Kara is one bold little personality :)! Her Gran made her this hat, and she loves to model it! The little boys in the nursery at church were a bit in awe :)!
Our Subaru is back and running, now, and it has been much more convenient to have two vehicles. Jeff has been able to run to meetings at camp and church and work with his two guys whenever it's scheduled (not around school pickups and such). Cody, one of the guys Jeff has been working with through the Child Development Center, moved to Texas this week. We're praying this new residential facility will meet many of Cody's needs!
Jeff plays Mr. Mom this weekend as Emmy goes away on a Ladies' Retreat. Next Friday begins our Kids' Night Out program at our church! We've had several new folks volunteer to help, and we're praying for a good turnout of kids at the event :)!
Oh, and can't forget to mention the two young Ort boys :)! They are still loving school and enjoy passing the hours at home playing superheroes or working on the computer !!

School has begun!! Jacob is really enjoying all the "projects" in Kindergarten, and he was a big hit when he took PB balls for snack time! Keith is also enjoying being back with his friends and even brought Kara as his first show & tell :)! Kara is holding down the fort at home and working hard to care for all her babies and cook in her new little kitchenette. Mom is loving her new washer and dryer (she's even tempted to open the closet with the kids to see what the front load washer is doing now)! Jeff is busy earning hubby of the year as he does many outside projects! We were glad he chopped wood this week because we cranked up the woodstove on the 40 degree days! Life is getting fun and busy with school, church, and ministry things (and of course the endless hours of family fun :), but we love the action!!

Last week, Jeff was the camp speaker for the 3rd-6th grade campers. It seemed we were all having trouble getting over the hump of exhaustion, but by midweek, God had brightened our spirits! Sometimes the things/routines/rules of camp are so familiar that you get bogged down and forget the freshness with which the campers enter camp! We needed some fresh enthusiasm and were grateful God brought it when we were lacking! The week staying in the Lakeside cabin was wonderful, too! It is such a beautiful, refreshing little spot, and our kids love swimming and throwing rocks to their hearts' content!

It's really hard to believe that we made it to the finish line of our two weeks of Camp Promise already!!! (you should come try racing to dinner with us next year , like the group in the picture:)The staff was spectacular, and the campers went home healthy & seemed to have a fantastic time! As in other years, we were truly blessed by a staff that went above and beyond the call of duty! We had many returning campers and a few new ones! For the first time, we had a group of 12 day campers from a local group home facility! They were a wonderful addition to the fun! The chapel and Bible class times went wonderfully, too! Much enthusiasm could be heard during skits and singing times, especially! It was neat to see many of the campers troubled over the hardship Joseph faced at the beginning of the week in our lessons . . . then, wow, were they excited to learn how God worked everything out and Joseph was even able to forgive his brothers by the end of our lessons!! We talked much about relying on God to be our friend and to help us to do our best even when things are difficult. We also emphasized the exciting opportunity we have to experience God's forgiveness (He forgives and forgets :) and to share this forgiveness with others!
Our little Ortlings were such troopers! It's so sweet to see them make personal connections with the campers :)! Jeff is back to Lifeguarding this week and will be preparing for speaking in chapels next week at one of BSBC's Junior weeks (3rd-6th graders). The kids and I are hanging at home for a few days, but I'm sure we'll be missing the action soon :)! We love camp and are SO glad God has placed us in this place :)!

Busy days :)! Fun days :)! Over the last couple of weeks we've been getting ready for camp and seeing God do great things to provide us with a new and bigger vehicle!! A couple of weeks ago, our Subaru blew its head gasket (sp?) and required a new engine! Days prior to this I had been thinking how nice it would be to have a roomier car, but I knew we weren't really in a position to get something new. Friends of ours heard our plight and offered to give us their '99 Dodge Caravan instead of trading it in on the new car they were buying. We are SO blessed! When frustrations like car trouble arise, why do I even worry! The boys were so sweet and matter of fact as they prayed for God to provide to fix our car or give us a new one. They prayed and were off playing again! (Such confidence- child-like faith!!) We had fun this week washing our new van :)! We're off to camp for 2 weeks today - more pictures soon :)!!!

Schools out!!! Last week, Keith had a fun week - field trip, movie day, cleaning day, . . .! We took a picture of his class climbing on a cannon at a local park (you can see Keith's head behind the boy standing on top). Now, we're SO thrilled because the end of school means . . . IT'S CAMP TIME!! Tonight begins staff training, and we can hardly wait to see all our counselor friends! We are SO blessed! They are such good buddies for our kids & us!
This week at the dinner table, we had the neatest discussion about heaven :)! The boys said they wouldn't mind doing "chores" to help Jesus. Jacob said, "I like to do the dishes, so I bet God will ask me to do that job." They also decided that their favorite movies would be there, but they wouldn't be able to watch when it was time for that big feast Jesus has planned.
It's been warming up a bit, and Kara's favorite activity has become "bababa" (splash, splash, splash). She's going to love her daily trips to the lake at camp :)!

The days are getting busier as camp approaches :)! We're all getting excited. We're having fun in our yard (me, especially). It's wonderful to have our own place where I can see surprises bloom and plant new ones . . . I'm so grateful for the abundant blessing this house continues to be for us. Keith even prayed today, "Thank you, Lord, for giving us this new house." I pray our hearts keep this "new" thankful attitude :)!!
Keith also took part in his first communion at church, today. It's so neat to see him grow in his understanding of his relationship with God. The boys and I have recently been talking about our sin and how God promises to forgive and forget it! We all thought it was cool that He stomps on it and throws it to the deepest part of the ocean (Micah 7:19). Of course, the question of whether or not we could take a submarine or something down and find it was asked, but I think, the point of God's love in sending it far away made it through :)!
No pics of the kids this week, but I don't want to forget what bloomed, when, so have a peek at the house and the yard all abloom :)!

Hopefully, this will be the start of fun little tales about the Ort gang, here in Montana :)! I'm fairly bad at writing down the neat things that happen, so maybe it will be a good way to journal lots of fun memories :)!

It's a holiday weekend, but it's been cold and rainy. The boys have been enjoying many imaginary adventures - journeys via train (the top bunk) - campouts in the living room, inside cool tunnels - basketball competitions in their room, winning all kinds of toy prizes (which they already own ;), . . . I'm so thankful for such content guys :)!