Another Year

Happy Birthday Tanya!!!

Mia Models

Mia joined the ranks of the advertising today.

She spent half the day at our neighbor's house and became a model for one of her Etsy shop creations.

You can see her photos here.  Ain't she just the cutest thing you ever saw?

Ahhh, Summer!

There's nothing like grilling hot dogs on the dawn of February to usher your brain into the warm solstice of summer.

It Turns Out I Can Cook

I made Rice Crispy Treats. They were inordinately thick and a little dry but, I ate two cubes of marshmallowy, rice crispy goodness. To make sure they were fit for human consumption, of course.

I am pleased to report that they resigned themselves to their fate and put up no fight in the face of mastication and certain digestion. I fear, however, that the little sweet crunchy cubes will, in the end, not go down without some resistance. The holes in my belt tell of the ongoing battle of sugary comrades mounting an offense that is not to be trifled with.

The Perfect Tree

Yesterday TeamCurtis got a Christmas tree. We decided it was best go to a farm and cut our own. A decision that, while made on somewhat of a whim, was one of the best decisions of the week! We went to Pine Valley Farms.

Upon arrival we were greeted by acres of trees and a young man in small shack who handed us a farm map and a saw (for a $20 deposit). They have everything you need to cut and cart your tree around anywhere you want. The only thing they don't really provide is transportation of your beloved tree to your home. So if you're thinking about riding your two-wheeler out to get a cut-your-own tree, do so at your own risk.

Our day started well with everyone getting involved.

Soon we found a tree fit for the little people in our life. Mia decided it was too little, though, so we moved on.

We finally found the perfect tree and a nice, fresh stump took our picture in front of it.

Then daddy went to work.

Conquest achieved! In just under 60 seconds!!

On the way back to get the tree wrapped and strapped on the van, the girls had fun running around the trees and expending some of that seemingly infinite youthful energy they have.

I got the piney plant secured to the roof and off we went. Simone was spent.

The tree made its way through the front door, into the basement and then breathed a welcome sigh of relief.

Mia thought the tree looked a tad parched and gave it a drink. The tree said, "thank you."

29boxes.com

So... this morning, we set out on our adventure for the day. We got the girls 5-point harnessed in and set out for the chiropractor, church, His Way Christian book store, lunch and finally, home. "Are we going to Africa now?" a sweet voice says somewhere between the chiropractor and the church. After a quick chuckle, we assure Mia that we're not going to Africa. However, what could possibly be going to Africa are number of the 29 boxes that were filled several days earlier for the Samaritan's Purse, Operation Christmas Child program.

A little back story: For the past couple years we, as a family, through our church, have been filling shoe boxes with things a that poverty-stricken children might need. After last year's program ended Mia told Mommy she wanted to fill 26 boxes this year for the needy children.

A few seconds later Tanya regained consciousness and asked Mia again, how many boxes she wanted to fill. Again, the answer was, "Twenty-six."

Well, as the last day to turn in the boxes approached, our Bible study group and Fusion family stepped up to help wrap, pack the goodies into all the boxes and get each box sponsored.

Today we dropped off all the boxes at His Way. Everyone did their part.

Carrying,


Stacking,

  

Rolling,

And, of course, posing.

We topped it all off with pizza from Ledo's. Can't go wrong with Ledo's.

For some reason Simone keeps trying to eat lemons.  I'm not one to argue.

Enjoy these 41 seconds of hilarity.

It's amazing - the heart this little girl has for others.  If only more of us, me included, would dream like she does. Big.  Would you have thought that a, then 3-yr old, little girl would have said "twenty-six" when asked how many of the world's poorest children she wanted to bless this Christmas?  If a little girl can bless 29 children with shoe boxes filled with fun & function, how many people could we bless if we thought outside the box a little and picked a number higher than we could count?

FIRST!!

First!!