Andrew's 5th Birthday

Hey Dad. We wish you were here to share the excitement with us. Here's a few pics to enjoy in your absence.

Love you, Pops!

(Cupcakes!)

(Balloons!)

(Cake!)

(The Uncle/Aunt present)

(The mess)

(The Bear takes a swing)

(Check out this form!)

(Matty steps in to finish the job)

(As does Michael)

(Pinata broken, mid-air)

(The Vulture decend)

(Ty-Guy enjoying Mammo's kisses)

Mom wanted me to be sure to also tell you that she loves you!

Miss you, Pops.
Hope your days was relaxing.

The Fam.

The Kite Festival

It was such a fun day! The next post gives some of the details. All the day was missing was you!



Not a dirt bike, Michael, but we thought of you!

The bear wins the prize for cutest kite. The boys would have loved it!

What a day!

We started our day with Grandma having breakfast at Perkins - delicious! Grandma and I split a veggie omlette while Dad enjoyed the usual bacon, eggs and toast. We had a great time, with the added bonus of no dishes to do after the meal!

Then we headed off for a ride in the country. It was a spectacularly beautiful day. The pictures don't do justice to the beauty God treated us to. The ground was covered in a fresh layer of snow almost too bright to look at without sunglasses. There was a moment during our ride when I felt like I was in Antarctica! We saw nothing but white snow- and ice-covered earth set against a blue horizon. I stepped out of the car to take a picture for you and I FELT like I was in Antarctica! Wind-chill factor in the open countryside is crazy!

After enjoying the country setting for a while we headed back to town for the Kite Festival. Wow! I took a panoramic video of the happenings on the lake to give you an idea of what it looked like - it's trying to upload. Hope it works! I'll attach a couple of pics as well. The community came out on this beautiful, clear, but cold winter day. They're troopers here. Grandma was out for an hour - out on the lake! She amazes me.

We wish you all could have seen the kites and experienced the atmosphere. It was just beautiful. We missed you all. But we can share the day through these pics. You can enjoy the festival and the drive from the warmth of your homes! (Don, I hear it's pretty warm even outside where you are! In the 80's? We're supposed to have a blizzard tomorrow morning!)

So when will we be seeing your gorgeous faces on this blogspot? We love you!

I don't think the video is going to work. Bummer.

Happy Valentine's Day to our kids - all 8 of you!!!!!

We sure love you all!

Andrew, you wanted a picture of Pappa, Maggie and I, so here we are wishing you all a wonderful day as you celebrate how very much you're are loved and what a blessing it is to give love away!!

Kids, Dad and I are so blessed to have you all. We know that one of the ways God loves us is through the people He puts in our lives. We couldn't have asked for more than He's given us in you. We're so proud of the people you've become - and are still becoming - as you let Him mold your character. Loving you fills us so much we feel like we're going to pop! And being loved by you is one of His sweetest gifts. We wonder... as we're made in the image of God... is this how He feels? He loves us just because we are. Is His heart so blessed as we love Him back? What a good and gracious God.

We love you. We miss being able to hug you, but we're sending love and hugs through this blogesphere!

We're looking forward to seeing you soon.




It's a gorgeous day in Clear Lake. : )

WE LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!!

Miss you, too.

And congratulations, Tyler, on the accomplishment! Way to move!