This and That

Jack's new favorite thing is chess. Jonathan is so excited for him to be old enough to play with him. They play at least one game every evening. Jonathan said he is getting pretty good. He came home last week with a paper to join the school chess club. One of the things it said they would do was learn to beat your dad. Jack is so excited about it. He also got to go this weekend with Grandma Janet and Papa Joe to Elk City for the weekend. He had a great time!

Last Thursday night Jonathan got free tickets for the soft opening of the new SpiritBank center. The finalists from Nashville Star performed. We watched a little of the show and Coffey was our favorite. He was definitely the best performer. The kids were so excited about going to their first concert. They didn't last too long after the first performer they were so tired from a long day that Joel fell asleep and Jennah and Jack were laying across their seats. We decided from now on they should only go to concerts on Saturday nights so they have a good nights sleep and get to sleep in that day.

Jennah had her first sleepover this weekend. It was a friend from church. These people went all out! It was crazy. First of all the girls were to come in princess attire and it was at the Hampton Inn. They went way overboard with everything. There was a chocolate fountain, a punch fountain, crazy cake (that the mom made herself), jupiter jump, and much more. Jennah LOVED it! I had to explain to her that we would not be having a party for her like that!

The Rest of the Story

So, my last post was on how big Jennah is getting and how she lost her first tooth. Well I guess that two dollars left under her pillow was a little addictive for little Jennah. I must stress when telling this story that she was NOT under our supervision when she came up with this brilliant idea.

Jonathan and I had our last Spanish class last night and my parents so graciously offered at the last minute to keep the kids for us. It had been a very hectic weekend and a busy Monday as well and we had forgotten all about getting a sitter for the kids during our class. My parents had Joel they were bringing home and decided they could keep the kids so I could go to Spanish class with Jonathan. I decided Jonathan needed the practice much worse than I did. He was still throwing in a little french with his Spanish. We called it "Franish". Turns out that night we found out Jonathan wasn't the only one speaking "Franish" as Lita in her final conversation with the instructor threw in a little "Franish" as well. Anyway that's beside the point. So, I called home to let them know we were on our way and my mom told me Jennah had a little problem. She went on to tell me she and Jack went to get some dinner and Papa, Jennah, and Joel stayed there. While she was gone Jennah decided she wanted to pull another tooth. Even though there were no loose teeth in her mouth. Sneaky Jennah took some dental floss up to her bathroom tied it around her tooth and then tied it to the bathroom door and slammed the door. The next thing my dad knew she was coming down the stairs just bawling. First of all the slamming door didn't remove the tooth but it did make her tooth hurt and now the dental floss was wedged into her gums and she couldn't get it out. My mom quickly returned to help my father remove the floss with no success. So for an hour Jennah sat in the living room with a foot of floss hanging out of her mouth and whining. When we finally returned I was able to remove the floss in about five minutes. She was so glad to get that floss out of her mouth and I don't think she will attempt this again loose tooth or not!

Don't let that sweet face fool you, she is my mess. This doesn't surprise me at all. She is always coming up with something. I am sure she even waited until Jack was gone to do this because she knew Jack would tattle on her. She always has us laughing and it's never boring with her around. Fun times!

Little Jennah

Little Jennah is getting so big. She lost her first tooth Friday night. She was so excited. She has been having me check every few days for about the past year to see if any are loose yet. Finally about a month ago Aunt Amy and Uncle John were keeping the kids for us while we were at Spanish class and when we returned Jennah proudly announced she had a loose tooth. Amy and John told us Jennah told them if the tooth was really clean she would get $20 for it! I don't know where she came up with that one.

Jennah is such a girly girl. She walks around the house humming "Here Comes the Bride" all the time. I keep telling Jonathan that we better start saving for that wedding now because she is already planning it. Jonathan officiated a wedding Saturday night and Jennah loved it. On the way home she told us her wedding was going to be outside and inside. Jonathan asked her if she wanted him to perform the ceremony for her wedding. She quickly answered back "No Dad you'll be to old!" She always has us laughing.

Dry Gulch '08

This is our second year to attend Park Plaza's family retreat to Dry Gulch, USA. Again it was such a neat place and the fellowship and family time was a much needed break from the last two crazy months. We stayed in an apartment again this year. I felt kind of bad getting one. They are reserved for families with young children and the elderly. Everyone else stays in dorms girls in one boys in the other. Joel really isn't small enough that we needed one but we all wanted to stay together and it is much easier to pack only one bag instead of splitting up all our things. This will definitely be the last year I feel like we can stay in the apartments unless we have another baby. We did tell them we didn't want to take an apartment away from someone that needed it so if there wasn't room we would stay in the dorms, but we lucked out and got one. We got to ride the train this year. The kids loved it. We came back refreshed and ready for the next couple of months.

My Little Brother

Monday morning at 6:00 am my little brother William and sister-in-law Rachel will be leaving for a two year mission trip to Honduras. I am so proud of them. They have definitely inspired us. Jonathan and I have always been interested in missions but the path God led us on seemed to keep us here. They have reminded us of our passion to do something like this. We may not be able to do this type of work now but we can support, encourage, and pray for them. We know this is the roll God wants us to play in mission work right now. We are going to go and visit them in October and have started a conversational Spanish class to prepare us. I am excited for the work God will be doing through them. Please pray for Will and Rachel. Will had a heart surgery when he was young and still has to return yearly to a specialist but is doing fine; however the insurance they have applied for (and have been waiting on to leave) has denied him coverage. They have some other options but this was definitely the best option for them. Saying their goodbyes and hearing of this news has been an emotional roller coaster. Please pray Will can get the coverage he needs to protect him in this foreign land and that they will be successful in their work.