Falling Leaves, Throwing Stones --QM

The formerly dry woods in the backyard

Irene left a pile of leaves around the house and in the pool. Somehow the coming of this storm seems to be the end of summer--emotionally, if not in fact. We swam in Jay and Betty's pool for the last time today, and I thought of the leaves that had been recently vacuumed out. They reminded me of the words of a man from Malaysia. He said:

"When a leaf from a tree by the river drops on the water, it takes a long time for the leaf to sink to the bottom of the river. But when you drop a stone, it goes straight to the bottom. That is how I feel about the Word of God in my own language. When I read it in the national language, though I was educated in that language, it takes a long time before the meaning sinks in. But when I read God's Word in my own language, I feel like a stone dropping to the bottom of the riverbed. It goes right in to touch my soul"


We will be traveling to Ethan's parents' home in western New York from the 1st to the 7th and would appreciate your prayers for good meetings, fun times, and safe travels!

Dorie and the Snake--EM

[Eighteen minutes after posting this video, we've gotten enough concerned feedback that we think we should explain that this is a non-venemous Eastern Hognose Snake . . . probably.
We could tell because of its distinctive markings, and because it didn't bite us.]

August Photo Highlights

Time to dump the camera's pictures onto the computer again. That means it's time to review the last month of our lives. Anything interesting happen recently? Oh, yes . . .


Every day in Orlando, on our way to lunch, we passed a handful of these figures. James loved them -- he would always wave and say hi. He and Dorie had such a wonderful time in Orlando.

They have also enjoyed returning home. After nearly three weeks away, they were in serious need of grandparent time.


And they have gotten plenty of their Grandpa Mark and Grandma Polly. They even saw their Opi and Omi at the big Mast reunion last weekend, but I didn't get any good pictures of them. As I should have expected at an event like this, I mainly got weird pictures . . . .

Back Home in Delaware --QM

The first thing Dorie and James did after being released from their car-seats was run to the grass by our front door and pluck clover flowers for their mommy.My first action after opening our door was to put those cute little weeds into my "mom pot."

I just love my little people!

(A good friend of mine, Jan Shilke, gave me this tiny flower pot when James was in the hospital with seizures, and whenever I move, I set up these little things to make me feel like home)