Porch done!

This has been done for a few months, but I kept forgetting to take a picture. Sam finished the porch and about 95% of the siding. There's a small piece in the back of the house that needs to be finished, but it's almost there, and it looks great! We went with a knock-off of hardiplank - concrete siding. It will last without maintenance for up to 25 years. Too bad we'll be long gone by then.

Cutie pie

Sam is having so much fun playing with Lydia these days. She loves it!

Lots going on!

Wow it's been a while since we've updated! Lydia has:
• Started eating rice cereal. Yum. When she doesn't want it she razzes it all over. Fun. Hmm.
• Learned to razz, see above.
• Discovered her toes. She looks like she's doing a funny yoga pose when she grabs just her big toe and hangs on with one finger. Super cute!
• Developed stranger anxiety. This is really tough when we have someone new babysit!
• Entertained us endlessly with her smiles and giggles. The funniest things make her smile and laugh!
• Had her first sickness. :( 2 weeks ago she had a fever for about 5 days followed by strange rashes. Dr's said it was just a virus so nothing we could do but treat the fever. It's so tough when you know they're not feeling well but they can't tell you what's going on. We're glad that's past and she's all better.

These photos are of: Lydia with Grandpa Horvath at our family reunion in NY in August, and me and Lydia spending some time together out in the field behind my parent's place - one of my favorite places on earth.

Overall, things are going well. Work is pretty busy right now as we have a client open house this Wednesday that we're busy preparing for. Of course, internal projects that have waited for a long time are now immediate action items! On top of that, we're doing a good cleaning-out of accumulated "stuff" in our basement, beginning to plan for the fall camp retreat, and I'm (Jess) finishing training for the half-marathon with my sister. Life is very full. However, we are trying to reclaim some of the sweet quiet family times together on the weekends especially. There's nothing like a walk together at the end of the day to knit our hearts as we talk over the day and goo gah over our sweet girl.

It's times like these that we want to remember to be just as thankful and close to God. I feel like there's always the tendency to run to Him during times of distress and discomfort, but we often fail to remember Him during the good times. We are truly so thankful for all He's done in our lives.

We hope this finds you all well, and ejoying the last bit of the summer! Soak it all in while you can...