A Walk in the Woods

Mike won't give me the studio pose that I hoped for!! Oh well, that's Mike!

Before the tickle monster hit.
Sarah doing what Sarah does best....tickling!

Who me?

The Outside Cat who came Inside

Okay, anyone who has been to our home and knows the reputation of this cat will be amazed at seeing the following........ (are we crazy for inviting this cat in for a couple hours? probably!)

A Gentle Rebuke

A few days ago the kids went through the cycle of getting things out and then running off to the next activity having forgotten to put away whatever game they had been playing. I was in the kitchen and looked over to the living room where I saw yet another game on the floor. Arrgh...I let out a "Mom sigh" and walked....rather marched over to the game to put it away myself. (The kids had all gone outside to play.) Well, what I saw took the wind out of my sails......

Yep, Children are a blessing from the Lord!

Thanks Sarah. Dad and I love you too!

(We'll have to find another "D" to add to that Scrabble game)

Birthday Celebration

Sam turns 11 on Christmas Day. We decided to celebrate a little early with some Lazer Tag! It was FUN....I think Jim & I had as much or more fun than the kids! In retrospect, I do feel a bit bad for gunning down the youngsters and enjoying it so much!

We made a side trip to Cabela's...That's Mike, Sam, Josh, Sarah & Stephen.

Sam is plotting out the next game!

58 degrees of FUN!

Boy, I hope the weather today is what we can expect of Kansas this winter! We enjoyed a hike with our buddy Stephen. The kids built a log cabin out of some branches they found in the woods. Disney couldn't compete with the fun we had in the woods today!

A fellow Boilermaker comes to town!

Stephen Schwartz is in town for a visit this week! We are so excited to have one of our good buddies here! God is good to allow us to keep friendships going despite the miles.

Oh Christmas Tree...

Okay...three kids....one star on one tree.

What would YOU do?

We drew straws and the short straw got to put the star on the top of the tree...

If you can't tell by looking at the straws, just look at the faces...

Yep, Michael won!

Ta Daaaaa!

We finished the night with a game of Sorry...Michael may have won that too!

Actually, I think Sam did....or Jim....or was it Sarah?

Holiday Hayride

This evening we took a horse drawn hayride in our neighborhood. It was another beautiful evening (we hear the snow and cold temps may be coming tomorrow). The horses were huge and pulled us up and down the hills of the neighborhood. The Lord is good to continue to allow us opportunities to connect with the folks around us. We met more new faces today --- folks who (like us) have recently moved here from somewhere else.

Thanksgiving Kodak Moments

Thanksgiving Night

The Magumbos, The KS Fruths & The Noblesville Fruths

(minus Sam who was the photographer!)

Brad & Laura taking a rest after a long hike and creek walk.

It was a BEAUTIFUL 60 degree Thanksgiving day and
we had a great hike before the big meal.