Happy Birthday Anna!

Anna had her birthday right before Christmas. Emily was in a rare mood and wanted her picture taken, so she snuck in next to Grandma. :)
Happy Birthday Anna!!

The Adults at Christmas

We forgot to get a huge group picture, and some kids had left, so we went with the adult picture this year. :) Easier to arrange, less stressful, but still eyes were going different directions. :) Fun memories!

Crack-Shot Josiah

Josiah LOVES hunting. He was out target practicing with his gun, and this wild rabbit made the mistake of moving. He's been hunting it for while, but was glad to finally bring it in.

Emily with The Boys

I'm gonna 'hoot' you!

Ryan and Mark have been helping Emily dress up in their western stuff. She loves it!! She runs around with them, trying to keep up with what they are doing. She likes to think she's in charge, but usually they are cleverly directing her. :)

Sister Love!

Everyone should have a big sister like this.
She plays dolls, reads books, sets up tea parties, does nails, goes sledding, bounces on the tramp, and gives lots of hugs and kisses. :) And she even takes a picture so we get to remember those fun times.

Cookie Baking

We've been doing alot of cookie baking last week. Emily really enjoyed the candy kiss cookies. :) She helped unwrap the kisses, and carefully taste tested the final result. :)
We still have fudge to make, and the roll-outs and gingerbread are mixed up, but not cooked yet. We'll see what day we get them made. I love my gingerbread recipe made with honey and lots of spices. So thick and nummy.

Narnia Premiere

On December 10th, at 12:00 am, we went with friends and family to the Narnia Premiere!!! We had a blast! We arrived early enough to visit and hang out together, eating popcorn and candy. What a fun memory and movie. :)
Girls:

Boys:

Dad & Mark:

Pre-movie Narnia game! :)

Ouch!

I sprained my ankle bad on Saturday morning. Been keeping my foot up (as much as I can stand), and icing it. Don't like the hobbling around. Every morning when I jog, my prayer is one of thankfulness that I get to jog that morning, as I really enjoy it (once I'm out the door). My mantra lately:
Lord gives, and Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

WAA - A few more pictures.

Our squadron's Public Affairs Officer shared some pictures of the day.
This was the hardest to watch. My heart ached for this Dad:

Honoring a soldier after placing a wreath:

Taking wreaths around the cemetary:

Getting the correct information on where we will be working.
See the big pile of wreaths:


A few of the crew line up for a picture.

A beautiful wreath-filled cemetary:

Pictures by Maj. Sprouse.

Wreaths Across America 2010

Saturday, I took three cadets (my two boys and a friend) to the annual Wreaths Across America at a cemetary an hour and a quarter away from us. We packed the car well, in case we ended up in a ditch. The roads were terrible by us, but better as we headed north.

After meeting our group, we caravaned north, and eventually made it to our destination - Camp Ripley - where we participated in a ceremony, and then all headed out to put the wreaths on the gravesites. It was cold, but enthusiasum was high.
It was very moving to present arms at two gravesites where the families placed wreaths on soldiers that had died within the past year. Sobering.

The cemetary looked beautiful after we were done. I was so glad we made the treck to participate, despite the storm.

On the way back, the roads were driveable until we hit the last three miles off the main road to our driveway. Driving those three miles was like taking our van in a ditch. We couldn't slow down, or we would have been stuck in the middle of the road. The drifts were unbelieveable! I was bouncing through them with snow flying by the windows, and the boys encouraging me to not stop or slow down. :) I just hung on, and kept going. What a relief to turn into the driveway!
I'm already looking forward to participating next year.

Jeffrey's Fine Arts Night - 2010

Last Friday was Jeffrey's first Fine Arts event! We were excited to go see him perform percussion that evening. Joy and I made cookies and brownies to bring. I ended up getting no pictures of him during the performance. :( But have a video clip! which I'm going to try to upload. It was an awesome night of song and Christmas cheer. Thanks, Jeffrey!! and Great Job!!

My Sweet Ballerina :)

Emily's been joining her little friend, Maddy, while she takes lessons from Joy.
It's been a blast and Emily just loves getting to dance with her friend.
They are so sweet. :)