She Loves Bouncing!

Sorry this video is sideways. I took it on my phone, not thinking about putting it on my blog later. In other news...Ruth is now crawling FORWARDS (she's been going backwards for a while) and pulling herself up onto her feet while holding onto things. I will try to get a video of that and post it here soon.

Redone

Picked up this chair for $5 at a garage sale last summer. Benjamin and Rachel helped me sand it down.



With a little paint, it is now a fun little chair! Thanks, Fur, for helping with the polka dots!

Christmas Day 2010

The kids were up bright and early! We opened stockings before breakfast while the kids were still in their new pajamas.











Then we read some Scripture and talked about why we give/get gifts. After a breakfast of scrambled eggs and cinnamon rolls, we relaxed and played some games together. After naps we continued the tradition of having Chinese food for Christmas dinner! The day was very restful and relaxing, a change from the last few weeks. We all enjoyed the family time. Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve 2010

After a delicious brunch of homemade Christmas tree rolls and various breakfast casseroles, we gathered together and Dad read the Christmas story.



The kids took turns passing gifts out to each person.



We enjoyed seeing my brother and his family at Christmas. They flew in from Alaska for several days.





Rachel loves Christmas and doesn't understand why it can't be Christmas EVERY day! My mom made each of the granddaughters a hat.



My sister gave Benjamin some army men. He could hardly wait to get them all set up and have a battle. We were still opening gifts and he was already playing in the other room.








Here is Sarah's hat that Grandma made for her. We were getting ready to play Apples to Apples.



Fur flew in from South Carolina to spend her Christmas break with us. She peeled the apples for our apple pie...which was quite tasty!!



Benjamin watched some Three Stooges that afternoon while we played Apples to Apples. This must have been one of the more serious moments! ;-)

Boss Your Heart Reading Challenge

I am motivating myself with the Boss Your Heart Reading Challenge this year. There are a variety of plans to choose from...such as reading through just Psalms and Proverbs, reading through just the Old Testament, reading through the entire Bible in 90 days, etc. Start the year off tomorrow with a goal in mind! You can join Boss Your Heart Reading Challenge's Facebook page as well if you wish.

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours. May you each have a blessed time, remembering that Christ is the reason for the season and that He was born to die for YOU!

Almost 8 Months

Benjamin Turns 6!

Benjamin also had a birthday this last week and he turned 6 years old. For his birthday supper, we had pizza. He wanted a dragon cake...






And he was one excited boy to get a pocketknife for his birthday!

Rachel Turns 3!

Rachel turned 3 last week. For her birthday supper, she chose Daddy's famous chicken fingers, Nana Howe's fried rice, and broccoli with cheese sauce. For dessert she had a Dora cake. Here she is hammin' it up for the camera!






Can't waste that icing! Even if it's on the table, just lick it right off!

Flooding In Our Area

The past two days have been full of heavy rainfall and flooding to some nearby areas. Here is a video of a river north of Seattle (around 2 hours from us).

South Fork of the Stillaguamish at Granite Falls