Family Photos

Christmastime

 Some of my favorite decorations to put out this year are these old skates Jeff and I got at a garage sale in Brown County this fall.  I love the rusty blades and worn leather. I bet somebody had lots of fun skating with those.

 A few more things you'd see around our house this December...gigantic pinecones from our trip to Yosemite last year, the annual gingerbread house we create,

 and this "rough draft" post-it note from set of entrepreneurs we have in our home... The kids put these in about 8 mailboxes of our neighbors.

 Goofy kids-Clay actually has a full pillow under his clothes.  The glasses make life fun! They wore these outfits while we decorated the tree.

 One little boy likes to wear goggles while playing with play dough.  When you're working with big machines, you have to be prepared for anything.

 And another little guy likes to watch out the window while others play outside.  He is waiting for the day he can go too!

I should also have a picture of prescriptions, kleenex boxes, and pain meds here.  For a good part of December we've had a "sick house" where pinkeye was passed around, Chap had a 103.5 fever/ear infection, colds, coughs, etc. We've been celebrating Advent with the kids when we're home in the evenings. In the midst of the business of Christmas, neighborhood parties, doctor's visits and prescription pickups, baking, wrapping, and gift-giving, we quiet our hearts and celebrate Christ's coming! Psalm 103:1-5

Praise the Lord, my soul;
    all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

Praise the Lord, my soul,
    and forget not all his benefits— 

 who forgives all your sins
    and heals all your diseases,

who redeems your life from the pit
    and crowns you with love and compassion,

who satisfies your desires with good things
    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Fall Fun

 Our trick-or-treaters: Lucy from Narnia, Pumpkin, Jockey (with my boots and Jeff's bike helmet), and Knight.

 This was who I got to go trick-or-treating with. A few days later, the boys came running upstairs saying they were Romans.  Apparently Clay had combined a few costumes and put them over his jammies, and Hudson the Knight was carrying a saw.

Waiting for Bathtime

While the water fills the tub, Chap happily pats the side. He loves baths!

Happy Trick-or-Treat!

80

 We celebrated Jeff's Grandma's 80th birthday with a special tea and slumber party last weekend.  She was crowned "The Queen of our Hearts" and throughout the weekend we read tributes to her of things we've learned or appreciated about her.  We also shared a meaningful time of prayer, communion, and foot washing. It was neat to have that time together with four generations!  We are thankful for the legacy of faith Grandma is living out and passing on to each of us.

Great Gram, Grandma, and the four granddaughters

Brown County

 During the kids' fall break in October, we had an overnight camp out in Brown County.  All 6 of us, including a pack-n-play, shared a tent! (I wish I would have thought to get a picture of that!) We had a great time hiking, enjoying the gorgeous fall color, and sitting around the campfire with our hot cocoa and s'mores while we told stories at night.

 The two-teeth happy back-packer

Mornings

 This is a common morning activity at our house-Hud building with Legos or playing with his "big ba-chines" and Chap scooting around the floor, putting things in his mouth.  I love to see them interact and think they're going to be good buddies someday soon. For the most part, Hudson is very gentle, but every once in awhile I catch him sneaking over and trying to do a push-up over Chap.

But somehow, being the 4th child must make you pretty resilient.  He mostly just smiles and squeals after that and goes right back to chewing his toy.

Multi-tasking

How do you bring up the laundry AND the baby from the basement in just one trip?  You combine them. This is my life right now, and I wanted to document it so I don't forget. He makes me smile.

The Table

 We started dreaming about building a dining room table awhile ago with Dad.  He said, "I have some beautiful air-dried black walnut that I've been saving in my woodshop..." That was all it took to get us excited about the possibility of a new table for our family of 6, to replace our small oval one.  Dad drew up some plans and we loved them immediately.

 We made a few trips to Elkhart this spring for Jeff to help Dad work on it.  Even the little boys got in on some sanding action.

Each time we left, Dad joked that the table would be finished in one more day. :)  But in the end, Dad went way above and beyond and put in several more hours to finish the table.

Thank you, Dad for teaching Jeff woodworking skills, and for all the time and energy you gave toward this project. Your drawings came to life in this "midieval inspired table" and we already love using it. This will be a family heirloom for years to come.