We had donuts from Hans Bakery yesterday after Family Formation and part of Shecklet #3’s came home in the bag that was originally my maple-bacon long john. As she was finishing up her raised glazed doughnut, she had this to tell me…
Shecklet #3: “Mom, do you know what?!?”
Mom: “What?”
Shecklet #3: “These are pieces of bacon and they are delicious!”
My sweet, sweet girl –
Wow! Five years have gone by so fast! I can’t believe how you continue to grow! Your love of Jesus, others and yourself truly does bring JOY to all of us! Your dad and I pray that you keep that spark about you that draws others to you. We love to see you extend a friendly hand to new faces, try new things, play, experiment, cook, swim, scooter (with your unicorn helmet, of course!) learn, write and be the wonderful young girl you are! We love you so much and can’t wait to see all that you do as a 5 year old!
XOXO
Mom
Shecklet #2 lost his two front teeth in a matter of days. The first fell out while on an overnight camping trip with his Aunt Larissa and a couple of cousins.
And the second fell out while eating dinner. He took a bite of his vegetables and realized that something WASN’T a veggie! He spit out a tooth!
Uncle Tony and Auntie Kristin invited Shecklet #1 over to spend the night at their house as part of his birthday present. From the looks of the photos that Kristin sent, he had an awesome time! They took him to Toys R Us where he selected a LEGO set, they played at the park, took Teddy (their dog) for a walk as well as played with him, made homemade pizza, and got to open an enormous art kit present from Kristin’s mom. (She is always so sweet to think of my kids!)
Seven years ago, we met this little guy:
He captured our hearts immediately and life has been full of fun, laughs, and joy ever since!
Lincoln –
We are so proud of the young man you are becoming. You’re a confident, SPARK-filled, leader who is on his way to doing great things in this world! You love to be outside, riding your bike, scooter, or running around playing Nerf guns with the neighbors and your brother. Laser tag is one of your favorite things to do and you are currently having lots of fun in the pool at your swimming lessons. You continue to learn about Jesus and your faith and are asking really good questions along the way. I love the way your little mind is always thinking! I pray you will always know how much your dad and I love you, but more importantly, how much God loves you and wants to be central in your life.
We are excited to see what your 7th year holds for you!
XOXO
Mom & Dad
Here are the answers to the questions I ask you every year:
My brother and sister-in-law recently shared the exciting news that they are having a baby! The new addition is slated to arrive in late July. They had an ultrasound this week and found out if it is a girl or boy. Keeping us in suspense a few days, they made a special trip to our house this afternoon to share cupcakes with us. Topped with yellow frosting, we had to bite in to the middle to discover whether the filling was pink or blue. Shecklet #2 was the first to make the discovery – PINK! Shortly after Shecklet #2 reported what he found, Shecklet #3 piped in and said, “I hope mine is pink too!” Lucky for her, it was 🙂
Christmas at my parents’ house was lovely…tasty food, fun with family, laughter and surprises…
…until about 8:30, when we discovered that our dog, Cooper, was not feeling well. We quickly discovered that he had found a stash of chocolate somewhere in the house…enough to fill this tin:
After speaking with the after-hours emergency vet, we decided that we needed to bring him in. Since we had only driven one car to my parents’ house, my dad offered to take Cooper and me to the vet so Jake and the kids could stay and finish desert.
I’ll spare the details, but suffice it to say, we left two hours later with a dog with an empty stomach who, though he was shaking due to the caffeine in the chocolate, was going to be ok. Christmas 2014…one for the memory books!
After Shecklet #2 lost his tooth, we loaded up into the suburban and headed for Grandma & Grandpa’s house. We gathered early this year since Jason and Bri were in town from out west. Great Grandma Lois and Papa Dale also joined us for the evening’s festivities. (Unfortunately, Stacie couldn’t make it home to be with us.) We had a delicious ham dinner with tasty side dishes and wine – just the adults 😉 After dining, we gathered in the family room to open presents. This year, Shecklet #4 had a much better idea as to what was going on. She was more than willing to help everyone with their gift opening! Once the kids had a chance to check out/play with their new things, we had desert – peppermint ice cream pie – delish!
Back in early October, Jake agreed to do a 10-week fitness challenge with a friend of ours at Farrell’s eXtreme Bodyshaping. In addition to increasing his sit-ups, push-ups and endurance, he has become friends with a fun group of people.
I’m so proud of him for sticking it out through the entire 10-week challenge (even after missing a week due to being sick.) He’s continuing with the program and I can’t wait to see how the coming weeks and months go for him.
Shecklet #2 has been learning about ancient Egypt at school. The culmination of their Egyptian unit was a bartering fair. The kids created Egyptian items in class that they used to barter with parents. They each had a “keep” and “trade” pile in front of them. I brought an assortment of trinkets, stickers & pencils to barter with. Some kids were bartering pros – I’m guessing their parents really enjoy that at home!
After everyone finished trading items, the kids had a Egyptian-inspired snack (figs, pomegranate seeds, “mummy wraps,” grapes, apples and pitas.)
