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!

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!

Sweet Thing is 2!

How can it be that our Sweet Thing has gone from this

to this?

Happy Birthday Ellie Romell! You are such a important part of our family! We love how you can sing and can't wait to hear you bellow out "Happy Birthday to You!" tonight. Your love of being in "the middle of it all" keeps us all on our toes but brings so many smiles and laughs.

You are a wonderful artist who can entertain yourself for long amounts of time with just a piece of paper and pen (or pencil or marker or permanent marker).

How can this dimple not bring a smile to our faces?!?

We love having dolls around the house again.

And your pure excitement over the "little things" in life make us all realize how much joy we take for granted.

You have brought us so much joy Ellie! How blessed we are to have you in our family.

Here's your buddy Nate already showering you with love and attention. You and Natey are best buds!

You and Natey having a snack together---

The two of you trying to figure out how to use frozen bubbles!

Remember when you and Joe helped Dad remodel the kitchen?
Your first stuffed animal from Jack.

And the one person in the world who can help you stop crying as well as Mom can---your beloved Jenny!

We love you so much Ellie Romell! What a wonderful night it was two years ago when we first met you---I'll never forget how special your birth was and the depth of love I felt for you after I first cuddled with you! What a gift from God you are to all of us!

And at the end of the day, we all feel like you do---

Happy Second Birthday Sweetie!

Happy Birthday Papa!

Today is Papa's birthday! We are very excited that we will be able to spend a few days with Papa to celebrate.

We are so blessed to have a man like Papa in our lives. He has shown our kids what a man of integrity is and has lived out perserverance through trials with humility and grace. He says he is just another ragamuffin. We know what a special man God created him to be. Papa has touched so many lives, especially the last eleven years. His devotion to his family is a wonderful example to all of us of being a servant. His sense of humor continues to bring us smiles and reminds us of the importance of laughter.

Thank you Dad for your love, your dedication, and your example.

"For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory." 1 Thessalonians 2:11-12

Thank you for your encouragement, comfort and urging over the years. We love you so very much!

My life (Joe)

These are some pictures of my life. I love pogo sticks! My record for bounces is 1000 bounces!

Boy can I golf or what?

Aaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!! I'm a tin man, Jenny's a loin, and Jack's a scarecrow with a black eye!!! Make that blue.

Does he look sick to you or what?

Ya know those days when you're just so bored?

Iiiiieeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!! I loved it when we went down the slides!!!!!

She'll be comin round the tunnel when she comes....

I don't know what I was trying to do here. It was either the hula dance, or I was playing basketball.

This was at Okoboji. I can't remember if somebody said: Boy that Boy can throw!!!

Happenings

It's been a fun week! Jack turned 11 and is on his way to becoming a rock star!

He's decided to grow out his hair again! Jack and Joe already have one song that they've composed---"Saturday Night".

Yesterday we had snow all day. It is just beautiful! I think we got around 6". Jack, Joe, Nate, Ellie and I ventured out to spend some time in the fresh snow. Ellie decided she didn't need boots or mittens and after realizing how cold the snow really was, went in to play with Jack.

Joe and Nate spent a lot of time sledding. Nate rides in back and can't see where they are going but has a huge smile on his face the whole time! One time down Nate got a "facial". He didn't mind at all---brushed the snow off and jumped back on the sled.

Our power was out for about three hours last night. We had lots of candles lit and felt like we were living in the days when our home was built. I can't imagine how cold it was in the house throughout the winter.

One day this week I noticed that the big bowl of popcorn we made was missing. Also missing was the black marker. Lo and behold, I went into the living room and look what I found:

Ellie managed to write in Jenny's Bible, my Bible and color the globe. We probably will continue to find her artwork. She gets hold of a marker and she is dangerous!

Happy Birthday Jack!

Our MacFreak is 11!

It's hard to believe that it was 11 years ago when I first looked into your eyes. How thrilling to finally meet you! I'll never forget studying your face and admiring your little toes and fingers. I looked out the window at the hospital and saw steam come off the river---what a cold day you were born on!

Your first pet---Fluffy!

Many great memories---

Little did I know on that day the journey you would take us on. We have learned so many things through you Jack---everything there is to know about plankton, jellyfish, slugs, underwater life, the solar system, Robot Wars, freshwater fish, Star Wars, power parachutes, and computer programming!

Remember your goal to make 100 baskets at Okoboji? You did it in three days!

Or how about the year you picked out rocks for all of your family at Okoboji---Dad took at least two big sand pails of rocks out of our room each night! You spent lots of time finding the "perfect one" for everyone.

You've made hundreds of Lego creations----

Having fun with your buddies in the mud---

Making "Jack's pizza!"-----------

Remember losing your front tooth on the day Nate was born?
Not many kids would trade their long hair for a zip drive (and get a short-term mullet to tease their uncle---business in the front, party in the back!)

You are such a special part of our family, and we're so thankful that God gave you to us! We pray that you are able to use all of the gifts He's given you to bring Him glory. Thanks for adding new words to our vocabulary----Cozy Pin, double-pitch black hair, obnoxified. Thanks for filling our home with music----rocking to the Boogie Woogie and many Star Wars tunes. Thanks for blessing us with that "million dollar smile". Thanks for keeping Dad and me on our toes with all our your interests. We love you very much Jackie Boy! We know your eleventh year will be an exciting one!