Oldest and youngest (*more pics added)

soon to be 12!!

Christmas present

Hubby was excited about the gift he got me.  He put alot of thought into it and boy was I thrilled!!!  I now have a muslin backdrop with frame, the lighting, and tripod for my portrait photography.  Can you see the smile on my face!!!  We are still playing around with the lighting to get it just right but here are a few shots from today with some of my beautiful subjects.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all my family and friends!
What a year it has been for our family, full of joy and tears but always full of God's abundant blessings.  We have welcomed a new daughter into our family, said goodbye to a loving father and grandmother, moved to a beautiful new location, and became self-employed.  We thank God for His many provisions and are so thankful for His constant, unfailing love for us.  We are especially thankful during this holiday season for the love of our Heavenly Father, sending His Son to earth to provide a way of salvation for those who receive the free gift of faith.  What a gracious God we have!  Thank you Jesus for being our sacrifice.         

Christmas

So we don't decorate much for Christmas.  I am quite satisfied with plugging in a 3ft, pre-lit tree and putting a few bows on it!  We did make a small purchase for Daddy though....the UK bear is quite a nice touch don't you think!  It put a smile on his face :)
I also decided to try my hand at shortbread cookies!  Oooohhhh my....they are so good!  I found some mini cookie cutters and made them just like our neighbor used to make them when I was a kid.  Oh the memories.

Birthday girl

Our girl turned 5 a few days ago.  What a big girl she is becoming!  She wants so desperately to start school with the big kids.  I'm going to try to begin her on some phonics lessons on a regular basis now.  She loves to be in the kitchen with me when I'm cooking.  She tries to keep up with the big kids as much as possible in all they do.  She loves to draw and does people pretty good.
She wanted a ladybug theme for her cake and I found a cute idea on how to make the ladybugs.  All the older kids bought her a gift with their own money and she was just thrilled.  Thank you to those who sent cards, gifts, called, and sang to her.  It made her day very special.  

We love you precious girl.  Your big brown eyes and pinchable cheeks light up our family!

Thanksgiving

We went down south for Thanksgiving and were able to spend time with family.  We took some 4 generation photos (missing great Grandma this year) and went to visit Grandpa's grave (missing him!!)  We were able to catch up with church family again, and visit with aunts/uncles.  We picked up a few deals on clothes to boot which was an added bonus.  Here are a few pics from the trip.

Grandpa's grave site with Nana and all their grandkids

4 generation photo

cousin picture