and she's 6!

it is hard to believe our first-born is six this week.  I can't help but post a whole bunch of pictures of how she has grown.  she is a joy and a gift in so many ways, with an eagerness to understand people, a love for the creative, and a willingness to adventure with her brothers.  she loves to talk and loves beauty.  today we celebrated with some of her sweet friends at our very, very generous neighbor's pool (sidenote: pool parties are pretty easy and everyone was exhausted at the end).  we thank God for this precious girl and pray that she would walk with Him always, that He would give us the grace to fulfill our calling as parents.

here she is right after she made us parents.

she was a delightful toddler

her first wedding

they have the same eyes and such a sweet relationship

birthday girl

some of her sweet friends

looks (and acts) a lot like his big sis

pool games

sweetness

no fear of reptiles, or anything really

our latest creeking

when it hasn't been raining this slow, lazy summer, we have been trying to swim or at least be outside. we were thinking of kayaking on adam's day off this week (are our kids even old enough for this? who knows?), but the river is so swollen from all the rain and isn't safe. so we opted for a family favorite with graham's sweet buddy along for the fun.

miles is always hugging pax and telling him how good he is:)

he vacillated between loving tadpoles and fear that they would "get" him

the teensiest toad

love these boys!  mud and all

miles caught this handsome bullfrog

"Not everyone is a poet, yet children come uneasily near to it in their natural fascination with anything at all...one way to neutralize this fascination with the natural world is to cordon it off in parks and zoos, and then to act as if only the parks and zoos are worth seeing.  Persuade a child that a giraffe he sees once every couple of years is really impressive, but the wren on the fence post is only a drab little bird--though he warbles out a love song in the morning, cocking his stubby tail, and is in general one of the bravest and most cheerful of birds.  Persuade a child that the Grand Canyon is worth seeing, or Yellowstone National Park, or Mount Rushmore, or the breakers of the ocean on the Florida coast. But ignore the variations of hill and valley, river and pond, bare rock and rich bottom soil, in your own neighborhood...Attention to the small would only perplex a child with the unusualness of life." --Anthony Esolen from Ten Ways to destroy the Imagination of your Child

(an excellent book, if a bit biting about our current culture...well-written in a satirical style)

happy weekend my friends!  hope you get to enjoy some of God's handiwork.