Gotcha!

Today is Katie's "Gotcha Day!"

The actual day only comes around every four years since it was on a Leap Year that we got our little one. We usually celebrate it on the 28th, but this year we can celebrate on the 29th.

Katie is a delight and is so much fun. She brings a lot of "pink" into our home, as well as love, helpfulness, squeals, giggles and the reminder to throw back your head and give in to the laughter. We are so thankful that God gave us our girl!

Look who's back!

Yesterday, Katie's Kaya doll arrived home from the doll hospital. Katie was thrilled to have her back. The American Girl hospital took really good care of her and she is now in tip-top shape! It was a fun Valentine's Day surprise to come home and find Kaya waiting for Katie. :-)

I know there have been a lot of pictures of Katie here on the blog lately. That is due to the fact that she is a LOT more cooperative than her brother when it comes to getting her picture taken! But, I WILL get some pictures of Grant. I just have to catch him at the right moment and he will let me click away. :-)

What to do on those cold days

We've had some pretty cold days here lately. The temperature has hovered around zero, often dipping below that. And when you factor in the wind chill...brrr!!! Grant and Katie love to play outside in the snow, but on these especially cold days, we all stay snug and warm inside.

Katie has been enjoying the time spent inside by playing with her new doll house. She received some birthday money and while we were wandering around at an antique store, spied this cute doll house. It came with all the furniture in it, too. Since it was on sale, Katie was able to put some birthday money toward it and Mommy and Daddy kicked in the rest. I have been noticing doll houses at antique stores now and I have seen that the price is usually a little more than what we payed, but never includes the furniture. The furniture pieces are all sold separately, so I think we got it for a song!

Watching Katie play with her new doll house and all the cute furniture reminds me of when I was a girl and played with doll furniture that had been my mom's when she was girl. How I wish I had kept those pieces! But, I sold them at a garage sale. :-( Some lady sure got a deal that day!

We have more cold days ahead and the doll house will be waiting. :-)

Kate is Eight!

Today is Katie's 8th birthday! We celebrated with cake and presents yesterday and today we are off to an indoor amusement park and Build-A-Bear for the rest of the birthday festivities. :-)

Everyone tells you when you first bring your baby home that the time will go by faster than you can imagine, and before you know it, they will be grown up. It is so true. Yesterday she was a chubby little baby and now she's a young lady, (well, most of the time ;-) ). I see the young woman she is becoming and it takes my breath away.

Kate is so thoughtful and notices when someone needs help. She always asks me if I need help, even when she doesn't really want to do whatever needs to be done. And, she is really helpful. Before long, I can probably turn over the running of our home to her! :-) She is my right-hand girl, there at my side. Kate is also one silly girl, who can laugh with the best of them. She is fun, smart, capable, caring, beautiful and lovely. Her Daddy and I are so thankful that the Lord brought this delightful little girl to us and that we get to be her parents!
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We are home now from a fun day of celebrating Katie's birthday. Katie and Grant had a blast on the rides they went on at the amusement park. They went on that ride with the swings that spin around, but they flew by too quickly for me to get any good pictures. After crashing into each other with bumper cars, and a few other rides, they were ready for lunch, which we had brought along. Then it was on to the long-awaited Build-A-Bear factory! The kids each chose a bear and went through the process of stuffing, cleaning and dressing them. They were so excited about all of it and played with those bears the rest of the evening, and they are sleeping with them now.:-) I'd say Katie had a pretty fun birthday and Grant made out pretty well, too. ;-)

Dance, Dance, Dance

Dave and Katie had a lively dance session in the kitchen the other night. Dave is such a fun dad and the kids absolutely adore him. Katie is a real "Daddy's girl." :-) He spends special time with both Grant and Katie together and with each of them separately. He and Grant had built a race car together for the AWANA Grand Prix race the same day that these pictures were taken. Dave is really building strong relationships with the kids, which will hopefully translate into good relationships as they grow into the teen years and beyond.

Excellent Movie

Yesterday, Dave and I went to see the movie, "The Great Debaters." It was excellent. We thought it was really well done and very moving. I highly recommend it!

Here is a peek if you're interested:

Girl Time

Oh, I love my girl. Today, Katie and I had a whole day of, "girl time," which is what we call any time we do something with just the two of us. No boys. Well, today we went shopping and out to lunch, and we had a grand time. We shopped. We laughed. We ate. We went to Barnes and Noble to read and rest up for more shopping.

Katie is fun to be with. She is silly and sings songs all day long in "opera" style. She skips from store to store. She wants to try on every fancy, floaty dress in the store, but is a good sport about trying on all the boring jeans her mom wants her to try on. She shares her chocolate chip cookie. She endures the cold (4 degrees below zero!) on the way to the car at the end of the day. And she laughs and chatters happily all the way home. I can't think of a better way to stay warm on a freezing~cold day like today, than having girl time with Katie.

Co-op Nature Class

The homeschool co-op we are part of met today. One of the classes my kids are in is a nature class taught by a woman who works at a local nature center. She has done such a great job of teaching the class about animals and their homes this semester. Part of the class period is always spent outdoors. Today, the class went snowshoeing, and, since I am a parent- helper in the class, I got to go, too. We went on an hour-long hike in the snow. Fourteen 2nd and 3rd graders and 3 adults, traipsing around in the snow. Crunch, crunch, crunch. Lots of falling down and getting back up. Crunch, crunch, crunch. It was a fun, frosty-cold hike. :-)

This picture is of Krystal, Ellie and Kate during nature class.

Am I Old Enough?

Grant has wanted a pocketknife for awhile now, but we have told him that he wasn't ready for one yet. This Christmas we decided that he had shown himself responsible enough that we could trust him with one. On Christmas morning, he found a pocketknife in his stocking and exclaimed, "A pocketknife! I'm old enough for a pocketknife!" And then he looked at us and asked, "Am I old enough?" Ha~ha! You can tell what Katie thought of the whole thing by her expression of disbelief! :-)


A couple more favorite gifts that the kids received this year are The Dangerous Book For Boys for Grant and a bridesmaid outfit for Katie's Samantha doll, both from Grandma Dar. :-)

15 Years

Today is Dave’s and my 15^th wedding anniversary. Last March I answered the questions for this wedding meme on another blog and I thought that today would be the perfect time to post them here.

The Wedding Meme

1. Where and how did you meet?
We met when Dave volunteered with the youth ministry I worked for.

2. How long after you met did you start dating?
We were friends for six months before we started dating.

3. How long did you date before you were engaged?
We dated for a year before getting engaged.

4. How long was your engagement?
Our engagement was six months long.

5. What is your anniversary?
Our anniversary is January 2nd.

6. Describe your wedding dress:
White taffeta long-sleeved gown with some beading on the bodice and a medium-length train.

7. What kind of flowers did you have at your wedding?
White roses with baby's breath and evergreens.

8. Are your wedding bands engraved?
Our bands are not engraved, but I STILL plan to do this!

9. How many people came to your wedding reception?
There were about 130 at the wedding & reception.

10. What did you serve for your meal?
We served hors d'oeuvres and a delicious cake ~

11. What kind of cake did you serve?
I can't remember the exact flavors ~each layer was different~ but the top was chocolate with chocolate mousse filling.

12. Where was your wedding?
We were married in Boulder, CO.

13. How many people were in your wedding party?
Three bridesmaids, three groomsmen, two (child) candlelighters and a ringbearer.

14. Are you still friends with them all?
We are still friends with everyone. :-)

15. Did your spouse cry during the ceremony?
Yes, Dave cried when everyone sang, "Praise To The Lord, The Almighty." (I did not cry, although I've cried at every other wedding I have ever been to! I was so happy & peaceful.)

16. Most special moment of your wedding day?
The most special time was when we got to our room at an English style B & B and slow danced all alone, still in our wedding clothes.

17. Any funny moments?
Funny moment was when Dave interrupted the ceremony to tell the pastor not to forget the kiss! He said, "The kiss, the kiss! Don't forget the kiss!" The pastor replied, "I'm getting to that!" :-)

18. Any big disasters?
The only "disaster" was that the ring bearer got a bloody nose that stopped right before he had to walk down the aisle.

19. Where did you go on your honeymoon?
Four days in Estes Park, CO. (It's quiet in winter) Then four days at Disneyworld.

20. If you were to do your wedding over, what would you do differently?
There are a few details I would change, but nothing really important.

21. Greatest strength as a couple?
I think our greatest strength is our commitment to Christ and each other. We also laugh a lot. :-)

22. Greatest challenge as a couple?
My husband is laid-back and I want to make plans and get things done, so that causes some tension now and then. :-)

23. How old were you when you got married?
I was 33 when I got married and he was definitely worth the wait! :-)

Merry Christmas!

Winter Wonderland

Snow

The night is cold and silent

Someone sprinkled sugar

And it fell, fell, fell, fell

To cover the world.

Grant wrote this poem last week and I think it fits perfectly with this view of today's winter wonderland out our front window! The snow is so beautiful. The kids played outside in it for a couple of hours and then Grant shoveled the driveway. You would think they would be tuckered out from all of that, but, no...the energizer bunnies are still going and going and going... :-)

Crazy Hair Night At AWANA

Field Trip To 1860's Farm

Recently, the kids and I joined some families from our homeschool co~op for a field trip at a local working farm that functions as it did in the 1860's. Our guides were dressed the part and they led us on a fun and informative tour of the farm, with lots of hands~on activities for the kids. Afterward everyone went inside to make candles. Our family just purchased a membership to the local historical society, which includes admission to this farm as well as some other sites to explore, so we will definitely be going back! :-)

Melting Mom's Heart

I woke up the other morning to this wonderful sight. They were sitting on Grant's bed in their pajamas while Grant read to Katie. They were both very interested in the story. So sweet. Grant has been using every spare moment lately to read. It is exciting for me to see this love of books growing in him. Once he even said, "Thanks for teaching me to read, Mom! I love it!" Awww... way to melt my heart, son! :-)

Cookie Time!

This year, instead of frosted sugar cookie cutouts, we made peanutbutter cookies with chocolate kisses in the center and chocolate cookies with cherries in the center. The kids loved making the indentations and putting the kisses and cherries on the cookies. It's great to have such cheerful helpers! :-)

First Snowfall

Grant and Kate were so excited that a snowstorm was on the way! It started snowing this morning and it snowed all day. The wind was blowing and the snow was falling and the kids were in heaven! :-) There was even enough snow for some sledding. After awhile the cold forced them to come in, but they are already talking about playing in the snow again tomorrow. :-)

There is something exciting about the first snowfall. I welcome the snow now. It is beautiful and it is nice to have the snow falling while the Christmas music is playing. I am going to enjoy it now because in a few months I'm sure I will be ready for the snow to stop! :-)

When Dave and I got married, we had a piano piece from the Michael W. Smith Christmas album play at our wedding when the candlelighters walked in. It is called, "First Snowfall." I love it! :-)

Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving guests just left and our house is too quiet. The kids are saying how strange it seems to not have them here. For the last few days we have had the pleasure of hanging out with Dave's sister, Amy, her husband, Kent, and their six months old son, Jack! They came all the way from Alaska to see us and we all had so much fun together!

On the day after Thanksgiving, Kent, Amy & Jack joined us as we hunted for and cut down our Christmas tree. It was quite chilly outside that day, so we found the tree quickly, enjoyed a short hayride at the tree farm and then got back in the warm car!

Little Jack is so cute! He is very smiley and social. :-) And, Jack is SO ready to crawl! He gets up on all fours, rocks back and forth and lunges forward. Soon he will get his arms and legs coordinated and be crawling everywhere. He will probably be walking and talking by the next time we see him.

Thanks, Kent & Amy for coming all the way to our house for Thanksgiving! We had such a wonderful time with you and Jack! :-)




















Cousins ~ Kate, Grant & Baby Jack

Field Trip

The moms in the co-op we belong to take turns organizing field trips that families can sign up for. Recently I organized a field trip to Here's Life Inner City to put together gospel bead bracelets for an outreach called Boxes of Love. Here's Life coordinates volunteers who pack boxes of food at Thanksgiving that will be distributed by urban churches to people in their neighborhoods. Along with the food, the bracelets are put in the boxes as a way for those delivering the boxes to share the gospel. The kids had a good time putting the bracelets together, and got an opportunity to have a part in helping families in need.

Computer is Here!

The new computer is finally here! I am getting all my files and information from the other computer loaded on the new one. It is good to be able to get on the computer more often than just right before going to bed (when I was checking email on Dave's computer). But, Katie did mention the other day that she liked it when I didn't have a computer, so I guess I was spending too much time on it before! It was a good reminder that I need to limit the time I am on the computer when the kids are around, and instead spend the time interacting with them, which is a lot more important! :-)

I love my new computer, but one thing that is missing is Photoshop. I really miss having Photoshop!!! :-( (The other computer was kind of on loan to me and Photoshop had already been installed on it before I was using it, so I just got to enjoy the benefits of that) Someday, I hope to have Photoshop again, but for now I am just really glad to have my own computer! :-)