Pure bliss . . . turning 7

Someone I know loves his birthday . . . .

I bet you can't guess who that could be . . .

Hammy turned seven the end of July. He was a very happy boy. He is a happy boy. He spent his summer catching dragonflies, butterflies, frogs, toads, crayfish, minnows, tadpoles . . . you know the typical boy things. He loves life, just not showers!!!! Happy belated Birthday, big boy.

A sister for Grace

It has been way too long since I sat down to write just about anything, for that I apologize. Much has gone on in our lives since my last post. I may just end up giving you snippets of what we have been up to periodically while I try and keep up to date from now on.

The biggest change in our lives is a sister for Grace. She has been pleading with me for the last three to four years of her nine-year-old life for a sister, she is so tired of being the only girl around. Well, her wish has been granted in the form of our foreign exchange student, Leandra. She is from Switzerland.

We picked her up at the airport two weeks ago and since that time, she has become a vital part of our family. We have enjoyed getting to know her and her sense of humor fits right in with this family. We have had many laughs and lots of fun in this time before school starts. It will be interesting to see what school is like with a teenager in the home. Our lives are going to change, of that I am sure, and I know that we wouldn't change anything about our decision to host this year.

To be honest, we were not planning to host this year due to the size of our home and the age of the kids but in looking for applications to show future host families I fell in love with Leandra's application. Dave agreed to give it a try and we have not regretted our decision. She has been a joy to get to know via email since March and now that she has joined us in the middle of nowhere we know that she will forever be a part of our family, even when she goes home.

I am sure I will be sharing many of our adventures with Leandra this next year. Have you ever considered hosting an exchange student? I encourage you to at least consider it. Please contact me if you have any questions about hosting.