Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from our family!





My dear dear big boys!

My little sweeties!


Faith's new tutu. After a year of wearing the one Gracie got her from 2000 tutus (and wearing it everyday I might add!) she was in desperate need of a new one!


Hanging out with the cousins.



Every year on Christmas and my Dad's birthday, Christian writes a story about my dad. He gives them to my dad as gifts and they are always absolutely hilarious! Christian takes all the little quirks about my dad and weaves them all into this hilarious saga that is continued from one holiday to the next. Here is dad reading aloud the the family, his new story. In the stories Dad experiences all kinds of mishaps and crazy situations.

As a new twist, my dad has decided that once a year, we will have a "literature appreciation night" where we get together and read all of Christian's stories about dad all at once, back to back. We had one a few months back and sat with tears running down our cheeks from laughter. No one else would even find them funny because they're all inside jokes and you just have to know my dad to even understand them!! :)


Gracie's two dear sweet little friends, Pastor Mark's daughter's Mariyah and Kiahna. Love, love these girls!!



The Mrs. Claus dress!! When Gracie wore this dress, she called it her Mrs. Claus dress. I cannot believe its been that long since she wore this! Couldn't believe how little it was when I pulled it out. Seems like it was just last year that Gracie was wearing it!



And of course sweet cousin Jennie and Fai-fu!



Merry Christmas everyone!

Just for my sweet Grace

Just for my sweet Grace, I surprised her with a trip to see Britt Nicole. Now, this girl is one serious Britt Nicole fan. During her free time, she can be found doing one of three things, either sitting at the piano playing Britt Nicole songs, youtubing Britt Nicole songs, or Karaoke-ing Britt Nicole songs. She was so thrilled and I just loved being able to do something so special with her. Here are a few photos of Gracie with Britt....so cute.



When we told her that Gracie sings too, she prayed with Gracie that God would use her voice for His glory. Really special for my Gracie.



A few weeks ago, Gracie did a Britt Nicole song an an outreach event. She sang it with the guys from my worship band. It was her first time singing with a live band and she did so great! She was soooo excited. I got my friend to video it from the sound deck. At the end of the bridge my friend accidentally covered the mic on my video camera with her hand for the remainder of the song(love you anyways Andrea!) So, here it is in all its shining poor quality.... but I'm glad I have it. Hopefully I'll get to make some more and try to do a better job of video taping...
(Oh, and the guitar player singing some backup vocals is Mitchell, and the drummer is Matthew.)

Birthday kids and the Gift gone wrong

Well, another teenager joined the crew. Christian is now thirteen. Cousin Jennie made him a waterslide cake.


All he really wanted for his birthday was a cell phone. I think I had him thoroughly convinced that I was NOT getting him one....but I did.


We had a campfire.



Here's the story about the next photo: My dad is fabulously great. He is so fun and the kids have so much fun with him. Well, the week before Christian's birthday, we were sitting in church, and Dad leaned leaned out across the pew and told Christian, "Um, I went a little over budget on your gift. You see, I budgeted $2.00 for it, but with the tax, I went over...So I was wondering if you could re-imburse me for the tax." Well, of course we all rolled with laughter and it started a string of events. You can see here - Christian holding up dad's gift with a "12cents due" sign on it! Then, a couple days later, my aunt called my mom and said, "If we go over the price limit on our family exchange gifts, can we just put a bill in the gifts for the amount due?" Oh goodness, we have had fun with that (just like we do just about everything my dad says!) My boys are musicians, and one time a bunch of years ago, my dad told Mitchell, "Did you know when I was younger I had a band?" Mitchell's eyes widened and he sat up straighter and said, "Really! What did you play?" "Nothing," my dad said, "It was a gumband." That joke has been re-told and laughed over so many hundreds of times it really shouldn't be funny anymore, yet as I sit here typing it, it makes me laugh. Oh, how I love my daddy.




Then...Little Miss Fai-Fu turned the big 5.

Of course, Jennie made this lovely cake. "Chocolate, with pink flowers," was the request.


Doesn't she look gorgeous!






My Gam got Faith a Beauty and the Beast dress up set.
She loved it! Little pink heels to click-clack around the house in, and a long Belle wig.


Faith wanted to go the the local pizza shop to continue her party. So we did...



Now...the part about the birthday gift gone wrong.
Oh dear...so remember I said Gam got Faith Beauty and Beast dress up clothes. Well, Faith changed into them and was excited to (as she put it) look like a princess.
You know I can't quite put my finger on it, but it just didn't quite turn out like a princess. She looked strangely reminiscent of...well, Ummm.....Tina Turner???? Oh, my....

Catching Up

I've fallen behind on posting my photos.
Why does that matter so much to me?

It matters to me because of this:



...and this:



See I spent years making elaborate albums for my kids. But then along came another child, and another, and well, you know how it goes. My scrapbooking went by the wayside.

So, last Christmas I decided to check out having my blog printed at Shared Book. I was THRILLED with the results! The books are great, hardcover, personalized inside the covers. I had, and will continue having, a copy of each year printed for each of the kids (and for me too of course)!!



If you've not checked into it, they are great!!! Wonderful keepsakes for the kiddos (and for busy moms)!

Next on the agenda...get a better camera.


So, I'm catching up on a few photos I found that I missed from the end of summer. Just a few too cute to miss of Christian and Gracie in the pool.




Then there was Jennie's fiesta! Jennie, behind Faith, our family 'party girl'. She loves to throw parties, and we love to attend them. These are photos from her fiesta.






This next photo cracks me up! Christian reminds me of some cartoon character that I just can't put my finger on. But, the funniest part is Matthew sitting in the background holding up the cardboard behind which we all had to have our picture taken. Results below.





We felt Faith looked the most authentic.



Some people in the background are Aunt Sue, Gam (the kids great-grandma who is 90 and apparently still attending fiestas!!), and Pappy Dan (my dad, apparently enjoying some type of Mexican treat)



My mom, Pap and Gam, Aunt Sue and Uncle Howard.



Gracias Jennie !!


THEN THERE WAS ONE OF OUR USUAL DAYS IN LANCASTER COUNTY.

Remember, I told y'all before that Hershey is on the way home from everywhere!



It was on the way home from a lovely day at the Strasburg Railroad. We used to ride this train all the time when the boys were little and they would wear their railroader's hats. ooh hum...where has the time gone. Realized recently that the "littles" didn't remember it all that much. They do now.



And an old favorite stomping ground where it felt so sentimental to have the big boys there showing it to the younger ones. The Choo-choo Barn. Simply a great big train layout. Mitchell and Matthew could spend hours looking at it when they were little.


I love this shot.





Well...hooray. Now I'm ready to upload fall birthdays... next time.

Christian and Gracie's Baptism

Christian and Gracie were baptized in the river by our beloved Pastor Mark the other week. It was a special night. We opted for just family, cousins, aunts and uncles, grandparents, and great-grandparents, so it was private and special. Mitch, Mitchell, Matthew, and Ben went into the water with the kids too. Mitchell and Matthew because their daddy told them it was a symbol that as older brothers, they are also caretakers of their younger siblings. Ben, our cousin, because he's the young pastor of our family :) I was trying to watch..take photos..and take some video, so my photos aren't the best, but I love them.

Anna Grace (Gracie) age 9, as an outward sign that she has asked Jesus to be her Savior:






Christian age 12, as an outward sign that he has asked Jesus to be his Savior:

the view from my window

The view from my window struck such emotion in me today. Can't imagine what life will be like when this view is gone. It's tiring. The older I get, the more tired I am. But, I cannot imagine life without the bustle of lots of kids, the fun, the fighting, the mountains of laundry, the three trips to the grocery store a week, the crying, the hugging. The work and the joy. Oh, these children. Thank you, Father. Thank you for these children. I was peeling potatoes. I peeked out the window. Thank you, Father. Thank you for the view from my window.