December Doings

Sara was the recipient of one of Rebekah's favorite pastimes....spitting up!  Poor Sara was gagging and gagging.  Fortunately, she did not throw up.

The last couple days before Christmas we had the stomach bug go through many of us.  We were blessed to have it all gone by Christmas morning.

Sara loves Spring and she loves to do homework with her.

Sara chose Chick-Fa-La for her birthday dinner with Joel and I.  The main reason for this choice-the playplace! :)

We think it's pretty cool that the car we brought Thomas home from the hospital in is the same car that he now drives to school.  Not many can say that! :) Thanks to an amazing husband that takes great care of our cars and has saved us thousands in being willing to do repairs when necessary.  Here's to inexpensive insurance for a teenage boy...only $20 each month! I will never complain about that! :)

Band Chaperones

Little sisters make homework more bearable!

Our kiddos think we can't have a snow day without homemade sweet rolls!

Sammy chose Golden Coral for his birthday dinner with Joel and I.  His favorite part of it all...the chocolate fountain!

New Year's Eve & Gingerbread Houses

We decided to continue our new time of making gingerbread houses on New Year's Eve Day.  Again, the kiddos decided on boys vs. girls.  Rebekah had her first taste of sugar during the making of the houses, and Jacob continued as our seasoned taste tester!

The rest of the evening we played games.  We were all actually really tired this year.  Josh and Mary were the only kids that made it up to midnight.  The rest decided to just go to bed earlier.  Joel and I tried to convince Mary and Josh to head in early as well, with no luck, so we stayed up with them as well.

Sam, our Newest Boy Scout

Scouting is in Sam's blood and he is loving being a Boy Scout.  He worked really hard to earn the rank of Scout 2 weeks after turning 11.  He is excited each week to learn new things and pass off requirements.  He loves to involve the other 2 boys as well and has so much fun with them. His leader, Brother Jones, appreciates his enthusiasm and leadership.  He was able to plan a 5 mile hike in December.  It was cold, but they all went and had a great time.  He also was able to pass off all the swimming requirements for 2nd class and 1st class.  I'm so excited for him and the things he is learning.

He loves knots and lashings.  For Christmas he asked for poles and rope so he could do lashings whenever he wanted to.  He is really good at them as well.  He is working on the Personal Fitness, Cooking, and Reading merit badges as well.

 He was so excited for his hike that he layed out all his layers of clothes the night before.

 Harrison Adkins, Dominic May, Sam, and Brother Jones

Christmas Season Memories

We went to visit the John Johnson Farm in Hiram, Ohio the day after Christmas.  They had a gingerbread house display and then we were able to go on a tour.  We've been here many times, yet each time the Spirit touches me in a new way and I learn and have my testimony strengthened each time.  I am so grateful we live close enough to experience these amazing church history sites.

Joel was able to take vacation for almost the entire 2 weeks the kids were out of school.  We didn't go anywhere big or do anything major.  We just enjoyed being together as a family.  I'm grateful Joel loves to be home with us.  He tells me one of his favorite things to do is just be home and experience the day to day routine of family life that he misses when he is at work. The kids love when Dad is home, almost as much as I do! ;)

We played lots of games together...lots of late nights with snacks, fun, and laughter!