Miss Abbey Talking

Easter Celebration

Christ the Lord is risen today...Alleluia!

We had a lovely Easter dinner in celebration of Christ's redeeming work on the cross, securing our salvation.    What a gift!  Of course the kids got lots of goodies throughout the day, were super-sugared-up and had a little egg hunt after dinner.  I thought they behaved quite well considering! 

Lisa was Abigail's assistant. It actually appears in this picture as though Abigail understood what she was supposed to do!  

Tanner and Abigail had a head start, and then the big boys joined in:

Beth and David Printy came bearing gifts--Easter baskets for the kids and a beautiful hydrangea! 

Dad, Maynard and Uncle Jim saying "Cheese" and "Fuzzy Pickles!"

Lisa was hogging Abigail! :)  This pic was taken by Brandon.

Papa with his little fan club crawling all over him!

Brandon with Tanner and Kole.

"Pee-Boo!"

I hit the timer button and we got this picture in one try!

Our little monkey. :)

Cutie cuddling her bunny.

Josiah's Cowboy Party

We had Josiah's 6th birthday party yesterday, with eight of his cowboy friends.  Altogether, we had sixteen adults and twelve children, and I think I've solved a problem in our house:  we need to carpet all of the floors, walls and ceilings, and then these parties wont cause so much noise pollution!  This one was a record breaker in decibel levels.  Kudos to all of the brave adults who attended and lasted through to the end! 

Getting ready to start!

Josiah, Casey and Jackson

First off, we had a bean bag toss competition.  Kole and Jack won.  Benjamin chose to take his turn crouching on the ground. :)

Next, we did a Pin-the-Tail-on-the-Donkey game.  Boys are so competitive, but they seemed to get more of a kick pinning their tail in funny places than trying to win this one!  Mathias and Casey got the prizes for this game.

Then we had a stubborn pinata that provided lots of excitement, first for not breaking easily, and also because Josiah took a bat to the face (after many, many warning to back up).  Not a big deal when the bat is made of foam and rubber. :)

For lunch, we served hot dogs, beans and coleslaw.  The kids ate out of pie tins around the campfire.   I was going to lead some cowboy songs, but Abigail decided she wanted to eat too, so we sat in the back room together for several minutes.

Josiah and Benjamin helped Grandma make these Sheriff Badge cookies before the party, freeing me up to prepare everything else. THANK YOU, GRANDMA! :)

I found this easy cake plan, which came out looking pretty cool!  By far the easiest birthday cake to-date.

Cake time!  Here is everyone singing to the birthday boy!  

Most of the adults stayed huddled in the living room during the party. :)

The birthday boy showing off his new rifle cap gun from Daddy.

Opening presents -- THANK YOU for all of the wonderful gifts!

Nana enjoyed watching Abigail's antics during the party and coaxing her into a snuggle. 

Nana and Auntie Linda

As soon as the presents had been opened, we shuttled all of the boys outside for some "gun fighting."  Ah, quiet! :)

Abigail was a little party animal!  She loved the whole day.

She's our little scrounger, trotting around looking for food.

After everyone left, the kids enjoyed using the empty dining room to play with their new Western play set from Uncle Danny and April!

Uncle Danny brought Willy, too!

Abigail loves doggies.

Abbey trying to get Willy's attention. :)

It was a lot of fun, a LOT of noise, and a big relief to be done with! :)  The kids had a great time, but we're all pretty tired today.  Right now we're all laying on the couches watching "Zorro" episodes, Josiah's new obsession.

Package from NC

The boys were very excited to receive Josiah's birthday package from Papa and Grandma, Great Grandma and Aunt Emily!  Thank you for all of the generous gifts and for the wonderful treat for Josiah to get something in the mail. )

Bangin' on Pots and Pans

Disney on Ice

Benjamin enjoying the first few minutes of the show!

Josiah talked non-stop throughout the production, asking questions and making observations. :)

I promised to share photos from our very exciting "Disney on Ice" experience on Sunday...so here they are!  We all had so much fun!  Even Abbey was on the edge of her seat for the whole show.  It was beautifully done and entertaining for all ages.  We were proud of our children for not fussing when we didn't purchase the $12 cotton candy or $15 snow cones.  What a racket!

Abbey's cute little pig-tail silhouettes.

Abigail was very intense about watching the show!  She LOVED it!

Handsome Josiah.

Benji and Daddy.

The boys' favorite moment: when Captain Hook was swallowed by the crocodile!

Abbey and Grandma.

Thank you, Grandma!  We had a blast!!!

And here's a little video to give you an idea of how the kids were enjoying their experience:

Cute Videos

Here are the boys being dare devils and Abigail enjoying the show.

Here is a video by future film-maker Ben.

Our Final Christmas Celebration

Our final Christmas celebration was on New Year's Day.  We had just arrived home Saturday night from a three-day-long trek up north.  We stopped in Delaware for a night with my brother Matthew's family, then a  night in Jersey City with seminary friends Josh and Sarah, with a stop at cousin Vandy and Lynn's house in Philly on the way.  In Jersey City, the boys got to take a thrilling subway ride!  Then on Saturday, we also stopped for a very quick visit with my brother Jonathan in Massachusetts.  I have really been struggling to recover from our journey.  It's been six days and I'm still worn out.  

So, anyway!  Sunday afternoon we went over to Uncle Jim and Aunt Linda's house for a delicious steak dinner and to exchange gifts with them and also my Nana.  I took a couple cute videos there:  

 Abigail enjoyed showing off her new walking skills, with Papa's help, and the kids loved all of their new toys!  Josiah and Benjamin have really been enjoying their new constellation turtles at bedtime, and Abbey's little kitchen was a big hit with all three:

I think that wraps up our Christmas adventures.  Anyone else still have their decorations up?  I'm a little sad to take them down....so I haven't yet. Maybe this weekend. :)

Birthday Videos

Here are some videos from Ben's birthday party on Saturday:


Can we have present time now? (1 minute into the party)



That's right, everyone gang up on Miss Ruth!



Happy Birthday, Big Ben! Take one.



Happy Birthday, Big Ben! Take two.

Abbey working the crowd.

Abbey's first steps!

Abigail took her first steps Monday night! I was sitting on the side of the boys' bed with Abbey standing between my legs, when she just took off walking like she'd been walking for weeks already, probably making it 9-10 steps before she stopped and stood still. We all got very excited, of course, and tried to keep her momentum going but instead gave her a case of the giggles that resulted in jelly legs. So cute! I missed her first steps, but this is a little video of us trying to get her to take some more.

Survival Skill #1: Forgiveness - video

http://www.harvest.org/media/

If you go to this link, go to page 2 and find 8/21/11, you can download an audio version of James MacDonald's sermon on forgiveness or watch the video. Watch the video! There were several sermon illustrations and examples I didn't include in my notes because it doesn't translate to words with the same impact. MacDonald is a very dynamic speaker. There is some singing for the first 11 minutes if you want to skip ahead.

Abigail is One!

Our Abigail turned one October 4th! This is a cute little video of her I made a couple weeks ago:

We had her birthday party this past Sunday, with my family and with Logan's family, via Skype! It was very cool to share Abigail's celebration with dear ones so far away. Here are a couple pictures of the princess with her cupcake, and then a video:

I took these pictures on Monday of Abigail looking out the window at her "Bubbas" playing with their neighbor friend Ashton:

On Tuesday, her actual birthday, we got to turn her seat around! Very exciting new perspective for Cutie. Logan ended up bringing the kids in for pizza at the Rocktide that night, and the waitstaff sang happy birthday with a sparkler in chocolate ice cream. Very sweet!

Yesterday was Abigail's one year check-up. Her growth flat-lined since her 9 month check-up, so she was finally on her growth chart. Dr. Feder said she was the average size of a nineteen month old. She got two live shots yesterday, so last night was miserable for her and for Logan and I. She even threw up at 1 a.m., then I put her in bed with us and she was sweating like a pig in her fleece pajamas all snuggled up to me. So she woke up at 3 a.m. wide awake and playful, and it took me almost two hours to get her back to sleep, mostly with her crying it out in her crib. Yuck! :(

When we got home from the Doctor's office, Abigail had a package full of goodies from her Papa & Grandma, Great Grandma and Great Aunt Emily! The kids were so excited. Abigail especially seemed to enjoy her new mug, which she kept holding up to her ear and talking to like a phone. Thank you everyone for the generous birthday gifts!

It is very hard to believe that a year has already passed. Abigail is a lot like me, but not as 'easy-going and compliant,' according to Grandma. I call her "persnickity." She is mostly giggly and happy until you take something away from her, and then it is instant rage! Which is just cute in a one year old. When she's smiling, she reminds me of her Great-Grandma Small. Happy Birthday, Cutie Pie! We love you!!!