Horses

When we first arrived for lunch, the kids saw the horses and couldn't stop talking about them. They wanted to take a carriage ride, but it was a bit pricey and VERY cold! So we opted for just petting them ;-)

On our way to see the horses...Morgan knew the way!

They were so BIG!

And beautiful.

Frankenmuth, MI

We headed up to Michigan this past weekend to celebrate Christmas with the Reimenschneiders! Our first stop was for lunch with the group at Zehnder's in Frankenmuth.

Morgan and Jaron with our waitress.

SANTA!

This is the new way Jaron likes to wear his coat. Too funny - what he doesn't realize is that I kind of like the zipper in the back...he can't get it off without help! ;-)

Morgan with her candy cane from Santa - if you look close, you can see the lipstick marks from Aunt Becca on her cheek ;-)

LOVE these three!!

Merry Christmas!

From our family to yours!

Preschool Program

Sunday afternoon, we bundled up and headed out to Morgan's preschool Christmas program. She and her friend Ellie held down the singing :-) It was so cute to watch them. They knew all the motions and they sang out so much that you could obviously pick out which voices were theirs. I was a proud momma. Morgan has loved music since she was born and I'm so thankful that God has already blessed her with a gift of music at such a young age. I'm so thankful that I decided to put Morgan in preschool. It has been wonderful for her. I can't believe that she'll be heading to kindergarten in less than 9 months...oh my, let's not go there!

Calvin, Morgan and Ellie

Morgan and Ellie

Morgan and Ellie - They call each other "sisters." I'm thankful Morgan has a good friend at school!

Our Church Christmas Program

Last weekend was a busy one, full of Christmas programs! Saturday, we had a dress rehearsal in the morning, and then our first show in the evening. Then, on Sunday, the second church program was in the morning, and then Morgan's preschool program (pictures in next post) was in the afternoon. Morgan was an angel in both programs and had such a fun time. Saturday night I curled her hair and she wanted me to curl it for her Sunday programs too. She said that it made her look like an angel :-) I thought so too!!

The Nativity - Morgan was all smiles.

She did such a good job as an angel.

I love this one...she really does look like an angel...however, I'm a little biased ;-)

The whole cast

Some Thoughts

Here are just a couple thoughts from this morning:

-First of all, I love that Morgan is desiring to have her own "quite time" right along with mommy.

She does my heart good.

-As I was reading in Hebrews again, 4 times I read,

"Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart." WOW! Do you think HE may want to tell me something today?! I tell you what - I'm sure listening and my heart is OPEN!

-Hebrews 3:13 - "Encourage one another daily, as long as it's called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sins deceitfulness." What a thought...seriously...here I am, going through one of the toughest times in life so far...just waiting for someone to encourage me. Ummm...HELLO! Instead of me feeling like I need some encouragement, I should be encouraging others! That way, we'll both be encouraged. That's the way God intended it to be.

-Hebrews 4:16 - "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Why try to do anything on our own? God promises that he will never leave us. He is there to help us, all we have to do is ASK! How many of you have children? Isn't it the same way? We see them struggling to do something, and we want to help them so badly, but they won't help us. And, if they aren't ready for our help, they just get upset because they want to do it on their own. All the while, we are seeing that if they would only accept our help, life would be so much easier for them. I'm so thankful that I have a God who is personal and is waiting and wanting to be a part of my every moment life.

If You Want Me To - Ginny Owens | With Lyrics

As I was reading my Bible this morning, this song was playing. Just had to share. It's been a favorite, but had some reminders for me that I needed right now.

Then, I was reading in Hebrews.

Hebrews 2:10 - "In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering."

So - Shouldn't we be eager for suffering in our lives so that we can be made "perfect" or more like Christ? Wow. I'm sure not eager for suffering right now. But maybe I should be.

Lord, help me to see suffering as something that is making me more like you. And I pray that I would be able to have the attitude and eyes of Christ as I go through those times of suffering. You never said it would be easy, You only said I'll never go alone. Thank you Father.

My Sweet Two

I'm in the process of going through pictures from Craig's sister's wedding. I came across these:

They love each other...and they make my heart happy.

Praise You in the Storm

And I'll praise You in this storm and I will lift my hands

For You are who You are no matter where I am

And every tear I've cried You hold in Your hand

You never left my side and though my heart is torn

I will praise You in this storm!

I lift my eyes unto the hills

Where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord

The Maker of Heaven and Earth!!

AMEN!

Update

...And for some of those recent photo sessions, go here for a sneak peak!

Crazy

Yes, I'm still alive. Life has been crazy and I hope to update someday...but right now, I'm in survival mode. My part time photography job is seeming pretty full time right now. I can't complain...it's a blessing to have one or two sessions every day of the week. I even had three sessions scheduled for the first Saturday of October - one, however, was rained out.

Life has been speeding by; Morgan has been enjoying preschool and dance classes; Craig has been busy with work, and Jaron is busy being all boy and tearing things up around the house.

Last weekend, we were up in Michigan for Craig's sister's wedding. It was beautiful. The weather was perfect and I was able to get some great outdoor pictures for them!

Here's one of Becca and Morgan - she was one of the flower girls.

On our way back to my parents, we got a call that Craig's grandpa had passed away. He was 96 years old and was a Christian man, but it's never really easy to lose someone you love. However, there is peace that we know that he is happy and made whole again. So, we'll be heading back up to Michigan Thursday morning for the weekend.

Then, I'll come back to another full week of photo sessions and end the week with a flight to Los Angeles. Craig and I will be boarding our ship for our cruise in less than 2 weeks and I'm soooo ready for a break! This vacation could not have come at a better time for us and we are really looking forward to getting away and spending some quality time together!!

I know I've missed a lot and I have so many pictures to share...but that will have to wait - I must get back to editing!

27

Yesterday was a great day. It was my 27th Birthday. I decided I was going to make a list of 27 things in my life that I am thankful for this year.

1. My relationship with God

2. My wonderful husband of 8 years!

3. My crazy silly, and incredibly intelligent daughter.

4. My one of a kind, big eyed, dimpled cheeked little boy.

5. A church that is supportive and passionately in love with and following after God.

6. A close group of friends who mean the world to us and are always there whenever we need them.

7. A job for Craig that he absolutely loves, even though he feels like he may need to pull his hair out sometimes.

8. A home that God laid in our hands 4 years ago when we became a family of three.

9. My parents who raised me the very best they could and taught me about the love of God.

10. My sister - the one who I always look up to, who always does the right thing and loves the Lord with all her heart.

11. My two brothers - getting older changes so much; they are both growing into Godly young men and husbands who adore their wives. I love seeing them grow up and think back to them running around as little boys playing together.

12. My childhood - There were four of us growing up together and so there were always people to play with. My parents were great. We even had a house where we were allowed to draw on the walls! Dad just periodically painted over them.

13. My in-laws. I'm so blessed to have in-laws who not only love us so much, but they also live in the next town over. They watch Morgan and Jaron weekly and it is such a blessing!!

14. MOPS - My mom's group has been such an encouragement to me! I've met so many wonderful women through that group.

15. Our hot tub. Our incredible Craig's list find! Craig sits in it nightly, and I join him about 3-4 times a week.

16. Ava. Our fifth dog. She is such a good fit to our family and I really hope that she is the dog who will bond with us and be our forever dog.

17. Grandparents. I'm so thankful that I was able to have a relationship with all four of my grandparents and that my children have a positive relationship with their grandparents and 6 of their great grandparents.

18. Cookie Dough. Enough said :)

19. Photography. Craig told me that I needed a hobby four years ago when Morgan was born. That hobby and passion turned into a small business that God has blessed and I am able to make a little extra while still staying home with my kids.

20. Being a stay at home mom. I have always imagined being able to stay at home with our kids. I never dreamed that it would be quite like this. It is challenging and tiring but so rewarding. I know that I am so fortunate to be able to spend these years with Morgan and Jaron.

21. Warm Showers. I never would have thought to be thankful for this until our trip to Haiti. Now, I am so thankful for warm, daily showers.

22. Seasons. God is amazing and I love living in a place where I can experience 4 seasons.

23. Music. - Huge part of my life and my relationship with God.

24. Mint Oreos - YUM!

25. The opportunity to travel. Seeing many beautiful parts of God's creation.

26. Telephones. I love and miss my family so much - I would go crazy without telephones :)

27. 27 years. I'm so thankful that God has given me 27 years. That He has given me grace, and peace throughout these years. I'm so thankful that he brings new opportunities into my life to grow closer to Him and to tell others about his love. I know that our days are numbered and I want to live as if each day may be my last. No regrets. No missed opportunities.

Forts

I remember my mom as one of the best tent/indoor fort makers of all time! Growing up, we always had extra kids around the house because my mom had a daycare. She would make us tents that would cover the entire living room. She would use sheets, blankets, couches, chairs, and lots of books and clothespins.

Here's my attempt:

Jaron in the tent

Morgan reading some of her library books in the tent.

Eating lunch and watching Finding Nemo - Yup, I included the TV in the tent :)

Such a boy!

Our Apple Tree

We have an apple tree in our backyard. A couple years ago, just about every apple on the tree was good to eat! I picked at least two big bowls full of yummy red apples. Last year, we didn't have more than a couple good ones to eat. The bugs had gotten to most of them. This year has been another year of slim pickings for good apples. However, the kids love looking for the good ones and will eat them right from the tree.

Jaron's excited to have his apple!

Sharing apples with our friends!

Morgan, Jace and Jaron

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Library

The kids love visiting the library. Whenever we go to the library, we have to stop and see Jack and Jill, the two guinea pigs, and then we proceed to the computers and then finally back to the puzzles before checking out our books.

Jaron loves playing Reader Rabbit and listening to all the songs.

Morgan enjoys Jump Start Kindergarten

I think Jaron just likes feeling like a big boy :)

Just the Three of Us

Last weekend, we had the opportunity to spend Friday night with just Jaron. We don't often get the opportunity to spend two on one time. Morgan went to Michigan with Craig's mom and so we took Jaron to a baseball game.

Go Tin Caps!!

Sleepy and Snuggly...the game went until well after 10pm

What I've Been Up To...

Hop over to my photography blog to see what I've been up to!!

http://rjp-sneakpeek.blogspot.com/

I did it!!

I booked our first cruise! I am soooo excited! We are going with some friends from church the last week of October :)

We are traveling on Royal Caribbean to the Mexican Riviera stopping at Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta.

This will be our ship: Mariner of the Seas

Amerie

For a few weeks now, I've been feeling like we've needed to have Amerie over. You can read about her story here.

Last week, we were finally able to connect. Morgan and Amerie got a long great and had a fantastic time together. I'm so thankful for the innocence of youth. We had talked a lot with Morgan about how Amerie's mom had died and that Amerie might be sad. I was making dinner and I noticed that Morgan was whispering something in Amerie's ear. I watched for a minute and after they hugged and went on playing I asked Morgan what she had said. She told me that she just said she was sorry that her mom died. And that was that. I wasn't sure how to bring it up, I wasn't sure if I needed to.

We just made sure to give lots of love and hugs while she was at our house. I don't know what the future holds for this precious girl, but I pray that whatever part God wants us to play, we will be willing and ready. However big or small.

The hot tub was pretty low, so we were adding hose water and the kids wanted to play in the "warmish" water :)

Growing Up

Morgan will finish her first full week of preschool today. I can't believe that she is old enough for preschool. I remember just four short years ago dreaming of these days. Now they are here. She is so excited each school day to get ready and put her backpack on and go see her new friends and learn something new.

Right now, whenever she comes home and we ask her what she learned she says, "Nothing." She is one smart little cookie and they are doing a lot of review right now :) Yesterday she said, "Mommy, Mrs. Beth didn't even give me any homework!" I reminded her that this was preschool and that she would probably start getting homework in kindergarten. She can't wait for homework. Heheheh. Such a little school girl.

Here are a few pictures from her first day!!

Daddy got to go with us to drop Morgan off!

Standing outside her classroom