Happy Birthday, Bella!!!

Bella through the years. . .

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012 

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

We have a TEENAGER!!! Bella is 13! Teenagers have somewhat of a bad reputation; and I know that Bella is brand new to this gig, but so far I have no complaints. She is sweet, responsible, determined, and silly. I've really noticed how her heart for others has grown this year. She often becomes moved to tears when she learns about situations where someone is in need or struggling. I love seeing the traits of empathy and compassion at work in her life. She continues to be a great baker and we continue to appreciate this hobby of hers. She is gearing up for another basketball season and also tried two new sports this year: track and volleyball. She said goodbye to gymnastics this past summer in order to focus more on school sports. Her social life is starting to get busier, but she still enjoys family time, which we are thankful for. We are so proud of who she is and who she is becoming and feel so blessed to have her for our daughter.

Happy Birthday, Isabella! Welcome to your teens!!! We love you so much!

A hunting we will go. . .

. . . for a Christmas tree! (That's the only kind of hunting that I do.) Whenever possible, I love to get our tree the day after Thanksgiving.


The scent of pine filled the air. Curtis commented on how good the farm smelled.






So many choices.




Curtis liked this one.


And this one too.












We looked high and low and finally decided that this was the tree for our family.




It's fun to track the kids' growth year after year.






Ready to take her home!






Pictures of our decorated tree coming soon!

Our November Life

Each member of our family had a part to play in our town's Christmas of Yesteryear event this year. Andy and I were Martin and Susannah Hauser again (Martin was the founder of our church and town). Bella wore the traditional Moravian girl dress and she and the boys shared about some Moravian symbols at the Yellow Trail Museum.


Papa and Gaga came to town that night and were able to participate in some of the festivities.


The next day was our church's Turkey Supper. A very busy weekend!

Not planned - but each of these guys had their black robes!


We went out for Japanese food one night.






Curtis got a little cooking lesson!


Thursday was Thanksgiving! We had our own little feast, which has become our tradition - and we really enjoyed the full day of eating and relaxing together.


I neglected to get a photo of our feast, but we ate turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, cheesy veggie casserole, stuffing, green beans, cranberries, and rolls. We're still eating the leftovers! As we ate, we shared what we're thankful for and then put each family member in the hot seat while the rest of us shared what we love about them. It was such a sweet time. And then somehow the conversation veered into mental math problems (I have no idea how!) which is what Graydon is trying to figure out in this photo. If I recall, the answer was 96.


Before too long, we looked around and saw that each kid was now wearing their napkin.
Curtis - "The Grandma"
Graydon - "The Pirate"
Bella - "The Mustache"


They are such a silly crew and I love them so much. (Judging by their wardrobes, you can see that we were quite informal!)

And Snapchat always has some funny holiday filters!




I love Thanksgiving. . . but now I am more than ready to fully embrace the Christmas season!

Freezing Rain and Ice Storm

The kids have already lost one day of school due to weather - and it wasn't snow! We experienced some freezing rain that left the roads super slippery and caused a lot of power outages in the area. Fortunately for us, we never lost any power and were able to enjoy the beauty of the ice from our warm home.

Bella did venture out a little to capture some of the beauty of the ice. Little icicles hung from everything!


















So pretty!