a little tree-hunting......

brody (nephew), luke and zachary with grandpa jim's tree

tak'n a break for some climbing

my dad, sister, kim, shayna (niece), and cole



oh to live in the Black Hills!


luke and cousin brendan


my brother, casey, and his boys, brendan and brody




me and my brother's new puppy, meadow. she was a little chilly.


my dad....my funny funny dad--- remembering tree-hunting with his sister, marilee........she always felt sorry for the charlie brown tree. isn't he funny?





seven out of the eleven grand-kids--what a challenge to get them all on one log!
the weather was beautiful--no wind and lots of sun. the only thing missing was the snow.
all of the trees were found....perfect in every way, but of course, ours is the most beautiful! :0)

Our Thanksgiving

So there's always the turkey at Thanksgiving............
(this is Cole's Snowbell--the Tom of the bunch)


This was the toddler table......
(Jace-Clay's son, Brody-Casey's son, Shayna-Kim's daughter, and Brecken-Casey's daughter)


more turkey.....
(Luke's turkey--she's real sweet)


And the mommies and daddies........
(Big-Brother, Casey & his wife Allison----little brother, Clay & his fiance', Jessilyn, with their baby Mkenzie)


And the big kids' table...........
(nephew, Brendan ((Casey's oldest)), and our three boys)


lots and lots of turkey......
(Zachary's turkey)


The rest of the family.....minus my dad
(engaged in football at this point, I think).


The after-dinner party.......


The games........


The pie........


And the stories.........

So much to be grateful for on this family-filled day. It's kind of like Christmas when we finally take the time to remember Christ. On Thanksgiving people finally stop and take the time to recall all of their blessings. Such a shame, but better than never. I wish everyone could have heard my son's (Cole) prayer before we sat down to feast. He brought tears to my eyes and I know he made us all think. He took his time and remembered to ask the Lord for blessings for others who don't have the necessities and homes to go to. I am amazed and so very proud.
I have much to be thankful for each and every day!!

birth-day celebration

Lego Indiana Jones is the big talk at our house right now......

So the cake was just that!
Lots of fun this year with Zachary really helping with the decorating.


And we had to have the snake pit....I guess Indy's really afraid of snakes (notice his cute little flame to scare them away)......okay, VERY SCARY flame. :0)

I think this was our favorite part (mine & Zach's).....the creepy guy lost forever in our pool with passer-by dude looking on.







This was Zachary's party with the family the weekend before the "bash".
Putting together his new Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Legos we gave him--just in time for the fun cake!

One year older...still can't believe he's 9!!!

My Zachary was born 9 Years Ago Today!!!!

This little boy has made me smile for nine years. He's made me laugh 'til I cried and cry 'til I laughed. Thank you, Zachary, for choosing me as your mom nine sweet years ago.




God gave us this little boy to teach us about patience and understanding. Thank you, God, for answering my prayers.




I am so very proud of this sweet, smart, funny, beautifully-goofy boy for the person he has become.
I love you, Zachie!

If Only....

Eight percent...only 8% of the world's population adopted one child...1 child.........THERE WOULD BE NO MORE ORPHANS!!!!

Did You Know.......

......that out of over 147 million orphans in the world, only 1 percent are adopted?

Family

Halloween was very short-lived this year...we didn't carve pumpkins until Halloween day, we trick-or-treated, and went to a party that night. The boys had a good time and it was filled with family, which is always good.

Kim couldn't go out with us, so we came to her...all ten children and their parents!! Even grandpa and grandma went which is highly unusual!! Fun Fun!! We did miss our Jacob, but thankfully we will get to see him every summer and during the holidays as Casey (my oldest brother) and his family are moving to Rapid City.

Lukey holding his youngest cousin, Mkenzie.

Cousins.....love it!

Kim had some very concerned nieces and nephews, so she did some teaching. :0)