Baby's First Christmas~

Christmas 2007

COUSINS!!


opening presents at Nana Papa's house~

All smiles~

Making memories with Daddy ~

Stockings!

Playing games with daddy...

Mimi and Grandpa~

special visit with Great Grandma~

Cuddling close with Nana~

"Happy birthday Jesus!" cake

Playing with Papa~

enjoying a new ride from Daddy...

sticker from big sister...

We had such a fun Christmas filled with 2 days of festivities. It is always a reminder of how truly blessed we are when we gather together with family. I love watching our kids enjoy the people around them that love them so much. Last night after we put the kids to bed and everything was done (OK except for the dishes) I sat and fed the baby just feeling overwhelmed with all that the Lord has blessed us with. Just sitting and playing with the baby I was also overwhelmed with such joy that our Lord and Savior entered into the world for us as a tiny baby. I wonder how it was to hold the Savior of the world in your arms, how it was to hear His tiny cry and what it was like to watch Him sleep, see Him smile for the first time and hear those cooing sounds that babies always make. It is amazing to think how tiny and perfect He was.

It is also such a blessing to talk about baby Jesus with our kids. Even though I know that Cassidy does not fully understand the story I love how she says His name..."baby Jesus." Those words are powerful words, words that are written on her mind and in her heart...words that she will never forget. I also love the way Micah asks so many questions about the Christmas story...he wants to have every detail just right; and Caitlyn doesn't care too much about the details she just loves the story and loves to sing "Away in a Manger." I think our kids love the story so much because they just love babies and baby Jesus is the most amazing of them all. This Christmas is one that I wish I could just freeze-frame and experience all over again. It is so fun to see our kids experience the excitement and love of the Christmas season. Micah is an amazing kid to me. He isn't really all too excited about opening gifts. He will get just one and be completely content with that. When you take him to the store and point out something exciting, whether it is a toy or something else his response is, "that's neat but it is just too expensive." I love how content he is and pray that he would continue life with such a heart. I also love to see the excitement and joy in Caitlyn's eyes...She is filled with such a contagious joy and she can always light up a room with her smile. Cassidy enjoyed getting her gifts and she just kept saying over and over again, "mine." I think she loves just having something that belongs to her after having so many hand-me downs from her sister and brother. Dakota's first Christmas was filled with extra naps with all the excitement and noise that filled our house...but when she was awake she was so happy and she definitely loves to smile.

I made a huge mistake...I forgot to get a picture of just me and Greg which is something that i specifically thought about before hand. There is something extra special about this time of year when you get to spend it with your best friend. Greg is an amazing husband and father and I love the late nights we spend together wrapping our kids presents and talking about the excitement we will get to share with them. He helps me more than anyone knows...wrapping the presents and making sure they were put under the Christmas tree. We always seem to spend late nights talking with each other and just being with each other during the Christmas season. I am so thankful to have the best husband and the best father to my kids. He is definitely willing to take those special moments to spend with each one of them.

I could not be more thankful for all of the Lord has blessed us with and pray that we would bring glory to HIS name~

18 week old girl~

"Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare."

Psalm 40:5

Quite the day of fun~

Trying to spend a lot of time with my kiddos...

Without getting too busy with the activities of the season...
Knowing that every day and every moment is precious...

Especially when I get to spend it with my kids...


having lots of laughter and fun...



not wanting the day to end...

because at the end of the day...

I realize that each of them are one day older...

therefore I want to cherish every moment...

every smile...

as I Thank the Lord for everything He has blessed me with...

Thank you Lord for the blessing of family!

"Children are a gift from the LORD." Psalm 127:3

Visiting Grandmother~

We had a fun treat today...we got to visit Grandmother. Ladonna set up a day for Caitlyn, Haley and the other kids who do school with her at her house to pass out cookies and sing Christmas songs to some sweet and dear elderly people that we visited...our first stop being Greg's Grandmother. I must say that they all did a great job singing Christmas carols and sharing the love of Jesus. I was amazed at how long Caitlyn just sat by her Great-Grandmother's side, enjoying her company. We should plan to visit more often~ It was even a reminder to me of what Christmas is truly all about and it was fun sharing this time with Caitlyn. We had five kids and 2 little babies for the day and amazingly everything went very well. Thanks Non for organizing everything! I had such a fun day with my amazing 5 year old~

Is she really almost 2?

I love this girl. She is really a little version of her daddy. She has also been trying to hold on to baby- hood the longest but these fast few weeks have been an explosion of new words and phrases for her...she CAN talk. I was wondering when it would finally happen. I love to watch her learn and try new things and I especially love watching her play with her big sister and interact with her little one. She loves all of her siblings very much and often gives them hugs just because. Her love language is definitely affection because she has always loved to be hugged and held. The funniest part about her is her sense of humor...she can really make her older siblings laugh along with mommy and daddy. Its hard to get a good picture of her these days...she never really stays still. I guess that is all a part of being almost 2!

Gingerbread houses and other sweet things in life...

Nana and Papa came last night for a visit and had a special surprise for the kids~a gingerbread house...The kiddos had so much fun! I know they always enjoy being with their grandparents no matter what they are doing but this was definitely a special memory. Greg and I were also thankful to get a night out to attend a Christmas party.

This morning we heard about their fun evening and they could not forget about eating that gingerbread house! I think they asked at least a dozen times today when they were going to eat lunch...I told them they could eat some of the gingerbread house after lunch. It was the first thing they asked about this morning. We are so thankful to have such a great set of grandparents for our kids to spend time with...we are truly blessed.

I keep getting the same question asked, "so how do you have time to take so many pictures of your kids and how do you have time to have a blog?" I think over the past 5 years of parenthood I have learned so many important lessons and I still have an endless amount to learn! One thing that I know that the Lord has taught me is learning to say "No." I don't pour myself into anything else much except for my husband, my kids, my family and my close friends. I have also learned that to be a better mom I have to make time to enjoy the things that I love doing, the "sweet things" in life that keeps my spirit energized. I absolutely love my kids and my family but the Lord also blesses us each with special gifts that HE wants us to use for HIS glory. As a mom I know that I have to make time for the things that the Lord has created me for. It is all a part of enjoying HIM because you realize what He has blessed you with. And at the same time when you are doing what He has called you to, you draw closer to Him and the people around you that you love so much. If He has blessed you with creativity or the love of reading and learning you have to continue to pursue those things in your life...of course in moderation, not sacrificing your family. For me in the past year I have found that I love photography and learning more about it because I love capturing the smiles and memories that I am making with my kids. I think it is one of the ways the Lord blesses me and fills me as I continually pour out my love and time for my husband and my kids. By the way if you haven't read "Heaven" by Randy Alcorn I know you would be blessed if you did. That book really goes into the gifts that God has blessed us each with and how we will even use them even in Heaven. So, today as I think of everyone that has asked me that question I pray that you would find something sweet in life that you really enjoy and that you would take time to enjoy it and enjoy your CREATOR because of it... if you haven't already.

3 year old~

This little boy is 100% boy and so much fun. He has such a tender heart but at the same time he seems to be our most strong-willed. We started a reward system in our home and basically our kids collect stars on their charts for doing chores and other age appropriate tasks around the house. They will be able to cash in their stars for treats or something special. This really motivates Caityln but this little guy could care less. Just this morning I asked him if he wanted to earn a star today and he responded with, "No I don't really want a star." That is just the way he is. He often skips out on ice cream and other treats just because. He has to make up his mind about something and you can rarely ever force an idea on him. He also has such a tender heart. We got home from the grocery store and he sat in the car playing and talking to the baby as I unloaded everything. He said he "wanted to make Dakota happy." He also asked me if we could keep Dakota for forever. I said we could keep her for as long as God wanted us to and he said, "I hope we can keep her forever and I hope she never gets big." I love the way he thinks.

Five year old~

Just finished up school with her today and realized how thankful I am for her great attitude about learning. It really makes homeschooling so much easier and her attitude sets the tone for the other 2. They are often interested in "doing school"...of course they don't last very long. This morning was a crazy one around here...and believe it or not that is not always the case. We usually get through school work pretty easy. The 2 younger kids kept fighting and the baby cried a lot but Caitlyn stayed so focused on her work...I was amazed. Greg and I were talking about her goals last night that I set at the beginning of the school year...she has learned so much in the past few months...I just might have to write some more goals! She is very creative as well and very much a helper to mommy. As I was feeding baby before lunch Caitlyn prepared bread and cheese for grilled cheese sandwiches, got 3 apples out and counted out 7 animal crackers for each of them. Sometimes she amazes me because she does it all in a sweet way without being bossy to the others. I pray that the Lord would continue to lead her in HIS ways and He would continue to give her a servant's heart.