Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

snippets of our last few weeks

Aliza and I got to hold a sweet baby girl a few weeks ago...goodness knows we don't see many of those :-)

 

 Breakfast buddies

A game of Sorry while cooking? Well why not!

this is the face he gives me first thing every day...not a morning kid...but he sure tries to be

little brother getting in on the game

I sure do love that squishy face

He has been 5 since last June...but he is still jazzed about it!

Sorry yesterday. Cherries today...and yes he is sitting on my windowsill. 

my knitting buddy

He can't read yet but insisted on taking Harry Potter to bed... 

 A happy return to our home school co-op day !!!!

Sorry another squishy baby boy picture...I can't help myself!

little bits

 (sweet big sister sharing tea time )

 (kitchen nick knacks)

 (little bits from my dear Farmor (fathers-mother))

 (a needle felted bookmark my Judah made at age 3)

 (a hand sewn christmas star from one of the kids)

(a sweet bell another trinket from my Farmor and my all time favorite mug from a dear friend)

happy feet + happy faces = happy mama

 (working hard)

 (ok maybe they're not all happy faces)

 (happy feet)

 (a surprise for a friend)

(getting their sillies out)

a little joy to end the year...

I am so glad to have spent our Christmas Eve with some dear friends...we hope to make it our new yearly tradition

(wow all 10 of us in the same picture! this sure makes my mama heart happy)

(me and my 3 littlest boys)

Comfortable

  yes I realize it is November and we started our home school year back in September ... but I am finally (close to) comfortable with our "Drawing Room" as it has been called by the kids.

not great with words...(something of JOY)

so I have finally come to a realization (after many years) 

that I am not a blog writer. :( 

Oh well. Does the world really need another blogger anyway :)

I have decided not to totally give up on the blogging way, but instead will do my best to share a picture everyday of something Joyous . I am doing this for me as a mental motivation. I am doing it to keep me aware that there is more then me here in my everyday. I am doing this to give myself something of Joy to remind that she is with me always, even when I do not feel her.

A daily dose of thankful...

 

thankful for the nice weather in November that the kids can spend lots of time in the yard finding cool things like this beautiful birds nest...

 

Hanging around

Our 4th of July was quiet. How about yours?

 

I love how inventive my kids are. One of the older boys made a rope swing for everyone to enjoy. Dag is really great at swinging on it.

 

 

Aliza staying cool! ;)

 

 

And me knitting. Yes it's 90 degrees and I have a sweater on my lap. But hey what can I say other then I really want to wear it this fall, it's about time I finished it; I mean I've only been working on it for two years.