I’ve been going through pictures like crazy, picking out just the very best ones to share with everyone. Last night I narrowed down the 352 pictures we took in July to just 78! I know, I know… but they’re all so cute! I’m slowly, but surely, catching up to real-time. I hope to have the August album up before we leave for the beach this Friday!

The title is a Simpsons reference. If you don’t get it, you don’t get it. The weather around here has been more like a typical March than May – chilly and rainy. So the new albums of January, February, and early March pictures won’t seem quite so out of place. At least that’s what I’m telling myself. Just smile and nod at me. Coming soon: Easter pix!

A combination of difficulties (of various kinds) has prevented me from uploading new pictures in months. Since Christmas, in fact. I have felt really bad about it, which any procrastinator knows has not helped motivate me to catch up. I apologize to those of you who don’t see the kids any other way – I’m sure it’s been disappointing to visit here and not find new pictures. But Spring is in the air, and with my birthday always comes renewed energy and determination to get things done. So I’ve finally uploaded the Christmas, 2007 album. Over the next week I will work on getting the last four months of pictures up for everyone to see. Enjoy!

Apologies for the delay in getting November photos up. We were experiencing some software interface problems that have now been corrected. There are two new albums up full of great pix of the kids. There’s a new album of the first half of December coming soon, but I’ll let everyone catch up first…

Enjoy!

Despite the lingering hot, sunny weather outside, it is clear that summer is over. The definitive proof was that the pool sprung a leak and had to be dismantled (hopefully it can be patched and used again next year). And then school started! Check out the new album of pictures from the end of summer, including belt tests for both the boys, birthday parties galore, and Cara’s first day of school. So far, she’s enjoying it.

I’ve drafted at least a dozen blog posts in my head over the last few weeks, but never seem to find the time to type them up at the end of the day. I’ll have to write it into my schedule and get better about it. We’re also working on Liam’s section of the site, where you can follow his homeschooling journey. We’ve got a lot going on this month, so realistically, it won’t be up and running until the end of September. I’ve been doing a pretty good job of keeping the photos updated, though, so check back often to see pictures of our adventures!

Knowing that with a new baby, we wouldn’t have a lot of time on our hands, and that people would want to be reading our blog and seeing new pictures even more than usual, we decided to re-do the whole website and then not post anything for a while. Sorry.

The new website is a work-in-progress. Each of the kids will have their own section of the site, complete with art galleries of their latest creations and photography. In the mean time, I hope to continue to get new pictures up for people. The July, 2007 album is now available with fun pictures of all the kids. We’ve been having a laid-back summer with lots of fun outside. Check out the new swing set and “watch tower.”

Lori is growing quickly – she’s six weeks old tomorrow! She’s an absolute delight and as easy as a baby can possibly be (unless we’re in the car). I bet if you used a stop-watch to keep track of how long she cried in a day, you’d barely accumulate five minutes (unless we’ve been in the car). She’s as strong as all the others were – holding her head up rather well and supporting her weight with her legs on my lap – kicking and squirming all the time like she did in the womb. She takes good naps throughout the day, and, thank goodness, also like Liam, Evan, and Cara all did – sleeps well through the night! Now that she’s starting to smile for real, we’ll be compelled to take more pictures of her, so stay tuned!

Welcome to the new StearnsFamily.net! I’ve switched us over to WordPress and Gallery2 to give the site more power! I’ll eventually move all of the old blog entries and picture albums over to this new site, but in the meanwhile you can still get to the old blog and gallery at http://old.stearnsfamily.net/ .

Enjoy!