Post bedtime bonding...

These two "cherubs" were supposed to be fast asleep in their own beds. But apparently, Ataly thought it would be way more fun to crawl in with her brother and chat the night away.

I had to go burst both of their bubbles and insist that their beauty rest really was important

(despite the logic of a 2 and 4 year old)

Is there a problem mom?

I'm just hanging out with my brother.

Christmas card 2010

Merry Christmas to those of you who read our blog

but do not receive our Christmas card via snail mail!

Christmas photo shoot 2010

A big, gigantic, humongous thank you goes out to James Stokes for offering to take our Christmas pictures again this year. It's an amazing blessing to our family. We're so thankful you (and Katie) were up for the adventure to brave the below freezing temps, transport the couch to the trail and get the picture frame to capture some amazing shots.

If you are ever looking for someone to take your maternity, family, senior,

Christmas, wedding, engagement pictures and more...

James is your guy!!!

He is a gifted and fun loving guy who is a joy to work with!

Check out his work here !

So thankful to God for the blessing of James' gifts and his generosity!

Adventurous friends, tasty food, endless laughter...

As always, it's a real treat to spend an evening out

with our sweet and adventurous friends

the Arndts and Zenners.

We enjoyed our dinner out, but needed to take a pit stop to the local Walmart to load up on treats before heading to the Arndts for a movie.

Thanks friends for a great night out...

my cheeks still hurt the next day from all the laughing.

What to do...

What is there to do when you're stuck inside because of 20 plus inches of snow?

Buy the next flight out of WI to a much warmer climate...I only wish :O)

Instead, we read numerous books....

played too many games of Sequence and Candyland to keep track of...

watched movies....

spent over two hours shoveling because our snowblower was broken

(this was AFTER someone plowed us out. Thanks Perry. There was just soo much snow)....

the girls took naps...

and topped the day off with a nice warm soak in the tub to warm up from the cold.

Sometimes you just have to laugh...

Luke and I were chatting away and didn't even notice how quiet the kids were until they brought a basket of candy to us. They had successfully sucked on every piece of candy and then put it back in the basket. I suppose it's good they knew they couldn't eat all that candy, right?!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Friday night we got to work and decorated for Christmas. This year was so much fun because both kiddos got into helping out. They were like little elves...before I knew it the tree was totally decorated. I didn't touch an ornament this year. They got the job done quickly, while I was hanging garland and stockings on the banister. In between decorating, the kids danced to the Christmas music playing in the background and we took the opportunities to answer the kid's questions about why we celebrate Christmas. It was a joy to share about our Savior, Jesus.

Ataly chatting away, while Daddy patiently listened.

Yeah God for sending your son Jesus!

Cookie decorating

The pre-k classrooms have a family event every month.

We joined in this month on the cookie decorating fun.

Traeger worked hard to perfect his cookies...

while Ataly decided to eat her cookies.

Who needs frosting and sprinkles, right?!

First snow fall

Ataly thrilled about all this white stuff.

Pitching in to help shovel the driveway after the first snowfall of the year.

We kept telling him he could go play but he insisted on helping out.

A job well done!

Now it's time to play!

Breakfast anyone?

Ataly came downstairs ready to serve breakfast to the first taker.

Daddy's biggest fans

These two cuties are Daddy's biggest fans!

They had a blast pulling out daddy's shirts from the laundry and running around the house in them.

Uncle Boy visits

Luke's friend from high school Jon (who the kids call Uncle Boy) came to visit for a few days. He had some vacation days to use up and decided to use them to visit us...how great is that! The boys enjoyed their time chatting over serious topics, lighthearted thoughts and spent much time playing games. My personal favorite of having Uncle Boy here was that after bedtime devotions he played guitar and sang a few songs with Luke. The kids accompanied the boys with a piano and a xylophone.

My Super Hero and Princess

Ataly has made the transition...she is now a princess most of the day.

She loves dressing up in her tutu.

She came down the other morning and announced that she was Cinderella and then, looking for her daddy's approval, turned to him and said, "Look at me daddy!"

I'm wondering where she picked this up?!

As far as I know she's never seen a princess movie in her life and we don't encourage the princess theme.

I guess ready or not, here we go.

We are now on the fast track (and life long journey) of teaching our daughter

that her inner beauty is a far more important attribute!

It's fun to dress up and act like a princess but it's not merely our looks that are important.

a thankful heart...

I love this time of year as we focus on what we can be thankful for....ponder on the sweet blessings God gives. All the blessings from above are great and fill my heart with much joy. My heart is bursting at the seems with countless blessings from the Lord.

This year I was also challenged to think about how AMAZING and PERFECT my Father's love is with and without the blessings.

How much do I enjoy God Himself apart from His blessing?

He is all I need and it is in Him who I need to ultimately find my satisfaction, not the blessings.

WOW!

I'm still chewing on this one...

As tradition would have it, the P family spends the night on Thursday and Friday after Thanksgiving. Mom and Dad pull out the cots and the sleeping bags and we all camp out downstairs. It was so sweet to find Gideon and Traeger holding hands as they fell asleep. I wonder how many more years this will happen :O)?!

snuggled in with K-man watching a movie in Grandpa and Nonnie's bed.

What's a better way to start the morning than a game of Candyland with Grandpa Bruce?!

I think Traeger's face says it all...having 3 older boy cousins makes his heart happy!

It's always a joy to have a little time to connect with my dear friend Casey.

Thanks chica for stopping by mom and dad's to catch up and give hugs.

Thanksgiving

Praising God for the blessing of family to spend time with over the Thanksgiving holiday. This year was an exceptionally fun holiday because all 4 of us cousins on my mom's side were together. My cousin Dana lives in TN and so we don't remember the last time we were all together in the same place.

Cousin love.

Grandma Jo with her grandkids.

Traeger enjoyed hanging with Dana and playing the Wii together.

Success!

Over Thanksgiving vacation, Luke always gets an opportunity to go hunting with my dad and his gang.

This day they came back emptied handed but...

the next morning was a success!

Swinging machine

This summer Traeger learned to swing by himself.

(And before too much more time got away, I wanted to document the new milestone so this momma's brain would have a reminder and not forget about the age he was when it happened.)

Concentrating hard to get started...

and he's off!

New bed

Traeger is loving the new (to us) loft bed that a dear family from church shared with us.

Last minute trip home

Due to an unfortunate circumstance, the kids and I headed home for the weekend to attend a funeral. While we were in town we thought we'd stay awhile and enjoy some time with our Grandpa Bruce and Nonnie. We're thankful our time was sprinkled with some time with the P family too!

Traeger and Melia bonding.

My parents have a beautiful nature preserve near their house. Somehow 31 years passed before I would get the chance to enjoy it. Who knew such a treasure was just minutes from where I grew up?! It was fabulous!

Grandpa Bruce, Nonnie and the grandkids...minus Melia.

Ataly holding her own as we climbed up the hill.

Grandpa Bruce giving the kids a lesson on acorns.

The boys yelling their motto..."boys rule, girls drool."

The boys continued to shout their motto with an exclusion to sister's and cousins...how sweet is that!

We came upon a really cool fort made of sticks, branches and logs.

Taking a moment to rest.

My parents rock!

Horrible picture, but it was great to connect with Jimmy while we were in the area. He loved on the kids Friday night so I could attend a funeral. Then on Sunday the kids, my mom and I picked him up and went to church in Ripon, really close to campus. Dad met us in Ripon and we all had lunch and then it was time to say goodbye.

On Monday before we headed out of town we had a picnic lunch date with Nonnie...it was the middle of November and the weather allowed for this. It made my heart very happy!