Solid Rock Ranch Updates

Preparing for the Kitchen Addition

2012-01-23T18:04:00.000-05:00

It seems like our upcoming kitchen addition is talked about very frequently throughout the day! We've wanted to expand our little kitchen into a huge, multi-generational one for years but the Lord had never paved the way...until now. :) Things are starting to align and we're starting to figure out what we want everything to be like. Mama and Daddy have gone on a few date nights to look at cabinets, flooring, etc. in nearby stores and a few times they've taken us along!

Last week all of us, except Caleb and Judah, went to a Lowe's and browsed all their kitchen stuff: cabinets, sinks, counters, dishwashers, and more!

Lydia playing with a sink.

Checking things out...

Mama definitely did not like whatever she was looking at here! ;)

She liked whatever she's looking at here, much better!

Lydia was a huge ball of energy and non-stop talking at Lowe's (what's new?). So, even though I was constantly going "Lydia, where are you?" "Don't touch that" or, "Stop messing with that" she managed to keep me smiling. :)

Seth, Lexi, and Eden looking at the sink stuff.

I've got a couple blackmail pictures on here, don't I? :)

Remember me saying that Lydia was a constant ball of energy? In these pictures, she was pretending to "sleep".

(I was just grateful she wasn't sitting on the display toilets anymore...)

Josiah looked at a few things but mostly ran around with any sibling willing to explore with him. :)

Daddy "borrowed" a measuring tape and showed us how big our kitchen was going to be, using the display kitchens to give us a more concrete idea. Our kitchen is going to be huge...and so, so awesome! :)

It's kind of fun to go around and plan our "dream kitchen". The sample kitchens Lowe's has set up are really helping solidify in our minds what we do and don't like.

The cabinets behind Hannah in the right photo ended up being one of the majority's favorite cabinet colors.

Mama walking through planning heaven. :)

We currently are 99.9% sure who is going to build the addition, so that's a step forward! This builder, though, won't be able to start until the end of March so we're taking all the free time we have to get quotes from cabinet makers, research new appliances, decide on colors and counters, etc. Right now (it changes pretty often) we're going to have an island with a granite countertop and then have the other counters be a solid surface. We have 3 people we're considering to do our cabinets, and we're planning on doing the floors, painting, insulation, and more with the help of experienced friends.

Everything is really starting to fall into place and it's exciting! My major hope is that the entire kitchen will be completely finished by the time Hannah and I graduate in June! (Wishful thinking? Maybe..)

We'd appreciate any prayers for us regarding decisions about the addition.

Thanks ahead of time!

Kimber :)

Christmas #2 with Na-naw and Paw-paw

2012-01-17T18:05:00.000-05:00

So, two posts ago, I recorded our Christmas with Na-naw and Paw-paw (Mama's parents). Well, we had another Christmas with them! My Aunt and family live out of town so we don't get to celebrate Christmas with them on Christmas Day. They usually come down and visit a day or two after Christmas, staying through the New Year, so we do another Christmas with them when we can get everyone together again. :)

This year our "second Christmas" took place the Friday after Christmas.

Everyone pitched in for dinner and we had a delicious meal of sausage casserole, tuna casserole, chicken nuggets (for those who don't like the casseroles ;), vegetables and yummy desserts!

Uncle Sean fixed the sausage casserole.

Aunt Mae-Mae made the tuna casserole...

...and Aunt T.C. brought the chicken nuggets.

The very delicious corn! :)

Everyone else brought the vegetables, desserts, or whatever else was needed. :)

My Aunt Amanda made the delicious Dirt Pudding for dessert. It was gone in a very short amount of time! That stuff is almost heavenly (how can you go wrong with Cool Whip, pudding, and lots of Oreos?)!

After dinner, Na-naw and Paw-paw, and an assortment of kids, grandkids, spouses, etc. filled the living room.

Na-naw and Paw-paw started off the evening festivities with the opening of their presents to each other. (They do their presents when the whole family is together.) Then they opened the presents from their children.

Then if Mama and her siblings had presents for each other, they opened those. :)

After those gifts were opened, it was time for a game of:

Some people watched a movie while the adults played the game.

I stayed and watched the game and there were quite a few hilarious moments!

White Elephant was the last game of the night. Before everyone left, though, Mama and her siblings had to sit on the steps like they've done every year before. :)

As usual, Uncle Sean and Aunt Mae-Mae were hilarious!

I think that this picture was the most "normal" picture out of all the ones I took! :)

We normally end the night with their picture on the steps, but this year we did something new! We got a picture of all of Na-naw and Paw-paw's grandchildren on the steps too! (Actually we missed the youngest Nash grandchild, Cameron, who was sleeping...)

Thanks to Mama for taking this picture! We tried to organize it so that the children descended down the steps in age order. It was quite a squish to fit all 21 of us on the steps but somehow we made it! (My cousin, Asher, was not at all happy about being separated from his Mama. Can you guess which one is Asher? :)

So, our last Christmas celebration ended with lots of fun and family!

Kimber :)

P.S. - Here's one last Christmas picture for you:

Christmas with the Wassenbergs

2012-01-03T19:12:00.000-05:00

"And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger."
Luke 2:16

Okay, remember from my last post how I said some of us went up to my Grandparents on Christmas Day? Well, those of us at Grandma's slept in and woke up whenever we felt like it (another advantage of holidays! :). When Grandma woke up she bustled around the kitchen making us some yummy Egg McMuffins, along with petrified credit cards (a.k.a. Spam).

After breakfast, Grandma and I went to the store (everyone else stayed at home) to look for some wrapping paper on clearance to use for next year. :) Once we found what we needed at Kohl's' we stopped by McDonalds and got a drink. Grandma got an iced cappuccino (or something) and I got a Pineapple Mango Smoothie that was absolutely amazing!!

Every year we build a Christmas puzzle with Grandpa and Grandma. We normally try and finish the puzzle before we go back home, but we didn't make it this year. (The main reason being that we normally stay with Grandpa and Grandma for a few days and we only stayed one day this time.)

Around 12ish, Mama, and everyone who had stayed at home, arrived!

About 30-45 minutes later, Uncle Greg and his family showed up. Soon, drinks were being poured and the food was starting to get organized.

The dining room table.

The prayer was soon said and then we all dug into Grandma's wonderful meal!

Getting ready to eat!

Seeing as everything is better when paired with a picture, I'll give you a sampling of everything yummy!

Grandpa cooked up some yummy steak!

The twice-baked potatoes get two pictures because they're that good! :)

Broccoli casserole!

And last, but not least, crescent rolls!

We also had garlic bread, corn, and I don't remember what else. All I know was that it was yummy!

I couldn't go without a picture of our appetizers: jellybeans! I love these things! The problem with them, though, is that they're so small that you convince yourself that eating a lot of them doesn't have any consequences. :)

Grandma and Grandpa's Christmas tree!

Gifts!

You see that amazingly handsome fellow in the round ornament? That would be my Daddy! :)

We didn't open presents until 4 P.M., so, after lunch, we snacked on some of the yummy desserts.

My cousin, Amanda, made these wonderful snickerdoodles. There were a lot more cookies in this tin but we ate most of them before I took this picture! :)

My cousin, Diana, made these!

Every year we have a tradition (thanks to my Aunt Amy!) of icing and decorating sugar cookies. This year my Aunt wasn't able to make her yummy icing so we found a recipe online and whipped up 3 batches. We colored one icing green, one red, and one white. We then sat at the table and applied the icing and sprinkles. :)

Eden (left) and Lexi (right) decorating!

Mmmm...

Amanda (left) and Josiah (right).

Grandma even decorated with us! :)

Working hard...

Some of the finished products!

This cookie was Lexi's masterpiece.

Those who didn't decorate cookies (or took a break) sat in the den and watched some T.V.

4 P.M. rolled around and we all gathered in the den to open presents. With Grandpa and Grandma, we normally have one person open their gift and then the person next to them goes. We do this until all the gifts are gone!

Here are some pictures of the general havoc that comes with present-opening!

I now realize that I have not uploaded any pictures of Caleb opening gifts...sorry!

Our cousin, Amanda.

Diana (a cousin, too!).

Grandma.

Grandpa did a great job catching all the wrapping paper balls thrown at him. :) He was the designated "trash picker-upper" and he managed to catch our trash and open his own presents at the same time. :)

After presents, we all ran to the stairs to find our stockings.

All the grand-kids on the steps!

After the stockings were opened, we all took a break, ate some more desserts, played with/admired our new presents and relished in the family time. :)

We watched Kung Fu Panda 2 later that night. As it neared the end, Mama, Judah, and I left for home (remember we drove separately...) so we could milk Halle. Everyone else followed in the van sometime later.

So, ended our Christmas with Grandpa, Granmda, and our Uncle and his family!

I'm sorry these posts are taking so long to complete! I think I have one or two more posts about Christmas before I'm done. :)

Kimber :)

P.S. - Remember how I said that my Aunt couldn't make icing this year? Well, that was because she has bone cancer and is in a lot of pain oftentimes. She (and her family) have been through so much...please keep them in your prayers, if you can!

Christmas with the Nash Family

2012-01-02T18:07:00.000-05:00

"And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins."

Matthew 1:21

Christmas morning dawned dark and early. I woke up about 6:20 A.M. and at 7 we were out the door and headed to my Paw-paw and Na-naw's house. (We call my mom's parents, Paw-paw and Na-naw, by the way.)

Once inside their cozy house, we found Paw-paw cooking his wonderful Christmas breakfast! I soon went around and took some pictures of the food before breakfast, because I knew there wouldn't be much left once we could eat it! :)

This is the wonderful cook, perfecting his scrambled eggs. :)

Bacon!

These are Paw-paw's special blueberry pancakes. They are, quite simply, amazing. :)

Sausage (he had spicy and normal)!!

Give me some butter with these lovely biscuits and life is good. :)

We also had grapefruit, eggs, plain pancakes, and more!

Uncle Kevin getting some chow. :)

Eden, Cadence, Gracie, and Josiah eating breakfast!

I love all the babies around right now! Here Na-naw and Uncle Sean let Asher and Cameron check each other out (Cameron seems a bit uninterested! :).

The lovely Christmas tree!

After breakfast, we all gathered in the living room. We started off with reading the birth of Jesus as recounted in Luke 2. Then, Na-naw, with the help of Caleb and Seth, passed out all the presents. Once every present was passed out, Na-naw said "Go!" and we all ripped into our gifts. :)

A little while after the gift opening, our family left for church! Mama, Daddy, and Lexi were leading the children in singing a few Christmas songs in the sanctuary that morning, so we had to be there early. :)

Church went well, and after the service we went back to Na-naw and Paw-paw's house for the monthly Nash Luncheon. Family soon filled the house and more eating commenced!

After all the yummy food and fellowship, we left mid-afternoon and went home. We relaxed for a few hours, reading books, and doing random things around the house. When the 4 youngest were in bed, Daddy, Lexi, Caleb, Seth, and I drove up to Northern VA. We were planning on going up to Grandma's Monday morning but some of us wanted to go up early. We called Grandma and she was fine with that, so up we went! We arrived at Gpa and Gma's around 9:45 P.M. and watched the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing some Christmas songs on T.V. It was quite an entertaining experience with Grandma's comments and Grandpa's disdain for choirs. :)

So ended another wonderful day of celebrating Jesus' birth! Even more fun was to come the next day!

Kimber :)

Christmas Eve: Our Family Christmas and It's a Wonderful Life

2011-12-31T16:16:00.000-05:00

"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."

Isaiah 7:14

Christmas Eve happened to be on a Saturday this year, so the day started off right with a wonderful sleep-in. :) We all were up by 9 A.M. and found Mama and Daddy cooking up a wonderful breakfast! Daddy was making omelets and Mama, chocolate chip muffins. We had our personal and family devotions and then ate breakfast!

One thing's for sure in this house: we do not starve for good, healthy food! :)

As we were getting everyone and all the food to the table, Mama and Hannah finished shaking some cream:

So, you're probably wondering what "shaking up cream" means. It means we were making butter! Yep, we skim the cream off Halle's milk put it in a half-gallon jar and then shake it until butter globules appear at the top of the cream (which is now called buttermilk...but I won't confuse you too much). It's a really neat process. :)

Lydia eating her plain omelet.

Judah soon woke up and he was excited to come downstairs and see everyone! :)

Okay, I couldn't resist this picture of his (and one of Hannah's) eyes. He's so precious! :) [Hannah's nice, too! ;)]

When breakfast was over, Daddy went to milk Halle and we cleaned up. About 1 hour after breakfast we finally sat down in the den and opened presents from Daddy and Mama!

Those of you who have been following this blog for years know what this thing pictured is: one of our wise men sacks!

The rest of you are probably confused, so I'll explain. We don't do Santa at our house...he simply isn't mentioned (for many reasons). We prefer pretending that the "wise men" come on their camels to bring us gifts. We all (minus maybe Lydia and Josiah) know the "wise men" are Mama and Daddy but it's a fun way to disguise things. For example, we'll say "So, Daddy, have you seen any wise men lately?" and Daddy will reply with something like "No, but I heard someone nearby got spit on by a camel, so they must be getting close." Anyways, Mama and Daddy (a.k.a. the wise men) put our gifts into 3 separate burlap sacks and wrap them with cords that look like they came from the Middle East. This just adds to the fun, wise men theme!

We normally have three "wise men bags". In theory, there is an educational bag, a stocking bag, and a personal bag.

The first wise men bag we opened was the personal bag! We started with the youngest, so Judah got to go first!

We normally teach Judah to not touch presents, so he was excited to get to rip open his own!

Inside, he found some yummy food!

(The Air Head was from me but he wasn't awake when we did sibling presents the night before, so he got it in the morning!)

Judah also got some new cloth diapers which he really needed (unbeknown to him)!

Lydia got a new car seat and she was extremely excited about it (the things that kids like...).

Josiah got some new arrows for his bow...

...and a hippity hop!

Eden also got a hippity-hop, as well as a pretty bracelet:

Seth had the biggest present and inside the box he found a music stand!

This was his face when he saw what it was! (Seth plays the bagpipe and was having a hard time finding somewhere to put his music book, where he could follow it and play at the same time. The music stand works out perfectly for him!)

Putting it together.

Caleb got some new jeans and boots from Bass Pro.

Lexi's present was a box that sent her on a hot-cold hunt. She found her present in a closet and brought it back to the couch to open.

She loved what she found:

A fuzzy coat!

If you know Lexi, you know it's rare for her to be anything other than cold. This coat was right up her alley!

I got some new boots, also, which are very comfy, as well as waterproof (a must for working at the barn!).

Hannah got two things for her hope chest. One was this plaque and the other was a Thanksgiving platter (which was really cute!).

Mama bought Daddy some yummy Cocoa Pure!

With the first bag of presents being opened, the next wise men sack was brought out! This time we all got a bag full of little individual gifts (much like what you would find in a stocking).

Judah got some new shoes!

Hannah, Lexi, Eden, and I all got beautiful journals. This one pictured is my own. :)

Our lovely Mama!

Seth got a Knights of Arrethtrae pendant.

A keychain for Hannah...

...toothpaste for Weedels...

...and candy for everyone!

Love Josiah's eyelashes...

After all the stocking gifts were open, we moved onto the more "educational" wise man bag.

Everyone received a present of the same size and we opened them simultaneously.

We found these!

These plaques have the first and middle name of each of us. They also contain the meaning and verse of each. After we all admired our plaques, Mama went around and explained to each one of us, the meaning of our name, how they see it being fulfilled in our lives and why they chose the two verses for us. It was really neat!

(These presents really were a labor of love. Daddy and Mama both stayed up late (early?) researching our meanings and finding verses that matched, as well as adding decor to the boards.)

Mama expounding on the meaning of Eden's name.

If you want to read the meaning of our names, here are some pictures of them. Click on the picture and it will enlarge and you can read most of it!

The plaques ended our presents from Mama and Daddy. We then spent the next few hours eating, playing with our new stuff, or doing other Christmasy things. :)

Around 2 P.M. we ate lunch! We do an early lunch on Christmas Eve because the service at our church is early and we had to be there even earlier because some people were singing. :)

We had sparkling juices for our drink!

For a few years now, we've always had Stouffers lasagna for our Christmas Eve meal! Our neighbors, the Townsends, bring us one (sometimes two) lasagnas every year and we eat one for Christmas!

Broccoli was our veggie. :)

We also had buttermilk rolls!

Once lunch was over we went to church. While Daddy, Hannah, Mama, and Lexi practiced in the sanctuary, the rest of stayed out in the 242 Cafe or went outside and played on the sidewalk.

At 5 P.M. the service started and we all went in the sanctuary together (even the little guys!). Our friends, the Jacksons, came to the service too and we overflowed an entire pew (they've got 11 kids)! It was great! I was in charge of Judah and he liked to let the entire World know his location, so I sat out in the Cafe for most of the service. But it was still fun to be in the sanctuary for a few minutes with my entire family...that only happens once a year.

After the service, some of us piled into the Jackson's vehicle and others into our van. Mrs. Jackson put on a lovely singing and dancing performance for those of us who rode with her.

Now you're probably wondering why the Jackson's were coming back to our house. Well, we found out that the Jacksons have a Christmas Eve tradition of watching It's a Wonderful Life. We have that tradition too (great minds think alike, right?)! So we invited them to come to our church's Christmas Eve service and then come back to our house for popcorn, cookies, and a movie!

Seth's googly glasses were a favorite with the younger kids...here Asher J. tries to figure out how they work! :)

Boaz J. was a favorite with everyone!

Mr. Jackson found the googly glasses too and was entertaining everyone with them. He then put them on Boaz which made everyone laugh:

The poor little guy had no idea what was going on! :)

Hannah all bugged out...it's a nice touch, isn't it? :-D [Hannah would probably like to interject here and say that Mr. Jackson put these on her...and that she's very insulted I dare put this on the World Wide Web. :)]

We had a cookie contest between our family and the Jacksons. We both had favorite, "passed-down-through-generations" recipe that we make at Christmas. So, we each decided to make that recipe and share them with each other! Our family made Spritz Cookies (pictured above) and the Jacksons made Candy Cane Cookies. :)

While most of us enjoyed good fellowship, Daddy and one other person, popped, buttered, and salted popcorn. We had originally planned on making all the popcorn early but we didn't get to it. I think the popcorn producers popped over 30 batches of corn and were in the kitchen for at least 1 1/2 hours. Yep...24 people eat a lot of popcorn! :)

Finally, the popcorn popping expedition was over and we all settled down in the schoolroom for It's a Wonderful Life.

The Jacksons brought over one of their big T.V.'s and we put it on two chairs on top of our school counter to watch the movie. :) Our 20x20 schoolroom was looking kind of small with 24 people in it but we all found somewhere to squish in and watch the movie! :)

Josiah, Asher J., and Lydia getting ready for the movie!

Since the popcorn took longer than we expected, the movie went longer than expected (shock, right?). I don't think it ended until 10:30! We were all tired (some fell asleep), so we cleaned up, said goodbye to the Jacksons and hurried up to bed.

It had been a full yet wonderful day!

Kimber :)

Our Family Christmas

2011-12-29T22:07:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! We sure did! :) I don't know if it's just because I'm getting older (or busier) but Christmas went by too fast, in my opinion. The days just flew by and I had a hard time just stepping back and enjoying it. Nevertheless, it was still wonderful!

Our family does Christmas in many different stages, at different times. We have our own family Christmas, then Christmas with Mama's side, then Christmas with Daddy's side, and then another Christmas with Mama's side when my Aunt and family come in town. So, we have at least 4 days when we're celebrating Christmas (I say, the more the merrier)!

This post is about our personal, family Christmas. We've always (as long as I can remember) done our family Christmas on the morning of Christmas Eve. We do it then because we get up early to go to Na-naw and Paw-paw's house on Christmas day. If we did our family Christmas the day of, we would be getting up at 5 or 6 A.M. and everything would be rushed. So, we don't do that...and I like it that way!

This year, though, we did part of our family Christmas the day before Christmas Eve! A few years ago we started a tradition. After Thanksgiving, we put all our names (minus Judah) into a hat and everyone pulls a name out. The person they get is their "secret pal" and we have to try and bless them constantly until our family Christmas. We do their chores, make their beds, leave candy on their pillows, etc. Then, on Christmas Day we give our secret pal a present and they have to guess who their person was. I love this game because it's a great reminder that Christmas is about giving and not getting. Plus, it's an adventure to try and bless your person without letting them find out it was you! :)

Anyways, instead of doing our secret pal gifts on Christmas Eve (as we've done every year before) we did them the night before Christmas Eve. :) This helped spread out the presents and keep the gifts from just becoming a stack of "received".

The night started with one of my favorite meals: hamburgers on the webber charcoal grill with toasted buns, au gratin potatoes, and veggies of some sort.

After dinner (sorry, no pictures), we started settling down in the den. Mama, Hannah, and Lexi then practiced a song they were to sing at our church's Christmas Eve service:

Hannah's face in the photo on the left cracks me up! :)

Then we opened the Christmas cards we received in the mail, or from friends at church:

'Siah opening his card.

Hannah (left) and Mama (right) get a turn!

Once all the cards were opened, read, and hung in the den the gift opening began! We started with Lydia because she was the youngest one to participate:

You can never go wrong in getting candy for someone! ;) Eden was Lydia's secret pal and, along with the candy necklace, she gave Lydia a coloring book.

Josiah was next, and after quite a few guesses at who his secret pal was, he guessed me (Kimber) and was correct!

'Siah got some sour octopuses, a foam football, and a wooden elephant painting set. [Siah was very sweet and came around and gave all of us one of his sour octopuses once his present was opened!]

Eden's secret pal was Lydia! Lydia got Eden some pretty hair clips...

...and a pack of Juicy Fruit gum. :)

Seth's person was Hannah and she gave him a wood kit and some various, silly items, such as these glasses:

Daddy had Caleb and Dad wrapped Caleb's present so tight he had some trouble opening it! :)

He got a light (and obviously bright too)!

Lexi's secret pal was Mama and she gave Lexi some horse shampoo. Now don't laugh, Lexi wanted this for Christmas (she put it on her list!). :)

Seth was my secret pal and he bought me a lovely smelling candle and horse movie. :)

Lexi was Hannah's secret pal and she gave Hannah a eyebrow brush and a hair clip.

;

Mama's secret pal was Caleb and he bought her a huge pack of Smarties!

Josiah was Daddy's secret pal and he filled the top of Daddy's present with balloons. In this picture, Daddy is trying to imitate one of the smiley faces 'Siah drew on the balloon. :)

Once Daddy removed all the balloons, he found a Christmas ornament in his present! Obviously an ornament fell off of our decorations and ended up in Dad's bag. :)

'Siah got Daddy a little drum!

Now for a funny story: Daddy was beating on his new drum for a minute and then he flipped it in the air...and it hit him square between his eyes, causing a little scratch (with some blood, of course!). So, Daddy had to wear a little band-aid right between his eyes (just above the bridge of his nose) for Christmas! :)

After the secret pal presents were over we ate some hand-cranked, home made ice cream! :) It was really good...especially with Trader Joe's Candy Cane Jo Jo's!

After ice cream we opened the presents we siblings bought for each other and Mama and Daddy. Lexi had lined her presents for each of us on the steps:

The gap on the stairs represent the present for Hannah, Caleb, Seth, and I. We had to go on a "hot-cold" hunt for ours. We found it in the freezer and it was...Oreo Klondikes!

My present to all my siblings were some Airheads. I also got Daddy Queen Anne Cordial Cherries and Mommy, a box of Ferrara Pan red hots. :)

One of the most exciting gifts for Hannah and I that night was from Daddy and Mama: a new phone! Since a mishap of my own a few months ago with the phone we (Hannah, Lex, and I) shared, we were left with no phone. So, whenever I went to the barn, I would take Mama's phone, and, if Dad left for work I wouldn't be able to get into contact with those at home (and vice versa). Also, if Daddy was at work and Mama needed to go out and do something, someone had to go without a phone...and that wasn't good.

So, Hannah and I both got a phone! :)

Playing with her new treasure!

It was getting late by this time, and more Christmas was to come the next day, so we all went to bed...and slept well. :)

Kimber :)

P.S. - There are at least 3 more Christmas posts to come. :)

Mama's Birthday

2011-12-22T13:48:00.001-05:00

Mama celebrated her birthday on December 16th (yes, this post is late)!

Her special day started out with getting to sleep in (a rarity for her!) and getting to do her devotions in the solitude of her room. :)

Then we all ended that peacefulness with a blaring edition of "Happy Birthday" when breakfast was ready. :)

Morning hugs! (Poor little Judah is getting squished!)

Mama chose her favorite for breakfast: pepper and onion omelets. Thankfully she was gracious enough to let us just have cheese in our omelets. :)

Mama also wanted blueberry buckle which was amazing (thanks to the cook, Hannah).

Reading a card from one of my siblings. :)

After breakfast was over Mama went around and gave everyone a hug and told them thank you for whatever we gave her. (I didn't have anything ready for her...but I did get her a candle and give it to her 2 days after her birthday. :)

Hugs for Lydia!

Then the day went on...Mama left to go birthday shopping with Na-naw, her mom, and the rest of us stayed at home! (Don't worry, we definitely were not bored!! A few of the Jacksons came over for piano lessons and while one of them was with Hannah, we would jump on the trampoline/play with the rest.)

Around 2 P.M. we all went to Bass Pro to do some gift shopping. Judah and Lydia were in love with all the *stuffed* animals!

Once we were done browsing, we headed over to Na-naw's house and got ready for Mama's birthday dinner! We chopped the onions, fried the meat, and Mama made the enchiladas (we tried to get her to let us do it...).

I had to take pictures of some of Na-naw's decor! You wouldn't believe how decorated Na-naw's house is at Christmas! She really likes wreaths and I think I counted 5-6 wreaths in just one room. :) [Our cousins went around and counted all the wreaths just inside, mind you, and came to over 15. :)]

Eventually family members began filtering in and, around 6 P.M. we prayed and dinner began!

Before dinner, the boys had some wrestling matches which were quite entertaining. Here, Daddy traps our cousin, Mason (who does a valiant job in resisting but to no avail).

Don't these look amazing? And, trust me, they are! I don't know why (I'm thinking it was the gobs of cheese) but the enchiladas were really good that night. Like reallly good. :) I'm so sorry you had to miss out.

Seeing these pictures as I type makes me wish I could eat this all over again! I'm half-way convinced I was meant to be Mexican. I mean, what about Mexican food is there not to like? Spanish rice, enchiladas, tacos, meximelts, salsa and chips, taco salads, etc. = wonderful (perfection?)...right?

While everyone was getting their food, I found Lexi reading a book to Lydia and Justus (our cousin).

Once the delicious meal was over, Mama opened her presents!

Next came the cake!

Along with the Ukrops cake, Na-naw bought some happy cupcakes for the kids. :)

Judah was a little hesitant with the candles...

...and the excessive amount of loud singing that accompanies a birthday at Na-naw's house (thanks for your example, Uncle Sean! ;).

Blowin' out the candles!

There you have Mama's birthday! Those of you who have met my lovely Mother know what a great woman she is: kind, caring, wiling to share her abundance of knowledge, faithful, hospitable, and the list goes on. Our family really has been blessed by having her as our Mama!

Kimber :)

Kimber's 16th Birthday

2011-12-13T16:05:00.000-05:00

I'm sure you all read the super sweet post wrote by my older sister on my birthday. (Thanks, Banana!) I had a really wonderful 16th birthday and I'll try and recapture all my great memories in this post. :)

To start off we had my birthday party 2 days before my actual birthday.

Lexi set the table beautifully with some Christmas decor and Mama's china (she also was the designated photographer).

Skittles were my appetizers. :)

I picked a dinner of hamburgers on toasted buns and Mae-Mae's macaroni and cheese. (We also had veggies but they didn't need any special mentioning. :)

After the scrumptious meal, I opened presents!

Seth bought me a yummy smelling candle and some Christmas Tree Cakes.

Hannah bought me some Jolly Rancher's (and the Skittles).

Reading Lexi's card.

Lexi gave me a mouse pad with a memory foam cushion to rest my wrist on when I edit pictures. :)

Josiah bought me a box of blueberry muffins that I used for my birthday breakfast.

Eden gave me a box of nerds in the above pictured red box...the Nerds fit so well in the container that it took lots of force to dislodge them. :)

Caleb bought me a nice, sharp pocket knife. (Now don't laugh...I needed one for cutting baling twine at the horse farm! :)

Daddy and Mama bought me The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 Book for Photographers and the movie Ben Hur. Once I find a cedar chest I like they'll get that for me too. :)

My lovely birthday cake made by Mama-dear and Seth.

All the family minus Lexi. :)

Blowing out the candles. :)
[I posted this picture just so you could get a laugh out of the face Caleb's making behind me. ;)]

After getting some cake we settled down on the couch and watched half of Ben Hur. So ended Phase 1 of my birthday. :)

---

Phase 2 of my birthday started on my actual birthday! :) My kind boss let me off work for the day so I didn't have to wake up at 5:50 A.M. to go to the barn. So, I slept in. :) I woke up about 8:00 A.M. and did my Bible time in bed. Lydia soon came in the room and brightened my day with her cute sayings and smile! Lydia then left and, some time later, the whole family came in singing "Happy Birthday" to "wake me up".

Once I was downstairs we sat down to a wonderful breakfast!

Daddy made Egg McMuffins and Lexi put together the blueberry muffin mix Josiah gave me:

This was my plate!

After the yummy breakfast was over, we did school and then, around 3 P.M. I started getting ready to go out to dinner with Daddy and Mama. Hannah set aside her precious time to curl my hair, too. I must admit that, when I first saw my curled hair, I was a bit horrified. My hair looked like a combination of dreadlocks and an afro....not what I was looking for. BUT, once Hannah combed the curls a little bit and pulled them back into a barrette I was starting to breathe normally again! :)

Hannah then went out and took pictures of me and I had the pleasure at laughing at her the entire time. It's rare to see Hannah with my camera and, when it happens, it's terribly amusing! :)

Anywho, once pictures were over and Mama and Daddy were ready we hopped in the Green Bean (a.k.a. our little Avalon), said goodbye, and were off!

Do you notice how gorgeous the Bean is in these pictures? Daddy cleaned, washed, and waxed the entire car for me!

We traveled into Richmond and stopped at a store I like: Myrna's Boots and Bits. It has everything horsey...what more could I ask for? :)

One of the things I like about Myrna's is the Western clothes and boots. I think I could *very* easily go "cowgirl" and trying on the cowgirl boots just confirmed it!

Okay...I'll admit it...I loved these! I still haven't justified the $180 necessary to purchase them, though. :)

Looking at a cowgirl calendar. :)

After browsing for about an hour (I could spend lots of time and money in that place...), we left for Ruth's Chris Steak House.

Eating at Ruth's Chris was a very neat experience. Two of the waiters told me Happy Birthday and all of them were very kind. The dining experience was very elegant...quite different from the pizza places we go to! :)

Mama, Daddy, and I all had a yummy salad. Then we ordered dinner! I chose a stuffed chicken dish, Daddy a fish dish, and Mama just ate the potatoes and peas we ordered. :)

As we ate dinner, we talked about a little bit of everything. Daddy also had fun messing with the guy waiters whenever they came around. ;)

When we finished our meals, we looked at the dessert menu. I finally decided to go to Friendly's for ice cream instead of getting a dessert there. Nevertheless, our waiter brought me a little cupcake with a candle in it just for my birthday. She also took a picture of Daddy, Mama, and I.

Daddy has a way of making me laugh.... :)

My little cupcake...the "cupcake" had an outer shell of pure chocolate that was filled with chocolate mousse and topped with whipped cream. In short, it was amazing. :)

Before we went to Friendly's we stopped by another store and browsed a little bit:

Mama found some great gift bags to use this Christmas at a great price, so she was pretty happy! We also found some other things we were looking for, so our quick stop at the store was fruitful!

The icing on the cake, so to speak, came with our visit to Friendly's. They didn't have the Friend-z's available so I got an Oreo sundae instead. Mama and Daddy split something too. :)

Thus ended Phase 2 of my wonderful birthday!

---

3 days later Phase 3 of my 16th birthday began! After working at the barn Thursday morning, I grabbed a quick breakfast and headed up North to my grandparents house! We arrived about 11:30 A.M. and talked with Grandma for a little bit. Then Daddy went to do some work and Grandma and I went out to shop. :) We stopped at Lowe's first to pick up some flower bulbs (on clearance) for Daddy to plant and then we went to a thrift store!

We found lots of great clothes, including this Western shirt (see, I told you I'm going cowgirl) that I really liked.

We lost track of time inside the thrift store and realized, about 2:30 P.M. that we hadn't eaten lunch! So we stopped by Chick-Fil-A and had some nuggets (Grandma had a sandwich). :) Next we went into Claire's and I got my ears pierced! :)

I had been thinking of getting my ears pierced for a few months (years?). I asked Daddy about it this past summer and he said I could at 16. The reason Daddy and Mama chose 16 as "the age" was because they wanted to make sure I wasn't doing it just because "everyone else has them" or to boost my self-esteem (I should esteem myself in the light of Christ and Him only...compare yourself to someone perfect and you'll find out how imperfect you are!). If they let me pierce my ears when I was younger I probably would have done it for one of those reasons. But, now that I'm older I don't really care about who has earrings and who doesn't and I didn't get them pierced to make me "prettier" per se. My main reason for getting them pierced is that I really love matching my outfits and I think earrings are really pretty. Plain and simple. :) I've always thought that people who had a matching outfit with matching jewelry looked really good. I just love that look. :)

Me with the lady who pierced my ears.

(Thanks, Grandma, for taking pictures!)

I was amazed at how quick the ear-piercing was. I think it took longer to sign the waiver than to actually get my ears pierced!

When we left the mall, we visited another thrift store and then went home. Seeing as we didn't eat lunch until around 3:00 P.M. we decided to wait a little longer for dinner and go to Washington D.C. Daddy came along with us and helped Grandma find where to go with her GPS. ;) I love visiting Washington D.C. There's just something about the massive, ornate buildings that is just captivating. Living in the country, too, is such a contrast from D.C. so it's fun to see people walking everywhere, cars constantly honking, etc. That's just not country. ;)

Anyways, the reason we were going into D.C. was so that we could see the White House Christmas tree. (Grandma informed me, though, that it's not called a "Christmas tree" anymore but a "Holiday tree", but I'm not going to be "politically correct" when politically correct is wrong.)

Daddy found us a great parking spot and we hopped out (it was freezing!) and walked around for a little bit trying to find the Christmas trees. :) We ended up walking right behind the White House:

I've never seen the White House this close so I was shocked I could walk this near to it! I love mostly everything History so I can't wait to go back to D.C. again and see the different memorials and everything!

As we walked around we found out that the trees were in front of the White House (go figure) so we did more walking than necessary. Oh well, a little exercise never hurts! (I was enjoying taking pictures of all the massive buildings and memorials anyways I could've stayed a lot longer if I knew where everything was and it wasn't so cold! ;)

I don't really remember what this building was...Department of the Treasury or something?

Washington Monument.

Ah, we found the trees!

Along with the National Christmas Tree were 50 smaller trees that represented all the states.

The front of the White House.

Some of the smaller trees.

If I had a tripod with me I could've done some long exposure pictures and those would be really neat! But I didn't pack mine so I had to substitute as best as I could (a light pole or fence post helped me keep my hand steady). :)

As we walked along the path we spotted what looked like a Nativity. And, believe it or not, there was a nice-size Nativity set up!

Next to the Nativity was Santa's Workshop which we went in. Thankfully the small building was heated so we thawed a little bit and hurriedly went by the "Picture with Santa" area. (Santa has always freaked me out a little...why would I sit in the lap of someone I don't know and tell him what I want for Christmas?)

The National Christmas tree!

I was really loving all the picture opportunities!

The Virginia tree!

The lights on this tree were a lot brighter but, in order for the words on the sign to be read, I had to expose for it instead of the tree which made the lights really dim. If I tried to expose for the tree and sign, the shutter speed would have been slower than molasses and the picture would be blurry (That's when Mr. Tripod comes in handy). OR, if I exposed for the tree the tree would look great but the sign would be washed out. Okay, just had to get that out there for you photogs. :)

Once we had our fill of lights, trees, and cold we walked back to the car. As we walked back Grandma asked a policeman for directions to the Botanical Gardens. It was about 2 miles away so we decided to go back to the car and drive there. We arrived a little after their closing time :-( So, Daddy and I kept walking towards a reflecting pool and Grandma went back to the car to drive over and pick us up. Before Grandma arrived, Daddy took me over towards the U.S. Capitol building and I got a picture through a fence. Daddy, being the great overcomer, climbed up on the stone wall separating the sidewalk from the lawn in front of the building.. In order for me to get a picture of the U.S. Capitol building with the Christmas tree in the center he climbed up even further onto some other stone structure. I didn't want to go up quite that far when every policeman in D.C. could see me (or so I thought) so I just went up on the wall. That explains why the Christmas tree in the below photograph isn't centered. :)

One day I want to go in this building...

After this we found Grandma nearby and drove home. For dinner Grandma picked up some Popeyes' chicken which we ate on the drive back. Once at home, we just sat around and talked; Grandma checked her email and Grandpa told us stories. Then, around 11 P.M. (I think) we went to bed.

Seeing as we went to bed so late it was around 9 A.M. before everyone else was out of bed. I got up at 8:30, brushed my teeth, took a shower, did my devotions, etc. About 10 A.M. we ate breakfast. Daddy made his delicious, cheesy eggs and I managed to burn the sausage. Grandpa also made us some toast and I heated up two Smores Pop-Tarts Grandma had (they're wonderful, if you were wondering).

About 11 A.M. Grandma and I were out the door and headed for Quantico, VA. We were going to visit the National Marine Corps Museum. We had gone a few years ago and we had some younger siblings with us so I couldn't ingest everything that I wanted. So, we went back and I loved it! (I love all things military.) If you've never been...it's great. I wouldn't suggest taking little guys because, frankly, they won't understand everything and some stuff may be scary. It's definitely for older kids/adults.

The museum!!

If you travel on I-95N and are going through the Quantico area you should see the Museum's spire from there. (The spire represents the 5 Marines and 1 Navy corpsmen who raised our flag on Mount Suribachi in Iwo Jima during World War II.)

This is inside the building looking up towards the spire.

"The few, the proud, the brave, the United States Marine." What's not to like about them?! :-D

It took about 3 hours for me to get my fill of all the exhibits and then we ate lunch in the Mess Hall.

This was my meal...a really yummy slice of cheese pizza, Yoplait yogurt and apple juice. :)

Grandma survived on a hot dog. :)

Grandma and I outside the Museum.

We were going to visit Fort Belvoir next but we went to go visit my Aunt Amy who was in the hospital (she's suffering from bone cancer). We chatted with her for about half an hour and then we went home, picked up Daddy, and went to Smokey Bones for dinner. Grandpa joined us 30 minutes later and we enjoyed our meal! I had a normal cheeseburger (just give me the burger, cheese, and bun and I'm good) which made me very full. I didn't even eat my side of mashed potatoes. (Yay for a shrinking stomach! :)

Nevertheless I still managed to squish in a couple, heavenly doughnuts. Have you ever had Smokey Bones Bag O' Donuts? If not, you are seriously missing out. I might even skirt the edge of lunacy and say they were better than a Hot Krispy Kreme. Not only was the sugar-and-cinnamon covered doughnut HOT but they came with a little bowl of melted chocolate and raspberry sauce. I almost ate the entire raspberry sauce myself. It was simply heavenly with the doughnuts! And, no, I am not exaggerating. Go try them for yourself and let me know what you think. :)

After dinner we went to the High School my Dad graduated from and watched my cousin, Diana, play basketball. The game was supposed to start at 7:30 P.M. but, when we arrived at 8:00, they still hadn't started. So we got to watch the entire game!! I had never been to a high school basketball game before so the cheerleaders, band, and snack bar were new, yet pleasant, surprises! :) [I got quite a giggle out of watching some of the band members beat away on their drum and play their tubas. A couple of them were really getting down with the music :)] During half-time Daddy took me around the public school and showed me everything. I have always wondered what it's like inside a public school, and Daddy knew that, so he explained everything to me. A couple things had been changed since Daddy went to school there but some things were the same!

As the game came to a close, we told Diana goodbye, went back to Grandma's house, picked up my stuff, and then left for home.

So ended my 16th birthday! It was a wonderful birthday and I enjoyed every minute of it! Thank you to everyone (friends and family alike) who emailed or called to wish me a Happy Birthday! Thanks also to my family for everything you did for me...you all are the best!

Kimber :)

Happy 16th!

2011-12-05T15:37:00.001-05:00

For all those who do not know, today, December 5th, is my wonderful sister, Kimber's, 16th birthday! In honor of the occasion I was privileged to curl her luxuriously blond hair (I've always secretly loved her beautiful hair...well, it's not much of a secret now :). After the finishing touches were applied I dragged her outside into the gorgeous December sun for some special birthday pictures. She doesn't have much experience in this area (getting her pictures taken) and I don't have any clue how to use her handy-dandy camera so forgive us if the pictures aren't top notch! :) Enjoy the few below!

Isn't she pretty?!

She always wanted curly hair and I always warned her that it wasn't as easy as it looked!

Don't ask me why she has her hand in a fist.....maybe a little bit too much sarcasm ;)?

Her hair practically glowed in this warm December weather

"Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing but a woman who fear the Lord, she shall be praised."

Proverbs 31:30

Okay, the up-in-the-sky-look did not work out so well....I am now handing the camera back to it's true handler ;).

Happy birthday, dearest sister! It's been a true joy to grow up beside you and the memories we share I will forever treasure. I can't wait to see how Jesus is going to use you and your many gifts for His glory. Continue to seek and He promises you will find!

With much love!

Your sister,

Hannah

The new addition!

2011-12-05T08:20:00.001-05:00

We had some pretty good guesses about the new Pony!! We're not quite sure what type she is but she is really fluffy and is approx. 25 years old, and her name is..... Misty! So far she's been a great partner to Halle and all the other animals! We've been riding her (when the weather allows) almost every day and walking her around the field.

Here are some pictures the night we got her.

Getting out of the trailer. We got her from a friend from church, and they no longer needed her so they gave her to us for free with the hay for the rest of the winter!

As soon as we got her out of the trailer we walked her around the field to know where her limits were.

Needless to say, Seth was a little crazy!:)

We've been blessed to have her, the Lord has answered our prayer again! Thank you Lord!

The Wassfam

Guess what!?

2011-11-28T17:18:00.001-05:00

Another addition to the farm! Can anybody guess what it is?!

In His Service,

Caleb

Decorating for Christmas

2011-11-28T15:55:00.001-05:00

"And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn."

Luke 2:7

This past Sunday we did something different from the usual Sunday evening routine: we set up our Christmas decor and nativity! We normally set everything up the Saturday after Thanksgiving but it didn't work out this year. (By the way, I have no pictures of our wonderful Thanksgiving because I forgot to grab my camera. :-( )

Once we arrived home from a fun birthday party that afternoon, we got all the boxes of Christmas stuff out of the storage cubbies in the girls room. We dragged all 3 boxes down the stairs and then opened them up and started taking down our current decor and putting Christmas stuff up in its place! :)

One box of our Christmas goodies!

Eden helped make sure our LED lights were still working. :)

Seth "branching out" our little, fake trees.
(We put these trees in our nativity scene.)

Eden with the choking garland. :)

Daddy setting up.

Putting up the wreath.

Josiah, Lydia, and Caleb (below) enjoying some books as we set everything up.

Placing everything just perfect... ;)

Hannah popped all the popcorn for us as we set everything up. Thanks, Banana!

Eden unwrapping a figurine to put in our manger scene.

Lexi placing the manger in its spot.

Sadly, I don't have a full picture of our manger scene so I can't show you the final product. But, if I get a picture of it and have time to post it (doubtful...), I'll add it to the bottom of this post. :)

Kimber :)

Judah's Thanksgiving Outfit

2011-11-22T15:04:00.001-05:00

This past Sunday we were thinking about getting a family picture after church, so we all tried to dress similar. I pulled out an adorable little outfit for Judah that just happened to match our colors for the day! He had never worn this particular outfit before so I couldn't wait to put it on him! The end result was, in my opinion, adorable x 10. Of course, if something is adorable, pretty, captivating (you get the point) I have to take a picture of it! :)

So, here's a couple photos of the littlest Wassenberg decked out in his handsome suit!! :)

This first picture was taken on our trampoline right before we left for church.

All of the pictures below were taken at my great-uncle's house where we met for our monthly family Nash Luncheon.

That look on the left is Judah's "surprised" look. He does it whenever he's close to something he's not supposed to touch, when something excites him, or if he drops his sippy cup from his chair during a meal. :)

Look at that hair!! (I may be a tad biased... ;)

Absolutely precious!!!

What a little cutie!

(Yes, his sleeves are rolled up in this picture...Judah gets into everything, so Mama was probably trying to keep his white shirt white! :)

There you have a short little post! One day soon I need to post about some of the "older" Wass children since I post about the little guys so often! We'll see...

I hope you and your family have a blessed Thanksgiving!!

Kimber :)

This is What Happens When...

2011-11-19T13:00:00.001-05:00

...you let Hannah touch the curling iron!

Nothing like a fun Saturday! Hannah was playing "dress-up" with Lydia hence the interesting hair-do and pretty outfit! :)

Have a wonderful Saturday everyone!

Kimber :)

'Siah's 6th Birthday

2011-11-15T15:55:00.001-05:00

Sweet, little Josiah turned 6 on November 6th! :)

We did the customary "wake-up birthday song" and Josiah pretended to be asleep the whole time:

After devotions, we ate breakfast! Josiah wanted to have Egg McMuffins (homemade that is!)...

...hashbrowns

...and berry crisp!

The handsome birthday boy waiting for breakfast! :)

After breakfast, the day went on and we prepared a birthday feast for dinner!

Josiah wanted home made fries, grilled chicken, hot dogs, and rolls.

The candy he picked out was the "Nite Crawlers" a.k.a. sour gummy worms. :)

When everyone was assembled the food was blessed and the eating began! It was a delicious meal!

I don't remember what Judah was making faces at during the meal, but the photos were too precious not to post. :)

After dinner, 'Siah opened his presents!

Eden got Josiah this coloring book and he loves it!

(Notice his face...I use to think that Daddy and Seth were the master silly-face makers but Josiah is quickly gaining ground. :)

Lexi looks confused...

Uncle Kev, Aunt Mae-Mae, Cadence, Justus, and Asher gave Josiah this mitt and ball. I know when the weather gets warm again he'll be playing with this a lot! (Provided he doesn't throw it through a window. :)

Someone (my memory doesn't remember... :) got 'Siah a huge Pixie stick.

The last present of the night required 'Siah to go on a "hot-cold" hunt. He found the "item" under the sofa in our schoolroom...and I don't think he could've been happier with what he found:

His own bow and arrow! :)

Next came the ice cream cake...and we all sang "Happy Birthday"!

Josiah's ice cream cake had a layer of mint choc. chip ice cream on the bottom, then crushed up Oreos, next came vanilla ice cream, a layer of magic shell and finally, our home made whipped cream decorated with sprinkles!

We watched Spirit as we ate our ice cream and then 'Siah's birthday party was over. :-(
Kimber :)

P.S. - The below verse gives you an idea of why Daddy and Mama named Josiah, Josiah! :)
"Moreover Josiah put away those who consulted mediums and spiritists, the household gods and idols, all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might perform the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the LORD."

2 Kings 23:24

A Trip to Massanutten

2011-10-28T21:58:00.000-04:00

So I realize it's been over a month since I last posted. Life is amazingly busy right now and I'm just trying to keep from going too fast before this time in my life is gone. That being said I do apologize for my absence!

School is doing great...our schedule is pretty tight this year! Put school with figuring out how to make cheeses and butter from Halle's milk and our days are packed! I don't know if I've ever been this busy before. I feel like everything is go-go-go and I don't really sit down and just relax until after dinner (which is sometimes 7-8 P.M....we try and shoot for 6 but sometimes it doesn't happen :). Nevertheless, these days are wonderful! Looking out over our beautiful green grass and peering through the woods at *our* cow and numerous chickens is so beautiful! I love our little farm!

There's an amazing sense of accomplishment that comes with putting your own home made butter on our home made bread...and making cherry cheese pies with our own cream cheese...and eating omelettes with our own mozzarella (and eggs) that is just amazing! Sure, it takes a lot of work (no doubt there) but it's all so rewarding. :) Would I want to be less busy? Maybe, maybe not. :) I love life like it is!

Our days have also been consumed with trying to get a cash-out refinance for our house (paper-signing, dream-building, more paper signing, etc.). I'm excited to announce that we'll be building an addition in the very near future!!! And not just any addition but a kitchen addition! If you've been to our house you know how small our kitchen is. We're always bumping into each other or reaching over someone's head to grab a spoon, etc. That problem will be gone! So, along with school and experimenting with Halle's milk, we're designing our new addition, talking to potential builders, getting in contact with the county about regulations and more. Hopefully we'll be building soon!!! We thank the Lord that He's opened this door for us...we've waited a long time and it's finally coming!! :) If y'all know of any reputable kitchen designers /general contractors please pass them on.

On a personal note, I've been pretty busy.

Here's an idea of what my daily schedule looks like:

6 A.M. - Get up and get ready for the day...do my devotions and clean out the dishwasher.

7 A.M. - Arrive at the barn and begin working!

9:00-10:00: Leave barn, get home, eat breakfast and do my chore (if I have time).

10 A.M. - Start my first subject and go til 11:45.

12 A.M. - 30 minute lunch break.

12:30 - start next subjects and go until 4 P.M.

4 P.M. - Cellercise, take a shower and help with dinner (or do my morning chore if I couldn't do it in the morning :).

5 P.M. (approx.): Eat dinner, read my Bible, play with siblings, clean up house, etc.

8:00-9:00 - room clean-up and then family book time.

9:00 : Everyone upstairs and to bed!

I'm still managing to keep up my photography, even though I'm working at the barn. I shot my first, EVER engagement session and LOVED it! I also had a photo shoot every week for 3 weeks, so I couldn't blog because I was busy editing the pictures and posting them to my blog!! I guess my life right now could be described as "blessed busy-ness." I just hope I'm not too busy to stop and love on my family. They're stepping in and taking my place now that I'm gone in the mornings...and I love them all so much! I don't want to look back at this stage in my life as the time when "I didn't spend enough time with my family." And I don't want my siblings to look back at this stage in my life and say"I really wish she had spent more time with me instead of going a million miles an hour." That is the last thing I EVER want to hear and I think I'm working to keep that from happening. All in all, I love where I am and what the Lord's doing. He's got the perfect Master Plan for me and my family and I'm just living in His rays! It's great!

Well, enough about busy-bee me. Since I've been absent for awhile, this post will be one of a series of posts (to be on the blog soon...I hope) updating you on what's happened since my absence! :)

A few Monday's ago our family went to the mountains! Our friends, Erin and Dowy, came with us so I could get their engagement pictures in the mountains. The sunrise that morning was beautiful:

We ate a breakfast of chocolate chip muffins and cereal in the car and arrived at our destination 2-3 hours after leaving home.

Judah was excited to be getting out of his seat!

Mama and Daddy soon went to the timeshare talk. (The real reason we went was for the free vacation that comes with listening to their spiel. :) Meanwhile, Dowy took us to a great spot for some engagement pictures of himself and Erin. While Lexi and I took photos of them, Hannah watched all my younger siblings.

Caleb and Josiah looking for crawdads in a creek.

When we were done pictures we went to another spot and watched people on the zip line. On the way back to the car, Erin and Dowy had a piggy-back race (and Hannah just joined in for fun! :):

After about an hour and a half of wandering around Massanutten, we went back to where we first parked and waited for Dad and Mom. A playground was nearby so we all went in there and played!

Lydia playing on a slide.

When Daddy and Mama appeared, we hung out at the playground for a little longer.

Judah rocking with Daddy. :)

Then we went to find a good spot to eat lunch. Daddy took us to a little picnic table beside a beautiful lake at the foot of some mountains. It was so beautiful!

Isn't the view beautiful?!

The day was absolutely perfect too...a nice breeze was blowing and the temperature was just right!

Dowy (plaid, blue shirt) prayed for the food and then we dug in! :)

Mama packed a delicious lunch of pasta salad, cheese and crackers, veggies, pretzels, cookies, and more!

Daddy and the boys ate on the ground because there wasn't enough room at the one picnic table. :)

"Before the mountains were brought forth...even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God."

Psalm 90:2

As Lexi and I wandered around looking for good photo spots I found these pretty, white wildflowers!

This is Lexi "modeling" for me! It helps me know whether or not I've found a good spot for pictures and I really appreciate her willingness to pose! :)

When lunch was over, we took some more pictures of Dowy and Erin and then we got some family pictures on a big rock nearby! :)

Thanks to Dowy for taking the picture, and thanks, Miss Erin, for making the little guys smile! :)

My pretty Mama with Judah-man.

Our original intention was to go hiking after Mom and Dad listened to the spiel. Well, that ended up not happening. By the time we ate lunch it was 1 or 2 o'clock and we had to drive to an orchard and pick up some apples before they closed at 4 P.M.

Anyways, we ended up just driving to the orchard, picking up some apples and then driving home. So ended our mountain trip! We didn't get to hike (sad sigh) but maybe, just maybe we'll fit another hiking day in before it snows! :)

Kimber :)

Our Last Trip to the State Fair

2011-10-10T21:16:00.000-04:00

As I said on my last post, we went back to the State Fair this past Friday!

We didn't leave until sometime after Noon but we got there nonetheless! We walked to the entrance (we were parked in the farthest place possible) and went over to the horse arenas to watch the horses and eat our lunch. We were planning on watching the miniature horse show but there were few seats, so we went to watch some people ride horses in the arenas nearby. (There was no show going on there, just people riding their horses in circles. :)

Seth took pictures during lunch...and this is one of my favorites from the day! :)

We were happy to get moving once lunch was over because the sun was beating down mercilessly on us. (As I sat in the stands eating I almost wished it was cold!) Once we started walking, a nice breeze picked up that soon refreshed us!

As we headed for the other side of the park, we stopped in a tent that had 12 ponies/horses. We pet them for awhile and actually ended up meeting their owners! Their owners were the "Cowgirl Chicks" who were performing at the fair! It was really neat talking to them...we found out that they are Christians and that the Cowgirl Chick leader, Mrs. Trish Lynn, homeschooled two of her daughters at some point! :) With a goodbye, promising to watch their show at 6:00, we went to look at the giant pumpkins!

This pumpkin was first place winner weighing in at 1019 lbs!! Crazy!

After admiring pumpkins, we walked to the livestock tents and oohed-and-aahed over all the rabbits!

'Siah-man petting a sleepy bunny!

Seeing these pictures makes me want a bunny all over again!

Lydia trying to pet a rabbit. :)

Too cute!!!

I took a picture of this bunny because it reminded me of the bunny I had (she died a year or two ago).

We also went by the pigeons (and other birds) tent:

So many of the birds were absolutely gorgeous!!

We went and saw the pigs and cattle also. By this time, it was nearing 6 P.M. so we went back to the rodeo area and waited for the All-American Cowgirl Chicks show to start!

To describe the show would be hard but here are some of the words that come to my mind: amazing, talented, skilled, beautiful, patriotic, daring, coordinated and awesome!!

At one point in the show, a girl came in riding one horse that was next to another...she then stood on the back of both of them and rode around the ring.

Standing on two horses obviously was not enough of a challenge so the rider then went over a jump standing on their back...you read that correctly...over a jump...standing on their backs!

It was really cool!

The team also did many other stunts that used to be a part of a lot of Western competitions...trick riding.

Yep...it was amazing!

(If only I had enough muscle and agility to do this! :)

I could go on and on about this...it was so neat!

After the show finished we had to leave (Halle was calling!), so we began the trek back to our car. The sunset was just starting to paint gorgeous colors across the sky when we reached our vehicle.

So our official, "last day" at the State Fair of VA ended. :)

Kimber :)

A Day at the State Fair

2011-10-06T22:58:00.000-04:00

This past Monday we went to the State Fair! As I was working at the barn, it started raining pretty hard. Oh no, I thought, it's going to be another wet day at the State Fair. (It seems like every time our family goes to the fair, it's either raining or really hot. :) I called Daddy and asked if we were still going and he said "Of course!" So, after work, I ate my breakfast while everyone else threw together a picnic lunch.

Then we were off!

We met Grandpa and Grandma at the entrance and followed the police directions on where to park. By this time it had stopped raining and the sun had started to come out!! Maybe we won't get rained on all day, I thought.

Once we were parked we hopped out into the crisp, fall air and gave Grandpa and Grandma hugs.

Judah was excited to be out of his car seat! :)

After hugs and hellos were over, Grandpa and Grandma went on the tram with most of my siblings. Meanwhile, Mama grabbed some food for Judah and some rain coats for our family and then Daddy, Mama and I walked to the ticket booths.

Grandpa (red shirt) managed to get our season passes for us...keeping the wait time fun by his constant jokes. :)

And, yes, I did say "season passes." Grandma bought the tickets for all of us on Groupon for $11 each a few weeks ago. She just thought they were for one day, but we found out they were for the entire 10 days of the Fair!

Lydia waiting in the stroller.

(See those dark clouds behind her? After getting rained on once or twice they went away and never came back!!)

As we all waited for the tickets, Judah showed everyone his walking skills. (He started walking around 12 months.)

Lexi and Mama reading a board with information about activities.

Once inside the park, our first stop was the Aussie tent. We saw wallabies and other mammals from Australia (I've forgotten what exactly).

So absolutely adorable! :)

In a corner of the Aussie tent there was a Rainbow Lorikeet.

Aren't they pretty?

Lydia showing you the sign posted on the Lorikeet's cage.

What happened to "don't feed our birds fingers"? :)

As we headed on to the other side of the park, we stopped real quick for some pictures by some boards that were set up.

Cotton candy!

The picture on the left was totally Dad's idea! :)

After some "souvenir" photo taking we went through the huge tunnel to get to the other side of the fair:

Once through the tunnel, we decided to go see McDonald's farm first. While on our way, we stopped in Lakeview Western Wear's booth and tried on some western hats, shoes, shirts, and jewelry! :)

While we were in the store, Grandma bought Lydia and Josiah a cowboy and cowgirl hat. They wore them most of the day!

(She also bought me a pretty blue sweatshirt with a jewel cross on the front. :)

Judah trying on a hat!

We walked to the Young McDonald farm next. Judah loved all the chickens, goats, rabbits, cows, donkeys, etc.!

In the Young McDonald's farm was Rainaway, Secretariat's great grandson. (Secretariat won the triple crown and was born on the property the State Fair is hosted.)

Before we left the animal pavilion, we stopped and watched a video on animals birthing. That was interesting, for sure, and I don't think I ever need to see that again! :)

A little Grandma love for Judah!

Outside the Young McDonald's farm building, there were some tractors, lawnmowers and a huge combine. My siblings soon climbed up the massive machine:...

...and Judah played with a pumpkin. :)

Told you it was big...and this is just the wheel! :)

Grandma and Grandpa paid for Lydia, Josiah, and Eden to go on a pony ride.

Lydia has been talking about riding a horse ever since we told her that, eventually, we would get one. Her wish was fulfilled but not by riding "our" horse. :)

Yee-haw, cowgirl Lydia! :)

Josiah taking a ride.

Weedels turn!

So you're probably wondering what this wonderfully-yummy looking thing is...it's a mozzarella stick! And it was absolutely amazing (stop by Hot Wisconsin Cheese!!)! We rarely get food at the fair because of the extremely expensive prices. But, thanks to Grandpa and Grandma, we got to sample little bits of delicious "fair food." :) My favorite was definitely these cheese sticks (or the cheddar balls) and the ice cream I got later that night. :)

Hannah and I taking a break. :)

While Hannah, Mama, Judah, and I sat down for a little bit Daddy took the camera with him to get some pictures of the younger ones on some rides.

Don't these look awesome? They were big inflatable things that you could roll on water (similar to a hamster exercise ball....except it's for humans and on water instead of a cage)!

Lydia riding an alligator.

'Siah about to ride a boat!

Lydia on her boat.

Judah all snuggled up in the stroller. (After a few minutes of resting, Mama, Hannah, Judah, and I went in the ride area and found everyone else. :)

It was a pretty chilly day so we tried to snuggle Judah up as much as possible. We also tried to rock him to sleep in the stroller but he didn't fall asleep until Hannah bounced him for awhile.

Lexi and Seth excited to be at the fair!

Caleb tries to be emotionlesss sometimes (I haven't figured out why yet...), so at the beginning of this ride he was all like "This ain't phasin' me," but he eventually warmed up and started smiling:

Smiling was no problem for Lexi and Seth!

Daddy and Seth.

Caleb, Lydia, and Josiah riding a little roller coaster.

Seth won this "super boom" hammer-thingy as Caleb, Lydia, and Josiah were riding the roller coaster.

When the roller coaster was over, Caleb and Daddy went and got one themselves! :)

Amazing fries!!

Remember what I said about my emotionless brother? Well that's him again...twirling upside down in the air while looking at me like he's walking in a park. Crazy (love him to death)! :)

Lexi after getting off the above ride (a.k.a. Extreme).

After riding some rides, we went to the horse arenas to watch some barrel racing and bull riding!

Camping out on the bleachers and eating pizza...what could be better!?
(Side note: aren't the clouds amazing?)

Watching the bull riding...only one guy made it pass the required time!

When the shows were over we headed back to the other side of the park.

Daddy playing with Judah-man.

Thanks to Caleb for these pics of Judah and Daddy!

Did I mention it was a little chilly?

We went in the Farm Bureau building and the Arts and Craft Center where all the contest entries (photography, quilting, canned goods, cakes, etc.) were displayed.

Little miss Lydia.

Hannah got Judah to sleep as we toured the buildings! Yay Hannah!

I'm just posting this because it makes me smile. :)

The last stop for the night was the ride area again. Grandma wanted me to pick a ride to go on and I eventually ended up with the huge Ferris Wheel. I love seeing the entire park at the tippy-top!

Lexi and Seth were buddies on one side of the booth...

...and Caleb and I on the other side!

After some more wandering around, we decided to go home. It was around 5:30 P.M. and Halle needed to be millked. Plus we had Season's passes so we could come back again. So, we left! Grandpa and Grandma followed us home and stayed for an hour or two. Grandma went and saw Halle and Grandpa told us stories. :)

There's the report on our State Fair visit! Daddy, Lexi, Caleb, Seth, and I went back Tuesday night and rode some rides. I don't know if it was just because we had eaten dinner before leaving or what, but some of those rides were not good for me! :) Obviously I wasn't the only one with weird feelings because Eden started crying and saying her stomach hurt. That ended her rides for the night! Daddy stayed with her while Lexi, Seth, Caleb, and I rode once more. Then I took Eden with me to go see some more horse shows (can anyone tell I love anything horse?). We stayed there until it was over and met up with Daddy (and my siblings) as they were coming to get us. (They stayed in the ride area and rode some more.)

And we're going back tomorrow to visit the Agriculture section (which we missed a lot of) and to watch the Miniature Horse show!!

Thank you, Grandpa and Grandma, for taking us to the Fair and showering us with lots of yummy food and fun! We love you!
Kimber :)

Eden's Birthday

2011-10-05T09:30:00.000-04:00

"The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden..."

Genesis 2:8

Eden turned 8 last Thursday! I have recently started working at a horse farm down the road (from 7-9 A.M.ish) so I usually miss breakfast with my family. :-( Anyways, I got up extra early (5:45 A.M.) on Eden's birthday and headed off to the barn 1 hour early. I was really hoping to be back in time for Eden's birthday breakfast. As I mucked stalls I started realizing that it was 8:00 and I wasn't going to make it (we eat breakfast at 8:30 A.M.). I wasn't happy about that but I just tried to work faster and hope (against all odds) that I could finish in time. Then, out of nowhere, Mama and Seth appeared! They had come to help me! I was so thankful for their help because I was home in time for devotions and breakfast! (The rest of my family waited 30 minutes more than normal for us to get home. Thanks guys! :)

Before we settled in for devotions, we went and "woke" the birthday girl up. When she arrived downstairs devotions commenced and Eden got a beautiful glass filled with oranges:

Such a pretty birthday girl!

After devotions Eden went to her seat and found a present waiting for her there!

She also found some candy surrounding her plate! :)

Ready for breakfast!

Eden's breakfast consisted of Daddy's omelets, hash browns, and pop-tarts!

Don't tell anybody, but this picture was supposed to be flipped/vertical. :) But I'm in rush mode so I'm not going to flip it...think it can pass? :)

As she ate breakfast, she opened her present from Ms. Lee (a friend from church).

She loved her bunny slippers...

...and her mailbox that had some candy inside. :)

She really liked her headband and Nerd chapstick as well! :)

As she was opening presents, Aunt Stacey called and wished her a happy birthday!

When everyone was finished eating (well, everyone but Eden) we pleaded with Eden to open her present from Grandpa and Grandma. She wanted to save it for the night we were going to give her our presents, but we eventually persuaded her.

I think she was really glad she listened to us!

She got a fluffy, amazingly-soft pillow and blanket!

Lexi got a blue set for her birthday and Eden was saying (for weeks) that she wanted one of her own. That wish was granted! :)

Normally we try and do birthday parties the same day of the birthday, but this time it didn't work out. So, Eden's birthday party was postponed until the next night.

Before dinner last Friday night, Hannah curled Eden's hair and she put on a pretty dress. Then (just because it's so fun! :) we went out and did a little photo shoot...here are some of my favorites! :)

Ah, love her deep blue eyes!

Hannah was my "assistant". She was always going "Why don't you lay down, Eden?" "Put your head this way" or something along those lines. Quite a few of these poses were Hannah's idea! :)

Taking these pictures was slightly perilous because it was "rush hour" on our road. ("Rush hour" for us is 2-4 cars passing our house in a 5-10 minute period. :) Eden was still great...though a tad nervous. (Don't think I made her sit in the middle of the road...she wanted to! :)

Back inside, a yummy dinner was being made: hamburgers, potatoes, greenbeans, and carrots.

Seeing pictures of our burgers makes me hungry! They are the bomb (Dad cooks them perfectly and the toasted buns and melted cheese just wrap up the perfection!)!

Lydia saw me with the camera and said "Tate a piture of me!" So I gladly obliged. :)

This was the little bouquet adorning the table. :)

After dinner the present-opening started with Eden going on a "hot-cold" game. In the schoolroom she was finally "burning" and she found a handcrafted, red barn constructed by Seth and Lexi. She liked it a lot! :) [In another present she opened, she found some little horses that she could put in her barn.]

Back in her special seat (with her fuzzy blanket from Gpa and Gma) she opened the rest of her gifts.

I think she was really excited about this present! :)

A little bag of Cheetos from Lydia! :)

Daddy and Mama got Weedels a Bible cover.

Lydia laid on Eden's pillow during part of the gift-opening. :)

When all the gift opening was over, it was time for dessert!

Eden's birthday cake had no cake in it! :) She had a layer of Oreo Blast ice cream, chopped up Oreos, vanilla ice cream, Magic Shell drizzle, and then homemade whipped cream dyed purply-pink.

Judah rocking with Daddy before we sang to Eden.

Blowing all the candles out! :)

As we ate the delicious ice cream cake we watched Dreamer. And then Weedles 8th birthday party was over. :)

Kimber :)

Friday: The Last Full Day at the Beach

2011-09-28T17:32:00.001-04:00

The last day at the beach was like many of the others. I wish I remembered all the details of every day but, alas, my poor brain! :)

The only pictures I took that day were of some of my siblings and relatives in the pool:

Lydia normally doesn't like big bodies of water (she doesn't like getting splashed and she likes to have someone hold her) but the floats in the pool helped her be less demanding. :)

Weedels swimming around...

Justus trying out a float.

My cousins, Cadence and Justus, loved having me watch them jump into the pool with just their floaties. It was cute to watch them go under water and come up smiling. :)

Yep, Hannah's a baby magnet. :)

Na-naw teaching Lydia to swim (which she wasn't too thrilled about! :).

Later that night everyone, but our family, went out to eat. My family and I stayed home, got dressed up, and went down to the beach for our annual pictures! I would show them all to you right here, but I've posted them here, so I won't.

Well, here's just one picture of all of our footprints.

We took our pictures under the nearby pier...Daddy was a big help in setting up the tripod for me (so I could be in some of the photos :) and doing whatever I asked.

After pictures were over we ate dinner together around the huge table (Mama had dinner cooking in the oven during picture-time..she always thinks ahead! :). After dinner, everyone else came back from their dinners and we spent our last day at the beautiful beach!

The next morning (Saturday) everybody packed up and left...our family was the last to leave. :) We were used to 6 full days at the beach (instead of the 4 we had this year) so we couldn't bring ourselves to leave before 10 A.M. that morning. So we packed up the car and went back down to the beach for another hour or two.

Eventually we did have to leave, so we piled in and drove on home. We did stop in Williamsburg for a rare and yummy meal at Olive Garden! I think most of us wouldn't mind eating their breadsticks and salad every day!

When we got home, the electricity was on (woo-hoo! :) so we didn't sweat to death and have to lug in water from outside for the toilets. (Ah, things we take for granted!)

I have to say a thank you to Mr. Jon who watched over the house for us, while we were gone. He fed and cared for all our various animals, alternated plugging fridges/freezers to the generator, and slept here where there was no A.C. Thanks Dowy! :)

So, the beach posts come to an end. I loved posting the pictures, but, quite frankly, I'm glad I'm done with these posts. Now I can post about everyday things (and post on my forlorn photo blog more often...)!

Til next time,

Kimber :)

Thursday at the Beach

2011-09-28T17:32:00.000-04:00

I hope you're prepared for lots of pictures of us at the beach! On Thursday I actually took my camera down to the beach so I could grab a few pictures of our "typical" morning by the sea. :)

Our morning started off with a lovely breakfast of french toast:

All I did was add some powdered sugar and voila! it was amazing! :)

Eden getting something to eat.

Thanks to Caleb for this picture!

Justus waiting for his breakfast.

After bathing suits were donned and sun tan lotion applied, off to the beach we went!

This is what the beach in front of our house looked like during the dredging. You can see the dredging pipes across this picture...part of them are covered in sand. The workers were kind enough to make sand ramps for the vacationers over the pipes, so we could still get to the ocean. We thought we were extra special when we got the biggest ramp of them all...until we found out that "our" ramp was the one the huge tractors were going to use to get from one side of the pipes, to the other. :) So, every once in a while, we had to move when a big tractor was coming. Otherwise, "our" big ramp was a very convenient location for all the adults to sit and watch the kids play! :)

I should have titled this post "Seaweed Day." There were CRAZY amounts of seaweed washing up on shore (technically it wasn't seaweed...it was reeds from the soundside when the hurricane washed over the island, but seaweed sounds better).

Here's proof:

Daddy dug a nice big hole for the little ones to play in and every time a wave washed over the walls, it was filled with seaweed.

Some of the younger ones playing in the hole.

Claire, Eden, and Gracie...they're best buds! :)
(Yes, it was a little windy that day! :)

The ocean was still absolutely beautiful, despite the seaweed! :)

Justus trying out the water.

The water was a little chilly at first, so our solution was to run full-speed into the ocean and dive deep below a wave. When we came up we were freezing but soon the water seemed very warm! :)

Just a tad cold! :)

Hannah and Uncle Kevin in the ocean.

Hannah's body position and face tell you how much she loved all that seaweed!

It was a very weird feeling having the reeds wash up against your legs/body. Normally when something rubs up against you in the ocean, it's not a good thing, (SHARK!) so getting used to the thousands of reeds brushing up against you took a little work! :)

Have I mentioned there were lots of reeds? :)

Collin getting ready to get engulfed by a wave! :)

Weedels playing in the "hole".

Cousin Mason strolling along.

Josiah playing in the sand with his toy tractor.

Hannah taking a break from the twiggy ocean. :)

Judah loved playing in the ocean. He would try and sit in it if he could. :)

Walking with Mama.

'Siah and Mason burying their feet.

Judah wasn't very fond of the sand (note that he's sitting in a chair), but he still managed to play in it a little bit! :)

We buried my cousin Cadence and Lydia in the sand (Lydia wasn't fond of the experience, as you can see)...

...Lexi built an elaborate sand-village...

...and Hannah and Uncle Kev had a sand fight. :)

(Note: Hannah and Uncle Kev have a unique relationship with each other. Uncle Kev playfully picks on Hannah and she playfully picks back. All is done in jest and no feelings are hurt...it's a lot of fun to witness. :)

After I went and put my camera up so I could get in the ocean, we spent some more time at the beach. I think this was the day everyone (well, those my age ;) went up to the pool but I, not having gotten my fill of the surf, asked Uncle Kev to go ride some more waves with me. It was so much fun! :)

When I got my fill, we went in and I swam in the pool and hot tub for a little bit before going to eat lunch. After lunch, I went down to the beach with my Bible and read a few chapters. It was a beautiful day...sunny, cloudless and the perfect temperature! :)

While this picture makes it look like the beach was absolutely deserted, that was far from the case. To the right of me there were lots and lots of people. The tractors were really busy then too, so it seemed like every 5-10 minutes someone/thing involved with dredging went by us.

When Collin asked to be buried in the sand, his cousins gladly obliged! :)

The team who covered Collin in sand! :)

Not wanting to be undone, Lexi got Allie to bury her next:

Our really fun day in the sun also happened to be my cousin, Asher's, 1st birthday! So that night we celebrated!

Asher loved the "Happy Birthday" balloon attached to his high chair. :)

For dinner we had Mama's yummy Mexican dishes...everything was very good (the taco meat about burned my tongue off, though...).

After dinner Asher opened his presents:

What a cutie Asher is! :)

He was a little unsure of what to do with his cake...

When all else fails, the solution should always be to taste it! :)

Mae-Mae was going to let Asher eat his own birthday cake. But first she put him in the high chair and then took his outfit off before he got icing on it! :)

Aunt Steph loving on her daughter, Erika...and I'm not sure what Allie's doing.... ;)

There you have Thursday night at the beach! Later that night (when the young ones were in bed) I think we played Golf with Na-naw, Paw-Paw, Mae-Mae, and Uncle Kev. It was lots of fun...we laughed non-stop while enjoying each others' company and the nearby candy bowls. :)

Next post will be of our last day at the beach... :-(

Kimber :)

3 Birthdays in 3 Days!

2011-09-21T21:46:00.000-04:00

Two weeks ago we celebrated three birthdays in the Wassenberg house! Judah turned 1 on September 7th, Lexi turned 14 on September 8th, and Caleb turned 12 on September 9th. Yep...three birthdays in a row! :)

We started Judah's birthday by going in and singing to him.

He was a little shocked to see us all!

But everything was better when Mama got him! :)

Mama rocking Judah during devotions.

After devotions, we had our breakfast of eggs and drop biscuits. Since Judah's birthday happened to be on a Wednesday, we couldn't throw him a big party so we put a candle in his biscuit and sang to him! :)

As with anything Judah discovers, he wanted to touch the candle. Thankfully Mama held it far enough away. :)

When the song was over, Daddy blew the candle out for Judah. Then we put the bowl with the biscuit on his plate and let him go after it! :)

Hmmm...

...interesting.

Soon Judah was stuffing the entire biscuit in his mouth. Mama had to retrieve some of it so he wouldn't choke!

Cleaning off the bowl! :)

Since we never really celebrated his birthday, we did a more formal party 9 days after his real birthday. We invited Judah's best friend (a.k.a. his cousin, Asher :) and Paw-paw and Na-naw for a yummy feast!

Judah playing with a rainstick before dinner.

The "little guys" table.

Dinner was roast beef, mashed potatoes, carrots, greenbeans, and rolls.

After dinner Judah opened his presents!

Hannah got Judah a sippy cup and once he saw it, he didn't care about any of his other presents!

Judah got a toy hammer from his cousin, Asher, and Na-naw and Paw-paw got him some outfits! :)

Asher playing with Judah's tissue paper. :)

I guess Judah thought Asher was doing something funny!

Judah's cake was a home-made, chocolate-chip banana cake with fudge frosting. Hannah helped me decorate with M&M's.

Judah didn't know what to think of everyone singing to him!

(In case you were wondering, that bright spot on his face is a reflection of the candle on my lens!)

After the singing, the eating began! Every time someone turns 1 in our family, we give them a piece of cake and let them go after it! It's so much fun to watch...Judah got icing all over his face!

Judah won't leave anything on his plate!

So there you have Judah's 1st birthday!

---

The next birthday was Alexis'. We sang "Happy Birthday" to her that morning as she waited for us in bed (in our family, you're not allowed to get out of your bed on your birthday until we come get you!)...

Lexi all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed!

For breakfast that morning, Lexi chose Cream-of-Wheat and toast/pop-tarts.

We put sugar on our cream-of-wheat. The recipe calls for salt, and we tried it once, and thought it was disgusting! So, we go the "sweet route."

Lexi chose grilled chicken, macaroni 'n cheese, greenbeans and rolls for her dinner.

Seth and Mama set the table with our fanciest tablecloth, china, and glasses.

Lexi's dinner plate!

(The roses are just for decor, by the way! :)

Lexi read all her cards and opened her presents after the dinner was eaten and the dishes cleaned up!

Lexi got some candy/snack food that she likes and muck boots for when we get a horse (plus some more stuff I can't remember).

Happy birthday to you!

Lexi wanted angel food cake with cherries and whipped cream for her dessert.

The movie we watched that night (after eating the cake!) was The Fellowship of the Ring (a.k.a. the first movie in the Lord of the Rings set). We had never seen the LR movies before but Daddy thought us older ones were old enough to see it, so we did! :) The movie ended late that night, bringing Lexi's 14th birthday to a pleasant end. :)

---

Caleb's birthday was the day after Lexi's! He has the neatest birthdate of us all...9/9/99!

Caleb picked out Egg McMuffins, berry crisp, and pop-tarts for his breakfast! It was so yummy!

Caleb went to work with Daddy that day, and he didn't get back until late that night. So, we ate our dinner of hamburgers and potatoes without the birthday boy...but we saved him some of it!

After Caleb ate his dinner, he opened his presents!

A big pixie stick!

A lovely card from Miss Lydia. :)

Caleb got some food (do you see a theme here?), a sweatshirt and cowboy shirt, and more!

Caleb's dessert pick was home made ice cream cake. Seth surprised him with a cardboard Hummer on top!

That night (after the little ones went to bed) we watched the second Lord of the Rings series. Once again, we were in bed late (they don't make those movies short!), ending the 3 consecutive birthdays in a row!

Kimber :)

Father Daughter Retreat 2011- At Callaway Gardens - Part 3!

2011-09-20T21:36:00.000-04:00

Ok, yea. I'm a little behind on my Father Daughter Retreat postings. :- | Well, I'm posting now; Aren't you happy!?! =:) To catch up on what happened last time click HERE. At the end of that post I said, "Coming up next...more sight seeing...the Cason memorial church...games on the lawn...and maybe, just maybe, a little more! :D..." So I guess I should start there! :)

After meandering our way around, looking at the many BEAUTIFUL flowers, we walked on...

A very green maple leaf and seed pod

Robin Lake Beach...No we didn't get in the water- brrr!

We didn't even get on the shore, but it was a very picturesque area!

A leaf-strewn path- with Mr. Squirrel posing for a picture too!

Everything was covered in pollen! I'm so glad I don't have allergies!!! :D

Ahhhh....So green and colorful! Winding roads, warm sun, flowers in bloom; what else could a person want!

Well we moved on and daddy wanted to make sure we saw the Ida Cason Callaway Memorial Chapel that he and Kimber had seen when they went. It is a memorial of what Callaway's foundation is made of- faith in Jesus Christ. It is sad that we seem to forget our heritages and memorials, so I was glad to witness this memorial of faith and strength in Christ.

The entrance sign- Ida Cason Callaway was the founder's name (or at least the one who it was made in honor of).

More azaleas lined the path to the humble chapel.

This lady saw daddy and myself with the camera and asked if we would like her to take a picture of us- we said yes and the results are as pictured above!

Great stone architecture was leading towards the doors of the chapel and it was amazingly beautiful and awe-striking!

Inside of the chapel there were arched windows filled with stained glass- hosting a different pattern of nature on each one!

At the front and center of the chapel there was this little monument that showed great faith in Christ. When in the inside of this church a hush falls over you- the beauty, the colors, the faith that keeps us strong in Christ our savior..it is overpowering.

These large lanterns enhanced the high ceilings creating a medieval look that was very entrancing.

The back archway delicately filled in with stained glass as was seen to the left in the picture of daddy and I.

I know this picture is very large but I wanted you to read it, take in it's deep meaning, and let it touch your heart.

A bible lying on "the Solid Rock" with a cross behind it. This was at the front of the Chapel.

We crossed this little bridge to get to the Chapel.

This is a little sitting area they had on the other side of the bridge. It had a mini waterfall running in front and to the side of it.

Just a picture of some bamboo. I love bamboo- its looks so neat!

I kept on clicking the camera as we drove along- trying to capture all the beautiful scenery. If you really want to enjoy it's full beauty though, you're going to have to go there yourself! ;) This road ran alongside a pond- pictured below.

I did get out of the truck for these next couple- daddy was great, and kept on telling me- "Just tell me when you want to stop and I'll stop." and things like that. He's so nice! : D

....speechless....

I was walking back across the road to get to the truck when I noticed some pretty flowers (there really isn't any shortage of those at Callaway, is there?)! Of course I had to take at least 1 picture, and so I did. After I got "the picture" I noticed this little guy sitting on a leaf- trying to hide from me, no doubt. Sometimes I'm scary. ;) :)

"Ha, ha, ha- I found you!! Can't you take a bath or something?! I mean, you are, like, COVERED in pollen!! Does that not bother you?"

These men were fishing on another pond (I think) that we were passing. We noticed a HUGE fish in the water on the opposite side from these men. We told them that we saw it, and after I got some pictures we moved on.

He doesn't look very big in this picture but..he was big! We said that all the fish must just change sides whenever the fishermen move- they're just going in circles! :-) He, he!

A gazebo that I think we might have visited sometime earlier.

Games on the Lawn

The Lawn. Huge. Beautiful. Lawn. Ahhh....

OK, shake it off Lexi- don't get too memorized!!! Moving on...be prepared for a lot of words and little to no pictures. :)

We got to the field just on time if not a little early. They had a loud-speaker and once everyone arrived and they got the technical difficulty fixed, the games begun!! Mr. Phillips led in prayer then explained our first "game". The group of people was separated into 3 groups by the first letter of their last name. In other letters A-H in one group, I-P in another group, Q-Z in another. And then each group was told what song they got to sing. Yup. You heard me-Singing!! I was excited- a singing contest!! I just hoped we got a good song! One group got "The Lords Army." You know, the "I may never march in the infantry, ride in the cavalry, shoot the artillery...." The next group got the "National Anthem". "Man, I wish we got the National Anthem. I can sing that one pretty good," I thought. Then it was our turn. We got...."Amazing Grace!" Yea! Another one I liked! Each group had to sing/act with the emotion the song had. So, The "Lords Army" group had to act with...how did he put it..I'm not sure, but I'll use powerfully. That is how they needed to sing. The "National Anthem" group had to sing..uhhh...what was it!!? For their nation- I'll just use that word. We had to sing with emotion. Yup. Hands in the air- but not fake, it had to be real -or at least real-looking. From the heart. Each group practiced with the couple minutes given to them (it was the same amount of time for everyone) until it was perfected in the way that they wanted it. Time was up. Who ever won got first dibs on dessert after the games and lunch. Everyone OOOOOOOOed and AAAAHHHHHed at this news. : Dessert!! The "Lords Army" group started. They were in battle straight and even rows, and sung powerfully. Added with the moves- WAH-LAH! I don't know what everyone else was thinking but I was thinking something like- "Sheesh...I hope we can beat them!" Next came the "National Anthem" group. They were positioned in the likeness of a star, and sung beautifully as well. Both of the groups so far were doing great and I hoped we could match their singing. It was our turn. Amazing grace. We weren't in any particular shape, just scattered. The girls started with the first verse- some harmonized and some sang the main melody. Then on the second verse the men went down on one knee and sang. On the last verse the men stood up again and we sang together. It was great. I don't know about the sound of the singing- in my opinion it was good but just singing my heart out was great. It was over. Who would win first dibs on dessert!? Mr. Phillips declared that it was a hard choice and that they couldn't choose. It would just be normal order for dessert. JUST KIDDING!! :) He called his youngest daughter, Virginia, up to decide who would win. She choose..........THE "LORDS ARMY" GROUP!!! Congrats group #1!! I must admit, y'all did outstanding! I guess 4 year-old Virginia could tell too! They explained the next couple games and their positions on the field before sending us out to our first game! The first game we did was an obstacle course. The point of the game was to teach you to listen to your father's voice and instructions. I was blind-folded and positioned at the beginning of the course. From there I had to follow daddy's instructions till the end, where I picked up a pine-cone, walked a-ways and put it in the ending bucket. I touched a few times, but over all...I guess I did pretty good! The next game was the three legged race. I think the point of the game was to show that you had to be in step with your father- he needs to be involved in your life. You shouldn't hide anything from him- you both need to be on the same page all the time. This game was difficult because daddy is approximately 6 feet tall and then I was only in the upper 4 to lower 5 feet. My ankle got slightly fabric-burned. ;) But I was fine. Next was crochet. It was full so daddy and I sat on the hill opposite, to wait it out. Another man and his daughter came up to where we were, to join us in waiting. :) Daddy got to talking with the man, whose name is Mr. Whalen. I went off with his daughter Jessica who is 1-2 years younger than me. I got to talking (not at all un-like me) to see if she would open-up or if she was more of a quiet one. She opened right up and we had a great time making grass necklaces for our dads and trying to get our grass whistles to work (besides talking, that is). It was a blast and we hit off right away. Eventually the crowds wore off and it was just the 4 of us getting ready to play crochet. I was horrible- I think I've always been! :) Jessica beat me 2 times at least. :) Daddy beat me too. Yikes. : | Not playing that game again! :) After that everyone was called with the loud speaker for "Lunch on the Lawn." Or was it dinner? I think it was lunch.

Ok, never-mind it being lunch, Hannah just informed me that it was DINNER, not lunch. :) So after everyone was called for "DINNER on the lawn" we prayed and were told what order to proceed in. After daddy and I got our food we sat down with Mr. Hulen and his twin daughters Marissa and Myrah that we know from Bread Beckers, and another father and daughter that I mentioned in my first Father Daughter Retreat post- Mr. Yerger and his daughter, Hannah. Everyone was sitting on picnic blankets eating their dinner while having separate conversations. About half-way through, daddy got up to (I thought) get some more food and after I was done I tried looking for him but I couldn't find him. If you know me, you'll know what I did next- worried. :) I finally found him (or he found me- something like that) talking to a man whose name escapes me at the moment. I wanted to find him for 2 reasons- just to know if he was safe and didn't leave me (yes, I'm like that :), and to ask him if I could run off and play with Jessica. He said yes, and thought I was silly- "You were worried that I would leave you?" "Yes," I answered. "Why would I ever do that?" Well, I don't really know the answer to that myself, but I just get all concerned if my only relative in within 624 miles is missing, if you know what I mean. Anyway, he said that I could go off and play with Jessica (some of her family friends were with her too) so we went frolicking down the hill and had running races and such, until it was time for dessert. :) When it was time for dessert I looked for my tennis shoes (of course I had taken them off to run in the grass :) at the picnic blanket where I had left them, but I didn't see them. I told daddy and when we searched again and didn't find them we just went inside for dessert- thinking maybe the Hulens (family friends we had eaten with) had picked them up since I had left to frolic in the grass. It was quite odd walking into this rather-fancy Mountain Creek Inn Convention Center, barefoot. But we eventually found the Hulens- and my shoes. :) For dessert we had ice-cream and chocolate-chip cookies. It was pretty good- though I prefer softer cookies. ;) I couldn't eat all of it because it was so filling. Daddy said it was filling too! :) After that, here is the schedule:

7:00 p.m.Opening Session in the Convention Center

Time of Welcome and Singing
Introductory Comments
Message 1

( The words above in blue were taken from HERE which contains the schedule of the 3 day event)

I don't remember exactly what we did after that, but I know I took a shower (daddy checked for any signs of a scorpion in the drain- thanks dad :) and got in bed. Daddy, if I can remember correctly, took a shower after me, and we both drifted off to sleep (daddy checked my bed for creatures too, if you'd like to know ;) at some time or another that night. :)

Tune in next time for the following day's events!

Joyfully His,
Alexis

Wednesday at the Beach

2011-09-19T19:23:00.000-04:00

Wednesday was another great day at the beach! I woke up early for a sunrise photo shoot with Mr. and Mrs. Etheredge (friends from church). They got to stay for most of the day with us! For breakfast we had a huge variety of stuff to eat! :)

Daddy made a huge variety of egg dishes and Paw-paw made different kinds of potato pancakes. :)

We had some great fruit at the beach!

Daddy making something "eggy." :)

Seth doing his Bible time before breakfast.

Eden, Josiah, Cadence and Justus, in the elevator.

Justus would come up to me sometimes and say "Kimber, will you take me on the elevator?" The little ones loved opening the doors and going for a ride up and down the floors. (Some of the older cousins/brothers loved to pull the alarm and scare us all. The alarm was louder than a fire alarm, no kidding.) Loved might be an understatement...one time I was getting ready to take Justus in the elevator with me and soon a swarm of little cousins showed up hoping for a "ride". That ride was very squished...like I had no room to move...but the little ones laughed and smiled like crazy! :) [The next few rides I went on in the elevator I shut the door and pushed the button for what level I wanted...fast! :)]

After breakfast, my Aunt Steph and cousins, Erika, Allie, Claire, and Gracie arrived! They made the already fun vacation even more fun!

Wednesday afternoon, we played 2 games of Mexican train. It was a lot of fun! :)

Lexi , Collin, and Caleb swimming in the hot tub.

Dinner that night was some yummy chicken, Mae-Mae's AWESOME macaroni 'n cheese, greenbeans and rolls. :)

I don't have much else to add to this post...but the next post on Thursday will have lots of beach pictures! I had edited the post before this one but somehow it didn't save my changes...but look for an updated "Tuesday at the Beach" post soon, too! I also have to post about the 3 recent birthdays in our family: Lexi, Caleb, and Judah.

I know I haven't mentioned anything else about the cow since the post that we got her, so I'm going to update you! We love milking Halle...sometimes we have a friendly fight over who gets to milk her. :) She's a great cow. The milk bucket has been "knocked" over twice but it was probably our fault for not moving the bucket fast enough when she was moving. :) Daddy gets up faithfully every morning around 5:30-6:30 A.M. to milk her for us (no one fights over the morning milking! :). It's so neat driving by our field and seeing Halle...she looks huge compared to our chickens! :) She really is a blessing! Mama and Seth made a pint of butter from her cream last Saturday because in one week, we got 2 gallons of cream!

So there's a quick update on Halle. Now off I go to edit more posts!

Kimber :)