Moments I'll Definitely Miss

Melanie is so cute holding onto the pompoms of her new winter hat.

 

I have been wanting to do Pam's "You're Gonna Miss This Moment" complete with the official picture from her blog for awhile now. But the problem was that I couldn't, for the life of me, cut and paste it. The problem lies in the fact that I'm using a Mac instead of a PC. Though I am enjoying my Mac, I'm not able to do some cool PC stuff I used to or that you all are able to do. For example...notice that my pictures are above Pam's button instead of below it. That's because I can't use Windows Live Writer to post my blog the way I would like to. Anyway, I digress...

I have chosen a plethora of photos, mostly silly, of all five of our children. I will absolutely miss these moments.

Austin really likes playing tennis against the side of our house. Actually, I love playing it with him. I'll miss the silly faces he makes just to get my attention.

These are my twin monkeys, Grant and Cooper, that will be turning 7 on Christmas Eve. 

Not only does Braaten have an orange wedge in her mouth just like Grant, but she is doing

bunny ears  over her poor, unsuspecting brother.

The twins are playing the Wii. They love it.

The twins were painting and stopped to pose for this picture. They are so close and do pretty much everything together. They finish each other's sentences, share everything, and miss each other when they aren't together. 

I think it is a great idea to talk about these moments and take note of them, because one day we truly will miss them.

Fall Pictures

Make a Smilebox photobook

Blessings of Blogging

When my friend, Pam, encouraged me to start a blog, I never thought for a moment that it would bless me as much as it has.

I have read not only her blog and been inspired, but as blogging goes, I 've stumbled upon so many others that God has used to change me. Change me in not only great ways, but small ways as well. He is worthy to be praised in this. Taking the time to not only write my own story, but to read others has been incredibly gratifying. 

Take this day for example... God used another person to draw me closer to Him, not that that's so uncommon. God can use anything and anyone to make a difference. I have prayed more today than I have in awhile. I have been more patient with my children and more loving toward my husband than I was yesterday certainly. 

So, thank you from the bottom of my heart, my blogging friends. May you be blessed abundantly!     

Fletch Has Arrived!

I can't believe that after posting a few times on our countdown to the arrival of our dog, Fletch, that I forgot to post when he actually got here! Anyway, the wait is over. Here is the delivery van that contained a huge kennel with Fletch in it, but there was also a small dog that would be arriving to his or her rightful owner in Scotland the next day. That would be a cool job... delivering pets to long awaiting families. Oh, the joy that comes with it would be fulfilling. 

Fletch's travels consisted of van rides, kennels, a plane, more van rides, and then finally seeing us again. He was tired, a little confused, but in the end happy to be here. 

I had to get a shot of everyone with him after he looked around to get to know his new surroundings. 

This is what happens in a house with 5 kids who missed their dog terribly. They spoil him!

He must be thinking..."another picture, come on I'm tired". 

He rests comfortably with the monkey he had in Michigan. He misses his doggy friend, Sara. I think Sara is getting another little puppy Golden Retriever very soon. Her owners went to see one the day after Fletch left. 

We took Fletch to the dam to show him around. Boy did he want the squirrels and ducks he was seeing. 

Fletch brings so much joy to us. 

Meet My Melanie...

Sweet, spunky, driven, happy-go-lucky Melanie! Those are just a few words to describe our 3rd child. In this picture she is working away at her history. Of course, I enter the room with a camera, and she is happy to oblige with a great big smile. 

Mel couldn't wait for Fletch to get to us from the States. We moved to England in May and had to wait for him through the quarantine process to get to us just about a week ago. Melanie pined for him and created a countdown calendar 39 days before his long trip to us. She absolutely loves him!

Always smiling! She has her moments, of course, but generally she is pleasant and fun to be around. We were in Italy when we took this picture. She also gets such a nice tan. She takes after my dad.

I just took a bunch of pictures on Friday of our kids to try and capture what I would consider their school pictures. We homeschool and, so in the past, I've taken them to JC Penneys. They don't have them here and I love trying to capture my own now anyway. Mel's in 3rd grade now. 

She loves to ride in circles in our driveway while removing one hand off the bars because she can and it looks cool, too. 

Melanie is a true joy and looks up to Braaten, her older sister. They are best friends and sometimes I don't think they even know that. Everything Braaten does, Mel wants to do just because she wants to be just like her. They spend tons of time together playing with their Polly's, their American Girl Dolls, scrapbooking, playing Webkinz and a host of other things. 

Hopefully sooner, rather than later, I'll tell you about our twin boys, Grant and Cooper. My friend, Annette, likes to call them Cary and Gary as in Cary Grant and Gary Cooper. She cracks me up thinking of that. That certainly isn't where we got their names. 

Be Blessed and thanks for taking the time to check in on us.