August Excuses

Excuses, excuses . . .

Sam had his first date with Naomi! Please excuse the photo angle, which makes him look like he's catching up to her in size, but she had a head start this spring.

We used the Fantasy Football draft as an excuse to go spend time with Joletta and Doug.

Joletta used our visit as an excuse for a fun gathering including the McConnells, Lengauers, Mays and Wolfes.

Sonnie's family reunion was a good excuse to get some cuddle time.

Getting Jack and Paul confused is still excusable.
Can I excuse these boys for growing up so fast?

Excuse me; can't a boy get some of Grandma's kisses without being photographed?
The barn raising was one more excuse to go watch things grow at Blue Heron Farm.
Sam and Charlie don't need excuses to smile at smiling faces -- they are both quick to smile!
Here is a story that needs to be shared. On this outing with five boys, Paul was on a trike without breaks. (Our excuse for not paying close enough attention is that we are used to him having breaks on his.) At one point, Paul was following Charlie down a seemingly slight hill while we adults were helping the other three boys. We looked up to see Paul unable to stop and continuing right across a street with traffic. When he realized he couldn't stop, he wisely pedalled quickly to get safely across the street. The drivers of the cars were thankfully able to see him. We are so very thankful to God for protecting our sweet Paul!
The first day of school is always a good excuse to take a proud picture of our boys! Micah has been enjoying Kindergarten. PE is his favorite. Micah is gradually building up the endurance necessary to be pleasant after he gets home from an 8 hour day.
Since it was also Anthony's first day of school, I had an excuse to put my handsome husband into the photo!

My favorite part of Kindergarten is that I have fewer excuses to not spend one-on-one time with Paul. I have really enjoyed seeing his proud face as he has accomplished so much in the last few weeks. This buddy of mine has been baking, learning his letters and numbers, painting beautiful pictures, and generally being a helpful, sweet blessing to Sam and me.