a quick review

we came home from hawaii... fully rested and happy. we loved our resort there on the big island. we ate great food, read tons (for those of you who care, i read time traveler's wife, the kite runner, and operating instructions- thanks for the recommendations gene and jess!), snorkeled some and thoroughly enjoyed the beauty around us!

brian's parents stayed with us for a few days after we arrived home and we had a great visit with them. it was nice to have the extra hands around to help us jump back into the groove here!
the next weekend, we kept choking back the tears as angie and bryan were packing up to move back to birmingham. it was so hard to watch them leave... and there is such a void in our lives now that they're gone! what a blessing they've been to us this past year.

that next tuesday, our dear friend keri came with her two kids from atlanta to visit for a week! what a gift to me to have her around and to be able to actually have real time to catch up. her husband flew out on sat. to complete the family and we had such a great time with them, touring a little and playing a lot. our kids think that they're cousins!

they left the following tuesday, and later that day, i had an ultrasound showing there would be another little fella in our house!! we're excited about him coming to us soon (march 24th-ish) and know that he will be the perfect addition to our family! oliver has named him simon. nicholas is deciding between peter and edmund (can you tell what story might be his favorite?), and abigail decided today that he will be amos. brian and i are currently accepting bribes from them...we'll see who wins. (we actually like those choices!)
and, abigail's reign as the prentiss princess seems forever intact!

this friday we left for our church retreat in the santa cruz mountains. it was a beautiful weekend...very encouraging (we talked about contentment) and fun to be with our friends and get to know many others in the church.

now, we are left to adjust to the time change, which has been so helpful with getting our kids back on a decent schedule, and to count down the hours until halloween! (i'm sure we'll have pics for you!)

so, there it is folks! i've been a slacker on blogging, but at least you may feel somewhat caught up to speed! thanks for hanging in there....