Merry Christmas!

I kind of doubt that these mischievous elves will be sleeping much tomorrow night!!

May you all have a very

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Apron Extravaganza!

Well, I did it! After months of endulging in my love affair with my "Singer" I ended up with this flirty little aprons!!! I decided to practice and tune up some of my sewing skills by whipping up some aprons for my fabulous girlfriends. It was so fun to shop for fabric and plan out a different apron for each girl. Four of the girls in the photo are pregnant but they still look stunning in their strings!!
This weekend I sent 8 more aprons to a Christmas open house event and 5 of them were sold in the first 2 hours. What an encouragement! But all in all I loved doing it and girls, I hope you make lots of dinners and desserts with them and think of me everytime you throw them in the washer.
Rachel and Kara we missed you that night but you weren't forgotten!

Tis the Season

Christmas is right around the corner and that mean cozy fires (too bad we only have a corn stove in the basement),snow, Bing Crosby and traditional music, a good fatning Debbie Smucker "good cookie", and twinkling lights as you head down a dark hallway to bed. But of course more importantly the birth of our Lord and Saviour!!! I love it!

What a kick off for the season when we woke up to a sheet of white snow. The kids literally thought it was Christmas morning!

They woofed down their breakfast like I've never seen before (they are usually like molassas when they eat their breakfast) and headed out to shovel the driveway so dad was sure to get the car out when needed. (actually only had about 1/16" accumulation but whose counting)

I honestly think Breanne is barking orders at Treya and he is obviously not listening sooo...
She went for a shovel twice as big as his and tried to show him up! Go figure!

Then of course you can't have Christmas with out the decorating!! Breanne followed me around all morning and was such a big helper. Trey on the other hand thought that was a little too girlie and headed for the train set.

Have a very Merry Christmas everyone!!

An Abundant Thanksgiving

When the combine comes out it's usually a sure sign that Thanksgiving is right around the corner and that mom will get a much needed break from the kids. However, this year I believe we will be combining till Christmas time. We doubled our crop acreage this year and it's taking much longer to harvest then anticipated.
But we did break for a Thanksgiving day program that Trey and his preschool class gave.

What a turkey!

And we took another break for Thanksgiving day with the Beiler family which Arlan and I host every year at our home. It's always a full house but lots of fascinating table talk.

Arlan's cousin Ranae came later with her little girl Katelyn and Trey just absolutely adores her. It's a complete shock to Arlan and I as we watch him talk to her in hushed baby gibber and beg to hold her and kiss her. He spent the entire time bringing toys to show her and tried to teach her what sounds each of them make. This was all a far cry from when Bre was a newborn and he wanted nothing to do with her.

The year has flown by and the Lord has been good to us all. What more could we be thankful for then an abundant life together!

Many of you know my cousin and dear friend Kara since we've been close companions all of our lives. This past week she suffered a stroke while on a trip to Florida for vacation. My thoughts and prayers spill over for her and Clark as they endure another challenge in their lives together.

Kara is currently in Florida where she will most likely undergo rehab for her speech and movement of her arms and legs. She is several months pregnant but the doctors are certain the baby is fine and thriving. We are all praying for a healing in Kara's body and a fast recovery so she can return home to be with her daughter and in the comforts of friends and family.

For current information on her progress please check her blog at http://www.stoltzfushome.blogspot.com/

We love you Kara and Clark and our hearts are always with you and thinking of you.

Giving

Every year our church has a Christmas package project for the congregation to participate in and this year I decided to get the kids involved. I think it's so important to try to teach my kids the importance and blessing of giving as a way of life (something I am always learning too). What better way then when they are wee little ones.

The purpose of this project is to give a bundle of necessary and fun gifts to a child who may get nothing at Christmas. So a shopping we went. I let the kids have total decision making with the bundle. Trey bought gifts for a 4yr old boy and Bre picked gifts for a 2yr old girl.

They each picked a toothbrush & paste, soap, a shirt and pant outfit and a fun toy. They also chose a washcloth and bath towel to wrap the gift into a big bundle.

At the check-out counterTrey asked if he had enough money in his piggy bank to buy this all. It was touching to realize he was going to empty his bank for these gifts for others. (especially since he's anxiously been saving for a special choo-choo train for months)

I was so shocked at how excited the kids were to do this project and we all had a lot of fun doing it but more then that I hope the children that recieve these bundles will enjoy openning and playing with them and know that someone has been thinking and praying for them (specifically two little kids from Ronks, PA)

Crocs!! Who Knew!

My kids are like 90% of the kido population and they love their crocs. However, this fall has been tough on Bre's "light as a feather" shoes. A few weeks ago her light pink crocs got chewed up by our little puppy but no worries she had a back up, "bright pink" pair. Well the other night Arlan ran over them with the lawn mower (you see Bre is STILL running around barefoot because she hates to wear shoes and socks. Hence they were kicked off in the yard.)
So I went to good old Target the other day and bought these $5 knock off crocs and wouldn't you know it. ....she LOVES them!!! To death!!
In fact she won't take them off. (this is odd for a girl who NEVER, EVER wants to wear shoes) When Bre finally fell asleep for her nap today I peeked up and figured I'd find her still wearing those pink beauties and wouldn't you know it.....there they were!!

I'm still working on a way to get her to take them off for her evening bath. She argues that her crocs are dirty like her and need cleaned up....just like her.

It's Here!!

It has offically started. The start of an enormous Birthday season for our family. Between Arlan and I's family we have over 12 Birthdays within a 2 month period (10 of those being December Birthdays) My nephew Cash was the first one and go figure......he turned one!!My sister in law had Cashie's party at the corn maze and since the Coleman's own the Cherry Crest Corn Maize we had the whole place just to ourselves. It was loads of fun.
The kids played on the bouncy pillow while the boys played a competative game of whiffleball.
The kids have so much fun together and they all love to use their imaginations as they ran from one end of the farm to the other.

Just a handful of the Coleman and Beiler kidos!

and of they watched constantly for the Strasburg Railroad train to pass by!!

Fall is Fun!

Even though I know I will have a sore back and blistered hands I still love to rake leaves. It's one of the first signs that fall is here to stay. So, every year I tell Arlan to put his leaf blower away because the kids and I will tackle this project. However, the kids version of "helping" and my version of "Helping" are different. I raked the pile and they raked it back into the yard. And Charcoal, well Charcoal just tackled everyone into the leaves and stole my rakes.

I found the kids exhausted after all the leaves were picked up and taking a nap with Charcoal under the shade tree. Sooooo cute!

Then the next evening we carved our pumpkins. Notice the different "scooping" techniques that the kids chose to use.

Of course Breanne loves to get dirty so she uses her hands and Trey doesn't like "slimmy" messes so he uses the spoon. Shouldn't it be the other way around?


Arlan's pumpkin is the "traditional" one on the left. Trey wanted a doggie this year so his is in the middle and Bre wanted a kitty pumpkin but she insisted on picking the tiniest and toughest skinned pumpkin in the whole patch and we could only successfully cut out two little eyes for her cat and wouldn't attempt to cut off a finger getting the nose and whiskers done. Sorry sunshine maybe next year!

Fair Time

The kids experienced the full effects of the fair this season. The food, the rides, the crowds and the competitions!! Trey entered in the pedal tractor pull contest. The sled behind the tractor has weights on it so whoever gets their tractor the farthest is the winner. 25 kids can enter each age group and Trey didn't get a placement but he was definately in the top 6. He was so excited about the event. He couldn't stop talking about it all day then when the announcer called his name he took off running to the start line. He's growing up and slowly letting go of those "apron strings".
Bre loved watching the event and informed us that she's doing it next year. I think she could have gotten a placement this year if she would have been old enough. She's been pedalling our tractor here at home months before Trey was.

A Camping We Will Go, A Camping We Will Go...

Well, we decided at the last minute to take a end of the year camping trip with the kids this weekend and we all had a lot of fun despite the fact that it rained everyday. We didn't go far from home. Allentown has a little KOA site that's very kid friendly with lots of local attractions for the munchkins. Our kids loved dreary weather camping. It's the best type of camping because it's a lisence to get muddy, dirty and soaking wet.


They splashed each other in the puddles.

They went fishing (in those same puddles)

They went creek stomping.

And one evening the campsite offered a hayride for the kids.

About a 40 minute drive from our campsite was the Crayola Factory and this place was amazing. Me kids love arts and crafts and this was a factory devoted to all of that.

They had sidewalks to draw on.

Buildings to construct.

And lots and lots of crafts!

Then on the way home we hit the Roadside America Miniture Village. It's a huge train set with replicas of old buildings and landmarks right here in PA. Trey was in total amazement.


I love spending time with my family and it makes all the soggy weather worth it when you see them happy and smiling.

A Lasting Moment

Lately I've been finding that Trey and Bre have formed a closer bond then they did when they were little. I remember months ago dealing with sibling rivalry and feeling like a refuree all day long. But recently I've been finding the two of them playing together (especially laying on the floor and coloring together while talking about trains or princesses), telling stories together and having adorable reunions of hugs and kisses when they've been seperated for several hours. I've even found that they will sneek into the other siblings bed at night if they are scared and need a secure place to rest. It brings tears to my eyes as a mom and I pray that the friendship they share now will only grow stronger and more caring as they reach those pre teen and teen years.