Christmas With Paw and Maw 2015

Once again my parents came and spent Christmas with us. We really enjoy this tradition and are very thankful they get to spend this time with us. This year they came up on the Tuesday before Christmas and we opened gifts with them that evening. They were able to stay until Christmas Day and left that afternoon.

Here is Paw opening one of his gifts from us. 

Maw opening one of her gifts.

My parents are always great about getting Bryan and I things that we need and can use. Thank you mom and dad!

Elijah and Joanna were great helpers. :) All the kids enjoy seeing what we all get.

Isaac opening one of his gifts from Paw and Maw.

The weather during the week of Christmas was extremely warm for December. Elijah was warm and decided he didn't need a shirt. :) Here he is opening his Lego set...exactly what he asked for.

One of Timothy's gifts was a throw blanket.

One of Joanna's gifts was rain boots.

Sarah got a huge Lego set. She really enjoyed putting this one together.

Timothy and Snoopy

Timothy received a Snoopy stuffed for Christmas in 2013 from a family that sent the kids some Christmas presents after the fire. He really liked Snoopy and Snoopy would go everywhere with us. 

On one of our trips to AL Timothy made Snoopy a dog house. Complete with dog food bowl and water bowl. :)

Too cute!! Such an imagination! I love him so much! Can't imagine life without him!

Elijah is Our Builder

Elijah is always working on something, either with wood and nails or Legos. Thought I would share just a few pictures of some of his wood and nail works.

While building the house there was always scrap lumber around and Elijah would pick up a few pieces and get to building. The picture above he is hammering nails in the boards to make the bed/couch in the picture below.

Here he is in his "fort". Below is the mailbox he fixed up for his "fort".

He is one creative builder.

Here are a couple more pictures of some things he built. He built these for Bryan and I to put in our laps as a table. The one above he made for Bryan for him to put his computer on. That is why it has the piece standing up on top. 

Both of these things came in handy while building the house. We used them for stools, chairs, and tables to eat on. Here is just a glimpse of what this little man can do. I will be sharing more of his creations in other post. Oh how I love this little man of mine!! He is a joy and blessing! Thankful that I get to watch him work and see what he builds. Never know what he will create or build next. :)

Ice Cream

While our home was being built and we lived in the camper something was started in our family...Edy's Ice Cream. In the time between the fire and rebuiilding there was a Dollar General built right down the road. For a treat in the camper we would have ice cream...Edy's Ice Cream. We would make a trip to the DG for this or that and pick up some ice cream too. The kids enjoyed this treat...so did Dad and Mom. :) 

We have continued to buy this kind of ice cream. On Monday the kids and I were in town and Kroger had Edy's ice cream on sale so I stopped by and picked two containers up (picture above). Not telling anyone what I got and thought it would be a good treat and surprise one night this week. We came home and I put it in the freezer. 

Yesterday Bryan was going to be in town and I asked him to stop by the DG and pick up a couple of items I needed. When he got home he had also picked up two containers of ice cream (picture above). Is that not funny! We think alike and know this is our family treat. Great memories! 

Flavors: Vanilla is liked by Isaac and Timothy, Mint Chocolate Chip is a favorite for Elijah, Joanna, and me, Butterfinger is what Bryan and Sarah ask for. (Kroger didn't have Butterfinger but that is what I was looking for Monday night.)

Hide Aways

The house before the fire had two kneewall doors upstairs that were storage spaces. Those doors were in an area we call the "Loft Area". They were very inconvinient to access all of the storage. When we built the house back we moved those doors to the inside of the kids rooms and went ahead and put up sheetrock so the insulation would not be exposed. We made some nice storage space and we now call them "Hide Aways".

Here is a picture of the boys Hide Away closet. Timothy claimed one side and we put a little cot bed in there. He told us it was his room. Now his little bed is out in the room and this area is his "play room". The other side is full of boxes with clothes for other seasons and sizes for the boys, also a few school boxes.

Here is the girls Hide Away. They do play in here some, Joanna mostly. The other side is full of boxes of things we are storing (clothes, bedding, swim things, etc.)

We put a flooring in the Hide Aways, Isaac and Elijah laid it for us. It is that peel and stick stuff.

Here is a picture of the door to the girls Hide Away. We painted the doors with white board paint so they can draw on them (as you can see the girls have drawn on theirs). :)

A Furry Visitor

Last January as Isaac and the dogs were taking a walk through the woods they discovered a cute little owl.

Isaac thought he would bring it to the house and let the rest of us see this cute little creature. He also thought it might be hurt (Isaac is our child that is very interested in animals) so he took it to the barn and put it up high so the dogs wouldn't get it.

Before Isaac knew it this little furry visitor was flying off to the nearest tree. Lots of fun and interesting things happen around here. :)

A Fairy Tale Christmas Carol

In November Sarah had a part in a play at the local Theatre. The play was "A Fairy Tale Christmas Carol". She really enjoys things like this and is already looking forward to next years play.

Sarah played the part of Mary Mary Quite Contrary. Here she is in costume. Beautiful!

Here is one of the scenes that is a party at Mary Mary's home. From left to right are...Jack and the Bean Stalk, Little Miss Muffet, Peter Piper, Snow White, Rumplestilkin, Jasmine, Mary Mary...Standing are The Big Bad Wolf behind Mary Mary and then to the right is Old King Cole.

Another scene where Mary Mary and Jack meet Big Bad Wolf in the streets of London.

The final scene with the whole cast. It was a cute play and a great opportunity for Sarah.

*The bottom three pictures were taken by Rickey Nelson, a local photographer.*

More Snow Day Pictures!!

Here is Elijah with his BB gun. This boy really did have lots of fun yesterday.

Timothy and Joanna climbed on the tractor...VERY carefully.

God has such beautiful creations.

Here is one of our dogs, Charlie, enjoying the snow. The dogs played some in the snow but they also liked hanging out in the barn laying in the hay. :)

The best part of playing in the snow is warming up with some hot choclate afterwards.

We really had a great day yesterday. God is so good! I praise Him for my family, the snow, warm clothes, warm home, safety while playing in the snow, and so much more!! He is good all the time!

Snow Day!

Yesterday we got a few inches of snow. It was coming down hard to begin with.

Looked like a winter wonderland! :)

The kids couldn't wait to get out in it. Here is Timothy making his way down the back steps.

The view from the back deck of the barn. Look closely and you can see Timothy walking in front of the barn.

Joanna striking a pose. She is ready to play!

The playground all covered in snow. The snow really is pretty.

Sarah 

Eliajh scrapping off the concrete. He is a worker man! I do believe he played in the snow longer than any of the other children.

Mom got in the snow. Love spending time with our kids! Its always so much fun!

Timothy with a snow beard. 

Joanna is such a cutie!

Best Friends!!

This boy doesn't care for the snow at all. He stayed in the house and watched out the window.

Happy Birthday to Bryan!

I tried to catch up in age but as soon as I get closer he moves ahead a year. LOL!! Happy Birthday to my best friend!! I can't imagine my life without him. He is the best father to our children and spiritual leader to our family. I thank God every day that He brought us together and keeps us together! I pray that Bryan knows how much I love him and how blessed I am to be his wife. Looking forward to growing older together! :)

Upstairs Bathrooms

Thought I would share pictures of the kids bathrooms. The house before the fire had one bathroom upstairs. When we rebuilt we extended the area where the bathroom was and made a second bathroom and made the closets in the bedrooms upstairs bigger. 

Above is the girls bathroom. The same man who did our kitchen cabinets did the vanities in the bathrooms. Then we purchased the tops from Lowe's or Home Depot and they were on sale. The two pictures hanging in the girls bathroom are pictures Sarah took on our mission trip to Washington. Very blessed that the girls can have their own bathroom.

Here is the boys bathroom. In both bathrooms there are small linen closets. 

Contacts

When Sarah was 5 years old we discovered that she needed glasses. Then when she was eight we were told that she would need glasses the rest of her life. 

The past four years we have decided that she coulld wear contacts while playing sports. Now she has gotten use to those contacts she has started wearing them to church on Sundays. I am sure Sarah may get to where she is wearing them more often. Thought I would share a picture of her from this past Sunday with her contacts on.

This past Sunday was the first time she has put them both in all by herself. So proud of her! She is beautiful with glasses and with contacts...just a beautiful girl inside and out! Our prayer for Sarah is that she would always use her eyes to look to Jesus and never take her eyes off of Him! Matter of fact that is our prayer for each of our family members.