Faces of Joy

A joyful heart makes a cheerful face. ~Proverbs 15:13~

Loving Papa

Papa & Mimi came to visit us over Valentine's weekend...it was so good to have them here! The kids were dragging them here and there all over the house to play. I think they needed to go home to get some rest! We can't wait until they come again!

Plus, it was Mom and Dad's 40th wedding anniversary- Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad- what an amazing example of love you are to us!

Let me smell those toes...

...ooooo stinky toes!!

Together we play

Hand in hand- together we play! Trinity & Eli would run from the kitchen door into the living room and back again- over and over and over again! Eli wouldn't do it unless he was holding his big sister's hand!

Trinity put all of her and Eli's pillows and stuffed animals in the crib and then hopped in herself- of course her little brother wanted to follow suit...Daddy added him to the pile of pillows and animals and covered them with a blanket.

All comfy and cozy with a book and flashnight!

A few of my favorites!

Trinity loves 'reading' stories to Eli. I love to stand back and watch them. Trinity does such a good job of telling the stories- they usually have something to do with the pictures! And Eli sits so contentedly and listens!

During this story time Trinity's story didn't have much to do with the pictures...it was about a little boy named Eli who kept taking her book. She would go, take it back from him, give him a spanken, and then he'd cry. Yikes! I think we need to work on her story telling!
We are so blessed...Eli flashes this cheesy smile at us at least once a day- my heart melts everytime! He's so full of joy and life- such a happy little boy! He makes us laugh and laugh! If you notice, he's not in his high chair anymore...nope, he' s a big boy in a booster!

Elijah likes to be by Trinity...so, when she was rocking, he crawled up with her! She gladly let him up- this time!

January Happenings

Elijah Ray & Daddy enjoying some guy time watching football...it was a nail biter!

Eli thought Trinity might need a snack during her bath...he graciously shared his muffin with her!

Such a relaxed little sleeper!

Trinity chose her outfit this morning...Princess clothes! We had to change to run an errand- as soon as she got back home, it was back into princess clothes!

Baking Cookies!

Our niece and nephew, Jordyn & Xavier, spent the night with us one night this week. Jordyn & Trinity made cookies...all 20 cookies actually turned into one large cookie in the oven! The may not have looked pretty when I tried to scrape them off of the cookie sheet- but they were GOOEY...the best kind of cookies!

Xavi wasn't much interested in baking- he was too busy shooting some hoops!

The girls enjoying the cookie dough from the bowl- one of the best parts about baking- yum!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas...what a joyful time of year! We've had our decorations up since mid-November, and I don't really want to take them down...maybe mid-January. I just don't want to lose the atmosphere that comes with Christmas! Just have to find ways to keep the joy, love, and peace flowing through the whole year!

This year we opened gifts at our home the 23rd, spent the 24th at Bob and Margaret's (Aaron's parents), and drove to Mom and Dad's on the 25th. To get there we drove through blowing snow and ate lunch at Walgreen's- it was the only thing we could find open...we had a good chuckle over it! But, it was worth it to be at Mom and Dad's for the weekend!

Following you'll find many pictures of Christmas...it was a whirlwind of activity and these are just a few of the highlights!

Eli showing off his new boots and John Deer tool belt.

"Look what I got, Mommy! Pooh books- yes!" (A gift from a wonderful, godly woman and family friend in Des Moines.)

Trinity was the gopher for gifts- it was hilarious watching her crawl under the tree and pull out the gifts.

Eli talking on the phone- Trinity's gift to him so he wouldn't use hers!

Eli watching as Trinity opens a gift for both of them.