merry christmas!

Merry Christmas!

He will cover you

Praying for our dear friends, the Lacrosses.....He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. PSALM 91:4

birthday buddies

Thomas turned 3 this week and we had a tons of fun celebrating! We had a fun birthday breakfast together with the whole family & then played, played, played & played some more with his trains! This little guy finds no greater joy than playing trains...Then we watched Abby perform in her Thanksgiving play at school. He repeatedly walked onto the stage to give the turkey, Abby,hugs:) We ended the day by celebrating at "Noah's house" with pizza & cake. Noah & Thomas share a birthday so it was the perfect way to end the day. Thanks Kroons! As I tucked him into bed, I sang to him..."Happy Birthnight to you, Happy Birthnight to you...." He was almost asleep, but rolled over and smiled as he said, "Sing to Noah too!" Of course I did... Sweet boy, we love you! Happy 3:)

God send us snow!

Winter arrived last week. We went from 40 degrees and ugly brown a week ago to -15 and snow, snow, snow today! Love it. Well, love the snow. The negative temps aren't as easy to love, but it's part of the game. I'll never forget standing outside as the first snow fell last week and Thomas' giant smile as he exclaimed, "God send us SNOW!"

Winter is growing on Owen. The first couple of days that we played in it, he wasn't very impressed to say the least. Many tears as he looked down and probably wondered, "And how am I supposed to move in this?!!" By week's end, he was happily sledding down our hill over and over and over again though. It's a good thing, because there's a lot of winter ahead of us!

pumpkins a glow

Here are the kids in their costumes...Thomas was a spider, Claire, Little Red Riding Hood, Owen a dalmation and Ella a spa girl.

Fun with friends!
John & Stacey DePriest have an amazing Halloween bash every year. Every corner of their home (& property!) is decorated. This year was no different! Thanks for the invite guys:)

She's 21

Autee turned 21 in October, so we celebrated with some of her closest families. Fun times!

tend to be an animal, k?

A couple of random funnies...

We allow our children to play with guns...toy guns, that is. The rule has always been that you can't shoot people, just animals. In getting around this the other day, Thomas pointed his finger at me and was about to shoot. I said, "Hey..." Knowing what I was about to say, Thomas quickly suggested, "Tend to be animal, k mom?"

Tom was at home with the boys all day today. He heard Owen crying, but didn't see what had happened. He simply said, "Thomas?" and Thomas responded, "Me didn't push Owen!"

owen eyes

These three say so much about our Owen! His eyes are huge and just go right through me at times. Those eyes don't miss a thing. He is always up to something...usually trying to re-create something he just saw a sister or Thomas do. The nose squish is my favorite. When he's in a playful mood, this is his face. And the final shot....he is a SOCIAL little one. He loudly proclaims "HI!" when anyone walks into the room....or when he sees someone at a restaurant...or someone walks down the street...or someone pushes their cart by us in the store...And he'll keep saying it until you respond appropriately! Love this little guy.

awwwhhhh...

We had supper at the gazebo tonight. After we ate, we played one of our favorite family games, "The 3 Game." One person picks a theme or a topic and each person has to name 3 things related to that theme without repeating what anyone else has said. I think we love it because you can play it anywhere and it never requires any dice or marbles or pieces that will get stolen and ripped up by the little people at our house! Anyway, we had fun with this for awhile and then I changed things up. Spinning off of my biblestudy icebreaker today, I asked.... "What is the best gift you've ever received?" Without missing a beat, Claire said, "I know! I'll go! My mom and Jesus." Awwwhhhh.... Then it was Ella's turn. Her answer? "My brothers." Double awwwhhhh.... How blessed I am to be the mom of these two sweet girls.

they're back!

We went to the lake last night to check for swans, armed with frozen bread crusts just in case...but they weren't there. The kids threw all the bread in the water to entice them in case they had flown away. Well, they may have found the bread as Connie, my neighbor, called during naptime to tell me the swans were at the lake! I grabbed my camera, switched out lens' and hiked to the lake for a swan photoshoot. I was looking for the classic shot with swans swimming, fall colors behind, & possibly reflections.... Not to be today, folks! These things were FEARLESS! There were 2 adults and 3 cygnets and they were looking to be fed. They came within one foot of me and I could have pet them, but that was a bit out of my comfort zone. I hiked back to the house and came back with bread & popcorn to feed my new friends. When the girls got home & the boys woke up, we fed them some more. Maybe we are why they are fearless!


Who knew swan feet were this huge?

BIG fun

The kids have been having BIG fun outside lately. What do you think of the giant photos?!! Thanks Molly!

another sign

Another sign that fall is here is the arrival of a box of crab apples from my mom & dad's tree on the farm. This box came last week and the kids and I have been gobbling them up. One bite brings back so many memories! They're not your usual crab apples....so tasty! Thanks for sending these every year, Mom:)

fall

Fall is here indeed...The girls always seem to find interesting creatures at the turn of each season. Here's a cute little frog that they are CERTAIN will hibernate in our aquarium on the porch. They've had him for 3 weeks and counting...who knows?!! Ella allowed froggy to help her with spelling here. Another sign of fall...homework!
I've learned that the fall mushrooms of Alaska are fairy-tale like. Huge & colorful!
My least favorite thing about fall is the return of SOCKS. Oh, how I dislike folding these things! I put it off as long as I can and a laundry basket full of socks is a common sight around here. 83 pairs of socks on this job. Phew. How much longer until it's flip-flop weather again?

And the fair.

Fireweed gone to cotton. Yep, summer's over.

anyone know an eye doctor?

Thomas INSISTED on having me put a "banden" (bandaide) on his eye. I tried explaining to him that it wasn't a good idea, but ya know sometimes it's just best to learn these lessons yourself:) Gramps, this one's for you!

for you, mom

My mom requests a picture of each of her grandkids by their bus each year. This picture then hangs on her fridge for an entire year! Here you go mom.....:) Ella sat in the 3rd seat and saw me waiting with the camera. She shook her head and mouthed "No!" quite clearly. I think I'm officially beginning to embarrass her! I blamed it all on grandma:)

kids tri

The girls participated in the Eagle River kids triathalon today. They each did such a great job and I was so very proud of them! It was fun to cheer them on & see their gigantic smiles as they heard the encouragement. Kathryn & Kathleen DuHadway also completed the triathalon. What a fun day!

Tanaina here we come!

Back to School!!!! Today was the day. I just LOVE the first day of school. The energy, the excitement, all the brand new supplies, and squeaky clean shoes! Love it. Every year fills me with memories...of going to school myself, first at Dalton, a tiny rural school and then the big 3rd grade move into school in "town." Riding the bus, afterschool snacks, snoopy book bag, & my conversation with mom after walking in the door every day after school.... Mom would ask, "What did you do at school today?" To which I would ALWAYS answer, "Nothing." I would share snipits about my day throughout the evening, but always in my own timing. Hmm....I think I'm raising a girl who does this EXACT same thing!!
I love the first day school photos of my kids. They always wear a nervous smile & this year was no different. I think this just may be my last year of getting away with taking Ella's photo in her class though. She was embarrassed and her teacher had begun giving directions so she gave me a "ok, cut the cord already, lady!" look.....
Nothing eases the nerves like a brother to love on!:) Ella is in fourth grade.
Claire is in second grade.

Good thing her backpack won't always be this full...It was twice as thick as she is!!!!