A Dusting!

after daily questions all winter about if/when we would get snow, these kiddos were THRILLED to find 1/8 of an inch in their yard one morning a month or so ago!! sledding was in full swing by 7am...we were NOT going to let this opportunity pass by! little did we know several inches were headed our way a few weeks later, but at the time...this was our winter wonderland!!

road trip!!!

ben has been known to pack up the kids for a saturday-day trip and take off on an exciting adventure sans mommy (which means: sans wipes, extra outfits, snacks, etc.). this method (while frightening to some) only makes the outing more full of the unexpected and unpredictable...and ultimately, full of more fun!:)

a few weekends back the destination was the columbia zoo!! here are a few pics they sent me of their time:

 everyone was a little if-y on the birds flying around and landing on people. everyone that is except ben:)

Presenting...Africa!!

the boys were scheduled to give their presentations on the topic of geography this week at CC...preferably, a country they had studied. we have done some discussion of africa in our classes, so that, combined with the fact that our poppy has been there several times as of late, made it the obvious choice! 

poppy graciously spent some time with us one evening this week sharing interesting and sobering facts about his visit to kenya. we learned about the houses, clothes, kitchens, and resources that the people of the villages utilize. a "nice" house is no larger than your dining room and made of concrete. river water is carried to the kitchen for cooking and used for washing the one set of clothes most people own. typically only one child in the family has shoes. there is no electricity, making it difficult for much to be done after the sun sets.

this time gave the boys (and myself) much perspective on how little these people have compared to how much we have. a true lesson in thankfulness, gratitude and hopefully generosity! james' class plans to each bring some money next week to contribute towards the solar lamps that poppy will be taking over in a few weeks.

here are a few pics of the presentations:

Lessons from Basketball

this heard after witnessing a great victory at my 2 nephews b ball game tonight Annaliese Emmrich Anderson, :

caroline, trying to grasp it all: "so, you are a winner or a lost-er?"
james: "no caroline, you mean loser."
me (attempting to instill good sportsmanship): "yes, but what really matters is how you play the game!"
ben david: "not really mom, it only matters if you win."
hmmmm...

Bella Rose

so after prolonging this as long as i could..the time came to add our fourth addition. we debated between a baby or a dog and went with a dog. in retrospect...a baby may have been about the same amount of work. perhaps less. hmmm.

in any case...she has quickly become one of the family and we can't imagine life without her.
here she is:)

 meeting her cousin teddy:) slight size difference here..please note this photo shows about 1/8 of teddy's actual size

meeting her other cousin lucy:) a bit more comparable in size here 

and a few random shots...

miss c modeling her most favorite outfit...her dress that poppy brought her back from africa!!

thanks poppy:)

Christmas Card Photo Time!

we were very thankful this year for jim lockman and his photography skills! he was able to capture some sweet shots of our family! also grateful to have some where everyone is smiling:) we were able to get a christmas card photo out of it along with some great individuals of the kids!

Thanksgiving Feast and "What A Fir!!"

this year we celebrated Thanksgiving with some special people! We had the Wrays, Andersons, Grammie and Grampy Anderson, Grandmommie, Poppie, and Marmie! we missed our other Poppy who was in Africa this year but we sure are thankful for the work he is doing there. while i did not get too many pictures...here are a few! we had a great time...there was a ton of food, football, dodge ball, trampoline time...eating, eating and more eating!!

the very next day we headed to the mountains for the annual Anderson/Wright "Christmas Tree Cutting Event!" after we all picked the perfect tree at "what a fir", it was down the mountain for a fun hayride, cider and cookies. next, mellow mushroom pizza at the local park in blowing rock. another fun tradition!!