Goodbye 2010

Now that the year is almost over, winter finally decides to arrive. We had about 4 inches of snow yesterday. It went from being in the 50's to 5 degrees. Whoa....it's cold!

Today, after countless games of pictionary we decided to brave the cold and go sledding. There's a great little hill by our house. Olivia didn't join us, she wanted to stay in and sit by the fireplace (smart girl).

We are looking forward to 2011. Stay tuned, I have a feeling there will be many changes in the coming year! :)

We had a great ride in 2010 and now.....
we're ready to slide into 2011. Happy New Year!!!

Merry Christmas

Our house was filled with much excitement Christmas Eve after returning home from Aunt Diane's and Uncle Ricky's. We came home and sat in front of the tree talking about all the things that have made this year great.

The kids wanted to open up one present before bed. They all got Christian tees from

Wild Olive. They are fun t-shirts with great messages. The kids loved them.

We also decided to give each of the kids non-material gifts. A few years ago, our pastor did an entire sermon on giving non-material gifts to those you love. I wasn't going to write about this on our blog, but thought it might give others the idea of non-material gifts and it's something I want to remember. This is our family scrapbook and I feel it's important to document it.

We talked to the kids about non-material gifts and then we proceeded to tell them the gifts we had chosen for them.

We gave Olivia the gift of "discernment" we told her we really want her to make good choices and choose good friends. We want her to be able to discern what is right and good for her. This is so important now as she's entering into the teen years.

We gave Jack the gift of "self-control" Jack is quick tempered and quick with his tongue. We really want him to stop and think before he reacts to situations, especially the ones involving his sisters. :)

We gave Lucy the gift of "peace" We want Lucy to have peace in her heart. Peace knowing that everything that has happened in her life has ALL been part of God's plan for her. If you have been reading our blog, you know that lately Lucy has been asking us many questions about her adoption and her time in China.

A Merry Little Christmas Eve

We went to Jeff's sister, Diane's house to celebrate Christmas Eve. Diane and her family live just an hour away from us. We don't get to see them as often as we'd like, but when we do get together we always have such a good time.

While, we were eating dinner I kept looking out at this great little barn behind Diane's house and I couldn't wait to get out there and take some fun photos.

After, dinner and games we decided we should get some photos before the sun went down.

Here's just a few of the photos.

Lucy loves Uncle Ricky, she even says, "he's my favorite person" They are pretty smitten with each other. I think it's fun to say Lucy and Ricky. :)

Cousins, Chris and Matthew

Chris and his girlfriend, Jordan.

That's My Girl!

Lucy and I went out today for a little photo shoot.

I found this great crochet flower today at a local boutique. I thought about adding it to Lucy's many Christmas presents, but decided to just give it to her today.

Lucy has the best sense of humor and is always make us laugh. She has a strength and inner beauty about her that just shines. She is very enduring and everyone who knows her, really loves her and her silly, giggly ways.

That's my girl!

Wordless Wednesday