~Christmas Day!~

We were blessed to have a beautiful day for Christmas. We had friends that helped in the cooking and spent a very enjoyable day with us! Such a special time!

~Christmas Eve!~

 

It is a tradition to put cookies out for Santa and Carrots for the reindeer. After church Monday night we got it done...although everyone was getting rather worn out!

~Getting Ready for the Holidays~

It seems each year Christmas gets her more quickly. We made cookies last week and with some help they got decorated!

~IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT......~

The snow that came over the weekend has gotten us into the Christmas mood! Prior to snow it was hard to believe that December had snuck up on us. Thankfully now...thanks to 13+ inches of the white stuff...Christmas preparations are moving forward!

~SLEDDING~

We all had fun at Cherokee park on Sunday. JM just loved rolling in the snow. We were happy to see a real snow storm Saturday night!

~THANKSGIVING ~ 2012 ~

We were blessed with family for Thanksgiving this year! SF's Brother's family made the trip to MN. We had 9 kids between the ages of 2 and 14...in our small home. As you can imagine...many memories were made!

The kids think this is a tradition they would love to continue! The adults loved the special time to see cousins become even closer!

SR. BEDE

We were blessed to be able to attend the ordination of Sr. Bede. She took her vows in WI on the 17th of November. The girls, SF and I enjoyed our time there. It was the first time we were able to see her in five years. She was a student of SF's at Trinity and her family is very special to us. Around 60 family and friends were in attendance and enjoyed a meal after. A very special day!

November 16th ~ HAPPY BIRTHDAY ~

 

MR got cream puffs this year! We had a special trip planned on the 16th so we celebrated as a family a day early!

~MR's Birthday GET-TOGETHER~

We had to have MR's 13th Birthday get-together a week early! The girls had a great time! Not sure where the years have gone or if I am ready for a teen...but here we are!

~BIRTHDAY~ Nov. 7,2012

I'm a bit late but trying to catch up the blog! SF had a great birthday...he loves coconut cake!

~JM's 5 year Anniversary~

Happy Gotcha Day Anniversary BIG BOY!! The years do fly by. It is hard to realize that we have been a family of 6 for five complete years now! We have been blessed in ways we may not have chosen...but are thankful that we are not who is control of all. Our family is very lucky to have all of our children in our family. We are very blessed! and thankful!

~Character Day~

JM had Character Day at his school yesterday. He dressed as "Jack the Wombat", definitely his favorite book, Wombat Walkabout! He did well! Fun to meet his PCA's and teachers.

We are lucky to have this special place for him to thrive.

~HAPPY HALLOWEEN 2012~

We had a wonderful time with friend's from St. Agnes on Halloween. What a group!! The weather was perfect and all seemed to do well and enjoy each other's company!

CHURCH SCHOOL

The kids made cookies at church school this last week. Then they mailed some of the cookies to college students from our parish! To "SHARE THE LOVE".

I hope the recipients enjoy the cookies...I know many children had fun making them!

~WINNING PIES~

The girls and I each entered pies in the 1st annual apple pie baking contest at St. Agnes this year. I guess the pie making lessons from my grand-mother paid off! MR placed 3rd and I WON!!

They sold the winning pie for $5/slice. We had a lot of fun entering!

ONE LUCKY BOY

As I have posted before JM is very blessed by his god-parents. They love and accept him for the special little one that he is. May he continue to grow to the person he is intended to be!

We had a great time at the APPLE ORCHARD with them.

~ORCHARD VISIT~

The kids and I went on an APPLE ORCHARD visit with a group from church yesterday. The day ended up being perfect and I think all had a great time. Including SF who got to spend some quiet time at home alone! That doesn't happen often for a Dad of 4!

~HAIRCUTS~

I borrowed MR's camera on a trip to the apple orchard yesterday and found these photos! We usually save $ by cutting the kids hair ourselves, but JC Penney had a deal for free back to school haircuts, so we took advantage of it. MR really wanted "long-layers" so she got a rather stylish haircut. EM and SJ were a bit nervous and just got trims. I didn't really get great shots of the final products, but they were happy and looked great to start school!

SCHOOL PHOTOS~2012

The kids had photos taken at school recently. They are all looking pretty good if I say so myself!

~JM's 6 year old photo~

I took JM to have his photos taken for his 6th Birthday. He looks so grown up. It was nice that we caught this one with a smile! He smiles a lot...but to catch that with the camera is a bit of a trick!

St. AGNES receives honor

St. Agnes is the school that Scott teaches at and where the oldest three attend school. The school was named one of the top 50 Catholic schools in the country today.
They have been on the news and in the news paper. Here is a link to one of the videos. SF is teaching his Honors class!
http://bcove.me/byt7wdpx

RELAXING

We were able to have a relaxing evening with many people from our church. The parish council president and his wife were kind enough to invite everyone over for burgers and fun!

Our kids seemed to think this was the best seat in the house!

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

The summer sure went quickly. Hope this year is a good one for all!

A big change

 

A few weeks ago a house behind us had some really large trees taken down. We were not sure what was going on. We found out that Habitat for humanity was taking on a project in our neighborhood. Removing an old house (built in 1890's) and replacing it with new construction. It has been a neighborhood event watching the building come down. I think SJ had the best view!

Special day for JM

JM is blessed by many people in his life. None are more important than his God-Parents and a special man that sits near us every week at church. We were honored to have them over to celebrate our special guy turning 6. We are so lucky to have them all in our lives! LOVE YOU ALL!

08-12-2012

I'm not really sure how JM can be 6...but the years don't wait for any of us! He enjoyed helping make his cake and for the first year he blew out some of the candles! Maybe next year he will get it by himself. LOVE YA little one. You bless us in ways we would have never dreamed of!

WARNER REUNION 2012

Add a few more cousins for a reunion and we had one busy week in Indiana. We returned home on the 5th of August. Just in time for JM to start school at Fraser Academy on the 6th!

Pentecost 9

SF has one brother and between the two families we have 9 kids between the ages of 2-14. That adds up to some really wild ideas and FUN!

POKEHAGEN NATIONAL PARK 2012

All the Pentecost cousins had a blast while we stayed in Indiana. It is fun to see the kids together. Memories and relationships that we hope will last a life time!

July 2012 OHIO VISIT

I am slow in getting photos posted, but it is nice to try and catch up. When we look back I don't want to forget the good times. The kids enjoyed rides on the "mule" at my parents farm in Ohio. We were able visit with extended family. It is difficult living over 600 miles from family. The times together are never enough. But our family is important to us and we love them all!

GARDEN CONTINUES

The garden continues. We have had more rain in MN. than most areas of the country this year. We planted corn/peas in the large areas of our garden first and now we have lima beans and green/wax beans growing. The weeds are winning but we are reaping some produce as well. The peaches came from my dad when we visited at the end of July!

The corn just kept growing!

We planted sweet corn for the first time this year! Unlike many places in the USA we have had rain this year...and as you can see we have enjoyed the outcome! We ate the last of the corn tonight. For a little city garden, we had a good result, and fresh sweet corn is as good as I remember!

ALWAY NICE TO BE HOME

I think JM enjoyed the peace and quiet with his older siblings being gone for a week...but it is always nice when all are home where they belong!

CHURCH CAMP

 

The Three oldest attended Church camp this year. A week away from Mom and Dad. SJ wasn't completely sure about the whole thing. She decided she wanted to go...but when it came time to leave she was a bit anxious. All went well and in spite of the 100 degree temps I think they will be ready to go again next year!

SUNSETS

 

LAKE MEMORIES

 

LAKE FUN

 

We were fortunate to spend a week with my brother and parents at a lake in WI again this year. We all had a great time. Rain came...but didn't keep us from a good time!