It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

We kicked off the Christmas season by decorating our memory tree.

Anna Mei has affectionately given it that name because it has all the ornaments, pictures, and special items we have collected over the years.  As we decorate, it is so fun to remember the moments we have had along the way.

It's hard to believe that this is the last Christmas with this girl living under my roof.

Where did the time go?

Having a teen sure puts parenting the littles in perspective as I understand just how precious all of these moments the Lord grants us are..

I am grateful to have had the many moments of parenting this growing up treasure.

This is the first year that Jillian has actually had no stress about the tree going up.

Though she has been home for five Christmases now, they are still always rough on her.

This year, she had no anxiety whatsoever!

In fact, she actually decorated the tree for the first time.

She went back and forth to the ornament box completely on her own, and decorated the same spot on the tree with five thousand ornaments just as the other little girls did.

Daddy bought the girls some candy to eat as we decorated.

Molly was a goof ball as always.

This girl is truly our family clown, and we love, love her.

Big smiles from this girl as walking down memory lane makes her so happy.

It has never been more apparent to me as it is with this one that our children, at this age anyway, believe that they are who we tell them they are and I pray that the truths I am speaking into this precious girl stay  put for a lifetime.

Seventeen, five, three, and seven this Christmas looks pretty good on us.

First Days of School

I have four babes all in different schools this year.  That means four different events calendars to coordinate, four drop offs each day, and lots of excitement!

 Em is a senior this year at our Christian School.

She is heading into senior year with a #1 class ranking.

She is even taking an accounting class as an independent credit because she thinks she might like to do that when she "grows up".  College is just around the corner.  My OH My!

 Jilly Billy is in second grade this year.

She has a staff of people who are so dedicated to her at her amazing public school.

She has come so far as they give her exactly what she needs.

She even has an interpreter this year as sign language is her preferred mode of communication.   

She can hear everything we say, but talking just isn't happening for her.  

I am so grateful that she can communicate through sign and with her NOVA though.  

We are especially blessed by all our local school district has done to make sure that she reaches her full potential.

 Miss Molly Kate is in the 3 year old preschool program at the local school district too.  

She attends a building about 20 minutes from Jillian which makes drop off a mad dash.  

They are super with her.  

This week during her assessment she showed them that she knows so much. 

 Her articulation is coming so slowly, but her receptive language, and vocabulary (when you can understand what she is saying) are catching up. 

 I can't wait to see how she grows this year!

My dear Anna Mei is homeschooling for her kindergarten year, 

and I couldn't be more thrilled to have the chance to be her teacher.  

To say that the past week of teaching her has been a JOY is an understatement.  

We are only a week in though, but so far so great!  

She is reading her first little book, and is eager to learn!

Stay Tuned..it should be an exciting year!

Hiking Mattheissen State Park

 We took a bit of a road trip last week and made a stop at our favorite state park hiking spot in Illinois.  When Em was little, she and I would hike Matthiessen State Park regularly.  I knew Jilly would be in her element as you literally hike down a creek in the canyon.  To say this girl was happy just doesn't do the day justice.  Jillian was ecstatic!  

 It was warm, but not too hot so the day was perfect!

 Anna doesn't usually love dirt or bugs, but she was great.  I think she enjoyed herself too.

 There are lots of places to stop for pictures and Emily tolerated my requests to pose.

 Have you ever seen a bigger smile?   At one end of the trail, you find this deeper swimming hole that is fed by a magnificent waterfall.  It is truly spectacular, and made Jillian so, so happy.

 I photographed Emily on this rock many, many times when she was young. 

 We literally parked here for an hour just watching this amazing little girl play!  It was wonderful.

 Sometimes it is challenging to find something that everyone can do and enjoy, but this day was fabulous!

When we left the park, the girls slept for a couple of hours as we hiked three and half miles.

This tiny little one is much like her sister Jilly in that she is all in where mud and water are concerned.  She hiked most of the three miles herself!  What a trooper.  We are so blessed to have a day together to enjoy the beauty God has created!  They did so well that I think more hiking is in our future.

Painting Pottery

There was a great coupon online for a local pottery painting place.  It was a super fun spring break outing.

 This little girl actually LOVED painting.  Daddy is always more nervous than I am to give new things a try where this sweet thing is concerned.  He adores her and wants her to always feel as safe and secure as possible.  I tend to want to push her as far as I can, and this time I was glad I did because she painted for ninety minutes and asked for more paint multiple times.

Our big girl went along with her friend.  I always love having our big girl along.

We even had a few special friends meet us there.  The coupon was such a great deal that all six of the girls could paint for only a few dollars a piece.  It was a huge blessing!

Jilly enjoyed using black on her frog the most.  It was the strongest, darkest color she chose.  It was a lovely shade of gray when she was done with it, but it was all her work.

Anna's little dog turned out pink mostly.  It was fun to watch the girls so focused.

This little peanut painted a turtle.  It was mostly orange.

The sunlight shining through the studio windows was beautiful, and I love these angles of their faces.

My babes are growing up so fast.  I can't imagine being without them.

Bloomsbury Farm Fun

We had a dear friend from back home send us a gift for family fun.  It is such a blessing to be loved by so many.  We treated the girls to the Bloomsbury Farm which is one of their favorite places on earth.  It was such a blessing to enjoy all the activities with my littles, and to have Molly here for the first time.

 The jumping pillow is Anna Mei's absolute favorite activity!  Molly Kate agreed with her!

 We made precious memories as this girl is growing up so much now that we have a new baby home!

 Fun!  Fun!  Fun!

 This sensory seeking girl loves this farm.  Running, sliding, and digging in corn/hay is a perfect combination for a fabulous day in her book.

 This little one loved the hay too.

 The corn box.  It is a giant crib full of kernels that come up to my waist.  Need I say more?  My Jilly billy is in heaven here!  She couldn't wait to get to the corn!

 More corn silliness!

 Daddy was off on Thursday when we visited so Jilly had Daddy to herself.  The littles weren't going to slow her down.  She hardly left the corn!  She would walk a corn field for hours.  It is so peaceful for her to just walk among the stalks.

 This little one walked all. over. that farm, and tried out just about everything.  After a few hours of walking and playing, this little lady was worn out!

 Her legs are getting so long that the little slides don't slide much anymore. :(

 I am surprised that Molly liked the corn as she is not a fan of the rice tent or bean bin at our house.  She did, indeed, have a go at playing in there though, and smiled!

More corn for Jillian!  Seriously, the girl could be found in the corn box or the corn maze most of the day, but she was so, so happy.  She tried the slide once, and liked it, but the corn is a LOVE.  I love this farm!  I am grateful for the gift we received that allowed us to visit!  Thank you for your love and thoughtfulness Connie!  It was a wonderful, family day!

Two Weeks In..

It is hard to believe that school started two weeks ago.  It is so good to be in our routine again, but I miss my girls.  I love having them home.  Here is a glimpse of our first day..

Molly is enjoying her days at home.  She is very, very busy, and I love having her to myself.  She loves exploring, dumping, and modeling everything these days.

 First Grade..She is such a big, big girl.  She is very happy to be back in her school routine.  She isn't always working so hard for her patient teachers, but she loves them.  She is inventive, beautiful, and always dirty.  The girl loves her some dirt.

 Junior year is here.  Incredible to think I have only one more year with this girl under my roof.  How?  How did we get here so fast?  She is smart, sarcastic like her daddy, and tall.  She is taller than I am.

PreK four.  She LOVES life.  Mostly, she comes home from school to report behavior, shoving, and other offenses commited against her from various friends.  Her PreK teacher deserves an award.  She is spunky, creative, and larger than life.














Blessed beyond measure to call this clan mine.  My days are full, and my heart is overflowing with love and joy.  I am also tired.  Truth be told, I fall into bed with my clothes still on most days, but life is so very good!

Some of My Favorite Beach Memories

Jillian's favorite place in the world is anywhere near the water.  She LOVES the beach at Gull Lake!  I do too.  We have made many memories here over the years.

Our Emily would get ice cream at the beach everyday when she was little.  Now our Anna is happily carrying on this tradition as she had ice cream everyday on our vacation at Gull Lake Ministries.

The girls and I took the battle boats out several times.

Occasionally, we would meet our big girls at the beach for a while.

The little girls enjoyed playing with the bigs when they came around.

My girls digging together.

There is a statue near the ministry center that caught Jilly's attention on the way to the splash pad one afternoon.  I sure wish I could read her mind as she was staring at that "man" sitting there reading his bible.  She was too funny.