Happy Birthday....

To 'Siah :)!!!!

This li'l guy is one year old now! With his several adorable tufts of hair that are about twice as long as all the rest, and his love for multiple people singing together, he loves chocolate (his first voluntary steps were to take some of Tori's ;) ), he is soooo very smart (while opening his gifts this evening he was extremely excited when he noticed that one of his toys and the character on his new cup were one and the same, so sweet!), and I don't think that there is anything much sweeter than when he walks up and reaches out his chunky arms to be picked up! He is affectionately known as Winnie-the-Pooh around here, due to his round tummy, big smile, and general Winne-the Pooh-ness, haha :). Josiah is so precious... he is such a gift to our family, and we are so thankful that he is here with us today!

Happy birthday, Josiah :)! I love you, baby boy!

An afternoon...

Spent with these smiling faces, iced coffee, "Piano Guys" music, ribbon, sparkles, and glue! We're getting some last items ready for the Hidden Treasures auction that starts in five days :)!!!! Abbi and Emmi made their own little hair things this time :)! They have wanted to send in donations for a while now, and it finally worked out :)... I love their eagerness to do whatever they can to bless others :)!

Thankful Thursday, Week 153

~Our big, plush blanket... so comfy... haha! I might steal from Josiah's bed quite often... but only during the day ;). I think Peter might like it a bit, too, because I can't sit in it without him asking, "Can I sit with you? In the blanket?". Haha :).
~Tori's gorgeous water colored sunset sunset she did last week :). I'm sure you'll be seeing some water coloring posts on her blog soon :).
~Emmi's hair put up in a little Gibson Tuck hair style... she's so cute :).
~The newest book I'm working on, "Jesus Unmasked". This book is so good! Definitely one I would recommend... but I'll share more in a post later :). As a side note, I've tried to read a bit more lately than I have the past year. I'm really enjoying the reading... and also enjoying the fact that the blisters I developed on my fingers from holding my book the first week of doing more said reading are finally going away. I thought that only happened to Tori...
~Days that are finally warming up a bit! We were able to eat lunch outside earlier this week!
~Little cooks getting more and more proficient in the kitchen. Andrew has headed supper preparations twice this past week, and has done a great job :).
~Finding a few of the outfits we were looking for the other day. On the other hand, Peter was not as thrilled. Said to Tori while she was carrying him because he was complaining about all the walking: "Tori, I am still ready to go home. Hey... Tori... what do you think about making cookies when we get home?...". His future wife better be prepared to make a lot of cookies, because they are definitely his comfort food ;).
~Abbi's excitement over her "experiment". "Now I know that leaves are different! She told Mama, after examining a couple different trees :).
~Andrew's giving Bethi his coat the other day when she was chilly and had left her sweater in the car. Such a gentleman :).

Thankful Thursday, Week 152

I've neglected this poor little blog so much the past several months, and neglected even more Thankful Thursdays :(... I've been pretty diligent to sit down and write out praises for each day since November, but sharing them on my blog is a completely different matter. I have no idea  if I'll publish the ones I've missed or if I'll just leave it as is, but I really want to at least pick it back up, so, I'm here for once, haha! I'm not sure whether my writing streak, my drive to not stop anything I start, or the blogging enthusiasm going around from Bethi and Tori, has more to do with that fact, heehee :). But never-the-less, here are a few of the things that I've had to be grateful for this past week :).

~Drawing with Tori... kind of. I mean, we did a little bit. She was very un-interested for an artist. Haha! But she was very thrilled to "force me to use my creativity". Hahaha! By the way, Tori has started up her own blog, Sketching Dreams, that she is extremely excited about, that she is devoting to her artwork :)!
~Bethi's no-bake cookies :)! She made them all by herself, except for the fact that Andrew helped her spoon them out, for the first time last week :). Yummy!
~Josiah getting to play with a snowball :). He desperately wanted Daddy to roll it back and forth with him... but, being snow, it kind of broke. That was priceless, haha!
~A lap full of sleeping baby boys! Peter totally skipped his nap the other day, and mid afternoon, Josiah fell asleep on me, and then Peter came up and did the same, haha :).
~The way Josiah prays with the rest of the family at meal time :). It is soooo precious! He reached for hands, and sits quietly... he even bowed his head the other day! <3
~R. C. Sproul's series, "What is Reformed Theology?". We've been learning from them the past couple weeks that we haven't been able to make it to church (we have had snow on the ground for a week and a half now, and more is coming down as I type!)
~The book of Hebrews :).
~4Chess. My Grandma sent it home with us a while back, because it never got played. With Bethi and Andrew now interested in it, we finally have enough people to play it! Although it goes on longer than the usual game... and I may end up finishing Tori's play at times, haha... we've enjoyed it several times lately :). And I may have not done so well against Daddy... lol...
~Peter eagerly (*very* eagerly!) feeding Josiah his carrots (with help, haha!). He thought he was so big :).
~This magazine, Set Apart Girl. Its free online, and, though I haven't finished it, it is proving to be a wonderful read!
~All of the wonderful things that are going on in the orphanage that we have helped raise funds for. Three children listed for adoption for the first time, five of the children are now in the adoption process, and the Hidden Treasures auctions are starting back up this April to help bring them home :)!
~Andrew's work (with Daddy's help) building and using some mini catapults :). He did a great job :).
~Bethi's new blog, Gratefully His :)! She would love it if you would check it out :)!
~Spaghetti Squash. You should have hear the "oooo"s and "Oh"s going on while Mommy pulled it apart last night, heehee :).
~Choir practice :). We are enjoying it so much :)! I am thrilled that Tori agreed to join, heehee :).
~All the robins in our backyard this afternoon... there were at least a dozen, it was so odd! But they were adorable :).
~Seeing Josiah toddle around the corner... he is so sweet! He's able to stand up without holding onto anything, now, too... he's so big! Its hard to believe he'll be a year old this month...
~Hearing Emmi sound out her letters with Mommy :). She's doing really well!
~Psalm 8 :).
~Emmi and Abbi telling me about a history book Mommy is reading with them... a little disjointed, a little confusing, haha, but I love that they are interested and sharing :).

"Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of  

praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name."

                                                  ~Hebrews 13:15