Christmas Series #2

Christmas at home was fantastic. Us kids were up at the crack of dawn (well, maybe not that early). Gradually we got 'round to opening stockings and presents. It was a lot of fun. It was Hurley's (our Corgi puppy. Yes, he finally has a name!) first and Cornbread's second Christmas with us.

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The cookbook I received for my hope chest.

It's a pretty neat book.

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Big hugs!

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Parker with his deadly knives... OK,

maybe not deadly, but they're cool.

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Seriously, that gun of his is awesome.

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The girls with their presents from each other.

Christmas Series #1

And I thought one Christmas was fantastic. This year, we have three! The first one was at my grandparents' house (on my dad's side), with my grandparents and uncle, aunt, and cousins. It was an awesome time, and a lot of fun.

My uncle. See what fun we had?

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Contacting the Minnesotan cousins on Skype

so we can say the Luke 2 story.

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A very pleased Isaac.

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Parker's ready. Who dares to challenge him?

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My cousin and aunt.

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Food!!!

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The table where memories are made.

The First Snow of Winter.

It's the animals' Christmas Tree.

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Hava and puppy in the snow.

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Puppy lovin'.

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Such a good babysitter.

The Little Dah-ling!

So here's how it went. It was a Wednesday, about four P.M., our parents left us at home for a few minutes. Parker conjured up the idea that they were going to get the Corgi puppy Abby had spotted in the newspaper (I'm sitting by, thinking how deflated both Parker and Abby would be if by chance they came home without the puppy).

But lo and behold, they come home with this marvelously adorably cutest little puppy ever! He's seven weeks old as of yesterday, whines like his life depends on it, loves Hava - who is trying to figure out what on earth her owners were thinking - loves being cuddled. And did I mention he's the cutest puppy in all creation?!

But he is without a name right now. We're still working on that. I don't think Cornbread is all too thrilled with this little addition, either.

Late Happy Birthday.

Yeah. Um, maybe like three days late. But the conference was on the day of Ella's birthday. We celebrated her birthday with the usual cinnamon rolls (nothing can beat those), and the opening of gifts. Aside from candy, everything was Webkinz-related. So Ella had fun putting in all the codes into her account, reaching her Webkinz count to a whoppin' twenty (add one more today).

Ella's a great little sister. She's fun, she has a sweet smile, and she loves the outdoors. If given the opportunity, she would most likely go out bare-footed in the snow. She loves catching butterflies, she a great egg-collector (this being said by the one who smashed an egg in her coat pocket.... whoops). All in all, she's a wonderful sister. Happy birthday, Ella. All those Hondubeets and Hobby-Lobbys (fond pet worms) of the past would be proud! I love you!

SOS: Sufficiency of Scripture

The Sufficiency of Scripture conference was really cool. It had speakers like R.C. Sproul Jr., Ken Ham, and many others. There were a lot of people. I was able to meet three girls who have blogs I read, and John Moore (who made the movie the Widow's Might), and I was able to get R.C Sproul Jr.'s and Voddie Baucham's signatures for my dad (which was really cool, too). Our hotel room was right across from the conference, so all we had to do was walk right across the street.

One of the vendors.

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Upstairs. There were a few ballrooms where

some of the speakers were in speaking.

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The map that showed where people had traveled from

(the red markers are the ones that shows the people that attended).

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Everyone should end the day like that.

Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree.

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Abby's just the whole description of 'par-tay'!

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Simple Bits of the World.

Moss on a tree. After we had rain the previous day.

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Reflecting puddle.

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The sunset.

Thanksgiving Results.

Thanksgiving was awesome. Loads of food (with loads of leftovers), fun conversations with family, games, and of course desert a few hours after all the other food (the Marmalade Roll stood its trial very well, by the way)!

The Turkey. Beauty, ain't it?

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My grandpa preparing to cut the turkey.

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The traditional pumpkin pie. There was also apple pie,

cookies, and the Marmalade Roll.

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Um, I'm sure this isn't something you'd want to do after eating a lot.

But I guess it works for guys.

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The next day we enjoyed a day out of the house and walking around an outdoor mall.

While waiting for a table at the restaurant, we spotted a horse-drawn carriage.

Great and Gloriously Sticky.

Hopefully this Marmalade Roll will be as great and gloriously sticky (and yummy) as Mrs. Beaver's. It will stand trial tomorrow.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

80s and Stars.

So... yeah... I haven't been keepin' up too well on the bloggin' and such. There's not much to post 'bout. But I will try to do better. Here's some pictures of what's been goin' on:

Abby, getting ready for an 80s-themed partay.

And yes, my mom found everything that was needed,

except the shoes and earrings (which, by the way, can pass off for bracelets).

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The full look.

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And apparently we've taken to putting

Cornbread into captivity.

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I think she might prefer the dog....

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This is what you get when you zoom the camera right up close to a star,

maybe wiggle it around, too.

You just need to make sure it's a bright one.

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An art form I've recently tried. Anime' lets you exaggerate

eyes and hair, so my dad gets more hair. ;)

Once Upon a Time....

There lived a fluffy black and white creature who made his/her dwelling in a barn. The creature was discovered late last night, and to this day, that creature hasn't moved out. Twice it has evaded the hidden trap, persuading the resident cats to take its place.

But, he will meet the trap..... Hopefully....

Alright, fantasy storytime's over. We came home from our grandparents' house from an enjoyable evening passing out candy to kids in costumes and watching our dad and grandpa clear out a bedroom for carpet. We come home, and it's my turn to take care of the goats (lucky me), so I enter the barn, already expecting the nasty skunky smell (having smelled it that morning), so, I walk in, somewhat looking around for the visiting opossum, but to my surprise, I see no possum, but the big, poofy-furred black and white skunk.

So I turn on my heels and walk back out in a hurried manner, not bothering to turn out the light, and hurried to the house to tell of my find.

Thankfully I was able to get the goats taken car of through their little pen door at the side of the barn. And yes, we still have yet to catch/shoot the little stinker.

Everything is His.

And it's all Yours God, Yours God,

everything is Yours

From the stars in the sky

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to the depths of the ocean floor

And it's all Yours God, Yours God,

everything is Yours

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You're the Maker and Keeper,

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Father and Ruler of everything

It's all Yours.

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~Yours

~Steven Curtis Chapman

It's A Birthday, It's A Birthday!

Today is the day of my wonderful littler sister's birthday. Abby's given us lots of laughs, and we love her for it every single day. She knows how to take a joke, she's great with little kids, and she has an amazing sense of style (as seen in photo above)

Love you lots an' lots an' lots an' lots an' lost an' lots an' lots Abby! Happy Birthday!!!

Jewels Of Autumn.

Autumn is my favorite season. The leaves change their color from green to yellow, red, brown, and orange, the weather's just beautiful, too. Geese fly past the house on their way to a warmer home (I don't blame 'em), calling to their neighbors as they travel. Here's a few photos of Autumn here, and a few random pictures, too:

My mom's fire (it had gotten a bit out of hand). I'm guessing it was her

welcome home message to our goats, who came home from their date that same night.

And this piece of work is the reason we have so many cats.

As you can probably see, he is cross-eyed.

Yes, we have a cross-eyed cat, it's hilarious.

Hava. Isn't she such a sweetie?

Our house.

A bitty caterpillar.

Leaves on a bush near the house.

Trees across the field.

Golden tree leaves.

A sea of gold.

A scarlet leaf, Autumn's specialty.