Black and White Wednesday...Respite

R is for Respite: The dictionary defines this as a pause or suspension in activity

The thesaurus says:

Recess

Relaxation

Release

Relief

Reprieve

Rest





All of which I am in great need of right now.





We have had some beautiful weather that has left me longing for more. I need a vacation somewhere warm and tropical. Since I don't foresee that in the near future I will have to drink in the warmth with a hot cup of Tension Tamer Herbal Tea...aaah but I know that my true rest comes from the best place of all.


Until next time...
May we all find rest in Him:

Exodus 33:14 NIV
The LORD replied, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."

Robin

(Allie if you are reading this, you see that I still haven't erased your message on our little board!!! Love you lots girl)

Go here to see more Black and White Wednesdays

My Funny Valentines!-Sunday Snapshot

Oh my it has been so long since my last post...I wonder if there are still readers out there. We are still here and we have weathered many storms. The ones outside and in. There has been what seems like so much sickness here and there since my last post. We have had sinus infections, herniated discs, neck issues, and the stomach bug swept through our house with a vengeance. Hopefully we are all on the mend and better days are to come. To help us along the way we had an early Valentine's celebration this weekend. Yes, I finally felt like a little party and what better ones to celebrate with than my family! We got ourselves busy Saturday and did a little happy heart decorating... Those precious little hearts were cut out by the two sweetest little sets of hands.

They both worked away at the kitchen table drawing and cutting with such precision.

There own little hearts were bursting with excitement!

This gracefully hung above our dinner table...oh the squeals it brought!

Tummies were filled and good times were shared along with steak and lobster tails. Yes these two little ones loved the lobster!

The two little ones were very excited to sit in the dining room chairs. Usually we pull the piano bench up to the end of the table for these two because Anna Kayla and Greg often eat with us in the dining room, but since they couldn't make it, there was plenty of room in the big chairs!

Even though we stuffed ourselves with steak and lobster we still managed to save enough room for strawberry shortcakes which my little assistants helped me to assemble. (gotta love matching aprons!)

I have such happy kitchen help!

I also noticed that fingers kept becoming sticky for no apparent reason and there were lots of smiles that followed.

Helping hands!

The smiles of two very happy little helpers lets you know that our Valentine's celebration was...

like the sign says...sweet!

Until next time...

I hope your day of love is also just as sweet!


and remember the greatest love:
Deuteronomy 7:9 NIV
Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.

Robin




More Sunday Snapshots here!

Snowed In-Black and White Wednesday

We are on day three of the big "snow in". The winter storm that everyone was anticipating came in late Sunday night and covered us with six inches of snow! This is so unusual for our area and not something that we are accustomed to so everything pretty much shuts down. So we "hunker down" in our cozy home(thankful that there were no power outages) and when we do venture out side we just enjoy the winter wonderland that has surrounded us. Here is Emanuiel running out into the snow, in just a few minutes he was rolling around making snow angels and grabbing for our sled!

This one, was quite the opposite, she took her time, watched her step and proceeded with caution!

Once dad got home(some people did have to work) it was sled time central. These two traveled up and down our driveway many times squealing with delight. I did have a turn on the sled myself, thankfully there are no pictures of that!!!

A little later we loaded up the golf cart and went for a spin(literally) around our neighborhood. We stopped by the Sargent's house for more fun in the snow.

We had to try out their sled and driveway too!!

Our first day out in the snow proved to be a little problemsome for Emanuiel. Snow kept getting on his glasses and obscuring his view. So while we were getting ready for our day two adventure he came into his room determined to keep his glasses clean. He found the goggles from his tool set and immediately put them over his glasses for protection. This little guy is quite the problem solver and he just cracks us up with his inventiveness!!

These two just look like they are ready for some snow fun!!

We climbed aboard the golf cart for yet another neighborhood adventure and then just tromped around the yard to see how many tracks we could make.

Of course no outing would be complete without a sampling of homemade snowballs! And when we could stand the cold no longer we hurried into the house where...

we lined boots up our steps, left wet coats hanging, put mittens over the vents to dry and snuggled in our pajamas in front of a warm fire to enjoy an evening of cards...

giggles, and fun. Today will be spent in much the same way. After some more fun in the snow we will come in to cuddle on the couch while cupping mugs of hot chocolate to warm cold little hands!

Until next time...

God has a purpose for all things...even the snow that falls.

Isaiah 55:10 NIV
As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

Happy Wednesday!
Robin


Hop over here for more great Black and White Wednesday posts!

A Quick Look Back At 2010

It just seems fitting that before we look ahead to see where we we're going we need to take a look back at where we've been. For me 2010 passed so quickly, as I looked back through our pictures one thing that stood out more than anything else was the time we spent together as a family celebrating both the big and the small. 2010 began with a wonderful trip to the mountains spent with family and close friends. We had so much fun playing in the snow and tubing down the mountain during the day. The nights were spent cozying up with hot chocolate and good conversation with great friends.

February found us at home by the fire most nights gobbling up the good times!

March blew in and so did Junior Varsity baseball for this guy. We spent many a windy afternoon cheering him on. We also celebrated a birthday for Emanuiel.

April brought warm weather and lazy times spent on the porch once the school day was over.

May was a month of celebration for the Mr. and myself. We both have May birthdays and we also celebrated twenty six years of wedded bliss!!! Like I said before, he still sweeps me off my feet!!

June came and so did the end of another school year...we enjoyed seeing this big guy receive some academic awards and then...

the summer stretched out before us and seemed as wide as the ocean! We all enjoyed our trips to the beach. Then all too soon...

August came and the school bells rang along with party horns as two special girls celebrated special birthdays!!! Our big girl and our little one were honored with special dinners and parties.

September brought this guys favorite time of the year...football and boy did we love sitting on the sidelines watching him play his heart out. He was the Most Valuable Offensive player for his team and in my book he is always my MVP!!!!

October came and brought fall in all its glory to our little neck of the woods. We picniced and enjoyed lots of outside time together.

November reminded us that we have so much to be thankful for. God has blessed our family abundantly and I continue to be in awe of His provision for us all.

December arrived and finally we took a much anticipated trip to a most magical place! I am quite sure that Disney World will never be the same after having seen the likes of us romping down Main Street USA. It was such fun and we can't wait to do it again.

I don't know what the new year holds for us but I do know that my hope continues to lie in the One that created us. This year once again we have a clean slate, a fresh new start for us all. May He begin in us a revolution to be all that we can be for Him. May He...

Look on us with favor, Lord

Psalm4:6

Until next time...

Look back at the sweetness of the past and savour the new beginnings to come!

Robin



Thanks Kim for the idea for this post!!!!

The Never Ending Christmas Post!!!

The title of this post says it all, so if you are following along you may want to grab a cup of coffee because this is going to take a while. I tried to put most of everything we did over Christmas in this one post...minus the trip to Disney. That will have to be a post in itself. Trying to get this crowd together for a Christmas card photo is quite a task but we did manage to. The shot below is one of the pictures that did make it on to the card. Anna Kayla and Greg were also added but didn't make the actual photo shoot because she had just returned from Costa Rica and was too tired to pose for endless pictures!

This is the picture that was added to our card of them. Our Christmas wouldn't be complete without Paul and the little ones making a gingerbread house together.

Here they are getting everything assembled.

Emanuiel is supervising Dad's every move.

Clara Beth was the official taster of all things candy!

Once the house was finished it was put in a spot where little eyes could gaze at it longingly.

Emanuiel Elf was quite pleased with the project! One of our new family traditions(since Anna Kayla and Greg have been married) is going to their house before and after our town's annual Christmas parade. This year Anna Kayla had coffee and doughnuts for us before the parade.

Once our tummies were full of those we started our walk to town. Here's Clara Beth with her Santa Seeker binoculars ready to spot Santa in the parade.

Once we were there they were put to good use(Thanks Mrs. Dawn for helping her make these).

Once Santa was spotted she shared them with Emanuiel so that he could get a good look!!!!

Anna Kayla and Land enjoyed the parade passing by from behind us. When the parade was over we headed back to Anna Kayla and Greg's house for sandwiches and Loaded Baked Potato Soup. That was just what we needed to warm us up after a cold morning of parade watching.

As soon as lunch was over the tradition continued with the little ones opening the Advent calendar.

Clara Beth was very happy with her chocolate finds behind the little door.

Once again tummies were warmed with delicious flavored coffees...

as we listened to Anna Kayla read a special passage from her Bible. Attending the Christmas parade and spending time at Anna Kayla and Greg's house is one of our favorite Christmas traditions another one that is special for the little ones is attending Paul's Christmas party at work.

This year was just as exciting for them as always. The party begins with a stop in the cafeteria to get Christmas cookies. Then it's off to get faces painted. Here is CB getting a candy cane to match her clothes!

Emanuiel chose a Christmas tree which he was quite proud of! Can you tell!!

Then we traveled down the hall and followed the candy cane signs to see the most important man at Daddy's work..............SANTA!!!! They both told him exactly what was on their lists this year.

Then posed for one last picture with the jolly old fellow. After this I slipped off for some girl time with one of my best buds. Together we enjoyed our town's annual Holiday Home Tour. No pictures of that we were too busy oohing over the beautiful decorations. This year Clara Beth and Emanuiel were both old enough to participate in our Church's Children's Christmas program. After months of practicing the big night finally arrived..

Clara Beth was one of the angles and she was very much in her element on stage. That girl loves to perform and she sang her little heart out. See her good friend Bekah Grace beside her.

Emanuiel was a little more nervous about performing but he also did a great job. The lighting was very dim so the pictures didn't come out very well. It was also hard to take pictures because we were watching and didn't want to miss anything.

At one point I though that Emanuiel and his wings might actually fly off the stage! Thankfully he didn't because he probably thought the little guy below might just be watching...

When this little fellow arrived at our house he was met with much excitement from Emanuiel and a lot of skepticism from Clara Beth. She told me on numerous occasions that she just wished he would go up in the attic to stay!

But he wouldn't, he just kept popping up in the most unusual places. First thing every morning the two little ones would hop out of bed and go on a search for "Piggles" yes that is the name that he was given! He proved to be quite a good little keeper of the peace while he was here. I really hated to see him go. There were also numerous hot cocoa breaks over the holidays.

With this one requesting the most cups!

and this one joining in...

with marshmallows of course! Believe me this Christmas, just like with the hot chocolate, we tried to drink it all in and savor each and every moment! We did have some early present opening at our house.

My brother and his wife Liss spent Christmas in England this year with Liss' family. So instead of delivering the presents in person this year they mailed them all the way from California. CB and E could hardly wait to open their packages.

Christmas Eve morning they were finally able to open them! They were filled with art supplies...their favorite things right now! Thank you Uncle Garrett and Aunt Liss we loved our presents but we missed having you here this Christmas!!!! Then finally the big morning arrived and unfortunately we made videos but didn't get any pictures!

We did manage to get Greg as he and Anna Kayla were arriving for breakfast bearing gifts! Can you guess what the one on top is...Emanuiel thought he knew but we kept telling him that it couldn't possibly be a dinosaur!!! Too bad we didn't capture the look on his face it was priceless. After a delicious breakfast we opened more presents and then just sat back and enjoyed the gifts...

Some were enjoyed much more than others. This girl LOVED her Mobigo. Then it was off to my sister's house for a delicious feast and more gifts!! Once we were back home we settled in and waited for this...
Snow that started Christmas night and continued until around lunch time the next day. After breakfast this was the view from my kitchen window!!!
Our house decorated with snow at Christmas!!!!
The little ones out enjoying a few snowball fights and an attempt at a very small snowman!
Now we are enjoying our time at home and wishing everyone a very Happy New Year!!!!!!

Until next time...

As we look toward this new year with anticipation and hope let us never forget where our true hope lies...

You are my shelter and my sheild: I put my hope in Your word.

Psalm 119:114

Robin