Our Uncle Mikers!!!

Uncle Mike is now out in California managing a horse ranch! He left the Jackson Hole area this past Fall and has been working hard to establish his new venture in Topenga, California. We sure miss him....maybe we'll just have to fly out there and get a riding lesson. Paige would LOVE that! He's coming home for New Year's and we look forward to fun times! Check out the ranch at www.mesaranchllc.com

Our AMISH gals!

I had a couple amish dresses someone gave me.....so we played dress up the other night! Addie's dress is almost too small. I couldn't button up the back! Glad we got these pictures before it was too late. Paige LOVES wearing hers.

Visiting "Mary's house"

Today Paige went to the beauty shop and Mary cut her hair....and when we go there she thinks it is Mary's house. :-) She did great and her cut looks so adorable! I love it! But, it makes her look older and then it's sad to see her growing so fast.

Takin' a snooze....

Erik & Addie must have had a long day....

Our Christmas Angels

The amazing thing about these pictures is that Paige is wearing Laila's old dress....and Addie is wearing Paige's old dress! Laila and Paige are the same age difference as Paige and Addie and the dresses are just perfect!

The Christmas open house...

We had an absolutely BEAUTIFUL weekend for our annual gift/craft open house. It was unbelievable! The weather was mild and warm (so different from our loads of snow in the past!) and we had tons of shoppers. Friday night was so busy--people were lined up waiting in line to make their purchases. We could have easily had two cash registers running to keep up. It's always good seeing friends all weekend too. This year I worked more in the house selling the baked goods so that I could be with Addie. The kitchen looked so neat brimming with goodies. The pictures probably don't do justice to how great things looked. We will be open again this Saturday and we still have all our cookie tray orders to fill. Mom, Suzie and I do cookie trays and have orders to work on. So, this season is keeping us busy. But, it's good! The Lord has really blessed the business and it's amazing to see how bare the barn looks after so much has sold.

I will be posting some pictures of the girls soon. We put a little Christmas tree in the girls room---with candy garland that Paige thinks is great! There's always so much to do. :-)

Turkey cupcake for breakfast!!!

Last night we went for "Kid's Night" at a local restaurant and the kids each got a turkey cupcake. Well, the first thing out of Paige's mouth this morning was "can I have my chocolate muffin?" So, that was breakfast!!!

HOT CHOCOLATE PARTY!

CHEERS! The kids had a hot chocolate party in the basement. They enjoyed their cocoa with mini colored marshmallows and sprinkles! Paige and the boys are great friends!!!

Carter loves holding Addie pie! She's already three months old!



We had a visit from Bill & Nancy Laing this weekend. They gave Paige this adorable "kittie" outfit....she wanted to wear it to bed!

Out for a walk today~!

Hard to believe it is November 9th and I was out in a t-shirt today! It was a beautiful day and we walked to the post office.

Erik & Paigie playing. They have such fun together!
















Erik flew down to Texas this past weekend to go to a Nascar race with Rach's husband--Eric. It was Eric Goranson's birthday gift--the tickets to the race. The Lord provided my Erik with a free flight down (my mom had enough miles for a ticket!) and they spent the weekend together. Both of them are gearheads, so they had fun. The girls and I stayed at my parents and this is a picture of us in front of the Christmas tree....YES it's up! Mom has to decorate way ahead to be ready for the open house at the end of November.

I was really busy today and got a lot done with my crafts. For some reason Addie slept a lot!!! Erik helped me tonight by drilling holes for me to finish up some signs. It's a great feeling to make progress.

It's late....better scram. Morning comes fast....and Paige doesn't really know the meaning of SLEEPING IN! :-)

You're invited to our Christmas Open House!

Here is our invitation for this year's craft open house. We are all busy, busy, busy working on crafts, gifts & goodies! Erik is even debating on having a popcorn & hot dog stand for all the hungry shoppers. We'll see if that works out. Anyway, hope you can come!!! (Click on the invitation to enlarge it to see the dates and times.)

DADDY's CHEVY GIRL!

Some random shots...

Paige trying to catch a snowflake....we had
flurries on Monday and on Tuesday a little
had collected on the ground. Paige absolutely
loved it! I think she will really enjoy this winter!


Logan & Addie....he is so good with her! Can't
wait until he can babysit for me!


Mya, Jacob & Paige enjoying chocolate cake
and hot chocolate! YUM!


Today is our 4th anniversary....who would have thought four years ago our lives would be so blessed?! We have two great girls and Erik so just so proud! Four years seem like a long time when I think back to our wedding. Yet, it's been fast too!

a few pictures....

What love!

Mommy & her girlies!

Paige & Mya (her cousin)

Eight weeks old~

Today Addie is eight weeks. Just wanted to post a picture and let you know all is going good. I think she weighs about 12 lbs. So sad to start packing away summer cloth
es and to know she won't wear them again!

Cousins....and birthdays!

Sunday we celebrated Parker's 4th birthday (Sept. 30th) and Carter's 8th birthday (Oct. 1st) Yummy food, desserts and lots of prezzies were part of the day.

Addie is six weeks old!

On Friday Addie was six weeks old....wowzers! In some ways it seems like FOREVER ago and yet, six weeks has gone by so fast. She is our joy for sure. Paige can't seem to give enough kisses....she always aks "Can I give her a kiss and hug?".

I'm posting a couple pictures...in the pink outfit is Addie on her six week birthday...and then there's Paige making cookies with Parker (her cousin) and "Aunt" Ana Helena--Parker's aunt that we've adopted too! Ana Helena was MUCH more patient then me to let them add ingredients, mix with a real mixer, and "play" in the dough! And the other is of Addie as I caught her in her smiling mood!

Autumn has come and I love that "FALL" feeling. Baking, burning candles, having a cup of coffee, wearing sweaters....I love those things!

This week the Lord really blessed us in many ways and I want to give Him the glory. Erik already sold the BIG blue van and that was a BIG blessing! Some of Psalm 103 says:
"Praise the Lord, I tell myself; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, I tell myself, and never forget the good things he does for me. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He ransoms me from death and surrounds me with love and tender mercies. He fills my life with good things."
He does fill our lives with good things!

God continues to show us He will provide. It's pretty neat to see how He does it....and I just want to praise Him for the blessings this week.

Addie's smile

Hard to believe how fast time is going....and yet it seems like forever ago Addie arrived! She is five weeks old already!!! And she has started smiling....and responding to voices....and it looks like she wants to say something, but nothing really comes out--(occasionally a coo type sound). It's funny to watch! And it's also so funny to watch her smile in her sleep! You wonder what makes babies do that!!!

I've started working on craft items for our annual open house. This year I hope to get a lot done so I'm not cramming at the end. Addie sleeps a lot during the day, so I'm able to get quite a bit done "in between" all the things that go on in our day. And we have a play area in the basement for Paige, so it works out good.

Today we bought a 1988 Ford van.(yes, Erik bought a FORD!) Some friends wanted to get rid of it, so we paid a buckaroo and are the proud owners of this van. Actually, with a little TLC, Erik hopes to fix it up and put it up for sale. It's pretty nice on the inside---a bed in the back, a TV, comfy chairs....would be fun for a road trip or overnite with the kids. I'll have to post a picture of it sometime, along with BIG BLUE--Erik's pickup that is on the way to being done.

The County Fair....and a picnic!

We had a nice weekend...and went to the Geauga County Fair to see the animals...and of course enjoy FAIR FOOD! (that's what mommy went for at least...) Here's a picture of Paige with her cotton candy.

Today (Wednesday) we stopped and ate our Wendy's at a little park area that has a pond. It was fun, but the bees were kind of annoying. Addie slept while mommy and Paige ate our lunch. It was so nice out! The other two pictures are of our time today.

Life is going good. Erik is in the process of finishing his truck. He got it painted this past weekend and is buffing it out to make everything look like new. Then he has to put it together and do a few more things before it can go on the road. I'll have to take a picture of the final product when it's done.

Paige started in her new Sunday School class at church and seemed to really like it. She got to use scissors and loves that. (she never gets to do that at home!)

Addie is precious and I can't imagine life without her. There seems to be so much more laundry for such a little thing....but I wouldn't change a thing!

Gonna go see if I can get to bed....Addie seems to like nights. :-) Even when I was pregnant, I could tell she just might be a night owl!

Paige loves riding her tricycle!

Yesterday Paige and daddy went for a ride on the sidewalk. Hard to beleive she is three and getting so big!

We've been so blessed with lots of people bringing us dinners the past two weeks. We went to church for the first time yesterday and got to show Addie off! :-)

Not much to report. Things are going well here. Here's a special verse I came across in an email this morning:

"Your words are what sustain me. They bring me great joy and are my heart's delight, for I bear your name, O Lord God Almighty. " Jeremiah 15:16

God bless your day!

The happy family~!

Well, Addie is now 9 days old and we love that new feeling of having a baby! She is so soft and kissable!!! Erik is back to work--boo hoo! Addie slept probably the most during the night so far last night. (Thank you, Lord!) Let's hope tonight is another repeat. Erik is now really outnumbered, but LOVES having two girls. He is a great daddy. Addie is stirring, so I better scram and get a few pictures posted.

a few more pictures....

It's Tuesday nite and there's a little sadness in the house. Erik heads back to work tomorrow. It's been so great having him home and Paige has spent so much time with daddy. They built a swingset, went to the playground, out to breakfast, shopping...etc. What will we do with a whole day while he's at work?

I've been trying to add some pictures and I don't know what I'm doing wrong....so hope to get it worked out soon. In the meantime, Addie is doing good. She loves to eat....and wakes up quite often in the nite, so we are hoping to adjust to "days" instead of "nites"!

Gonna jet...see if these pictures will post!