So much to say!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Where to begin?  It is probably best to give a point by point replay of the past few months starting with sweet Emma's arrival:

• Emma was born in April
• Shortly after, Pete and I quit our jobs and put our house on the market
• We got an offer on our house the first day it was on the market 
• We went to Portland and pretty much moved in with my parents while Pete took a class at PSU for his admin program
• Our friend let us stay in her house until we found a permanent place, so we moved in.
• We accepted the offer on our house and needed to be out by July 22nd.  We went to Eugene, packed up some things for Portland and put the rest in storage.
• We both got interviews in the Beaverton School District
• We went to the beach with my family.  While there, we both received phone calls with offers for jobs.  I will be a counselor at the middle school I went to and Pete will be teaching MYP 7th and 8th grade
• We started looking for houses.  Our second day looking we found a house we loved.  We put an offer on it.  It was accepted and closing will be the 31st.

The summer has been CRAZY!!!! In between all of this, we have been caring for three little ones and trying to have a bit of summer fun.  Despite the craziness, we are thrilled that we decided to take the leap of faith and move to Portland to be closer to family.  We truly are blessed with the best family and friends ever. 
So ... on to a short recap of the summer ... get ready for a ton of pictures:

Sweet Emma gets bigger every day.  This picture was taking around the 4th of July I think and she has changed so much since then.  She is smiling and cooing and such a sweet addition to our family.  She couldn't be more loved.

 

Lucy continues to amuse us with her fashion sense,

 

Sofie is the cutest thing ever ,,, SUCH a stinker right now, but so cute.

 

Pete reading to Emma,

 

We've spent a few days at the Children's Museum ... so nice to be close to this place!

 

Lucy at the park.

 

SSSOOOO nice to be close to my good friend Becky and her kids.

 

Emma ... I even managed to capture a smile.

 

On our last trip to Eugene with the kids, we visited one of our favorite places - Lone Pine Farms.  The kids got to take a ride on the Cow Train.  They loved it!

 

Summer treats at Grammy and Poppy's house.

 

We even got to play at the park with Brady and Drew.

 

Having fun in the laundry baskets.

 

Two of my three sweet girls.

 

We spent a fabulous week at the beach!

 

Auntie Katy being silly with the girls ... they are planning on starting a band called "The Pull-Ups" :)

 

More beach pics.

 

A beautiful view from a lighthouse near Tillamook.

 

Sofie getting into the dress up game.

 

Again ... my sweet babies.

 

Lucy and Sofie went to their first movie - Winnie the Pooh.

 

One of our favorite places this summer has been the park near Beaverton Library.  It has everything there, including a water fountain to play in.  We LOVE it!

 

This is the most recent shot of Emma.  I keep trying to get her smiling, but the flash throws her off.

 

Today we took the kids to the Clackamas County Fair.  The hit was this butterfly exhibit.  The girls got to feed butterflies - what a wonderful day! (Lucy did her own hair, of course ... some of the butterflies mistook it for a flower bouquet).

Really, it has been a wonderful summer.  We are so grateful for all the love and support we have been given.  We are anxious to get more settled so that we can be the givers of love and support, instead of the constant takers. :)  Hopefully, my blogging will pick up speed ... I always hope this, but I can't make any promises.  We are sending love to everyone!