Parting shots of August

This month we celebrated Spiderman's 3rd Gotcha Day.  Yep, we've been blessed to be his parents for 3 years now and time has just flown.  We've watched him grow physically (5 clothing sizes, 26 lbs and 7 inches since coming home), mentally (he has progressed in school - not easily but with much hard work), culturally (now loves pizza, Bill Cosby and often says "Dude"), socially (while still quiet, he's gone from painfully shy to everybody's best friend), and spiritually (he's come to faith in Jesus Christ and prays for everyone he can think of to do the same ).  He seemed to accept us as his family from the get go but has definitely grown very comfortable in his place here with us.   God has exceeded our expectations!

In honor of the celebration, Grandma and Great Aunt Liz made a trip out to visit for the week.  We had a great time and played a LOT of games.  We're thankful they took the time to travel so far out to see us.

August was also a time to get some summer projects done that we've been putting off due to the crazy heat.  My man and I worked on powerwashing the house and decks, water sealing them both and scraping, sanding and painting the trim on the front of the house.  Nothing too enjoyable though it all looks pretty nice.  The kids got in on the action by painting our shed (now lovingly called the barn) a more festive color.

It's very cheery now and it complements the nice new roof my man gave it earlier this summer.  The kids were proud to put their own elbow grease into the project, though they were surprised to see that painting was as much "work" as it was.  Looks great guys!  Now we're ready for fall and school!