the Barnard Band

Christmas Eve 2011.

2012-01-22T15:04:00.000-08:00

It is wierd to think that 2011 is gone and 2012 is here.

Christmas Eve has come and gone. :) But it didn't leave us empty handed...
we have more memories of yet another Christmas Eve spent with a growing family. :)

Isaiah roasting his miniature hot dog :)

Grandma with her two daughters :)

The Dinner Table ...

Jacob and Mandie joined us for dinner :)

Garrett and Aunt Star ...

After dinner was over and cleaned up it was caroling time! Anna played Away in a Manger for us ...

Then Jer, Jacob and Abby played a couple more songs :)

Anna and Isaiah looking at Christmas songs ...

Uncle Steve read Luke 2 right before we went around to say what we're thankful for!

Mom & Dad :)

Jesus' birthday candles :)

After we blew out the candles it was present time :)

Uncle Steve and Aunt Star got Abby a sweater to match Aunt Star :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas!!

s.n.o.w.

2012-01-12T19:00:00.000-08:00

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's finally come!!! It's been snowing all day and is supposed to until Saturday :)

{that is yet to be seen, but we can wish, right?!}

Us girls were out and about today while it was snowing so Abby snapped about 800 photos of just snow. It was so beautiful! So here are some photos from our exciting day :)

We drove by the lake and the waves were humongous!

Unfortunately between the gray sky and the snow it's difficult to see the water :P

2012-01-04T13:55:00.000-08:00

A good friend of ours, Alexis, started blogging!!!

She is an amazing photographer and has the cutest family :)

For Everything There is a Season {Craft/DIY}

Our Little Family {Family}

Check them out!

Christmas tree.

2011-12-30T09:00:00.000-08:00

We got our tree three weeks before Christmas this year. It was a shock to all of us. :) We didn't decorate it until a week before Christmas, though, so we had a bare Douglas Fir standing in our living room for about two weeks. We all decided we liked it though :)

We went to Richardson's again this year!

Their house ...

This is our tree :)

We love the tractor ride out to the trees!

Jer and Marie

Corrina!

A candid shot of Dad and Anna...

Dearest Dad and Mom :)

Whats left of the kids :)

The mud was absolutely crazy but it gave us a chance to try out our new mud boots ;)

Jeremiah cutting down the tree ...

Carrying the tree to the tractor ...

Jeremiah.

Tying the tree up ...

Decorating our beautiful tree! We've all decided its our favorite tree that we've ever gotten :)

dad's birthday.

2011-12-27T19:01:00.000-08:00

Dad insisted in grilling out in the rain (notice the umbrella) :)

It paid off!!! The Honey Grilled Salmon was delicious as always!

Mom got creative with Dad's Mince pie this year :)

Dad with his beautiful pie :)

Jacob and Mandie were there too, but they are hiding ;)

Happy Birthday, Dad!
Thanks for being a godly example to all of us :)

mom's birthday.

2011-12-27T10:11:00.000-08:00

We had a lot of fun with some friends that came over to play Dice (a.k.a. Farkle) ...

All pictures were taken by Anna (except the candle picture) :)

Fresh Apple Cake time!!!! :)

Happy Birthday, Mom!!!! We love you!

2011-12-25T19:09:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!!!

winter...

2011-12-22T23:04:00.000-08:00

is very slowly getting here. It seems as though we've been going back and forth from 50 degrees to 15 degrees. But finally on Saturday, the 17th, we got snow!!! It was our second, because you see we got our first snow in October which fooled everybody into thinking we would have a very long winter and lots of snow. Unfortunately that has not happened ... but here's some pictures from our first couple flurries!

We finally added the final details to the tree :)

thanksgiving.

2011-12-22T22:42:00.000-08:00

The Thanksgiving post did make it up before Christmas ... didn't think it would, did you?? :)

We started with pie breakfast and had a fairly large group :)

Pie making on Tuesday!!

Marie and Jer made one of the apple pies.
Here's Marie ... Jer was putting dishes away at this point :)

Anna made the cheeseball!

Milk and oil, anybody??

Aunt Sandy and Uncle Jack :)

Grandma and Ken W...

The other table :)
Anna, Jacob, Mandie, Abby, Jeremiah, Marie, James and Corrina...

Aunt Sandy's Lemon Meringue always makes a good picture :)

~Dinner Time~
Mom slicing cheese for appetizers!

The turkey was absolutely delicious!!!!!!!

Anna took a picture of Baudilio with the cat and dog ... they like him :)

And of course our annual Thanksgiving walk/run :)

On Friday Jer, Marie, Abby and Anna went Black Friday shopping.

(mainly for the fun of it)

Starbucks is a good stop :)

Their Peppermint Mocha's are amazing!!!!!!!

And we'll throw a Subway sandwhich in there :)

Going down the escalator at Burlington Coat Factory ...
(Anna's highlight of the day!)

It was such a fun holiday week!! Now on to Christmas :/ :)

edward's orchard.

2011-12-02T11:50:00.000-08:00

And so continues the tradition of going to Edward's Orchard every year :)
We didn't walk around much ... we just mainly shopped since we got there about an hour before they closed :) The little store is adorable!

Before we got to Edward's we all went to JMK Nippon's which is a Japanese restaurant. Their food is so good!!! And they cook right in front of you :)

He liked to do tricks ...

JMK Nippon's ...

Dad and Mom :)

Traditions are such fun :) Thanks, Grandma for lunch!!

l.o.v.e.

2011-11-29T12:29:00.000-08:00

October 15th was a very big day for our family :)

Jacob Nathaniel and Amanda Deborah were joined together as one!! The whole day was wonderful and everything went so smoothly. Kristi Michelle did the photography and she did such an amazing job!! Thank you so much, Kristi!

(All wedding images copyright of Photography by Kristi Michelle)

More pictures to come soon!!! :)

Happy Thanksgiving.

2011-11-24T11:02:00.000-08:00

Giving thanks always for all things unto God, even the Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

~Ephesians 5:20~

applesauce {sequel to apple picking}.

2011-11-13T15:16:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago we decided to make applesauce with our lovely 5 boxes of apples

(though we really only used 4 boxes) :)

Feeling like you accomplished something is always nice! :o)

88 quarts of which we used 5 for apple butter (yum!)!!!

And the last box of apples is being put to good use for pies, apple crisp, apple cake

and of course the "new" recipes that we all try :o)

apple picking.

2011-11-13T14:41:00.000-08:00

We went apple picking on October 3rd ..... it was the perfect weather for it - sunny and windy :)

The middle of nowhere? Most definitely!

Uncle Bruce's cat, Tiger :)

He loves to pose ;)

Uncle Bruce's trailer comes in handy :)

Aunt Bernice makes amazing Apple Pie!!!

Thanks again, Uncle Bruce & Aunt Bernice!!!

a Bible Verse.

2011-11-10T16:18:00.000-08:00

No matter what trials you go through in this life

it is not worthy to compare to the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Kittens.

2011-10-28T09:08:00.000-07:00

Kittens and autumn ... what could be better?

Would you just look at that face? :)

She got herself up but she couldn't get herself down!

2011-10-20T13:24:00.000-07:00

Jacob and Amanda Barnard

October 15, 2011

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Copyright Kristi Michelle Photography)

Jacob's Birthday ...

2011-10-18T15:38:00.000-07:00

Jacob had his 23rd birthday on August 22nd (okay, okay, I know :)!

It was his last birthday being single!

Mmmmm ... it was so good :)

Jacob and his wife :) Still getting used to that ... ;)

Happy Belated 23rd Birthday, Jacob!!! :)

Today...

2011-10-15T05:47:00.000-07:00

is the wedding!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's such an exciting thought .... :)

~May God bless you, Jacob and Amanda as you begin your journey, as husband and wife, together.

We are so happy to have you, Amanda, become part of our family and love you both so much!

Always remember to keep God at the center of your lives and to put each other first.

We wish you both a life time of love and blessings.~

Blue.

2011-09-26T10:11:00.000-07:00

September 23.

2011-09-23T10:55:00.000-07:00

Happy First Day of Autumn!

Alexis' Baby Shower ...

2011-09-12T15:31:00.000-07:00

Alexis P. had her baby shower on August 11th!!

Andrew Paul, Jr. was born on August 27th and weighs 7 pounds and 3 ounces :)

Valerie (Alexis' sister-in-law) cross stitched this quilt ... she did amazing!

Alexis with her family ...

~Friends~

Congratulations Andrew and Alexis on your first baby!!!!

Amanda's Shower no. 3

2011-09-12T10:34:00.000-07:00

Amanda had her third shower on August 7th ... this was her family's side :)

Mandie getting her food ...

Aunt Mary was the hostess ... she did such a good job :)

Isn't she adorable?? :)

Jacob came for gifts ;)

Baby Feet :)

Mandie with her sisters and cousins ...

Mandie with Abby and Anna

Orange.

2011-09-08T18:34:00.000-07:00

Happy September!!! :)

Boone County Fair 2011!!!!!!!!!!

2011-08-29T21:13:00.000-07:00

The Boone County Fair was on August 10th!!! We look forward to going to the fair every year ...

what is it about the fair that makes you get all excited???? :) :)

Unfortunately the admission is not 25 cents ;)

The Ferris Wheel!

The fairgrounds from the top of the Ferris Wheel ...

Anna & Joe Joe

Abby & Geneva

Ice cream from the best ice cream shop on the fairgrounds :)

The Reed One Room Schoolhouse ...

Anna & Abby

Geneva loved the Fireball!! ;)

Flowers in the 4-H building :)

Horses :)

Geese!

Anna and Joe on the Bumper Cars :)

We always get Goldfish ... ;)

Cotton Candy ....

Thanks Geneva and Joe for coming with us! We're so glad you could make it :)

~ Mom & Dad ~

2011-08-26T12:51:00.000-07:00

Dad and Mom's anniversary was the 22nd of August.

It was their 30th!

We cannot tell you how blessed all four of us kids are to

have such wonderful parents and role models in our life.

They're such godly examples ... we love them so much :)

Yellow.

2011-08-20T20:19:00.000-07:00

Timothy and Kimberly's Wedding

2011-08-18T19:35:00.000-07:00

August 6, 2011

On August 5th we went to help set up for Tim and Kim's reception!

~Wedding~

Mr. and Mrs. :)

Mother and Father of Bride :)

Maid of Honor and Best Man

The Flower Girls!!

Kim's Beautiful Rings!

The Head Table

~Father & Daughter Dance~

Gotta love this picture :)

Smiles All Around :)

Helpers ....

Mother's :)

The Bubble Exit :)

It was such a beautiful wedding! Congratulations Kim & Tim!!!!

Part 2.

2011-08-16T11:07:00.000-07:00

To say the least the rehab is a mess .......... but it's coming along!

Anna helps a lot too :)

The boys did the roof a weekend in June ... Jeremiah even sacrificed his birthday to work on it :)

Before ........

During ....

You'd think they thought it was a meeting place :)

Michael (Jacob's future brother-in-law) helped a lot ... Thanks, Michael!

After ...

On to the next big project :)

Amanda's Shower no. 2

2011-08-16T10:47:00.000-07:00

Amanda's second shower was on July 29 ... this was the one that our family hosted.

We had some very big helpers to help plan and decorate for it! Thanks to everyone who helped!

Decorating ...

Mandie's Chair :)

Magic Cookie Bars :)

Dipped Oreos!!

Fruit Pizza with the initials ... all the food was so much fun :)

Games ...

Bride and Groom To Be :)

Unfortunately with being a hostess you're a little busy to be taking pictures,

but over all it was a very fun evening!

Ravinia

2011-08-15T16:48:00.000-07:00

On July 23rd a group went to Ravinia to hear
Chicago Symphony Orchestra play George Gershwin's music!

It was supposed to rain, but it ended up being a beautiful day :)

The Amphitheatre

The coffee shop ;)

The Group.

Valerie and Vanessa

Katrina and Abby

Trina trying to copy the statue :)

Trina and Valerie :)

We played cards before Chicago Symphony Orchestra started playing :)

Valerie, Katrina, Sarah, Geneva and Morgan

We had to leave a little early to catch the train, but there was a LOT of people there!

This was only one part of the lawn ...

CSO was amazing and Gershwin was an very gifted composer which made it a perfect day :)

Cousins!

2011-08-08T17:47:00.000-07:00

Well ... it's a little behind (okay a LOT behind), but our cousins from SD visited us in early July!

We had not seen them for SO long (7 years) and it was fun to hang out with them and catch up :)

They came in for Uncle Earl's Memorial but stayed for almost two weeks!

TJ and Kaitlyn

Not sure exactly what's happening here ;)

Jacob, Amanda and Bethany talking ...

Aunt Kathy, Bethany and Laura

Tre and his Mountain Dew.

Kiley was tired :)

TJ didn't want to get caught on the swings ;)

Anna shooting hoops :)

Aunt Kathy and the four kids ...

Mike, Laura, Jared and Jenna

Danny, Patty and Dillan

Greg, Bethany, Davin and Kiley

TJ, Jennifer, Jesse, Tre and Kaitlyn

Mom and Jennifer

Mom and Aunt Kathy

Tre and Hogan got along very well ;)

Anna and Kaitlyn

We also spent a lot of time at the beach :)

Anna and Kaitlyn burying Tre ...

Kaitlyn being buried ... she was looking forward to it all week ;)

The sand monster ... :)

Skipping rocks ...

The Fourth of July was spent in Zion watching the fireworks!

They were short (only about 15-20 minutes), but really good :)

Sparklers are so pretty :)

Over all it was a VERY fun visit!

It was so fun to have you, TJ, Jennifer and Aunt Kathy and the rest of you all :)

White.

2011-08-05T14:45:00.000-07:00

ICHE's Convention Pt. 3

2011-08-04T20:36:00.000-07:00

Well ... it was a very busy weekend but so much fun ;)
Note: pictures are all put up randomly. Just sayin' ....

The orchestra played on Friday ... they did an amazing job :)

Utensils for the brain. We won't put up a picture of the brain so as not to scare ya'll ;)

Featured Speaker: Timothy Botts. He has amazing calligraphy!!!!!

And he makes it look so easy :)

A teaser for pt. 4 :)

2011-07-27T12:55:00.000-07:00

The grass withers and the flower fadeth but the Word of the Lord shall stand forever.

Isaiah 40:8

Amanda's Shower ~ no. 1

2011-07-25T19:30:00.000-07:00

Mandie's first shower was on July 9! How time flies ... the wedding's going to be here before we know it :/ :)

The bride's family ...

The groom's family and bride-to-be ...

... and of course the wedding party :)

Gift time!

Our family gave them a picnic basket with some extra goodies in side :)

We're all SOOOOOOO excited for you Jacob and Mandie!

ICHE's Convention Pt. 2

2011-07-25T19:08:00.000-07:00

Calvary Chapel ... (this is about 1/4 of the church)

Thursday started out with the Leadership Breakfast :)

Behind the scenes ... set-up :)

Getting ready to fill up on chairs ...

Abby L. in the tent for the Family Camp display :)

Kimberly's Shower!

2011-07-25T18:45:00.000-07:00

I wanted to get this post up before the wedding in two weeks :)

Game Time!!! Crossing items off the "purse list" :)

Then we played "Try to Get the Best Wedding Dress Out of Toilet Paper"???

That was rather interesting ;)

Ahna, Mandie, Trina and Vanessa ... Ahna and her team ended up winning,

but all the dresses were pretty (at least for being toilet paper). :)

Kim's mom sharing ...

Unfortunately Tim had to work so he couldn't come :(

Congratulations, Tim and Kim!!! We're so excited for you!

Happy Father's Day!

2011-07-13T18:26:00.000-07:00

Okay we're behind ... :) Father's Day was very relaxed ... it felt good to just have nothing to do! We went to church, came home and ate, then just hung out :)

Dad and Hogan ....

Jeremiah

Boys will be boys ... :) *This was after wrestling*

Jacob and Abby went out to buy Dad a Father's Day card and ended up getting a birthday card instead ...
Oops! It made the day more interesting ;)

Then Dad picked out a game to play ... which we all knew would be Yahtzee :)

Happy Father's Day, Dad!

God's Creation

2011-07-06T11:48:00.000-07:00

Note: This post is totally random.

The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth His handiwork.

Day unto day uttereth speech and night unto night showeth knowledge.

There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard.

~Psalm 19~

Strawberries.

2011-07-05T11:05:00.000-07:00

We went strawberry picking last Wednesday at Thompson Strawberry Farm.

It was so much fun and the weather was perfect :)

If only all these people knew they were going to be on our blog ;)

Don't they look so good???

After we were done picking we went home and strawberry jam!!!

All the ingredients:

7 cups of sugar ... sounds good! :)

Strawberry Jam!!!!

Jer's 25th Birthday!

2011-07-05T08:48:00.000-07:00

Jeremiah turned 25 on June 12!!! We all can't believe how fast time flies. Unfortunately the three guys had to work on the roof of the fixer upper (Part 2 on that coming soon) so Jer didn't get to relax on his birthday, but he didn't mind :)

One of his birthday gifts was donuts and coffee ... so on Sunday morning we went and got donuts and put a candle in one of them before he went to work on the roof!

Then after church we got together with Uncle Steve and his family and the guys were able to make it for a little while to have brownies and cake and ice cream (and of course open presents!) :)

Triple Chocolate Brownies (brownies with chocolate chips and chocolate syrup ... sound familiar?)

Jer reading one of his cards ...

Anna and Isaiah!

Garrett with his Junior High graduation cake and Isaiah :)

Happy Birthday, Jeremiah!!

You're a wonderful son, brother & friend! We love you!

Happy Independence Day!

2011-07-04T09:20:00.000-07:00

Okedoke Then ....

2011-07-02T20:41:00.000-07:00

We had a HUGE storm on Thursday (we lost power at about 7 pm) and the power didn't come on til about 1pm today :/ Soooo .... our neighbourhood looks like a tornado went through it (though nobody actually knows if it was a tornado {they think there was one over the lake} or just VERY high winds). Huge trees (we're talking 10-30 foot trees) are uprooted. A couple fell on houses and others missed the houses by a few feet. We're just so happy the Lord kept us safe through this!! Looking at the neighbourhood we realize we could have gotten it a lot worse. Soo ... more posts to come soon hopefully :)

Illinois Christian Home Educator's ...

2011-06-22T09:30:00.000-07:00

2011 Annual State Convention

Pt. 1

Last weekend was ICHE's state convention!! We're all sad it's over :( It's always a LOT of fun to hang out with friends that you only get to see a couple times a year and be involved in something that you know is going to impact thousands.
This year the theme was "Children of the Most High"
Who is this King of Glory, the Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.
~Psalm 24:8

Getting ready to go :)

We were a little excited and energetic :)

We stayed at Country Inn and Suites

Hallways ...

We were as close to the pool as you can get!

~Speaker's Dinner~

Our family along with Faith and Melody did the music ... Jacob tuning

Setting up ...

Mom and Anna

Dinner - Chicken. Mashed Potatoes. Salad. Rolls. Delicious! :)

The Beverage Table

After dinner, it was time to sit and listen!

This year, Melody did a chalk talk on Psalm 23. She did an amazing job!

After she was done drawing we turned off all the lights and this picture glowed in the dark.

After the Speakers Dinner was over there was a lot of fellowship :)

Part 2 on it's way :)

~May 13~

2011-06-17T10:00:00.000-07:00

Abby turned 15 on May 13 ... :)

We started out with chocolate breakfast. Choclate Chip Pancakes with chocolate syrup and Chocolate Milk. It was SO good!! Thanks, Mom! :)

The main ingredient ...

... to make chocolate chip pancakes! :)

Doesn't it look good???

Anna was all for it ....

Then the surprise! Us girls were downstairs doing some stuff before we were gonna go out for the day. Then all of a sudden ... Katrina, Geneva and Vanessa jumped into the room and shouted "surprise!". :)

Katrina, Geneva, Abby, Vanessa and Anna

Aren't they so cute???

Feel free to guess ...

On the way to the Prime Outlets!

Dinner consisted of chili dogs, barbecue chips, watermelon and apple crisp for dessert.

After dinner we watched "State Fair" and hung out for a little while. :) It was such a fun birthday.

Thanks everyone for making it a special day!

Mother's Day

2011-06-14T11:50:00.000-07:00

Alrighty ... we're going to try to catch up on the posts. So expect a lot in the next few days!
On May 8th we celebrated Mother's Day, Aunt Star's birthday and Abby's birthday :)

Aunt Star and Isaiah ... Happy belated birthday Aunt Star! :)

It was a lot of fun to have Dolfi and Gilagwenda join us this year!

Gil telling his famous lion story ... :)

Let them eat cake!

Happy Belated Mother's Day to a wonderful mother!

~ Love ~

2011-06-06T18:15:00.000-07:00

~Andrew and Stephanie~

April 30, 2011

Walking down the aisle ...

Exchanging Vows ...

Lighting the Unity Candle ......

Okay ... we're running out of captures for this picture sooo ... here's
The Kiss

~ Mr. and Mrs. ~

Flower Girl and Ring Bearer ...

The Beautiful Wedding Cake

These boys were having fun playing in the water :)

Gotta love the bow!

Dancing.

God bless you, Andrew and Stephanie!

~ Happy Easter ~

2011-06-05T18:56:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's late. But better late then never, right?? :)

We went to Uncle Steve and Aunt Star's for dinner (though Uncle Steve unfortunately was away on a business trip, so he wasn't able to join us). Aunt Star did a wonderful job preparing all the food and being hostess :)

We had plenty of food!!!!!

Eggs :)

The gravy was stupendous! :)

The Four Musketeers!

(at the end of The Three Musketeers there are four ... so we're really not that far off)

Cousins!

Anna and Isaiah ready to go on the egg hunt :)

Jeremiah and Jacob got the honors this year, since Uncle Steve wasn't there ;)

"I found an egg!"

Does Jeremiah have that look for a reason??

Anna found the big purple egg :)

Isaiah had a little trouble getting this one out :)

Garrett found the Golden Egg :)

The Egg Hunt participants (it's getting smaller by the years) .....

notice how the 3rd from the left wishes to remain inconspicuous ;)

Happy Easter!!! Hope everyone had a great day! We have such a loving Saviour!

Happy Memorial Day.

2011-05-30T13:12:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day is here!!! And it's also very hot and humid ... but once you get used to it, it's not bad :)

We are so very blessed.
Thank you to all the men and women who served in the military to keep our country free!

2011-05-26T09:16:00.000-07:00

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

.Revelation 3:20.

A Picture for Saturday ...

2011-05-21T18:06:00.000-07:00

Crab Apple Blossoms

~ Flowers ~

2011-05-17T15:35:00.000-07:00

The Dandelions are coming in nicely ;)

Now if only the Lilac's would bloom!!!

A Picture for Tuesday ...

2011-05-10T10:59:00.000-07:00

School's Out!

2011-05-10T10:43:00.000-07:00

Jacob had his last official day of school at Gateway Technical College last night!

We had the privilege to see his final presentation. Jacob and his team had to design a condo and pier for the Racine Zoo. They did an amazing job!

Barns ......... of course!

Jacob talking about the pier ....

Jacob and his team answering the questions ...

Jacob and his team ...

Jacob with the presentation ...

Jacob and his Fiancé (don't you love that sound?? :) ....

Chasing Rainbows ...

2011-05-06T20:24:00.000-07:00

We were on our way to the library (which we didn't make it before it closed) when we spotted a rainbow right over the lake! It's been so long since we've seen a rainbow, and even though it was just a faint one, it was so beautiful! :) The pictures are edited a bit so you can see the rainbow better :)

Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.” And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”

~ Genesis 9:8-16 ~

Well, art is art, isn't it?

2011-05-03T20:12:00.000-07:00

Still, on the other hand, water is water. And east is east and west is west and if you take cranberries and stew them like applesauce they taste much more like prunes than rhubarb does.

Now you tell me what you know. ~Groucho Marx

Just a totally random quote by a favorite comedian of our family :) Don't you love randomness???

The other day we got to ride our bikes to the beach for the first "official" time of the year! :)

Living so close to the lake is definitely a very nice blessing :)

As always it was beautiful ... and the sunset was gorgeous!

Doesn't the sand look so soft?? (besides the sticks) :)

Jer skipping rocks ......

Anna wanted a picture of her shell :)

Anna is riding her big bike that she got for her birthday really well now!!!

It was such a beautiful night!

The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth His handywork.

~Psalm 19:1~

'Tis the Season ...

2011-04-25T18:55:00.000-07:00

for Iced Coffee!

When the Moon ....

2011-04-14T18:53:00.000-07:00

... hits your eye, like a big pizza pie - that's Amorè!

The finished "stems" for the bride's bouquet :)

Working hard ...

Sarah and Allie ..

The finished look! :)

The program

The Flower Girl... don't you love those curls??? :)

Walking up the aisle ...

Exchanging Vows ...

... and Rings ...

"You May Now Kiss the Bride"

~ Mr. and Mrs. ~

Alyssa and David - Maid of Honor and Best Man

The "Bubble Exit" :)

His Parents ...

.... Her Parents ....

... who are now their parents! ;)

~Reception~

Dinner was lasagna, salad, and really good bread!

And not to mention the dessert table had lots! :)

Cutting the Cake ...

Gabriella ...

Feet ;)

Geneva spinning Allie

Allie ... was a little dizzy ;)

We are so happy for you Joey and Jessica!

May the Lord continue to bless and direct your path...

Think Spring!

2011-04-13T08:47:00.000-07:00

We finally have our first flowers! These are for you, Mrs. B :)

Happy Spring!

~ Deuteronomy 8:1-10 ~

2011-04-03T17:29:00.000-07:00

“Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers. And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD. Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the LORD your God chastens you. “Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him. For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper. When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you."

Game Night!

2011-03-28T18:56:00.000-07:00

We recently had an opportunity to get together with some friends and play some lively games ...

or maybe it was just games with lively friends?? :)

A goofy bunch ... don't ever let anybody tell you otherwise! ;)

One of Nate's more serious looks .... :)

Vanessa and Marc ...

Meanwhile .... the parents were playing a separate game of Dice :)

Can you guess what these are???

Watching ....

Izzy!

(Photo courtesy of Anna) :)

And of course Speed Scrabble! Which we haven't played for a LONG time! :)

Sometimes you just have to use whatever word pops into your head ;)

Mother coming up with an interesting creation ;)

Mrs. S putting the Scrabble pieces back into the box ;)

Mr. S ...

(Photo courtesy of Anna, again!) :)

Scum Time! :)

Coincidental? I think not!

Not sure what's happening here, but my guess is Nate dropped something and it's his turn ;)

It was fun to get together to hang out and play games! :)

Stephanie's Bridal Shower.

2011-03-26T09:33:00.000-07:00

On Friday, March 25 ... yesterday, we went to Stephanie R.'s bridal shower! Yes, we have had a lot of showers lately (not to mention thunderstorms :) ... but that's good, right?! :)

Gifts!

There was lots of good food .............. :)

Strawberry Punch!

Melanie (Stephanie's sister) made the cake ... it was beautiful! You did a great job, Melanie! :)

Gift Time!! And the many faces of Stephanie R. :)

We'll throw a little blur in there ;)

Making the wedding rehearsel bouquet ;)

Andrew came after a little while :) And this gift was from her family ;)

Stephanie and her mom ...

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails.

~I Corinthians 13:4-8~

Anna's 8th Birthday!

2011-03-12T20:58:00.000-08:00

Well ... Anna turned 8 on Feb. 21st!

On Sunday we celebrated with Uncle Steve, Aunt Star, Garrett and Isaiah :)

~The Birthday Girl~

Isaiah :)

Some odd guy that just showed up at the party ....... ;)

At this point in time Anna had no idea they were trick candles ;) ...

... but the Mint Meltaway made up for those :)

~February 21~

Everything that we did with Anna on her day was a complete surprise ... she had no clue what was happening! We picked up Izzabella P (Izzy) to come and hang out with Anna for the day :) So we started out by going to Chuck E. Cheese's :)

Racing ... Izzy couldn't reach the pedal ;)

And of course Air Hockey!

Gotta love that face ;)

Then after CEC's we stopped by Gurnee Mills ... Bass Pro Shop to see the fish! :)

... and the water mill :)

And then after lasagna dinner and Izzy left she opened her family presents ...

Dad, Mom, Jer and Jake got her a bike :) Jake also threw in some flowers ;)

She also got a cute spring jacket ... :)

And of course strawberry shortcake :)

Happy Birthday, Anna! God blessed our whole family when he surprised us with you! :)