We Have a New Friend

We have a wonderful exchange student named A Hyun from South Korea.  She is so nice and loves children.  The girls already think she is wonderful.  She is here to attend a local college.  We are so happy to have her here with us!  Welcome A Hyun!

How God Made Us

Ellie: God made us?

Mom: Yes, God made us.

Ellie: Why He made us?

Mom: Because He loved us. 

Ellie: Why He love us?

Mom:  Umm, I guess He just does.  God wanted kids.

Ellie: Him paint us?

Mom: What?

Ellie: Him paint us?

Mom: No.

Ellie: Yes, God painted us.

Mom: Well, I guess He did.  He painted my hair brown and your hair brown....

Ellie:  Why Him paint us?

 

I realized later that when 3 year olds make something, they paint it and put it on the fridge.  That must be how God made us!

Merry Christmas!

We want to wish all of our family and loved ones a Merry Christmas!  May you find true joy in Jesus.  He is the giver of true peace, love and joy!

 

 

Our 12th Anniversary

Toby planned our anniversary by himself this year.  He arranged for our older girls to stay with some dear friends. (Thank you Tom and Sandy!)  We got to go shopping downtown, then we went to dinner at a new restaurant, which was very nice!  Then we started driving out of town.  I, at first, thought we were staying downtown.  He said that to throw me off.  When we started heading north, I immediately figured it out.  We had seen a Bed and Breakfast a couple of years ago on a little lake and, well, that is where we were headed.  I was so excited.  The next day we got to do some more shopping and then head back to Tom and Sandy's house late afternoon, where they had dinner for us.  They are amazingly giving people.

 

The best part of our anniversary was realizing that after 12 years we are still having fun together and, actually, have more fun now and really, really value our time together.  Maybe because the more kids you have, the more meaningful time alone is.

 

Thank you, Riverboy, for being my always forgiving, generous, and encouraging husband.  I feel so confident when I am with you!

I love you!

You Know You Have a Big Baby When...

You know you have a big baby when your 3 year old can share diapers with your 5 month old! 

 

We were short on diapers for Ellie when it came to bedtime one night, so Toby grabbed one of Ayla's size 3 diapers and tried it on Ellie.  They fit!  The funny thing is that Ellie said, "I a big girl now!" when she came and showed me that she fit into her baby sister's diapers!

 

It also goes to show how lean Ellie is.  Ayla is 90% for weight while Ellie is 25%  One is a very cuddly teddy bear and the other a lean, little jumping machine.  (Ellie got a trampoline for her birthday from Grandma and Grandpa)