Happy 13th Birthday, Evan!

January 23, 2001

9:02 a.m.

6lbs/12oz/18in

Approximately 12 months

Thanking God for you Evan, and so excited to see how He is going to use your life.

Your tender heart and motivated spirit are an inspiration!

Kindergarten

13th birthday!

January 2014 - Part 1

This has definitely been a snowy winter! Christmas vacation was extended by 3 days thanks to the polar vortex, and most of the kids were beyond thrilled to be back after almost 3 weeks off.

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Sledding - and lots of it!

A new favorite family game for cold winter nights.

Ice skating with church friends

Crafts at the library with school/church friends

Our deer was processed and produced 118 lbs of meat!  I made my first venison roast attempt last night, and it was a hit. The recipe from Pinterest was easy and bursting with flavor. 

The kids were so excited to finally eat their own hunt!

This weekend is snowy and cold, and perfect for relaxing with the family and enjoying our Christmas decor for another day or two.  Cause ya know, after January it'll be a little rednecky!  :-)

Have a great weekend!

Let.It.Snow.

Hasn't this been a beautiful day in Northwest Ohio! About an hour on the sledding hill was all the kids could take. Winter is here, and we're loving it!!!

Happy New Year 2014!

We celebrated New Year's Eve at the school commons with a few friends from church.  We had snacks, played games, and prayed in the new year.  It was a great way to finish 2013!

On New Year's Day, we slept in, ate breakfast in shifts, and played Monopoly Empire.  We had lots of laughs learning the new-to-us version of Monopoly with the kids.  In the afternoon, we headed to Mad River Mountain to meet a bunch of cousins and an aunt and uncle for some skiing.

It's Greg and Jonathon, so I'm told...lol

Christmas 2013 Part 3

Week 3...

Scenes from Christmas week

Looking like Christmas at home!

The Advent messages were so meaningful.

Always fun with the girls in the kitchen!

 

Every year, my mom's side of the family gathers at either Thanksgiving or Christmas. For the last few years, a cousin and his wife have opened their pizza shop for all of us on the holiday, and then we have spent the rest of the time squeezed into my grandmother's house. Circumstances have changed a bit this year, with my cousin relocating out of the Cincinnati area and leasing out his shop. So, for the first time in forever, the family gathering moved to a new location. They all came to us! Our school facility was quite adequate for us, and the church board consented to allow us to use it for a few days. My mom rented 3 sectional sofas, and it became quite the cozy little hangout! There were close to 50 of us. We sure missed those who couldn't come this year, but maybe they'll be able to come next year.



 

 

At one point I walked over to check on the littles,
and found my daughter airborne.  ;-)

 

So much food!

Sawyer doing what some others only wished we could do.  :-)

Love my cousins.

Happy Kait

We were so happy to have my cousin, Janan (left), from Germany.
Her husband received clearance for their family to come back to the States
just a few weeks before Christmas, and it was a nice surprise!

I think this is 1/3 of the great-grandchildren

Almost 1/2 of the grandchildren.  I'm amazed that
this picture turned out, given the foolishness
taking place on the back row...lol...

5/6 of the children were able to make it this year.  My grandmother
was tired and had been experiencing some physical issues,
but she thoroughly enjoyed the family time.  She also enjoyed
being able to tuck away in the apartment at mom's every night.  :-)

And because we were actually at home on Christmas morning, that's when we opened our gifts as a family!  I didn't take many pictures because I wanted to video the kids.  Here are a few...

A new outfit for Kit

A new red-haired doll for our red-haired doll :-)

A few weeks ago, I told Greg that it is hard to find dark choc
Reese's cups.  In typical Greg fashion, he ordered me a case
off of Amazon. What a sweetie.  :-)

 

And because we do not have wifi at the house, we waited till the
guests left and we landed at McD's so that everyone could
enjoy their new Christmas gifts (or play basketball).