Happy 11th Birthday!

To our oldest daughter, "R"~

Today, December 15th, we celebrate your life! We had a party for you with some of your sweetest and best friends. You had lots of fun making jewelry, eating, talking, laughing, and opening gifts, of course!

You will never know how much joy you have brought to Daddy and I...since the day you were born, I have believed that God has great and wonderful plans for you. Our prayer is that you will follow Him and always do what He tells you to do.

The card we gave you today at your party describes you perfectly~

Caring~

Wonderful~

Thoughtful~

Remarkable~

Beautiful~

Fun~

Warmhearted~

Gifted~

and most of all...

Loved~very, very much!

We love you, Sweet Girl! We are so blessed to have you in our family...

Happy 11th Birthday!

Love,
Daddy and Mommy

~a day at American Girl~

~a day at the church fall festival~

~at Montpelier~

~digging for that perfect Lego piece in NYC~

~dinner out with Daddy~

~October, 2011~

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

TO MY

HUBBIE!

I LOVE YOU AND HOPE

YOU HAVE HAD A GREAT DAY!

Daybook #46

For Tuesday, December 6, 2011~

Outside my window~

the skies are cloudy and gray

I am hearing~

the fan on the heating system

I am thankful~

we got to see my Mother-in-law last night

I am thinking~

about some baked goodies to make for gifts

I am remembering~

Christmases past--as a child, my dad would read the

Christmas story to us before we opened our gifts.

It is a tradition that my family has now, too...

I am reading~

my Bible and a devotional book

I am hoping~

to remain purposeful in preparing my heart for Christmas

On my mind~

are family members who are ill

From the learning rooms~

"R" is doing well in school and working on a research project

"D" is reading really well

"S" is doing really well with memorizing Bible verses

Noticing that~

the more organized I am, the less stressful things are...why didn't I learn that earlier???

Wondering~

what memories the kids will have of this Christmas?

I am praying~

that my niece has a safe trip on Saturday--

she is flying "home" for the first time in 18 months--

my brother and sis-in-law live in Lithuania

From the kitchen~

beef brisket for dinner  :)

Around the house~

the lights are twinkling and are so relaxing

One of my favorite things~

is going out shopping with my Hubbie

on Black Friday--just the two of us!

A few plans for the rest of the week~

Ladies Bible Study

a trip to see some family

church

decorating our Christmas tree

From my picture journal~

I'll be linking up with Peggy over at The Simple Woman's Daybook.

Blessings to you and yours~



HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SWEET GIRL!

DADDY, MOMMY, "R", AND "D"

ARE SO BLESSED TO HAVE YOU IN OUR FAMILY!

YOU ARE A BEAUTIFUL RAY OF SUNSHINE

AND YOU BRING SO MUCH JOY TO OUR LIVES!

YOU HAVE MATURED SO MUCH IN THE LAST YEAR...YOU NO LONGER HAVE THAT CUTE LITTLE "BABY-FACE". YOU CAN CARRY ON A WONDERFUL CONVERSATION WITH ADULTS AND OTHER CHILDREN. YOU DO SO WELL MEMORIZING BIBLE VERSES, AND WHEN YOU LAY DOWN FOR BED AT NIGHT, WE ALWAYS SING "JESUS LOVES ME" AND "JESUS LOVES THE LITTLE CHILDREN". YOU LOVE TO COLOR AND DRESS UP IN YOUR "CINDELELLA" DRESS!

TODAY, WE CELEBRATE YOU AND YOUR PRECIOUS LIFE! WE ARE

THANKFUL TO GOD FOR GIVING YOU TO US!

WE LOVE YOU SO VERY MUCH!

LOVE,

DADDY

MOMMY

"R"

"D"

Our Trip to New England

Well, friends, Happy Thursday! In just two short weeks, it will be Thanksgiving Day! It really doesn't seem possible that we are already into November!

A few weeks ago, our family had the great privilege to travel to the New England area. Can I say "WOW!" Hubbie and I had been to New York before, but never any further north. We had such a great time! The children did so well in the car...but anytime we take a road trip, they are all for it! :)

I'll leave you with some of our memories...

~Tuesday--Minute Man National Park, Concord, Massachusetts~

 ~approximate site of the capture of Paul Revere~

 ~taking the oath to receive their "Junior Ranger" badges~

 ~the famous "North Bridge"~

 ~Wednesday and Friday were spent in Boston~

 ~Thursday--driving through Vermont, New Hampshire and spent the night in Maine!~

 ~now we are in New Hampshire~

This is not all we did or saw, but it is all the time I have for blogging today. :)  I will share more at a later time.

Tomorrow is a special day~our baby turns 3!

A Visit to the Pumpkin Patch

Hello, Blogging Friends!

It's been a while since I wrote a post, but just like everyone else, life sometimes happens...and my blogging ideas get put on hold! It is nice to be back, though...

The first Friday of October, we were able to visit a local pumpkin patch (at a discounted price because it was Friday night) and had such a wonderful time! I'll leave you with loads of pictures, so you can see what fun we had! There were hay rides, bouncy pillow, underground slides, "tractors", pumpkins, smiles, maize maze (actually sourgham), zip lines, pig races...whew!

HAPPY NOVEMBER!!!

~welcome to the farm~

~the market had all kinds of fun things~

~Tigger made an appearance on the farm, too~

~my little rays of sunshine~

~"D's" favorite part of the farm...he rode the tractor over and over and over!~

~"S" had to have a little help~

~"R" really enjoyed the "BIG" size tractors~

~face hand painting~

~entering the maze~

~YEA! We made it through!~

~her smile says it all~

~Dad and kids had fun on the slide~

~my little punkin and I~

~in the fun barn~

Great memories, good weather, and cute smiles!  :)

Daybook #45

For today, Tuesday, September 20, 2011~

Outside my window~

the clouds are thick this morning

I am hearing~

silence as the children are still sleeping

I am thinking~

about what I want need to get accomplished today

I am thankful~

for brand new mornings

I am remembering~

how much I enjoyed our church's Missions Conference last year

I am hoping~

that the classes I teach on Thursday will go smoothly

I am reading~

my Bible and some cooking magazines (what else is there?)   ;)

On my mind~

is my sweet Hubbie

From the learning rooms~

we're doing an accredited program for "R" this year, so that is a change for all of us

she is adjusting very well  :)

"D" is doing really well with reading skills and very smart with math

"S" is keeping us all busy but is a super sweet blessing

Noticing that~

I really enjoy decorating for the seasons

Wondering~

what I'll plan for birthday parties

(one in November, three in December)

I am praying~

that I am receptive to the Lord's leading this week

I am creating~

a new fall wreath, but I haven't found the time to get it all put together. The pieces are waiting, but the wreath is not finished...yet...

Pondering these words~

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." Jeremiah 29:11

From the kitchen~

hamburger steak with onions

Around the house~

the autumn decorations are arranged just how I like them! (except for that wreath)

One of my favorite things~

is being with my Hubbie and kids

A few plans for the rest of the week include~

schooling

Missions Conference (W-Su)

From my picture journal~

are a few pictures from a family day trip this summer

~James Madison's Montpelier~

~cedar of Lebanon tree given to President Madison

by Lafayette~

~our sweet girl in the garden~

~"D" helping "S" go down one of the hills in the garden~

that was a sweet moment...

 ~my parents joined us for the day~

good memories  :)

Thank you so much for stopping by today. I hope that you'll visit

The Simple Woman's Daybook and read other daybook entries.

Have a wonderful day!

School, Fall, and Remembering

SCHOOL~Our school year has officially started...R and D have been in school for over two weeks and things are going well! We have had the smoothest start to this year. God has been so good to us!

While R does her DVD's upstairs, I work with D and S in the basement (S is only two, so you can probably figure out how much she "works"). Our schedule is structured, which I LOVE, but we are also doing some fun things throughout the week.

• Monday evening, we visited a local state park--what a gorgeous evening!
• On Tuesday, we had our first homeschool meeting and had a great turnout (9 families in all!) 
• Our church is preparing for Missions Conference next week and it is the highlight of our year
• Aunt Beth, Caroline, and Quinn came over yesterday for a fun lunch visit

FALL~I think fall has arrived, although the calendar says it won't arrive until next week. Last night was COLD! It was raining and cool, and guess who forgot to take her jacket with her when she went out? me! We had the heater on in the car and everyone loved it! When we got home, the kids wanted their warm PJ's, but the only one who got them was S because R and D's are still packed in storage containers. It might be time to pull those bins.  :)

I have placed all the fall decorations and they are so pretty! Did you know that I love this time of year? ;) I will be creating a new fall wreath for the front door and found some really beautiful accessories for it at Hobby Lobby. I'll post a picture once it gets finished.

REMEMBERING~Today, September 16th, would be my nephew, Darrell's 21st birthday...how time flies...He has been in Heaven since July 2005, and I know my brother and sister-in-law miss him terribly. We all know we will see him again! Thank You, Jesus, for the promise of eternal life in Heaven!

Thanks for stopping by today...here's a picture from our state park visit...we stayed until the very latest possible. Right before we left, Hubbie captured this beautiful shot. Now that I see it uploaded, he captured the "Blue Hour".   :)  Have a wonderful day!