Freddy our Elf is back!

Freddy our Elf came back this year. The kids were so excited to see him again and this year he was full of mischief!

One morning they found Freddy sitting in Anastasia's Christmas tree. He was trying to look innocent but the dry erase marker in his arms gave him away......

He drew funny faces all of the kid's pictures!!

Another morning he was found perched high up on a window ledge, holding toilet paper.....

He tp'd the playroom while the kids were sleeping!

He used all of our salt to make a snow angel!

Some mornings the kids found that Freddy did leave some treats:

His note said that he left some "kisses" for them under the mistletoe.

This particular morning we caught Freddy trying to roast some marshmallows. He left the kids some hot chocolate, marshmallows and candy canes.

Other various hang outs around the house:

This is where we found him Christmas Eve morning. That night the kids were sad as they said good-bye to Freddy till next year!

Jadon is ONE!

Happy, Happy Birthday to our dear sweet Jadon!

We celebrated Jadon's first birthday with friends and family and of course it wasn't complete until he got to have his first sweets!

Jadon is our happy, easy going, Skillet loving, mouth clicking, fast moving little man! He is adored by his brother and sisters and they are always looking out for and trying to help him (except of course when it comes to dirty diapers).

It was a honey of a day!

Anastasia made the cakes.

Happy Birthday to Jadon!
He wasn't too sure at first but once he got a taste he dug right in!

Joshua's Baptism

What a glorious day! Joshua has been asking a lot of spiritual questions about salvation for about 6-8 months now and two weeks ago he made the decision to accept Jesus Christ as his Savior!
"You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus."
(2 Timothy 3:14-15)


Jay had the awesome privilege to be the one to baptize Joshua.






"But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen."2 Peter 3:18



So our Thanksgiving weekend ended with two wonderful birthday celebrations...Joshua's new birthday in Christ and Jadon's 1st birthday.

Thanksgiving

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

It was a quiet Thanksgiving this year. Not quite all the excitement of last year with bringing home a new baby! We of course started our day with watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and then we began cooking. Jay and I are both big on traditions and I always think about what memories our kids are going to have about the holidays when they are grown.

Both sets of parents/grandparents came over for dinner but they both left quite early as well.

So we decided to get out our Christmas tree and start putting it up. The kids were so excited as they opened ornaments from previous years and the memories came back to them. Natasha carried her Dora ornament around most of the night! We only got the lights on the tree and then decided to wait till the next day to finish up.

I needed to go take a 3 hr. nap so I could be up and ready to hit the stores at mid-night for Black Friday! Jay and I both went and I have decided that I can go at 4 or 5 am after some sleep but it was not worth going at midnight and being out all night. There was nothing we just had to have, we just like to "people watch" and let me tell you there are ALL kinds of people out on that night!! ;)

Our "Visit" to China

The past two weeks we stamped our passports and went to China. It was a whirl wind trip learning about the people, geography, animals and language. Each morning we took about an hour for our study of China. We are using a compilation of things I came up with and we are also using Expedition Earth, put together by Erica at Confessions of a Homeschooler.

The love learning about the animals and learning how to draw one. We use the Draw Write Now books. To learn about a child from the country we use the book A Child Like Me

On of my new favorite books is "Window on the World" It is a book that gives info on countries around the world and how to pray for the people there. It is a great resource.
At the end of the two weeks they made Chinese lanterns and we had our Chinese dinner.

We made homemade egg drop soup and rice (lol) and we bought and served egg rolls and pot stickers.

Next stop, South Korea.....