Team Ambuel

Christmas Recap

2012-01-28T11:02:00.007-05:00

We had lots of Christmas celebrations this past year. Here are some pics of the fun.

Christmas Eve at home.

Josie got a guitar.
Josie got a suit of amor.

Here's Josh jammin' in his armor.

The tiger tail hanging from his waist is his sword.

Christmas at Grammy and G-Pa's house with Aunt Kristin and Uncle Aaron.

Josie got a mermaid costume.

Christmas Dinner

Christmas Carol Duet

Celebrating with Aunt Debbie, Uncle Jim and cousins Breanna Lisa and Kayleigh.

AJ really liked being with Uncle Jim.

Josie's new fuzzy slippers.

Josh lovin' his new drum set.

Uncle Jim and AJ checking out the instructions.

Josie and Josh jammin' together.AJ trying

AJ trying out the drums.

Kayleigh showing Josie her Cupcake maker app.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-26T08:33:00.000-05:00

Here's the picture from our Christmas card. So sorry if we missed you.

Here are some that didn't make the cut, but are still super-cute.

Here's a pic with Grammy and G-Pa.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T08:49:00.001-05:00

Original artwork by Josie

O Sing Choirs of Angels!

2011-12-23T08:55:00.000-05:00

Here are Josie and Josh in the children's Christmas Program at our church.

Josie is in the middle of the back row in the red and green plaid jumper and sheep ears.

Josh is the last one in the back row with the donkey ears.

All the kids did a great job!

And Josh didn't look terrified this year.

Bunny Drama

2011-12-22T08:37:00.000-05:00

As you know, we have issues with AJ's bunny. She chews on the ears and its gotten to the point where they stink and make her face break out in a rash. The situation has gotten serious, and serious action needs to be taken. And so the amputation process has begun.

Mommy will continue to cut the ears a little shorter until:

a) AJ stops chewing on them,

b) until there are no ears left.

Haircuts

2011-12-21T08:25:00.000-05:00

Time once again for the semi-annual haircuts.

Josie is an excellent client.

Josh, not so much.

After much tears and screaming...

Decorating - Part 1

2011-12-20T08:22:00.000-05:00

Here is the little tree the kids decorated the weekend after Thanksgiving.

Leaves

2011-12-19T08:11:00.003-05:00

Josie and Josh helped Grammy rake up some of their leaves.

Actually, they just wanted to make a pile to play in.
AJ wasn't so sure about it.

Fun was had by all.

Trains

2011-12-18T08:06:00.000-05:00

Here are all the kids playing nicely.

(Believe it or not, that actually happens sometimes)

Little Red Riding Hood

2011-12-17T07:55:00.000-05:00

Here is Josie's illustration of the story Little Red Riding Hood.

The Bunny - A Love/Hate Relationship

2011-12-09T15:25:00.000-05:00

This is AJ.

That thing she is reaching for is her bunny.

She will not rest until she gets the bunny back.
Just don't ask her why she threw it down in the first place.

Now all is right with the world.

Note: There is much weeping and gnashing of teeth if bunny is not to be found

when its time to sleep. Don't ask me why she goes through phases of throwing the bunny

out of her crib and then crying incessantly.

Also, AJ has now gotten into the habit of chewing on the bunny ears (thanks to teething)

which makes for slimy, stinky, blackish, mildewed bunny ears within a couple of days.

Trying to get the thing clean is tricky since she still takes two naps a day.

Surprise!

2011-12-06T14:47:00.000-05:00

Nearly three months late. Here are some pictures from Daddy's surprise party.

No, your eyes do not deceive you.

That's a 50!

Here's the surprise!

Thanks to G-Pa for being an accomplice.

Good fun was had by all!

Want a cupcake?

Pumpkin Time

2011-11-12T14:37:00.000-05:00

Grammy got us some pumpkins for fall.

We still haven't carved the pumpkins...

Ready for Church

2011-11-11T15:27:00.000-05:00

Here is big girl Josie ready for church on a Sunday morning.

Josie is 5!

2011-11-10T02:59:00.000-05:00

Here are some pictures from Josie's 5th Birthday.

Josh

2011-10-28T14:58:00.000-04:00

It's amazing how kids can fall asleep.

Here's Josh sitting on top of pillows, with a light shining on his face.

I wish I could sleep that well.

Hot Chocolate

2011-10-27T15:13:00.000-04:00

We had our first mug of hot chocolate. Yum!

Fireplace Christening

2011-10-26T02:57:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the silence folks. Blogger was having some picture-loading technical difficulties.

We had our first fire in our new fireplace earlier this month.

Isn't it pretty?!

When we have a fire in the fireplace it guarantees that nothing gets done around the house.

AJ is 1

2011-10-03T13:58:00.003-04:00

Happy Birthday to me!

I turned one year old in September.

Here's my fabulous cake courtesy of Grammy.

I touched my cupcake a couple times, but did not dare eat it.

But I would eat it if Mommy fed it to me.

It was yummy!

Here are Josie and Josh at dinner.

Then I opened my presents.
Apparently the third baby doesn't get many presents on her first birthday.

But Grammy and G-Pa got me some presents.

One of my favorites is this stuffed caterpillar.

Beach Weekend

2011-09-09T14:51:00.000-04:00

AJ here. After we got our power back, Daddy decided we needed to go to the beach.

(Mommy note: The beach has been changed a little by Hurricane Irene. In the foreground is a "pool" created during high tide. And in the background is the normal beachline. This worked out great for the kids.)

I love the beach. I love the sand. I love the water.

And now that I can crawl, I have the power to get to everything I want.

That's my private lifeguard.

Here is Josie for the two minutes she stayed still.

When I got tired out, I snuggled with Grammy for a while.

Back at the house, us kids like to hang out by the canal

and tackle G-Pa.

Another great weekend at the beach. Thanks Grammy and G-Pa!

Josh is 3!

2011-09-07T14:28:00.005-04:00

I turned three years old at the end of August.

Mommy made me help make my own cake!

Of course, Josie wanted to have a turn too!

Fortunately, Mommy is so smart and made sure to bake the cake before we lost

power from Hurricane Irene. (By the way, we were out of power for three days.)

Then we left the cakes at Grammy's house and *poof*,

they magically turned into the best birthday cakes ever!

I'm three years old now. I don't make messes anymore.

Since we didn't have power, we grilled some chicken and

used our gas stove top to make carrots and asparagus.

And this post would not be complete without a pic of my little sis.

Bubble Machine

2011-08-19T15:07:00.000-04:00

We got a Bubble Machine earlier this summer.

The kids loved it.

Note: If you don't clean the bubble machine after each use

like the directions say, it won't work good anymore.

Josie The Builder

2011-08-17T13:57:00.000-04:00

Can she build it?

Yes, she can!

Our Garden

2011-08-15T13:30:00.004-04:00

We decided to try our hands at gardening this year.

This is our first harvested tomato from some established plants

given to us by our library friends Ms. Janet and Brooks.

We also have a small garden we started from seed.

Here we are picking green beans.

(This is before the Mexican Bean Beetles devoured all our green bean plants!)

Here we are enjoying the vegetables of our labor!

We're still waiting on the lettuce, tomatoes, broccoli and carrots from our seed garden...

Funny Face

2011-07-21T14:26:00.001-04:00

Weekend at the Beach

2011-07-12T10:34:00.000-04:00

We went to the Beach over July 4th weekend. We stayed at Grammy and G-Pa's new beach house. Here's our first dip in the ocean.
The kids had a blast, although Josh got bowled over by a wave the first day and refused to go back in after that. The rest of the weekend he said "I don't like the waves.

AJ LOVED the sand and would go to great lengths to reach it (as shown in later pictures).

Here's Josh clinging to Daddy for dear life.

Josie and Daddy made a sand castle.

Here we are at Grammy and G-Pa's beach house, which is not on the beach, but has a nice water feature out back :)

Daddy did some crabbening (as the kids call it).

The last day it rained and was a little chilly, but we went to the beach anyway.

Cow Appreciation Day

2011-07-11T10:23:00.003-04:00

For all you Chick-Fil-A fans, last Friday was Cow Appreciation Day. If you dress up like a cow, you get a free meal. Always looking for excuses to dress up, and never ones to turn down free food, we willingly obliged.

In addition to getting free meals, they had a DJ/Balloon Artist/Glitter Tattoo Guy and games to win more free food!
Josie and Josh each got a balloon and we won coupons for a free milkshake, iced tea, and brownie. And of course the official Chick-Fil-A cow was there.

We had a blast and can't wait till next year's event.

Flare

2011-06-25T15:12:00.000-04:00

Is this enough flare?

(Yes, she's holding a bungee-jumping pig)

You just never know what to expect with Josie.

Violin Lessons

2011-06-24T15:03:00.000-04:00

Mommy has started taking violin lessons.

I like to try to play too!

PBJ Maker

2011-06-23T20:52:00.000-04:00

Josie's been promoted to PBJ Maker in our house.

AJ - 8 Months

2011-06-22T19:59:00.000-04:00

AJ is 8 months old. (Actually, she'll be 9 months when this posts.)

Here are some pictures.

This is how we always find her in her swing, head completely cocked to the right.

AJ with G-Pa.

9 month update will come after AJ's doctor appointment.

Driveway Soup

2011-06-21T20:07:00.000-04:00

Ingredients:

1 Driveway Ditch

1 Gallon of Rain

2 c. Dirt

Stones & Weeds (to taste)

2 Sticks

Driveway soup can also substitute for a fishing hole.

Some Assembly Required

2011-06-20T20:05:00.000-04:00

Here we are assembling a new toy containment unit for Josh's room.

Unpacking

2011-06-19T20:09:00.000-04:00

Here's Daddy bringing the first box into our new house.

(It's the new cookware set Daddy got at part of his 10yr. anniversary gift from work.)

Here we are unpacking our books.

And of course, for all of our hard work, we got a snack.

We have most of the boxes unpacked. The last 10% is still sitting in our garage.

Our hope is to someday be able to park the cars in there.

New Furniture

2011-06-18T20:12:00.001-04:00

Here we are waiting for our new furniture.

Now we are trying out our new couch.

Perfect for reading!

Welcome Home

2011-06-16T20:39:00.000-04:00

Here is Daddy putting down the Welcome Mat.

This is our new front door.

Stop by and see us sometime.

Haircut

2011-06-04T15:49:00.000-04:00

The kids were due for a haircut. Daddy decided that this time we'd use the clippers on Josh. There are no pictures of this because 1) Mommy had to restrain a crying, flailing 2 year old and 2) We had to go inside so the neighbors wouldn't call the cops on us. After the clippers, Daddy used the scissors to trim it up the sides and take a little off the top.

I think he's recovered from the trauma.

We'll see what happens when haircut time comes again.

In the end, Josh got his haircut. And he likes it.

Here are some pics of his new 'do.

(Note the interesting character in the background.

Apparently swim goggles are good for haircuts too!)

There are no pics of Josie's haircut because Daddy did one snip across the back and he was done. Mommy missed it while she was trying to feed little sis.

Preschooler Mud Party

2011-06-03T15:39:00.000-04:00

Realizing that other children might enjoy our mud pit backyard,

we invited some of our best new buds over for a Preschooler Mud Party.

Much fun was had by all.

Goo-Goo Goggles

2011-06-02T16:22:00.001-04:00

These are Josie's swim goggles.

She uses them for more than just swimming (which by the way she can't do yet).

You may be wondering what Josie is preparing to do

with these goggles and interesting body movements...

That's right. She is getting ready to play in the huge mud puddle in our front yard

after a massive rain.

And here she is exiting the mud puddle, full of grace and style.

Our Backyard

2011-06-01T17:47:00.001-04:00

We've been in our new house for almost 2 months now. But there are some small (and large) things that still need to be done around here. One of them being our yard. We still don't have a paved driveway or sidewalk up to the front door. And until those get done, we can't do the final grading of the yard and plant grass. So we've been making good use of the mud pit that is our back yard...

The kids are loving it!

They might be sad when we actually have a yard.

Picnic on the Porch

2011-05-31T16:07:00.000-04:00

Here is our first meal on the back porch.

Yes, that's our backyard, with the dumpster in it.

It was there about a month after we moved in.

It's gone now, so now its just a big mud pit.

Easter - Much Belated

2011-05-30T15:58:00.004-04:00

We're back. Thanks for coming back to see us. We've moved and had lots of other issues (medical procedures, death in the family, another middle of the night trip to the ER, and Daddy was away for a week with work). But we're trying to get back on track. Lots of good things have been happening here and we want to get you caught up this week.

Here are some pics from Easter

We've Moved!

2011-04-15T15:51:00.002-04:00

Hi gang, we're not dead, we just moved.

Yes we are in our new house!

Buried under a pile of boxes.

Life will reach "normal" soon, hopefully.

Please be patient with us and check in every now and then.

Dentist

2011-03-29T21:02:00.001-04:00

I went to the dentist again. No cavities, so I still like going...

Flowers

2011-03-28T20:54:00.000-04:00

I took some pictures of the "Get Well Soon" flowers that Gadget/Randy got from his work. I think they turned out fabulous. I might frame one, but I can't decide which one I like best. Please leave your vote in the comments.

Picture 1

Picture 2
Picture 3

Hey Cuz'

2011-03-27T20:50:00.000-04:00

This ones for Grandma and Grandpa in Florida.

Queen Esther

2011-03-26T20:31:00.000-04:00

The kids have been learning about the Letter Q.

And with that we studied the story of Queen Esther from The Holy Bible.

Here is Josie and Josh being Queen Esther and King Ahaseurus.

Josie really enjoys learning stories from the Bible.

She has her own "real" Bible (a non-picture Bible) that she loves to "read".

Josh on the other hand, seems to gravitate towards the bad guys in the Bible and will blurt out inappropriate things like "Kill the Jews" and "Cut the baby in half" and "All the baby boys in Bethlehem killed". He doesn't quite get the meaning behind these statements and I'm really hoping he doesn't blurt them out in public. He loves saying "I'm going to fight you" and talks about his armies. That's a boy for you, I guess...

Mac & Cheese

2011-03-25T20:46:00.000-04:00

Mommy makes a mean Mac & Cheese (full of heavy cream and butter).

It's fantastic.

I got to help her for the first time.

Spring is Here

2011-03-24T20:23:00.001-04:00

There are definitely signs of spring...

Josie and Josh helped G-Pa plant some grass seed.

These are samples of the flowers we made to take to a local nursing home.

Jumping in puddles

AJ - 6 Month Update

2011-03-22T20:03:00.004-04:00

I'm 6 months old today! I went to the doc, which wasn't so fun.

Height: 26.5 inches (75%)

Weight: 15lbs. 2oz (25-50%)

Doc says I look great. I'm not sitting up or rolling over yet, but everyone in my family seems to be a little delayed in that area. My menu of acceptable foods has increased to peaches, pears, apricots, peas, and butternut squash. Here are some fabulous pics of me.

Seven Years

2011-03-12T09:20:00.017-05:00

(Posted by Nicole)

Today is our seven year anniversary.

Significant Events of the Past Seven Years:

1 Honeymoon
2 Moves (another in a couple weeks)
2 yrs + 164 Days of pregnancy
3 Beautiful children
1 Miscarriage
1 Change in occupation
14 Days spent in the hospital
2 Surgeries
2 Short-term mission trips
55 Pounds gained (net)
4 Middle of the night trips to the hospital
2 Visits to the ER
8 Family Vacations
10 mo. On the housing market
1 yr + 4 mo. Living with parents
1 New house almost finished

A lot has happened in the time that we have been married. It is easy to lose sight of that in the mundane of day-to-day life. But this week, I’ve taken a lot of time to reflect on the past seven years. (Driving to and from the hospital tends to be a little thought-provoking.)

And I can’t help but say “Look at what God has done! He has done great things!” My Lord has taken the pain and heartache of two broken lives and made something beautiful. I am so thankful that My Lord knows me better than I do. And He knew exactly what I needed in a husband. And He made it perfectly clear who my husband should be.

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (The Holy Bible)

The third strand is God (for those of you out there who aren't familiar with this passage from the Bible). We've had lots of ups and downs over these seven years. He was the key to our first seven years and He is the key to the remaining time we have together on this earth. The years ahead will no doubt provide much more joy and heartache. The Third Strand is what will to hold us together.

There is peace in knowing that God can use the good and the bad for His purposes. God can be glorified in all these things. And a life that glorifies the Lord is a life well lived. My prayer is that our lives will glorify the Lord.

Vacation Part 7 - Family Picture

2011-03-11T21:15:00.000-05:00

We survived another family vacation

(and there's at least one picture where most of us are smiling :)

Vacation Part 6 - My First Ski Lesson

2011-03-10T20:47:00.001-05:00

Josie had her first ski lesson at Whiteface.

She loved it!

Vacation Part 5 - Winter Carnival

2011-03-09T16:26:00.006-05:00

Here are some pictures of the festivities during Winter Carnival at Saranac Lake, NY.

Vacation Part 4 - Snow Tubing

2011-03-06T11:34:00.000-05:00

Josie, Josh, Daddy and I went snow tubing while AJ stayed home with our hosts.

Josie was brave enough to go all by herself.

Here's Daddy and Josh.

We all had a blast!

Vacation Part 3 - Sledding

2011-03-05T11:24:00.000-05:00

Daddy and Josie spent some time sledding in the driveway.

Vacation Part 2

2011-03-04T10:52:00.000-05:00

Josh decided that he was scared silly of our friends cute, friendly doggy, so he spent half of vacation behind this baby gate.

Here's AJ in her snowsuit.

Here we are on an outing. It snows a lot there and its very cold.

Vacation Part 1 - Road Trip

2011-03-03T10:40:00.000-05:00

In February, we packed up the kids for a nine hour drive up to the Adirondacks in New York. We spent a week with our friends enjoying winter carnival and snow and ice sports.

Here's a few pics of our trip.

Exersaucer

2011-03-02T10:26:00.000-05:00

Okay, this first I'm liking a little better.

The other little people in my family seem to like it too.

My First Cereal

2011-02-28T10:04:00.001-05:00

AJ here. I'm five months old now. Apparently that means that strange things will now be forcibly shoved into my mouth.

Not again! I'll close my eyes and think happy thoughts.

I'm glad that's over. Growing up is tough!

Spring-like Day

2011-02-27T09:56:00.000-05:00

We had one really warm day a week ago. We took full advantage of it by spending 2 hours outside. Aside from eating lunch outside and playing tag, Josie worked on rebuilding her turtle shelter...

and Josh worked on his swing.

Josh's First Lollipop

2011-02-26T09:52:00.001-05:00

The Luge

2011-02-06T15:34:00.000-05:00

While spending hours outside in the snow,

G-Pa constructed a sled run out of Snow Mountain,

complete with snow steps up the back side.

G-Pa holds the sled while Josie gets on...

And guides her along the top of the run

(so she doesn't slide over the side and get a concussion)

Repeat 100 times...

until the run is as slick as ice and goes all the way to the shed.

Definitely not something Mommy would suggest.

Thank goodness for Grandpas :)

Snowman

2011-02-05T15:17:00.000-05:00

G-Pa spent hours outside in the snow with Josie. Bless his heart. One of their acitivities was a snowman. Of course, G-Pa did all the heavy lifting.

We now present Mr. Snowman.

And here he is an hour later...

Kinda creepy, right?!

AJ - 4 Months

2011-02-04T09:52:00.000-05:00

AJ here. I'm 4 months old now.

Here are my stats:

Weight: 13 lbs. 6.4 oz. (50%)

Height: 25 in. (75-90%)

So I'm back in the "normal" range for size, but I'm off the charts cute!

My brother and sis love me lots!

I'm a very happy baby. Everyone always comments about what a good baby I am.

However, I do scream after baths during drying and dressing. And I like my diaper to be changed in the privacy of my own room. It is so difficult to maintain some modesty at this age :)

I make some strange guteral sounds when I'm tired and don't even pick me up unless its to take me to my bed. I still like sucking on my fingers/fist, but occassionally you'll see me nibbling on my wrist or forearm just like my big sis Josie.

I eat (nurse) five times a day. Wake-up is 7:30am. Bedtime is 8:00pm ish. And 3-4 naps during the day.

I'm starting to enjoy tickles and sometimes the people around me really crack me up. I hate tummy time and Mommy doesn't usually make me do it (Don't tell the doctor).

I do a lot more with my hands now, grabbing at toys and scratching the heck out of my scalp and anyone holding me.

Here are some old pics from months 2 and 3.

Mommy's Little Helper

2011-02-03T15:54:00.001-05:00

From time to time, we make a special treat for the workers helping to build our house. Here Josh was helping me clean up after making some brownies.

Let It Snow

2011-02-02T15:22:00.001-05:00

Here are some pictures of us playing in the snow.

We threw snowballs and went sledding down the driveway.

And tackled some big clods of snow left over from plowing.

Josie climbed Snow Mountain.

Stay tuned for posts on The Snowman and The Luge Run

State Farm Show

2011-02-01T08:20:00.000-05:00

In January, Grammy and G-Pa took us to the State Farm Show.

Here we are watching the herding events.

Then we had a chance to pet a horse...

and watch a cow being sheared.

Can you take a little off the top?

We got to pet a humongous bunny.
You crack me up!

Here we are enjoying a potato donut.

Yummy!

Then we checked out some sheep.

And looked at this butter sculpture.

Here we are on the carousel.

We had a chance to "test-drive" some fancy tractors and other machines.

And finally, we watched some of the Kids Rodeo.

Bounce Party

2011-01-28T15:35:00.005-05:00

Josie and Josh were invited to their first Birthday Bounce Party. After some initial trepidation, the got their "Bounce-legs" and had a blast!

Mommy had a lot of fun too. We are definitely taking Daddy with us next time.

Sick Daze

2011-01-28T13:11:00.002-05:00

Sorry we haven't had much to offer the past month. We all keep catching colds and passing them around (except AJ, she must have a rock-solid immune system). Check back next week for some new posts including AJ's 4 month update, The Pennsylvania Farm Show, Bounce Party, and Snow Days.

Take a Hike

2011-01-14T09:07:00.000-05:00

This is AJ preparing for her first hike.

We hiked all the way to Josie's Rock

(which is in Grammy & G-Pa's backyard).

Dressed in White

2011-01-11T09:33:00.000-05:00

Photo shoot with AJ

Little help here!

O Sing Choirs of "Angels"

2011-01-09T20:21:00.000-05:00

Josie and Josh were in their first Christmas program at our new church.
Josie was super-thrilled. Josh, not so much. We're just glad he didn't start crying.

We do have video, but Daddy may or may not ever get around to loading it on YouTube.

If we missed you...

2010-12-31T15:44:00.000-05:00

...here's the picture from our Christmas card this year, plus a couple extras.

Homemade Wrapping Paper

2010-12-31T12:43:00.000-05:00

House Update

2010-12-29T15:17:00.004-05:00

Hi everyone! The excitement is growing. It's been a busy couple of weeks over at the house. The stone guys are getting ready to do their thing on the outside of the house. They have to wait for a couple "warm" days (warm = above freezing).
We've got a gravel driveway now.

Drywall has been delivered and installed.

Here is a picture of our living/dining room with a peek into our kitchen.

The kids did a "Happy Dance" (which greatly resembles running around in circles) in every bedroom. This will be Josie and AJ's room.

This is Josie and Josh finding more things to run around. This is our guest room closets.

Here is the garage partially drywalled.

And the basement, which was drywalled before Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T11:40:00.005-05:00

And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you

have found favor with God. And behold you will conceive in

your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.

He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High..."

- Luke 1:30-32

And Mary said, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord;

let it be to me according to your word."

- Luke 1:38

"Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife,
for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus,
for he will save his people from their sins."
- Matthew 1:20-21

And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him

in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger...

- Luke 2:7

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field,

keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel appeared

... and said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news

of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born

this day in the city of David (Bethlehem) a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

And this will be a sign for you; you will find him wrapped in

swaddling cloths and lying in a manger."

- Luke 2:9-12
...the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us." And the went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in the manger.

- Luke 2:15-16

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem..., wise men from

the east came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is he who has

been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when

it rose and have come to worship him."

- Matthew 2:1-2

And behold the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was... Then opening their treasures, the offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.

- Matthew 2:9-11

Paper Chain

2010-12-22T20:10:00.001-05:00

These are the looks of concentration and consternation in the face of a four year old dealing with little pieces of tape and strips of paper.

I think she did enjoy herself a little bit too!

O Christmas Tree!

2010-12-21T18:57:00.001-05:00

Ok folks. Here is our Christmas tree. We decided to go with a live potted tree that we can plant in our new yard next year. (The only problem with this is the fact that it weighs about 200 lbs. and G-Pa is all the way over in Ireland and couldn't help get this thing in the house!)

We're keeping it simple. A few lights and a homemade paper chain.

Josie and Josh got their own little trees to decorate too!

C is for Cookie

2010-12-20T20:28:00.000-05:00

Josh was a big helper for Grammy when she was making her fantastic cookies.

Unfortunately, we ate all the cookies before we got a picture of them.

Mommy's Little Helper

2010-12-20T19:49:00.000-05:00

Josie has become quite the little helper for Mommy.
She can peel carrots all by herself.
She helps with other dinner prep.

And she even helped get the Christmas cards ready this year.

I didn't make her lick all the envelopes. I think that might be considered child abuse.

First Snow

2010-12-19T20:19:00.000-05:00

It doesn't take much (snow) to make a kid happy.

Pomegranates

2010-12-19T19:42:00.002-05:00

Mommy loves it when pomegranates are in season. We kids have learned to love them too! Although we need a little more practice with our picking technique. It gets quite messy!

AJ - 2 Month Update

2010-12-06T20:01:00.000-05:00

AJ here. I'm two months old now. I went to the doc earlier this week. I got two shots and a clean bill of health.

Height: 24.5 inches (off the chart)
Weight: 11lbs. 14oz. (75%)
I've shot up like a weed over the past month, so now I'm off the charts just like my brother and sister. In fact, my stats are almost exactly what Josie's were at this age.

Fun facts about me:

I'm a very easy baby, as long as you just put me down when I'm tired (which Grammy and G-Pa have a hard time doing :).

I love watching my brother and sister. And I'm always flashing them nice smiles. (They like watching me too!)
Josie and Josh love holding me and helping Mommy attend to me.

I don't do pacifiers, but I like to make fists and nibble on my knuckles, and the fatty part between the knuckles of my pointer fingers and thumbs.

I've been sleeping through the night for a couple weeks now, with the occasional "off-night" when I get up in the middle of the night. Bedtime is usually around 8pm, and wake-up is about 6am.

I'm a good napper too. I can sleep just about anywhere, and my sibs could be screaming and running around me and I don't care.
I've managed to dodge the cold germs of Josie and Josh (so far), which is nothing short of a miracle.

I absolutely HATE hoodies and hats. Here is me trying to gnaw the hood off my Patagonia bunting.
I'm not liking the bottle so much either, but Mommy and Daddy did manage to have two date nights without me (How dare they!). How could they leave a cutie like me?

I still have my blue eyes.
My hair is growing back.

Now stop taking my picture, the flash hurts my eyes.

Baby's First Thanksgiving

2010-11-30T19:56:00.000-05:00

Stay tuned for my 2 month update later this week.

Gingerbread Village

2010-11-29T19:43:00.000-05:00

The adults decided to give it a try too!

(Yes, we cheated. It came out of a box.)

I know, the kids' looks better!

Gingerbread House

2010-11-28T20:11:00.001-05:00

Ta-Dah!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-26T19:54:00.002-05:00

Thanksgiving is all about giving thanks for all the blessings that come from our Heavenly Father. Family is a precious gift from God. I hope you all have taken the time to enjoy yours.

(Cousin Breanna)

(Thanksgiving Storytelling)

More Thanksgiving pics to come

House Update

2010-11-20T20:04:00.002-05:00

Just an update for those who keep asking for pictures of the house. We still need to have the stone added where you do not see the siding. Also, the front door is not stained yet. The columns get added when the stone arrives.
Garage view....

Mommy and Josie are checking out the upstairs.

AJ

2010-11-17T20:39:00.000-05:00

AJ here again. I'm 8 weeks old now. Can you believe it? I don't just sleep anymore. I like looking at and listening to some new things. I've been hanging out on this playmat, and smiling,

and relaxing in my swing...
making faces in the mirror and watching the birdies.
But I still like to do a lot of sleeping.

Robot! Robot!

2010-11-16T19:42:00.000-05:00

Check out our robot costumes!

I see you!

Leaves!

2010-11-15T20:31:00.000-05:00

'Tis the season to rake leaves.

The Swirlie

2010-11-14T19:34:00.001-05:00

AJ here. I've got a bit of a problem. I seem to have lost something. My head has been awfully cold, and I can't figure out why...

until I saw these picture. See I've got plenty of hair here in the back, but check out the top.
Ahhhh! What happened to my hair?
I need some Baby Rogaine. Anyone have the phone number for Hair Club for Babies?

Our Little Guy

2010-11-12T20:11:00.003-05:00

Josh has become quite the little character. He's a bit of a jokester and his new favorite hobby is getting on Josie's nerves.

He loves to perch on his bed and play with his trains.
Ta-Dah! He can reach the light switches if he stands on his tippy-toes.
And... he likes spaghetti. (Spaghetti likes him too!)

The Three Amigos

2010-11-12T19:25:00.003-05:00

Here are some pics of us with our new sister.

Faces of AJ

2010-11-06T20:33:00.000-04:00

Please excuse the poor picture quality. They came off my phone, but they're still great!

All these smiles were for Daddy!

Happy Halloween!

2010-11-04T19:55:00.000-04:00

Check out our costumes for this year.

Here is AJ's Halloween outfit.

We didn't do any trick-or-treating, but we had a dress-up storytime at the library and we dressed up when we went to visit our friends at the assisted living home.

Here is a picture with one of our friends from the library. He is dressed up as Wolverine. Josh got really scared when he first saw him, so Wolverine took off his mask for the rest of storytime.

The Big 4

2010-11-02T19:26:00.004-04:00

Hey everybody. I'm four years old now.
This is me waking up on the day of my party. I'm so excited!
Check out my awesome birthday, courtesy of Grammy. Thanks Grams!

After I blew out the candles, I ate the legs.

Then I opened my presents. I got lots of good stuff, as usual. Here's me trying on some new dress-up stuff.

AJ slept through all the festivities.

I also went for my annual doctor visit. That was not so much fun, since I got 4 shots!

Doc says I'm doing good. I have mild, intermittent asthma which I take allergy and steroid medicine as needed. It's possible I could grow out of it, so we're all hoping that's the case. I don't have cough attacks everytime I run around anymore, so we remain hopeful.

I didn't do so well on the vision screen, so Mommy's trying to find an eye doctor who deals with 4 year olds. Here's my stats:

Height: 42 in. (90%)

Weight: 39.5 lbs. (75%)

Gone Pickin'

2010-10-28T20:41:00.000-04:00

We took another field trip to a fruit farm. We took a hayride out to the orchard to pick apples,

and then we got to pick a pumpkin and some gourds.

This is Josh's funny face. It totally cracks Mommy up!

And here are some pictures of me in the pumpkin patch.

Here is our bounty!

AJ - 1 Month

2010-10-27T21:08:00.001-04:00

Adelaide here. I'm one month old now. I went to the doc today. All the parts are running properly and I'm growing right on track.

Height: 22.5 inches

Weight: 10 lbs. 2.8 oz.

I'm a good baby, and Mommy has been enjoying having a newborn around the house again.

I still pretty much eat, sleep and poop, with some occasional crying. I'm only waking up once a night, which Mommy is thankful for.

Here's me in my first tub bath. I love bath time!

My big sister and brother love me lots. Josie likes to draw pictures of me.

And Josh is always asking to "Hold the baby?".

This is a big improvement from his initial comments about me ("Scary!" and "Its moving!").