This is hilarious - he's really just rubbing his eye but doesn't it look like he's saying, "oh, man, I cannot BELIEVE she is taking pictures of me this early in the morning! Give it a REST, Mom!!"

Don't look Jen - it's another picture of Ben. But MAN, look at that? And this is first thing this morning - he hasn't even eaten yet. He's so sweet. :)

A litte bit of craziness in Ben's room this morning. Ahhhh...

Now THIS was a photo op I could NOT pass up!! -- Kate's take on the band concert. :)

Isaac had a band concert. It was SO cute! And I know this is a bad picture - sorry, it was the best I could do. Isaac is seated in front of the boy who is standing (he's a little bit to the right in the photo).
They really did a great job. :)

Ooooh boy. Is this what we have to look forward to? :) Kate had "slumber party" day at preschool last week. They wore pajamas and slippers to school, brought their blankies and stuffed animals (Kate took "Ratty Pink Bear" of course) and the little girls put makeup on and painted their nails. I guess that's what little girls do at slumber parties, eh? :) So, here she is all dolled up after her "slumber party."

Here you go, Miss Jem. :) Here's our Sam - we DO take pictures of him :) ... and this is what you get when you ask for a pose from a 12 year old. Just wait... your day is coming.

"Deacon Todd" and family. This is the picture we had to get to put on the bulletin board in the church lobby to show people who exactly "Deacon Todd" is. Lovely, eh? Isaac looks less then thrilled, Ben is fussing... certainly not the best picture we've ever taken as a family. Oh well.

I am a terrible tooth-fairy!...

Ugh... poor Kate. She lost her second tooth yesterday and for some reason, was EXTREMELY excited about it. She couldn't wait for that quarter! However, she knew that she had to have Isaac make a call to the tooth-fairy to let her know (because, Kate says, Isaac knows her number). :) You see, the "tooth-fairy" forgot last time she lost a tooth and Isaac had to call her the next morning and clear things up. Whew!

So last night, Kate goes to bed all excited and anticipating her quarter the next morning. And I even put a quarter on the steps so I would remember to sneak up there and put it under her pillow.

Little Miss Princess comes down this morning and the look on her face reminded me IMMEDIATELY that *shoooot* I had forgotten to put that quarter under her pillow! Not mad or irritated, just extremely disappointed... and sad! I am the worst tooth-fairy EVER!! :(

I said, "Good morning, how are you?" "NOT good." "Why?" "The tooth-fairy forgetted my quarter AGAIN!" Uuuuugh! Poor thing. I said, "Are you sure?" "Yes. I looked under my pillow and there -- is -- NOTHING -- there!" "Well, how 'bout if you go ahead and go the bathroom and then I'll go up and help you look." Soooo... as she's in the bathroom I rush up to her room with TWO quarters and sneak them under the pillow next to the one she had been sleeping on.

So, up she comes, tromps over the bed and takes the entire pillow off of the bed. "See, NOTHING there." I said, "Well, why don't you look around a little more." Wow! - she finds the TWO quarters under the next pillow and I can't even describe the look on her face. You know how people talk about "the joy of Christmas on a child's face" (blah blah blah whatever)... this was WAY better. Christmas is all ramped up and the kid knows they're getting something. THIS was so much better because her face went from fallen to.... oh, she was so excited! And TWO quarters too! She just started laughing and laughing and said, "Ooohhhh! The tooth-fairy got mixed up! She thought I was sleeping on the OTHER paynk pillow! Haaa ha ha ha ha!" It was priceless.....

Ahhhh -- catastrophe avoided. Whew! :) But I think from now on, TODD is going to have to take over tooth-fairy duty. I am lousy at this!

Settle in... (REST in My sovereignty)

I came across this verse in devos yesterday and it just struck me...

Jeremiah 29:5-7
Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit.
Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and takes wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters - so that you may be increased there and not diminished.
And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive and pray to the Lord for it, for in its peace you will have peace.

Mandy Shisler could say it SO much better than I ever could - she has such a beautiful way with words... but in my own humble way I'll just say that this passage hit home for me. Not that I've been carried away captive or anything :) but God's telling His people to settle in, get adjusted to the place where He has them, rest and relax in His sovereignty... build houses, plant gardens... you're going to be here for a while so you might as well enjoy it. I KNOW this is where God wants us - and I've been praying for a love for my house and for smack dab in the middle of Ohio where there is no snow. And when I shared this with Todd he made the joke that I did "beget" a son since we moved back. So I guess I'm on the right track. :)

Anyway -- I'm not very eloquent, but, again... my "journal" here, and I wanted to write this down for me more than anyone...

My "petite" baby??

Ben had his one year check up today and they weighed and measured him. I knew he felt on the smaller side of a one year old (for MY offspring, anyway) but Dr. Muresan actually called him "petite" today. I laughed out loud. NEVER has one of my children been called petite... EVER! :) He said he's not in the least bit concerned b/c, even though he's in the 25th percentile right now, it doesn't reflect nutrition but increased level of activity at this point (ya think?!... see photo posted below) :) And he said that, honestly, I should enjoy it while I can b/c he'll probably hit a major growth spurt soon. Anyway.... since this is my own personal "journal", I wanted to keep a record of this... I have a "petite" child!! Who woulda thought?... (but goodness, he sure didn't start out that way!!!!)

Hey everyone... look at my new trick! Isn't it neat?!

Ben and the Cupcake Maker. The cheesy grin means "thank you." :)

funny

A mother was preparing pancakes for her sons, Kevin 5, and Ryan 3. The boys began to argue over who would get the first pancake. Their mother saw the opportunity for a moral lesson. "If Jesus were sitting here, He would say, 'Let my brother have the first pancake, I can wait.' Kevin turned to his younger brother and said, "Ryan, you be Jesus."

Happy birthday, one year old.
Love you, Baby-Ben. :)

Of course, I must taste it... I am one, afterall. :)

Oooo, look! A card too!
(btw, Misty says my sweet darling son looks like Jack Nicholson when he makes this face... should I be offended?) ;) (probably not, since it makes me laugh out loud everytime I think of it... it does kinda look like The Shining... oh, my poor baby) :)

Yum! It's fun to have birthdays! :)

I think I'll taste it now... Mmmmm! Grandma makes GOOOOD cupcakes!

I think I'll start by smooshing it up a little...

Hmmmm... what's this?

Happy first birthday, Benjamin Grant. And thank you, Gma A for making the DELICIOUS cupcakes for his birthday. Very sweet. :)

Christian Rock in Guitar Hero II Petition

Christian Rock in Guitar Hero II Petition

Gma and Gpa A. got the kids these shirts for Christmas. Aren't they so cute??! :) And by the way, I noticed an interesting phenomenon... it's MUCH easier to get a "good" picture of 5 kids when 4 out of the 5 are not facing you!! Amazing! Maybe I'll try that for next year's Christmas card picture! ;)

I love this picture :) ... Sam and Josh

The boys got to spend the night at the Farrands and had soooo much fun. (Julie, does Sarah always play video games with this much excitement and animation?) :)

The Farrands' dogs had puppies (CUTE little Bichons) and Kate was in heaven! ... and Ben looks pretty happy too, eh? Oh, those poor little puppies...

We went to the Farrand's for New Year's Eve and had a blast! THANK YOU, Farrands -- it was a lot of fun! :)

... and a goodnight kiss

Aww - goodnight hugs

Tracey and Isaac!... say cheese! :)

Kate got lots of Princess Barbies! She was thrilled!! (and she's five years old and I STILL have a hard time believing there are Barbies in my house!) :)

Snow! REAL snow!!!... (and don't worry, Sam's just posing for the pic - before I hear all kinds of uproar about "where's his coat?!") :)