Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. My family enjoyed a very laid back afternoon of gifts and games. Hope you enjoy the photos.
Till next year - Jennifer

I know Christmas is just a couple days away. However, I also know you guys all know what a procrastinator I am. So here are some photos of the days leading up to Thansgiving and the family enjoying Thanksgiving time together.

You will notice an adorable puppy included it these shots. Her name is Zoey and she is an English Labrador who is now 13 weeks old. Yes she is beautiful and YES I am crazy. So now I am trying to potty train a puppy and Mia at the same time. LOL

Enjoy the photos and have a wonderful Christmas!
God Bless you and your family.
Jennifer

What a fun afternoon we had at Fruitridge Orchard. So many fun things to do and Amelia's first real trip to pick out a pumpkin. The kids had a blast in the corn maze having corn kernal fights with their Dad. Mia loved eating apples strait from the tree. Olivia and Izzy enjoyed feeding the animals. Noah had fun helping to carry the rather large pumpkins the girls picked out.

Good Times for all!

Every now and then your child says something that just completely floors you. I treasure these moments as little glimpses of my child’s thoughts on the world. The other day was one of those truly beautiful mornings. The air was a crisp 45 degrees, the sky crystal clear blue no clouds to be seen. My beautiful 2 year old Amelia looks up to the sky and lets out a loud gasp as her little hands fly to the sides of her open wide mouth. Then she points to the sky and declares in a panicked voice, “Mom, look the moon is broken.”

Now, I had a choice at this point in how to respond to her concern. You see not too long ago I spent a lot of time trying to explain how the moon and the sun could be out at the same time. She was quite surprised by this because I had told her that when the sun goes to sleep then the moon comes out. So how could she see both in the sky at the same time? On this particular day the moon was full and very visible. As I thought about how to answer her I realized I needed to be very careful. Part of our night time routine was to snuggle up and give each other kisses, I always end the snuggles by telling her the Sun has gone to sleep so she must too. The last thing I wanted was to give her some excuse to use at bedtime about how the Sun and the Moon don’t really sleep so why should I etc. Needless to say I went on and on with this scientific reasoning for the Sun and the Moon and their cycles bla, bla, bla. Yes I know she’s only 2, I don’t know what I was thinking. I did not want to repeat that mistake. At the same time she had a valid concern as this was her first time she saw the moon with a huge piece missing.

So what did I say to, “Mom, look the moon is broken?” Being much wiser, I gave her a big hug. Then I told her it just looked broken and she shouldn’t worry. “You see, I said, part of the moon didn’t want to go to sleep when the Sun came out. So they are having a little visit, a chat if you will. Soon the moon will fully go to sleep and the Sun will have the sky all to itself.”

She seemed pleased with the answer and we went about the business of the day. I must have had a silly grin on my face all day because I just couldn’t stop seeing her cute little face showing all kinds of concern for her friend the moon. Sometimes the magic and wonder of this world should not be destroyed by scientific reasoning, don’t ya think?

Okay this is not I repeat NOT a political endorsement or commentary in any way.

Maybe you have heard already that Jenna Bush has published a book, "Ana's Story." It is about a young girl Ms. Bush met while working for UNICEF. She was inspired by the hope Ana had even though her life so far had gone horribly wrong. Having a background as a teacher she wanted to bring her experience back to her students in a very real way. "I hope the book will inspire you to make a difference for children like Ana,” said Jenna Bush.

I was very impressed with her interview and her work with UNICEF. What has not impressed me is some of the negative comments, criticisms and feedback this story is getting. Ms. Bush is not a politician nor is she responsible for her father's views concerning the war or anything else for that matter. Furthermore the book was written for teenagers and as such was geared to be an easy read that would get students talking about the issues of poverty, AIDS, abuse, neglect etc.

Many of the postings on the news web sites are just plain ugly some border on ridiculous. I say, "Way to Go Jenna." Thanks for sharing your insights and experience of a troubling subject matter with the young people of this country. It is my prayer that this book inspires many other young people to give of their time to quality organizations like UNICEF. That their world would be changed as well bringing us all one step closer to understanding, support and compassion for each other.


You can check out her book on the following web page: Ana's Story

YA YA

Amelia is a typical 2 year old in so many ways. She has made up her own name for each of her three siblings. Noah is known to Amelia as "YaYa". Even though he is 11 years older the two have a special relationship. YaYa is her big brother and hero and he has earned this title spending countless hours playing with his little sister. She looks up to him and as I watch the two interact it just warms my heart. How many 13 year old do you know that would spend time having a tea party, going for a nature walk, having tickle fights, even babysitting. He cares so much for her and it is important to him that she know who he is and that he loves her. I don't know for sure but I suspect he realizes that for a good portion of her growing up he will be gone at college. He is putting time in now to build a relationship with her that will last through the time they will spend apart. He is her biggest fan and I know he will be her protector as the years go by.

These photos were taken while we camped this summer. They offer a glimpse into the special friendship between Amelia and YaYa.

Hello to all my FRIENDS & FAMILY ~

I know it has been a long while since I posted to this BLOG. Life has been going at lightning speed. We had an absolutely fabulous summer. No one including me wanted school to start. Unusual for me, normally I am kicking them out the door on the first day of school then doing the happy dance. You know the one, I know you do, "WooHoo I have time to myself, I can take a hot bath, I can read a whole chapter of my book in one sitting, and I don't have to share my snack with anyone, woohoo". This year however, I was really bummed out to see them go. We had such a BLAST camping this summer, reading books together and just plain hanging out. Hope you enjoy the new slide show of all our summer excitement. Here's our summer of fun list:

Noah & Izzy Trip to Texas
Izzy & Olivia Girl Scout Day Camp
Tom & Noah High Adventure Backpacking Trip
Family Camping in Indiana for July 4th week
Noah Camp Gerber Boy Scouts
Whitecaps Baseball
Izzy & Olivia Girl Scout Sleepover Camp
Noah & Izzy Camp Higher Ground w/Church
Tom Guys Fishing Trip Sugar Lake
Izzy Theater Camp
Family Camping Holland State Park
Family Camping Ludington State Park

The photos are from all these cool events.
Later ~ Jennifer

Current favorite song, this band rocks!
Bring Me To Life by Evanescence

Removed slide show 9/21

Here is a wonderful slide show of Amelia's first real experience with snow. We have been neglected this winter as Colorado is hogging all the snow. This snow fall was just about 2" and the kids went nuts like it was a foot. Pretty sad. They had a lot of fun and Olivia enjoyed teaching Amelia all about snow, snowballs, snow angels and of course eating snow. Just not the yellow stuff!

BLOG Prompt today: What do you dream about literally?
Lately I've had some pretty cool dreams involving sailing. My hubby and I use to sail a lot pre-kids. It is a hobby/interest we share a passion for and plan to include in our future. Just this week I dreamed we went back to visit friends in NJ and were invited to sleep on a sailboat docked at the yacht club. In the middle of the night some kids from our old church youth group snuck around and untied the boat and off we drifted to the middle of the lake. A couple of weeks ago I dreamed my hubby and I decided the kids were living too normal of a life. So we pulled them all out of school, rented our house, took sabbatical from work, and joined a group of people sailing with their kids around the world. We home schooled and the adults shared their expertise with all the kids on the trip. When the year was up we returned to our home having given the kids an adventure of a lifetime.

So - OK all you amateur "Dream Interpreters" - I know your dying to tell me what this all means.