Bitten By The...

....painting bug.

Did you know that's actually a thing??

Just like making New Year resolutions, or shopping Black Friday sales (neither of which I do), 

apparently it's a common thing that people want to clean their houses, paint, organize, and re-organize

in the month after the holiday season.

Isn't that funny? 

I can't say if I've ever felt this way before,

but this month I was definitely driven to get some parts of the house freshly painted and cleaned up.

Thankfully the kids were ALL-IN, and didn't want to miss a minute of this fun stuff,

so I had much help and a lot got done!

Hannah working in the basement

Miles and Eli painted their closet...from an awful Pepto Bismal pink (we never painted it when we moved in),
to a nice, soothing light green color. They also ripped out the carpet and painted the wood floor and trim a cream color.

Hannah painting the stone flooring

Hannah also painted her and Celene's closet! It was an old green color, and Shawn actually got us going on that one,
because he was afraid of the asbestos and lead paint. It was also one spot we never painted before moving in 6 years ago.
I don't have a picture of her painting, she did it in 2 days, and did a great job!

Celene wanted to join the fun and chose a pretty sky blue color for the walls in the girls room.

Celene took this pano photo after she put her room back together

A Whole Month

I'm kind-of shocked when I realize it's been a whole month since I last posted here.

Sorry Grams!

I guess I shouldn't be...it's not like there are many extra minutes in a day.

Even so, here's an update.

Hope you all are well and enjoying winter's beauty.

 Hannah's puppet show in the living room ;)

Hannah being silly about cleaning her room

Celene's science project... experimenting mixing matter

sledding one deliciously cold day

Grandma's photo...the kids and Charlotte on the porch in the meadow near her home

the little boys wiped out before bedtime

Celene's delicious snow ice cream!

Celene being silly

someone took a photo of Hannah holding Eli's cat

Eli crashed out in my chair...so cozy

Happy New Year!

May your new year be blessed richly with the fullness only our Creator can give!

We hailed the first day of 2019 with a walk up the Marsh tower, at the kids request of course.

It was so beautiful.

Fun in the Snow

one of several snowman in the yard :)

Eli and his favorite little Kitty Kat

Theo just loves playing the snow

The Waelderhaus

The Waelderhaus is a lovely old, restored home in Kohler.

Each year they host a gingerbread house competition.

The kids enjoyed the experience very much!

it looks like its out of its own fairy tale, doesn't it?

the kids enjoyed judging and voting their choices in the categories

it started snowing just in time for a winter wonderland walk in the woods afterwards

Exchanging Gifts

Since becoming parents, we haven't given our children Christmas gifts.

The reason mostly is because they get plenty gifts from their grandparents,

they have more than enough things already, 

and we are the sort of folk that get our kids the things they need throughout the year instead of waiting for Christmas or birthdays.

We also tend to save a little money for an experience we do together,

such as the trip to Arizona we plan to do this year!

So we were surprised when the kids approached us and asked if they could give gifts to each other this Christmas.

It was a sweet and special little time together.

It was also cute to see how well they know each other,

giving thoughtful little gifts they know each of their siblings would enjoy.

Merry Christmas!

Hello everyone!

How was your Christmas?

Ours was nice...filled with friends and family and food...

so much so, in fact, my phone stayed in my coat pocket the whole time,

and so therefore I have no pictures!

well, I do have one picture...game time with my family!

Juniper and her balloon

Hannah making delicious organic lip balm with her kit she got from Grandma!

Miles and Jordan ripping it up on the go-cart!
Noah and Jordan, Miles' cousins, are staying with us for the week between Christmas and New Year!
Such a special time for the kids...and sooooooo much fun!

Noah's turn to take it for a spin

Getting ready to start Monopoly Cheater Edition ;) ha...if you only could have heard the ensuing arguments ;)