December Activities!

Josiah, Faith, Joshua, and Timothy were in the annual Youth Christmas Program.  Josiah and Faith were adorable.  Joshua and Timothy were quite handsome.  We had a very fun December as we counted down to Christmas.  Some of the highlights were:

Reading our advent calendar- the same original one we started when Hannah and Sarah were little
Cutting down our Christmas tree-we cut two this year
Our Christmas Party with church friends
Decorating the house with lights-and our snowmen in the front yard
Setting up our nativity scene
Listening to Christmas music
Celebrating with family

It was a relaxing and joyous time.  As we end the year celebrating the birth of our Savior,  we also look forward to great things God has planned for 2014!

Phonics Time!

Josiah is having fun with his new phonics game I downloaded.  He likes it so much he doesn't even know it's educational!!!

Timothy's Creation

Timothy had so much fun making this airport that we had to take a picture of it.  He has so much patience for working and reworking his design until it is exactly how he wants it.  Great job, Timmy!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

This year we stayed home for Thanksgiving.  Brian cooked the turkey and the ham.  They turned out great.  I have so much to be thankful for this year!  Every year I come up with more and more to be thankful for.  God has been so good to us.  Last night after dinner we sat around the living room and everyone shared what they were thankful for.  It was a very special time.  I pray God will richly bless each of you this coming year!

Chores!

The boys are busy most afternoons raking leaves! It is amazing how many leaves four trees can drop!!!

Cookie Time!

Josiah loves helping in the kitchen.  Chocolate chip cookies are his favorite!

Eating them is the best part!

Ready for class!

Faith is ready for her class.  She absolutely loves her class at church.  She gets so excited when we tell her it's a church day!

Josiah and Betty

Josiah loves it when we get to dogsit.

Home Sweet Home

Brian and Matt were able to move the kids fort to our new house.

I'm sure it was quite a sight coming down the freeway!  The kids are so excited we didn't have to leave it behind.

Moved!

We have moved!  God has been amazing leading us to our new home.   We could not have done this without his wonderful provision.  The kids have settled in nicely.  We are really starting to make it feel like our home, not just a house!

The tire swing was a big hit.  It seems to get used daily-rain or shine!

Fun Trip Highlights!

We had to great trip to sunny California!  Our first stop was In n Out Burger in Redding.  This has become a highlight on any California road trip.

 

 Then it was time to hang out by the pool.  We had it basically to ourselves.  Gamma and PawPaw were able to spend the afternoon with us while we were hotel bound and all the big guys were off doing wedding stuff.

Josiah crashed after pool.

Faith crashed after the wedding.

Then we  visited the Jelly Belly Factory.  This has been on my to do list for years!

 

Then more pool time!

A stop in historic Dunsmuir.

Then back home.

 

Assorted Fun Pics!

 

A Beautiful Day!

It was truly a beautiful day.  The weather was perfect. It was a cloudless, sunny day in the bay area.  We couldn't have gotten more beautiful weather.

 

Hannah looked absolutely beautiful and Thommy was his usual handsome self.

 

The ceremony went smoothly and the pastor gave a wonderful message.

Congratulations to a wonderful couple!

 

Bridal Shower Time!

A family friend gave Hannah a very nice bridal shower before she left.  Faith had so much fun bringing her the gifts.  Sarah did her maid of honor duties and organized a fun game and recorded gifts for Hannah.  Danielle enjoyed the food and was glad she didn't have to say anything.  A fun time was had by all.

Fun Family Dinner

We had a lot of fun having Thommy here for a couple of days.  Keeri was here from North Carolina for a week, so it was fun to have most of the cousins together.

Hot Pink Cupcakes

Faith loved her hot pink cupcakes! 

Playtime

Faith had so much fun playing dress up at grandma's house.

Ooze

The boys made homemade slime!  What fun it was!

My Favorite Bush

My hydrangea is so healthy and beautiful.  The kids water it every day during the blooming season.  It's one of their favorite chores.

Homeade Dough

Josiah had a blast making homemade dough!  It was easy enough for him to do all the pouring and mixing.  Now he gets to play with all his favorite colors.

Baby Jaguar

Josiah loves playing with his baby jaguar.  He is just so cute!

Faith's Room

The blue wall is finally gone!  Faith has been having so much fun playing in her room.  She is pretty good at keeping it clean, too. 

When she is done with her makeup she puts it all back in her little tote.  Her collection is getting pretty big!!!