Some pictures to cheer up your day.

We are definitely a bit sad today in Armstrongville/Orchard Park land.

Richie found out this morning that he did not get the Sac State professor job. Our hunch was true: They deemed his degree to be in the wrong field. He is in geotechnical engineering; the spot was for a professor in structural engineering. We hoped they wouldn't care. They did.

Although they said he had the strongest application of the bunch, and would like him to apply in ??? years when a geotechnical spot opens up, he did not get this particular job, so we have no idea what the next few years hold. (Come to think of it, do any of us really know what our lives hold? Even when we think we have it all planned out, surprises come. Like little Lukes.)

Anyway, we are confident that God holds our future near and our future far, but He hasn't shown us what that future entails just yet. Mmm: delicious ambiguity. So we'll keep plugging away at what we know we are supposed to do today. Step by step. Plod plod plod.

We are thrilled, though, still to have each other. And we are thrilled still to have our little man with us at all times to distract us from the teensy-weensy-minor questions that have arisen lately, like: "What will we do when we run out of money?"

Just posting these pictures cheered up our day. Hope looking at them does the same for you.


There Luke is in that car again, this time feeling reeeeally cool.


Our little OCD man was caught placing blueberries atop his cup, one by one. Then when they all were on there he would dump them off and do it again. One by one.


Oh, the joy.


Speaking of joy, the wonders of The Tennis Ball will never cease.


"Now now, just hold your horses, I'm about to throw a real, real good one..."


Ta Da!


La la la LAAAAAA!


Daddy got home from work and played with Lukey on the grass, and boy did they have fun. Peeking through an empty cracker box, for starters.


Trying to give Daddy a bloody nose came next.


And then Luke discovered a neighbor's stroller and left Daddy in the dust.


Oops. Crashed into a tree. (Not yet ready for hire as a babysitter.)


Lacking any sense of personal space, Luke likes to peek in at our downstairs neighbors. (Fortunately, they love him.) (We think.)


Posing stoically on an early-morning patio joyride.


Longing to go to work with Daddy.


And it's Thursday morning with Sarah! Woo hoo!!! He loves cuddling with her on the couch.


She lets him steal her glasses.


And poke her lips.


Bethany told Sarah they were very cute together. Sarah smiled and declared confidently, "We just make a really great couple!" Indeed!


Riding naked on his semi.


And last, pictures from our weekend: Sunday-afternoon trip to the arboretum. First, a shot with Daddy.


Then with Mommy.




It's the cutest thing when Luke reaches up and wants to hold our hand. Melts our hearts. Every time.


Watching for oncoming duck traffic.


More shots with Mommy. Dad went camera-happy.




We finally got the brilliant idea of asking someone to take a picture of all three of us. (Luke, LOOK AT THE CAMERA!!!)


Then we were off to chase ducks. (What this picture doesn't show is the group of college girls in the background eating In N Out tasties. Luke went up and asked for their french fries! ("Pp! Pp! Pp!" while bobbing his body up and down.) They went into cahoots.




Quite the little scholar, reading the tree information. He stayed at this sign for a long time, actually. Can he read and we just don't know it yet?


Aha! A stick!


On our way out. Fastest mode of transportation. (Luke stops at every rock, tree, duck, stick, glob of dirt, puddle...) (Daddy doesn't.) (Hence, the shoulder ride.)


Must get ice cream before we head home, though. Of course!




Offering us the dregs of his melted strawberry ice cream. How generous.


"Oh no, Daddy! It's all gone!!!"