Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Christmas vacation started a day early for Jonathan . . . the Friday before break began he had a snow day from school. He was excited, but a little sad too because they were supposed to have a party. Still, we spent the day making little gingerbread houses like this one that he made at school. It was a lot of fun!Then we made a "real" gingerbread house . . . well, daddy and the big kids did while Jayden and I watched and took pictures. Everyone had a fun time. Jonathan was so funny though because he wanted it to look just like the one on the box right down to what candy went where (colors too). It took constant reminding that it was okay if ours looked a little different and yes, Lauren and Landon could put their candy whereever they wanted to . . . bless them they tried to keep Jonathan happy.

Jayden's First Christmas!
We had a wonderful Christmas this year! Thanks to all of our family and friends for the cards, the gifts, the phone calls . . . they all helped to make the season special. We love you! And a special thanks to the Rice's for bringing us dinner Christmas Eve.

Why do kids cut their hair?

One evening not too long ago I was sitting in bed preparing for a talk I had to give in church the next day; Jonathan and Lauren were downstairs playing and Landon was upstairs with me playing on the floor. I thought things were going well until Lauren bounced into the room and asked, "Is today a good day for Jonathan to cut my hair?" I looked up from what I was typing on the computer and when I saw her hair I yelled, "NOOOOOOOOOO!" but it was already too late-the deed had been done.

I was angry with Jonathan for a few minutes, but while it was a really dumb thing to do, he did it because she asked him to - her hair kept getting in her eyes and it was bugging her. So he cut her bangs, cut her hair above her ears, cut the hair at the crown of her head, and cut off half of the back . . . I wish I had taken pictures, but in the moment I was too emotional . . .

I took her to have it fixed and the sweet girl cutting her hair salvaged as much as she could and made it look much better, but it is soooo short. I have to make her wear a ribbon otherwise she looks like one of my boys. Still, it works for her and she is adorable no matter what.


I still feel sad every now and then- it was fun doing the pigtails and ponytails, pulling it into a little bun for dance class. I had just gotten a small curling iron so that I could curl her hair into little ringlets, . . . it was getting long enough to french braid with a lot of work . . . I have waited so long for it to be long enough to play with . . .but like Lauren told me after Jonathan cut it, "It's just hair, it will grow back." Such wisdom from one so young.

I love you 'La La.' Hair or no hair you are a beautiful little girl. And if an unwanted haircut is the biggest "problem" we have to endure then we are very blessed indeed.

Halloween

Jonathan asked if we could carve a "Darth Vader" pumpkin this year, and since I like to do one special one for my own carving enjoyment I thought it would be fun. Here is the finished project- he was happy and so was I . . . how many Darth Vader pumpkins did you see out there?

The week before Halloween we went "Trunk or Treating" at our church's Fall Festival.

Han, Leia holding Chewbacca, and Luke Skywalker

For Halloween the weather was unseasonably warm (the past two years it has been in the 20's)and we loved every minute of it. We stayed out a little longer and everyone came home with tired feet and a bucket full of candy. Jayden fell asleep before we even got rolling.

First Day of School

Jonathan began his first day of kindergarten on October 1st. He was so cute, he woke up and got in the shower all by himself took a 20 minute shower and whistled the Star Wars theme song the whole time. Once he was dressed he came upstairs for breakfast, etc., etc. When it was time to go we said a prayer together and I walked him to the bus stop. At one point I started to feel a little teary . . . my baby was starting kindergarten, but I kept it together as I watched how excited he was to go. Here are some pictures taken that morning.

When he got home he received a special phone call from Daddy . . . :)

Lauren also began her preschool on the 1st and couldn't wait to go, but by the time I dropped her off the excitement had worn off and she was fit to be tied (thanks Wendy for your help) . . . she does this to me constantly . . . , but once I'm gone she is fine. When she came home that afternoon she was thrilled with her day-HOORAY!

Jonathan's Birthday

Instead of having a kid party for his birthday this year Jonathan opted for a trip to Sea World while we were in FL. Still, on the big day we invited a few good friends over to sing happy birthday and eat cake with us.

If you know Jonathan it will not surprise you that he wanted a Star Wars birthday cake; however much to my dismay the bakeries at WalMart, Target, and the local grocery store have discontinued their Star Wars cakes . . . why??? So I had to make one . . . we decided to do a scene from the movie and he wanted to do one of Tatooine (Luke's home planet) which is basically just sand . . . to make it a little more interesting we decided to do the Mos Eisley Cantina, a spaceport found on the planet Tatooine. I did the best I could and thought it turned out okay . . . Jonathan loved it and that's all that really mattered . . . oh, and it tasted super yummy too!

Here's the birthday boy getting ready to be sung too and blow out his candle. I can't believe my baby is 6!

Jonathan and the two Calebs eating their cake on the deck, Andrew was out there too, but went inside for a minute.It was too cold for the girls and Zach, they opted to eat their cake in the comfort of the warm house. Marissa was feeding baby Caden his cake too.

Last visit to Clermont

After our trip to Sea World our time in Florida seemed to fly by. I spent a few extra days in Clermont visiting with my family while Jon returned to Jacksonville for work. The kids and I tried to soak up the warmth of summer to carry us through the coming winter and savor all of the time we had with family because who knows when we'll see them again (although Nana and Papa are supposed to come visit at the end of May to celebrate Jayden's 1st birthday!!!). Here are some random pictures taken during our last visit to Clermont.

When Jon saw this picture he asked why I took a picture of some bikers butt . . . and you may be wondering the same thing. Well, while we were in Clermont the kids and I decided to go to our cousins play football and cheer; on the way there we got stuck behind some bikers for a few minutes, when I was finally able to pass I did only to hear a little voice from the back seat asking if I had just run the guy on the bike over, Lauren was almost in tears she was so worried. I quickly put her out of her misery and assured her that I had not run the cyclist over.

This is a picture of my nephew Hayden who absolutely adored Jayden . . . lets just hope he likes his new little brother half as much.

BFFs: One of the reasons we want to return to the southeast and probably FL is family. I was never especially close to any of my cousins, but I would like my own children to have the chance to be close to theirs. I love this picture of Summer, Lauren and Hope; Lauren felt so special hanging out with her "girl" cousins.


I painted Jayden's toenails for the first time . . . and they were so cute!

One evening we went for a walk with Nana and Papa.

The kids loved seeing the animals; especially the calves. And Lauren was the only one brave enough to feed the horses.

I feel so blessed to be the mother of these four wonderful children.

Our Trip to Sea World

We arrived at the park excited and full of energy . . . we'd been looking forward to this day all summer! As an extra treat Nana and Papa accepted our invitation to join us on our little adventure (thank goodness! i don't know how we would have done it without the extra help. thanks mom and dad.)

The day was super special because of this little boy; it was how Jonathan wanted to celebrate his birthday this year. Sure it was a month early, but they don't have Sea World where we live.

We saw the shows . . . We rode the rides . . .

She touched a stingray . . .

We got a liitle wet . . . And we took lots and lots of pictures . . . hoping never to forget this wonderful day.




We stayed until they kicked us out . . . and then exhausted, arms laden with souviniers we returned to our car and drove home . . .

What a wonderful day! One that we'll remember always.