Praises!

Sorry, I did not update this sooner. Thank you to all who prayed for my friend Kris, her dad, and her family! As far as I know, he is doing much better. The abcess was a result of his previous surgery. They were able to drain it, which relieved much of his pain. He is on antibiotics and will nopefully be able to leave the hospital this weekend. Please continue to pray for healing, rest for the entire family, and strength for her mom as she cares for her dad at home through his recovery. Thanks again for your prayers!
P.S. My mom and dad, grandma, and aunts and uncles returned safely from the funeral in Georgia this week, thanks for prayers on that one too. My aunt and her family could certainly use more prayers as they celebrate Christmas without my Uncle.

More prayers!

My good friend, Kris, and her family need your prayers! Her dad was just admitted back into the hospital with an abcess in his abdomen and severe pain. He just had surgery last week to remove a cancerous tumor. Please pray that the doctors can determine the cause of the abcess and heal him quickly. Pray that test results from last week come back clear and show no further cancer growth. Pray that her mom can remain strong and feel God's peace during this time of uncertainty.

A note from Sydney!

This note written by Sydney was so cute I had to share it! She wrote it to a pen pal that she has through school. The spelling on the names shows her sound spelling abilities!

A visit to Santa!

On Thanksgiving Sunday, Santa came to visit at our church. We got to get our picture taken with him. Elyse refused to smile!

Elyse's 3rd Birthday!

Decorating the Christmas tree!

Continued prayers!

I found out this morning that my Uncle passed away last night. He is now enjoying his new heavenly body and is no longer suffering. However, please continue to pray for his wife, Bettie, his daughter and son-in-law, Kim and Gene, and his grandchildren, Ben, Josh, and Hannah as they mourn their loss. It will be especially hard as they go through this Christmas without him. I also pray for my Grandma as she mourns the loss of one of her children. She is 96 and will be traveling with my parents and aunt and uncle who will be going to the funeral. Please pray for safe travel for everyone who is heading to Georgia for the funeral.

Prayer Request!

Please pray for my Uncle and his family! My Uncle who has terminal cancer is now at home and receiving hospice care. His wife who is on the transplant list had heart surgery this summer and is now facing the reality of losing her husband. He has 3 grandchildren and I am sure that this will be hard for them. His mother and most of his siblings and live here and a two live in the Netherlands, therefore many are unable to visit and see him again. I pray that any pain that he has can be aleviated and that they can all have a sense of peace during this time they have together! We love you Uncle Abe!!!!!

I did it Again! I ELFed my kids!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

On Sunday, Santa visited our church and we had the kids picture taken with him. Elyse would NOT smile. As soon as we looked at the printed picture, I remembered a picture of me when I was little. She is a spitting image of her mommy. Check out the pictures below!

Elyse

Renee

Sydney's Pictures are back!

Reid's VIP Day!

Reid was able to have a VIP day a little early because his friend Drew was sick and we switched days with him. We made the best of it even though he missed having Drew at school. We had popcorn day. It started with watching it pop and having a popcorn blizzard. We did some popcorn art and even had some popcorn with our snack. We had a fun day. Thank you Drew for switching and we hope you get better real soon!

The Old Historical Farm

Reid's class went on a field trip to a local Historical Farm. The family settled here in 1844! We saw their log cabin that the started out in. They lived there with their 6 children! We definately can't complain about how little space we have now. It was fun to hear the children come up with all the things they did not have in that log cabin. I am sure it is beyond their full understanding that people actually lived without the modern conveniences we have today! We then were able to see the farm house that the family built on the same property later. We learned about many other differences even though the house looked more like a house we live in now. The kids even were able to help roll out gingerbread dough for some cookies. I think the highlight of the trip was propably eating the finished product.

Elections

Like many of you, the Elections were the topic of conversations through out our house on Tuesday. Reid and Elyse came with me to stand in a long line so I could vote. I thought for sure if I went mid morning, the lines would not be very long. I was wrong. I think many others had the same idea. So it took me 45 min. to get through the process. Reid was excited because we voted in the gym where he has preschool. When Sydney came home she was full of questions. She asked me what we were voting for. I tried to explain what we were voting for and who we were voting for. When Tom came home she asked him if he voted for "Rock Ya Mama!" We had a good laugh over her take on things. I will now see him as President Rock Ya Mama!

Happy Halloween!

On Halloween night we had dinner at Qdoba with our friends Mandy and Michael and their three boys. Drew is in Reid's preschool class and Noah is the same age as Elyse. They will be in preschool together next year. Isaac is 10 months old.

Drew is a shark and Noah is Tigger the Tiger.

Elyse wanted to be a princess because Sydney was a princess.

Princess Sydney starts eating Halloween candy before we even started.

We all went to our church where they were doing Trunk or Treats. This is a great way to trick or treat with younger children because there is not as much walking and no traffic to watch for. It is so fun to see how each family decorates their trunk for the event.
Reid dressed up as Darth Vader.

He got sick of the mask really fast and most of the time wore it on the top of his head like a hat.

I tried to take the kids into the light by the church for a cute shot. As you can see that did not work in my favor. I rarely get a shot that all three of them are looking and smiling at the same time.
After we finished at church, we went to Drew's neighborhood to do some traditional trick or treating. We only went to a few houses which worked out great. As we were in the neighborhood, we saw Maddie (Dorothy) who is also in Reid's preschool.
We finished the night back at Mandy and Michael's house. The adults played a round of Euchre while the kids all played in the basement. It was a busy but fun night out. Now if only I could keep my hands out of the candy bowl!

A Visit to the Apple Orchard

Reid's class went on a field trip to the apple orchard. We went on a hay ride, saw a few farm animals, and watched them make some apple cider. We had great weather, even though it was a little chilly. We also had some apple cider and donuts for a little snack.

Maggie and Sam snuggle up to Mrs. M on the hayride.

Reid and Cameron have a good time on the hayride together.

Drew and Mandy enjoy a peaceful ride together.

We had to pick apples from a box this year instead of from the trees because the hail this season damaged many local apple crops.

The process of making apple cider is an interesting one. However, it is not very appetizing to watch. I have a hard time drinking apple cider after watching the way they make it.