I made this myself!

Much to the chagrin of Bizzy, Becca took one of our favorite fuzzy blankets and, with scissors, carved out the holes for her neck and arms. Our first indication that something was up when . . .

"Mommy! Can you help me!" Becca called from the back porch.

"What do you need?" Bizzy asked. Around the corner waltzed this little darling.

"I need you to help pin this up," she said, motioning to the long blanket trailing behind her. She was already wrapped up, giving no indication other than she dressed herself. That is, until we undraped her after shooting several cutsie pictures, that Becca was stark raving naked underneath!

At least the fuzzy blanket kept her warm!

Spring Break Vegas Style

While on Spring Break, we had the opportunity to see a real live Vegas Magic Show, starring Rick Thomas and his disappearing tigers. Grandma and Grandpa had more fun at the show as Rick picked them to help perform one of the show's premier tricks. Grandpa was sure Grandma broke his watch until it surfaced in a box no one touched during the show complete and back together.

Afterwards, we were able to take a picture with Rick Thomas.

LOSING THE TEETH! Becca's front teeth are gone. She lost her first one Feb. 16 and then the second deserted her on March 9, 2010. The front (buck) teeth are finally starting to come in, and will hopefully be sufficient to tackle corn on the cob this summer.

Then, the smaller teeth on either side began loosening as the big teeth started coming in, with one being lost June 8.

"The Best Little Patient in the World"

The time came for Becca to have her tonsils taken out. Since last October, Becca's tonsils were becoming inflammed almost bi-monthly, like clockwork. Three times we took her to our doctor for these nasty throat infections.

We were referred to an ENT specialist who then decided it was time for the tonsils to come out. We arrived the morning of Wednesday, Feb. 24, four days after Becca's sixth birthday, to complete the procedure. The doctor noticed at this point, her tonsils were becoming infected yet again. As you can see in this picture, Becca was ready for it to be over and done with. The previous couple of nights, however, were a different story. As smart as she is, she KNEW exactly what was expected and going to happen in the operating room.

Overheard the night before as Daddy rocked Becca to sleep: (sniffling) "I don't want to have surgery, Daddy."

"They have to come out, Becca. They keep making you sick."

"I think Mommy should go first."

"Mommy already had hers taken out, when she was sixteen."

"Then you go first, and I'll go after you."

"They won't be able to take mine, they're all shriveled up."

We took Becca to a "surgical center" - not a hospital - an outpatient surgery center owned by a group of physicians who operate on their patients in one central location. Talk about a slick operation; we arrived at 6:15 a.m. Becca was admited by 6:40 a.m. (after completing admitting paperwork), taken into pre-op by 7:15, into the operating room for anesthesia by 7:30 a.m. with surgery completed by 8:15. Into post-op where Mommy and Daddy greeted her when she awoke, sobbing, but trying so hard to put on a brave face. We left by 10:00 a.m. and home by 11:15 a.m. Yes, we were up super early, but the medical team that took care of Becca were highly quick and efficient. We couldn't have asked for a better situation.

Father God was surely smiling on our little one today. The nurses fawned over Becca as though she were the only one there and commented that she was certainly "the best little patient in the world."

The Snow Princess poses . . .

Becca poses for a picture prior to pitching an icy snowball at Uncle Chris. Becca took advantage of the near melting temperatures that made for great snowball making to have a snowball fight.

We take this moment to wish everyone a Happy New Year! Have a great start to your 2010!

Love to all . . .

The Boys at the Game . . .

Charles, Chris, Colton and Dad went to the Indianapolis Colts and NY Jets football game in Indy last Sunday. We received tickets as a Christmas present. We were in the southeast corner, sixth row off the goal line. What great seats!

Then, we learned at the beginning of the game that the starters, Peyton Manning included, were going to sit out the second half! The Colts lost their first game of the season and we were bummed!

All in all, however, it was fun and we had a great time. While we were in the game, though, Indianapolis came under a winter storm watch, and we were almost stormed in. The snow was already coming down on the walk in. See for yourself. Good thing we parked close!

We're still pulling for the Colts in the Super Bowl, even though they may lose the last game of the season . . . hehe!

Christmas Dinner at the Lake!

We had Christmas dinner at the lake cottage. Mom fixed a turkey and we ate in the front room looking out at the melting snow and ice. It warmed up, melted off and snowed again that night when the temps dropped.

Grandma and Grandpa pine consistently for the warm temps of Arizona!

Christmas Eve . . .

We have had an extremely busy fall, hence the lack of postings. We apologize for that.

Everyone arrived for Christmas week and we held Christmas Eve at Yellow House. In this photo (from left) Leslie, Biz and Mom, with Becca standing in front, have their picture taken in the new Addition with the Pastor Peyton light in the background. Bizzy has had the light for years and has not had a chance to hang in nine years, sitting instead on top of her piano, both in Bullhead City and in Plymouth, IN. Now, we have managed to hang it.

Rebecca Ratliff, Kindergartner

We now have our Kindergarten pictures. Here's Rebecca - doesn't she take a great picture? Becca has been having a wonderful year, and, recently, begun to sprout again. She has slimmed down (due to loss of appetite prior to a spurt) and now seems to be - in our eyes - an inch taller. Her hair has gotten slightly longer in the back (this picture was taken in late September) and her face has lost some of its puffiness.

We can hardly wait for Christmas pics!

Enjoy!

Off to a great start!

We got off to a great start with school. We cannot believe it's October already! Becca started Kindergarten and loves it! After the first few weeks, Daddy had to go off to a three-day conference and Mommy took Becca to school and, to get her to the elementary on time, she put Becca on the bus in front of the high school so that she could ride over with the rest of the kids. After that she decided riding the bus was really cool. Now, Becca gets up an extra half hour early and rides the bus in from Yellow House (two miles exactly from the front of the high school).

The weather is starting to cool. It was wet most of last week with temps in the 40s and 50s, just in time for Homecoming. At the football game Friday night, Knox beat Bremen 13-7. The Redskins are now 2-4 having won two games in a row. They have one or two more games left to play, so we'll see how the rest of the season goes.

Dance of the Halloween Mask

Becca loves to dance and perform for the family. Here she's showing off one of the Halloween/Opera Masks Bizzy found at Richard's of Toto. Becca thinks she might wear the mask with her witch outfit.

Enjoy!

Becca goes Blueberry Festival Again!

Even though we moved from Plymouth, we still love to attend the Labor Day weekend Blueberry Festival. For those of you who love to watch the morning news shows, Good Morning America named the Blueberry one of the 10 best Labor Day weekend festivals in the country. More than 300,000 people attend over the course of four days.

Yellow House loaded to the Rafters!

"Must expand!" says Bizzy!

After spending much of the summer (July) moving from Plymouth House to Yellow House, we discovered that Yellow House was smaller by 250 square feet. We poured the back patio with the intent of expanding on the back, pouring the concrete with footers, etc. The idea was to build on next year.

After moving, however, we decided it was necessary to expand this year. As you can see in this picture, the walls were just going up in early September, right after Labor Day. We are now close, with roof done, drywall and siding nearly completed and only final trim out on the electric and flooring to be completed in the next couple of weeks.

This will give us nearly 500 added square feet, taking our little cottage from 1550, to 2030 square feet. As Bizzy says, "We needed the extra cushion against the cold Indiana winters!" Yes, Bizzy's gas stove will be installed in the back corner to better warm the room.

More completed pictures to follow.

BECCA RIDES HER BIKE!

Becca showed her Mommy and Daddy a new trick today. With Grandpa's help, Becca took her first ride on a bike without training wheels. After several days of chasing Becca in a golf cart around the lake, Grandpa decided Becca was ready to ride without the help of the extra wheels (which were bent upwards anyways!).

Next thing you know, Becca will be riding her bike off the end of the pier!

Dr. Elizabeth "Biz Sanders Ratliff named principal of Knox High School

After serving three years as assistant principal at Plymouth High School, Biz bade farewell to her students and faculty after being named last week as Principal of Knox High School.

Knox is 23 miles west of Plymouth, and is the community in which much of her family resides. Her father, Claude Sanders, graduated from Knox (Class of 1956); he and Biz's Uncle Bill are both members of the Knox Athletic Hall of Fame; Bass Lake is 5 miles south of Knox and is home to Biz's parents. Yellow House lies on the outskirts of Knox, only 2 miles from the high school. She is very excited about taking on this new responsibility.

Charles has also been offered a position at the elementary school, with a possibility of moving to middle school language arts within a couple of years. He is looking forward to beginning his new position and getting Becca settled into Kindergarten. He and Leslie have begun book 2 of "The Bass Lake Bunch" and have a full slate of signings scheduled for this summer.

Biz begins her new job July 1, so there won't be much of a vacation this summer. We are in the process of moving to Yellow House permanently and have spent a lot of afternoons swimming, boating and, oh yes, moving furniture, much to Charles' chagrin and aching muscles (hehehe:)!

BECCA GRADUATES PRESCHOOL!

We are proud to announce that Becca finished preschool and has been pronounced ready for Kindergarten! Here she receives an achievement award for most improved reader.

We were trying to decide where to enroll her for Kindergarten: in Plymouth or in Knox. After much discussion and a recent change in events, Becca will be attending Kindergarten in Knox with her Sanders cousins!

TIME FOR PEPPERS

With the advent of spring, we planted a variety of peppers at Yellow House to add to our stock for the delicious fajitas Bizzy makes. Here Becca does the planting for her dad. Along the fence row we put in Mexicali Bells, Jalapenos, sweet Yellow Bells and others.

We do love our peppers with our fajitas!

OUR LITTLE GLOBETROTTER!



Becca is having so much fun at Winter League basketball. She sports her new uniform t-shirt, her number is 3, and holds on to her "Harlem Globetrotter" basketball. She took her warm-up shots before the two games and her warm-down shots after the game. She sports her red IU game shorts proudly! Sorry, Grandpa! (ISU!) and wanted to know when the third game would be. We told her next week.

"You ready to go, kiddo?" asked Daddy!

"NO!" Becca emphatically shouts. "I'm never leaving this gym! I love basketball and I want to keep playing!"

"But, Becca, we have to go get something to eat!"

"I'm not hungry!"

As she starts to dribble toward the basket, Daddy says, "I'll make you a hamburger and french fries."

"Awright!" and off we go, heading for the car. Daddies always know how to get their daughters moving in the right direction.

Right?

WAITING FOR THAT REBOUND!

Becca keeps up with her teammates during the second game. Somewhere between the first and second matches, Becca learned that if she goes for the rebound, she just might get the ball!

After losing their first game (who's really keeping score anyway?) Becca's team played very well during their second match . . . Becca even scored a goal! Way to go, Becca! Just not during the footage you see here. Becca was in the right spot under the far goal and one of the girls threw the inbound pass to Becca and with Daddy shouting "Shoot!" very loudly, Becca heard and tossed the round ball into the round hoop!

We're having so much fun! We only hope that Becca has fun, runs a lot! And, she makes lots of new friends. As our high school girls defend their state championship title, we are reminded that many of them started right here . . . at Winter League camp. This year, more than 90 K-1-2 grade girls came out and formed teams, not to mention the other 250 in grades 3 through 6 playing in the other two gyms at PHS.

GET READY FOR THAT REBOUND2!

Becca got the hang of waiting for that rebound shot that I had to run this one, too! Becca's team plays again next two Sundays with the final match coming March 15, the weekend Grandpa Sanders comes to town. Becca assures us she'll be playing like Colton by the time her grandfather gets to see her play . . . er, maybe.:)

BECCA'S AFTER GAME WARM-DOWNS

After playing two games, Becca refuses to leave the gym and continues taking shots at the hoop. Becca is getting really good at this, once she puts her mind to it. She's even better when she shoots with her "Harlem Globetrotter" basketball we found at Bailey's!

On Sunday, Becca started playing in the Plymouth High School Lady Pilgrims Little Kids Basketball Camp (Becca is the one in the blue shorts). The goal is for the girls to come out and have fun playing, and learning how to play, basketball. The organizers - coaches at the various levels in the school system - broke the girls - more than 300 0f them - down by grade. More than 80 participated in the K-2 group where Becca played.

You're saying, wait! Becca isn't in Kindergarten yet. Well, Becca has been seen by several of the coaches at the basketball games and when we asked about her participating this year, they all immediately said, "Sign her up!" You see, Becca stands nearly a head taller than 90 percent of the kindergarten girls in Plymouth, although there are some tall ones playing in this league, let me tell ya!

In the video, Becca and the other girls work on shooting drills. After that, they broke down into practice teams and played a few minutes of 5-on-5.

Becca shows how much she's learned after an hour practicing some basics of basketball. Here she guards a girl during a practice game. Becca loved being at the camp and will be placed on a team and will practice one night at week and play in as many as five games.

DO I HAVE TO GIVE UP MY BALL?

Becca holds on to a basketball while waiting for her turn to dribble. She had fun with more than 80 kids in grades K-2 learning some basics about baskeball.

IT'S TIME I LEARNED HOW TO SHOVEL!

After a couple of recent snow stormstorms, Daddy used his brand new snow blower to clear the patio and wlakways. The snow blower, however, won't work on minor accumulation of less than inch.

That's where Becca comes in. She asked Daddy for the shovel the other day and began clearing off the patio. She did a great job!

We hope everybody out west is keeping warm! We've had a few days of sub-zero temperatures and we're hunkering down in the house cuddling next to the gas fireplace.

CHRISTMAS AT GRANDMA'S AND GRANDPA'S!

We spent Christmas and New Year's with family in Bullhead City/Laughlin. We decided to fly this year into Las Vegas, but weather was horrible the weekend we were supposed to leave. The last school day of the year, Friday, Dec. 19, turned out to be a snow day.

We finally made it to Bullhead City, via Las Vegas, after weather delays caused our flight to go out a day later than than usual. We spent the Christmas holidays at Grandma's and Grandpa's house and saw the family there.

After Christmas, we made a short trip to Phoenix and spent some time with Russ and Lee. We also got a chance to visit with Uncle Ken and Aunt Fran.

After New Year's we went to Las Vegas for a couple of days before flying back out to South Bend. We enjoyed the weather in Arizona and Nevada and enjoyed seeing our families.

We wish everyone a wonderful, happy New Year!

TWO GENERATIONS OF RATLIFFS!

Over the Christmas holidays, we managed to make if to Phoenix for a brief visit with the brothers. We had breakfast together at Cracker Barrel. Here, the boys and their kids pose for posterity: from left, Larry, Caius and Ailey; Charles and Becca; Russ and Evan; and Lee and Ashley.

BECCA WISHES SANTA CLAUDE ERIC A HAPPY HOLIDAY

Becca sends her heartfelt Christmas wishes to Uncle (Santa) Claude Eric. Enjoy.
(P.S. Daddy learned a new trick! More to follow!)

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2008

As Thanksgiving weekend comes to a close, we want to wish everyone a wonderful Christmas season. This picture seemed so pertinent, especially with the early snowfall we have experienced (and are experiencing!).

We had our pictures taken at a fundraiser for the Marshall County Historical Society. We have come to enjoy the Indiana winters, but can do without the Lake Effect snow/rain.

We hope you are all warm and snuggly and wish you all a Merry Christmas!

Love,

The Ratliffs of Plymouth, Indiana

WILL YOU JUST PUSH ME ALREADY!

Daddy didn't have the heart to take Becca to her preschool on a day when he and Mommy had off. So, we went to Wal-Mart, picked out a toboggan and off we went to Magnetic Park, which has a short hill where little kids can sled safely.

Of course, the snow was so deep Daddy had to sled first and create some runs so Becca could enjoy her sledding experience (oh, my achin' back!).

MAGNETIC PARK UNDER SNOW

Becca and Daddy walked to Magnetic Park for some snow sledding and this is what greeted them. The wind was picking up, the clouds dissipating and the sun peaking through in places.

Charles forgot his camera and had to snap these images (above and below) with his cell phone. We hope they come through OK on your end.

FIRST MAJOR SNOWFALL OF THE SEASON

Earlier in the week, we recieved about 2 inches of Lake Effect snow, which didn't seem to do much and melted away within hours. That changed Thursday night as a blast of Arctic wind shot down from the north, crossing a much warmer Lake Michigan and dumping nearly 8 inches of Lake Effect snow on the region.

This posed a problem. As you can see, D.D. had quite the interesting morning Friday trying to find a place to go potty. We did discover, however, that she is quite the snow dog and has no problem plowing through the snow (or under it!).

So, with the massive snow fall and wet, slippery roads, school was canceled Friday giving us an extra three-day weekend. Becca awoke to the massive blanket covering her backyard and went right out to make her first snow angel of the year.

We hope you all are enjoying the warm weather as we are enjoying winter's first visit to northern Indiana.

Claude and Kasey send a wonderful gift for Rebecca. After the screaming stoped, she jumped right in the tub with her new bathtub duck. It even glows in the dark!

BECCA DANCES THE ELECTRIC SLIDE!

One of the things about the Monster Mash is that Becca enjoys dancing to the sounds of the D.J. Here, Becca grooves with one of Daddy's teacher aides, Mrs. King. Becca was expecting her daycare friend (and son of one of Daddy's teaching colleagues) Cameron, but he never showed.

Of course, I did explain to Becca that Cameron had a brand new baby brother - born just last week - and his family was probably taking a rest.

She informed us that Cameron was still her friend! She added that she was going to let him have it at school tomorrow!

NOTE: For pictures of Becca and Cameron at last year's Monster Mash, go into the archives into the November 2007 posts.

BECCA AND DADDY HEADED TO MONSTER MASH!

Becca and Daddy get ready to head to the Monster Mash at Daddy's school. Becca likes to dress up and go to see all the junior high kids dress up. Daddy likes to dress up and go see all the crazy adults who do the same. The life of a school teacher sometimes requires you to do crazy things.

Here, Becca dressed up as Mariposa (Barbie). Mommy dressed her hair up with glitter and sparkle and a little reddish tint. This is the outfit Becca is going to wear to go trick-or-treating on Halloween.

CARVING PUMPKINS 2008 World Tour

Becca and Bizzy try out new instruments for carving pumpkins. Seen here, they are scooping the guts from the inside and getting the pumpkin ready for a face. Becca had no problem getting her hand gushy . . . so long as she had gloves on.

Once the guts were removed, Bizzy designed and carved the faces. Charles tried to carve a face on one, but Bizzy helped him get it right. Now, both creatively carved pumpkins now sit on the front porch waiting to scare trick-or-treaters.

HAUNTED HAPPENINGS AT MAGNETIC PARK!

Daddy and Becca went to Magnetic Park (just down the street from our house and the site of last year's flooding) and participated in the fun and games put on by the Plymouth Parks & Rec Department.

Here, Becca pokes her head out of the Hay Maze, created by hay bales and covered in a tarp so that the kids can crawl through, get lost in and find their way out of.

Becca had no troubles going through the maze and had a blast! So much so that she promptly proceeded to go through two more times.

Later, Becca played a couple of games involving bowling pumpkins and knocking down pins. She earned herself some candy. In this picture, she tells Daddy that she wants to go walk the haunted trail (the tractor pulling the hay ride broke down, so everyone had to walk - go figure).

Becca says she can't wait for Daddy's school to have its Monster Mash dance, because he took her last year, and this year she wants to go so bad, she's been counting down the number of sleeps until it gets here.

We want to wish everyone a safe and wonderful Happy Halloween! And, Becca says she wants to wish Daddy a Happy Birthday!

BECCA'S TURN TO TAKE A PICTURE!

We were at our favorite Mexican Restaurant and Daddy was showing Mommy pictures of the countertops that were installed at Yellow House. Becca asked for the camera, and, well, the rest is history. Not only is Becca going to become Daddy's little writer, she's going to become Mommy's little digital photographer.

Not only did she take a picture of Daddy, she took a couple of Mommy! Here's another!

COUNTERTOPS ARE IN!

Yellow House is now complete! With the installation of countertops, the kitchen is virtually done. Now, all we're waiting for is for our plumber to finish the faucets. Everything water-related is done, with the exception of the two bathroom sinks and kitchen sink.

We went out tonight to show the countertops to Bizzy. All she could say is "Wow!"

We're going to spend the winter and take extra furniture and things from Plymouth House out to Yellow House. For those who know and helped us move two and a half years ago, know that we have more than enough "stuff" for two houses!

YELLOW HOUSE IS DONE (well, almost)!

With the exception of a few minor details, Yellow House is virtually done. I know we've been showing you mostly outside shots, or shots of studded walls, now we would like to take you in the front door for a little tour of some of the features of Yellow House.

Thanks for keeping up with us via the blog, and we hope you have enjoyed the updates of all that has been going on.

Also, keep on scrolling below the Yellow House posts, as Charles has caught you up-to-date with other happenings going on (and included pictures of Becca!).

THE SOON-TO-BE ENTERTAINMENT CENTER

I know it seems like a lot for one little boom box, but Dad and Biz designed this beginning phase of the entertainment center in the main living room. If you notice, the boom box only has one speaker, because the other is sitting on top of the upper cabinets in the kitchen. Yes, Yellow House is wired for sound!

The top of the cabinets is tiled and the TV and Stereo system will sit on top of the cabinet. We haven't decided yet how the upper shelves will look, whether they will be built-in and drywalled (Russ help!) or if we will just mount shelves on the wall around the TV. We'll just have to see.

The wall to the immediate left of the boom box used to be the entryway into the old living room, that is until Dad knocked the wall to the left down and we didn't need it anymore. When Charles closed in the entryway, this alcove was created. Bizzy felt it would make a great built-in entertainment center.

MASTER BEDROOM ALLOWS UNIQUE BED NOOK!

Bizzy took the footboard of her antique four-poster queen-size bed and placed it into the center nook of the bedroom bay (each of the main rooms of the old part of the house have this unique bay alcove) to give an idea of how this unique nook will be used. The bed will jut into the bedroom from the bay wall, allowing more space to be used in the main part of the bedroom for the antique cherry furniture.

During construction, the middle window was removed and the wall repaired to allow a solid wall above the bed. The door to the master bath is to the left of the mirror on the floor, which got installed above the vanity sink (see post below).

MASTER BATH SHINES!

We took the Master bathroom and installed kitchen cabinets to allow for more storage for linens, towels and necessities. We are still waiting for the plumber to finalize the sinks, faucets and toilets, which will hopefully occur after kitchen countertops go in.

WAITING FOR COUNTERTOPS!

With the exception of countertops and backsplash, the kitchen at Yellow House is nearly complete. A bar juts into the middle of the kitchen at the lower right hand of the picture, while the sink will be installed as part of the countertops just below the window. Of everything at Yellow House that was designed, Dad and Biz really put their talents to good use where the kitchen is concerned.

BECCA PRETENDS TO CALL AUNT LESLIE!

Becca shows off the new outfit she got from her Aunt Leslie on the stoop in front of Plymouth House as we were heading out for the Plymouth-Elkhart Memorial home game. Becca was so excited when the package came in she couldn't hardly wait to put the outfit on.

Here, she pretends to talk on the phone to her Aunt Leslie, thanking her for the outfit. She can be so funny when she talks on the phone.

Overheard recently while coming home from daycare:

"Hello, can I speak to Dr. Ratliff? She's my mommy."

"Un-huh. . . OK . . ." Phone slaps shut. "Oh, man!"

"What is it, Becca?" Daddy asks while driving.

"Mommy can't talk right now, she's in a meeting."

And, so goes the life of a precocious 4-year-old who's growing too fast for words, too quickly to keep up with, and too cool for school.

BECCA'S BEAUTIFUL BUTTERFLY!

Becca gets her face painted at the Rockies' home game versus Elkhart Memorial two fridays ago. With the win over Memorial the Rockies took an undefeated 5-0 streak into Homecoming last Friday night, defeating Wawasee 42-7 to stay unbeaten.

After the exciting game, Mommy, Daddy and Becca headed out to the lake one more time to visit with Grandma and Grandpa before they head to Arizona.

BLUEBERRY FESTIVAL 08 A BLAST!

As is the custom in Plymouth every Labor Day weekend, more than half a million people descend upon the Marshall County Blueberry Festival (Indiana is home to more than a hundred "festivals") and we love going. The fact that we can walk to the Blueberry Festival is not lost upon Mom or Dad, who usually end up carrying an exhausted Becca, who as this picture shows, loves the Kiddie Carnival!

This year, Mommy got smart and grabbed the umbrella stroller and we were able to push (barely!) Becca home after hours of fun at the festival. This was one of the few times we have been able to break away from the ongoing project at Yellow House and just let go.

JUST LET ME SLEEP!

Becca grabs 40 winks on the drive back from the lake to Plymouth. Mommy and Daddy had to stop at Lowe's, so Daddy had to stay in the car and monitor sleeping beauty. This was also the weekend we received more than 11 inches of rain. Most of Northern Indiana and Southwestern Michigan flooded, but not Plymouth! We had our turn last January and February

Right?

WOW! THAT'S COLD!

During the dog days of summer, Becca enjoys a swim in Barry and Crystal's pool during Ethan and Trevor's joint birthday party a couple of weeks ago. The weather had started to get cool, down into the low 70s during the day, and in the 40's at night. The water was a bit chilly, the pool about 4 feet deep, and Becca dove in, no problem!

Of course, the peels of joy were actually the howls of shock upon first entering the water (hehehehe!). Becca used just a floatie and has become, at 4, quite the fish. Her inspiration? "Waterhorse! Come save me!" Of course, we all know who "Waterhorse" is, don't we, Colton?

MEET US AT THE WELL!

Charles has been working on our church's design team to help create a third worship service. Our church, First United Methodist of Plymouth, added a second pastor, Matt Pickut. The church wanted to add a contemporary worship service, one that met the needs of members of our community who desired something different and unique.

This is our logo. The Well represents that one place in a community where people gathered. Jesus met the woman at the well, and declared that He is the water of life.

We made a commercial at our dress rehearsal in August and you're welcome to go visit it at our church's website at: http://www.meetmeatthewell.net/Media.htm If you watch closely, you'll see Becca for a split second.

We absolutely love the evening worship service, as we spend a lot of our time at the lake on the weekends and cannot quite make it to morning service (we usually get back to Plymouth in the afternoon in time for evening service). Charles digs the contemporary service and will be participating with the Drama team. Bizzy is aching for an open mike night to show what she can do (and we all know that she sings so well!). Becca bails after praise and worship to head upstairs for Kids Connection.

More news soon. Take care and God Bless!

D.D. and Me on the back porch!

Becca and D.D. relax on the back porch while waiting for Mommy to get home from work. D.D. has adjusted quite well to being at Plymouth house and manages to escape Becca - most of the time. Other times, she just gives up and lets Becca carry her around like she was her baby.

Yellow House is nearly done!

After spending nearly the whole summer helping Dad rehab Yellow House, Charles and Biz went back to school, and the siding installers finished with the siding. Biz chose a cream color in order for the name "Yellow House" to be kept.

It covered up quite nicely. The inside is nearly done as well. At the time this photo was taken this past week, the kitchen and bathroom cabinets were being installed. All that's left is finishing the lights, outlets, switches, baseboard, and floors! Although it still seems like a lot, Dad says he's planning on having it all done before he heads out the door for Arizona in late September.

This weekend, Labor Day, we're planning on installing inside doors and finishing up trim. The plumber then comes in next week or so to finish up tying the water system to the house.

By next summer, Yellow House will be ready for company. All that's left for the winter is to bring in some furniture, of which Bizzy and Charles have plenty to spare at Plymouth house!