At the Lake...

In addition to our fishing fun, we also spent some time just having fun hanging out.

The boys happily splashed.

And Grandpa gave boat rides around the lake

Fishing Fun...

While at Grandma and Grandpa Potts' house we took a trip to the lake for some fishing fun. This is the second fishing trip the boys have had.


Zeke learned to cast, while I made sure that the area around him was free of brothers so nobody got hooked. Grandpa had to do a little untangling of Zeke's line every once in a while.


Seth spent most of his day reeling in a bobber after we lost his hook fairly early. It was probably safer that way.

JJ tried to be patient as he waited for the fish to bite.

Noah brought in our big catch of the day though...
Look closely... JJ is holding it, since Noah thought it was too "pokey".

Grandma and Grandpa's Garden

One of the things the boys love most about Grandma and Grandpa Potts' house (other than Grandma and Grandpa of course) is their garden in the summer. The trips to the garden for fresh vegetables are always a big hit with our boys and we eat fresh tomatoes and cucumbers all day.

JJ and Zeke enjoy looking over the plants for the ripe vegetables.

Noah carried the cucumbers to the house.

Zeke loves the tomatoes.

And what trip to the garden would be complete without a tractor ride.

Seeing how much the boys love the garden always makes me think of starting one at our house... But somehow I wonder if the boys would be as excited about helping out at home... Hmmmm, something to ponder on for a while.

Check this out...

Across the street from the cottage we visited there is a Native American village set up. It seems some of their neighbors have quite a hobby.

There is a teepee with some lifelike looking people.

A horsemen carrying a flag.There is an native american sitting in a canoe on the pond.

This bear carrying a fish near the pond.

And a carving of some bears and eagle from a tree. The boys thought it was a pretty neat thing to see.

Michigan Trip

We had an opportunity to get away to the north for a couple days. Some friends of ours from church have a cottage on a lake in Southern Michigan and we started our trip there. The boys had a great time splashing in the water.

Zeke spent the day perfecting his use of the snorkel.

JJ spent the day searching for minnows, sea shells and other water treasures.

We all took a ride on the pontoon boat and spent some time combing the shoreline for turtles.

Thanks to Jack and Lois for a wonderful day in the sun!

From Coldwater we headed north to spend a day in Battle Creek. We had a great time playing in an indoor/ outdoor water playland called Full Blast (not a convenient place for a camera though so I have no pictures). After another day in the sun and water we headed home and finished our mini-vacation with a pizza and movie night in our living room!

Wizards Baseball

Tonight we had an opportunity to celebrate the ending of Greek with Lutheran Night at the Fort Wayne Wizards Game. The boys were excited to get the noisemaker balloons when we walked through the gates.

The new associate Pastor from our church, Pastor Jay, threw out the ceremonial first pitch (well at least one of them, there were several including one from Ronald McDonald).

You can't tell but the Wizards were all wearing pink Jerseys as part of a Vera Bradley fundraising event for Breast Cancer Research. There was a silent auction for the Jerseys and at the end of the game the guys took their dirty sweaty shirts off and gave them to the winning bidder. Can't say that I am too sorry that we didn't get a chance to bid on one of those.

The evening ended with the duo Quick Change and Fireworks. At around 11:00 p.m. we walked through the doors of our home with 4 very tired little boys who then slept until 9:30 Saturday morning.

GREEK Complete!

Yesterday Chad took his Greek Final and today he is reviewing with his class. He recieved a 99.5% on the final and a passing grade for the class! It has been an intense 10 weeks full of highs and lows and we are thankful to have successfully made it through and I am very proud of him.

The highs of summer Greek...

• A new family of friends. Through his Greek class Chad and I have met several wonderful families and many of them have children about the same ages as ours as well (and most of them are boys).
• Being able to read the Word of God in its original language and unfolding some of the depth that we miss in the translation.
• Watching Chad continually excel at a difficult language.
• Being able to help and support others who struggled a little more through study groups.
• The final exam!!!

The lows of summer Greek...

• Sometimes seemingly endless hours of studying and memorizing.
• Early mornings and long nights.
• Prior to the second mid-term (the most difficult of the course) there was a period of about 2 weeks that we didn't see much of Chad.

We thank the Lord for sustaining us through the long hours of studying and for allowing Chad to use and retain so much of what he has learned through this class!

Back To School

Around the state of Indiana students will head back to school in the next week or so... Our family has continued school through the summer (very intermittently). Here is a glimpse into the homeschooling life of our boys.

Zeke is 6 and in 1st Grade. We are using Alpha Omega's LifePacks this year. His favorite subjects right now are Math and Science. Reading and Handwriting on the bottom of his list.

JJ is 5 and in Kindergarten. We use the Alpha Omega curriculum with him as well. He enjoys the books, but still loves to be able to cut, paste, paint and draw as he learns.

Noah is 4 and has a Dora the Explorer basic skills book that he uses during our "school time". He also is learning his letters and phonics sounds.

Seth is 3 and likes to get in on class as well. He will color a picture and then cut it into tiny pieces.

This week the boys created this picture in a sponge painting project. JJ started by painting a big circle. He and Zeke then decided that this was Christ's tomb. Zeke painted three crosses into the picture. Noah decided to add soldiers and painted them by pressing the sponge to the paper. On Seth's turn he moved the sponge around and around. This, the boys decided, was the desert that Jesus died in. I am amazed at their creativity.

Grandma Camp 2008

Back in 2006 our boys started Grandma camp when we visited them during the week of Vacation Bible School at Grandma and Grandpa's church. We were also on our way to Fort Wayne from Hawaii at the time and it opened an opportunity to get all the cousins together for a little bit. In 2007 Zeke, JJ and Samuel continued the tradition while I, Aunt Amy and Grandma stayed home in the morning with Noah, Seth, Isaak and Grace.

This year we had some questions about whether the schedule would work out or not and in the end the boys ventured to Grandma camp while Chad and I stayed Fort Wayne. They are home now and Grandma and Aunt Amy sent out a few pictures to share the exciting week with us.

JJ was a master gardener during the week, planting every seed he could find.

The boys spent lots of times outside with bubbles, in the neighbors volleyball court (better known to our boys as the sandbox) and the swimming pool.




















Seth had a second Birthday Cake on Monday of Grandma Camp.

And of course there was Power Lab Vacation Bible School at Mt. Olive.




This year Zeke, JJ, Samuel and Noah were old enough to attend. Seth and Isaak got to hang out in the three year old classroom which provided a little VBS and a lot of playtiime. Zeke, JJ, Noah and Seth enjoyed the VBS a lot and were singing VBS songs in the car on the way home yesterday.



As our home gets back to its normal energy level this week, I am sure Grandma and Grandpa Breeden's house is very quiet. Enjoy the rest and thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

A Quiet Week...

This past week has been quiet at the Potts Home. Last Saturday we drove the boys to Rockford and handed them over to Michelle's parents for a week. While visiting Grandma and Grandpa at "Grandma Camp" the boys have been attending the Power Lab Vacation Bible School at Grandma and Grandpa Breeden's church. They were joined at Grandma camp by cousins Samuel, Isaak and Grace. After speaking with them a couple of times this week it seems that all are enjoying themselves.

I spent the week organizing toys, cleaning bedrooms and running errands.

Chad spent the week studying Greek.

In addition Chad and I took the time to enjoy each other a little with dinner and a movie one night and a couple of golf outings. Today I got my first every par on a par 3, 155 yard whole!

It has been a fun but quiet week at home and we look forward to having the energy the boys bring to our home. Tomorrow we head to Sheboygan to pick them up and spend some time with the extended family.