Elise is 4

Chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting, of course!

She's four.  Why does four seem so much older than three?  She is one unique, spirited, fun four year old that we love so much.  Justus spent some time with friends while Dane and I took her on a date.  Pizza at her request and a ride to the top of the Bass Pro Shop elevator (a dream of hers for the past 6 months).  Then, because she was having trouble picking what kind of cake she wanted, we went to the cupcake shop for her to pick six different flavors.  She rarely chooses favorites of anything.  Her response is usually "they're ALL my favorite!"

She loves books and crafts and coloring.  She has a big imagination in which she usually ends up being the mommy, queen or princess.  She is all girl.  Dressing up in her princess dresses is an almost daily occurrence.  She loves babies.  She is a first born in that she likes to tell others how things are, or how they should be, or what they should be doing.  She is very attentive to detail and likes to do things neatly.  She's a great big sister.  She likes to help cook (especially when it comes to licking out a tasty bowl).  She is always up for an adventure.  She's an independent one!  She loves to laugh and to make others laugh.  Such a complex little soul is hard to describe.  We're proud of who she is and who she is becoming.  We're praying most of all that this girl continues to grow up to love Jesus.

Concentrating hard.  Notice the tongue?

Downtown Memphis

On the trolley

Top of the world!

Peering down 283 feet!

She's still so small!

She has a very unique fashion sense!

We celebrated our final day of the Christmas Season on January 6th - Three Kings Day/Epiphany.  We always make a cake and hide a little king inside and whoever finds the king gets to wear the crown.  Elise made our crown this year.

Justus found the king!

I'm including some pictures from Christmas at the cabin.  We were with the Forlines side of the family this year.  We all (Gran, Grandpa, and all of the aunts, uncles and cousins) went to a cabin in Kentucky.  It was so much fun.  The weather was unseasonably warm so there were plenty of opportunities to get out and go hiking.  And then, of course, lots of games, and talks, and eating and all the other stuff that you come up with when you're at a cabin in the woods.  Due to the lack of cold we felt the need to create our own winter wonderland for Christmas day.  We'll have lots of special memories from this Christmas!

The Family

The Winter Wonderland

Bek's free craiglist Christmas tree!

Elise's favorite present

New toy!

Matching new toys!

Elise's favorite activity at the cabin

Kids dancing to Christmas tunes by Brad

The boys relaxing

Ready for Christmas Brunch

Squishy ride in the truck with my favorite kids

Happy New Year (with Merry Christmas pictures yet to come)

After 10 days away from home as a family and then 2 more for me, it was nice to be home the past couple of days.  Nothing fancy, except maybe a bit of laziness on my part!  We spent the day at home yesterday except for a quick grocery run and then spent some time with friends last night.  We were home well before midnight and Dane and I were able to reflect a bit on the past year before I sent out a few Christmas cards.  I know...I guess they were more like Happy New Year cards that just appear exactly like Christmas cards.  They were delivered much later than I had anticipated!

Today we went out once as a family for our First Day Hike.  We kept the hike very easy and short so the kids would enjoy it and we ended at a playground.  It was a bit of a struggle to get everyone bundled up and out of the house without many meltdowns, but I'm glad we did.  Just being outside in the woods and nature settles my heart and makes me happy.

Happy New Year.  May this next year be full of joy and peace and growth and adventure and so much more for you!

Justus' first camping trip

We tried going camping with Elise and Justus a couple of months ago.  It was beautiful weather, warm during the day and just cool enough at night.  Everyone was excited and ready to go.  I had prepped some hobo dinners to cook over the fire for dinner and had biscuits ready to twist around sticks and cook over the fire for breakfast the next day.  We got to the park to find out that there was a fire ban.  Absolutely no fires allowed.  Well, what is camping without a fire? Not to mention my meal plans were ruined.  So we returned home and went to our friends' house to cook our dinner over a fire in their backyard.  It was fun, the hobo dinners turned out great, and the s'mores were yummy, but Elise has been asking about camping ever since.  She was also under the impression that anytime it rained was the perfect time to go camping

After mid-November hit, we were skeptical that a camping trip would happen any time before spring.  But lo and behold, this mild Memphis December.  Mid-November and a Tuesday night.  Who would have thought that would be the perfect time to camp?  And it was so wonderful.  The kids had a blast.  We just went with hotdogs, sweet potato chips and celery sticks for supper (easy!).  Dane had bought an 8 man tent at a thrift store and it was so wonderful and roomy.  Not at all like the last time we went camping with Elise.  We brought along a space heater that kept the tent the perfect temperature.  The sky was so clear.  I don't remember the last time I saw that many stars at night.  There were a couple of negatives though.  1) The downpour we had this morning.  I did look at the forecast on Monday and it predicted sunny and clear skies until Saturday.  I'm sure of it!  But I guess the rain made it seem just right to Elise.  2) I forgot the camera, so no pictures.

I think the next time we go will be with 3 kids!

Thanksgiving

For the first time in 5 or 6 years our whole family was together for the holidays.  The week was full.  Time together to play (lots of basketball (I beat Dane at a game of HORSE!), and a couple of games of Settlers), cook, eat, collect pecans (we're still working on shelling), and visit.  Pappaw was able to be there and then on Thanksgiving Day Grandma and Grandpa Haas and Aunt Trudy and Uncle Donnie came too.  It was a full house!  Do you like Dane's annual creative Thanksgiving facial hair?:)

Pantyhose fun!

Everyone got in on the action, even Grandma!

Elise loves Emylee Grace

Grammy and all the grandkids

Eli's birthday

Elise, Justus, and I were able to go celebrate Eli's 2nd birthday in early november.  The kids had a great time being together, except for when Justus was getting tackled by Eli:) The party was fun, complete with a fire and outdoor movie for the kids.  It's been a month since Eli's birthday, but Justus still sings "Hap Buhdaay Eli!"

Happy Birthday Eli!

Hanging out on a rusty tractor in the woods

Ready for bed

The response from these two when we say "Smile!"

Can you tell Justus isn't too keen on a picture with his Sissy?

Imagination

Kids will figure out how to have fun with or without toys.  The kids were out playing the other day.  I'm often amazed at their creativity and curiosity.  Reminding myself of this is giving me the urge to purge the toy box again!

Justus and Elise on their boat

Elise working at her "computer" (aka old honey frame)

The computer kept giving us commands!

Justus is always asking for his "ammer" to work on his nails in a log project