New Bedroom

Thanks to Denise's hard work and persistence, plus a mountain of help from Mom & Dad Bartholomew, Daniel and Stephen, the boys were able to move into their new room yesterday between conference sessions. The boys are very excited about the new room. Below are a couple of before pictures, along with some after pictures from last night.

The room is large enough that we can add a boy or two as they get bigger. It's a great room for reading. Denise is excited about being able to sit by a nice fire while reading to the boys in the wintertime.

We still have the window to replace (it's ordered, and should arrive next week sometime), a doorknob to add (we bought one, but can't seem to find it), some trim to fix and/or paint, the door to paint, and some shelves to install. But that's all work we can do with the boys living in their room. We'll make their former room upstairs into an office/guest room. Our next project is to convert our storage area (which has, in the past, doubled as a guest room) into a family room.

Today our family was joined by our 5th little boy, Gilead Emmanuel Black. He was born this evening by an unexpected though non-emergency c-section. He looks just like all his brothers did at his age, though he weighed more than the rest, at 7 lbs. 13 oz. (Simeon was our former record holder at 7-11). At 19 inches long, he's about average for the boys. He's got some light brown hair, but we expect it will all drop off soon and leave him bald for a year or so, just like his brothers. Gilead and Denise are both doing well. This Thanksgiving, while not traditional, will certainly be memorable.

5 Little Black Boys

We have talked a lot about temples recently, and have been to the Nauvoo and St. Louis temples pretty frequently in the last month. We decided we wanted to take the boys to the St. Louis temple and take their pictures, to help remind us that not only do we, as parents, need to attend the temple often but our children also need to know that it is a place they can look forward to attending. Since Jaron was going to be making his baptismal covenants we thought we could share that we go to the temple to make covenants also. It turned out to be a very hot and humid day and we were there around nap time. They were not great conditions for taking pictures, but luckily we had a few turn out pretty well. Ephraim, Simeon and Jaron all sat and waited for Jason to finish combing Josiah's hair. It was a miracle they all sat and looked at the camera at the same time. Jaron- Looking so grown-up.Ephraim- Thank goodness he managed to smile without making the squinty face he likes to make for the camera. Simeon- He looks in this picture like the lovable little boy that he his. Josiah- He is very charming. He flirts with his big eyes and long lashes and loves to say KISS. And these were not taken at the temple, but he is one of the Little Black Boys. Hopefully we will know what to call him by the time he shows up around Thanksgiving. As the Dr. said he will be a Turkey-Baby. I told her that he will fit in just fine with the other 4 little turkeys that run around at our house. We look forward to our newest little turkey!!

Cub Scout Day Camp

Jaron had the opportunity to go to Cub Scout Day Camp. This is the only scout activity that they hold during the summer. He had a great time shooting BB guns and fishing and archery. They taught them about proper hand signals while riding bikes. Jaron had never been on a bike so I didn't know if he would want to participate. But he got on the bike and by the end of 45 min. he was able to ride down the hill without me holding on to the bike and helping him balance. He says he still prefers his scooter to a bike, but I'm glad we was so willing to try something he'd never done before. Jaron walking the rope bridge. Jarons pack is trying to look tough, I think Jaron (inthe back row) just comes across as cute, how can you not when you are wearing Winnie the Pooh ears.

We love strawberries

I found the boys raiding the Strawberry patch one day. I think Jaron was trying to hide the evidence. Thankfully the strawberry patch was producing by the bucket so there was plenty to be had by everyone. This was what we picked one afternoon. We made 6 batches of strawberry freezer jam and took some around to share with family, friends and neighbors.

Bad Boys

All they need is a dog and some t-shirts and blue jeans and they are on the road to trouble.

Jaron's Baptism

After Eight years and 2 weeks of waiting Jaron was Baptized on Independence day. It was a great day to be baptized. The whole family has been talking about Jaron's Baptism for months and when the morning finally came Jaron could hardly wait for 2:00 to come. It is really a beautiful experience to watch someone participate in a sacred ordinance. Jaron is such a good example to his younger brothers. Ephraim and Simeon are greatly anticipating their own baptisms. I am sure the time will pass all to quickly and we will be writing about their baptisms. We are so proud of Jaron, and are glad he has chosen to be baptized.