A Family is a Gift That Lasts Forever...

A Family is a Gift That Lasts Forever...

Friday, January 29, 2016

Kaylee at Oak Farm Montessori

 Kaylee is enrolled in half day preschool at Oak Farm.  She is in a Primary class of kids ages 3-6.  Her teachers are Nancy and Ashley and they are wonderful.  The Montessori curriculum is so fascinating and I love to get photos from her teachers that show her interest in learning.  






Thursday, January 28, 2016

Frosty's after shots...

 The kids had shots today at Dr. Tallo's.  So afterward, we celebrated with nothing other than Wendy's Frosty's!!





Sunday, January 24, 2016

Coopers baptism





Cooper got baptized. We are so happy for him.  We were lucky to have grandma and grandpa from Utah fly in to Indiana for the special day. He had both sets of grandparents there for him as well as many more friends and family.he chose both grandpas to give talks for him. Grandpa in Utah spoke on the Holy Ghost and grandpa and Kendallville spoke on baptism. He he asked that his brothers and sisters saying I am a child of God. We practice at home a little bit but I was unsure how confident they would be. Jaxton Kaylee and Dustin sing beautifully I am a child of God upfront. It was incredibly sweet. Cooper is such a sweet boy, so thoughtful and good. His heart is full of love for others. He was so ready to be baptized and so excited for this debt. He just grinned the whole time at special smile that emanates joy to everyone who sees him.


After the baptism we came home for a special dinner with the family and some friends. We were able to celebrate Cooper with the special people in his life. He received a special Crystal Jewel that when hung in the sun light would shine rainbows all around. It is supposed to remind him of the example he can be of Jesus Christ and that he can show that example to all of the world where ever he goes. He also received his own set of Scriptures, acquired that buttons on the front. He was so excited to begin marking scriptures that meant something to him. On Sunday he was excited to read from his very own set of scriptures the story of Nephi and Laban.

I am so proud of him and so grateful for his sweetness. He is a spiritual boy with a big heart and I know that his baptism means a lot to him. He can bring the spirit into the room where ever he is and he can make others feel good. It is a quality and skill that he has.with the gift of the Holy Ghost that skill will just be magnified. Happy baptism day Cooper!






Happy Birthday Cooper!!!

 Cooper turns 8!  How can that be?! 





Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Kaylee's Birthday

Happy birthday Kaylee! Kaylee is five years old. She is growing up to be a beautiful little girl.  Here are some fun things about Kaylee on her fifth birthday.

1. Kaylee loves to paint her own nails.  She is actually really good at it!!  She surprises me how detailed and careful she is.  I trust her to paint her nails, and even to paint mine!

2. Kaylee just started a dance class.  She is doing jazz.  At the studio they have cameras that show the dance floors on TVs in the lobby so we can watch her from the lobby.  It is so fun to watch her dance around and throw her long hair around.  I can tell that she is enjoying herself and having a lot of fun.

3. Kaylee is starting to pick up reading.  She is working on her reading lessons and putting sounds together.  She is really picking it up and it is exciting to see that.  She is going to be a reader!!

4. Kaylee loves school.  She is in Pre-K at Oak Farm with Nancy & Abby.  Her best friends there are Elaina and Junie.  But she gets along well with everyone.  She is a half day student, but enjoys staying for lunch every once in a while.  And she is looking forward to kindergarten next year when she can stay for lunch and stay all day.

5. At church she is in CTR4 class.  Her friends in there are Jasmine, Elie, and Lilly.  She is such a sweet, reverent girl at church.  I am so grateful for her sweet demeanor.

6. Kaylee's favorite food is probably go-gurts.  She would eat several a day if I let her.  She is always wanting a go-gurt.  She also likes spaghetti and meatballs.  For breakfast she likes bagels and cream cheese.

7.  Kaylee loves to "organize" things.  Her way of organizing is a little different than most, but she likes to get a container or shelf or something and put toys in it for a "project."  She calls this work a project.  To me, it looks like a mess.  But to her, she has her stuff organized in some fashion that makes sense in her head.  Its kinda cute.  I let her go, but then we usually have to put things back the way they should be later.  But she does like her drawers organized by type of clothes.  I think that she has a tendency to want things to be in order.  She is simply practicing her organizing skills!

8.  Kaylee loves to help cook in the kitchen.  She always is wanting to help make dinners.  I love her help.  So for her birthday we made her a kids kitchen out of old night stands.  They turned out splendid.  She loves them and plays in her kitchen all the time!!

9. Kaylee learns spanish at school.  She actually has an incredible accent.  She can say Spanish words very well.  Because she can't fully read, she has to speak the words the way she hears her native Spanish teacher speak them.  So she copies her perfectly.  She can roll her R's and speak very Spanish like - better than me.  I hope that she continues to learn and speak Spanish well!

10.  Kaylee is our angel.  She is such a sweet girl and I feel so blessed to have her a part of our family of boys.  She brings joy to our family, just as her name suggests.  We are so blessed to have her in our lives.  Happy Birthday Kaylee!!









Monday, December 28, 2015

Christmas in Lafayette

We spent Christmas eve in Lafayette at Nate's brother Mike's house. Then night before we got to witness Our nephew Asher be baptized.  Then the night with the family, grandma and grandpa, and the Routsongs and us.  It was a full house. Jared and Cassidy had flown in from Provo for Christmas. Madison and Jordan came also. They are at ball state.we enjoyed a fabulous mere and experience our traditional Christmas testimony meeting. Finally we enjoyed opening each other's yes. Each cousin got a gift for another cousin. Then the adults and young adults did a white elephant gift exchange with packages of our favorite things. We had a wonderful time.













Piano Christmas Recital

Jaxton and Cooper were in their first piano recital ever. They hardly seemed nervous. They have practiced and prepared well for the day. Saxton played Carol of the bells and Chant Arabe.  Cooper played Rudolph the red nose reindeer and a Halloween spooky song.  I felt so proud of their hard work and their performance. I know they felt proud too.  They certainly have worked so very hard to be able to play as well as they do.  


Friday, December 25, 2015

Christmas morning

Christmas morning is always so magical. Kids were so excited this year. Jaxton asked for Pokémon. Cooper wanted a garnet birthstone necklace.  Kaylee asked for binoculars. Dawson got a large special train set. Nathan was more pleased with the packaging of his first gift bag. 

Nate's parents grandma and grandpa Frank another stayed overnight with us to enjoy Christmas morning with us. It was magical as always as the kids were so excited running downstairs to explain that the stockings were refilled and Santas sack was filled. Excitement and joy that is so much fun for me and Nate to experience. The joy of childhood.





Christmas Caroling

It has become a tradition that every Christmas afternoon we go caroling at a nursing home where many individuals are lonely during the holiday. Many residents had gone home to be with family but there are also some who don't have anywhere else to go so they remain at the nursing home. I imagine they are lonely and Great when others come to bring joy to them on the special Christmas day. We got a let rather large group together this year and went caroling at the Old folks home that grandma great Martha route son lives. She was not there, she was actually at Christmas with her sister. But we were still able to sing for many residents who were there Christmas Day.  It is even more exciting as the kids are older and able to sing along because they actually know the words to the songs. They can also read the music. I love to have them involved in service projects like this. To bring joy to others on Christmas Day.

Afterward we all read joined together at our house for Christmas day dinner. It was a nice gathering with lots of friends and good food. It is always memorable.

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Nathan's First Haircut

Little Nathan got his first haircut today.  His orange hair reflects his personality so much. He is a little spitfire!  He handled his hair cut well.  



Preschool Grocery Store Field Trip

The preschool kids went on another field trip to the grocery store. Our tour guide was excellent. She got each child a goodie bag (grocery bag) and helped them fill it at each station they stopped at. They collected an apple in the produce section. They stopped to see the live lobsters. At the deli department they each got a slice of cheese. In the bakery they each got a cookie and watched a cake decorator create a minion out of frosting. She took the kids in the back "employees only" area and let them see the box smashing machine and the giant walk in freezer. It was a lot of fun.



Bear Den Cub Scouts

We have lots of fun in bear cub scouts. Roasting marshmallows whittling soap cleaning bathrooms carnival games, and a visiting member of the National Guard.  









Friday, November 6, 2015

Nates Birthday

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NATE!!!