December Joy

I accompanied Caedmon on his Kindergarten field trip to see the musical "The Sound of Music". What fun to get all dressed up and have this special date with my handsome little man. Caedmon with some kids from his class, waiting for the musical to start.We stopped at McDonald's for lunch on the way home. I've discovered something lately about my son and the way to his heart. Food. Yep, it's food. He's not one to give a lot of hugs and kisses even though I give them to him all the time. A month or so ago while I was preparing supper at home he asked what we were having. I said "chicken tenders" while facing the oven. All of a sudden I get attacked with the biggest bear hug from behind. Well, I got another one of those wonderful bear hugs in line at McDonald's that day. :) Sounds funny for me to make a big deal out of, but he seriously rarely shows this type of affection to me and I soaked it all in. The bus ride home sitting with his friend Alex...it got a little long and two little boys got a little sleepy. :)The first official snow came early December this year. I love that first excitement and wonder when we see it for the first time of the season. It doesn't matter how much is on the ground either...like even if grass is still showing, it must be played in.Adoption Day

This was certainly a very exciting day for our family. Luca's adoption finalization court hearing went very smoothly and quick. We pulled Caedmon out of school so he could be a part of this special day too. I thought it was so fitting to have during this Christmas season. We feel so very blessed! Here we are pictured with the Judge and our attorney.
We stopped for a late breakfast on the way home to celebrate. The Mickey Mouse pancakes were a hit.
One of Luca's favorite things to do.We had our first snowstorm the weekend before Christmas which gave us over five inches. It was very beautiful...and even more beautiful because I was cozy and warm inside my house when it came. I do really like snow...it just makes me nervous when we or those we love have to drive anywhere in it...that's my only complaint...and maybe snow after February too. :)

Our worship leader asked this question recently:
Why does it snow?
Job 37:6 “He directs the snow to fall on the earth and tells the rain to pour down. 7 Then everyone stops working so they can watch his power. 13 He makes these things happen either to punish people or to show his unfailing love.
14 “Pay attention to this, Job. Stop and consider the wonderful miracles of God!
God is trying to get my attention when it snows...He wants me to to stop doing what I'm doing and appreciate what He has created because He loves me...WOW...how cool is that! If you stop and think about how detailed and unique each snowflake is created...and when thousands are falling at the same time...it's just amazing...absolutely breathtaking!!

Here is our road right before you get to our house.
Loving every minute


Baby even liked the snow. Daddy took her on a walk down the lane to get the mail. She didn't make a peep.
Introducing Luca to snow for the first time.How about a taste?And here we are all dressed up like Joseph and Mary for a dramatization at our church on Christmas Sunday. It was an honor to play this part with a new little baby in my arms. Luca did great...I was a little worried. :)

Simple Joy

I've already shared my personal opinion on snow, but there's something about the first snowflakes that fall each year...seeing the excitement on the kids' faces just makes me want to like it...just a little. This past week we actually had a little bit of snow stay on the ground. As you can see in the pictures...you can still see the grass, but that didn't stop the kids from begging to go outside and play in it. All the gear had to be put on including boots, hats and gloves.

The trampoline made a nice ice rink for them. They stayed out there for an hour...so easily entertained.

Here are a couple pictures of my niece Emmi at four months. I could just eat her up...she's so stinkin' sweet! She's here every other Wednesday along with her sister Lexi. The kids ask almost everyday "Are Lexi and Emmi coming today?". I love the extra time we have with them and the opportunity the kids have to play with their cousins.

First Flakes, Cheap Gas, Girlfriends & New Kittens

We saw the first flakes of winter this past weekend and it was oh so cooold!! I knew it was coming and it is getting closer to Thanksgiving...but after having a week of 70 degree weather last week, it was a bit of a shock to my body. I'm a summer girl. I did smile though when we filled up the tank this weekend for under two dollars a gallon! :)

On Saturday morning, I had breakfast with two great friends. We've been doing this for the past few years usually meeting at Cracker Barrel. This time, Julie invited us to her house and made a yummy breakfast for us. I love these girls and feel blessed how our friendship has grown over the years through doing bible studies together, taking walks, having breakfast together & watching our families grow. The newest member is in Janel's arms...little Maya is four months old now. Julie's daughter, Kylie, is the same age as Kaiya and they adopted her a few months before we adopted Kaiya. It's been fun to see them grow up together as friends. This is a picture of the girls together as newborns. And now, we are both going through the adoption waiting period together again.

I've been working on Kevin for the past year to get a cat...not because I like them a whole lot, but because of a little problem we have with small grey animals with pink noses and long tails. Kevin has always declared a resounding "NO WAY", which I can understand since he does have a mild allergy that flares up when around cats. But, when I brought it up again this fall, I noticed that he didn't reject the idea as quickly as he had before. So, three weeks ago we stopped by a house with a "free kittens" sign in the front yard in search of a kitten to add to our family. Instead of bringing one home, we brought home two and the kids (mainly Kaiya) have had fun playing with them. Kaiya will disappear and I will find her in the garage holding her kitty. It's sweet. Meet Jack & Abby...the newest members to our family.

Another Snowy Day at Home

As many of you know, we got dumped on again with several inches of snow earlier this week. The excitement of getting snow isn't quite there anymore as we draw closer to Spring, but when I woke up the morning after and looked across our land, it almost took my breath away...a beautiful blanket of white was over everything...every branch on every tree was coated. I just couldn't help but thank God for such a beautiful scene...even though I was tired of seeing snow, it reminded me of His ability to turn something that looks dead and barren into a beautiful masterpiece...and that is how he sees me even with all the ugliness of my sins. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Psalm 51:7

I've been teaching Caedmon a preschool curriculum this year at home on Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays. He is doing so well and I'm amazed at how much he's improved over the past several months. Kaiya sits in on it too and participates right along doing her own little papers as well. We focus on a letter of the alphabet each week and at the end of the week they get to put an alphabet animal next to that letter on the alphabet train in Caedmon's room. It's hard to believe that it's almost completely full already.

I know these days of having the kids home with me all day and doing things like school will soon be over, so I try to really cherish it.

Another highlight of my day is when one of them wakes up from their naps and they're still a little sleepy. I scoop them up and head right for the rocking chair. Yesterday, it was Caedmon who woke up first...he's never been one to want to cuddle so I take advantage of it every chance I can get. Precious!

So we hung out a little bit before Kaiya woke up.

Along with the joys of motherhood, there are those days that it's not such a joy. We had one of those days this week. I call it Spring fever...the kids are getting antsy along with their mama and I'm running out of things to keep them occupied. I was desperate this week and saw an idea in a magazine to make a flipping mechanism to launch paper balls into cups, well I didn't have all the right supplies and it didn't quite work right. As I was scrounging around in the garage, an old marble game collecting dust in the corner caught my eye. I brought it in, cleaned it up and they loved it and played with it off and on for hours. It was Kevin's when he was a boy. His Grandpa Herman made it for him. Perfect! Thank you Lord for rescuing me with something to take the place of the failed flipping thing.

Brrrrrrrr! It's Cold!

With highs today only reaching 15 - 20 degrees, we're feeling a little cooped in. Caedmon has been begging to play outside...and as I was telling Kevin that on the phone yesterday, he commented "Why don't you bring some snow inside?". That's a great idea! So today we brought six buckets full of snow and dumped them into the bathtub. Caedmon quickly grabbed his mini tractors and trucks & scooped, pushed & plowed the snow all around the bathtub.

We even made a snowman.

More Snow

This was the view outside our front door this morning. We woke up to a Winter Storm Warning and eight inches of beautiful fluffy white snow.

Our church was cancelled, so we were stuck at home all day.

There's something fun about being snowed in when everyone gets to stay home together. I love it! Daddy made grits for breakfast and later we all played outside.

Sledding down the lane.

We made the snow ice cream this time...it was delicious with sprinkles on top!

First Snow

Caedmon came running out of his room this morning and said "It's snowing, Mom, It's snowing, Mom!". I'm personally not a huge snow and cold weather fan. As long as I don't have to drive in it and can stay warm and cozy in my house, bring it on. Hearing the excitement from the kids this morning when they woke up to snow covering the ground couldn't help but put a smile on my face. It was truly beautiful outside.

All I heard the rest of the morning was "Can we go outside, Mom?". OK, sure...haul out the boots, hats, mittens, coats and here we go. The best part of playing in the snow is that it is self entertaining. You don't need toys, buckets or shovels...just two hands and two feet...throw it, eat it, fall in it, run in it, make a snow angel, make a snow fort, make a snowman...hours of entertainment. We didn't do all those things today, but certainly got two little kiddos worn out and ready for their naps this afternoon. And on the way back in to the house Caedmon asked "Can we play outside again tomorrow?". Absolutely! We just may make some snow ice cream for dessert tonight.