Aflame

2-30-39

Because I am STILL behind in my blogging I want to share with you our more recent birthdays. Sweet Allie turned 2 in November. She is the perfect sister for this family of boys. She is our happy little extrovert. She warms up to people, familiar and not in a heartbeat. (Even quicker if you offer her candy or show her your doggie. YIKES!) She loves to sing (Silent Night at the top of her lungs) and dance. Almost every day she requests a dress to wear or a ratty old Thomas the Train shirt passed down from her brothers. She loves Dora and Diego and always wants to play "There's an animal in twubble. Twick, we have to save him!" We are all charmed just watching her be herself.

I turned 30. I don't know how this happened. Just yesterday I was 24 and expecting my first child. Crazy. For this next decade I hope for a little more sleep, fewer diaper changes (of children, not myself!) and more pages scrapped! 20's were great and I expect nothing less of my 30's

Derek turned 39. We have entered a rare moment when we share a decade. We discovered that 39 candles on a cake do not set off our smoke alarm. Better luck next year. Derek is the best father I could ask for for my children. I'm glad I didn't let him get away. I had an inkling when we were dating but he has greatly surpassed my expectations. He is a remarkable husband, also. When friends complain about this or that I can only smile as secret smile and think fondly of my awesome man. (Okay, so sometimes I complain a little bit but that is more because of my shortcomings than his.) I can't wait until next year. Get ready for a big bash!

Tyler turned 6 today. You can view his pictures on this blog in April. :-)

Lay one on me!

We dedicate him to the Lord

On Sunday, January 24 we dedicated our youngest son, Luke William to God. We chose this verse for him. "Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith; be a man of courage; be strong. Do everything in love." 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 We desire for Luke and for all of our children to know the truth of God deep in their hearts and not be persuaded by the world's views. We pray that as they grow up and out, forming their own friendships, that they will be blessings to their friends and not let their faith be tainted. This takes great courage.

Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone! We had a good holiday. It seemed like it lasted four days as we celebrated with both families and took some time for our own group of 6. I enjoyed having Derek home for most of the two weeks either working from home or totally off. The Christmas blizzard made the whole world slow down. Everything was quiet and white. Getting around wasn't as difficult as predicted but we did use it as an excuse to sleep over at my folks' house. We got some good new toys to last us through these next three frigid months. I still have a little chocolate left from my stocking to get me through this week. I'll raid the kids' stashes next week. :-)

BBall

We are excited to begin a second season of basketball this week. Tyler really showed some good improvement this year. He isn't the most aggressive player, no surprise there but he has GREAT hustle! Can't wait for his next game!