Our Princess, Elliana Joy

Isaiah 43:4
"you are precious and honored in my sight"

Elliana is our princess :-)

Elliana turned 6 yesterday October 17th.  Can I really have a 6 year old???  How does this happen so fast.  I'm sure some of you are thinking....yes and all mine are much older than 6!! 

I have such special memories of Elliana.  She started a whole new world for Lynn and I.  We are so blessed to have a vibrant and growing daughter.  She has slipped into the "big sister" role easily and can be such a help to me and playmate to her sisters.  She loves to hold Violet and entertain her.  She is learning what it means to love God and glorify him.  Elliana can say John 3:16 so well.  She is incredibly creative and wants everything that I seem to want to throw away...just to "make a craft."  She is determined and very focused.  She loves to give concerts in the livingroom and sing her heart out, making up songs as she goes. 

We are so proud of her and are continuing to learn how to be the best parents we can be to our children.

Elliana had quite the birthday celebrations:
1) October 9: Gpa Gary and Gma Rachel bring DQ princess icecream cake over and visit!
2) October 14: Gma Lynette comes over the for day!
3) October 14-15:  sleepover at Auntie Heidi's with swimming and MOA build a bear!
4) October 15: make fall sugar cookies with Auntie Heidi!
5) October 16: Family comes over to celebrate..Uncle Robert, Auntie Kasey, Uncle Matt, Auntie Amanda, Uncle Jeff, Auntie Shawna, cousin John, cousin Julia!
6) October 17: Go to apple orchard with the Johnson family!

I laughed at her choice of cereal...they get to choose for their birthday!  They were pink though!

Packer Game!

So a dessert buffet came by and we could have anything we wanted!!!! Wow!

Awesome dessert!!!

Mom & Dad!!

this is hi to you Andie!!

So I am from Stratford, Wisconsin and have NEVER been to a Packer game!  I've been to quite a few different professional sporting events too.  My mom won 10 tickets to a suite at Lambeau Field in Green Bay for the opening game of the season.  It was amazing...they had a lot of food and a very comfortable sitting area.  The evening was actually perfect for sitting outside and watching but I'm sure the suite we were in would be even more appreciated in December or January!

We had two wonderful young ladies babysit our (Shawna and I) children.  I knew them as little girls growing up and now they were babysitting my girls!  I actually didn't think I was going to be able to go at first because I had been a little lazy at trying to get Violet (3 1/2 months) to take a bottle.  Nursing is quicker and easier!  But I was very motivated!!!  I left her still a little uncertain to her taking a bottle from others but I decided she would survive!  Well we received no calls the whole 12 hours we were gone about any of the 6 cousins!

I had a superfabulous time and will never forget it...here are some pics...

Oh....the Packers won!!   42-36!  Great game!!

Andrea is in China!

Andrea, my youngest sister, left for China this month to teach at an international school and get involved in ministry as well.  She is committed for the school year but wants to serve there indefinitely.  She has a heart for the Asian people.  She spent a whole day with us the last week she was here in the States.  We miss her but skype is great!  "Auntie Andie" is full of silly faces and fun times....here are a couple memories of our day together!

I am soooo blessed!!!

My baby precious is a blessing....Violet has been sleeping through the night for a week and a half (at 7 1/2 weeks).  We moms remember when that happens!!!  And as with the others she has continued to sleep a good 7-8 hours straight each night.

She just turned 2 months yesterday and is so fun.  We all try to get her to smile and she gives them freely.

Yesterday in "room time" (a 1/2 hour or more of playtime by themselves usually) Elliana got to watch/play with Violet.  She did a very good job and claimed to have discovered Violet's favorite toy.  Our girls have many years ahead of fun together.

Hope you are having a great day today

HOT Summer fun!!

We went to a really nice park for 3 hours in our incredibly hot, humid weather here!  I like hot weather for part of a day...and we had a lot of fun.  The temp early this morning was 76 degrees and 94 percent humidity!!!  By the time we were coming home this afternoon the temp was in the mid 90s.  We met my friend Sarah and her three boys who are very close to our oldest three.  They have grown up together.  Fun, fun, fun!

L ro R Samuel, Benjamin, and Andrew

Abigail is 2 years old!

We had fun celebrating Abigail's 2nd birthday...July 13, 2009 she was born.  She was the quickest birth of them all!

She is a blessing but a challenging age!  She needs to constantly be reminded of her boundaries!!  It's fun to watch her play with Madeline and Elliana.  She joins them like she is one of the big sisters...which she is now I guess!

Abigail loves dogs and so Elliana found some little dogs she had and we put them on her cake!



I love decorating and making the girls feel special for their birthday



Violet got on a little bit of birthday fun!

It was a beautiful day and we spent a lot of time outside

We had cake for lunch AND supper!!  Celebrate as much as possible!!

Abigail learned today how to climb up our playset!!

Sniching!!!  She has to wait all day to eat this cake!



Abigail's praying while Daddy prays for our supper meal



Abigail is a good eater...she started with this much food...

...and ended with an empty plate!!

Birthday fun!