Almost forgot

Philip brought these in before he left! They didn't last long but I enjoyed them every minute.

Cincinnati?!

For those of you who have a hard time believing that I have to contend with deer eating my garden here is the proof. I sprayed repellent again tonight (this means that I will not be able to bear the stench in my garden for the next week). Allan was able to get quite close before they ran away. I'm sorry the pictures are so grainy - I had the zoom maxed.

Happy Sixth Anniversary To Us

July 28th marked our sixth anniversary. Due to Philip leaving for the Philippines yesterday I wasn't able to get this posted in time.

We have a good laugh about the 28th of July because there is always something going on which means that we can't celebrate on the actual day. Our first anniversary we spent in separate cars in the trip that moved us from SC to OH. The second one I was pregnant and so miserable but we were together. The third, Philip was in the Philippines teaching and I stayed in KY with little Allan. The fourth, Philip was in Detroit at a Bible Faulty Leadership Conference. The fifth, we buried my grandma Slagenweit and right after the funeral meal I took Philip to catch a ride back to OH so that he could preach at Mode Camp. This year Philip is in the Philippines again.

We both have agreed that celebrating our marriage commitment can't be confined to one day. I'm thankful for a husband who tells me on a regular basis that he's glad he's married to me. I laugh every time he tells me because it still amazes me. I have a hard time living with me! But he says he's glad to be "stuck" (my terminology) with me for the rest of our lives. And anyone who knows him doesn't question his intelligence. That can make a girl feel really good.

And so another year has gone by. As we live life together our love and appreciation for each other grows. Our thankfulness and trust for God's wisdom also grows as we see how fitted we are for each other. This whole thing was God's ideas anyhow (a rather long story for another time and another place) I'm glad we're a team! I LOVE YOU PHILIP BROWN!

Allan the Baker

Allan came running into the kitchen this morning with his brother's shorts on his head to tell me, "Look mommy, I'm a baker!"

Flowers

My father-in-law grows lovely roses and here are some pictures of a few. These were taken on the fourth of July right after a shower.

Fourth of July

We spent the day at the Brown's in KY. Dad was in Canada preaching so we had to celebrate without him. Philip took the whole day off from his project to just relax and it was wonderful. Both of the boys loved the swimming pool! Daniel is a water lover. Allan enjoyed the caps with his daddy. He also enjoyed sparklers until he touched the wrong end of one. It was a wonderful day topped off with a beautiful thunderstorm.

Racoons and "Ditty Ditches"

Saturday morning we found two baby raccoons in our garbage can. They made quite a racket until Philip let them go. Allan enjoyed them but Daniel wasn't impressed.

 Earlier this week Allan was playing with Daniel and his bike in the hallway when he called to me, "Mommy we fell in a ditty ditch! (that is, dirty with a British accent for those of you not familiar with Thomas the Train) Come get us out!" When I went to untangle them he asked that I take a picture.