Here is our most recent family picture. It was taken 16 Dec at Geoff and Emily's house.

Here we are in the Christmas spirit.

Cute Family Pictures

Here are some of our favorites of the family pictures we had taken yesterday. They were taken by our neighbor, Mike Lyman. Enjoy!

Jumping for Joshua

Boy, oh boy!

What a time we've had since yesterday.

Anna took Joshua in yesterday for a checkup and when she came out the car was having issues. It was shaking and sputtering- it was all she could do to get it to a mechanic. Well, $187 dollars later they had the problem fixed and Anna brought the car home.

This morning I was going to drive to work but the car wouldn't start, and when it did start it shook a bit. Anna went to take it in again today, but the guy who worked on it yesterday wasn't there and the guy on duty wasn't as good (so they said). So we're without a usable car for the weekend.

If that isn't enough, I have one more adventure to tell about. This morning at 4:30 (while I was at work. I seem to miss all the excitement) the fire alarms in our building went off. Anna hurried to get the kids, including an extremely tired and uncooperative Adam out of the apartment. There was no sign of a fire, but they got to wait outside for about half an hour while they waited for the fire department to come and for the police to try to get a hold of our manager.

Here's what happened.

Our upstairs neighbors are out of town right now and their heater kicked on but wouldn't turn off. Well, with the hot air blowing it got up to 155 degrees and burst open the fire sprinklers. Their apartment quickly became a pond and much of it leaked down into our apartment. We have a fan blowing on our carpet right now. We're alright, but we feel bad for our neighbors whose plants were all killed by the heat. They had some cool plants too.

Now it's 10:30 a.m. and we're wondering what we're even going to do today.

Oh, and Joshua's checkup was fine. He's doing great.

Halloween's a-comin'

Adam the fireman.
The lion sleeps tonight. Anna made Joshua's costume.



Here's a scarecrow we made for a competition at a local nursery. She'll be getting a hat on Monday.

Adam and Joshua

Here are a couple pictures of Adam and Joshua in their new pajamas. They are such sweet and happy boys. Adam just adores his little brother. He loves to give

him hugs and kisses. Joshua watches his big brother and loves the attention he gets from him.

Well, it's me now, John. Isn't Anna just the greatest? She's always been so sweet and thoughtful. I love her so much!

Thank you, Anna, for the kind words given to me here and always. You truly are a treasure to me. You are my best friend.

This picture was taken as we were cleaning the grout in one of the bathrooms during a break from school.

Happy Anniversary to you, my love!

Happy Anniversary, my love!

November 1st marks four years that John and I have been married. What a blessing he is! I know my last post was a list, but I want to do one again because I think John sometimes needs to be reminded why I love him so much and am so grateful for him. So here you go, babe!

1. You work so hard to provide for our family. It means so much to me that you are willing to work harder so that I can stay home and take care of our children.



2. I love that you are always willing to do what you are asked to do. You serve so willingly, without any thought about yourself, just wanting to do what you can to help.



3. I am grateful for all the things you do without even thinking about them--you keep the Sabbath Day holy, you are honest, you are respectful and kind, and so many more things that are just part of you and make you who you are.



4. You love to be with our family. We always know that we are your top priority, and that you are glad to be with us, and you choose to be at home whenever you can. (And we love having you around, too, by the way.)



5. You are so good for me! You have a good attitude and you help me to keep life in perspective. Your steadiness strengthens me.



6. You have such a kind heart. You even feel bad about killing bugs for your Entomology bug collection! I love that you are kind to everyone, even people you don't know.



7. You are quick to apologize and ask forgiveness, even for little things.



8. You love the Lord and trust Him, and try to do what He wants you to do.



9. You are so generous. Money burns a hole in your pocket--not for yourself but for anyone who needs it more. I might grumble a little about this, but I am grateful that you are this way. I love that about you.



10. You love your children so tenderly, and they adore you. They are so blessed to have you for their father.

I love you!

Jacob's Birthday!

This Sunday, October 21, is my dear brother Jacob's birthday. He will be 24! In honor of the day I thought I would share some of the things I most love about Jacob (Jacob and his lovely wife, Nikki, are the cute couple in the middle of the picture).

1. He has a great sense of humor and loves to make people laugh--and he's good at it too! (I still remember the day I tried to convince him he wasn't funny, just to see if I could. He left the dinner table crying! What a mean sister!)



2. He is a natural leader.



3. He is so generous! He'd do anything for a friend.



4. He's cute. (You're probably not supposed to say that about tough army guys--but he is.)



5. He has a good heart.



6. He is true to his convictions, and stands firm for what he believes, regardless of what anyone else thinks.



7. He's smart. He can do whatever he puts his mind to, and do it well.



8. He has a great wife, and he loves her to pieces.



9. He has great strength of character.



10. He loves kids, and he's great with them.

That's ten--I could go on, but I won't right now. Jacob is a great guy, and I'm glad to be his sister. Love you, "little" bro! Happy Birthday!