January Blues

The holidays are over, it's cold outside (yes, I'm a wimp, I think I was created to live at the equator) and a vacation is months away. But, thankfully, there's no time to get blue around here (unless it's blue lips from the cold). Rich and I were reflecting just this morning on how much fun our family is and what a blessing our children are to us. They're certainly not perfect (hard to imagine because they have perfect parents), but what a reward already to see that when we apply biblical parenting principles, there is fruit! And we've heard from many, many parents who have walked this road before us that the fruit becomes even sweeter! Hang in there moms and dads. It's hard, the days are long, the two year old tantrums often seem endless, but the years are short. I can already see that.

Now, I'm getting blue.

Here's some photos from our January...

Homeschooling co-op friends - Madeline, Caleb, SarahGrace, Anna Marie, Isaac, Ellen. We have been doing a fun Friday learning co-op with these 2 families for 5 years now. What a blessing to have like-minded friends!

Toothless Caleb. He can't wait to eat spaghetti without opening his mouth.

Ellen and Anna riding the Pooh Express. Ellen's little sisters just adore her. She is such a fun sissy! I'm so thankful for the time that Ellen has to spend getting to know them.

Ellen and Caleb riding Arby and Oliver. They're ready for trail riding out west. Yes, we're dreaming of our next Wilbur vacation already.

Logan likes the size of this miniature horse named Peanut.

Rich took Ellen on a special date to a fancy schmancy restaurant downtown Charleston. Ellen said she'd never seen so much silverware on the table at one time. They created a sweet memory that will last forever.

Anna can crawl.... but backwards only. It's hilarious!

Rebekah is constantly cooking for us in her new kitchen. Notice the hot dog casserole frying on the stove. Mmmmm... mmmmm....

With all of that fun how could I even think about being blue?