a New Year's birthday

I really love John Paul's birthday on New Year's Day.  It's just such a gift to me [and I hope one day, to him] that we all live under the hope of a new thing coming, of a God who is making all things new.

And this son of mine, this John Paul.... oh he is a gift! and a reminder!  that our God is making all things new!  God gave him a NEW MOUTH!  As John Paul's speech continues to develop I'm just amazed by him, this child who has worked hard to achieve what comes naturally to the rest of us... the ability to communicate with spoken words!

And John Paul knows how to celebrate!  He had such a great day!  Lucky boy, his Daddy is home on New Year's Day, which definitely ups the fun quotient!

He woke up ready to get going on the fun..... choose a seat for himself right in the center of the action and got started on some gifts, all before breakfast!

My gift-giver extraordinaire (Julianna) hit jackpot with this one!  His own Sprite!  Definitely one of his favorite gifts!  He loved running into the kitchen and taking a quick sip of his Sprite :)

Matt designed and built treasure shelves to go on the boys' new bunks.  The treasure shelf is a building block of harmony around here - a place to put "your own things", off limits to everybody else!  They were installed on John Paul's birthday :)

John Paul's definition of a treasure?  A legit tool and a reason to use it!  He was in the process of dismantling the bunk ladder when I gave Matt the heads up "ummm, honey, John Paul really does know how to use this thing....  These ladder rungs are loose."  [At the end of the day we tightened all the bolts before confiscating the tools!]

Matt worked together with our neighbor Graham (also building shelves for his boys' bunks) and, of course, a small pack of little laborers :)

And as soon as the last bolt tightened it was off to a lunch date with Daddy.

Hot Dogs and Ice Cream.

The afternoon flew by (we did a little science camp with the big kids) and then it was dinner.  We are saving the cupcakes to enjoy with friends (Sunday afternoon) and celebrated with chocolate chip blondies (a family favorite).

John Paul got a double stack - and four candles, of course!

Happy day for my happy boy!

I can't believe you are FOUR, John Paul!

snowy mountain fun

The day after Christmas we loaded up and headed to the mountains for some snowy fun.  After last year's snowy winter I knew this would be a special treat for the kids - snow is a very rare occurrence here and never sticks....

After a few hours in the van we were parked and headed for the cable car.  The parking lot was snow-less, and the fog was incredibly thick.  I assume the mountains are beautiful, but we couldn't see much of anything!  We could only see the cable car as it got really close to the station!  

But the snow did not disappoint.  It was just enough to give the kids plenty of sledding and snow ball fighting material!

And the temperatures were nice too.  We played hard, ate some lunch then played some more.  

Our Sunday morning group (four families total) made the trip together and it was such fun.  Even Luke (who I was expecting to hit the wall and melt into a puddle of needy tears) managed to smile and enjoy himself all day long!  

The snowball battles raged - dads and kiddos! 

Luke thought it was so funny when he would pick up shovelfuls of snow and dump them on his Daddy!  

Our family and the snowman.  This is a trip we will do again!

[But maybe not the day after Christmas!  After hosting a big party Christmas Eve, then celebrating all day on Christmas..... well we crashed on Saturday!]

Christmas Day happiness

Christmas Day is worthy of more than just a few photos.  So here goes...

We thought single shot nerf pistols might be a bit of fun.... and while I was ordering 5 Matt decided 6 was a better number :)  These battles get pretty intense.  Usually the oldest three vie against Matt, the little two tend to be on Dad's team but are frequently lured into joining the big sibs too.  Split allegiances, those little guys :)

I love the Christmas morning experience - the whole day really!

These girls are gift-givers extraordinaire!  In Lydia's left hand is a cookbook Julianna wrote for her.  It's called "Cookbook for New Cooks" and it starts "Dear Lydia, The first thing is you have to know how to use measuring cups.  Like teaspoons, tablespoons and cups.  It is very easy.  After that you are pretty golden."

It's riddled with spelling and grammar errors, but the whole thing is just so Julianna... i love it.

Watching Luke was pure entertainment.  He had a great morning!

All pink and purple - new pajamas, new tennis shoes, new watch!!

Isaac is a lego lover.

Plenty of patience and hard work and ....

His little brother is becoming quite the little lego-er himself :)

When he needs help the big sisters are quick to jump in.

Actually, the whole family tends to Lego :)

though Luke is more successful with the duplos (which are still a favorite with all the boys).

New scooters for everyone!  So fun to see them enjoy these - such great fun for the kids and our complex is perfect scooter-territory.

Quite the little lady, and she got so many fun craft supplies!

A couch full of love!

A backpack is a sure-win for your favorite toddler/preschooler.  Luke has been using an old cast-off and is thrilled to have "his own".  Many happy hours of zipper-ing ahead for this little man!

And my favorite way to spend a Christmas Day afternoon.... nose in a book!

I jumped in and read a few of the kids' new titles too.  As a child I never doubted there would be a solid collection of new reading material under the tree - gonna teach my kiddos the same great lesson.

We hosted friends for dinner (oops, no pics) but they did help us take a family picture in front of the tree.

12 Christmases with this man as my husband.  They get better every year!

Much love and joy!  What a sweet day of celebrating!

Merry Christmas!

{Apparently we aren't the easiest crew to get a picture of.... ha!  I had better luck on the shots when I was behind the camera!}

She's NINE

Halfway to 18.  I can't even think about it.  Every minute of this little girl's life is a gift.  Not every minute is easy, but 9 years in I can confidently say that each one is a gift.  And I am thankful.

She started - and ended - her day with presents.  A morning playing with the siblings and helping in the kitchen, lunch date with her Daddy, Mexican dinner (she did most of the cooking, of course!) and cupcake dessert.

Lucky girl has all the help she ever wanted opening gifts :)  She's a pro at handling this.. at one point I saw her bend down and whisper to Luke, "no buddy, these aren't for you but wait just two more days and it'll be your turn!"

After dinner and cupcakes and gifts we took turns sharing things we especially enjoy or appreciate about Julianna.  John Paul said he liked her piggy back rides.  So of course, she had to give him one.

Julianna, you are a treasure.  We love you!

[I'm bummed I missed a picture of her and Matt heading out on their date - this is becoming such a special treat each kiddo looks forward to.  I told him today that I want him to take me out to lunch for MY birthday!]