Snow Day 2020

When an unexpected snow day happens to be the same day as ethnic hair day

the poor house takes a toll!

But the sunrise through the snowy trees made it all worth surviving the chaos.

The kids made an amazing snow fort.

There was plenty of sledding.

And the kids played off and on into the night until Josh and I couldn't keep our own eyes opened.

Josh wrote a song inspired by Isaiah 1:16-17 and the snow.

(you can check out his Instagram to hear it:)

Also, I have beautiful children!

September and October Photo Dump 2019

Early fall was slam packed!

We had some really good times with our MC.

This is our men rallying around each other to pray.

Such a sweet moment.

We had some BEAUTIFUL weather and tried to soak up every moment of it.

We spent some time in the studio to finish tracking for our upcoming album.

Little loves were in and out, which we love.

We continued to get a colorful array of bounty from the Colony Garden.

We had to say goodbye to our sweet dog, Jemma.

These pictures were the last full day we got to spend with her before she passed on

October 13th.

Via Vacation 2019

Ok, so when I am so far behind I don't take the time to edit photos like I should.

So these are straight from my phone or camera just to get caught up.

Lazy...maybe.

But I am officially caught up!

And I can't NOT post about Via Vacation which is a HUGE highlight of our year.

Some years we are just pumped and excited to have vacation.

Other years, like this year, we are in desperate need of a week to unplug and rest

as we soak up time with the family.

I began nearly every morning with a several-mile walk around the neighborhood with the ladies

talking about life, ministry, marriage, parenting, finances...you name it.

This particular thing is something I LOVE about vacation!

The rest of the days were spent reading, swimming, playing, sleeping in...

all the things that make vacation a true vacation.

Thank you Jenn for capturing a great family photo where we all have brushed hair

 shoes and matching clothes!

I ONLY post this picture because this bathing suit top was too much, ha!

Those tassels, which Josh lovingly referred to as "dongles"

were so funny that we had to capture them before we preformed a

"donglectomy" to remove them.

Meme helping Cai learn to swim

Alethia is working on owning her "story".

She interviewed Aunt Joy, which is as far back as we know of her story,

to get her going.  It was sweet to hear Joy talk about finding her in her village as an infant

and then talking about the process she was in charge of that summer in Uganda. 

She pulled up her photos and talked through the memories.

It was priceless!

Ancestry Adventures - St. Peter's

Josh has really been digging into our ancestry since his grandmother passed away last winter.  It has brought us to many graveyards and old buildings.  In fact, every time Josh says we are going on an adventure the kids have to ask if we are stopping by any cemeteries on the way because that happens about 9 out of 10 times these days, ha!

From what I could gather, this church used to house some soldiers in the Civil War.

Some of the soldiers carved their initials into the walls of the church.

This particular stop was really neat.  This church building is the supposed site of George Washington's wedding, and also Josh's great-great-something's wedding.  His ancestors were apparently friends with the Washington's.  Although we didn't find any headstones with our ancestors names on them this time, it was a trip well worth the time.