November and some December in word pictures

The Lord is so good to us and has blessed us greatly!!!!

Gracie Lost her tooth

Gracie lost her first front tooth and her fifth tooth so far. She is growing up and looking so cute. It is amazing how she is changing daily and becoming more and more of a young lady. :) She turns 7 on January 20. My how time flies.

Christmas tree cutting

We had such a wonderful time going to Frenchman's Lake by our house to cut down our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. We caravaned up there. We had 5 kids and us packed into the landcruiser. It was so much fun and can't wait till next year to go again.

Ashten Turns 4

Wow life sure flies by when we are having fun!!!! Ashten turned 4 years old on November 22,2009. I can picture the day he was born as if it was yesterday. What a joy and blessing from the Lord he is. He brings so much laughter to our home. :) We had done a big countdown to his birthday and when he realized he was really 4 he was so excited and said "I feel like I am 4."

Here are a few pictures of our celebration.

Family Photos

A few weeks ago we went with our friends the Cordano's and Barb to Galena Creek for a family photo shoot. Our Pastor Akash who has a side business/hobby of photography took our family photos. It was a beautiful day with the sun shining, warm weather and the leaves turning. We had fun laughing and enjoying the day the Lord had made. :) Akash did such a great job!!!

Ready for some snow

The kids got their snow boots in the mail and Ashten got his snow suit. Gracie was able to get hers from a friend. So now we just need some snow!!!!

Just Got our New Camera

We finally got our a new camera. Was at costco and they had an amazing deal on a camera so I snatched it up. :) It is so weird without a camera and not being able to capture all the phone moments life has. Here are a few shots of the kiddos being silly.

Our New Puppy

We have a new additon to our family......Lynley the Second. :0 ) Our friends had a connection to a yorkie puppy and thought of us right away since we had lost our first puppy several months ago. We were visiting them to pick up some firewood and the doggy and its owner happened to be there that day. ;) The owner just wanted him to go to a good home and was not charging for him. So after holding him and playing with him for a little while we decidied to take him home. He looks so much like our first puppy. We felt like we went back in time. We still had most of our stuff so it has been an easy transition. :) He is full of energy loves to play with his mini tennis ball.

End of Summer updates. :)

Me and the kids went out to visit Memaw for the afternoon. We had a great time looking through old family photos and learning to crochet. And saw all the new projects that they are working on.

We also spent a day in Quincy and Greaeagle with my mom for her birthday. It is so fun to get away and still be only an hour from home.

Our front porch is soon to be completed. Keller has been working on it every chance he gets. The projects all seem to take longer than they used to. :) It really looks great and is a nice addition to the front of the house. Will be posting pictures soon.

Gracie and Ashten are doing great in school and having a wonderful time learning. It has been a great blessing to have a homeschool schedule this year. We have our first break coming up starting on Ashten's 4th birthday and going through that week ending with Thanksgiving. Gracie is about to loose her 4th tooth!!! She has already lost three on the bottom and her two front teeth are loose as well. She is growing up so fast.

Hope you are all doing well and are having a blessed year!

Yard work.........the unexpected kind. ;0)

Last friday afternoon I tried to turn on the washer but no water came out.....thought I was going to get a new washer. :) And then tried to make lunch and the sink did not work. So next I went outside to see water just coming up out of the ground and realized that something was wrong with either a pipe or the well pump. Keller came home and we got to digging and found the pipe repaired it and by that evening had water back on in the house. There always seems to be something to do around here planned or unplanned. :) We did get the front yard seeded and if all the bunnies, doves and quail don't eat them all we will soon have grass.

Homeschool

We had our first day of school on August 31st. We also have started a new blog about our homeschooling and I hope to update weekly. It should be lots of fun. http://www.shepherdingourkids.blogspot.com/ I hope you all enjoy seeing what the kiddos are learning.

Small Transformations

This is what about $100.00 and some good ol fashion hard work will do for you. :) Homedepot was having a great sale on plants today and we saved a ton of money buying at the end of the season. Slowly the yard is coming together. Over the next two weeks we will be putting in some grass seed to finish the grass in the front yard and then put in the planter boxes and the front porch. YAHOOOOO it is all coming together.

Summer Fun

This dirt area we just cleared and will be adding grass to.

New grass area and behind it will be a front porch/deck and flower box.

It has been really really hot this past week. We have been trying to stay cool since we don't have a/c or swamp cooler yet. :)

So to help the afternoon heat today the kiddos ran through the hose while I watered some of our new lawn. They had so much fun and got a little work done at the same time.

Keller and I have been working hard at moving gravel from the whole front yard and preparing to put in grass. We have grass and a new tree on one side and are almost ready for grass on the other side. It has gone a bit slower than expected....but that is ok because we still have done a lot of work this year.

Gracie's New Hair Cut

Gracie has been wanting Kit Kitridge hair for about 6 months. Last night we were at our friends house for dinner who went to beauty college and so we had an impromtu hair cut. :) Thanks Rebecca!!!! Great Job!!! Lots and Lots of fun. Gracie just loves her new hair cut. She looks so adorable.

Sheldon Antelope Range

This past weekend we went to my dad's favorite hunting spot to spread his ashes. We had some of his closest friends and some family. It was good to have some more closure. I do miss him more everyday.

We had a great time shooting and enjoying the beautiful scenery. It rained much of the morning and then cleared for the day and then started raining right after dinner. It was what my dad had asked us to do with his ashes and we all felt it was a day that honored him.

Here are some pics from the weekend.

Disney Land

Well we made it back from a great trip to Disney Land. We drove down after church on Sunday. Then spent four days in the park and headed home on Friday.

What a trip.....we had more potty stops going and during the trip than ever before. :) I think we stopped 5 times between Reno and Sacramento. Wow that is a lot of stops. And believe it or not they both went every time we stopped. :0 )

Keller and I surprised the kiddos every day with a gift box waiting at the edge of their bed. They were so excited to have surprises waiting for them in the mornings. It was neat to do the unexpected for them. :) Each day they had a tee shirt to wear in the park.

We had a great time in both parks. We were able to go on some of the bigger kid rides this time now that Ashten is bigger. Gracie still loves the fast rides and Ashten not so much. And of course we just love the classic rides. Our newest favorites are Nemo underwater submarine voyage and the Toy Story midway game. Ashten loved Buzz lightyear and shooting laser guns and Flying Dumbo. Gracie loves loves loves Space mountain. We went and saw the Aladin play again and it was just as good the second time around. What a neat production!!!!!!

We ended our adventure driving home in rain and then snow at the top of the pass on our way home. That was a bit scary being in white out conditions in the car. But Praise the Lord we made it safe and sound. We are happy to be home and resting. :)