Love this

Snow...and ice...and rain...

Today's weather sure was an interesting mix. It was fun playing
in, the snow had a crusty ice layer on top.
There was some serious progress in the house today, this was
the first time that Aaron has let me put hat, gloves, boots, etc. on
him without a fight! He even went for the snow pants. Certainly
something to celebrate!!


A cute little nurturing moment







Morgan making some sort of ice sculpture on top of the trash can


Terrible shot of Aaron, but it was all I had

My little workhorse

Morgan volunteered to haul in some wood today for the fire.
She put it in the laundry basket and drug it into the house. How
cute!!

Trenches

Nothing fun to post on this evening... just a few days of sick kids and not much sleep. I am thankful that we have had a pretty healthy winter so far. Aaron and Morgan are a little under the weather with some bad coughing and potentially an ear infection.
Life as a mom is sure crazy and busy and stressful and infuriating and invigorating all at the same time. I have my days where I think I could turn all my kids in... and then the next day I am in tears about how grateful I am to have them all. It is definitely an exhausting job on all fronts: physically, mentally, and nothing makes me run to God for mercy, wisdom and strength like a day with them.
All this to say... this is definitely a hard season that I am in, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. I love that my baby is so stinkin' cute and smells good no matter how many days it has been since she has last been bathed, I love the way Morgan hugs me and is so sweet, I love that Aaron can sing Amazing Grace, spell his name, and knows who the President, VP, and Sec. of State are. I love how my Claudia is so observant of me and those around her and is so fun to talk to and laugh with. Thank you, God for the amazing gift of these children. It is a humbling privilage to care for them.

Babysitter Fun

The other night Steve and I were gone at Care Group and our
fun and creative sitter, Shannon O., had some fun with the kids
and the camera. Here are a few of their shots:

Morgan in mid-air


Aaron's cute little backside


Claudia's feet

Fun with the Floods

Yesterday after dropping off my mother-in-law at the airport, we
swung by to see the Floods. Their family was also at the Pastor's
College last year. We were neighbors and had lots of fun together
as families. We have missed them and it was great to be able to
spend a few hours together again.


Aaron and James, little buddies

More Maw

We had to say good-bye to Steve's mom today. It was great to have
her here again for a few days. The kids all love her and we were all
sad to see her go. Here are a few more shots of her time with us.

She gets the grandmother of the year award this day for playing
in the snow for about an hour and a half!!