What we have been up to?

Well, the blog has been silent for quite some time.  Its been very busy around here.  Here are a few pictures of the last 2 months

 Here are the girls waking up from their last night in the Harbor House. (our rental)  They had a room with 2 sets of bunk beds.  Some nights they slept alone and other nights they all bunked together.  It was an 8 week sleepover.  They loved it!

 Here are the troops reporting for "moving in day".  Thanks moms, dads and Aunt Barbara!

This picture pretty much explains that last month.  We stored our stuff in the garage for 2 months. Much of it was covered or in boxes,  but in the end most things looked like this.  The battle rages on, construction dust is no laughing matter- its a crying matter!

 Miracle the cat had been staying with my parents while we were in the rental.  The kids are glad to have her back.  I will be happy when she remembers the fact that she was an "Outdoor Cat"  when she left us.  Not sure why Madelyn was wearing my sunglasses that day?

 We finally had Owen's family birthday party this past weekend.  He loved his "Thomas" cake made my Grandma Darlene.

Owen got his first bike.  Our home is surrounded in mud, but he has been finding ways to enjoy his bike on the deck. 

Happy Birthday Owen!

Today is Owen's 3rd birthday.  Where did the time go?  Owen was born here in Yankton and almost every time we go by the hospital he was born at Madelyn tells me "that was the place where we got Owen."  If only it had been that easy.  Owen brings us so much joy each and every day.  He always has a smile on his face even when he is in trouble.  He wants pancakes for supper so we are taking him to the Fryn pan.  Happy birthday Owen! 

Introducing the girls to their baby brother was quite a moment!

One of my favorite pictures

learning to crawl!

Still smiling :)

Prayers please

Hello friends!  I ask you all to pray for a wonderful guy and his family that Will and I have known for years.  Adam Nelson was an usher in our wedding, and a roommate of Will's at USF.  As a couple we spent many evenings with Adam and  his wife Michelle.  He was recently diagnosed with a stage 2 type of malignant brain cancer.  He is a daddy to Brynn and Cooper.  I am copying his most recent post on his caringbridge website to give you an idea of the faith and trust he has in our Lord.  He and his family are truly amazing!  I hope and pray I could have the same faith and understanding if I was ever faced with a similar challenge.  Please lift them up in prayer as they face this difficult road ahead.  Here is Adam's most recent post:

So as look up at the clock as I type this little update I can't help but think back at what has happened over the passed week. One week ago today this new journey began in my (our) life and I can't express enough how richly blessed my family and I have felt from God and his body.
First, I would have to say that nobody and I mean nobody should feel sorry for me!!! What I have experienced on this short journey so far is the PEACE THAT TRANSCENDS ALL UNDERSTANDING! For all of you Brooklynites you will remember  back in the day Paster Abrams would close his sermons with this verse. Up until this past week I can honestly say that I couldn't understand this verse as I do today. I'm truely grateful to experience that PEACE and LOVE that Christ has extended to me. If this doesn't make sense trust me this is one of the best places to be.
Secondly, I can't express the LOVE my family has felt from all of you over the past week. I can only imagine how Christ is looking down from His throne and just smiling. This is exactly the way the body of Christ works. It's a beautiful thing to see and I want to say thank you to everyone. Continue to serve those people in your life.
I will post some more later, however, my breakfast is smelling so good and I'm starving.

Love

Adam

Student of the Week!

Lauren has received the honor of Student of the Week at Lincoln Elementary for the 3rd consecutive year.  She was nominated by her teacher.  Our ritual has become going out for a blizzard to celebrate.  So it looks like we will be making our way to Dairy Queen later tonight.  Great job Lauren!  

Jillian is 7!

Today is Jillian's 7th birthday.  I remember the day she was born well.  She was my easiest delivery and our easiest baby.  She continues to be our easy going, sweet natured, and mild mannered Jillian.  She loves school, legos, puzzles,crafts and reading.  She has requested going to Hyvee for her birthday supper.  She is not much for desserts but the Hyvee salad bar has some pudding type desserts she really enjoys.  Jillian is such a blessing to our family and we are grateful for her.  We love you Jillian!

Jillian hanging out on her potty chair

One of our many trips to the Omaha Children's Museum

First day of first grade

A busy weekend

This weekend was a busy one for our family.  Perhaps the biggest news is that we no longer live here.

 

We sold this house

 

And moved into this house (temporarily that is)

Our home will be done at the end of February.  We are grateful to have sold our other house even if it means having to be inconvenienced for 2 months.  Our rental is great.  Its geared towards the lake community and is mainly used in the summer for families that come to use the lake etc.  Our house has a nautical theme on the upper level and a jungle theme on the lower level.  The kids are loving it!  

In other news this weekend...

Lauren is a member of the Yankton Children's Choir and performed in their Winter concert on Sunday.  They did a wonderful job and are very talented for 3rd through 8th graders.  

The concert was titled "The Snow Has a Song" which was appropriate for the day as its been snowing for hours and is forecast to snow for many more.

Enjoying some well deserved treats after the concert.

A great way to end the weekend. 

Christmas 2010

Our Christmas celebration began on Thursday the 23rd and went right on through the weekend.  We are exhausted today, but it was all well worth it.  We are so blessed and thankful for our wonderful families and all the work that goes into making Christmas meaningful and memorable each and every year.

We kicked our Christmas off last Thursday at our house.  We had our family celebration.  We ate supper at Minerva's and then listened to Lauren and Jillian play Christmas carols for us on their piano.

We read the Christmas story and opened gifts.  We ended our evening by blowing out the candle on our birthday cupcakes for Jesus

Then it was off to Sioux Falls the next day for our Christmas Eve celebration with Paul and Darlene

Paul and Darlene with all of the grandkids before leaving for Christmas service at their church

Lauren wrote and directed a Christmas play for us.  It was called "Do you Know the Meaning of Christmas?" They are all so cute and did a great job!

The reading of the Christmas story from the book of Luke

Some of the highlights of our gift opening were these wonderful aprons that Darlene and her friend Molly made for the girls.  They love to bake with Grandma.  On a related note, my parents found my Grandma Clark's old recipe box and apron and gave it to me for Christmas.  It brought back many fond memories of times spent in my Grandma's kitchen helping her cook and wash dishes.  

Paul gave each of his grandsons a toy gun.  Opening gifts is already a crazy scene, but then you add 3 toy guns with sound effects and you can only imagine!  Owen has hardly put the gun down since.

Another birthday party for Jesus.  This time we had pepermint stick ice cream cake.  Yum!

The next morning it was on to Mitchell.  Jordan was home and my Grandma Lilly was there from Aberdeen.  We opened more gifts. The highlights of that gift opening would have to be the silly $6 Zhu Zhu pets.  The kids were thrilled.   Thanks Uncle Jo Jo!  It was then time to get ready for another wonderful meal.    We had prime rib the night before and ham dinner with all the fixings on Christmas day. 

 

Grandma Lilly and Jillian getting started on our Christmas puzzle.  

By the end of the day, everyone (except Grandpa Pat) had contributed to the puzzle

Success!

This picture is worth a thousand words, but I will give you the condensed version.  My grandma is a die hard republican.  So naturally she likes Kristi Noem,  However she despises Kristi's hairstyle.  She and Darlene talk about this often in a joking way.  So after our annual 5 dollar gift exchange, Darlene presented Grandma Lilly with a present.  It was "from" Kristi Noem and was a wig that resembled her hair cut.  Grandma Lilly wore it with pride and got a huge kick out of it.