 

 

A Sword and a Book

As I've posted before, there's not much that makes my heart happier than finding the book cabinet open and both kids reading in the den.  An even bigger smile came to my face today, however, when I noticed that John Caden was reading with a sword in hand/at his side and Anna was reading with an extra book positioned between her legs.

 

 

Norman the Scooter Dog

This morning we went and watched Norman set the Guinness Book of World Records for the "Fastest 30m on a Scooter by a Dog."  He did it 20 seconds!

 

 

Here's a link to the news coverage of him setting the record (Look for Anna’s bright orange dress and then you might be able to spot us):

Norman, the scooter dog, sets new World Record!

 

After he set the scooter record, he rode his bike around and did some other tricks just for fun!

 

 

 

Here's a video of a "typical day" in the life of Norman when he's not setting world records:

 

And so it begins...

John Caden had his first official guitar lesson today!

One Last Hoorah

Anna and John Caden have had "Mr. Tony and Miss Alicia" all to themselves for many years.  We're so excited that that's about to change and that this sweet little fellow will soon be a part of their family! 

Adoption is such a beautiful picture of the gospel!

“My friends, adoption is redemption. It’s costly, exhausting, expensive, and outrageous. Buying back lives costs so much. When God set out to redeem us, it killed Him.” – Derek Loux