Greetings! I haven't emptied all of Tim's camera, so we're stuck with just these few pics of the last couple of weeks. I will update next week with more photos. We had a Saturday at a funny little adventure park in Harrison Hot Springs that could have gone terribly wrong except for the fact that our kids are so well behaved! First the mini "choo-choo train" we were supposed to ride (and paid for) derailed WHILE WE WERE ON IT! and they proceeded to usher us out of the haunted house where it skipped tracks. We were grateful, however, that it did not jump track over the many trestles slamming into the people below! Ha aha ha! Promise totally thought it was part of the ride and didn't complain that her train trip was only 1 minute and 20 seconds long. Good girl.

So that was the first hiccup. Then there was "gold-panning" for mysterious gold that we, *ahem*, found as tiny specks on a few rocks. Promise LOVED looking for treasure....and getting wet. :) Gotta love her "glass-half-full" mentality.

Then we headed to the mini-golf...Promise's first time! High on the ice cream we had after lunch, Promise bobbed from green to green whacking her ball with grace and style even getting a hole in one! I was so impressed. Toby was a keen observer to all the goings on and had a gas! We had a great time together as a family....and then we finished it off by picking up mass quantities of fresh blueberries and raspberries from a local farm...eating most of them in the car on the ride home. What a blessing. It's hard to believe that was at the BEGINNING of August and here we are at the very end!

We've had quite the events around here. The 18-20th, we headed down for a freak visit to the Oregon Coast meeting up with my parents, grandparents and my brother's family. We arrived at the little beach house my parents borrowed at 1:30 am with a very excited and AWAKE Promise and a crabby, tired Toby. One by one, each family member got up to pee about the same time greeting us sleepily and pouring more adrenaline into our sleepless bodies. :) We had a great weekend, though tired. We flew kites, celebrated birthdays and went for lots of walks in the two short days. It was such a pleasure to be with my family. Pictures to come!

Then we had Promise's birthday the 24th and Tim's on the 25th! Promise and I had a lovely tea party and had some time with my dear friend, Rebecca, and her daughter, Annalyn. Then we headed to a local farm for berries and ice cream for Promise's birthday dessert. Daddy picked up a tiny cake and we had the evening with mac 'n cheese, berries, cake and ice cream...every toddler's treat.....Promise is 3! I can hardly believe my precious girl is so big. Toby enjoyed the festivities, too, making sure we gave him ample attention and plenty of blueberries.

Then, poor Tim had to work on his birthday, so I did what any responsible wife would do....I called his co-workers and told them to embarrass the heck out of him.....I also made him a fresh berry pie and filled his lunch at work with treats. :) Then I abandoned him with the kids when he got home for the evening so that I could go to worship practice at church! Ha ha! But I made it home in time for pie and fellowship with him and his parents. :) He's been such a champ and an encouragement.

We had a busy weekend, as I had the privilege of singing on one of the worship teams at our church requiring me to be gone much of Saturday and Sunday. Tim was so great with the kids and the kids thoroughly enjoyed having Daddy time without mommy. To be honest, it was a great blessing for me, too, as it has been AGES since I have done anything musical let alone done it with a group of passionate people for the Lord. I was truly humbled and blessed by the experience and so grateful....

This week started off with the kiddos getting run down and getting fevers. Tomorrow is our anniversary....I guess I can tell you the surprise now that I mentioned in last post...I made him a wedding album. :) Don't tell him, though, because he won't receive it until tomorrow!

You see, we've always wanted a wedding album, but couldn't afford one. Through the awesomeness of apple and the pics we have on file, I was able to finally put together a book of our wedding....this anniversary is paramount for us for a number of reasons, so I am thrilled to be able to present to Tim something that speaks to our journey together. We have a counseling appointment tomorrow night for our anniversary! HA HA HA! But then on Friday, we get to get into a hot air balloon!!!!! YAHOOO!

Saving up for such lavishness and couponing paid off. However, starting this month, we go into financial shutdown mode...our budget has been nutso since arriving home from the Phils and learning how to buy, when to buy and what to buy has been a challenge as food prices skyrocket and the cost of running two cars is overwhelming. No doubt everyone is feeling the squeeze and we are definitely looking into the possibility of me looking for a second income, too....though we know that God has called me to stay home with the kids while they are young. We have saved some money on diapers by potty-training Promise and buying local....we're still searching for other avenues. September will be a teaching month for me.....thankfully there are few birthdays in September, which broke the bank this month. We'll see how we do. God has been so faithful to provide even the simplest things....like yesterday, I went to the grocery store that listed yogurt on sale (Toby goes through a litre of yogurt every 2 days!) so the sale price was decent, but still a bit expensive...as I am comparing labels, the yogurt food rep comes up to me commenting on how cute my kiddos are and we get to talking.....one thing leads to another and she hands me a stack of fabulous coupons on the sale priced yogurt good until 2013 as well as a few tips on how to make my yogurt go further! WAHOOO! I was so grateful!

I used to make my own when in the Phils, but in order to get the greatest amount of milkfat in it for Toby, I have to buy it....so I was so thankful for this angel of yogurt. God provides....

Okay...enough...writing...that's the update. I will share more next post post ballooning.

Be blessed.