Family Visiting...

Mimi arrived on her birthday, so we had a little party ready.

 Geneva loves dressing up.

 My mom and I were able to go out to lunch to a yummy place called American Eats.

  We had a cuddly night watching a movie by the fire.

 Savannah the silly owl girl ready for a bike ride.

  The girls had their first movie theatre experience. They loved seeing Paddington Bear!

 Aunt Jennifer also came in for the weekend. 

We had a fun outing to the National Geographic Museum and Shake Shack.

 Story time with sick Mimi. My poor mom got the flu, and then so did everyone else! 

We've been inside for the last week trying to get over fevers and coughs.

Lots of games. Thanks Aunt Jen for coming to visit!!

My mom brought a new CD the kids love called Walking with the Wise by Sovereign Grace Ministries. I highly recommend it!

Getting Outside

I'm a California girl at heart, so being outside is where I belong. I am a wimp with cold weather, I must admit. So, now that we're living in NOVA, we make the most of sunny wintry days in the 30's-40's!! 

 We had a beautiful day at Great Falls over Christmas break. The kids love being outside crawling all over the rocks and getting muddy. So fun. I didn't get any action pictures, just our snack time after the hike. The girls were troopers.

 So was this cutie. She loves looking at all the new things!

 Aw, sisters. The girls could stare at the falls for hours!! 

On a different day Jesse took the girls exploring on the hill behind our house. Geneva crashed. Her head looked like it was going to fall off!!

Happy Birthday Jesse!

Since Jesse has been into the birds in our backyard, we had a bird-themed celebration for his birthday!

Can you believe how amazing this is?!? Penny asked the girls what kind of sugar cookies she should make for Jesse, and they said: birds and birdhouses! So, talented Penny made a Pileated Woodpecker and bird houses! She even painted (with chocolate) a tree branch for the bird to rest on!

 

Here is the guy that visits our feeder. They look exactly alike!

 The girls painted birdhouses for Jesse to put in the trees when Spring comes. The sun room was FREEZING, so they painted in snowsuits! It was 16 degrees.

 Before the bird was consumed! It was so yummy.

 Silly people. The girls said they were thankful for Daddy because God made him, because he loves us, and because he's a pastor. Dinner conversation is always fun!

We Love Snow!

 Um, I might be partial, but she's pretty cute.

 So is Elsa, I mean, Savannah. The snow blows white at our house today!

 Geneva couldn't wait to go outside and play!

 She went down the hill in an avocado box!

 Haha!!

 Jesse had some fun, too!

 Wee! Thanks Tessa for taking the little ones down.

 There's my penguin. Straight down on her stomach! Her teacher told me that Maddie looked outside at recess and said, "Good! The snows not all gone! I'm going to go sledding after school. My neighbors have a REALLY big sledding hill!"

 Go Rosa!!

 I'm so thankful for our great neighbor friends! 

 The crew.

 Geneva kept pushing Savannah trying to get the sled to go. She loved going down!!

 And hiking back up!

My love. By the way, Happy Birthday Jesse!!

Deb and Robert's Visit...

 Grandma is sure fun! We ended up going to Hidden Pond where she showed the girls how to break up the ice. They were having a blast!

 Cute trail walkers. These ladies love nature and being outside- runs in the family!

 All three with beanies!

 Can you find the turtle?? Hidden Pond Nature Centre is pretty interesting. The girls love watching the snakes, frogs, turtles, and salamanders.

 We had lots of time for stories.

 And games. 

 One morning the girls helped make pumpkin pancakes for breakfast. Geneva's part was to unload the dishwasher around the house :) The older girls took orders and helped serve.

 We went to the National Cathedral where the exhibit of Nativity scenes from around the world was quite extensive!

 The girls loves the mosaics and stained glass windows. Later that day they did their own stained glass window artwork.

 Grandma showed Geneva the great view from the Cathedral Tower. After touring we had a yummy pizza lunch at 2 Amy's.

Savannah was worn out by all the fun we were having together!

Sunday we had a church-filled day and great visit with the Leaches. Monday we checked out Fair Oaks Mall. Today they are seeing the Newseum and flying home. We had a great visit Deb and Robert, thanks for coming!!

Happy New Year!

We brought in the New Year with a dance party, of course!

The girls got dressed up, I put a little make up on them, and we danced.

Oh yeah.

So sweet.

Bedtime dancing. Yes, she's in a Cinderella costume.

Things got a little romantic.

These girls have so much fun together!!

Our dessert was decedent. We made a peanut butter s'mores dip for graham crackers.

After eating, we quickly had bath time.

Late night games by the fireplace!

And just to be crazy, the girls switched bunk beds for the New Year!

As I was going to bed, I couldn't resist taking pictures of my sleeping beauty.

And another sleeping baby.

Good morning! Mom, get me out of my crib!! My sisters are taking up all the room in here!

Thanks Mimi for the 2015 calendar! We talked about months, weeks, days, and holidays this morning!

We talked about resolutions for the year as a family. Maddie wants to get better at riding her bike off of curbs, obey mom and dad more, and have a new heart in Jesus. Savannah's goals were to learn new songs. My desire is to find my joy in Christ, not in circumstances. When life disappoints, I want to turn to my Heavenly Father, who doesn't change and find my strength there. I too often look to myself to change hard things, or depend upon others for help; but instead my prayer is that I run to the Lord and put no confidence in the flesh. Jesus is my portion and hope. He is the only place true joy is found.

Happy New Year!