A Few of my Favorite Things. . .

I absolutly LOVE Christmas. I love the lights, the trees, the songs, the traditons, ALL of it! Below are a few of my favorite holiday photos from this year so far.

I love these two!
I love having a fireplace to hang our stockings on.

I love reading Christmas stories.

I love this nativity set. It was my mom's and I always loved setting it up as a kid. She passed it on to me this year. I hope Jaeden and Jaclyn love it as much as I do.

I absolutely love Christmas trees. I love pulling each ornament out and remembering the stories and memories that go with each one. I love that some of the branches on our tree have 4 ornaments on them, because that is where the kids thought they should go.

I love being able to make cookies with my family. It is chaotic to have 4 kids under 6 rolling out dough and then trying to ice the cookies, but so much fun.

Rejoice!

I woke up this morning with a verse from a song that I grew up singing in church in my head.

Rejoice in the Lord always, Again I say Rejoice! Rejoice!

Seems that we get caught up in all the little things- toys out on the floor, dishes in the sink, laundry not done. It is sometimes hard to remember to be thankful that we have toys, food in our refrigerator, and clothes to wear.

I am going to try to be less bothered by the small stuff and to rejoice for all that we have and can do.

Trick or Treat

I hope everyone had a good weekend. We had a very busy weekend, and a little flu too. Luckily, our house is much healthier now.

Our church hosted an amazing Trunk-or-Treat. The kids had a great time playing the games and seeing their church friends, and school friends all dressed up. They left with tons of candy and completely exhausted.

Jeremy and the kids did a great job on our Pirate and Princess pumpkins. I am so glad that Jeremy is way more artistic in that department than me. We were able to go to a few houses this weekend too. All and all my Batman and Cinderella had a great weekend!

This is one of my FAVORITE pictures of the kids. You can totally see their personalities shine through!

Jaclyn's 3rd Birthday

Jaclyn turned 3 a couple of weeks ago. We had a Princess week for Jaclyn. We decorated the breakfast nook and kept it up all week. Here is a peak at our little Princess!

Happy 3rd Birthday to my Baby Girl!!

I can't believe that my little girl is turning 3!!

She has changed so much in the last year.

She has a great group of little friends, LOVES preschool, adores all things Pink and Purple and is a great Mommy to all her babies. :o)

Happy Birthday, Jaclyn!!!

We are truly blessed to have this little princess in our lives.

Pumpkin Fun!

Last weekend we headed to the pumpkin patch. It was a cool and drizzly day, but we had a great time!

The kids at the end of the Straw Tunnel.

Jaeden on top of the giant hay pile.

Jeremy and Jaclyn doing the water pump duck races. What a super cute idea!

Jaeden and Daddy loved the teeter totters. . . Miss Jaclyn, not so much.

We took a hay ride out to the pumkin patch to look for each of the kids pumpkins.

Jeremy and Jaeden headed to the perfect pumpkin.

Jaeden found his pumpkin right away.

Jaclyn, with her little pumpkin. She wanted to find a "tiny one". We settled on this one and a smaller one to paint.

The kids with our haul.Enjoy this fall weather!! I think a trip to "hunt for the most colorful leaves" is in our near future . I am sure pictures will follow!

From Drab to FAB!!

Ok, so I am not the most crafty girl. But I want to be the most crafty girl!
Soo, I had picked up this grey hoodie for Jaclyn at the Dollar Store. Nothing special. But I got to thinking that I could make it adorable. So I got out some purple ribbon and my BeDazzler. (Yes, I admit it, I have a BeDazzler and I love it!!) After some fabric glue, ribbon and BeDazzling. . . TA DA! An adorable jacket for Jaclyn.

Happy Fall!

FALL is here !
Bring on the mums, pumpkins, changing leaves, football, and that crisp air!!

Hello Again!

Hello again! It has been a while since I have posted. Seems that our life is moving at light-speed these days. We have been busy, but in a great way. We have been blessed with a great church and good friends who we have been spending more time with.
On Monday, I attended my first Progressive Dinner with the Women's Ministries group. What an amazing and fun time that was! We were all able to ride on a bus together to allow for more visiting time. So much fun!

Below are some photos from our visit with my parents after Dad got home from surgery. They have tons of frogs around their place. The kids had a blast catching them. Jaeden seems to be a little Frog Whisperer! He was a very good big brother, catching frogs for Jaclyn. He even ended up with 4 frogs in his hands at one time.

1st Anniversary!

1 year ago today, we moved into our house in West Lafayette, IN. What a blessing it has been! We really did like it in Michigan (we were there for 9 years). But we have really settled in to a great life here.
We have been blessed to find a great church with amazing people. Lots of which, have become good friends.
The kids are both in great schools with awesome teachers.
We are now close enough to see our families much more frequently as well. I love that the kids really know who our family is, not just who are in the pictures on the wall.

I am looking forward to many more years in Boilermaker Country!!!

One thing that we will never replace are the amazing neighbors we had in Michigan!
Even though we are hours apart, we will always be neighbors. :o)

First family photo in West Lafayette.

I finally can have the Christmas that I always had envisioned... fireplace and all!!

You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them. -- Desmond Tutu

How's your Heart?

Today while the kids are at school, I decided to do my devotions and Bible reading. This question just hit me right on top of the head.

Your house looks great. But how's your heart?

Wow! As moms we get so busy rushing from this drop-off to this pick-up. We often get so caught up in making sure the dishes are done and the floor is vacuumed. How often do we stop and take a look at ourselves, really take a look at ourselves and see how we are doing and feeling? We can put on a happy face but if we are stuffing down hidden issues, it is going to spill over into your family life.

Try to give your heart a little attention today.

Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.

Proverbs 4:23

First Day of Preschool!

Today was Jaclyn's first day of preschool! It seems just like yesterday that she was crawling around the house exploring things! She has been very excited to get to go to "preschool, not school".

Just before school this morning.

Last week Jaclyn got to go to mini-preschool day. They had an hour version of her preschool day and the parents got to stay with them. Super Cute! Jaclyn got to learn where her cubby was and what her picture on the rug would be- also on her cubby. She is a frog. So going into to class today, she knew what to do and where to go. She was so ready to sit down and play with play-doh. I peeked in on her after a few minutes and she was having a great time.

Now what to do with my 2 1/2 hours twice a week. . . .

On our way to orientation day!

On a side note, My dad had knee replacement surgery yesterday morning. Everything went very smoothly! We are praying for a quick recovery and no infections now. It will be great for him to not be in such pain all the time. Love ya, Dad!