Over the River and Through the Woods

I haven't been able to spend Christmas at my parents' house since before we were married. Being the family of the Pastor doesn't lend to too much flexibility at times such as Christmas. But this year, since my husband isn't currently the pastor of a church, he arranged for us to be able to spend Christmas at my parents'. I loved it. It was so nice to be there and to go to my home church again. Again, I loved it.

On Saturday and Sunday, my sister, Mandie, and her three kids

were also able to be there, so my parents' house was FULL with

7 kids ranging from 11 months to 7 years old. That creates lots of chaos,

spills, and crumbs, and love.

Fun with Frosting

The kids had such a blast cutting out the cookies and then decorating them!

Extremely Cute!

"Mr. Claus" is Julia's friend Zachariah. She calls him Nataniah. Zack's grandmother made these matching Santa and Mrs. Clause outfits for them...

They are so cute!!!

SLEDDING!!!

Today was a PERFECT day for sledding...the ground is well covered with a crusty snow topped with a soft powdery snow and the temperature is over freezing...PERFECT! Here are a few pictures of our fun!

Julia getting a hand from Daddy for her trip down the hill.

(I always sent her down with someone else, but I think it's the Daddy's

job to push things a little further than what Mommy would dare!) :)

The boys being very boy...They would slide down and crash into each other on purpose,

or slide down with their sleds attached to each other,

or they would go down as fast as they could and then bail off of the sled on purpose rolling through the snow at the bottom of the hill,

and once I even saw Jay jump (while the sleds were flying down the hill) from his own

sled onto Daniel's sled landing half on the sled and half on Daniel.

...hopefully, they'll sleep well tonight. I know I will!

A Parent's Answered Prayer

As a parent you spend plenty of time praying for your children. One of the biggest prayers being that he/she accept Jesus as their Savior and choose to live for Him all of their days.

God answered part of that prayer in Daniel's life today. He has been asking a lot of spiritual questions lately, and while watching The Christmas Carol, Daniel said to me, "Mommy, I don't want to die." That prompted yet another conversation of the spiritual nature. So, late this evening, we talked and prayed with and for Daniel.

Thank you, God for this answered prayer. Please continue to work and lead in his life and help him to make good decisions as he grows.

Welcoming a New Friend

Last Thursday a new friend was born, Noah Michael Sienkiewicz. Today we had the privilege of meeting him for the first time...

Noah and his Mommy, Amy. Julia couldn't get enough of Noah. She wanted to hold him or touch him the entire time we were there.

One of many kisses...

Daniel's turn (notice Julia is right there again).

Jay was also really eager to hold Noah. He was that way when both Daniel and

Julia were born as well.

(Hannah was a school when we visited.)

We are so thankful for this new little one and are very happy for our friends James and Amy.

I Think She Likes It