Life

Well just as I mentioned before, our friend from Peru named Trent, and his son Zadok were able to come visit us for a weekend. Our church was blessed greatly by the things Trent had to share about the work going on and the work still to be done in Iquitos. Trent and Shawn work mainly with the street people, and children of Iquitos, and are striving to raise the funds to build a women's and children's home. They currently have a men's home which stays packed. It is truly miraculous what God is doing through that ministry!






We enjoyed a wonderful balloon race weekend, as well!



It was Camila's first balloon race! The last two years we have been anticipating having her with us for a balloon festival and race and we finally were able to share the fun with her!



We were also able to sit on our front porch and watch lots of balloons fly over, on top of our regular tradition of hitting the levee early Saturday morning. This year, my cinnamon rolls weren't ready for our normal levee picnic...so we enjoyed them after we got home.















This photo was at 29 weeks pregnant. But I'm now 31 weeks! Trucking on along...









Okay, so finally I'm ready to unveil the boys' finished bedroom! Woohoo!



The triple bunks are a success. It would probably be more comfortable for the boys to sleep with their heads on the end without another bunk directly above them, but they seem to love being under the end that makes it seem more "cave-like," as they put it.



I couldn't find any pallet cube shelves to copy or attempt from Pinterest or elsewhere, so we had to wing this project. I wanted a pretty large cube shelf set-up, out of pallets. My honey tackled it. It took a ton of stain to finish off these shelves, but it was worth it! The basket system is seriously working for us. I wish I would have done this YEARS ago. Typically, our baskets won't be as full as they are in this picture, but right now the Louisiana weather cannot make up its mind, so we are doubling up on fall and summer clothes!



...and a really dim pic of the window and shelf. It's full of treasures from our travels.

Pictures of kitchen and baby room to come soon. They're all in the works!



I worked on one more pallet project. A condensed version of one of my favorite chapters in scripture. Psalm 144. I started out thinking I'd paint a huge section of scripture and quickly realized that I'd need about 14 pallets to do that. Oh well.



A couple of the things we are planning to make in a few weeks:
(I better keep the honey-dos coming while the honey wants to keep doing. :) )



I wanted one of these cool, portable baby hammocks. It has nothing to do with the fact that it's called the Amazonas, I'm sure. ;) But hey! Our little man mind as well be proud of his "heritage." Hence, the reason he will definitely have this onesie:



But about the hammock... It can be slept in until the baby is 9 months old. It would take up so much less space than a co-sleeper or additional crib that we normally keep in a room conjoined to ours for a few months, and it can be packed up and carried anywhere easily. The problem is, these are only made in Australia and shipping is very expensive. When I showed it to Danny, he was sure he could make the frame if I could make the hammock! TEAMWORK!



(Don't worry. It has a safety belt! :) )
And here is one more project in the planning phase:



A kitchen for Camila, for Christmas! I'm seriously in love with this thing. Camila loves to pretend to do whatever I'm doing. The other day she brought me one of her large stacking cups and she had her Dora microphone inside of it. She was stirring up something, and she told me "stir!" She had been in her room mixing and cooking with her microphone spoon! So sweet. I really think she's going to love this!



Oh how Camila has grown and changed. Wow. We have had a few rough patches over the last month, but amazingly, as soon as we come out of one, it is immediately followed by such rapid progress! Danny says that is beautiful grace. I agree, and I also think that somehow, things are working their way out. Beauty from ashes. Joy from tears. We can see that even in those trying times, God is bringing forth something very beautiful. Camila is our precious little sweetheart. Our lives have been forever changed by her! Her fourth birthday is soon coming, and I am working on a little birthday celebration. Her first birthday as our daughter. What a joy!