Surprise...Winter!

Tim's annual Christmas dinner was the middle of December, we had a great time and got back to the Phillips to pick up our kiddos and we had SO MUCH SNOW!  

One of the beauties of homeschooling is our schedule.  We rule it, no one else, and so we spent LATE into the evening sledding and playing in the snow.  The memories our family are creating....priceless. 

I love this man.

Christmas Eve Day

Tim had the day off Christmas Eve so we spent it doing what we love most, spending it together.  

We did some sledding and then warmed up and headed to church. 

Christmas Eve

Avarie read the Bible story this year, it is such a sweet blessing to hear our children reading God's Word! 

This year our kids had some VERY SPECIFIC requests.  Avarie has been watching and reading and begging for an American Girl doll.  The funny thing is that Avarie is not a "doll" girl.  She LOVES animals, and has, as the first girl in our little family TONS of dolls that never get touched.  I asked her why she wanted an American Girl when she doesn't like baby dolls, to which she informed me, "mom, it's not a baby, it's a girl".  With that kind of logic, we decided to get her this beautiful look alike doll, and Avarie does everything with her.  A fantastic gift! 

 TJ of course wanted nothing but Lego and Football cards.  He got both and he sits and organizes and reads all of his cards regularly.  

 Lylah Rose is the opposite of her big sister when it comes to "babies" real or imagined she is drawn to them.  God has placed a tenderness in her heart toward them.  So Lylah got all things baby.  So much so, as you can see she even got a package of diapers, which was a highlight of the night.  

My cup overflows!

Stockings Christmas Morning

We always open our stockings in the morning on Christmas day.  

Christmas at the Fries'

We spent Christmas Day at Nanny and Papa's with Uncle and Nanu.  We did the usual, drove the kids crazy with a multitude of pictures before they could open presents, and then of course, ate.  And then opened presents then, ate.  All joking aside, it was a GREAT day and we enjoyed spending time celebrating our Savior as a family. 

 This family picture would have been a good Christmas card picture. 

Either way, I believe it will end up on my wall. 

 For whatever reason if we let them take a goofy picture, we can end up with a good one as well.  

Children are a heritage of the Lord...a blessing.  So very thankful! 

The Flood of 2012

It was a chilly December morning, not a creature was stirring not even a mouse, when what do my listening ears hear?  But an almost 10 year old running up the stairs.  Emergency Emergency he screams, there's water everywhere.  

Well needless to say at a little before 6 in the morning, someone comes running into your room screaming there's an emergency gets everyone up in a hurry! 

The "emergency" wasn't as tragic as first thought, but there was a fountain of water coming through our stem wall in the basement.  Thankfully it hadn't been running for a terribly long time, the Lord knows and thankful was merciful in that.  

We continue to work on the house and as of today we have the carpet replaced in 3 rooms and now are just working on the hallways and stairs, which will become laminate.  

Whew!

Well....from Thanksgiving until the middle of January has been a whirlwind!  We experienced the basement flood of 2012, Christmas, New Year's and throw in a injured back to see a little of what has been going on....so as I sit at home during small group trying to fix my back I will attempt to catch up on two months!