Nature - Junco

We have had so many of these cute little feathered friends visit us recently. We did some research and read up on our bird friend, the Junco. We love to sit and watch the birds visiting our bird feeders. We even had a falcon, Merlin, sit on our back deck for a few minutes one afternoon when Aunt L was visiting, but it was off and flying before I could even reach for the camera - that would have been a great picture to get.

Sledding Fun

These pictures are from right before Christmas - just a little late getting them posted. The kids had such a blast sledding with their uncles and cousins. We have a small sledding hill by our house we have taken the kids to since this time, but nothing compared to this big hill by my sister's.

Christmas Creations

Big Brother and I thoroughly enjoyed making some homemade gifts for various family members and wanted to share just a few of them. The birds were all created by Big Brother. He did an amazing job with the sewing of all the pieces together. Lots of time went into making these little creations. Here is the website where we found the patterns - http://www.downeastthunderfarm.com/bird-patterns/.

I made a few of the bird's nest necklaces as well. All different colored wires and beads made some beautiful combinations. Here is the website where I found the idea - http://www.sarahortega.com/2011/05/diy-bird-nest-necklace.html.

I also created and canned apple/pear butter for the first time. I compiled a few different ideas together to come up with my recipe and technique. It is a very "naked" recipe of just pears, apples, honey, and cinnamon sticks. I used my Vitamix and crockpot and ended up with amazing flavor and texture. Will definitely be making this again.

Not the greatest picture, but I also loom knitted some leg warmers for Aaliyah - kind of had to make up the pattern for this as my loom was not small enough, but they turned out really cute - hoping to make a few more pairs for both girls.

Animal Edibles

One of our December Christmas focuses for school was the Christmas Tree so one of the activities was to create "animal edibles" and decorate the trees of another person as a service project. We thoroughly enjoyed creating PB/bird seed pine cones, cookie cut-out bread pieces, strings of cranberries, and slices of oranges and tied them up with pretty ribbon and twine. We then headed down to Great Grandparents' houses and decorated some outdoor trees. We have heard that a variety of birds have come to visit the trees and enjoyed our treats.

Edible Nativity

We had such a great time as a family in mid-December making this edible nativity. It was so fun to see the kids' creativity as they decided how to put it together from the supplies (candy)  we had available.

Big brother made the three wise men. Loved the crowns he added.

Big Sister did a wonderful job decorating the tree.

Daddy created the manger with a snickers bar. Big brother created the hay.

Baby sister enjoyed the show.

This was star #1 made by Big brother, but it kept falling down.

Big sister created version #2 and called it the day sun.

Christmas Performance

We were blessed to be a part of a group of families that performed a Christmas Program at a nearby retirement/nursing home. Big brother recited Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given. The government will be upon his shoulders. He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Big Sister and Mommy recited and used ASL for John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. The children also performed many songs as a group and we were blessed to the see the talents of so many of our friends singing, dancing, playing the piano, and the violin. It was a wonderful experience for all of us.

Our Little Girl Turned One

A little late on posting 1-year pictures for our baby girl since her birthday was in the beginning of November, but took some time to take a quick few snapshots of her just to keep track of these milestones. She is changing so much lately and started walking on Christmas Eve and now that is her main mode of transportation. She enjoys her siblings immensely, but is also having difficulty communicating with them very effectively - lots of shrieks and screams when she they don't "listen" to her.

Piano Recital

Big brother had his first piano recital at the beginning of December. He played Oh Christmas Tree and Silent Night. He did a great job of playing and not letting his nerves get the best of him.

Big Brother's cousins also performed in the same recital so it was fun to see M and T perform their piano pieces as well. They played beautifully!

Tumbling Practice

Big Brother participates in a home school tumbling so we try to practice a bit every day...doesn't always work out that way, but we make attempts. Here are a few pictures of him practicing. Amazed how quickly he is growing in strength to do some of the movements required. We had just had our carpets cleaned the day before so there was no furniture in the living room - lots of space to tumble.

Big Sister's 3-year Photo Shoot

These are a few pictures I was able to get of Big Sister a few weeks back after she turned three. Some day I would love to take some photography lessons, but for now, we will run with what we get. She is such a cutie that even my amateur photo taking captures the beautiful smile of my precious daughter. There were many more silly pictures - with cheesy grins and pirate eyes, but we were able to pull a few out of the bunch. What a blessing she is to our home and always full of smiles. She has recently really gotten into princesses and castles and kings, so love sharing stories about how she is God's little princess - I pray she will grow up knowing how precious she is in the sight of her Father.

Just hanging around - this was the pose she picked!

Had to get one with her hair down. Still amazed at the quantity of hair on her head.

Thanksgiving Post (a little behind on the blog)

I pretty much took the whole month of December off from blogging, so having to do a little backtracking to get caught up. I know we just celebrated Christmas, but I just had to share Big Brother's Thanksgiving turkey creation. Every year, I put together a fruit and/or vegetable turkey and this year, Big Brother asked if he could create his own fruit turkey. So here is a picture of his wonderful creation. I was then able to simplify and do a quick vegetable turkey. So fun and healthy too!