Big Day

Today was a big day for our family! Late this afternoon, Karen and I went for our 2nd Dr's visit. Everthing looks good and the baby has grown tremendously. We had an ultrasound (now 12 weeks) and got to see the heartbeat again. Now before you look too closely at the picture (if you haven't already), don't freak out. It looks a bit skeletal, but that's normal. On the left side of the pic you can see its head with two eye sockets looking at you. The light area is its smile (ok, just a jaw at this point). Just to the right, you'll see a hand waving! What a friendly child already!

After the appointment, we headed home for dinner. Following dinner, Karen and I took Chase to an Open House for his pre-school. He'll start at Star of Bethlehem Christian School on Monday, attending Mondays, Wednesdays, & Fridays from 9 - 12. This will be his first year.

So on the same day, we saw our new baby's face and took our oldest to his first night at school! It really makes us think about how fast the time goes by!

Big "Thank You"!

You know that feeling when someone has done something for you that you have no way to repay? Not just a note or some flowers, but something truly sacrificial!

Mom beat me to the punch with the blog post, but I just gotta add to it. They drove up to MA on Thursday evening after work... 8 hours! For mom it was the last weekend of the summer before students showed up. Dad had been out of work for several days in the last 2 weeks due to a really bad back. And still, they made the drive up. Why drive, why not fly? Because Dad was bringing up a carload of tools for helping me replace the kitchen & bathroom floors, replace the kitchen counters, fix some broken siding, and spackle some walls! Mom spent the days with Karen keeping the boys occupied while Dad and I got work done in the house.

The bad back notwithstanding, Dad probably saved us a couple thousand $ and I know he saved us months of weekends of me trying to do it! We still have lots to do... the kitchen walls still need some more spackle, then paint. The chair rail still needs to go up. And the tile behind the counter needs to be installed. But evenstill, at the end of the weekend when Dad was then packing up to make the long drive home just in time to start his week of work... I almost cried, thinking of how huge a gift this was! Not to mention how great it was to work side by side with one of my greatest heroes!

Thanks, Dad! I love you!

The old floor...

Dad hard at work...

The finished product: floor & countertop....

Labor Day Weekend--Name fits!

Dad and I went to Chip's this weekend. Promise to help with new floor and counter top. Men worked, the women kept kids busy.
Zoo and apple picking were on our agenda. The men were rewarded at nite with ice cream from Sully's. Well I have no pics of the finished job, so Chip will have to provide them. We took 8 hrs. going up but 5 3/4 coming home! Zach has a very sore left foot. Second set of xrays show nothing but he still limps. Pray for speedy healing! How did I get this underlining to stop?

Happy Birthday, Becca!

Yesterday, Becca turned 25! Also, on July 28th, we celebrated our one year anniversary. Here are a few pics of Becca, and various other characters, over the past year.

Brian

Tessa Turns 2!

It’s hard to believe that 2 years have passed since my baby girl was born!  It was a whirlwind morning, as I went into labor 3 & 1/2 weeks early and 10 days before my scheduled C-section.  I got to hospital and found out I was 9 cm dilated (out of 10!) and she was born within 45 minutes—naturally, with no time for pain meds or a C-section.  What a blessing that was!!

Here are 3 pics: from the day she was born, her 1st birthday party, and just a few weeks ago.

Tessa bring such joy to our life!  She is a spunky girl with a great big beautiful smile.  She’s very social and loves to be around people.  Lately, she has turned into quite the little mommy with the birth of her baby brother.  Happy Birthday Tessa!

 

~Becky

It's Official! #3!

Well, It's official! We went to the doctor Friday afternoon and we got to see the newest memeber of our family! As of Friday, Karen is 9 weeks pregnant and our due date is March 20th. We told the boys this weekend... it was pretty uneventful. We started by showing them pictures of themselves as babies... but they lost interest before we could get the words out. When we told them that there was a baby in mommy's belly, they were a little interested, but it didn't last long. Then on the way home from church, I decided to check to see if they remembered. When I asked what mommy had in her belly, Zach was first to yell out, "baby!" Chase has said some funny things already like... "Mommy, when your mouth gets big enough, the baby will come out."

So, the picture. The baby is in the middle left with a line thru the middle... to take a measurement. As the text at the bottom points out, it measured at an equivalent to 9 weeks, 1 day... which confirms our estimated due date!

We'll keep you posted!

"...fall from the tree"

So what do they say about the "fruit falling far from the tree?"

Go Digital!

This week I bought a slightly used Canon Rebel XTi. It's a newer model with some additional functionality with very few "clicks" for a great price (with a transferrable extended warranty, no less!). OK, who cares?

As a result, in a week, I'll be posting my "old" camera on craigslist to sell, asking $350. Before I do that, though, I wanted family a chance at it. This is the camera I've been using for the last 5 years shooting our boys, etc... so you've seen the pictures it takes. If you've thought about getting a digital SLR type camera (non-compact), here's a chance to get in on it reasonably cheaply (the cheapest Canon Digital SLR goes for about $600 new). This camera has all the automatic modes as well as all the manual modes, so it is a great camera to learn on. If you're not really interested in learning, but just want a camera that delivers great pics without the delay you get with compacts, this works for you also! This is essentially the digital version of any of the Canon EOS Rebel film models (II, X, Xs, G, Gs, Ti, 2000, etc.). Any of the Canon EF lenses will work (same as you would use for any Canon EOS camera... film or digital).

Here's the details...

For family, I'm asking $300

Canon Digital Rebel (300D)
6.3 Megapixels
fully functioning, with never any trouble with it.
cosmetic wear on the grip
Technical details available at: http://www0.epinions.com/pr-Canon_Digital_Rebel_EOS-300D_Digital_Camera/display_~full_specs
I'm including my 35-80 lens (which digitally is equivalent to a 56-128 in film). I've used the lens as my standard lens for the last 15 years and it's been great. It does have a crack on the outside shell that I fixed over a year ago with superglue and hasn't been a problem since. Includes a clear "sky" filter used to protect the lens... has been on it since the day I bought the lens.

I can also include a 256MB CF memory card, so you can be off and shooting immediately. Holds roughly 75 pictures at full resolution.

2 batteries and a charger

manual

If you're interested, let me know. Otherwise, I'll be posting it on craigslist next week.

40 Year Reunion--Not possible

I cannot believe it has been 40 years since I left High School. Last nite was our reunion. I though some of you may remember Nancy McGrath stories. She is in the middle. Somehow her version of some of the stories are a little different but I am sure she is suffering from senility. We had a good time and actually stayed out until 11:30. Of course, we had to nap this afternoon. LOL

Christopher's Birthday

Happy Birthday Christopher

This 11 year old went out to dinner at the tent at The Inn at Sugar Hill and took his whole family: Mom, Dad, Darlene, Grandmom Carty, Grandmom and PopPop Thompson. Christopher had ribs, many of the rest of us had Crab cakes. Anyway, then it was present time. I bet the pictures don't surprize you. There were even a few "action" figures in the box. Why does the expression "Apple doesn't fall too far from the tree" come to mind. Another great year for the boy: Camp, Soccer, Trumpet, church service and school. Keep up the good work Christopher.

Science or Science Fiction?

Karen found this on one of our cherry tomato plants today! The boys loved touching it and staring at it! None of us had ever seen anything this size before! Needless to say, it has since been "re-located" far from our tomatoes! Anyone seen this before or know what it is?

Weekend Camping Trip

We just got back from a great camping trip to Sunapee, NH. We had a great time! He went hiking, made S'mores, played in the river, went to the lake, and of course, slept in the tent! I don't have time to go through all the details, but I did want to make note of the highlight for all of us.

We had been told that we could ride a ski lift to the summit of Mount Sunapee (and back down) and hike a mile to a mountain-top pond... so we went for it! We got all excited about it and got the kids all excited, only to find out that Zach was too young to ride. Although very bummed, we decided to start out hiking up the trail to the top, figuring we'd make it part-way up and come down a slope. Well, the trail only crossed one slop all the way at the bottom. After a 2 mile, 1500' vertical hike, we made it to the top! The longest hike we've made together and Chase walked most of the way. Zach did great too, often reaching for the ground, saying, "Me do it." At points, Karen and I each had one of the boys on our shoulders and Zach even fell asleep on Karen's shoulders! The boys did so well, and we just had a blast together as a family!

To top it all off, when we reached the top and took all our pictures, the lift attendants (two retired men with great hearts!) offered to let us all ride the ski lift down. At that point, the boys were almost too excited to let us look out over the ski runs before heading for the lift (Chase calls it the Sky Lift). The ride down was a great end to a great hike! They boys loved the ride down and said tonight that was their favorite part of the trip!
Perhaps I'll fill in more later... with the rest of the pictures. All in all... we had a fantastic weekend!

More pics from our trip

Model Railroad

All you model railroaders need to see this from the choo choo barn in Lancaster.

 

Our trip to California

Becca and I just got back from our anniversary trip to California. I had to travel to San Diego for a week of training for work, and Becca came with me. Then, we drove up the coast and spent a week about an hour's drive north of San Fransisco.

Although we got to hang out in the evenings while in San Diego, the second week was really our vacation. We stayed in the town of Marshall, CA (population 50), which is on Tomales Bay and just behind Point Reyes National Seashore. Our week in the middle of nowhere was wonderful. We spent a lot of time hiking, horseback riding (a first for me), and watching the local wildlife (including harbor seals, sea lions, elephant seals, and tule elk). Although we expected it to be warmer, it was beautiful. Apparently Northern California summers are known for their fog. Who knew? We showed up with lots of shorts (that are still clean) and only a few pairs of pants (that are very dirty).

We did take a few breaks from our slow paced trip to travel to downtown San Fransisco for one day and Sonoma Valley for one day. We also visited Muir Woods State Forest to check out the Coastal Redwoods.

All of those were very nice, but our hearts were in the mist swept valleys, cool plains, the grand cliffs, and the sweeping beaches of the Point Reyes area.

The nearest "big town" to Marshall is Point Reyes Station (Population 350, woohoo!). The area was interesting for a lot of reasons. First of all, it seemed as though many of the hippies from Berekely moved north to Point Reyes when they "grew up." Everything in the area is organic and local. Becca and I have been doing a lot of reading and thinking about the local food movement. It was very exciting for us to visit a place where every dish on the menu listed where every ingredient came from. I had a bleu cheese burger: the bleu cheese was made by a creamery in town, the meat came from the Niman Ranch just up the road, the produce from the Farmers' Market, and the bun was made by the local bakery. We also had the best Pizza I had ever had, literally.

(I'm checking out the harbor seals from a distance so that we don't disturb them.)

Braden’s Birth Video…

Without further delay, here is Braden’s birth video.  Enjoy!

Braden is here!

Braden Montgomery was born at 8:15 am today (Mon 7/21).  He is 9lbs 15 oz and 21“ long.

Everyone is doing great!

Montgomery is in honor of Becky’s father and grandfather (Montgomery was their middle names).

Some pictures are below and more are available and even more will be available later today and in the days to come at http://www.robandbecky.com/family/pictures.htm.

Rob

10 Years!

It’s hard to believe that 10 years ago today we walked down the aisle and said “I do.”  13 years ago today we had our first date at Olive Garden.  Those years have flown by!  We have walked through life together and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.  The last 10 years have been full of fun and sorrow and moves and challenges and changes.  We’ve done it all together, hand in hand.

Rob, I love you more today than I did that day 10 years ago.  That sounds so cliche’, but I don’t know how to say it any other way.  I am so thankful God brought us together.  Going through life with you has brought me nothing but joy, even during difficult times.  I  can’t wait to see what the next 10 years bring!

I love you!

~Becky

Prayer Request

We just heard that a boy from one of the other churches attending camp with Darlene was severely injured. Here is the email we received.

Tim called after 11:00 last night and informed me that a 15 yr. old male camper was involved in one of the camp activities (inflatable sumo wrestling suits). He fell back and hit his head, they do not think he will make it. There was no brain activity at the hospital last night, they are checking him again this morning. His family was supposed to have moved out of town but because he wanted to go to camp they decided to put the move off for a couple weeks so he could attend. His parents are w/him at the hospital, please keep the whole situation in your prayers. Tim said that the entire camp atmosphere has changed drastically. Last night's evening service was incredible. When I hear more details I will pass them along.

Update: Curtis was procnounced dead this afternoon. He is now in Heaven with his Father.

Challenge 2008

I have been in Utah all week for our National Youth Conference.  6000 students and leaders gathered for the week in Salt Lake City for awesome worship and even better preaching.  For more on the conference CLICK HERE.  I thought you might be interested in this picture.