A crowd for dinner!

A couple of families we met at Spring camp contacted us last week. They were going to be in town and could we meet up? We were thrilled that they thought to contact us and were excited to open our home to them to share a meal and some sweet fellowship too!

With 6 adults and 15 children our diningroom was bursting at the seams, but it was full of joy!

*yep, Rob pulled out the name tags!

The kids had a great time playing together.

We had some extra time of bonding and sharing that evening with the Ding family, as they spent the night. ;)

New clothes, and fall back

This Sunday I pulled out some new outfits (Thanks to Mom/Nana, and a way-too-much-fun trip to the Hanna Andersson outlet). The kids all looked so cute we just had to snap a few pictures before we headed out to church.

Then we got to church...

Oh right, daylight savings time. Fall back... we're an hour early! Off to Starbucks!

We had a fun time enjoying a nice snack before heading back to church.

Rob noticed that my outfit matched the kids', but it wasn't a Hanna Andersson outfit too, was it? Yep, I'm in Hanna's too. Right down to the shoes! Thanks mom/Nana!

One year!

Miss C is one year old! My how this year has flown by.

She started her big day with her gifts. She got some cute PJ's (purchased with money sent from G'ma and Grandad), a new bag (for church), a couple cloth diapers, and some of her favorite baby snacks. She was so happy with the snacks, nothing else mattered. ;)

"Num, num, num" is her favorite thing to say. She was quite content to sit and eat her "num nums!"

That evening we invited some friends over for dinner. Their son is a week older than Miss C and the two are such cute little friends. I made cupcakes for both of them. Mr. J got "Cat in the hat" cupcakes, he is a Dr. Seuss kid.

Miss C got eclair cupcakes with teddy bears holding pumpkins on top, perfect for our little girl.

She was more than happy to dig in.

What a happy, messy little girl!
Mr. J stayed fairly clean.

Cornucopia cake

My Mother-in-law recently bought a cornucopia cake pan for me for the Autumn season. I figured I would probably want to make one for Thanksgiving, but wanted to give it a trial run first. I made it up this past week.
Isn't it pretty? It was fairly easy to make, and the sauce brushed over the cake is what gave it that nice shine. Oh, and it tasted great! Maybe I'll let Mr. S and Miss J use the pan for their banana bread this week?

Just had to add this picture in.... such a sweet little girl, she loves to cuddle with her daddy.

Reformation weekend

This past weekend we had the opportunity to spend a few nights with some friends that have quickly become very dear to us! The purpose of the visit was to participate in CVP's reformation celebration on Friday and then attend church at CVP on Sunday as well as to get to know the J Family better. The fellowship we enjoyed with the J Family (and also the R family that lives next door), was a HUGE and priceless gift to us! What a blessing they are!

The kids all dressed up for the Reformation Day celebration. My kids had fun picking the fabrics they wanted me to use for their costumes. Miss C just picked out one of her cute dresses to wear. ;)

Mr. S found this vest in the dress-up clothes almost as soon as we arrived. I think the only time he took it off while we were there was for bed! Our sweet hosts thought that he should take it home, and he has been wearing it regularly around here too!

Rob and some of the young men got a bit to excited about playing with their swords. They were inspired to set up this scene when they saw the red leather available for use in one of the crafts.

The first activity was crafts. They had a bit of leather working available, making a family crest, sewing a pouch, and braiding straw. I stuck with Miss J and helped her sew a pouch. She was so excited to be sewing.

In and out, in and out. She stuck with it all the way through!

Our boys were much more interested in the sword fights breaking out, and kicking themselves for not bringing their own!

Next it was time for games. Our family enjoyed watching and participating as well!

I guess we did not get any pictures of the dancing (English country), or of the dinner. After the dinner and dancing was the play! It was all so well done, and the fellowship was wonderful!

Our week-end with our friends was a wonderful one, full of great fellowship and conversation. The kids all had a wonderful time playing together, exploring the property, and they even put on a play for us!

Rebecca's blog has more pictures and information on the Reformation party (and a great picture of both families together!). Her blog is very encouraging to me.

Thank you for the wonderful week-end!

little mommy

Miss E has always been a great help to me around the house. In the last few months though, it seems that she is really growing and maturing and wanting more and more responsibilities. What a blessing that is to me, and the rest of the family! She has taken over much of the baking, which I miss a bit, but it is a great help to me and a nice break. She has also been looking for opportunities to serve me by caring for her little sisters.

She often asks to carry Miss J or Miss C in an ergo while she does her jobs. Both of the little girls enjoy this treat! She has also started changing diapers too! Don't feel sorry for her, that she is working so hard, or think I may be taking advantage of her. She is getting paid for many of these jobs! :)

What's on your face?

Mr. M was going along minding his own business when I noticed some black streaks on his face....


He figured out he could make these markings from the burned candles. Boys, always thinking of new ways to get dirty!