Fred

It is so comforting to know that God's love for us is infinite, that He cares for us more than we can imagine. Our God doesn't want us to hurt, but when we do, He grieves with us.

A dear friend of ours, Fred, suddenly passed away this past Thursday. He was in the prime of his life. Fred and his wife, Marion, welcomed their third child in May.
They had recently followed their dreams and moved to Colorado where Fred had bought a dentist practice. His death is an utter shock and doesn't make any sense. We are trusting, that as in all things, God will work good in this horrible situation. We are thankful for the time he had this with his family, and are happy that he is in a perfect place now. We are blessed to have been his friends.

Please pray for their family who are now back in Tennessee- Our good friend, Marion, Caroline (8), Jack (2), and Izzie (5 weeks).

Meet Me In St. Louis

We always love visiting with our St. Louis cousins. We had a great weekend with Dan (Mike's brother) and Linda and their 4 children - the 8 kids (ages: 10, 7, 4, 4, 2, 2, 1, 5 mo.) had a ball playing together!

We began the weekend with a trip to Six Flags, where our big boy Hendrick "enjoyed" his first rollercoaster ride: "it was too scary for me, I'll like it when I'm 53". Saturday, we cheered on our cousins at their baseball games, and Mike and Dan attended a Rush concert - 27 years after their prime, they're still rockin'! Our weekend was gloriously capped off with a trip to Urgent Care and some liquid stitches to glue brave Hendrick's face back together (after some UFC-worthy pillow combat with his cousins).

And, Burke is walking!!! - it really was a BIG weekend! Thank you so much Dan and Linda - we love you!

Don't Rock the Boat

Our fleet (of 6 boats) was launched today! Hendrick had so much fun making newspaper boats and watching them sail in our backyard lake...and the dogs enjoyed retrieving them.

Grandma

We always love it when Grandma (Amy's Mom) comes to visit...and we were so pleased to have her with us this past week. We kept her busy with trips to our favorite places: the Library, our beach, the Museum, Abyssinia Ethiopian Restaurant, and Hendrick's T-Ball game...and she even gave Amy and Mike a night out (Prince Caspian was awesome...even with plot changes) - thanks for babysitting! We love you, Mom/Grandma!

Curious George is in Memphis

We love Curious George...and he's at the Children's Muesum of Memphis! The boys were super excited to visit the traveling "Curious George" exhibit at the museum - it was like being inside their favorite cartoon and it definitely encouraged curiosity.
We highly recommend visiting "George" (the big "George" exhibit is currently at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis).

We'd like to thank our Uncle Ben who helped design this fantastic exhibit with the Minnesota Children's Museum - wow!

Do you have your tickets?

Surprise!

*Maegli is 5 months old today!

Amy and Maegli had a surprise baby shower last Thursday...it was definitely a surprise! Wow, what a treat! Thank you so much to the gals of our church community group for supporting and celebrating us in this way - and Maegli is very excited about her new exersaucer and girl clothes!

Can you see the shock on Amy's face? - great job girls!

Happy Father's Day!

Our Daddy is the best - Happy "Fodders" Day!

The boys love their nightly pre-bedtime wrestling with Daddy!

Grand Slam!

We love Denny's! Denny's has moved into Jackson, Tennessee (exit 85) and was looking for a charity to support. Mayor Gist directed them to The Dream Center of Jackson (a local family homeless shelter with which we are involved) and they came through with a $1000.00 donation - yay!
We are so thankful to Mayor Gist and to Denny's. Please go enjoy some pancakes and support them with your business.

My Favorite Sound...

Family Circle

Thanks Mr. President for the Stimulus check!

We just completed Phase 2 (3?) of our home renovation. We had a construction crew out to fix our flooding problem and add new venting to our old furnace. We now have a beautiful concrete retaining wall and new drainage system around the South-East corner of our house - hopefully we will flood no more!

Happy Anniversary

Happy 35 years Mom and Dad - We love you!
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*FYI - the traditional 35 year gift is coral

Backyard Creatures

A baby toad in Hendrick's hand. Our yard is FULL of baby toads - they are literally everywhere!

17 months

Our son has been home for 6 months! A lot has happened and he has grown so much...he's now 17 months old!
Burke has moved into a big-boy-bed; is SOOOO close to walking (he just needs a little more confidence); is quite the talker; has 13, soon-to-be 16, teeth; is incredibly affectionate (he gives wonderful kisses); has the best belly laugh and is a wonderful dancer (he's got some moves!). We are so proud of our boy!

Hangin' out

Chatty

chat·ty
adj. chat·ti·er, chat·ti·est. Inclined to chat; friendly and talkative.
Maegli has become quite the talker at 4-1/2 months old.