Hospital Christmas

It has been a rough week for us especially with Christmas just hours away. Trey got sick with the stomach virus last Thursday and unfortunately it got so bad that he got severly dehydrated and couldn't keep even the slightest drop of water down. By the second day of getting sick he started getting very weary, and unresponsive so the doctors admitted him to the hospital. Within 36 hours he was much better but it was heartbreaking seeing him in so much pain and discomfort.

We are happy to have him home just in time for Christmas and he is doing much better!

Everyone have a healthy and happy Christmas holiday!!

The Big 2!

It's amazing how the time flies. My little girl just turned the big kid 2!

Breanne it completely and totally smitten with kittens right now so it was only proper that I go overboard with a Hello Kitty theme this year! She also knows one color and it is PINK! So all the food, ice cream and drinks were...........Pink! (Those of you who know me, know I am not a best friend to the color pink but you'll do anything for your kids.)

Breanne's aunt LaLa (Arlans baby sister) got her a toy, pet kitten with a carry cage and all; and she absolutely loves this thing. She's been toting it around everywhere. She even took it to the doctors office today and showed it off to everyone.

Anyway, Bre is growing up in so many ways. In her talk and in her actions. It's sad to see my baby not a baby anymore but I look forward, with much anticipation, to each day of this next year. She is precious to us in so many ways and miss her as a 1 year old but love her as a 2 year old.

Come On Ring Those Bells!

Trey had his first experience performing in a Christmas program. He joined the hand bell choir and he did a really good job. When the director holds up a paper that's the same color as their bell they ring away. Trey knows all his colors really well so he got the hang of it really fast. The only challenge was getting him to stand there after each song. When the clapping started he thought he was done and put his bell down and took off each time. Oh well it makes a good memory anyway.

WOW!!!

We're sooo Excited!!!

We just want to SCREAM!!!

Christmas is coming, Christmas is coming!!!

We put up our tree several days after Thanksgiving and if you look closely there was a new addition to the decorating this year. A TRAIN!! It was a big hit with both Trey and Bre. They spend at least and hour every day playing with it and watching the smoke pour out the smoke stack. (it's only a matter of time before they discover the whistle switch.)

We decorated not only our tree but a big gingerbread house. They both LOVED it. Trey was so detailed in his placement of the candies and Bre was so detailed in the order that she ate them. All in all the house looks yummy!!!

Buckaroo

This is just a big yeehaw to all you Wyomians out there!

Whoever wrote the song, "Momma, don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys..." forgot how cute they looked all dressed up!

Leaves are Falling Everywhere!

Fall time is by far one of my favorite season. It's crisp and cool and the colorful leaves just explode from our trees. The kids love to be outside and the leaves are their all time favorite. These photos were from the first day of raking and we were all in the spirit of "playfulness" but by the third raking day mommy and daddy's leaf spirit deminished a tad bit. Okay a whole lot.




Daddy needed a small break after the first 45 minutes and the kids instinctively started burying him with the surrounding leaves.














Looking pretty!

New Editions

Well, we've had several new editions to our house and family this last week. My sister-in-law had her second child, a little boy, Cash Emery. He's cute as a button and much to our suprise Trey can't get enough of him. I think he held him about 4 or 5 times during the 20 minutes visit at the hospital. He told me several days ago that he wants one of those babies like we saw at the hospital. Hmmm...I just smiled.

The other edition to our home was 4 little tiny kittens. They actually just showed up one day and we were totally confused because all our barn cats are "boys"! Anyway, much to our suprise again, Breanne became attached to them instantly. Whenever we are outside she seeks them out and just walks around carrying one at all times. She has even tried to sneek a few in the house.

I just asked Trey what the kitties name is and he said, "Drugger". I have no idea where he pulled that one from.

It's About Time!

Well, as some of you know, our backyard has been nothing but a big dirt pile for MONTHS!! Arlan worked so many hours to get our rock wall finished and it looks georgous!! We finally finished everything last weekend. Planting, seeding and mulching. My back hurts and I've got a few callouses but it was all worth it.

Jon Chappell did the design and the kids, as you can see from above, helped with the physical labor as did Arlan and I.

Below is the pictures of the semi finished look. The rock wall and steps, and some of the flower/plant beds that we landscaped with.

I can't wait for next spring to arrive and see all that hard work bloom into vibrant colors and a cozy backyard!!

Boo-Boo

The cutest thing happened to me today with my son Trey. I totally lost my voice last evening and when I talked it was mostly squeeky noises. Trey was very confused by the change in my voice and wondered what was wrong.
To make it simple I told him that my throat hurt like a boo-boo. Minutes late Trey returned with a bandaid for my throat saying, 'here's a bandaid for your boo-boo, it will be all better now mommy'. He even came back a few minutes later asking if I was all better. Maybe he'll be a doctor some day.

Flower Power

Lately I've been finding Breanne roaming over to my flower beds for an afternoon of "picking and plucking".

She would pluck a bunch and smash them in her hand so as not to lose any of them. She steps right up to me with a smile and hands me the remains of a beautiful white flower and says, 'Thank You!'

Touched by the fact that this is the very first gift that Bre has actually handed over to me I run in and fill a glass with water, dump the crumbled buds and stems in and watch them float around thinking, "how precious, she must love me!"

The Horror!

Arlan and I threw a little birthday party for Grey & Lydia (our neice and nephew on the Beiler side) since Lydia's mommy was on bedrest and Darlene was vacationing here in PA and didn't need the stress of organizing. All went as planned...........

Now, those of you who know me well know that I can be a bit of a "freak" about germs, and dirt and messiness. So when all 10 of the birthday kids decided to go out back and play I seemingly forgot about the gigantic dirt pile left from our landscaping project. And believe it or not our dainty, precious little daughter Breanne got the, "hands down", dirtiest!! I just sat out back with my mouth hanging open trying to figure out how to get her cleaned off without leaving a trail of dust and dirt the whole way to the bathroom. In the end about 7 of the 10 kids took baths at our house before the left they were that dirty

This dress never got totally clean!

It's so fun to watch Trey and Breanne play nicely together because there are more times than not that they pick or tease each other to death. But recently they have had a ball reading to each other. Breanne turns the pages and babbles while Trey narrates each picture through the book.

Yesturday Arlan and I bought a pack of Strawberry Shortcake books for Bre to read through and Trey LOVES them. He say Strawberry is his new favorite thing. Not sure if we should be nervous or not. At least the book he's reading is "Strawberry Shortcake Plays SOCCER."

They are both so cute aren't they?

These are the Days!

The Beilers and the neighbor amish family built a pond out past our steer pasture several years ago and our kids just love swimming in it during the hot summer days. It's nice because Arlan will take his lunch break out there too and play with them while he cools off.

Some times I think I'm such a homebody. The kids and I don't go out very often and I feel that I'm not giving my kids a full range of experiences. But as I leaf through my pictures I realize what a blessing I have just living on the farm. It's amazing all the things they see and experience right here in their own backyard.

This morning we woke up to find our cow had a baby calf. The kids just loved watching this calf wobble around looking for it's mommy. Breanne and Trey are seeing more and learning more then I realize.

Ahoy Matie!

The Stumpf family invited our family down to the bay house for the day and it was fabulous. The weather was perfect for swimming and boating and relaxing. This was the first boat ride for Trey and Bre and they loved it. Trey was smiling from ear to ear but Bre fell asleep within five minutes of going out.

Who knew they made life jackets so small!

Here's my nephew Brady, my dad, Trey, my nephew Parker, Me and Breanne getting ready for round two.

They had a nice swimming area next to the docks for the kids to build sand castles and jump the tiny waves made from the boat going in and out. They loved it!

Home Sweet Home

These are the newest editions to our "home". Arlan bought 15 goats to keep the pastures down. These goats are so tame and are completely drawn to the kids. I think they just like nibbling on their clothes.

I had a great time planting flowers for the first time on the farm. They are enormous now and I'm training Bre not to pick every bloom, just the dead ones.

Here's our farmhouse. Still needs lots of love and care.

Cuties

Our kids would eat, sleep and play outside if they could. Here's some photos of them playing in their favoite spots.

Trey loves to read books so much he even brings them outside. He's great at looking at the pictures and making up the stories, even repeating them the way mommy or daddy read them.

What an absolutely adorable little girl.

Unfortunately our "darling" princess discovered a new hobby. Picking her nose. The more we scold her for it the funnier she thinks it is. Sometimes she will walk around for 5 minute with her finger just stuck up there...smiling the whole time. She's a hoot!