Thursday, March 27, 2008

We have a Teen in the house!

Jenny turns 13 today! How quickly thirteen years have gone!

She loves being a Tomboy---
with long hair and long nails! Those things don't slow her down at all!

Jenny can often be found with Jack and Joe outside---riding their bikes, playing in the clubhouse, swimming, climbing trees, and saving animals from the cats. She's the only one who's had a chipmunk run out of one of the cat's mouth, up her shirt and onto her head! Yikes! Many little critters can thank Jenny for their lives!



She also loves her chickens. Jenny enjoys riding horses and was hoping for a donkey this year. Unfortunately, they were all sold out!


Our thirteen years with Jenny have been filled with so many wonderful things! She has amazed us with her incredible imagination since she was very little playing with "her guys" to now with her writing ability. She keeps the two little guys busy playing with all of her animals and can make up some awesome stories for Nate and Ellie!

Jenny's love for reading amazes us (and the librarians!). If I give her a book for school that should last for at least two weeks, she usually has it finished within two days (sometimes reading until the wee hours---like mother, like daughter!).

Over the years, we've found Jenny reading in many interesting spots. Here are a sample of some of them:



Jenny was thrilled when we found out that Ellie was a girl. Now little Ellie is thrilled with Jenny. Ellie absolutely adores her big sister, and I will often hear her calling for Jenny---"Jenny, where are you?" She definitely has a love of kids, as many of her little Cubbies from church would agree.
We are so blessed to have Jenny as our daughter and are thrilled to see the young gal she is becoming! God has given her such an amazing imagination and ability to express herself. He has also blessed her with a great sense of who she is in Him.

Happy 13th Jenny! We love you so very much!

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

March Madness


If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste adversitty, prosperity would not be so welcome. Anne Bradstreet


So, we're all ready for the snow to melt and the temperature to increase. The kids have had a wonderful winter of playing in the snow and are now ready to play in "The Pond" that shows up for a day or two every spring.

We've had so much snow this winter that the kids were able to climb up snow mounds right onto the pig shed roof. One day they took their reading books out and finished their reading on the roof! The 2008 winter will be one that they remember!

Here's Jack jumping out of the Clubhouse window---the snow piles have been awesome for them to land in!



And here's our Fearless Leader having some fun with the Eau Claire guys!