Life these Days......

snowblowing....

puzzle building....

gift wrapping...

lots of reading....

lego creating....

warmth from woodburning....

Lauren singing....

sled riding....

cake baking....

cake eating....

husband hugging....

snowball throwing....

lovie snuggling....

baby-food making....

homeschooling....

 family devotion in evening....

Noah helping....

friends here playing....

tear wiping....

boo boo kissing....

diaper changing....

kids drawing....

lots of laughing....

mama blogging.... 

baby nursing....

gift wrapping....

Nate writing....

packing, packing, packing....

family time praying....

coffee drinking....

movie watching....

floor sweeping....

picture taking.... 

craft making....

nose wiping....

kids dancing....

Daddy loving....

lots of hugging....

potty training....

smiling....

facebooking....
kiss giving....

tons of tickling....

life loving....

God blessing....

family thanking....

There is a baby brother......

 who LOVES his big brother......

 And a big brother.....

who LOVES his baby brother.

This Mama is thankful for......

adorable......

 

 

 

 

these precious.....

sweet.....

 little.....

girly hands.

Miss Messy....

While Lauren was eating she kept looking down and saying, "I'm a mess."  No truer words have ever been spoken.

Partners in Crime

It all starts with curiosity....

Next...an accomplice

 The first move...

Then....guilty by association

 

The Distraction from the authorities...

 

 The cover-up...getting the story straight

  

The adorable face that will always get him out of trouble.....

H

Car Lovin' Little Boy

Brownies Anyone?

 

Ok....so hopefully you weren't too grossed out by this pic of my sweet little girl..{ahem}.. preoccupied with something.

Just a classic moment in the life I live. When you're a mom or just around kids often, you pretty much become desensitized to certain things {grin}

Having a sense of humor is essential when raising kids....well it is for me anyway. I love to be able to laugh with my kids and I may even be caught being silly....ok, yes I can definitely get caught up in being silly..... singing, dancing, giggling right along with them.

Some days I look around and see that my floors need swept, I am waaaaay behind on laundry, and dinner is less than gourmet. But on those days I know that I was where I was supposed to be.....being a real part of the lives of my lovies.

No, not everyday is giggles and gumdrops. To be honest, being a mother is extremely challenging....on so many different levels. But despite that, I feel overwhelmed with blessings daily....4 to be exact. God has taught me so very much on this beautiful journey of motherhood.

Along with the trials and challenges there lies a deep root of love....deep down to my core. I know this can only come from God. Any patience I practice, any compassion I show, any forgiveness I offer, all is rooted in Christ. I cling to God daily to help me be the mother that He wants me to be, and that I long to be.

Through my triumphs and failures as a mother I am ever grateful to this special calling. I have so much to learn, and by God's grace I will grow. I am amazed how children can reveal so much about a person. God uses my lovies to make me want to change to be someone I am supposed to be....to be more like Christ....and man am I a long way off.

 I will joyfully press on, collecting all of the kisses and snuggles I can get along the way.

Nate makes me smile....

Everyone has there own way of playing with dominoes..... 

I found this on our desk this morning. Nate has this thing about PIXAR films......obviously.

The Girl

 There is a little girl, who is not so little anymore......

 

She is thinking.."No thanks Mom, I don't need any help."

She is thinking..."Oh Man...Busted!"

But the climbing was all for a good cause.....there was an important group of critters who needed a story {grin}

Man of the House

While Jared was away for a couple of days, I was pleased to see my little man take care of one of Daddy's chores. Noah was sure to remind me that he was      "the man of the house" while his Dad was away.  Great news for me since one of my least favorite things to do is carry in wood.  Don't worry...I still kept the job of lighting the wood burner.

On The Horizon.....

We all have things coming up in our lives

no matter what the season of life we are presently living in.

Some things that are on "the horizon" may be prominent,

and others may be little decisions concerning daily life.

 

Just thought I would share our family

and what we have on "the horizon."

 

Getting ready for winter!

Which means; making sure the snow blower is working, 

finding all of the snow clothes for the kids, getting the sleds out of the barn, keeping a good wood stash for the beloved wood burner that helps keep us cozy.

 

Christmas!

Well, decorations are hung and our tree is up...so pretty. There are several missing bulbs...I'm not naming any names though...{coughLauren}

We celebrate our Christmas here on the 11th....the kids are excited to celebrate Jesus's birthday. 

 

Travel!

We will heading back to PA and will be spending 2 wks!!

Of course we all love love love spending time with family over this special holiday. Noah and Nate have been "counting down" the days for quite a while.

The Hub!

Thankfully Jared has some potential job opportunities in the near future. His funding has been extended where he is at right now. Also, a possible "permanent" position at a college in the mid-west ....great interview....so we will see what comes of this. 

The Kids!

Noah has some upcoming projects for school on his horizon. He is looking forward to making a book for our study on the Ocean and God' s amazing creatures in it.

Nathan is on the horizon of reading independently. I am presently looking into setting up special services for this little guy in the area of speech and language development.

Lauren is on the horizon of being potty trained....Yippee!

And Luke is on the horizon of growing too fast. He is almost able to sit up on his own.....sniff.

 

And Me....

I am doing some homeschool planning for the upcoming months...trying to be organized. And...keeping up with the housework, laundry, etc.. By God's grace trying to be a good wife and mama. Oh and soon-to-be starting up a weight loss something or other .....blah. But it's time....sigh.

 

In the midst of all of our things "on the horizon", I hope as a family that we stay God centered and seek His guidance daily. As often as we fail at this...it is by His grace that we live to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever.

There's a Little Girl.......

...who loves her Daddy

 And there's a Daddy...

...who adores his little girl

How I describe my lovies.......

My first born is Strong and Sensitive

 

 

My second is Beautiful and Unique

 

My third is Sweet and Sassy

 

My fourth is Happy with Chubby Cheeks

Future Photographer Perhaps.......

 

Noah has shown a growing interest in photography the past couple of years. He makes me smile when I see him dashing out the door with 'his' camera to capture something cool. Could be a deer in the field, or a chipmunk on the stone wall.

On this particular morning, we woke to a beautiful display of ice all around. I love to see him passionate about something at such a young age and I hope to only encourage him through the years. 

I would love to start a blog with solely Noah's photography on it. I am amazed when I upload his camera card to our computer and see all of the beautiful photographs he has taken.  There is something special about seeing life from a 

7 year old's point of view.  

This little man is growing and maturing right before my very eyes....so I am enjoying capturing my little photographer and will treasure these memories always.

 (This is one of my photos from this morning.....keep looking for a post with Noah's blog address to view his photos)

AThankful Nate

 This evening Jared and I were talking to the kids about what we are thankful for. Because "being thankful" is an abstract thought, and Nate doesn't do well with the abstract, he wasn't able to tell us what he was thankful for. And being his Mama, I know my sweet boy quite well and I took some pretty good guesses at what Nate would say had he understood the question. 

Nate is thankful for:

Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch

The Moon

Puzzles

M&Ms

Legos

Graham crackers 

Movies

(Dreamworks, Pixar and Disney)

 

His magnadoodle

(he takes it everywhere)

Splash Lagoon

Puzzles
Dirt

Rocks

When Noah chases him

Riding on Daddy's back

Annie's White Mac-n-Cheese

 

Hills he can roll down

Grandma

Puzzles
Books

Balloons

Granola bars

Snuggling with Luke

His tractor from Pap Pap

 When Lauren plays with his hair

Lincoln Logs 

Puzzles  

Music

Leaf Piles 

Playdough

Big kisses from His Mama

Jesus

Wordless Wednesday