Helping

We have all gotten involved in getting wood for the stove. One warmer evening the kids all went out and helped Aaron. Haley thought she was big stuff doing exactly what her siblings were doing! There were many places Aaron went and cut up wood. It was all free so all he had to was cut it and haul it. Luke, his dad, and several others helped haul it to the house and then the kids were able to help stack it. We are thankful the Lord provided the wood for us!

Our Wood Stove

Aaron installed a new wood stove outside the house this past fall. It was supposed to go inside the house, but our stairs to the basement were too steep to carry the stove down. He had to drill a hole in the foundation of the house which took a lot of time. It also left behind lots of dust! He finally got through and pushed the concrete piece out.

He built the house surrounding it and put a door on it so that it is all enclosed. He has been trying to fine tune it through the winter months. It has been doing a great job of keeping the house warm. I have had to learn to keep the fire going when Aaron has been gone.

Here is a picture of the finished product. If you look closely you can see the smoke coming out of the chimney! We are so thankful the Lord provided the funds for this project. Thank you to all who helped in every way!

French Toast Sticks

Cailin received a cookbook from Grandma YooHoo for Christmas. She has been begging me to help her make something so we decided on the French Toast Sticks. Kristen and Cailin both got in on the action and mommy supervised. They were so excited to eat them when they were finished. They both said they were "yummy."

Christmas at our House

Here are a few pictures from Christmas at our house. We had the video camera out when Luke read the Christmas story and then when I read "What God Wants for Christmas," but we forgot to get the camera out so these were all taken after the fact.

This is the Fisher Price nativity set that we got for Haley. It is so cute. It plays "Away in the Manger" and lights up when push the angel on top. She can pick out Baby Jesus which is cute.


Cailin got a scrapbooking/cardmaking kit. I like to do this as a hobby and now Cailin has her own supplies. She has already made several cards.

Kristen got a keyboard which she can hook up to the TV and learn to play. Cailin has started taking piano lessons so now Kristen can "practice" too. They also got new jammies and robes. The girls thought they were so grown-up with their new robes!


Luke got a deer hunting game that hooks into the TV. I think maybe I should have gotten one for Aaron also. He played it more than Luke!

Merry Christmas--a little late!

Merry Christmas to all! This was our Christmas card for this year. We hope you all had a joyous Christmas focusing on the true reason for the season!

I'm Back!

Boy, it has been awhile since my last post. Many things have happened during my 2 month break. Eventually, I'll get caught up.

We had a great Christmas and were able to visit with most of our family. These are pictures of most of the cousins on my side. (In both of the pictures the boys are doing something funny. I guess they aren't fond of the idea of being the only boy cousins!)