The Stockings Were Hung...

Kacia helping to read the Christmas story

Their gifts to one another

 Kacia's new Toms. (This girl loves shoes... It's perfectly good and healthy for moms and daughters to share passions, right? )

 Rylin was so surprised and absolutely ecstatic to get an American Girl from Grandma & Grandpa!

 All the cousins in their matching jammies from Aunt Vickie and their dolls in their matching jammies made by Grandma!

We had an absolutely wonderful Christmas. It began on Christmas Eve with our traditional out to dinner with the Goldens, Christmas Eve service and gifts to one another. Somehow, even with a photographer around on Christmas Eve, we managed to take no pictures!
Christmas morning was just the 5 of us, filled with a lot of excitement, a lot of paper & boxes everywhere! Later, Kevin's parents and sister & family came over for even more excitement, paper and boxes!!! Kevin made an excellent meal with prime rib and crab & it was a super fun day! Great day, great gift giving, great smiles and great memories!

More of November

The girls love going to watch plays! So when they saw that Annie was going to be performed at Michael, Allie & Alex's school- they couldn't wait! I think Rylin loves to go for the candy at intermission and I think Kacia is simply amazed that people choose to get up front and perform without being embarrassed! The next play will be the The Best Christmas Pageant ever at church- which they are super excited for!
Kevin and Bre did so much for the Thanksgiving meal, that the girls and I decided to go see Arthur Christmas during Lincoln's nap. I love starting off the season by seeing a Christmas movie, and I love that they are totally game to indulge me!

Rylin decided to draw a turkey on everyone's napkin, so as we were setting the table, and putting out the food, she patiently continued to decorate :) We had a great and relaxing Thanksgiving. Allie did much better at taking pictures, as these are my only 2, unless you include the video of the original Thanksgiving meal performed by Bre and the kids! For the sake of the teenagers who were kind enough to participate- I won't post it on the world wide web :)

Rylin Turns Six!!!!!!

It's hard to believe this beautiful, crazy, happy, smart, kind daughter of mine is 6! She is just a little bundle of joy with a laugh that is truly contagious! She loves people, school, wearing dresses & sugar, hates eating dinner, and will not be ignored! She is a strong and enthusiastic girl who adds so much spark to our home! We thank the Lord for His amazing gift of placing her into our family- I simply can't imagine what life would be without her!

We had her party at the Sweet Spot, where the girls get to decorate cookies, cupcakes, eat gelato, and go home on a huge sugar high! It was a blast, and she greatly enjoyed her day with her friends!

1 Plate + 6 Screws= Surgery, Again

November 1st began with Kacia's long overdue surgery to remove the hardware that was put in her arm almost 2 years ago. We knew it was necessary, she knew it was inevitable, but no one was looking forward to it! But let me just say- my girl was a trooper!! On the 31st, her and I spent quite a bit of time looking over verses regarding anxiety and trusting in the Lord- she is afterall, a bit like me and tends to think too much when trying to go to sleep. The verses worked great and the Lord truly calmed her heart, and she went right to sleep! The surgery went well, she woke up slowly (and was quite entertaining), and after getting through the nausea that first day, it was hard to keep her down! We thank God for His protection, and for leading us to a great surgeon who did a wonderful job of minimizing the once huge scar!

Life in October

The month of October brought some of our favorite houseguests: Kaitlin, Reid and James!!

I'm so glad we were able to join in the celebration of the marriage of Daniel & April Crabtree

So last summer we watched a lot of Swamp People on Netflix, and Kevin talked about being Bruce for Halloween.... I never thought he'd actually do it! Needless to say, our church body was also a little surprised when he showed up like this for our Fall Festival!

Our kids have been enjoying their first year in Awana. Crazy hair night was a lot of fun.

And October also brings the opportunity to visit one of the kids' favorite places- the Pumpkin Patch. Lincoln and I first toured it with a group from our church, and then a couple of weeks later, we joined Rylin's kindergarten class also. It always proves to be a great time and Lincoln seemed to especially enjoy the animals and the corn cannon :)

Well, that was October in a nutshell... Can't believe we are in November!

Santa Cruz Vacation

Right after Kacia's birthday, our family escaped to Santa Cruz for a great family vacation. We enjoyed beautiful weather, the waves, sand, shells, the boardwalk and simply a lot of time together!

This was one of Rylin's favorites, the mini drop zone...

Lincoln's favorite...

Lincoln's LEAST favorite...

Kacia's fav

We enjoyed a great bike ride along the coast, and even stopped to watch a group of dolphins

It doesn't get much better than a bonfire at the beach, listening to the waves...

The famous Mystery Spot, which is still a mystery even after visiting

A marine discovery center the kids and I visited while Kevin enjoyed golfing

Then I attempted to take them bowling, which was interesting...

All in all, a great time was had by everyone! So thankful we were able to escape school and work for a week together!