Happy Birthday Daddy! It is hard to believe that these 3 were playing baseball outside right before lunch! It has been crazy nice out. Gma Cooley was able to come over and watch the kiddos for us later that night. Ben and I were able to go OUT TOGETHER and ALONE! We had so much fun! We enjoyed dinner and adult milkshakes downtown Ferndale while our children were loving on Gma back at home.
Ellie and Daddy sure have a special bond. Ben now understands why I am such a Daddy's girl too. :)
When I walked into the kitchen to see these two praying together I couldn't grab my camera fast enough. There are times as a parent you want to pull your hair out thinking that nothing you are trying to teach or model is really sinking in but, then every now and then God gives you a glimmer of hope to keep trying. This was my glimmer...
The warm weather faded out and we are ready for that snow!
This Mama, my lap is full and my heart is fuller.
Luke raised enough money for his school's Fun Run that he was invited to movie night at his school! Here he is with his pal Logan. Ben called me to tell me what a cutie she is...seriously Ben, they are 5.
The next morning Luke was off with Ayrton and the boys for Ayrton's 6th birthday party! Meghan (his mom) is one brave soul taking them all to see the Peanuts movie by herself! She dropped off Zaydee on the way and we had all sorts of "girl" fun. Of course they painted their nails!
Drew remains the most cool and calm little dude in the neighborhood. Drew is 11 mos, and proud of it with mastering his standing skills, moving to only formula, and eating 3 solid meals a day!
This cute jack-o-lantern has his top 2 teeth and bottom 2. The face below is him "talking" to us. :)
Ellie Marie...is still sweet as can be,
Getting ready to start the day. This is what bfast time looks like.
She is SO my kid! Since working at Kensington, the kiddos have really taken off with their bible verses, asking some tough Jesus questions, and singing their favorite worship songs around the house pretending to be the "worship kids".
Getting ready for the Christmas lights to be lit and our favorite Santa to come down on the big, red firetruck! Our favorite pit stop is ALWAYS Auntie Meg's salon!
The first big snowfall of the year! The kids played outside by themselves for almost a full 2 hours!
So, I posted a lot of the sledding pictures taken from the warm and cozy inside, but these 2 were cracking me up...
This especially...Elle is taking up her own sled.
Elle slips and falls on the way.
Luke comes over to make sure she is OK.
Elle is off, making her brother carry her sled for her. Thank goodness for sweet, brother Luke.
There is no such thing as smudge-free windows at our house. I need to be at peace with that.
There is no better way to wake up then these 2 cuddling right up to you!
We LOVE our Anutie Nae!!!
More Tday pics to come!!!
We hosted our first Thanksgiving dinner and with the help from everyone we had quite the feast! We celebrated with Gpa and Gma Cooley, Auntie Nae, Uncle Tom and Aunt Cathy, Uncle Chris and Kayla and Uncle Maynard! We finished the day off with a competitive game of Family Feud!
We finished our wonderful Thanksgiving weekend off with being asked to light the first advent candle at our church! It was such an honor to do this as a family. Ben did a great job speaking and reading the Scripture. I have 2 favorite moments that I want to remember forever. The first is that right before we went on stage Ms. Slater, Luke's kindergarten teacher was sitting right there in the front row. That was the last face Luke saw before he went up stage. Number 2, we had practiced with Luke to say his name and Merry Christmas when he was introduced. Well our Pastor asked him, " How old are you?" and he responded, " Luke. Merry Christmas!" Haha the entire congregation got a kick out of that one.
Out to eat at Mr. B's, downtown Rochester, just the 5 of us to relax and enjoy it after a full and wonderful weekend.
Drew's first time sitting up like a big guy at a restaurant!
