Christmas time is here!

WEEEE!!!

Say it with me now... WEEEE!!!! Here's Ashley and I on the Patterson Ice Skating rink yesterday. She was in absolute bliss! This was too precious to miss capturing on video, so if you haven't caught on by now.. yes, that is Ashley in one arm, the camera in my other hand, and we are skating around the rink. :)

Now, be forewarned that the piggy in the center is pregnant with some 22-27 little piglets, so if anyone was looking for a last-minute Christmas gift... I'm just kidding! However, Miss Betty the pig is pregnant, and due anyday. Ashley was mesmerized by these three little piggy's size, and their trademark "oink-oink." Grandma Loughlin and I had spent all day Friday wandering through Lowell, MI for the annual Christmas through Lowell event. We took Ashley along for the afternoon portion of our adventure, when we stumbled across this last home. Little did we know we were pulling into the driveway of a rescue mission for animals! It was the perfect way to end the day, and Ashley was chomping at the bit to hop out of the vehicle when we saw all the ducks by the pond. They had goats, chickens, the three pigs, ducks, horses, just about anything that needed a home. This video clip was only half the fun, if only you could see us scraping off the ducky poo from our shoes!

Here's Captain Jack Sparrow at his finest! How much more can a kid luck out having Halloween fall on a Friday, and being lucky enough to wear your costume to school for the grand 'ole Ada Elementary Halloween Parade? Well, Brendan's internal alarm clock went off around 6am, just to be sure we could have his "face" on for the school parade... and I think we did a mighty fine job of it. He went the whole nine yards, even checking out a Pirates of the Caribbean book from Media center earlier that week so we had a visual to take from. Now if only we could get him to apply that passion to his daily life a bit more. ;-)

Ash & Daddy Playtime

Here's Daddy and Ash during one of their night-time goofy moments of play. The toy they are using is Brendan's spyware speaker phone. This really caught Ashley's eye, as it manipulates your voice into unusual sounds. Enjoy!

This was a sight to see... Brendan had just gotten home from school, and Ashley and I had been raking the leaves in the front yard. They took it to the next level of fun, and began pouncing through my hard work! I didn't mind too much when I saw how precious they were. It was true brother/sister bonding!! Grandpa "Bob" was our hero of the season when he made, oh I think it was 5 trips, back and forth with the truck, all with our leaves in the back.

B-man

When I first saw this picture... it took me back to a different time in my life. A time when it was only Brendan and me. Those were times filled with joy and fear, struggles in life when I didn't know how to get through, and then moments when I felt like I could conquer the world. He was my light, my strength. Amazing how someone so little and innocent could be so strong. I remember going to bed at night, saying our night-night prayers, and him wanting to just cuddle, almost as though he was trying to keep ME safe. He was born December 25th, 2000, at 9:29am A mere 7lbs 12oz, but you could tell that he had strength by his broad shoulders. His little hands and feet, all ten fingers and ten toes. It amazed me how someone so small, could change your life in such a way... He will be 8 years old this December 25th, where the time has gone I am not sure. There are days when I wish I could go back, hold him just a little longer as a baby. A true blessing, and the greatest gift I could ever imagine. I have always said that things happen in life for a reason, and when I look at this picture, it is a great reminder of why Brendan was brought into my life.

Uncle John's Cider Mill

Now here are two peas in a pod. We ventured out to the Unce John's Cider Mill for a Sunday afternoon back in October and the kids had a blast! There were games and rides, along with the cider mill churning the apples for some yummy fresh cider. That was really neat to see! Tasted even better with some sugary punkin spice donuts... Not to mention Rob's favorite pumpkin fudge, which lasted all of a couple of days. :)