Emily is a natural with kids. They all seem to light up for her. I think mostly because they can feel her genuine love for them. On Sunday, Emily and Jacob took their cousins and the little ones swimming in the pond. As you can see, she had a good time.
Elizabeth held on tight; giggling the whole time. She kept screaming (in a fun voice) that the fish were going to get her.
Shu saw Jacob in the water and swam out to be with him. I can not tell you how much that meant to Jacob. He generally thinks the dogs hate him. He was so happy that he actually admitted the Shu might like him.
This is our beautiful niece, Chloe.
Our beautiful niece Lydia.
Jacob enjoying a kiss from Shu.
If you've never noticed, it is hard for me to get a picture of Ri looking into the camera. He is always so busy checking things out that he doesn't have time or a desire to get his picture taken (unless, of course, it is on his terms and he wants to pose)
This is our new pup, Shu.
Sunday was a special day set aside to celebrate fathers. For me, I took a moment to thank God for the father that He gave me. Dad is a man that most people can connect with. He has a charisma that seems to draw people to him. He can carry on a conversation with just about anyone. As I sat talking with him Saturday night, I flashed back to some of my childhood. My Dad truly was one of my hero's. He was always there for me when it came to sports or play. He use to spend hours throwing a ball with me.... softball or football. I could always count on Dad droping everything and playing. My brother and sister and I were very involved in swimming. Dad was ALWAYS one of the head timers and/or put together the programs or organized swim meets. He was even one of the men that went to bat for our small town to put in an olympic size swimming pool! I don't ever remember not having my dad at one of my meets or one of my games in softball or basketball. He was always there. When he retired, I found out that he had given up a big promotion just so he could be home for us kids. I was so blessed to hear the sacrifice my Dad was willing to make. Even now, Dad rarely misses a game that his grandkids are playing in. I think it means as much to my kids as it does to me.

Dad gave me quite a role model to look for in a husband....but God had a much bigger plan for me. Mark is an exceptional father. Oh, I could be saying that just to flatter my man... but I am not kidding. Mark is a role model to me when it comes to interacting with the kids. It use to be that I was the one with the patience, but the roles have reversed. I have sat, countless amount of times, and watched Mark take over a heated conversation and gently and calmly share his heart to the kids. He has wisdom that I just don't seem to have. It wears him out, but when he takes the time to sit and work through whatever it is that is bothering the kids, he ALWAYS seems to get them through it.

Mark is one of those guys that shocks most of the people he knows. I remember when someone shared to me that their favorite part of Ri's video was watching Mark interact with Ri because it was so unlike the image they had of Mark. Mark is such a truly tender guy! His heart is wrapped around his children. He holds them very near to him. I just smiled when they said that to me. For me, I see his gentleness, his tenderness, his love. THat's one of the things that I fell in love with. I love to watch him play with the little guys. He nearly almost drops everything for them when they want him to play. And as they get older, he is the one who is firm in directing them. He needs to be because I am, far too often, weak. They need a man who does not cave into the demands the world sets, but attempts to shepherd his children into what the word of God says.

I am blessed that God gave me Mark as a husband, but I feel almost even more blessed that my children have him as a father. One day, I am confident, they will ALL look back at their Dad and be on their knees praising God for the father that He allowed them to have. During the teenage years, they might not see it so clearly! :)

Another father God put in my life is my father-in-law. I am so blessed to have the in-laws that I have. I love my father-in-law with all that I have. He is such a man of integrity and has taught me much about hard work. He is a man who doesn't say anything negative about anyone and who would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it.

As for the pictures, well.... our dogs Chuck and Tye both died. Tye died due to seizures a year or so ago. Chuck died a few months ago. Our dog, Bear, followed Erin on her bike. Evidently, he was either found by someone and kept or something worse. We searched and searched for him. In the process of visiting the pound and Humaine Society, we found this little pup. We are in the process of "adopting" her. Right now, we only have the privlidge of fostering her. It sounds so strange to us having adopted children; but that is the process. The pound gave her the name "Shoo". So far, we can't come up with a name that 8 of us agree on, so right now her name is "Shoo". The pound thinks that she is a german shepherd/husky mix. Who knows. All we know is that we really feel that we need to have a dog around here.

And by the way... did you notice Emily's hair?