snowy days...

we had our first "real" snowfall and boy, did we have fun in the snow.  look at these sweet snow babies:

 

the boys LOVED sledding down the hill in our backyard.  we even got in on the action, it was a blast.  

       

oh, and of course, what kid can play in the snow without a little taste?!?!

CLICK HERE to see a few photographs from our snow fun!!

christmas pictures...

   

hope you had a wonderful christmas as we did too!  we spent the days celebrating Christ's birth with both sides of our family and had an amazing, relaxing time with them.  we just LOVE our families and the boys had so much fun playing with all their cousins!

CLICK HERE to see some of our christmas snapshots!

merry christmas!

I bring you good news that will bring great joy to ALL people. 

The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today.

 {Luke 2:10-11}

M  E  R  R  Y    C  H  R  I  S  T  M  A  S !

picture update

well, it's been a long while since our last picture update (since october, actually).  there's been so much going on this time of year we haven't had the chance to get pictures together for a slideshow, but of course we have tons to share with you!  

CLICK HERE to see a slideshow of pictures that highlight things that have happened in the months of november and december (so far) with our family.  some of the things you'll see are greyson having fun with paint, hudson's first preschool christmas performance and a trip to starbucks with daddy and the fun we had in the first snowfall of the season.  

  

center

at a time of year when things like 

shopping, 

gifts, 

santa,

 and busyness 

consume and overshadow 

the truth of christmas, 

this is our prayer...

oh, CHRIST, be the center of our lives!

{and the center of this season!}

christmas keepsake

if you're anything like our family, every year when you're decorating your christmas tree there are always those special keepsake ornaments that are so fun to put on the tree.  memories from when you were a kid or of the person who gave it to you coming flashing back.  we love looking at our old keepsakes and this year was no different.  everyone loves a christmas ornament keepsake, right?!?  here's an idea of how you can capture a memory of today and remember it for years to come.  we did this with the boys last year and it was so fun to get them out this year and see how much they've grown. 

here's how to make it:  to begin, get a ornament bulb of your choice (or maybe two or three, just in case).  using acrylic paint (be sure not to use tempera or washable), coat the inside of your child's hand.  simply place the ornament bulb in your child's hand and tell your child to grasp the bulb tightly.  press his/her fingers to be sure the impression is clear.  now you have a handprint (we had to do this several time to get a good print). each finger of the handprint becomes a snowman.  use sharpie markers to design your snowmen to your fancy.  label it with your child's name and the year and there you have it, a perfect christmas keepsake!   

december tradition

  

  

  

it's beginning...

...to look a lot like christmas in our home! 

(click on image to enlarge)

here's a glimpse into what our home looks like during this christmas season! 

and yes, the nativity scene is still shrink wrapped...it's safer that way with two little ones!!! ;-)  

hope rising

are you in need of some great, new, inspiring music?  this is the cd for you!  oh my goodness, we just got Fee's latest album, entitled Hope Rising, and it is AMAZING!!!  seriously, the songs are lyrically breathtaking and will leave you filled with hope and joy in our great God.  below are a couple of our favorite songs.  take a listen, you won't be disappointed!  oh, and the best part is that you can get this whole album (MP3 digital download) on amazon for $5.00!  CLICK HERE if you're interested!  hope you enjoy! :-)

tie-dye turkeys

     

okay, this simple, little thanksgiving craft was a huge hit in our house so we thought we'd share it with you (granted you really won't want to make it until next year at this point, but oh well)!  we call them tie-dye turkeys. 

directions: take a coffee filter and let the kids go-to-town on it completely covering it with marker.  then, spray it with water and hang it to dry. meanwhile, cut out a turkey body of some sort (to make it even more original, you could trace a foot of a child in brown construction paper to get a similar shape).  once the colorful coffee filter is dry, put it together, mount on card-stock for durability and and there you have it - DONE!  you've gotta love a fun, simple art project!  have fun (next year, that is)!  :-)

blessed

  

on thanksgiving morning, usually we get up, relax and watch the macy's thanksgiving day parade, but this year was different.   instead we had the honor of serving with our "thrive" group at our church to prepare and organize the delivery of over 11, 000 meals to families in need (there were numerous churches in the area that partnered together in this effort).  

  

god blesses us so that we can be a blessing to others.  but really, at the end of the day we were the ones that were feeling blessed - to see the happy, smiling faces of the servants and to know that what we were doing was going to bless a deserving family this thanksgiving and give them hope during this holiday season.

oh, and the best part of it all (if you didn't notice it in the picture above), each of the bags that were used to transport food, was hand-decorated with bible verses and pictures by the kids in the church.  how cool that the kids are learning at such a young age the importance of loving and serving others.  

giving thanks

Lord, you are great and powerful. 

Everything in heaven and on earth belongs to you. 

You are honored as the One who rules over all. 

Our God, we give you thanks. 

We praise your glorious name. 

~1 Chronicles 29: 11, 13

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,

His faithful love endures forever. 

~ 1 Chronicles 16:34

The Lord has done great things for us, 

And we are filled with joy!

~Psalm 126:3

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

seriously

before the leaves fell, we managed to grab a few fall photos, here they are:

    

    

look at them, aren't they getting so big?  hudson is 3 1/2 and greyson is 1 1/2.  it's unbelievable  and amazing to think of how much they've grown and changed over the months and years.  

seriously, these boys are great!  these boys are truly amazing!  it's hard to explain unless you know them personally, but they are just so much fun and unique in character.  there is just something special about them.  i'm sure every parent must feel this way about their child, but it's true.  they are caring, funny, silly, smart and coordinated, to name a few. 

seriously...they love to dance, to any song really, but especially to taylor swift's "you belong with me."  hudson has managed to learn a lot of the words in the song and always wants to listen to the "t-shirt song".  he doesn't miss a beat and has been very much interested in guitars and drums.  he truly does not miss a beat!  greyson gets in on the action and gets his groove on too!  he dances around and laughs with hudson and has a ball doing it.  it's so cool to observe how much greyson looks up to his brother, always imitating him in everything from his interests, the toys he plays with, to lifting up his shirt to try and go to the bathroom, to dancing and singing and talking.    

seriously, these kids are great!  now, you'd think their favorite shows on TV would be something on PBS or cartoony or have trains or tractors or something, but not our kids.  their favorite show on TV is america's funniest home videos and wheel of fortune (the "letters show").  they laugh at laugh at america's funniest home videos and they shout out letters when we watch wheel of fortune.   i'm telling you, these boys have a sense of humor like no other!!!  

anyways, we could go on forever about how great they are and of course they have their "moments" every day too, but in short, we love them beyond what words can even express.  thank you, God, for these amazing gifts and for entrusting us with them during this life on earth, because we know that they are truly Yours!!!  seriously, God, they are great!! 

calvin matthew branch

Many of you have known or heard of Rebekah's sister, Kim and her husband Josh and their remarkable testimony that has transpired over the last 5 months.  It is a story of hope, faith, trust and incredible love.  To make a very long story short, they came to discover (at 21 weeks) as they were expecting their first child that their baby had a chromosomal abnormality called Trisomy 18.  This is typically a fatal syndrome.  Over the next 5 months something amazing happened. In this unfortunate and unimaginable circumstance they found themselves placed in, they chose to rejoice in the life God had created through them.  They chose to have unwavering faith and hope in Christ's good works.  They found peace and comfort in the storm.  

   

So, on October 15th, after carrying him 41 weeks and after 24 hours of labor, at 6:52 a.m. our sweet nephew, Calvin, was born still.  We, along with the rest our immediate family, were blessed to meet Calvin and to spend time with him, even though it was little.  We have been moved beyond words by this precious, God-breathed life, and have come to experience God's amazing glory through every circumstance.    

   

   

In his honor, they have created a website to share their story and the story of their sweet Calvin.  Please visit their site (www.calvinbranch.com) to learn more, read their personal testimony and to view the slideshow that was so beautifully put together of photographs taken on Calvin's birthday.  It will leave you speechless.  Please join us in lifting up Josh and Kim in prayer as they continue to seek refuge in God's amazing grace.  They have been so rooted in Christ's love during this whole time, that you can't help but see Christ living in and through them.  We'll leave you now with a beautiful verse that they've  so eloquently quoted time and time again:  

The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away; blessed be the name of the Lord. ~Job 1:21b

   

october

we love the month of october for two reasons, can you guess what they are? here are some picture clues: 

  

yep, if you guessed going to the pumpkin patch and visiting the fire station, your right!  there's just something about going to a pumpkin patch on a beautiful, autumn day that is so refreshing, not to mention the kids love it.  and since our boys love firetrucks, visiting the fire station and sitting in all the trucks is always a blast!  

CLICK HERE to see some pictures from these fun events!  

   

   

grandparents day

   

as explained the in previous post and after stealing some pictures from mom snavely, here are some pictures of grandparents day at hudson's preschool.  he LOVED showing them around his new school and he was such a proud little man.  

he showed them all around his new classroom and they got to meet his teachers, too. 

 

  

he even got to do a fun craft with them too, "my grandparent and I, hand in hand", where he traced their hands and his together.  so sweet!

 

oh, what a blessing it is to have grandparents!!!  thank you for making this such a special day for hudson, he still talks about it to this day!  we love you SO MUCH grandma, mimi, and great bumpa!