Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

crazy hair Caleb

love the Christmas lights

testing out the new rc truck, all matchy matchy

the girl are hard to shop for now, this way they can pick out their own goodies

the excitement over garbage cans

Heidi and Anna's gift to Emily was this cozy sherpa

Emily knew about most of her gifts (her friend Lindsay sold most of her AG collection to us), but I surprised her with a few things

Caleb even received a gift from our garbage man, he now has all the right gear!

last elementary school Christmas concert

being silly while I set up the camera

plaid pj morning

Here's a quick Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from our family to yours!  It's been a busy week (partially because the holidays put me behind on bows), but a fun week.  In years past we have had multiple family gatherings for each side, but this year we had one celebration each and we hosted both!  It was a really enjoyable holiday season!  Time is flying along and the kids will be back in school in a week.  I will update more soon, as always I have work to do and people to care for.  May the Lord bless you and keep you in 2019!

Snow Day

our first snow day of the school year, I think it's looking like a rough winter ahead

garbage cans in the snow, what fun!

our angel buried in a few inches, it was a blizzard, but thankfully our power stayed on

thankful for time to dig in the dirt on turkey day

empty country roads are good for picture taking

Luke's favorite activity

bush hogging on turkey day for Justin

Luke got a turn too

check out that background!

Happy Thanksgiving!  We had a great trip to the farm to celebrate with Justin's family.  It was beautiful weather so we were able to be outside quite a bit.  The food was delish and the company was even better!  We made a last minute decision to leave a little early and headed home late Saturday night.  Our car was in the repair shop until only a few hours before we left home, so we were very thankful that we had no issues and they seem to have fixed the problem.  We were hit with a blizzard last night and the kids are off of school today!  We are officially a month from Christmas, but so far our calendar isn't too full.  We will decorate next weekend, but the Christmas music is already playing (Emily would play it year-round if we let her).  Hello winter, just a few weeks early!

Thanksgiving 2018 post

copying Caleb

an old barn at an apple orchard in the middle of Michigan

we never made it to actually pick apples from the orchard, but we did get some fresh apples (already picked), cider and donuts

the owners let us pick a few out of the trees, but they weren't edible because of the cold/frost

I am thankful for Caleb's snuggles, for his ability to get along with everyone and for his sweet giggles.

I am so thankful for Emily's excitement for life, her love of hugs, and her desire to help with everything.

I am thankful for Luke's gentle nature, his willingness to be silly, and for his love of being a big brother (to Caleb especially).

I am thankful for Anna's relaxed nature, her excitement over good grades, and her love for her friends.

I am thankful for Heidi's smile, for her helpfulness and for her ability to befriend everyone.

I am thankful for Justin and all he does for our family.  I am so thankful for his hard work and his ability to fix just about everything.  I am thankful for his humor and goofiness.

these are just screenshots from my phone, so not awesome quality

Well, even though Thanksgiving is a few days early this year the leaves are almost completely off the trees and we have had measurable snow 3 times already!  We are looking forward to a few days off of work and time to just hang out and hopefully get outside some.  I will be brief, because I have bows to finish (of course).

This is definitely so true and so hard to do.  It is all together too easy to get discouraged!  One of the pastors talked about how research shows that negative experiences are easier to remember while positive experiences take at least 15 seconds of focus to become a memory.  I love Thanksgiving for that very fact, that we can focus on the good and praise God for all that He is and does for us.  This year I am particularly thankful for safety and provision.  I never take God's provision of a job for Justin for granted, and likewise with his safety.  Not only is Justin's job dangerous, he typically drives 3-4 hours a day to and from work.  With all 5 kids in school I am constantly praying for their safety as well and God in His mercy has answered those prayers.  It has been a relatively peaceful year so I am thankful for routine, that God allows us to do the day to day without emergency or drama.  I am thankful for the added income this year that has allowed us to travel a little more often, I very much appreciate getting out of the house and away from the phones to spend time together and do something out of the normal.  Emily and Caleb are both thankful for school.  Emily is thankful for her American girl dolls.  Caleb is thankful for his garbage cans/trucks and the garbage man.  Heidi and Anna are thankful for phones, clothes, friends and badminton.  Luke is thankful for hockey and days off of school. Well, happy Thanksgiving, eat lots of turkey and potatoes and pie!!