Long Time No Post!

It's been forever since I posted because nursing school started and I have been insanely busy!

I don't have time to update everyone, but here's some pictures from the last several weeks (warning: there's a lot of pictures!):

I crocheted a ladybug buddy for my camera :)

I bought the girls a hamster for their birthdays. They named him Pip.

He's a little fatty and the girls love playing with him every morning

As you can tell, his cheeks are stuffed. He would love to eat 3-4 bowls of food a day but we're limiting him to 2.

This face in the window always makes me happy to come home. Whenever he hears me walk up or drive into the driveway, he comes looking, tail wagging enthusiastically.

Fall is coming!

It was raining one day and I set my camera on a shutter speed of 1/5000 of a second and got pictures of actual rain drops!

This kid steals our hearts... :)

Some friends of ours just returned from adopting 6 kids from eastern Europe so this is Joshua greeting them at the airport.

A cute little girl at the airport

I think this is one of my favorite photos ever

Our friend and one of the kids

I went to a friend's wedding and saw my friend, Mrs. H. She and I are both standing in this picture. :)

In Which we Climb a Mountain and I get Locked on the Back Porch

This morning, we went to Bald River Falls to explore the water falls and go hiking. The falls were gorgeous, the weather was fantastic, and the hiking was fun. Joy Anna was not happy because she wasn't allowed to simply follow Nathan in scaling the cliff wall, but she toddled along with the rest of us.

When we got back, everyone had a rest time. I decided to take a book and go onto the second-floor balcony which had a hammock. I got comfy and spent an hour and a half finishing my book. When I got up to return to the house, I discovered someone locked the door...I was stuck. I started knocking on the door, trying to get someone to hear me, but then I realized the rest of the family had all left for the pool. I was really stuck. 

By listening to the kids yelling from the far-off pool (close enough to for me to hear, too far for them to hear me) I figured out Nathan wasn't at the pool so I texted him. Then I called him. No response. After a few more minutes, I texted mom and dad too. "Hello? Are you missing someone? I'm stuck up here! And I've got to pee! Please come let me out!"

Five minutes later, the door unlocked and mom appeared. It turned out that she had been in the house and actually got the text. I was saved! :-D

Here are pictures from our hiking trip:

I love Joy Anna's pout :-D

First and only picture of me from this vacation, mainly to prove that I did indeed go on vacation with the family 

this is probably my favorite picture of Grace ever