New Year's Eve Snowstorm!

Our tumbleweed snowman became a real one today when we received around six inches of snow! Tim has lived here in Cottonwood for 14 years and says he's never seen it snow here like it did today. My kids (except for Selah) loved playing in the snow, and it kept them occupied all of the morning and most of the afternoon. 

Tirzah enjoyed the snow the most. She begged me to take everyone to the park because there is a small hill there and wanted to go sledding down the hill. I didn't though--she had a play date with a friend of hers and I was not up to taking five kids (especially a toddler who intensely disliked the snow) by myself sledding at the park. (Can you blame me?)

Before we made our snowman, Sunshine, we watched several videos on youtube so they would all know what to do. By the end of the second video, the kids were so ready to make their own. Here is a picture of Sunshine, our snowman. (If you're wondering about the snowman's cheeks--I read about putting red food coloring in water and spraying it on the snowman's cheeks to look rosy so decided to give it a try. Unfortunately, the red cap was on the yellow bottle (the kids had used my food coloring when they experimented making their own paint a few weeks ago) so our snowman ended up with yellow cheeks! :)

Acarith decided to make her own little snowman (she loves to be independent when she does projects). Hers turned out so cute!

Tim also had joined in the fun and he and I attempted to build a snowman. His idea of building one involved a shovel and a big piece of board, while mine had the rolling-the-snow-in-a-ball method. Well, we combined the two but when he used his board to "pat" down my snowman's middle ball...you could just imagine what happened. Anyways, it was our first time building one together and we laughed through it all. Afterwards, Tim made everyone hot chocolate...a perfect way to end making snowmen! We made some wonderful family memories to celebrate the end of 2014. Hope you all have a very Happy New Year!

Sunday Christmas Pictures!

One tradition I have every year is to take pictures of the kids under our tree the Sunday morning before Christmas. This year I didn't know until picture time that my camera battery was dead, and also my backup camera's battery was dead! I had a decision to make: do I wait 15 minutes to charge the batteries and arrive a little later to church (still 15 min. before service) or do I skip taking pictures this year? Obviously you can see which choice I made! I am so glad I did--I always cherish these pictures.

The girls looked so adorable in their Christmas dresses!

Me with my handsome Hardy boy. I thought Tirzah did a great job taking this picture! He wanted me to be in the picture with him. Awww....

Last Sunday evening my junior church class, with the help of the two and three year old class and a few teens, put on the Christmas play "Wise Men Still Seek Him." Our church had a record-high of 78 attend and three people accepted Christ as their Savior. It was a great night!

Tirzah did an AWESOME job playing a girl named Anna. She really is gifted in acting, and, in my non-biased opinion :), did the best job! :)

Acarith was a sheep and her teacher Debi was a big help making the costumes and organizing the girls for the nativity scene.

Hardy was an adorable Wise Man and really did a good job. He remembered every line and really sang out. I believe singing is one of Hardy's gifts, and it's fun to watch him enjoy his gift.

I can't post any more pictures during the actual play because I was too busy directing and playing the piano to get pictures, but am hoping to round some up from friends who took pictures in the audience.

I hope you all are celebrating with us the birth of our Savior. Have a Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving time with Family!

For Thanksgiving, my family drove up to spend the holiday with us. Tim and I enjoyed getting all the food prepared and executed. Tim brined the turkey, which turned out delicious, and I branched out by making ham in a crockpot and also stuffing in a crockpot, which turned out great! Since Mom brought her delicious apple pies and famous rolls, we definitely had plenty of good food to eat.

 

The kids enjoyed sitting at their little kid table, and Selah was thrilled to join them for the first time. They also loved the sparkling cider that went along with their meal.

It was great for all of us (my parents--Ed and Sandy Wilhelm--and my brothers--Stephen and Jonathan--and my Uncle Mark) to be together. Since last year we didn't get together because of dad's heart surgery, it was special we were able to be together this year.

After lunch, the kids enjoyed the uncles playing Legos with them. I think the uncles had a good time too!

Selah even surprised me and at one point "showed off" all her words to everyone. Every animal, color, family member, food, she said. Mom thinks she said about 50 different words. Some cute things: she calls Hardy "Ha-Ha," all her "s" words begin with a "d" (like star is dar), and she calls herself "See-See." So cute! I was thrilled she did that for Mom and Dad.

Since the kids were sad to say goodbye to everyone Friday afternoon, I took them down the road in search of tumbleweeds; I wanted us to make a cute tumbleweed snowman, and was excited we found several good pieces. We brought them back and got to work: Tim got out his paint sprayer and painted them white (he said he was glad to have a good excuse to get rid of some cheap white paint he had), we put them on a pole, and then found stuff for the eyes, nose, and mouth. I think our tumbleweed snowman turned out so cute!

We had a great time; I am so thankful for all the blessings the Lord showers on my family. Hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving!

Making decorations for Thansgiving!

The girls really wanted to make some decorations for Thanksgiving. We finally decided to make a turkey for a table centerpiece and a handprint thankful chart. Acarith especially loved the excuse to get busy painting the feathers (craft sticks) for the turkey.

Tirzah is the arts and craftsy one of the bunch. She really has a creative flair, and I always enjoy seeing her creations come together.

Well, this is what happens when I leave the room for 30 seconds! Selah, of course, wanted to get in on all the action. Fortunately, all craft paint in my house is waterproof, so I'm thankful for that!

I know it sounds kind of crazy, but I have thoroughly enjoyed Selah's toddler stage. She gets into trouble and can really make messes, but she really is a lot of fun. I honestly do love her adventuresome spirit!

Hardy also enjoys doing crafts. He's not overly fond of crafts like Tirzah, but definitely game for anything that requires paint! He actually switched to using a marker for his feathers, because he wanted to "draw some really cool designs on them." :)

 

Here's the turkey! Everyone really liked how it turned out. (By the way, aren't my kids adorable? I love this picture of them!)

 

We made a thankful tree with everyone's handprints. The kids enjoyed saying what they were thankful for and I will always treasure this. We are looking forward to Thanksgiving and just enjoying spending some time together as a family.

From our family to yours, I hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving Day!

Stephen's 40th Birthday Party!

My older brother--way older brother by two years:)--turned 40 on Friday, October 24th. To celebrate the occasion, our family drove down to Tempe, and my parents and brother Jonathan drove up from Sierra Vista so we could all get together.

My brother is really into computers. If you, too, are a computer geek, you will get a kick out of what his shirt said: There are two kinds of people in this world: those who can extrapolate from incomplete data. (Huh? It took me a little bit to get, too!) Tim sums it up like this: There are basically two types of people in this world: those that get my shirt and those who don't. :)

When we got there, Stephen and Tim left to go pick up pizza from Spinatos (a delicious Chicago- style pizza) while I, dad, and Jonathan helped decorate Stephen's apartment. Mom helped by watching the kids. Acarith especially loved sitting and hanging out with Grandma. Jonathan, Tirzah, and Hardy did a great job helping decorate with black balloons and black streamers.

Selah enjoyed lying down on Uncle Stephen's California king size bed. She didn't take a nap, but she did get some rest.

All the kids were excited to be with Grandma. We were only there for four hours, so it was a short but sweet trip.

Did I mention the pizza? Oh yeah--one of the best I have ever had. The thin crust tomato, basil, and olive oil was delicious. Everyone enjoyed the lunch and were soon ready for the cake.

Stephen wanted a chocolate cake, so I made him a chocolate cream cake with a delicious chocolate ganache frosting and mom and dad bought fun kinds of ice cream to go with it. He got a kick out of the tombstone that I placed in front of it.

All in all, it was a good time for us to be together.  

 

Fall Photos of the Kids

I love how these turned out! They were hard to do all by myself, but the three older kids did a great job so it wasn't too bad. Because Selah's a hard age to take pictures, Tirzah volunteered to hold her on her lap and it worked for a decent picture.

 

Hardy is my natural poser. He's also such a handsome little guy!

Selah did great for her individual picture. I love this flower clip in her hair; she actually kept it in until I took it out hours later for her afternoon nap!

 

I did a halo braid in Tirzah's hair with an orange rose clip; it was so cute and even looked good by night time to wear to our mid-week service at church!

 

I love Acarith's natural look here. Such a sweet picture of her.

Obviously you can see I am so proud of my children; we are so thankful for each one of the Lord gave to us!

Our Baby Girl!

Our Selah Joy is now officially 18 months old! I took these pictures of her in our front yard and she cooperated pretty well for the camera. I say she's our baby girl, but really she's turning into a little girl. You know your kids are no longer babies when you can travel with just a suitcase of clothes and a pack 'n play. :) A few weeks ago she even graduated out her high chair in the dining room, and now eats at the table on the bench right by her sister.

 

It's interesting to see how each of the other kids interact with Selah. Tirzah is the mother hen, always there to find the blankie in time of need or the first one to tell me Selah wants her diaper changed. Hardy loves to play with Selah and does for about a half an hour each day. He is goofie and can really make her laugh. Acarith is a cross between one moment being a responsible mother hen and then the next being Selah's partner in crime. Those two girls really get along great, and I'm so thankful the Lord gave us Selah to be there for Acarith.

 

Having a toddler in the house can be challenging, but also fun! I truly am enjoying Selah's stage in life. She is really into animal sounds and making motions for animals. She can moo, mew, bark, be a monkey, do the cutest bear, do a shark motion with her hand and make the du-nuh-du-nuh sound, and her favorite is putting her hands in circles over her eyes for a raccoon!

Her fun personality and mischievous ways have endeared her to us, and we are so thankful she is a part of our family. I know she's no longer a baby, but she will always be our baby girl!

Starting School!

Today Hardy started his first day of school! We decided to have him do Abeka video school from Pensacola, Florida. His first grade teacher's name is Miss Wieler, and he LOVES her! Today he didn't even want to go on break! He told me he just wanted to keep doing school! I am so thankful Hardy started off school with a great start!

Tirzah is in the third grade and her teacher's name is Mrs. Achuff. She actually started school on Monday. I had her start ahead of Hardy so she would get the hang of her routine before Hardy started up. She is liking her new class and teacher as well.

Hardy does his schooling in our main living room. The girls, Acarith and Selah, surprisingly did well with this. I had them do room time together and then play outside together. Selah takes a nap around 10:45, so by the time she laid down, things were going pretty well for Hardy. Then I worked with Acarith at the table for about 20 min. on learning her letters and numbers while also keeping my eye on Hardy to make sure he was paying attention in his Numbers class.

Here is Tirzah at her desk holding up her Math book. She was pretty surprised they already started reviewing times tables from second grade. She told me she was secretly hoping it would be awhile! :)

Everyone wants to know how I do schooling with the kids, so this basically sums it up--you just take one day at a time. If you set up a schedule, the more smoother it will all be, so make sure you have a game plan before you start schooling so it will go well. It doesn't guarantee every day to be perfect, but it does help you--and the kids--to know what you're doing each day. I hope everyone's new school year out there is off to a great start like ours!

Hardy and Tirzah's Double Birthday Party!

Hardy turned six on July 14th and Tirzah turned 8 on July 21st. Because we were going to be on vacation during their birthdays, we decided to throw them a double birthday party the Friday before we left on vacation. We decided to have a cookout, and about 35 people came to the party. I made Hardy a chocolate cake with peanut butter filling with two transformer toys on top. Tirzah's was a strawberry cheesecake cake (with real cheesecake in the middle and fresh strawberry filling) with cute little garden creatures. Those cakes took awhile to put together, but they were so delicious--it was worth it. :)

Here Selah and I are in the living room, watching Tirzah and Hardy open up the gifts. After presents, we played some ring toss and then went outside to play to spray silly string over the front yard. It was such a fun night!

Acarith was great at the party. I must admit, I wondered how she would handle Hardy and Tirzah getting blessed with so many gifts, but she was so mature about it. Before bed that night she said, "Mama, I remember my party at the Rice's house and how I got lots of presents."

No doubt about it, we are so blessed. All of our friends and family showered love upon us, and we are so thankful for all the friendships the Lord has given to our family.

Happy 4th of July!

Our Fourth of July was wonderful! Normally we would have lots of people over for a party, but this year we decided to just have it as a family affair. After our barbequed chicken meal, we headed to play at the park. The kids had a blast and were able to play with several other kids there. The weather was breezy and cool--perfect for being at a park. Acarith really wanted to wear her princess dress (she pointed out the colors red, white, and blue are on it!) and I agreed. She is the little fashion bug of our family.

Selah loves to do everything at the park: the swing, the slide, and even just rolling around in the nice green grass! This time it was fun for her because now she can walk and climb the whole swingset play area (much to Ruth Ann's fear at times!). Hardy let her borrow his little blue ball that lights up and she held it almost the whole time while she did everything! She had a ball (pun intended)!

Hardy and Tirzah love playing on the monkey bars. Though they are older, they still really enjoy going to Garrison Park. Now we pack up scooters and bikes for them to enjoy at the park also.

I did Tirzah's hair in this star hairstyle. It was so easy to do and looked so cute!

Tim had a ball too! He discovered going down the hill with one leg on each of the kids' scooters was a blast! He never fell one time in all his daring tricks he tried!

After the park we went to a friend's house and watched the fireworks from his patio. I think Selah enjoyed them the most! She was clapping and saying, "Wow, whee, yay, oohh, ooohh." It was adorable. Everyone really enjoyed hearing her exclaiming over those fireworks! From our house to yours, I hope you had a happy 4th of July!

Having Fun in the Pool

It is getting hot here! We are enjoying our pools. We have two pools: a kiddie pool for Acarith and Selah and then a 10ft around by 4ft deep pool for the rest of us. It is nice to have a way to cool off. In this picture, Acarith, Tirzah, and Hardy had fun dunking their hair!
 
 

Here the girls are, playing with their little mermaids in the pool. Selah wasn't overly thrilled of the pool, but she didn't protest either. I'm sure in a few weeks, she'll adjust! 

Tirzah loves, loves the pool. She would beg Tim to put up the pool. Tim told her when she heard him complain about the heat, she could tell him it was time to put up the pool. He was joking around with her, but Tirzah took him literally. The first complaint that came out of his mouth, she reminded him about his bargain! It was so funny!

Last year, Hardy didn't really get into swimming in the pool, but we've noticed he's different this summer. He especially loves his little "noodle" and is already starting to be very adventurous and more daring. We're going to put all the kids in swimming lessons in a few weeks at the Rec Center, so hopefully by the end of the summer they will be great at swimming. Hope you all are enjoying your summer like we are enjoying ours!