July, the Fourth!

Proud to be American!

The prep started on Saturday. Cammi came over and we worked on party favor rockets exploding with candy!

Here they are! The kids did most of the work themselves. This was the first project Rylan and Bree learned to use a hot glue gun on. Mommy was oh, so, proud! :)

Rylan's special project was strawberries dipped in white chocolate and blue dusting sugar. They tasted amazing!

So pretty!

This cherry pie made me feel VERY American! :)

I think the most fun was all the prep before the actual holiday. I just loved spending time with the kids, working on these projects and getting the chance to talk about our American heritage with them. I feel amazingly blessed that my parents spent so much time making sure I understood what it truly means to be an American and knowing our great nation's history, how it was rooted in faith in God. I hope that I can impart that to my children too. How blessed we are to live in a country whose beginnings speak so clearly of the favor of the Lord. I pray that our family continues to live our lives as a testament to that, and never forget to seek His precepts above all!

Rylan, Bree, and Elle all helped to make these yummy jello parfaits.

Each family at my mom and dad's Independence Day Barbecue came prepared with a reading, poem, or song to share. Wyatt presented a dramatic recitation of the Gettysburg Address, our kids sang 'God Bless America,' and there were many other beautiful readings we enjoyed listening to. Here is Rosalee, sharing some tips on flag tradition and etiquette.

Of course we had sparklers! Really smoky ones....

Grant was extremely fascinated by this trailer hitch.

Ivy made it through about half of the fireworks before going to bed, but the noise didn't seem to bother her at all!

I have no idea what you call this ball-on-rope, rung game, but the kids really enjoyed it!

Bree had fun with the bottle rockets!

It was a simply beautiful holiday. We are forever indebted to the men and women who gave their lives, so long ago, and today to secure our freedom. How wonderful it is to live in America where we can worship the Lord without fear!

LOVE

I don't know why, but Valentines Day is one holiday I never decorated for. This past week several of the kids have been sick with colds and flus and we've been stuck at home, so this afternoon I pulled out my craft stuff and added a couple "love-ly" touches to the house. And yes, I'm proud of that pun!

A few love notes, hiding in unexpected places.

A paper heart wreath in the dining room

and a stack of love letters.

Christmas!

Christmas at the Pennington home

This year we decorated with a vintage nature and music inspired theme. We really wanted to simplify Christmas this year and keep the focus on Christ, and one way to do that was to spend less money on decorations and ornaments. Rylan and Bree had fun making new paper star ornaments with Mommy. We used pages out of an old German hymnal that I picked up at the thrift shop. We also used the hymnal pages to wrap our Christmas gifts with.

Our tree with new ornaments this year! A lot of them handmade, with paper and whatnot. Lovely blues, greens and browns.

Christmas Eve cookies!

There were a few casualties....

One red hot candy for the cookie....two for me....one for the cookie...

Our frosted Gingerbread Baby, Grant

Aaron and his angel. Quite impressive, don't you think?

Christmas Festivities!

Here's the amazing labor of love that Aaron made for Rylan. He spent several days down at the farm building this beautiful work bench.

Rylan has been slightly obsessed with tools this past year and this is just perfect! It is super solid and weighs like a ton! I had a lot of fun individually wrapping each tool for him to open.

Bree received a princess dress-up themed gift from Aunt Marilyn. The dress is modified from one of Marilyn's party dresses when she was very small. I think my Great Grandma Opal made it, so this is a very special gift!

Ivy and Michelle

Funny bunny hair clips. Also from Aunt Marilyn. She knows how much our kids love dressing up.

BEAUTIFUL Christmas dinner table created by Michelle. Twig trees with floating paper birds. Lots of candlelight. Just beautiful!

Ivy, trying out Bree's new dolly stroller.

Showing off his new Knight costume from Michelle. Wyatt made him the sword and shield. Can you tell my kids like dress-up?

Cole built super cool catapults for all the boys.

Cuddling with Grandma and Grandpa. What a happy Christmas!

We are so blessed! Praise God for His indescribable gift of Christ Jesus, the ransom for our souls. How much we have to celebrate at Christmas!

Harvest Costumes!

The kids dressed up for our church's annual Harvest Party out at Jordan's Place. It was a big event this year with a lot of games and fun stuff set up for the kids.

Unfortunately, our smaller princess got sick about 30 minutes after we arrived so we had to leave, which was a bummer. Mike and Leia, Cole, and Cammi were kind enough to keep track of Rylan and Bree though, so they were able to stay and enjoy the party!

The kids really wanted to choose their own costumes this year and here's what Rylan and Bree agreed upon:

A Knight in Shining Armor, 2 Medieval Princesses, and a Dragon!

If you can't tell by now, Bree is in the cheesy smile stage of childhood. :)

A pretty vicious dragon!

Pumpkin Carving

Tonight was pumpkin carving night!

Rylan wanted an "angry face."


Directing Daddy on the detailing, apparently :)


Bree actually thought it was pretty fun scooping out her pumpkin.


What a chilly October night! Rylan commented that it looked like his pumpkin stole something from Bree's pumpkin. Bree's pumpkin looks shocked and Rylan's has a pretty naughty smirk.

A few Easter 2010 pictures!

Finally getting these Easter pics up. It was a beautiful day. Spent the morning with our church family at Prairie Wind Candlewood, and then had lunch at Grandma Schoening's. First time in several years we didn't have to wear coats for the Easter egg hunts. The kids had a great time outside all day long.