SWAGGER WAGON

Hate to brag, but I totally have this van.......

Blessed

Baby Girl

Happy Birthday Claire Bear

Poor little thing, no one feeds her.... (not an exaggeration, she POLISHED the whole cake right off. Gone. Finito.)



What a cute baby! (Side Note: Can someone get that tired looking mom an espresso, or makeup, or SOMETHING???)




Happy Birthday sweet girl.

What happens with G-pop, stays with G-pop

Ummm Dad? An explanation please.....

All you need is Love.....

Look at her little finger pointing for more...



Pressly being so careful..



Thomas being very particular with his cookie adding just the right amount of frosting...





"like this Mom, let me sketch out the design for you...."






Soph eating a big sugary cookie, isn't that what it's about???








Very pleased with himself!





Working diligently





Most of the kiddies...




The littlest member of the club...8 day old Andrew with his Valentines pants on..

Yes Mom, Can I help you??

Grandma B's Visit

During the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season I received a card from my grandmother which she had inscripted on the inside " I hope to see all (or some) of you on January 14 at the airport at suchandsuchatime"...in other words she was coming! I had little laugh about the way she was checking whether we were around or not. Only Grandma B would write a letter to check instead of a phone call, email, or through my mom. Gotta love it.


We had such a nice time drinking coffee every morning in our jammies, folding and refolding the kids drawers (read:she did it), organizing junk (again: all her and she LOVES it and ASKS), and just living in my life for a few days...


Here are a few pictures from her visit.

Every morning she would make Emme and Levi their own coffee milk. (mostly milk with just a titch of coffee to color the milk). They were in heaven.

Emme wearing an Austrian dirndl that was her great Aunt Dorothy's when she was a little girl. I love the sentiment.

Emme, Gram and I also went to a Tea House for a luncheon and to sip some tea like "real ladies." Em told me more than once to get my elbows off the table too. Yipes.

Claire was being a helper here. Grandma would fold something and put it away, while Claire would promptly rip it out of the dresser..so proud of herself. Turkey.

Thanks for the wonderful visit Gram. I loved every minute of it. Come and visit again soon. Like next month. Levi's drawers are already a mess. Love you.

miss abigail

I've been fortunate enough to be taking some pictures of family and friends this past fall/winter. Here are a couple of my faves that I took of our friends little girl Abby this past weekend. I hope you like them Becky! I'll send you a CD of the finished ones.

December Entry Part 1

What a busy, exhausting, filled to the brim month! I love the whirlwind of activities, and I tried to purpose in my heart to just soak more of it in this year. To make more of an effort to be present and ENJOY. Enjoy friends. Enjoy family. Enjoy food. (yeah!) Enjoy the gifts that God has given me and be thankful for his ultimate gift of sending his Son to be born into this world.

This year was supposed to be a "Kale" Christmas, but since Dad is overseas, we chose to stay close to home and go to Alaska in the summer when the weather is nice! ((fingers crossed)) We had the privilege of staying with Josh and Heather for the first part of our stay, and then with Chad's grandparents Roger and Norma the last part. The kids had so much fun with their cousins getting to play with them all the time at Josh's and Chad and I enjoyed getting to visit with Grandma and Grandpa and talking basically picking their brain about "life" and their memories together from childhood. I am so thankful for my extended family!

Here are some snippets from our activities from December!



The Ugly Sweater Party. I think this picture of Jeremy, Chad, and Jon speaks volumes of their personalities... (this one is for you Dad)


The girls...Chad liked Candee's sweater the best because she just looked like you could cuddle up to her and get a glass of milk and some warm cookies.... (I'm pretty sure that I saw his grandmother wearing this exact same one at Christmas.)





Levi working very hard on the cookies he was supposed to be making for his daddy. I think only a 1/2 of a slobbery Santa made it home to Chad..




Speaking of Santa, Heather Marie worked painstakingly on this Santa. He was gorgeous I tell you.


Heather Marie's mom, Meg. She is such a gem. Every holiday that we visit Washington, Meg is always inviting us over to some sort of party. All of them Cookie Parties now that I think of it; my kind of girl.




This is my best bud. She was always checking up with me, "Hey B, you gonna eat??" Hey B this, Hey B that....what a little personality she is...

I know you will all be waiting on pins and needles for the second post so stay tuned! And Happy New Year! Time to watch the ball drop.....

What I'm Thankful For

First Thanksgivings

Cosmic Bowling with the fam

Naps after a full Turkey belly

Sweet Nieces who take the time to play with their adoring younger cousins

Thoughtful nephews who color pictures for his tiniest baby cousin

Helping hands to make Thanksgiving dinner so yummy (thanks to my assistant for the posed hand)

Relaxing reads afterwards

Family

Halloween Sweeties

Let me see that Tootsie Roll!! (It was stuck in my head all day; she had the dance moves and everything.:)

Feeling much better! Thanks for your prayers.

"Which way to the Pacific??"- Amelia the Aviator

My Cuties

Bathtime

Poor little Bubba soaking in his oatmeal bath. He's actually doing much better.:)


Waiting patiently....err, not so much...




Now that's better.. don'tcha just want to squeeze her?

Over the River and Through the Woods

excepppppttttt, everyone came to me this time! I had the pleasure of hosting my Aunts Ramona and Debbie, and Grandma Kale (known as Grandma George to the kids) this past week.



(The timing couldn't have been better for their visit, because the morning that they left, Levi broke out in Chicken Pox. Or Chicken Bawks. Or Chicken Bites. Etc.etc.etc... He's obviously been kissing to many hens on the sly. Anyway, back to 1986. I mean, 2009. Yes, Chicken Pox still exist folks. Can you believe it? Ah well, that's another post. Back to the visit with the fam.)



Anyway, these gals are gals after my own heart. They love to go, go, go and do, do, do; we are definitely related. Some of the highlights included a Scarecrow Stroll through the Botanical Gardens, picking apples at a local organic farm, making applesauce and fruit leather (hello Mrs. Jacobson), roasting pumpkin seeds, having an early Thanksgiving dinner complete with learning how to make "real" gravy (I will never eat it again after seeing it made), buying a 20 lb. sunflower head so I could roast the seeds, a visit to the pumpkin patch and petting zoo, and of course a little "antiquing". I had such a nice time with them and so did the kids. Thanks for your visit guys! Here's a few random photos, because what is a post without pictures??



Aunt Debbie looking like she's up to something. Probably killing some flies.



Pumpkin Seeds. Yum-o.


Thanksgiving (sorry you missed it)

Homemade applesauce

Great Grandma George with the girls

Emme

Can this baby be a whole hand already?

I tell you 40 times a day to put the baby down, she's not Superman. But you love babies and can't help but want to squeeze her. I love that about you and I hope you become best friends. You put on wearing your "church clicky shoes" even when wearing sweats because they make you feel pretty. You love to put on lip gloss,eat marshmallows, dress up, hit your brother because he's a pest then play "baby octopus" with him for hours, and snuggle in your cat sleeping bag every morning. Riding horses seems to have become one of your favorite things to do at preschool. And Josie the horse loves you. You have a sensitive spirit and I hope you keep that forever. I love you Emme Kate. Happy 5th.