August

 At least when I only post once a month it makes post titles easy :) I haven't been taking a lot of pictures, but it's not like we haven't done anything - we've been busy with the garden (canning tomatos and peppers), Aaron's been busy at church, we moved into a different house, and the girls keep me busy as they keep growing and learning.

 Anna is wearing the same clothes that Esther wore a year ago - which means she's about 3 months ahead of her big sister :)

 The church had a loan from the bank that they paid off in August. They had a special service and if you look closely, you can see them burning the "note".

 There was a good turnout and we had a potluck following.

 We went to say hi to a lady from church and saw their neighbor's horses - I thought it was a very pretty setting and took a few pictures.

 It's getting harder to get a good picture of Esther because she keeps wanting to move around and see the camera herself :)  My current favorite word to hear her say  is "peanut butter". Her favorite letter is W.

 Aaron's parents came down to help us move one day as did some church members another day. We're only staying in this house for a few months, but it's pretty big, so we're enjoying it and it's in the country, so we're enjoying the peace and quiet too!

 Anna can crawl now, although not fast, and she has her two bottom front teeth.

 The view from "our porch".

I'll try to take more pictures when the leaves change. Have a great fall!

July in Minnesota

 Having kids is almost like being a kid all over again - it was so fun to see Esther enjoying things up at the farm! It didn't take her long to catch on to picking up candy at the 4th of July parade - with a little help, she got quite a stash, which her mother and aunts and uncles ate :)

 She enjoyed the "glow stuff" too and learned a new word at the fireworks - "Wow!"

 My sisters are such fun aunties - and David, Daniel, and Jeriah are fun cousins -

 Esther and Jeriah are about the same size, and they both enjoy Grandma's cookies!

 A little people picnic -

 I took a lot of pictures of the girls with their grandparents - I only posted a few of them though -

 Priscilla with Anna - Esther laughs every time she sees a picture of Priscilla :)

 Mom and Esther in the corn maze!

 Dad and Anna camping out on the floor - in the last week or so, Anna has been getting up on all fours, and I don't think it'll be long 'till she crawls.

 Dad and his grandkids :)

 Grandpa O. and Anna

 We took Esther through the corn maze - she wanted to walk the whole way...and pick up fallen stalks...and had the best time of anyone I've ever seen!

 Grandpa K. and Anna

 My dad and the girls -

 We took Esther to the county fair to see the animals - she was shy at first, but warmed up and wanted to walk around herself.

 Esther and the birds -

 Esther and the fish -

 Esther and the rabbits -

 Mom and Anna -

 Before we left, we were able to attend the wedding of a young man from church - it was a very sweet wedding -

 and a fun reception.

 We had a great time, but after being gone for 3 weeks, it's always nice to sleep in our own beds and eat at our own table.

VBS and Ministry Trip

 This post is long overdue, but as you'll see, I really haven't had a chance, so even though it's a month ago - Here's our VBS! We used a "route 55" theme - road trips, USA...Above is craft time -

 Between trying to help Aaron, play piano, tell a missionary story, watch Anna and Esther, I "bit off more than I could chew", so Esther hung out with the preschool class some and had a great time following them around. "VBB" was as close as she could say VBS :)

 Aaron did the Bible time - Several children were saved during the week and some were baptized in the weeks following, so we were so grateful for the Lord's working. It was one of the best VBS's ever!

 Game time -

 Snack and verse memory time -

 Rally time - Aaron does a great job at making things fun and exciting :)

 We wanted to say thank you to all the people who worked so hard to make everything happen, so we made a cake for the closing evening.

 A week after VBS was over, we went with a few other people from church to help out a church in Badger, MN with some construction. Above is Esther at Culvers - one of the highlights of driving through WI :) !

 Driving through Duluth, MN

 More Duluth -

 Aaron and Johnny putting up insulation - they insulated, wired, and sheetrocked a couple rooms that had water damage.

 Aaron :)

 They had a potluck in Badger with the church people. We knew some of them from VBS last summer, so it was fun to catch up.

 I thought I'd end with a few pictures of the girls, I meant to turn it, but I must have forgotten to save the change...

 Esther can't read, but she likes pictures :)

 Anna in a hand-me-down -

 Anna is getting so big!

 We love to hear her laugh!

4th of July pictures will have to wait...