She's 10 now!

Sarah turned 10 last week!

It just feels like yesterday when I sat in the family room anticipaing the little one that would be born any minute! Then to hold her little form in my arms was a delight indeed! What happened to that baby? She grew up into a lovely delightful young lady! Love you lots my little sister!

The birthday girl and I!

"It's her birthday....huuurraaaah...."

Mom and Heather enjoying the show of opening presents!

"Oh! I LOVE it! .....What is it?"

Gracie made her an apron!

Lydia giving trying to make the horse make a noise.

Since Sarah is allergic to wheat, she decided ice cream with toppings sounded lovely! We had a terrible time trying to keep the candles upright! oops They kept falling over and sliding down her ice cream mountain!

Here are a few pictures of Sarah from the last several years:

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008 on her birthday

Too Old?

Is a girl ever too old to get a doll for Christmas????

Personally, I don't think so!

I have not yet decided what to name her, so I am asking you all for ideas. What name do you think fits her properly?

This is the antique doll that I have had my eye on for a long time! She is the replica of a doll that was played with and adored by girls in the 1800's.

Her china face

The growth tucks and lace on her skirt.

Her little china hand!

Let me know what name you think fits her best!

Lydia's Photo Shoot

A sunny, windy, cold afternoon outside with my sister!

Ah! The joys of watching a little person enjoy God's beautiful creation!

Enjoying being in the cold and wind!

Sitting on the bridge watching the water bubbling under her feet.

She is climbing the gate when I caught this priceless photo!

Lydia and I together!

Taking a stroll under the oat trees

This is another of my favorites (I wonder how many times I have said that? hehehe) . She looks just like I did at this age!

Girls and curls!

p.s. I am trying to post this again since the pictures disappeared from here last night....not sure what happened...

Dinner

I have done many posts about many things but not our meal preparations. Okay, it know it's not really that exciting, but I like to be different sometimes, so here it goes:

Chopped onions and green bell peppers sauteed in:

Our favorite store bought sauce along with a little Extra Virgin olive oil!

Add some browned hamburger to the onions and peppers...

...and let simmer till you're drooling with hunger at the aroma!

Serve over brown rice,

and Romain lettuce salad on the side, topped with home canned pickled beats, three bean salad and home made ranch dressing.

Everyone loved it and decided we need to make it again and again! It was so easy too!

The Down Stairs...

....walls of our part of the house are all framed in!!!!! Praise God! Grandpa and Taylor have been working on the apartment during the day and have one wall up already! Dad, David and Taylor have marked where all the joists are going to be placed upstairs so that will be the next step! It will be extremely exciting to see a ceiling downstairs and a floor for the upstairs!

The far north wall of grandpa's house. You can see the trailer grandma stays in through the door of the apartment. The window, where you can see the shop, is going to be grandma's "sitting" room. If you look closely you can see the rain drops on the floor! It was raining hard that day!

This is the shower in the mudroom bathroom. Yeah! A shower in the mud room! I know it will be put to good use!

Okay, this picture was taken standing with our back to the kitchen sink. Straight ahead is the doorway to the laundry room and to the left the mud room. Both the laundry and mud room will be separate rooms which we are excited about. Having them both in one room makes for a muddy laundry room! We are looking forward to decorating the laundry room to make it bright, cheerful and fresh!
Yep! Another view from the end of the driveway. You can see the "river" or "slough" going through the driveway rather than under it. :sigh: We are trying to figure out whether to put in a small bridge or culverts.

Thanks for stopping by! Blessings to your day!

Gracie and Sarah's Photo Shoot

Our Gracie

"It was your fault...hehehehehe!"

"No, it was yours!"

"Maybe we both did it...hehehe!"

"Oh, you have beautiful eyes!"

Gracie's Photo Shoot

"I'm going to be goofy for the photo shoot!"

"Okay, I'll smile..."

"This isn't so bad!"

"I'm starting to like this!"

"Maybe..."

:sniff: "I'm getting tired of this..." :whimper: "I want to go home!"

"Awwwww! That's better!"

Welcoming in a new year!

A year ago we had no idea 2007 was going to be so incredibly full of surprises! God has shown us His faithfulness in every little thing that has happened this year and we are so thankful for provisions for our family. We have been so blessed with wonderful grandparents who love us and want to live with us! We have also been blessed enormously with friends who have been part of our lives. Some are not living close to us and some we haven't even met yet but we are ever thankful for their friendship and love. Blessings abounded in so many areas that I am at a loss for the right words to describe everything!

Sunday we had the pleasure of watching it snow! Okay, it was only a dusting but for here in the valley a dusting is more than we normally get so we greatly enjoyed it! Oh, yes the trampoline is ripped.... We've had it for 11 years and it finally gave up the ghost and quit on us.

After the snow began to melt the water drops hanging from the trees were shining and glittering! It was glorious to see!

This is our new home at the beginning of the new year! That is the front door and to the left is the entry-way to the library. This is what is done so far: The four walls of our part of the house are done, we have a pantry, a library, an entryway, and a powder room! Prayerfully we will be living in that house by this time next year!

This is looking at the library from the kitchen area. Off the to left of the library is the powder room which mom plans to have locked all the time unless we have company so it will always be clean!

Today part of the family is helping my grandparents move yet another time this year! They decided they really needed to be closer to the property and the house so when a house went up for rent just TWO houses down the road from the property we knew it was God's will for them! My grandparents are beginning a new year in a new house and hopefully next year they will be settled permamnently.

I hope and pray you all have a blessed and eventful new year!