The new heartbeat of springtime...

As we begin to see the spring blooms on the trees, tulips and daffodils coloring yards and gardens and new birds appearing in our yard, the kids are anxious for every dry day to get out to the park, or at the very least the back yard. A common sign of spring is the new life appearing all around us, and in our case, in our family. A new heart beat that we were able to witness just this week. Yes, that's right... we are expecting another addition, due date November 2, 2007. We are very excited, and the kids are thrilled. It is amazing to Shane and I, just how blessed we are with Noah, Hannah and Zak, the joy and delight and laughter and amazement they have brought to our lives can't compare to anything else we have experienced. Although, not with out its challenges, as a full time mom, wife, cook and housekeeper, I do think this is the toughest job I'll ever love, but I do love it.

A quick update on all of us.

Zak, now 15 month, is a very active toddler, attempting to keep up with his brother and sister as much as possible. He communicates with us very well, mostly non-verbal, but it has been an interesting experience to see just how much a 1 year old can understand. Its hard to tell if he is just really smart (which of course he is) or if he has the advantage of the environment of older siblings and more experienced parents. Just like his name sake (Zaccheus was a wee little man, who climbed up in a tree...), Zak is small for his age (but very healthy) and he LOVES, L-O-V-E loves to climb - chairs, tables, pianos, toys, bunk beds.... he definitely keeps us on our toes.




Hannah is a wonderful little princess, she knows exactly how pretty she is and loves the girly stuff. She almost always has a doll in her hand, but the other hand likely has a toy sword, toy gun or car. She often will be found singing, coloring or "reading" any variety of books.




Noah loves to learn, especially anything that has to do with bugs or animals, through which he has been picking up on a lot of the fundamental phonics skills. He is taking a t-ball class at the rec center and just finished 3 months of swim lessons - he's a total fish, with no fear!

Shane just finished a very intense 6 weeks at work doing QA and support for one of the company's biggest deals - MBL Mosaic. The company also just secured a large chunk of venture funding, which will hopefully allow for new opportunities within the company. They have gotten a lot of press lately - 6 o'clock news, front page of the Oregonian http://www.oregonlive.com/oregonian/stories/index.ssf?/base/business/1176175523181450.xml&coll=7 it's all been pretty cool. Aside from the normal self-imposed busyness of our every day lives, I have plans for gardening, canning and sewing projects as time allows throughout the summer. Shane and I still lead a small group through our church, which is one of the most important staples in our week in terms of keeping us connected with our community, faith and keeping us accountable to what is really important. We are also undergoing a leadership program with the church over the next year. Living Hope plans to purchase a new facility and start planting churches in the next 18 months and it is exciting to see what God is already working through the vision in our community and we can't wait to see what he's going to do from here.

Check out some of our recent pictures - two albums: Easter and a visit from Aunt Liz which included a trip to the Woodburn Tulip Festival.

2007 Easter

March 2007 - Liz's visit