for your viewing pleasure

Some photos of life around here over the last week or so:

Home Made Pizza!

And Crazy Bread

Silly Kitty, Sinks are for Kids!

Remind you of anything?

Happy Birthday Elizabeth

The Big Snow and other things

Esther last month...getting so grown up! And her hair is so long!

Here's a great comparison of how much Esther has grown in the last year!

Esther was a little chunkier at 1 year...and don't you love that diaper???

Now for some recent happenings around here.  We got SNOW!!!  And it stayed for over a week - first was a doozy of a snow/wind storm, so windy that we had snow plasted to our siding 5 feet up under our 10 foot porch roof!!

It was an amazing night - wind whistling through the porches, snow blowing so thick at times you couldn't see past the porch,  and watching Pirates of the Caribbean!

Esther got her first adventure in the snow earlier that day...we had woken up to a dusting of snow...we had no idea what was coming our way...over and over again!  It snowed off and on for almost a week, and then Thanksgiving day we got snow all day - about 5 inches in all!  The kids were even attempting to snowboard and ski down our drainfield slope (didn't work well, but they had fun trying!).  Here you can see how the snow was impailed on the side of the house despite that huge porch roof!  So much for a safe, dry place to keep your boots and chairs!!!

And here's my mountain of laundry that I did the weekend before Thanksgiving...I even got it all put away for the first time since we moved into this house, I think...what with being pregnant, bed rest, Esther's adventurous first year, running the business and all...I never seem to quite catch up...it was a wonderful feeling to know that all the clothes were in the drawers and easily found by all!
I have so much more to share, but, alas, it is shopping day and I must get a move on!  I have a bunch more photos to share with you and I will do my best to get them posted soon...but I have really been enjoying my time away from the computer and spent with my family!

Thankful week #2

OK, so I am not getting time to blog everyday...that's just not realistic for me right now...so I'm going to post occasionally what I am thankful for during this month of Thanksgiving!  I'll post some random photos between my thoughts on what I am thankful for this week...but I reserve the right to post more often than once a week ;)

Elizabeth fell asleep reading Calvin and Hobbs...
wonder what she dreamed of that night???

I am thankful for a church that believes in the inerrancy of Scripture - Christ Alone, Scripture Alone, Salvation by Grace Alone...and doesn't pussy foot around the truth to tickle our ears...

Esther loves her rocking chair and reading!

 I am also thankful for God working in me and through me to minister to other women...speaking the truth in love, having empathy for trials they are having that I have gone through, and a God who hears our prayers for others and always answers them (maybe not the way we expected, but He always answers them)

Did I say she loves looking at books?

I am so thankful that God has blessed us with 11 wonderful children, all sovereignly chosen for me by my loving Heavenly Father and brought into our family in His perfect timing.   I am so thankful for my friends who were willing to speak the truth to me in love about God's sovereignty and trusting God for our family planning so many years ago - in my weak, frail and finite human understanding I could not have imagined caring for, teaching, feeding, and loving 11 children, but I would not now want to live without any one of them!  Placing my trust in Him was a huge turning point for me - one of peace knowing that I didn't have to "worry" about planning our family anymore...you just can't understand this until you do it...do I struggle at time with leaving it in God's hand?  Yes, but that is when I lose that peace that God gives when we place ourselves in His loving hand to do with as He wills.

Esther loves board books, can you tell?

 I am thankful for days that I do not have to leave home...more time to love on my kids, cuddle with Esther, enjoy watching Jessica's horse graze in the front yard, enjoy my morning coffee slowly (had to nuke it I took so long)...and have friends over for coffee, knitting and great conversation!

Did I say she loves to sit in her rocking chair?
She looked a little hippy yesterday, but it was just too cute!
And her hair - it's getting so long!

 I am thankful that God gave me a blessing I would not have chosen for myself or our family - a child with trisomy 21...yet He gave us exactly what we needed...a blessing in disguise!  She is the light of our home, and laughter in our ears, and the hugs around our necks...I can not imagine life without her!

what can I say?  Our kids are a little goofy at times! 
Reuben is always ready to make us laugh, that is for sure!

This is what I get to do every night - check on sleeping Esther,
make sure she's snuggled and warm, and just love the sound of her soft breathing!

What are you thankful for that you would not have requested from God?  Something to think about!

21 Things about Esther

This post is inspired by Ruby's Mom!
1.Esther is loved by God, and made in His image.
2.Esther is loved by her ten siblings, two parents, three grandparents, and lots of uncles, aunts and cousins!
3.Esther's Daddy knew she was going to be a special child even before she was born.
4. Esther Heavenly Father blessed her with an extra Chromosome that made her special before she was born.
5. Esther spent 11 of her first 16 weeks in in the hospital.
6. Esther had a VSD and an ASD that were repaired when she was just 3 months old.
7. Esther has low thyroid, and has trouble with aspirating liquids when drinking, but we thicken all her liquids and she does great now!
8. Esther loves unconditionally
9. Esther loves to laugh!  She also love to make others laugh
10. Esther learned to sit up at 8 months.
11. Esther learned to crawl just past 1 year of age
12. Esther learned to walk just last week (she is 25 months old)
13  Esther LOVES to read books!
14. Esther loves to push things around the house while walking behind them!
15. Esther loves it when we clap for her accomplishments
16. Esther can do most of the motions for "Itsy Bitsy Spider"!
17. Esther loves to give hugs (she pats you on the back - it's so sweet!)
18. Esther sucks her thumb.
19. Esther loves music...especially when falling asleep!
20. Esther loves ice cream
21. Esther loves to climb the stairs...up and down...up and down...up and down....

A Thief in the Night...

We have a robber who keeps stealing from us!  I've seen his foot prints, we see him running off when we come home, and he disturbs the peaceful tranquility of our cats...but he's just to stinking cute!

This was taken around 5:30 am earlier this week using my Iphone...

I have always loved Racoons, and I just love watching them...their hands are fascinating!  Their foot prints looks like little baby feet...just to cute!  Too bad they can be dangerous or I would love to have one as a pet! We try always feed the cats in the morning, so there isn't any left by evening, but I think he checks every night just in case...Jessica found a hole dug under her dog kennel gate, so we think Bandit was going for the dog food there...the cute little stinker is getting more creative!

I just found this photo again, sent to me by my friend, Nicole...her daughter was taking photos at the picnic:

Elizabeth and her new-found friend at the Christian Heritage Picnic (Photo by Jessica P)

And I finally got around to taking photos off my phone, 

so here's some things we have been doing in the last month or so!

The girls with Amy Vest at the Pure Heart Conference!

Jessica with her new horse, Celine...isn't she gorgeous? 
(I meant the horse, silly, but you are right, Jessica is beautiful, inside and out!)

Esther was being so cute - goofing off with Jason...she loves to make him smile!

 And this is me and my girls...they love to cuddle when I am in my recliner.
While posting these photos, Esther is sitting in my lap and totally enjoying the photos, laughing and pointing and waving...she especially liked the one with Jason - she was waving at Jason.  She's such a fun baby!

And one last note - can you pray for my friend, J., she had a beautiful little girl this summer with Down syndrome and she was diagnosed with a rare cancer...pray for God's peace in the midst of this storm...