Christmas 2013

Christ is Born! Glorify HIM!!

We had a Blessed Christmas here in MN! We have had a really cold December so far and Christmas did not disappoint. It snowed about 3 inches of additional snow while we were at Church on Christmas Eve! The kids were not sure they could wait for presents till after Church, Christmas Morning, and then Brunch...but they did it and we enjoyed a quiet day of Games and Food with a friend from church!

Hope you all had a Special Day!

GETTING READY FOR SANTA!

SJ and JM put the cookies our for Santa this year! I guess the other 2 were already in bed! JM has that "smile" ready as he sits in front of the fireplace!! Some one did catch a real smile earlier in the evening! That smile can light up a room!

I believe "Santa" only left a crumb!

"KRUMKAKE" ANYONE!

Our Friend Fr. Philip had us over a couple of times in December to make cookies. One of his traditions is to make Krumkake! Although we are not of Scandinavian decent...I believe these will be made by our family for many years to come. The ones the kids got photos of are a bit overbrowned...but we got the flame adjusted and made over 8 dozen!! I think they are nearly all gone!

~SPECIAL PERSONS DAY~

   I had the honor of being a "special Person" for one of my god-daughters at her preschool! I captured a few of the many faces of Teagan!!

So blessed to have her and her family in our lives! She is 4 already...where does time go!

SPECIAL VISIT

Our friends from Georgia surprised us and visited! Sarah and Zoe were adopted the same day in China. At the time we only lived 16 miles apart. Jobs took them to Georgia...but we love when they visit!

JM had therapy so was not with us...but the other 5 kids pick up each time they see one another as if they had not been apart! A special bond!

Love you guys!

VOLLEYBALL

MK's coach had a special night for the team! They had a pizza and treats party and then went to the U of M for a volleyball game. OSU vs MN...The gophers had a good night and so did the team!!

What a wonderful experience!

SF's Birthday

We are still alive and I will try and get some photos on the blog to prove it!

Nov. and Dec. have been very busy. My parents each had surgery in Ohio and Sarah and I spent Thanksgiving there!

Here is a photo from SF's Birthday...He had pistachio cheesecake! YUM!!

~SIX YEARS OF SPECIAL

I was talking to the mom of another Special girl that attends our church this past week...sometimes we don't know what is in store for us...and sometimes that might be best!! What I do know is that today we celebrate six years with JM...and he has changed all of us for the better!!

We are thankful that we were given the honor of parenting this special boy SIX years ago today!!

Love You Little one!

Busy afternoon

Some friends and our family met to do some yard work last Sunday! Much was accomplished!!We had a chili and pie dinner and enjoyed good company!

~HALLOWEEN 2013~

Low key Halloween this year. 2 pirates...a witch and a business/teacher/professor...you can call E whatever. E was out of his costume before I thought to get photos...so all you get is the hat! He is in his suit...carving pumpkins...go figure...but hard to tell!

Too much candy and lots of fun!

JM's week

JM had a fun week at school. They had to dress up each day. The first day was jersey day. He wore MR's volleyball shirt! The PJ day. He wore his batman PJ's and seemed to think that was fun! Then they had character day on the 31st! He was a Pirate!!

~CAA CHAMPIONS~

MR's 8th grade team won the Catholic Athletic Association's Championship for their size school yesterday!! It has been a great experience for her. The families have followed the girls well and it has been fun to be a part of! GO AGGIES!!

Random photos of JM!

JM has had a busy fall. He attends Fraser Academy and is in school full day this year! He has adjusted well. He is a busy boy! Making progress and showing oh so much LOVE! He enjoys the kitchen...cooking cleaning...just being there!

~SPIRIT WEEK~

The three oldest attend a K-12 school...and a few years ago they had spirit week and homecoming!

 

My children ended up with Blue and red hair!! Go figure.

Love to see them enjoying school and friends!

~A DAY WELL SPENT~

We were able to assist a fellow parishioner extract the honey from his bee hive last week. It was a wonderful learning experience for all involved.

The results are memories that will last a life time!

We are truly blessed!

Kid sitting!

 

I forgot to post these photos of a few days before school stared. We watched our God-daughter and her little brother. I hardly had to do anything as each of my big kids took a turn at watching them and they napped as well!!

 

~SEPTEMBER SUNFLOWERS~

We had many sunflowers in the yard this year!! All were planted by the birds...some were transplanted by me...but we really enjoyed them!

 

We had so many goldfinches as a result...such a joy to watch!

Let the Year Begin!

I got a photo of the crew this am before they headed off to school...it was warm and they were not excited to have a photo taken! SJ and her dad were more in the mood...so the photo of them is much better! Hoping this is a good school year for all!

 

Boy it is quiet around here! I think I can get used to it!

Birthday wtih JM's God-parents!

JM's god-parents are the best. They had our family over to celebrate his 7th birthday!! Their new home is lovely and a wonderful evening was had by all! YOU GUYS are the BEST!!

START OF A NEW YEAR!

The 3 oldest and SF start back to school tomorrow! Sadly it is to be 100 degrees and the school doesn't have air conditioning...could be a difficult first week! Here are some shots at the school this year! The kids are growing up quickly!

TWINS GAME

Our local YMCA blessed us with 8 tickets to a TWINS Game. We went last Wednesday and although the Twins lost 9-8 in 12 innings it was a great experience for all!!

Thanks South Family YMCA...You are the BEST!

JM turns 7!!

JM turned 7 on the 12th of August! He is doing well and learning new things all the time!! He is a Blessing to all around him!

Flowers

My Grandma always had Gladiolas I loved them. My dad bought me some bulbs for my birthday and I enjoyed every bloom!...most in early July!

WARNER REUNION ~July 27th

 

The crew!

SF has one brother and between the 2 families we have 9 kids...they sure have fun together!! Here is a rare photo will all of us together!

Family photo

We had a great 10 days in Ohio and Indiana visiting friends this year!! Everyone is growing up quickly. Scott's family reunion was a great success!! Fun to keep everyone connected to extended family!

GARAGE SALE

 

MR had the idea to have a garage sale!!! She worked hard and had success!!! Not sure it is something she will do again soon...but her hard work did pay off!

AT EAGLES REST!!

The entire crew at the LAKE!

a Week away!!

A week at a cabin in WI has become the norm for our family. We are fortunate to meet my parents and brother there...and spend a quiet week!! Memories made!

Kindergarten

JM graduated from Kindergarten on the 27th of June...they had one month off and then back to school the 5th of August. This schedule works well for him...so it works well for us!! We have so lucky to have such a school so near to us!! We love FRASER!

~BOYS!!~

Put two boys together with too much rain and a sand box full of mud...and well... you get the picture!

Pascha ~ 2013

Having spent Pascha in the hospital last year...I believe it was even that much more special this year!!

Blessings to all!

~Palm Sunday~

I was able to weave palms for Palm Sunday this year and my parents were visiting as well!! We were very blessed!

~STARBASE~

Weather in April in MN can be iffy...I went with the kids to Starbase 2 days in April! The snowstorm we had on Friday that week delayed the day...but didn't cancel it!

EM turned 11 on the 13th of APRIL!!

The years fly by. We are so blessed to have EM as our son!

March 28,2013

 

Catching Up.

EM had a lip repair for spring break!! He did well and is more handsome than ever!!

Such a strong kid! Makes surgery easy!

~~DOESN'T HAPPEN OFTEN!~~

Living in MN a Snow day is a rare thing...but all the kids got today off. The snow came overnight and didn't give the plows time to get things clear enough to have school. It is now 2PM and our drive is clear and the roads look fine.

Must enjoy them when they come. I think in the 13 years we have lived in MN...the snow days could be counted on one hand!!

~SPECIAL MEMORY~

 

~~NEW LOFT BED~~

JM just keeps growing and it had become obvious that he was going to need a new bed. Friends from church offered us this amazing loft bed system a couple of weeks ago and after a day of moving and cleaning JM now has a new area of the room that is HIS!!!

 

He loves having a loft and has had no real issues learning to use the ladder safely. His keyboard fits perfectly and for the moment he can walk under safely. It wont be long till we have to switch the desk to the other end...but for now this is perfect!

Watch out ICE!!

Living in MN the kids have been invited to go skating several times this year! All the kids went yesterday. The boys went home early, thus no photos of them!! SJ is a natural...and MR is gaining confidence. Our god-daughter went as well and is the 3rd girl in many of the photos.

~DANCE~

SJ has really enjoyed having a dance class on Saturdays this year. She has made a great deal of progress and it is fun to watch her enjoy dancing!

February 2nd ~SJ's Gotcha Day Anniversary

Hard to believe another year has flown by. We are so blessed to Have SJ in our lives. She managed to stay healthy this year...but her brothers were both sick!!

~SJ TURNING TEN!!~

SJ decided ice skates would be the perfect gift for her 10th birthday. Living in the upper Midwest has shown us that many of her friends live on ponds and love to ice-skate. She seems to have good balance and enjoys it very much. She had a great birthday. Hard to believe she has been our daughter for nearly nine years already! We are very fortunate!

~BIRTHDAY TREATS~

One of the fun things about a private school is that the kids are still allowed to bring homemade treats to share with classmates on their Birthdays!

SJ picked dark chocolate Texas sheet cake and as it turns out, by all reports, the kids love it!

~Noodles and A Birthday Party~

While my parents visited at the beginning of the month we were able to enjoy time together! My parents make and sell noodles at the church I attended as a kid. They just celebrated the 6th Ton of noodles that they had made! Crazy 12,000 bags of 1# of egg noodles! Since they were out of the thin noodles that I prefer Dad offered to make some while they were here! It didn't take long to make 8 eggs worth as they are used to producing 20 Dozen eggs worth in one day! Then usually repeat that the next day! I'm sure we will enjoy them. Mom also celebrated her 80th Birthday while here. Fun to be able to spoil her for her birthday for once!! We are blessed!