Our Family Blog

Grace and Lilly’s 3rd Birthday

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 15:25:56 -0400

We had a great time this past weekend celebrating Grace and Lilly’s 3rd Birthday. We had a small party with a few family members and church friends, and the theme was Garden Party (or as Lilly liked to call it, a “Mud and Dirt Party”.) I’m not sure if that was the smartest idea for a 3-year-old party, as the aftermath included Oreo crumbs all over our dining room and kitchen, but it sure was fun and made us all remember that spring is coming (eventually, right?)

It has been amazing to watch our twins’ personalities develop over the past year. They are each their own little person, yet also inseparable as sisters and companions. Having a built-in playmate has been a great convenience for both of them (not to mention for Mommy too!) Lilly continues to be our little socialite, charming everyone with her wit and expressiveness. Grace is usually quieter, but has a great sense of humor and is always ready to be helpful to the rest of the family.

We are so thankful for these sweet girls!

Check out a few pictures from the day.

Evelyn’s 6th Birthday

Wed, 16 Feb 2011 14:46:49 -0500

This past weekend we celebrated Evelyn’s 6th birthday - first with a cupcake-themed party with 8 of her friends, then the next day with dinner and cake with her grandparents. It’s hard to believe our little girl is getting so big! We are so thankful for the person she is, and each year as she gets older she becomes a more integral part of our family, with her own opinions, strengths, and personality. We are also thankful for the community of friends she has made in school so far. All the girls she had over were so sweet, kind, and generous. We’ve tried to teach Evelyn to choose friends based on whether they help her make good choices and make her feel good about herself, and we’re so pleased that God has provided her with these kinds of friends early in her school life. The theme for her birthday gifts, the same as Christmas, was crafts. She is quite the little artist and is becoming more skilled at creating art and using her imagination. (She definitely takes after her Daddy in her eye for color!) Based on our craft closet supply, I think we will be doing bead crafts for months to come!

Here are a few pictures from her celebrations.

Stay tuned for the remainder of our birthday season activities later in March!

Christmas time!

Wed, 29 Dec 2010 22:27:16 -0500

Yes, we have another shoe picture. No, we are not unhealthily fixated on shoes - it’s just that Santa brought our whole family matching Chuck Taylors for Christmas this year!

As a whole, this Christmas season was delightful. The girls are at a great age to enjoy the season and get into the excitement and anticipation, and they are also old enough to start to understand what we’re really celebrating. We opened our Advent calendar each day of the month, and each door was filled with a combination of candy and Bible verses and a suggested “Activity of the Day.” And although there were a few scuffles over who got to enjoy the candy, we enjoyed our many Christmas activities: making treats with friends, visiting the big tree in the Purdue Union, painting our toenails Christmas colors, cutting out paper snowflakes, etc.

The highlight of the holiday, at least for me, was the amazing white Christmas we awoke to on Christmas morning. The trees were heavy with fresh snow while we opened our gifts, and after breakfast we bundled up and went sledding in the perfect weather - blue sky, new snow, no wind, sparse crowds on Slayter Hill. It was an exhilarating, joyful, and worshipful experience!

We are blessed to be surrounded by so many friends and family, and we got to enjoy their company on many occasions throughout the month. Some of these gatherings and parties are showcased in our Christmas photo album.

Now it’s back to the routine, and on to 2011!