Judah's Thanksgiving Outfit

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...

 ...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

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

 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

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 :)