The holidays have almost come and gone. I can't believe how fast it goes by! All the preparation and anticipation! Well, there was a lot of anticipation in our house this year. We were worried that we would not see any snow for Christmas. As you can see below, we all had to take a peek outside to see if the snow was here yet! Well, we got our wish and we even got to go sledding! Rowen loved her first sledding experience and she even bacame a local celebrity! Two news crews stopped and asked if they could interview us and video Rowen going down the hill!!! We were so proud! Of course we recorded it so that we can watch it over and over.~Maya and Rowen looking to see if they can see any snowflakes yet.~

~Maya and Layton on snowflake duty!~

~No snowflakes yet!~

We only had to wait a couple more days and we were able to play in the snow!!!

~As you can see, Rowen LOVED it!~

~Jason pulling Rowen to the "sledding hill".~

~Rowen's fifteen minutes of fame!~

Thankfully, the snow stayed until Christmas morning....it was a beautiful day! We were able to share Christmas with Jason's side of the family. We opened presents and then piled into the car and drove to Philadelphia to spend the remainder of Christmas with the rest of the family. Mom Mom DeLue and Aunt Ellen made a delicious meal for all 13 of us! The next day we drove to Delaware to see Mom Mom Argo. We had such a wonderful time seeing everyone! We are so very blessed!

~Christmas jammies!~

~Jason and Rowen at Mom Mom DeLue's house.~

~Rowen in her Christmas dress.~

~Some of the girls recovering after dinner!~

~Jason and Uncle Ralph "showing" Rowen how her new toy works.~

~Mom and Dad watching Rowen enjoying her toys.~

~A wonderful time had by all!~

Oh Christmas Tree!

We finally got our Christmas tree! He is VERY big and a little too fat, but he will do the job. Now all we have to do is get it decorated!

On the Road Again!

We were very busy in the month of November. We were able to go to Grand Rapids, MI to visit our dear friends. Jason was able to hunt with the guys and Rowen and I were able to shop with the girls ( Rowen and I were more successful than Jason :) ! While we were there, our wonderful friends, Chris and Erin Brown, held a little party for us so that we could see everyone at one time. It was so lovely spending time with everyone that we have missed greatly! We love all of you!~Erin and Baby Lydia~

~Mickayla and Rowen playing music for us at the party.~

~ Jason, our dear freind Amy, me and Rowen~

~We love you Brett and Sarah!~

~Mickayla and Rowen all ready for a day of shopping!~

~Rowen's first carousel ride.~



One of the highlights of the trip was going with Melinda for a little makeover. It was so much fun and she looks beautiful!

~Before~

After! Doesn't she look amazing?!


After our trip to Michigan, we headed out to Rochester, NY for Thanksgiving dinner at my cousin Liesl's and her husband Ryan's new beautiful home. Dinner was amazing and we all had a fantastic time!

~Ryan and Liesl~

~Rowen enjoying her yummy dinner.~

~Liesl, my mom, and me. ~

We hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and felt as blessed as we did this year. Love and Blessings to all of you!

Trunk or Treat!

Every year our church puts on a safe, fun alternative to traditional "trick or treating". People from our church open their trunks and decorate them in all different amazing themes (nothing scary) and hand out candy. I wish I had pictrues of the fantastic trunks, but I guess I was distracted by an adorable butterfly :) ! After going through all of the cars, we had an awesome artist give a salvation message through art. We have hundreds come out and it is so much fun!~The cutest little butterfly!~

~It did not take long at all for Rowen to get the hang of picking out candy. She couldn't wait to get to the next trunk.~

~She loved picking out her own candy!~

~We even saw an adorable little lion named Cami, but the butterfly Rowen saw more candy to get and was too antsy to pose for a picture.~

~We hope everyone had as much fun as we did!~

Election Fatigue

I don't know about any of you, but I can NOT wait until this election is over. I am so over the commercials of candidates putting each other down and pointing out faults of the other candidate. I am so tired of the media only supporting one view. I hate the fact that this election can bring out the worst among friends that may not see eye to eye.

I just pray that God will have His hand on this election and on this country that so often shuts Him out. His grace and mercy amazes me when I look at the blessings that our country has despite our constant rejection of His wisdom, love, and forgiveness. I know that no matter what happens, He is in control. My prayer is that our next president will look to Christ for wisdom and strength.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you . You will seek me and find me WHEN you seek me with all your heart."

Jeremiah 29:11-13

Dots and Daisies!!!

Rowen's 1st birthday was September 13th. We held the party at a park nearby (we call it the duck pond). We were blessed with lots of sunshine and lots of fun!

~The theme was polka dots and daisies; I was very happy with how her cake turned out:)~

~We all had our own bag of duck food and were able to let the ducks in on our party!~

~The Argos!~

~Two proud Grandmas~

~Rowen LOVED her cake! She loved it so much she cried when it was all gone!~

~Rowen's new stroller and baby doll that Mom Mom and Pop Pop Argo got her at FAO Shwartz on our last trip to the city.~

~Cami, Dylan, and Rowen having so much fun!~

~Rowen with her cousins Alicia and Danielle.~

~Rowen ,me, Mom Mom Argo, and Great Mom Mom DeLue~

We had a beautiful, perfect day to celebrate our precious little girl's 1st birthday. Thank you to all of our family and friends who made it so very special. We are so blessed!!!

Sweet September

September is gone and it will hold a lot of great memories. We were able to meet our dear friends, the Robisons, ( from Michigan) in Las Vegas for vacation. We had a fabulous time! It was so great to see them after almost a year! We went from seeing them almost everyday to now twice a year. We use to have dinner together about two times a week. They became our family when we lived so far away from our own. We love them dearly and are so very, very blessed to have them in our lives. Although we are now far apart, our friendship will always span the miles!~Rowen loves to look out the window of the plane!~
~Daddy and Rowen on the plane~

~ The best buffet restaurant I have ever experienced. They had everything from sushi to crab legs, to make your own omelet bar. They also had the most beautiful desserts I have ever seen~

~The amazing desserts!~

~The fabulous Venetian Hotel~

~We were also able to see Jason's Uncle Joe who lives in Las Vegas. He spoiled us for the day and took us to a great aquarium and the Mandalay Bay and then took us to a gorgeous restaurant for a delicious lunch. It was SO wonderful to see him. We miss you Uncle Joe!!!~

~We could not believe how much Rowen enjoyed the aquarium. She loved all of it~

~Rowen and her Great Uncle Joe~

~Dan and Melinda in their hot little ride!~

~Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!~

~All of us at at Red Rock Canyon~

~My favorite picture of my favorite people.~

~The M&M store~

~We even got to see a 3D movie at the M&M Theater.~


~Princess Mickayla Jo~

~Princess Rowen and Momma at MGM watching the feeding of the lions!

~Jason and my favorite thing to do in Vegas was to go to the fountains outside of the Bellagio Hotel (also our favorite hotel). We even got a cd that had some of the music that the fountains were set too. It was indescribable!~

~Paris Hotel~

~"The girls" in front of the Bellagio watching the fountains.~

~The fantastic Italian glass in the amazing Bellagio.~

Thank you Daniel, Melinda, and Mickayla for such a wonderful time! We love you!

Not only were we able to see our dear friends, but we also celebrated our precious little girl's 1st birtday (I'll post pics of her party soon!). It was truly a very sweet September.