Dominican Republic Countdown

We are anxiously counting down until Greg & I leave for the D.R!! We are starting to get packed and get ready!! Pray for us and our group as we serve the people of the Dominican and share the gospel of Jesus Christ!

Monarch Crystalis

We have some friends that homeschool and they were raising Monarch's. We were able to go over and see one come out of its crystalis. Way cool!!! They had 10 all together. Hope & Jon enjoyed seeing the Lord's amazing handywork!!

Front Yard Fort

September brings many things to our little family, but the kids will be sad when the weather gets cooler and the days of forts in the front yard come to an end . Here they are enjoying the great outdoors under the front tree!

Labor Day Weekend Camping

For the past couple of years, we have been camping with family on Labor Day Weekend. We always have a blast! WE tent it, while others in the fam have trailers. It is such a great time of fun and fellowship. The camping crew is as follows:Al & Mary with granddaughter Riley, Cal & Kendra, Heather & Kevin with Austin & Alexa, Christine with Ethan & Calvin, Philip & Crystal with Cole, Clint & Kristy with Bailey, and Greg & Tammy with Hope & Jon& Abby. We have a few extras show up here and there for dinner or some games. We relax, eat, relax, eat some more and pretty much follow that routine. Til next year, Twin Mills!!

Dressed to kill

Our poor Abby!! She never can quite understand why the kids find so much humor in dressing her in their clothes. She is ever so gracious and compliant! She is ready for a night out on the town but unfortunately has no where to go!!

School had begun!!!

School has begun in the Cripe house!! On Wednesday we had our first day. Hope has started the 3rd grade and Jon is now a Kindergartener!! Hope is convinced that school is just wonderful. Jon is not so convinced. He said he really likes his teacher but not the school part. Be in prayer for me as I adjust to teaching 2! We finished well this week. Next week is a whole new week with new and exciting things to learn and grow in.

Metamorphisis-Aug. 18, 2008

This month's Science Sleuths was all about Metamorphisis. Hope made this wonderful molding clay exhibit of the metamorphisis of a frog. She did a splendid job! It was a great representation.

Cookout Crashers!! August 15

We were part of a group of "Cookout Crashers". We thought it would be great fun to invite ourselves over to our dear friends "The Yoders" and make our own party. Unbeknownst to them!!They seemed pretty shocked when about 40 friends and neighbors showed up with all the food and games for a great party!! In this day in age, we have unfortunately frowned at guests that just pop in. We are breaking the trend, going against society, and reintroducing the times of just stopping in for a little visit. We have a great group of friends that want to be involved in each others already too-full lives. So friends beware.....you just might be next!!

A trip to the Ft. Wayne Zoo

My dear friend Lora Scott and I decided to take the kids to the Ft. Wayne Zoo one day. It was kind of our kick off to a new school year. Her little Kendall had heard enough of the other kids talking and we looked back and there he was plugging his ears!!! The kids loved the pony & horse rides. Jonny was afraid if I said "Yah" his little pony would dart!! Hope is an old pro when it comes to horses (or so she thinks).

Here they are being hatched. We always thought they were a little "different", but couldn't put our finger on the reason why. Here is Jonny in the dog house. It was very fitting for him!! He's my little cutie!! We had alot of fun and I think the kids were tuckered out.

August 1-3 Cripe Camping

We had a wonderful time camping at Uncle Al & Aunt Mary's farm on this weekend. We had our own church service Sunday morning on the pool deck. Cousin Clint brought forth the Word for us. He did a great job encouraging us on what a Christian family should look like. When he was finished, I sat there realizing how blessed we are in the Cripe Family. Most all of us know Jesus Christ in a very personal way and are walking with Him. We had a ball being together playing games, eatting ice cream and just talking. The kids loved the golf cart rides!! Thanks so much Al & Mary!!!

Mi Amiga & Salvador

This is my precious friend Veronica. She is now in Costa Rica visiting her sweet boyfriend, Salvador. She is just a great friend and sister. I love her to pieces! Our mutual adopted Mama Jo emailed this pic to me and I had to post it. I hope to see them both, very soon. Vero, Te amo con todo mi corazon!

Psalm 25:4-5

Make me know your ways, O Lord. Teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day.

Tammy' s trip to Florida July 23-28

I spent 5 days in Flordia with my lifelong friend, Shelly, and her fantastic family. Shelly & her husband Bryant, just had their first baby, Sara Elizabeth. This adds another child to their family. They have adopted 3 children (Hannah, Brittany, and Cory). They also have a foster son, Jakori. We had a blast!

Shelly & I ventured out on our first outing to an outdoor mall for some coin tossing into the fountain, and hot dogs. That was our goal with 5 little ones, ages 6 & under. We succeeded and had no melt downs, no dirty diapers, no lost kids, and everyone had a great time!

Hannah & Brittany decided to do my hair one night. This is a picture of them making me pretty. They tried their best but my hair is fine, thin and doesn't hold well.

Shelly does a fabulous job with her girls hair! Every Saturday night is hair night! It takes about 1 1/2 hours for her to do each girl!! Granted, it lasts all week, but still she amazes me. Here is her finished product with Hannah's. My finished product with Brittany's doesn't quite take the cake but not too bad for my firsttime. The girls were very gracious!

I was blessed to be able to assist Shelly with Sara's first real bath! She wasn't very thrilled with it but she survived. She is absolutely darling!

Bryant took the kids swimming in the river at his parents house. They loved being thrown in! Bryant shared his "FLAdora" with Jakori and Brittany modeled it with her new boots. I think it will be a new trend and Bryant is responsible for bringing it back!

Cory allowed me to capture his lizards on film. These two little guys are his pets. The King house is full of all sorts of pets. Dogs, Lilly & Fawn, lizards, a frog named Katie ,a bird, and lots of snakes. Bryant is amazing with his knowledge of reptiles but I haven't learned to appreciate the species, yet. I filmed him feeding one of the big ones a rat. Couldn't post it, I'm still having bad dreams about it. Just kidding, Bryant! It was something to see!!

I had such a great time with my precious friend, Shelly, and her family. I was blessed to be able to help out after Sarah was born. Shelly and I have been friends for close to 30 years! She deserves a medal for sticking with me for that long!! Or at least, an extra jewel in her crown in heaven. She is such a treasure to me. I am so thankful to the Lord for blessing my life with her. She's the best!! She is a fabulous Mommy to her kids and the way she foster-parents, is truly a gift from the Lord. She and Bryant make such a great team!

I came home challenged to be a better Mom, wife and friend! My sweet, Greg, took great care of our kids while I was gone. We all had a very busy 5 days having fun and making memories!!

Little Mohawk Boy

It seems like everytime I give Jonny a haircut, he has been after me to give him a mohawk. I did indulge him for about 5 minutes. I told him he looked pretty good with it, then I shaved it off. He was good with it, since we took some pictures.

Strep throat

Hope was comforted by her pooch, Abby, when she came down with strep throat on July 13. Unfortunately Hope passed the sickness on to her dear friend Savannah when they had an overniter after the Baseball party. A little amoxicillin and she was as good as new within 24 hours.

Saying goodbye

Our family said goodbye to Greg's mom and her husband this week. They are moving to

the beautiful state of Arizona. After finishing up with packing the truck up, we all went out for a final treat at McDonalds. We'll miss them!

July 19, 2008

We are big ice cream eatters! This is a snapshot of Jon & Hope at Flavor Freeze. We were just getting ready to try out some cookies-n-cream, chocolate chip cookie dough, and mint chip. They looked much messier after the fact. But still, oh so adorable!

July 15, 2008

Greg's stepsister, Megan & her husband Aaron, were home for a few days this past week. Aaron is the youth pastor at a church in Vincennes. We were able to get together and have a fun evening of dessert, and rides for the kids on the John Deere with Uncle Lee. Hope enjoys giving her brother rides on the 3-wheeler.

Friday, July 11, 2008

We went to a Baseball party for Hope's baseball team. Check out the water slide these guys had! They had a blast on it! There was also a pond for them to swim in, great food to eat, and just a whole lotta fun. Mrs. Brown braved the big trike with her son Mattox and a baby on the way! A big thank you for the King & Snider families for throwing this big bash for the team!

Jonny's Big Day

The 4th was also filled with excitement for Jonny! He rode for the first time, his bike with no training wheels! He took right off and did excellent! Greg is such a great teacher by pushing them off in the soft grass just in case they don't succeed! But PTL both of our kids have not had a wipe out yet! Great job Jonny!

Silver Beach

We are Beach Lovers! We went to Silver Beach which is in St. Joseph, Michigan (about an hour away). We build sand castles, swim, tan, and read but mostly just relax and have fun. It was a busy holiday weekend and we loved it!

Black Squirrel Happenings!

On July 6th, we hung out at the Black Squirrel Golf Course in Goshen, with some friends! They had a great firework display and a patriotic concert! We played games, talked, and just enjoyed being with each other. We are so thankful the Lord has given us so many great friends that absolutely love the Lord.