The Farm

                                           Stonewall. He's the representative for the three dogs in our family :)

                                           That's Victory in the back and Miracle in the front. They originally  had a sister but she's been sold.

                                            Vision

                                         I just had to do this one.

                                            Mocha

                    That's Chai on the top and her sister Frappucciono on the bottom, and yes she is eating her mothers beard :)

                                           Poppy

 

                                           Lily, she wasn't really in the mood for pictures.

                                        The representative of our thirty something chickens. 

                                           The Rooster

       And the representative of our three cats, Wickham                                                                                                                                                 ~Sierra~

Hailey's New Haircut!

                                                Ethan

                                                     Mom

                                                     Dad

                                  Hailey                                                                  ~Sierra~                             

 

                                                       Ezra   His smile is usually bigger!!!

                                            Sierra It was really windy on that side of the house!

                                           Audryanna  There happened to be a wet dog near by..it seemed to amuse her. :)

                                Annaliese

                                                   Titus   Love this look almost as much as black and white!

                                            Elias                                                                                                                                                       That's all for today...I'll get the rest of the pictures tomorrow. :) Okay It won't put a label up...so it's labeless today.

Pictures

                                                                 

                   
                  I have been taking my younger siblings outside a lot lately to practice my photography skills, they love the attention and I enjoy getting to use my camera. Here are a few of my latest pics.

                                       Dressing up and going out to the barn for a photo shoot                                                                     made them so happy they danced :)

                                         I love black and white pics.

                                                Oh my goodness she is so CUTE.

                                            Ezra was having a little trouble with his backpack so                                                                               Ethan stopped to help him. Luckily I had my camera with                                                                       me and I snapped this adorable pic.                                                                                                                                                                  ~Sierra~                                       

Slice of Life

Overheard in the playroom yesterday:

Annaleise:  Singing.  Loudly
Ty:  Nonna, I can't work with singing!
Annaleise: ----Still singing
Ty: No more singing!
Annaleise:  Ty, I sing AWESOME! (Read it with a lot of attitude)
Ty:  No, Nonna, I don't like your singing!
Annaleise:  Yes Ty, I sing awesome!
Ty: Nonna, I'm leaving. I don't like listening to not awesome singing!
Annaleise:  ---- Resumes singing.  VERY LOUDLY


Hee!

Happy Birthday Sweet Baby!

Audreyanna is 1! How the time it do fly.  She's walking everywhere, loves to be outside, thinks she's big stuff chasing the other kids around; gives big, open mouth kisses when SHE decides to, not when you ask; and is a cuddly sweet momma's girl :-)  As I look at her sweet face and listen to her contented nursing noises I think of how soon these days will be over.  In the thick of it, it seems they will never end.  But I know that one day soon I will miss the sleepy milk smile, the excited noises she makes when she wants to nurse, the way she skooches up against me to sleep at night and the fact the I see her sweet face every hour or two all night long.  I will miss the way she toddles around the house, gets stuck behind the couch, dances to the sound of the vacuum cleaner, blender, and food processor, and wants to live on my hip.  

Happy Birthday Audreyanna!!

And the post wouldn't be complete without a bit of video :-)

 

Oh, and that funky block around "Happy Birthday Audreyanna"?  The harder I tried to get rid of it, the worse it got.  I really need a techy!

Gifts

Today I am thankful for:

11.  A full pantry.

12.  Glenn Beck (yep, I said it.  Out Loud.)
13.  Freedom to Worship
14.  Homeschooling
15.  Employment
16.  A fun new haircut
17.  Books
18.  That He is Mine and I am His
19.  Sweet baby Kisses
20.  Holding hands with my teens when we walk

Family Time

We enjoyed a trip to Arizona for New Years.  We don't get together nearly often enough!  

Look at the cousins - I wish they got to spend more time together. I know, no one is looking at me.  But this was a HARD picture to get.  We waited until the end of the evening for pictures and none of the babies wanted to cooperate AT ALL.  I'm just glad to have one of the three babies together.

Look at her eyes!

Sierra's 13th - Part 2

Another part of our 13th birthday tradition is a 2 night trip away - with the girls I get to go :-)

We spend time talking, eating, and just being together.  It is a great time of bonding and reflection.  Sierra and I went to Sequoia National Park.  Sadly, she got really sick right after we got there.  She rallied herself for a bit of hiking, but was definitely under the weather.  I think she still had a great time though, and I will treasure the time spent just the 2 of us (and Audreyanna :-))

13 Candles - Another "Teen" in the House

Another important event I haven't yet devoted a post to is the celebration of Sierra's 13th birthday. 13 is a big one in our house, the transition from childhood to young adult.  13 is the year of the big birthday party because we believe the addition of family and friends helps mark the significance of the day, and we seek council from other godly women to encourage and guide our children.  For Hailey and Sierra this encouragement has come in the form of letters to be stored in their hope chest (which they receive on their 13th birthday).  These letters have been a true blessing to our girls, and I am so grateful that our friends and family would take the time to write them. 

We requested that gifts center around the hope chest we were giving her, and Sierra was blessed with many beautiful and thoughtful things.  It's so much fun to see what everyone comes up with!

Her daddy gave her a blessing and Sierra recited Proverbs 19:1-9

The cake was amazing. No, I didn't make it.

I love these young adult years.  The knowledge that my time with them is so short is ever before me, and I am frequently driven to my knees.  I am so blessed to see them growing in knowledge and righteousness.  And so grateful for the opportunity to speak into their lives as we spend our days together.

Miss Cadence is getting so big.  She's a real blend of her mommy and daddy.  And so smart :-) I can't wait to watch her grow up.

Chance was able to come for the party, which was SUCH a gift for Sierra.  We are all grateful for any time we are able to spend together, but it was really special that he came for her birthday.  Kirstyn was there too!  It is such a rare gift for us all to be together :-)


The day after the party Chance taught the boys to make boats with tooth pics.   The results were pretty cool, but next time I think we'll use popsicle sticks so it doesn't take so long :-)

 

Gregory Turns 1!

Of smiles there were many, 

of pictures, sadly few. 

This post is late,

the day was great.

Gregory, we love you!

Happy Birthday Gregory!