The Doll Project

I told you I'd knitted recently. Here's more about that.

Dear friends of ours, Mike and Jennifer Greenberg, are living in South Africa for the year as missionaries. As their website states, they are showing hope and freedom to those ravaged by slavery, AIDS, and poverty.

One of the ways they are spreading this message of hope is through the Valuable to Jesus Campaign, commonly known as The Doll Project because of the dolls that are handed out to each child that is taught.

It is explained that "The dolls fit in the palm of your hand, just as we are in the palm of God's hand. This doll was knitted together in love, just as we were knitted together in love by God. And just as no two dolls are alike, we are unique and special, too." While focusing on each child's worth to the Lord, awareness is brought to the issues of sexual abuse, pornography, prostitution and human trafficking. Each child walks away knowing: You are Special and Unique, God Loves you, God has a plan for your life, God can heal you, Call for Help, You can Choose.

From Jen:

"According to an international BBC report, a female born in South Africa has a greater chance of being raped in her lifetime than learning how to read.
Solidarity’s Helping Hand Fund says drug lords have started a recruitment campaign for prostitutes for the 2010 World Cup…girls as young a 12 are being roped in.
But in MANY of these recruitment cases, parents are told by the drug lord or trafficker that he has “work” for them in the city. They have so idea that their child will be sold into sex slavery and never to be seen again.
Prostitution is legal here, no matter how young the prostitute is. And if a parent is tricked into letting that child go with the trafficker, that is considered legal also.

So, we’re on a preventative campaign to warn as many parents, teachers, Sunday school workers, and adults alike the tricks human traffickers use to get a child. We have opportunities in many “Townships”, which are all black communities outside the city limits. We also have opportunities in Zimbabwe among several churches. Since most people attend church, this is one of the best ways to reach adults and children alike. We are also meeting with several ministries on a monthly basis to discuss and collaborate on the prevention and education of Human Trafficking."

So, in addition to the dolls, business card-sized info sheets can be provided with a helpline number and details about unsafe situations. The small format is discreet in case a trafficker is present. Many of the dolls are handed out, though, in a classroom setting.

Both boys and girls are receiving these dolls and are thrilled. They feel the worth and love and concern. In this case, knowledge absolutely is power! Even classes of 12-15 year old boys are loving their dolls and have been seen swapping with each other after the presentation for ones whose features they prefer. :-)

Jen also put together a video here.

The really neat thing is that the success with the program in South Africa has ignited some plans to take The Doll Project to other countries where these social issues are being fought.

Here's how you can help!

Knit dolls. :-)

If you're interested, I am happy to e-mail the pattern (indicate e-mail address and your desire to help in the comments!). It is SUPER EASY. In fact, Dorothy took an excellent nap (2 hours!) one day and I was able to do most of the doll in that amount of time (everything except stuffing and embroidering) If you can knit stockinette stitch, you can do this! I'll be keeping them here until the Greenbergs return from South Africa in the fall. At that point, Jen will have a more firm idea of where The Doll Project will head next and all the dolls will find homes.

Though I haven't pursued anything yet, I would love to have knitting circles spread the word... have knit-a-longs in local yarn shops making dolls... hold Knit Nights where we assemble dolls. (a perfect point for those of you who don't knit to step in- almost anyone can stuff and stitch up a doll, then lovingly embroider a face). You get the picture.

And what a cute picture this is! :-) Dorothy with the doll I knit.

And while we're talking about human trafficking, locals will want to click here. We're attending and would love to see you there! I don't totally know what to expect, but I know that the Lord loves justice and freedom, and that we should be about our Father's business. Jesus was.

"...he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,
that the blind will see,
that the oppressed will be set free..." (Luke 4:18)

Niagra Falls

in front of America Falls, before it got crazy

So, it's been almost 2 months since the East Coast Insane Driving Tour (of Washington DC, PA, and Niagra), but you'll just have to put up with me. I need the closure. I need to know that I finished a bloggy goal ('cause we all know I still haven't blogged all of our India trip!).

The first day of our trip, we drove to a mid point in Ohio, slept, and then carried on to Niagra Falls. We booked hotel on the Canada side to, you know, say we've been to Canada. I totally forgot to insist that our passports were stamped. :-( Instead, they just waved us through after a quick Q & A and inspection.

It was completely worth crossing the border! As the guide books all said, the Canadian side is nicer. Better view of the falls, and a much nicer tourist district. Sorry, America. The main strip near the falls looked like Gatlinburg, complete with a Ripley's something-or-other and lots of ice cream shops and cheap t-shirts. We were there for the natural attraction and managed to avoid the man-made "attractions" apart from some of the ice cream.

For anyone going, I highly recommend the ice cream stop AFTER seeing the Falls. We were shivering! The wind created by the rushing water, along with the mist, is chilly enough on its own. The Maid of the Mist is the way to go. Really exciting, just- again- really cold. We were not wearing the appropriate clothing and at one point, when the boat sat at the bottom of the Horseshoe Falls (the BIG one!) for what seemed like a zillion years, we just wanted to get off. Grant will always remember that he was rocked by the boat and bit his lip. He mentions it every time. I think Eric and I tried to laugh, and tell the kids how great it was ("Wooooo Hooo, kids!!! Isn't this fun????!!!!"). But, in reality, it was intense and rocky and wet and we were happy to emerge from the bottom of the water avalanche with all four children not crying. At one point, three of them were clinging to me. No pictures. It was too wet. And intense. Did I say "intense"? Ha! Great memories. I wouldn't change a thing!

We rounded out the night with a search for dinner that wasn't going to cost an arm and a leg (touristy places always get you, don't they?) and a swim in the hotel pool.

The next day, we stopped at a NY pizza place in Buffalo. In my limited time there, I formed the opinion that it is one of the dreariest cities ever and must be depressing when they're snowed in. You'd think to combat the harsh winters that they would paint the buildings fun colors like this or something! Oh well.

Niagra was well out of our way, but I'm so glad we went. Completely worth it and a priceless memory to share with our children.

Bits

Way, WAY too busy to catch up fully. A serving of Bits will have to satisfy.

We've been:

-swimming for swim team (Dean, Grant, and Lael is in training and hopes to join soon)

-finishing out the school year (completed June 12th- yeah!)

-hosting my Grandma from England (first time to the States in 15 years!)

-cleaning (see above)

-traveling (me, without kids!)

-doing beautiful yard work (Eric, not me)

-trying out a big girl bed (Dorothy occasionally)

-growing like weeds (Lael is seriously the size of an Amazon tree and just bought a size 8 swimsuit for her 5 year old body last week)

-turning 10 (Grant!)

-knitting (me very briefly yesterday- it felt good and I've missed it)

-reading (oh so many good books as of late!)

-going to speech therapy (Dorothy)

-sweating in the heat

-separating sibling squabbles

-celebrating babies

-cheering on adoptions

-praying

-celebrating TWELVE years of marriage

-eating too much cheese

-laughing

-dreaming

-planning

-watching loads of "football"

Pennsylvania 2010

The main reason for our trip a few weeks ago, was to make our way to Pennsylvania. Though Eric has been a few times in recent years, we hadn't made a trek there as a family since 2000. Way back then, Grant was only a few months old! And, Dean, Lael, and Dorothy... well... they didn't even exist!

A long-overdue trip meant loads of stops to visit and meet great-grandparents, grandparents, along with aunts, cousins, and uncles of all varieties.

Our children made us terribly proud! They had new people to meet every day, and while I might expect them to be shy or reserved or not take an interest in these unfamiliar faces - they were anything but! We'd go to someone's house and say, "This is your Uncle Doug; Grandma's little brother" or "This is your Great Grandpa Llewellyn, and he's the man your daddy gets his middle name from" and they'd give a genuine sunshiny hello, play with ease while there, and leave at the proper time with an "I love you!" and gorgeous full-squeeze hugs!

My girls in their Great Granny's living room. Dorothy is in the chair her Grandma sat in as a little girl.

Grant and Great Grandpa Llewellyn talking about PSPs and video games. Grandpa did a good deal of nodding and smiling.

Eric and Uncle Doug

Here is the first in Dorothy's photo series. Lael and Dean both got theirs in the last post. Now I just need to find one of Grant! She's learned to be silly in front of the camera and only wanted to offer a pose with her tongue sticking out.

This was the result when I coached her by saying "Dorothy!... Smile!".

Ahhhhh.... some distraction and a 30 second break will do wonders. THIS is the natural smile I get to see EVERYDAY. How lucky am I?

One of the highlights on our trip was "going to Market". Eric's mom grew up in Pennsylvania and she always has such fond memories about going to the weekly indoor market. Produce. Baked Goods. People selling their wares. The smile she gets across her face as she describes the best freshly made powdered donut ever, is a giddy one! I love it. So, we took Granny (Eric's mom's mom) with us imagined the delight she would have had were she with us.

We bought Sand Tarts.

Mom, let me just tell you that these were a HUGE disappointment. But, I should have just known that you make the thinest, most perfectly crisp Sand Tarts ever. The ones at Market were tinged with brown, were obviously stale, and made me just want to have a baking party with you and finally learn the family recipe I was lucky enough to marry into!

(what?! The rest of you didn't know you can marry into families AND recipes? Yes, you can! And I married into the best recipes around! Hello Lemon Sponge Pie! And Donna's Apple Pie! And Peanut Butter Fudge! And Baked Macaroni! And.... well... you get the picture.)

Donuts!

Yummy powdery goodness

"Here, let me help you"

You know it's good when you have to take a leaning stance just so you don't get covered. Yum!

definitely in Amish Country

Yep... definitely!

What is with my kids and their silly faces?! Granny, Great Aunt Anna, and our crew. Aunt Anna has one of the most amazing demeanors. A permanent smile- you can't help but want to be Aunt Anna when you grow up!

Eric's Aunt Deb and her fantastically patient pooch. Dorothy seriously LOVES dogs and cats and will not give them a break. If you have a dog, you must be prepared to have a tiny little thing following you around saying, "Goggy! Woof, woof! Goggy! Woof, woof!" and squealing with delight.

On our last day in PA, we drove to nearby Hershey and took the factory tour. Really, its more of a Small World ride that explains the process of making chocolate and has dancing cows that sing, "It's the milk chocolate". :-)

Here was a secondary experience in the World of Chocolate. You could "help make kisses" by donning a paper hat and doing a special dance that would magically transform the pretend chocolate kisses in the box into ones you see in the store. It was poorly done. In fact, even my 9 year old remarked at the end, "why do they make you embarrass yourself like that?". Ha!

Consolation prize was chocolate milk. I love Dean's face in this one!

Later that night, we headed to Eric's father's house for dinner. He stocks a vending machine route and had this delivery truck full of goodies. Each of the kids was invited in to pick a few items. They pretty much loved it! :-)

Four generations: great grandparents, Eric's father Jeff, Eric and our kids!!!

During our say in Pennsylvania, I also had intentions of meeting up, finally, with Judy. After her incredible save during Operation BDHQ, she's been a personal hero of mine (along with her West Coast partner in crime, my brother). But, we just never could cram it in. Some day, Judy! Some day.

For Froggie Boy

Grab This Button

One of the adoptive moms I've had the pleasure of being in contact with over the years is Tami. She adopted Noah from Taiwan (2008), and is now working to bring her second son, Jeremiah, home from Taiwan to join his brother, sister, mom and dad.

They have worked very, very hard to fundraise for both of these adoptions and are getting very close to needing large amounts of money to cover adoption fees for bringing Jeremiah home. And he needs to get home quickly! He has severe Cerebral Palsy and is just not getting the care he needs in an institutional setting. Having Mommy and Daddy around to love on him will help him thrive- let's help him get home!

I have donated an original painting of mine, Sailboat, to Tami's fundraising auction. Similar paintings of mine have sold for $100- $200. If you ever wanted one of my paintings, now is the time to bid! All of the profit goes directly to bringing Their Froggie Boy Home!

And why is he called their Froggie boy?! F.R.O.G- Fully Rely On God. You've got to love that! I felt like our adoption put us in a great position to learn the truth of how the Lord provides. Doing two adoptions back to back must really impart the truth of how the Lord provides- not cheap, folks!

It goes without saying, but please consider any of the other offerings- not just my painting. Or, if you feel compelled to help but don't care about getting something in return, they have the ability to accept donations that are tax deductible. Every dollar counts.

Grab This Button

Speech Development

I don't want to stop being amazed at how far God has brought our little miracle in such a short amount of time. Dorothy is running around acting like a two year old now (the good and the frustrating!) and her language is advancing so well. I'm super proud of her and want to remember the hurdles she's overcome in less than three months home, and at only 2 years of age. She is getting REALLY good at repeating much more, but these are the words that she commonly says or signs without assistance. All of this is without the help of a therapist. We did go through the evaluation process for our Early Intervention program here in Tennessee, but have not yet received the results- so maybe she won't even need that!

VERBAL WORDS (most said with the sign language for the word, also)

hat

hot

‘nun (all done)

mama (Mommy)

dadt (Daddy)

Deeee (Dean)

up

eye

no

no (nose)

eee (eat)

uh-oh

poo-poo

seep (sleep)

bahhh (ball)

cup

hello

bye bye

ligh_ (light)

day doo (thank you)

cock (sock)

joo (shoe, said most often with the sign for ‘socks’)

cook (book)

ug (hug)

yes

apple

SIGN LANGUAGE

eat

more

water

thirsty

please

thank you

sleep

brush teeth

shoes

socks

cookie

book

all done

yes

apple

OPPORTUNITY!

Update 12/2/09 at 10:34am: A friend of mine in California is sponsoring one of the kids (thanks, Heather!). So now we're down to TEN! If anyone out of state wants to sponsor a child, I'd be happy to do the shopping and deliver on time if you send payment. Thanks!

For those of you in Middle Tennessee, please consider this opportunity to help children in less-than-ideal situations this Christmas. While our daughter Dorothy is fortunate enough to spend her first Christmas with her new family, plenty of children here in the States are in the limbo of Foster Care and often get overlooked during family-centered holidays like Christmas.

Eleven Ten children remain on a list of foster children who need Christmas sponsored for them. We are sponsoring a teenage boy, would you consider taking a child as well?

Here is the original e-mail from the organizer: (Contact me for her e-mail address if you are interested.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm sending you this e-mail because you have helped in the past or have expressed and interest in helping out this Christmas to give gifts to Foster Children.

As you may or may not know, I am the Foster Care Coordinator for Centerstone. The Foster Care program is just one of many programs within my agency that serves children but it is a very special and unique facet of Centerstone.

The children in the foster care program range in age from infants to 18 but the majority of them are teens age 12-16. They have been removed from their homes and are living with foster families until it's possible for them to be reunified back with someone in their biological family or, if that is not possible, they are awaiting adoption. Christmas is a difficult time for them as you can imagine. Each year, we try to bring some cheer into their lives by giving them gifts that are on their wish list that they might not otherwise get except for the generosity of strangers.

I know first hand how rushed and over-committed we all can get once Thanksgiving gets here and I wanted to ask you to be considering helping a child in Foster Care this Holiday Season. I am also aware that this year in particular, we are all wondering where we will find money in our budgets for Christmas gifts for our families, let alone for strangers. If you feel so led, please consider holding aside some of your resources for a Child or Teenager in Foster Care.

This year I have 50 children on my list that I need to get donations for. We ask that you spend about $50 per child that you adopt. I will be compiling a "wish list" for each child and will give that to you as a guide but you can of course purchase whatever you would like for them.

Also - if you are a member of a church or other community organization that may be interested in participating - Will you please present this opportunity to them?

I will need to collect the gifts by Monday December 7th in order to have them in time for distribution.

Thank you so much for helping these kids. It means the world to them.

Please feel free to e-mail me or contact me by phone with any questions you may have.

With Sincerest Thanks,

Julie Clark

India Journal 2

This is the second post journaling our trip to gather our daughter in India. First post here.

If you missed seeing it "live", or want to see it again, click here for the photo blog by Jessie of Speckled Bird Art that corresponds with this part of the trip.

18-10-2009

After a morning getting ready for the day, and mini photo session, we loaded the bags into the car, said a final goodbye to the house and headed to Puckett’s Grocery for breakfast. Lael had two HUGE pancakes, I had their fantastic veggie omelet, and Dean and Eric shared some biscuts and gravy. Everyone else? I don’t remember. We smiled and laughed and I tried to breathe in the moment, but all I felt was nervous. Looking at my kids, and knowing I wouldn’t see them for 10 days made me want to draw them close, breathe them in, and sear the images of their gorgeous faces into my mind.

Next stop was Tim and Angie’s house to drop the kids off. Lael and Olivia went right to playing as we finished bits of business with Tim and Angie- giving them money, making sure they had keys and passcodes and telephone numbers. And our Will. *Whew* All so official. All so final. Tears started flowing then. We had to give the final kisses and hugs. The trouble with loving so much is the ache that goes with being separate. It hardly felt fair that we had to leave three behind to gather one. But isn’t that what Christ does? Leaves the 99 sheep to gather the one. His example brings reassurance. All will be well. We circle around and gather for prayer, holding hands and fighting even more tears. Prayers for safety, prayers for Dorothy’s heart, prayers of health and energy and smooth times with Uncle Tim and Aunt Angie. And, then, because the mood seemed too somber- a declaration that this is a time of CELEBRATION... our child is coming home! The clock continued to move forward, we had to go. Tim drove with us to BNA and we unloaded the bags, gave another quick embrace (the shorter the better so the tears are few) and we were off to check in for our Nashville to Chicago leg of the journey!

After an uneventful hour and a half flight, and we found ourselves in Chicago. Lunch, and some computer time in the food court. Jess and I had the pizza, Eric had McDonald’s. I wondered if that would be the last of such food for the next ten days. We also took some melatonin to attempt to sync up with India time. Instantly drowsy, and with 4 hours until the Chicago to Delhi leg departed, we made our way to the gate (k-19) and I laid down right on the carpet floor, in front of the big window and prepared for a nap! I popped in my noise-isolating earbuds that we splurged on, and played a bit of John Mayer through my iPhone at a nearly-off volume. Subtle and smooth, and peaceful (in an airport- these things are *good*!)). I was so nervous about my bad back, that I wanted every opportunity to be stretched out, and out of the sitting position. I think I slept for at least 30 minutes, but maybe it was an hour? I probably could have slept longer, but my hip had gone numb from the seam of my jeans pressing into the hard ground. Jess posted the pictures from the morning, and Eric watched a movie from his phone, I think. When I woke, more people has started gathering in the gate. Lots of Indian people who were flying with us to INDIA. As I stood in line at the counter to see if our seats might be changed to aisle (please???!), I was pulled into a conversation with a group of three people who were flying "home" for a family wedding. I said it was our first time going to India and once asked why, told of our adoption. They said it was such a good thing that we were doing. Then conversation moved to coping with the long flight and one of the men suggested lots of alcohol. I asked how that would feel once compounded with jetlag and he laughed, "deal with it then!".

The time did come, though, for us to board. We were in the middle bank of a 777, flanked by two (independent) Indian strangers, we three sat in the middle. Very little to say about the 14-15 hours on that plane. We did our best to align with India time (which meant trying to stay awake), but ended up taking cat naps here and there. I did quite well with my firm horse-shoe-shaped neck pillow wedged into my lower back. Praise God for keeping my back from harm and also giving me the opportunity to stand for long periods. At one point, I was out of my seat for an hour and the airline hostess simply joked, “We’re not congregating, are we??”. “Noooooo”, I responded making sure she knew I’d *never* think of such a thing! I had a nice talk with the stewardesses at one point, telling them about our adoption. They were a group of “old broads” (as one of them put it). You could tell they’d been in the industry a long time and I heard some of their stories of international travel. By the time Eric made his way to the front, they knew our story and he came to his seat a bit surprised that complete strangers knew so much about him. Another long conversation was with a pastor who was helping teach at a convention for new believers in India. Once he deduced that I was a believer, he spoke more openly, but before that point, he simply said he was a “teacher”. Safety in India being a prime reason for a bit of secrecy- violent attacks on Christians have been occurring with great frequency recently.

Many snacks (Milanos and tinned orange juice) and movies (Easy Virtue with Colin Firth, part of I Hate Valentine’s Day before even a 15 hour flight couldn’t make me want to finish it) and TV shows (30 Rock, Monk) later.... we landed in Delhi!

Send Off Party

Once we got guardianship back in August, it has been a guessing game as to when we might leave for India. Knowing that it must be close, my dear sister-in-law, Angela, and my amazing friend Tifany organized a Send Off party for Eric and me.

Being that Dorothy is our fourth child, we don't *need* anything baby/child-wise, so I thought a Send Off party, rather than a "shower" was a great idea! If anyone wanted to do something for us, pray for us. If anyone felt like they had to bring a gift- let it benefit the kids at the orphanage. For some time now I've had a humongous mound of donations building in the corner of our dining room to take to the children at the orphanage and have come to find out that additional bags for international flights are $150. We suggested that friends donate toward the excess baggage fees we'd incur as a result of gathering up so many donations for the orphanage.

The food was sooooo good. It was a pot luck Pasta Bar. Everyone brought a type of pasta, with the sauce separate. Then, when it was dinner time, you got to mix and match, pick and choose. Cream sauces, tomatos sauces, meat sauces. There were sides of salad, and at least 5 desserts! The aroma of garlic bread, fresh from the oven, was in the air. I don't remember a single person that entered the house that *didn't* comment on the delicious garlic scent. Mmmmmm.

Gorgeous gladiolas on the table. I always think of my mom when I see gladiolas. My dad brought them home from the Vista farmer's market almost weekly for her during my childhood.

What's a dessert table without kids asking , "Is it dessert time yet???"?

Sweet as the cake on her face, is newly adopted Harbour. They've been home about 3 months.

The crowd beginning to arrive. I was shocked how many people were there when you counted the kids. Including kids, I think Tifany said there were about 50 people. Half of them were little humans. :-) We're a family friendly bunch, that's for sure!

See? An adorable little human.

At this point, we'd all nibbled and gabbed, and everyone was gathering to pray for us.

My brother-in-law, Tim, led us in prayer while the entire group laid hands on us and stood unified.

This may have been when I started to tear up. The support we felt in that moment was tangible. So was God's fulfillment of promises, held for 3 1/2 years. Surreal.

Brother-sister embrace. God has given us incredible family, and I couldn't be happier that they are walking out this journey with us now since moving here last year.

Mr. Ken leading a group of the kids in Simon says. Amazingly, with that large of a group, everyone mostly played well and stayed occupied. Dean, in fact, had so much fun he forgot to eat dinner. We came home at about 10pm and he started crying that he was hungry! All that food- and my son was hungry! (Daddy and I quickly fed him a bowl of cereal and sent him off to bed)

learning how to walk

Oops! I think Grant was "out" here.

Doesn't baby Chloe look like she's saying, "Is Dorothy home yet? I want to PLAY!"

Sneaking a shot of Tifany through the kitchen sink window.

It was only 4 days after the party, that we were able to buy tickets to India! And now that we've started packing, I am really encouraged that all the donation clothes, rolled up *really* tight may even fit in one huge duffle. That said, if we pack everything else really light (and we're good at that!), we should be able to skip the extra baggage fees! ALL the gift money from the Send Off party ($661!) will be able to go toward blessing the kids at the orphanage! That made me super, extra, giddy happy! So, we will either go shopping for things while we're there or we will give the money to be used toward the purchase of a big item like a washing machine or water system. Either way, good is being done, love is being spread! The Lord is using our adoption to change more lives than Dorothy's. I'm overwhelmed by His beautiful plan to use us in caring for orphans.

Needless to say, we feel Sent Off/ Prayed Out and now we can't wait to GO! 2 weeks, people, 2 weeks!!!

Masterpieces of the Everyday

No real news, so I might as well distract with recent pictures. Though I thought I'd *die* if we had to wait this long to travel and pick up our daughter, I still seem to be kicking. Life goes on. Frustration exists. But so does joy. Eric and I have been conscious of the change that is coming- life as we know it is about to get mixed up and turned upside down- and have been careful to plan more dates and family fun moments. We're breathing in, breathing out, and trying to enjoy the journey. Most of the time, we're desperately screaming and crying, "Hurry up and and get us to India, God!!!". But, the rest of the time, we are soaking up the precious, priceless, and fleeting masterpieces of the everyday.

Family Lego time all around the dining room table. We pulled out the big bins and worked on our own projects. As creative as I am, I stink at this. Still, it was fun to have all of us being creative together!

Homeschooling field trip/ service project to Graceworks. We helped bundle toiletries for families that will be receiving pantry and household items from the charity.

Dean's first sleepover with a friend down the street. They are such a sweet twosome- rarely fighting, and their personalities are both the sweet, sensitive kind. I love it when they play together and was so thrilled that Namratha snapped pictures of their evening.

Grant needed some fun motivation to really improve the speed of his multiplication facts after a summer break. Ice cream!!! He knows all of his facts and can rattle them off, without pause! Great job, Grant!

Recently, Eric pulled out his boxed comic books from the attic. There must be at least 8 boxes from his pre-teen/teen years. This was the first time Grant was entrusted with some of them after a tutorial on how to keep them crisp and pristine. So sweet. Sadly, many of them are waaay too old for him, but he's enjoying a few storylines surrounding Robin at the moment (and keeping the spines in top shape!)

We cherished last moments with dear friends who were moving away. So sad. :-( We miss you, M family!

Grant's first lawn mowing experience. He's learning, and loves the feeling of being responsible enough to get this task. It's not a "chore" yet- but I imagine that in the next 2-3 years, it could be something he does well on his own. Wow. He's growing up!

More proof: Daddy teaching him how to fix his tire on his bike. *Sigh* REALLY growing up!