Christmas Eve Service

This year our boys had a part in the Christmas Eve service.

Judson was a sheep.....unwillingly.  Being a sheep is not really his thing, but getting a Hershey bar for participating sure is. :)

Christmas Sunday

Justin and his cousin, Rileigh.

My handsome Johnny.

The whole crew. 

Hoodview's Live Nativity

This year we decided to put on a live nativity at our church.  Our church in Centralia had held a live nativity for many years but felt the time had come to end that tradition. I have fond memories of being a part of that nativity, so I was excited that they were giving the scenes to our church.  :) With this being our first year we started off small with one scene and few participants.  Poor Johnny didn't feel good the first night.  My big boys and the Hans family were troopers doing the whole 2 hour shift. (Like I mentioned, we were short on our volunteers.) The second night Johnny was back to his old self- and we were able to switch out people throughout the night. Overall, the weekend went well, and it generated a little vision and excitement within our congregation for the coming years.

socks!

This year for pastor's appreciation our church really "socked it to us!"  They called our family up front and then chucked socks at us from all directions.  As you can imagine, the boys loved it!  They also loved opening the socks at home and finding the hidden treasures.  We are so thankful for such a loving and generous church family.

Campmeeting

The boys were asked to sing offertory for Tuesday evening of camp meeting.  Practicing for these such occasions is always hilarious.  Maybe not so hilarious at the time, especially when it is the night before, but BJ and I are learning to loosen up- a little.

How can we not crack up when Judson and Josiah join in?

And especially when they are reading their words, but two out of three of them can't read!

They sang a song that we learned from our dear friends', the Voetbergs,  a Jesus Loves Me/So Deep medley. 

They did a great job, and this mama was so proud.  :)

Our church held a banquet in celebration of our 40+ year relationship with the Virays of Manilla, Phillipines.  As part of the celebration we honored Eldo and Jeanette Miller, who have since gone to be with the Lord, for their gift to the Virays many years ago that allowed them to purchase land for their first church building.  The Lord has certainly blessed their labors.  Their congregation has planted over 20 congregations!  

My mom happened to be up visiting us so she got to come too!  Jared was a server for our table and did an excellent job.  :)

Home group bbq

I didn't get too many pictures, but we had fun hosting a barbecue for the end of our home group.  We spent 17 weeks together learning how to love, lead, and train our kiddos.  A long class, but well worth it!

Lighthouse Gospel Quartet

Uncle Dallas's group, the Lighthouse Quartet, came to sing at our church.  They did a great job! The highlight for me was spending a little time with Aunt Linda.  There are many days I reminisce about her  unannounced visits to chat and check in on me or the delicious chocolate cream pies she would deliver for my birthday or having her and Uncle Dallas stop by to share a piece of cake to celebrate one of our boy's birthdays.  Good times in Centralia....and so thankful for the relationship we built with them while living there. :)

Away in a Manger

 I was so proud of my boys last Sunday evening at our church choir cantata.  It is a joy to hear them perform musically.  They have made a lot of progress over the last year.  Jared and Jesse played an arrangement of Away in a Manger and Justin sang a verse.  So cute!

I was in the back with the twins, but I guess Judson Lee was on the front row poking at Johnny while the boys were playing.  BJ ended up signaling for him to come up front and hold his hand.  He needed a little help being a good boy. :)  The choir up on the stage got a good laugh watching the whole ordeal. 

Round up Sunday

To kick start the fall season, our church has a history of Round-Up Sundays. Always fun to dress western for the day and enjoy food and fellowship after the service. :)

Big boys' special music

Last Sunday my three big boys sang for the offeratory. BJ and I were so proud of them...and thrilled to hear them sing in three part harmony. 

BTW- this was during practice.  We don't just let Jud and Johnny run wild during service. :)

The Voetberg Family concert

A few weeks back we asked our friends, the Voetbergs, to do a concert at our church. We had such a good evening...actually day. Our dear friends, the Wohlds, came for the day to attend our service in the morning, hang out, and go to the concert in the evening. The concert also brought many other wonderful friends there for us to see again. I have to say, for as tired as I was when we left the church at 9:30pm that night, BJ and I were so encouraged to be with our friends. The Voetbergs have been such an inspiration to us through this journey of parenting. We met them when we moved to Centralia 8 years ago. Joe and Lisa are wonderful role models who invested in us as young parents.

Yeah...Grandpa and Grandma came!

Here is Annnie, our big boys' old fiddle teacher. :)

Jared loves babies...which is a good thing, considering our recent news. :) He was thrilled to entertain Lucy. It's always good to hang out with the Wohlds. It had been too long and we really miss seeing them.

Such a blessing to see all the children sitting in a group on the floor to save seats for the adults! If you know the Voetbergs, you know that they are very relaxed and not distracted by little ones tottling around. We can't wait to have them back next year!