More Shots From Christmas...

I love this...Iz has the Best facial expressions (with S following closely behind)
P is really going to hate me later in life for these pictures...but I just had to! When I pulled out his Christmas PJs, they said 4T. I really should have gone by the size and not just what the tag said. BUT, after he had them on, he wouldn't take them off...trying to convince me they would be fine! It was hilarious! Looked like I left him in the dryer too long! :) More importantly though, he is showing off his new WWI gun!
MJ loving on her new baby...so sweet!

Christmas Traditions

"Its the most wonderful time of the year"...
Even though Christmas can be one of the busiest/craziest times of the year, it is also the most special. Not only because I love to be with family, seeing the excitement in & thru my kids, picking out that special thing for those I love, but also because of the memories, traditions, and the reason for Christmas! I am one of those people that starts my shopping/making of gifts in the summer and the one who looks forward to Christmas music 24/7!
Some of the things that we did this year: Fire Department Christmas Party, Christmas caroling to some of our church members, Christmas baking (we made goodies for the guys at the fire department, cookie exchange, and the Sunday school teachers...so we made over 16 dozen cookies and chocolate covered treats...yum!), Christmas cards, parties at the church, shopping, decorating, wrapping, dinner parties with friends at the house. The garland is a new addition in our decorating this year (it was K and Iz's idea after visiting the White House last year). But I have to say that it is one of my favorites in the house! These are some of the kids from our church. After we went caroling, we came back to decorate the church's tree and have pizza.

For the past 2 years, K's mom has come up to bake and decorate with the kids! They made gingerbread cookies and peanut brittle.

I Love this one with flour on his nose! She was so patient with them, and they had so much fun (esp S with the sprinkles and sugar)!!
Instead of buying each of the kids an ornament this year, Mamama made these glitter balls with them to hang on our small tree in the kitchen! They were so cute! I need to get a picture of these on the tree before we take them down!

New Year...New Goals

I LOVE the start of the new year-the opportunity to start over, try again, try something new, or just improve. At the end of every year, I take a look at not only what happened (the memories), but also what I want to change (the goals). I don't necessarily call them resolutions, but more goals. K and I are big believers that if aim at nothing in particular, you will hit it! So as I think about my goals, I wanted to write them here. So, in no particular order, here are a few things that I want to work toward in 2010...
-be more organized(everything needs a place, & I would like to be able to put my hands on things at a moments notice. Im getting better, but always room to improve!)
-read more books - I am coming up with a list. Any good suggestions?
-continue to sew more
-read the thru the Bible
-memorize more scripture
-go on a date once a month with K
-keep up with the house better (goes along with the first one too)

I am also thinking about how to keep up with these...being held accountable. Maybe I will write about my progress here. We'll see. Bring on 2010!

So how was your year and what are some of your goals?

Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!

Today my little S turned 3! Wow! Sometimes I wonder how I got everything in, or even felt like it...thinking back 3 years ago...it was Christmas time (granted I only had 2 kids) but I wrapped, decorated, and had Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinners at my house all while being 38 weeks pregnant! I also remember telling myself, "just make it thru Christmas", I didn't want this baby born till a few days later. He needed his own special day, so I was happy it worked out that way! Plus, everyone kept saying, "oh poor thing thing, with a birthday so close to Christmas. He will never get to celebrate."
So I have always been conscience of keeping them separate. I know there are somethings he has to give up or accept (presents all at 1 time of the year,etc) having a birthday 3 days after Christmas, but I hope he also realizes how special he is, what he has gained, and how both sides of his family has really tried to keep them separate for him!
A big gain that I saw this year is that since it is the holidays and we were with family, he had most there with him to celebrate...two times!







Now as I think about your next year of life, wondering what it will hold, there is one thing I am hoping for...no more diapers! :)

Merry Christmas 2009

So now I come to my Christmas Letter/post for the year end...
In an effort to combine what I already have in place (our blog) and promote/encourage me to write more consistently, I decided to put our Christmas letter here.
I always like to write our "year in review" letter, not only to let you know briefly what has been happening, but also it helps me remember and enjoy my life that seems to fly before my eyes!

Needless to say, life with 4 kids is never boring! There is always something going on (sometimes bordering on chaotic), but I love it! And now I am also teaching again, so it keeps getting better. My main problem is that there are not enough hours in the day to get everything done I need to, not to mention what I would like to do!
Kyle is staying busy at the church and getting to the fire department when he can. He is also almost finished with his D Min degree from Erskine (he will be finishing up with the project this Jan and then has to write his dissertation). He has enjoyed the learning and applying it to his sermons, both we will both be glad when it is finished! He has also started a blog of his own...the hungry preacher. He enjoys writing for fun, so it is about food and his experiences with it.
Iz is 10 now! She is having a great year in school and has made some good friends! She is learning alot (someone asked her recently if she wished she could go back to public school to which she answered...no, I really like home and CC better and am learning more!...that made me happy!) She is also enjoying basketball and is pretty good, which is great because she is already 5'3 at 10! Last year her team won the championship in their division!
P is 5 and very outgoing! He is in kindergarten and loves going on outings with our school group! He is starting to learn to read and does pretty good with his school work,but would rather be outside. He just learned to ride his bike and that's what he wakes up asking to do right now!
S will be 3 a week from today! He is definitely my shy child. He will talk when he has something to say, but is my thinker. He loves to be outside too, but his favorite place to be is Kyle's mom's farm!! He loves to ride the ranger and help feed the animals! The main thing he has been asking for for Christmas is a pair of boots to wear on the farm at Mamama's house!
MJ is 16 months today! She is getting to be such a cute age...learning to talk, imitate what you say or do, give kisses, and play games, like peek-a-boo. She is going to be another "people person"!

Well, that is the Sims' 2009 in a nutshell. I can't wait to see what 2010 has in store! We hope your year end comes to a nice close and you all have a very merry Christmas! We hope to hear from you soon (either by phone, email, or facebook)! Love to each of you!
Kel

Looking Back and thus Looking Ahead

I spent most of November writing and listing things that I am thankful for. We are blessed with SO much and I was glad for the time that I spent thinking about these! It is so easy to get caught up in the business of life (stress, deadlines, irritations, etc) that you can miss the joys!! Some of which were...laughter of my children, different personalities that make them who they are, wonderful smells, colors that are around us, answers to prayers, sweet phone calls that were made when I needed them...and I could go on and on!

But now we are moving into the last time of the year, and definitely one of my favorite holidays...Christmas!! I love Christmas music, spending time with the kids, buying gifts for the ones we love, the decorations, cards, etc., but I am finding myself falling into that stressed, not-enjoying this kind of feeling. So as I have been pulling things out this week, I want to keep this feeling of thankfulness. Remembering the real reason for this season!

Fall Brings Yet Another Change...

Both our girls celebrated pretty big birthdays during this time. MJ turned 1 and Iz hit double digits! Wow...they grow and change SO fast!

We made another big family decision last spring, and then watched it come into being this fall...We are now homeschooling! I have always thought about it and have done lots of research concerning it, but it just all fell into place this time- just seemed right! We also found an awesome group to work and learn with- Classical Conversations. We meet together 1 day a week for classes and then the other 4 days at home. They even offered me a job, so I am tutoring the 3rd and 4th graders. We are all loving it!! I love the classical approach to learning, and we have made some great friends (and a great support system for me)!

Moving on Into the Summer

The summer started with its usual craziness for us...K takes his annual Banner of Truth trip with fellow ministers; Synod; Vacation Bible School; K, his mom, and Iz went on a multistate quick trip thru PA, MD, and VA; K preaches special services at another ARP church, and P turned 5! OH...and throw in our 13th anniversary in the middle of VBS! :)

So we were excited to see July get here where the only thing we had planned was to go to the beach with all my family (the CO crew was here in SC for 5 weeks...yay) and a beach trip for just the 6 of us! Here is a group shot of all the family at the beach (except Aunt Claudia who took the picture)

Here is the all 7 Counts grandkids.

I was also started something that I have been wanting to do more of...I finally put my new sewing machine to use. I sewed 2 dresses for the 2 younger girl cousins (My and Sweet C) and embellished Iz's shirt. Now even though the dresses weren't perfect, I was proud of myself of attempting it! :)

As I continue to think back on 2009...Family celebrations

Since I have been slack on my blog (but those of you that know me, know how full my plate is), I thought I would spend the next few posts giving brief glimpses (snippets) into our past year...
As I start these new snippets of our family and life, it is very appropriate that I start with celebrations. Immediately some celebrations that come to mind are Christmas, birthdays, special events. and that we are surrounded by those that love and support us, those that have made an impact on our lives!! It is special that our 2009 started with 3 of these family events!

First, Mom and Dad were able to go to CO for Christmas, so we extended the holidays a little (till the 1st of Jan) so we could be together. Then the next week we came together again (along with the Sims) to celebrate the baptism of MJ. Her dress was made by Kyle's Mom, and it is the same dress that Iz wore 9 years before!


Here is both of our families (minus the CO crew)...

Also, Clint Davis (pastor at Chester ARP, but also a good friend) baptized MJ. We asked 4 different minister friends to baptize our babies, so Kyle can be a dad that day.

After the Baptism, we all stayed and celebrated S 2nd birthday! He loved "MoMo", So Aunt Shea made this great cake for him! Thanks to all our family for starting the year with us in these special ways!