Florida vacation ~ Day 3

Our third day was mostly just a rest day. We took it easy, spent time with our
little family, relaxed a lot, got Nate his proper naps and even did some swimming.
The weather was perfect. I'm telling you, Florida in December is pretty incredible.

 

 

 

 

To be continued.....

Florida vacation ~ Day 2

Any guesses on where we spent the second day of our vacation?

 

There is a lot of fun to be had at Disney World. Just for the record.

To be continued.....

Florida vacation ~ Day 1

It's snowing again where we live and I figured what better way to feel even more bitter about
winter being outside our door then to start posting about our wonderful vacation to Florida?
We returned home just over a month ago and the memories are still fresh and fabulous.
We were so thankful for the incredible time with family and especially grateful to
Adam and Kaylie for being kind enough to get married so that we could all
be a part of their wedding and the happy days surrounding it.

And we are especially, especially thankful for these two lovely people you see
before you. Jacob's parents were so generous to make this trip possible for all of their
children and grandchildren. Thank you so very, very much Nancy and Rex!

Okay, on to our first full day there. Which just happened to be Sunday.
These cute kids are all dressed up and ready to go to church.

That night, we had a special family night with a lesson the true meaning
of Christmas, as well as a gift exchange among all thirty-three of us.

If you cannot tell, our kids loved their thoughtful gifts. It was a happy, full day and
we slept particularly well that night. Which was good considering day two would
definitely be filled with a whole lot of fun and excitement.

To be continued.....

Friends

One of the greatest desires of my heart is that our kids have good friends. I don't mean a lot of friends, necessarily, but just good friends. Jacob and I talk often about the group of friends we had in school and how easy it was to make good choices because of the people they were (and still are, quite frankly). It was honestly one of the greatest blessings of our lives. And we have wanted that so very much for our kids.

And since we have moved to Massachusetts, and as our kids have gotten older, they have picked some truly outstanding friends. And this year especially, it has been incredible to watch the kids our children choose to associate with and boy howdy, it has made my mother's heart swell with gratitude. Our children have good friends. And I am thankful beyond words.

 

 

(As you might be able to tell, these girls didn't take too much convincing to pose
for photos. Not sure the boys will be as easy, but I need to coerce them,
just to have a family record of so much goodness. I am just so grateful.)

Annie's 5th Grade Concert

Me thinks winter has officially arrived

 

 

 

 

Music Mania!

Annie and Matt have been taking a fun music class after school each Monday since just after school began in the fall. And today was their final day for this session. The parents were invited to come toward the end of their class and see some examples of what the kids have learned in Music Mania! the past many weeks.

Can I just say I absolutely adore their music teacher? Because I do. A whole lot. And any chance our kids have to be exposed to music and instruments and creativity is a plus in my book. So the combination of the two was really quite fabulous. Music Mania! for sure.

Klondike derby

This is how this boy came home, after being gone for about ten hours today:

It was his third year of competing in the Klondike derby and while he wasn't loving
the thought when his alarm went off early this morning, he was a tad more excited
when he arrived home. Excited, but absolutely exhausted. But the exhaustion was pretty
worth it, in his opinion, since his troop took first place in the race. Awesomeness for sure.

And it appears we have two more Klondike competitors in the house. At least in their minds.
Campbell's younger brothers idolize him. And to be honest, I don't blame them one bit.

And a third spelling B-E-E

Annie had her turn.
Cam had his turn.

And now it was our Matt's turn to compete in our town wide spelling bee. (Okay, they technically
don't give the kids that participate a turn, they qualify by being great spellers, but in our family
it has felt like turns the past three years.) And while his team, like those of his siblings, did not win,
he had a good time and it was great fun to watch. Matthew is so funny and sweet and there is
nothing better as a mom than watching your darling boy do something that makes him
feel slightly nervous and succeed. I was a fan, for sure.

We definitely think Mr. Matt is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

 

 

 

Ben's birthday outtakes

When I downloaded Ben's birthday photos, I could not quit laughing at
these photos of our boy. Man, he makes our life happy.

 

 

 

And this is obviously not an outtake, but good grief, how could I not share it?
I almost can't stand the cuteness.

Our beautiful girl

My favorite books of 2012

So, last year I posted about my favorite books in 2011 and decided to do it again this year. Because I love having a record of those kind of things and because I love sharing when it comes to books because oh man, I love to read!

(And as a reminder, this are my opinions and these are books that I enjoyed this past year. You don't have to like them and you don't have to read them because I suggested them. Truly. Please don't be annoyed with me if you don't like something. Just chalk it up to preferences and move on. Thanks.)

And so, once again, here is my list in random order, except the first one of course.

The Book of Mormon
This book will be at the top of any book list forever. Once again, my great love for it caused me to read it twice. Which is more than any other book this year. Here are my thoughts on it again, if anyone is interested.

Ida B:...and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World 
I loveth this book. So very much. But listen carefully, it is very important if you want to give this book a try, that you don't read it. But instead listen to it. I am telling you, I am usually one who thinks that reading a book is far better then listening, but in this case (and a couple of others), I will make an exception. I could go on and on, but I will just say, go check out the audio version from your library and listen to it. With your kids if applicable. Loved loved loved it.

The Maid of Fairbourne Hall
And here again, my friend Julie Klassen made another appearance. Good grief, I like her writing. It makes me happy. That is all. Oh, except I heard she has another book out this month. Can you say giddy?

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Yes folks, I officially finished the Harry Potter series. Just sixteen years late. And many people told me I wouldn't like how the last book ended, because I want everything perfectly happy and wrapped up without any sadness, but, surprisingly, they were wrong. I loved it. It ended just as it should in my opinion. Well played, J.K. Rowling, well played.

Kisses from Katie
I do not even know how to talk about this book except to say please read it. It changed me quite a bit and I am so grateful. I am so inspired by the faith of others and how they choose to change the world. And Katie Davis is changing this world of ours. Big time. What an inspiration.

Divergent
This book won't change you or the world, but boy howdy, I liked it. It may not be for everyone, but sometimes I just love reading something entertaining and enthralling and that I don't have to think too hard about. I liked it mucho.

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother
Alrighty, it took me a while to get up the guts to read this book. I was worried I would just be annoyed the whole time I read it (because of what others had said about it), but to be honest, I wasn't. I was really grateful I read it. First, it was interesting. And second, it made me realize that there are areas where I am lacking and I can require more of my children and that there are other areas where I can take a big-old-settle-down pill.

The Walk
Many years back, I read several books by Richard Paul Evans. And then haven't read another of his books for a long time. So I decided to pick up a few and this book stood out to me. It was just really interesting to me and has made me think quite a bit. I would be lying to say I absolutely loved it, but I did enjoy it. And I finished the second in the series today and liked it even more. So, it may be worth your time.

The Happiness Project
Gretchen Rubin makes me laugh. She has a dry humor that appeals to me and this book was so incredibly interesting to me. Oddly, I loved how she approached finding happiness. I'm not saying it is how I would do it, but it was fascinating to me and it has made me think a lot about happiness and about my choice to be happy. And has influenced some of my thoughts and resolutions for 2013.

Heaven is Here
I, along with a whole lot of people, read this book by plane crash survivor, Stephanie Nielson. I laughed a lot and I cried a lot and I felt intensely grateful for the privilege of being a mother and a wife. And my lack of challenges surrounding that great honor. Every time I think of this book, I try to remember that. And for that, I will always be grateful.

Read on cute friends, read on!

Benjamin Jay

FIVE words to describe this darling boy:

• Hilarious • Loving • Joyful • Sensitive • Smart •

Happy Birthday our sweet Ben! You are so very loved.

Our 2012

I feel a little emotional tonight. This year has been a year that I could not describe if I wanted to.
Definitely one of the hardest I have experienced and when I look back at the past twelve months,
the difficulty of much of it makes me cry a little. And yet, as we have been promised, those difficult
times are so completely and totally worth it because of who they help us to become and Who they
help us to rely on. Don't get me wrong, there have been so many, many moments of joy, but I would
be lying to say that I am not grateful to have a fresh start with 2013. We are calling it "Lucky 13"
at our house, because my heart tells me that is what it is going to be. Happy and joyful and gentle
and good. Not perfect or pain free, but a little bit easier than this past year. And even if it is not,
I have the six people you see below to call mine, so really, it doesn't matter either way.

These I love. So very, very much.

And our year in review:

January: Our Ben turned four. That boy melts my heart, plain and simple.
February: Annie played an orphan in the school play Annie. How I loved it.
March: Our Matt turned eight. What an incredible privilege to be his mom. 

April: Matthew made the decision to be baptized and confirmed a member of our church.
May: I spent my Mother's Day with these five darlings. And their dad. I'm so blessed.
June: This handsome man celebrated Father's Day. He is truly the greatest father I know.
July: Boating, swimming and family time in Maine. One of our best vacations ever.
August: And a few more days in Maine, enjoying beautiful views like this one.

September: Our Cam turned thirteen. This boy gets better with age--and that is saying something.
October: Our Annie turned eleven. I cannot imagine what I ever did to deserve this girl.

November: Our baby turned a year old. How we needed this sweet boy to be a part of our family.

December: A family vacation to Florida ended our year just right.

Goodbye 2012.
Hello 2013.

Lucky 13 indeed.

The sunshine state

The day after Christmas we returned from a family vacation.
A ten-day family vacation to be exact. Any guesses where?

And no need to worry, there will definitely be several blog posts coming.

But I'll need a little while to delete, sort, organize and get the photos ready to post.
In the meantime, plenty of thrilling posts that don't have to do with our vacation
will be coming. Seriously, how do you stand all of this excitement?

Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth

Silent night, holy night!
Son of God, love's pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face,
With the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth;
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth.