Happy 5th Birthday, Daniel!

Daniel is now five. We had planning his first friend and family party (when our kids turn five that is the first party that they invite friends to), when the forecast turned ominous. They were calling for snow...and potentially lots of it...and all day. I was concerned about the party having to be cancelled and Daniel being crushed. Thankfully, we got a dusting in the morning and then nothing during the day. It was worth up north, so we did lose some family who come from north of us, but at least it didn't have to be cancelled.

He had a great time, and I have to admit, so did I.

The kid table.

Daniel doesn't really like cake, so I made him a Cocoa Rice Krispy Treat in the shape of a football. I had leftover Krispy Treats, so I made individual footballs for each kid coming to the party and then I wrote their names on them in white frosting.

Daniel is a great kid. He loves sports of all kinds. He's our comedian. He loves to be funny and it seems to come naturally to him. He of all the kids can be the most shy. He has even on occassion prayed that God would help him not to be so shy.

Longwood Gardens

If you are ever near Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Longwood Gardens is a place worth visiting. Now we went in December, which, obviously, is winter in Pennsylvania and it was still beautiful! I was impressed. I can only imagine how wonderful it would be in the spring. I had two favorite parts, okay, maybe three...1) the gigantic treehouses. I have always liked treehouses. 2) watching Hannah drink in all the history exhibits. She wanted to read and see and watch and listen to every part of it. She was definitely older than 8 in those moments. 3) the Conservatory. On our way there, Hannah asked me what a conservatory was. I have to admit I didn't have a real good answer for her. The thoughts that went through my mind were "well, there's a conservatory in the game Clue, but other than a murder, I don't know what goes on in there. haha" "I know that there are such things as wildlife conservatories, but I don't think that's what this is..." Basically, I had to tell her I wasn't quite sure what to expect. The minute I stepped into it, I wanted one (you know someday when we're exceedingly rich). It was a gigantic greenhouse of sorts. There were tons of plants, fountains, and paths. It was warm and humid and tropical feeling. It was like a taste of Florida in Pennsylvania. And in the cold of a northeast winter, it felt wonderful.

Here are a few pictures from the fun day we spent with our friends the Gifts at Longwood Gardens.

A Flowergirl and A Ringbearer

Recently, Daniel and Julia were asked to be in the wedding of two friends of ours. They did a great job and looked completely adorable, so I thought I'd share a few pictures...

I just thought this last picture was cute. Apparently, Daniel got too tired during the ceremony and took a little nap. Thanks to Josh (a friend and groomsman) for taking the picture and for helping Daniel that day!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Julia!

Three year old Julia

Julia as a baby.

Well, it seems that there are no more babies in our house. Most days I am perfectly fine with that, but I have to admit that today, on Julia's birthday, I am feeling sentimental (as I do on each of their birthdays).

Julia is a very entertaining and adorable three year old. She is a combination of sweet and endearing and fiesty. She seems to be quite similar to her Great-Grandmother (who is why Julia's middle name is Ruth).

Julia's birthday CareBear cookies. Since it was just going to be the 6 of us, I made cookies instead of having more cake than we could eat. So, each person got a special cookie.

Julia talks like crazy. One of the things that makes me laugh the most is when she quotes things from stories (either on tv or in a book). Although she is quite mature for her age, she still has that baby look and voice. My favorite word of hers right now is "creeps." She'll say, "that gives me the queeps." I ask her to say it now and then just because it makes me smile.

Julia showing her creepy face.

Another thing she likes to do is make her siblings laugh. The other day I went to investigate why the three older ones were laughing hysterically (often laughter like that has its roots in trouble). I discovered that Julia was laying on the tile floor by our front door, making "floor angels" with her eyes closed and a perfectly straight face. Circled around her were her siblings laughing their heads off.




Along those lines, Julia's secret talent is keeping a straight face. You know the game, "Don't smile!" You know, where someone tries to make someone else smile by looking them in the eye and saying, "don't smile" until they can't take it anymore and they smile??? Well, all the other kids (and I have to admit, me too) cave within seconds of my husband starting that game. Julia on the other hand can keep a completely straight face for the longest time. Even while all the rest of us laugh about it. It's rather entertaining.

One more thing about Julia...she has a very compassionate heart. She is a nurturer, constantly taking care of her "babies." She is incredibly concerned when someone is hurt. She has a very sweet spirit. I'm curious to see how God will use this wonderful girl He's given to us.

Julia taking care of one of her babies in her new baby bed that she got for her birthday.

Before and After

Here are the first of the before and after series...

This is what our kitchen looked like when we bought it:

After much labor (wallpaper removal and painting) this is what it now looks like:

Here's the other side:

you actually can't get the full taste of what the wallpaper looked like from the pictures, nor can you see that it took 12 hours of steaming to get the wallpaper off, and then an additional I don't know how long to get the wallpaper glue residue off and then it needed to be patched and sanded and primed and then painted. The cabinets also took 5 coats of paint to finally look white without streaks.

We've also changed the way the kitchen table is situated about 4 times. I think we're settled on this way.

The newest change was the addition of drawer pulls. As ridiculous as it may be, I smile each time I use them.

Thanksgiving

I tend to be a little obsessed with all things pumpkin and turkey around this time of year. This morning the kids and I made rice krispy treat turkeys. :)






Daniel being silly with rice krispy treat on his nose.

Favorite Time

Thanksgiving is next week. I spend all year looking forward to this holiday. Probably more than any other holiday. For as long as I can remember, we have gone to our aunts and uncles (and we used to visit my great grandmother) in New Jersey. We still go there only now there are a lot more of us. So, next week, we will cram about forty people from 3 generations (with about half of them being under 13). It's a wonderful insanity.

So, in anticipation of fantastic cousin time, here is a picture of Julia with my sister's daughter, Bekah. They are 8 months apart.