Discovering a New World: December 2008

Hot Tub fun.....

One COLD (-4) day we went to the local motel and used their hot tubs. We were the only ones there and as you can see these hot tubs will probably never be the same again! They loved it though. The cool part was we had 3 different tubs to use....so the boys could splash all they wanted and we gals didn't mind.

Hiking near our house...

Some of you have asked what it looks like around our home. We went hiking one unusually warm Sunday afternoon when Amy was here. This is about a mile from our house. There are no paths....and look out for the cactus!! They're everywhere!! The children LOVE feeling like we are exploring new areas.

Sights along the way.....

Just a side note.... on the way to the airport to pick up Amy, a hawk like this one, swooped down across the road and it hit my windshield! Talk about an adrenaline rush!! It scared me and saddened me. I'm sure it died as I was on traveling about 60 mph. It's wing span was about as wide as the windshield.

Throwing rocks.....

We found an old stump part of the way down the side of the ravine and every one threw rocks at it to see how many times they could hit it! It was quite competitive.

Amy....

I can hardly believe that Amy has been here 2 weeks already! Time really does fly when you are having fun! It certainly has been a treat to have my niece here and we will miss her so much when she is gone.

Our Chickens.....

This first picture was taken Sunday morning. Sunday is Kellys turn to open the little door and let the chickens out into their pen. Tori and she ran out in their pj's.

She loves to gather the eggs and to count them.

Looking forward to Christmas......

It's that time of year again....the time when dough is rolled out and cut into shapes. When little fingers sneak scrap pieces of dough to sample......the sounds of Christmas carols serenade us while the smell of vanilla butter cookies fill the air. I love these simple days before Christmas as the anticipation mounts and we wait for the 25th to arrive. In our house we look for ways to say "Happy Birthday" to Jesus on all the days of December. What is your gift to Christ this year?

Baking Cookies......

yummmmmy ....baking cookies is the tasty part of getting ready for Christmas!

Sprinkle time!!!

Total concentration.......

Christmas cookies....ready to eat!!!

Decorating the tree.....

The children love to string popcorn for our tree. If the amount of popcorn on the floor is an indication on the level of fun......well, I'd say "fun" is off the charts!!

We spent 3 weeks in PA, during the beginning of October. The pictures below are a small sample of some of the things we did. It was good to be back and reconnect with family and friends. Thank you to all who prayed for us while we were there!