It's a GIRL!!!

...still due January 26th-ish.

August

I'll give you a quick update on our August days spent in Ohio. Since we were in Missouri for 2 weeks, there's not much to say, but I have a few cute pictures.

Luke caught Noah filling Abby's hair up with sand.

Luke decided the best way to get it out was by vacuuming it! She didn't seem to mind! Then she got in the bathtub for a good scrubbing.

Here are the kids back in Missouri swimming in the same stock tank I swam in when I was a little girl. Dad had just filled it up with water from the well, so it was FREEZING! But the kids both had a blast!

Here's Noah playing with a birthday present. He calls this his "big train". He doesn't like to actually turn it on, he just wants to drive it himself.

Noah playing in shaving cream -- I'm trying to encourage him to draw and write, but he doesn't like to sit down with crayons or pencils anymore. So now I have to be more creative!

One of the last warm days of summer, we went out in the slip n slide. Abby just loves the water!

Noah was giving his fire truck a bath.

Here we are at the nature center. The first time Abby's been able to crawl through the great big hollow tree trunk in their lobby!

Luke and Noah checking out a raccoon.

I finally feel like I'm getting caught up around here! We've been working on printing, folding, and addressing newsletters for the last week -- I've run out of ink twice and paper once. I'm definitely better prepared for next time! Or else I'll see about having them professionally printed! Anyway, expect to get them soon. Not to spoil anything for you, BUT we have 64% of our monthly support pledged which we are thrilled about!

Also, we have a contract on our house. This is the part that makes me a little nervous! So long as all their financing goes through, we'll need to be out of here before the end of October. We're in the process of looking for some temporary housing. Our plan (subject to change at ANY time!) is to stay here until after the baby is born -- also so we can finish raising support! So we're planning to move next February or March.

We'll find out on Friday whether this baby is a boy or girl. We're more excited this time around than any, I'm pretty sure. I'm not sure why! Now that we have one of each, I don't think it really matters to us as much, but we REALLY want to know!

Both my kids are awake now, so I can't delay my day anymore. We pray you are well! Love to you all!

Birthday Party

We had a birthday celebration for the kids while we were in Missouri. We went to a local park and had some birthday cake! Noah had train shaped sugar cookies, and Abby got cupcakes shaped like a flower. It was a simple family affair, but the kids had a great time!


Here's Abby before cake.


And here's after cake! She loves sweets!

Both the kids were showered with gifts!

When we got home, Noah had a special present from Grandpa & Grandma Jobe:

Can you tell he was excited?

Helping Daddy put it together...

And playing afterward! I'd tell him to smile, so he would but then he wouldn't take his eyes off his new treasure!

Branson Family Vacation

Every year, my parents take us on a week long vacation. This year, we chose to go to Branson, Missouri. It's a place we frequently visited when I was growing up, so it was really fun to be able to relive all my childhood memories with my own kids!

The first day we went to Silver Dollar City. All Abby wanted to do that day was walk which unfortunately she can't do independently yet. Luckily, there were enough of us, we could take turns!
Noah got to ride another train. There were plenty of kiddie rides (he loved the teacups!) and shops to browse through.

Noah loved the ball pit. There were vacuum hoses that could suck up the balls -- he got a kick out of that!



It was blazing hot the first half of the day, then in a matter of a few minutes, it cooled off and was incredibly comfortable! Then suddenly it started pouring on us! I don't think anyone complained though. It felt so nice after the heat! We crawled through the landscaping to find some shelter.

Here's one of my favorite parts of Silver Dollar City -- the winding and hilly streets.

Luke and Matthew participated in some kids games.....

The cabin we stayed in was beautiful! Every room had a big jacuzzi tub. The kids enjoyed bathtime more than ever! Abby would always drink out of the faucet.

I couldn't leave this picture out. Dad and Caleb (my brother) worked on bubbles for a couple hours seeing how big they could make them!

We spent a couple days on the lake. Cool Aunt Cindy has some friends with a lake house and a swimming dock. We rode in the boat, went tubing, and swimming all day. It was wonderful! The kids were stuck in their life jackets the whole time. But they eventually adjusted!

Noah and Luke went on the waverunner -- Noah was a big fan!

Luke lost his watch by toothpicking through the center of a tube. He came up with all kinds of contraptions and spent hours trying to retrieve it from the bottom of the lake, but all were unsuccessful. I think these pictures will always make me laugh!

Luke's big catch!

Here are the kids down at The Landing in front of the fountain show. I love the look on Noah's face!

There was a candy shop that had a train running around the top. Noah wasn't as interested in the candy, but the train -- that's what he wanted to see!

Noah's first mini golf experience.

The last night we all went to the Dixie Stampede. We cheered for the South and had a great time!

Noah's third birthday was on Saturday (the day we had to pack up and leave.) This was try number two for his birthday breakfast. The first time he threw up everywhere. But after an hour he felt better and wanted his cinnamon roll!

That's the brief version of our vacation. I seemed to speed through it the longer I typed! We had a wonderful and relaxing time and made some great memories!

Noah's Train Ride

Anyone who has been around Noah the last few months will know he has a major fascination with trains. He loves to build tracks and drive his trains all around. He'll come up with different scenarios -- like a train is trying really hard to get up the hill but can't, so his friend will come help. Or a train gets derailed, so the breakdown train has to come to get him back on the track. His trains have regular conversations which are really funny to listen in on!

Anyway, we were back in Missouri recently, and my Mom took Noah on a real live Amtrak train ride from Sedalia to Warrensburg (about a 30 minute ride). Noah thought it was AWESOME! He was all smiles.

Here we are waiting at the station.

When the train finally came, we realized we were on the wrong side of the tracks, so we had to cross the tracks and race around to the other side of the train. It was kind of a fiasco because we thought the train was leaving. But then, when we got to where we needed to be, we had to stand and wait (and sweat!) for about 15 minutes while they helped some wheelchair passengers off.

It was all worth it though. Noah had a blast! Mom said he was in awe -- all he wanted to do was look out the window. She took him to the snack car where he picked out a cinnamon roll. Today, if I ask him about his train ride, that's pretty much all he says -- that Grammy bought him a snack!

He'd cover his ears everytime the train blew its whistle. I guess he didn't like the loud noise! But he couldn't stop checking things out!