Welcome Christmas Eve...

Can you believe that Christmas is finally here??? My how fast this month and year went. Billy and Brooke are counting down the hours, and the torture is killing them! Was I really like this as a kid? Not being able to wait just one more day to see if Santa came.

Well I have enjoyed this time off with the kids. We have been busy with decorating and craft projects. The kids had fun decorating a gingerbread house and train.

We are off to church tonight to celebrate Christ's birth with a Candlelight Service. We hope you have a wonderful Christmas Eve. Love to you all!

The Louisville Zoo

Just another installment of pictures from our Summer. These were taken when Kristi, Gavin and Renna came, before we made our way back to Maine. A trip to the zoo always makes for a fun day!

Happy Birthday SaRenna

My niece SaRenna turned 6 yesterday. I hope you had a wonderful Birthday. I was lucky to spend a good part of my Summer with her and she has grown into such a beautiful, sweet girl. I miss you sweetie, but will see you in about 9 days. Love you

The start of another school year

My baby girl is gone... to school all day! She headed off to 1st grade yesterday. I sure will miss having her home half the day. I love this picture of her in her new uniform, this is our new school plaid. I was so proud of her; she had a great first day! Today she came home and said "Mommy, Mrs. K smiles at me a lot".
I was not able to get a picture of Billy because my camera died, so I will post a picture of him soon. Billy is in the 3rd grade! This will be his first year of Latin and Literature and also Study Hall. He has Miss Roberts and he seems to like her.

This is a scrapbook page that I finished today of last year's 1st day of school pictures. It is amazing how much they have changed in a year's time.

A fun day at the beach

We had such great fun at the beach. The kid's played in the water and the sand for hours. These pictures were taken on one of many trips to York Beach.

Starting Again

I know it has been quite some time since I last blogged, but I will try to get you all up to date in the next couple of days in what has been happening in our life. I guess the most memorable place to start would be Father's Day; this was a very special day for our family.



As most of you know in February both Brooke and Billy asked Jesus to be their Lord and Saviour. After going through a workbook with a youth leader at church to help them better understand what it means to become a Christian and making a profession of faith, they made the important decision to get baptized. So as a mother and wife it was a truly special time watching my family follow the Lord in believer's baptism.



Dr.Cook (below) is Senior pastor at church. He has not baptized anyone in a long while - usually this is done by the assistant pastor. As a special favor to Jim he wanted to be the one to baptize our family. Hope you enjoy all the pictures.

Bernheim Forest

Wow, two posts in a day! I just downloaded lots of pictures off the camera, so I have more to share. On Memorial Day we went to Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest to go hiking and have a picnic. We also got to bring Abbie with us and as you can see by the pictures she made a friend. I am not sure why, but the deer had only one eye. He was very curious about Abbie and he even gave her a deer kiss! We had a great time, but brought many ticks home with us!

Ballet Recital

Just wanted to share some pictures of Brooke after her ballet recital last Saturday. The recital was held at the Memorial Auditorium here in Louisville. The Memorial Auditorium is a 1700 seat theater, it is home to the world's largest Pilcher organ, it is also home to 144 World-Famous flags. Brooke did a great job on that huge stage, she was a beautiful butterfly! We will receive a video of the recital that we will share with you all this summer. Enjoy the pictures.

Some Happy

Just some pictures of Billy and Brooke that made me smile as I was going through photo's. Hope you all have a great Monday!

10 and a half...

That's how many days are left until Summer vacation begins. I can hardly believe it's almost here! And honestly I think I might be a little more excited than the kids. I can't wait for lazy mornings, all-day outings, suntans, slip and slides, sticky Popsicles (eaten OUTSIDE, of course), watermelon, vacation in Maine, and all the other stuff that Summer brings!

That being said, the next 10 and a half days are going to be full. Dance rehearsal, class parties, field trips, award ceremonies, dance recital, baseball games, picnics, and so much more. I think by the time it's all over we will be really ready for the lazy days of Summer!

HAPPY MOTHER"S DAY!

Happy Mother's Day to everyone, I hope you all have a wonderful day.

Mom, I wish I could be with you, I really miss you. Thank you for being such a wonderful Grammy to Billy and Brooke. Thank you for everything you do and have done for me! I love you.

Baseball

Just wanted to share these adorable pictures of Billy. He was a little disappointed when he found out he was on the White Sox, and not the Red Sox. He has several games a week and is having fun. I'm sure these pictures are only a few of the hundred or so that I will take of him playing baseball, so stay posted!

Goodbye Friends

Sunday night we said goodbye to the Key family. The Key's are going to be missionaries to Africa. We met Marshall, Jennifer, Thomas and Vivian when they moved to Louisville during the Summer of last year.

The Keys have blessed our family in so many ways, and they will be greatly missed. Brooke was so lucky to have Jennifer as a teacher, she gave her not just a greater love for learning, but also a better understanding of the Lord and through this Brooke accepted Jesus into her heart.

I am so grateful to have made such a great friend. I will miss all the nights of scrapbooking together, all the shopping trips, all the long talks over coffee, all the parent-teacher talks about Brooke, all the spiritual guidance, working with her, and just having a wonderful friend to talk with.


Billy and Thomas hit it off fast, and spent alot of time together. Thomas is a great kid and has been a great example for Billy. When I asked Thomas what he thought about moving to Africa his answer was "I can't wait to go tell people about Jesus". WOW!

Brooke is going to miss Vivian. Vivian has been like a big sister to Brooke. Even though she is several years older than Brooke she would play dolls with Brooke and hang out with her.

We will miss you friends. Please keep them in your prayers as they go out in the field.

Family Visit

Last week we had a great visit with Laurie, Dave, Ashlee and Aaron. It has been almost a year since we have seen anyone from back home. We are looking forward to our visit to Maine this June to spend some quality time with family and friends! Enjoy the pictures of my cute niece and nephew.

Memories

I have going through my room organizing my scrapbook supplies and looking at some old layouts from a couple years ago. It is amazing the memories that come back when I look at them. I guess all that a scrapbook page can ever be is a small moment in time, a little piece of life, it never can tell the whole story. Looking back at my first pages remind me of the memories i wanted to keep. It is such a rewarding hobby that keeps giving! I have been organizing to make room for my new desk, it is much larger and has more storage space. I will post some pictures soon! Have a great day-