Of winter & wintery things

Wow, I am really behind... I haven't blogged on here since Nov.1. But see its not my fault, I was given a eepad for a early Christmas gift by my dear husband. :) Now I don't have to go up on the desk top PC to go online, but I haven't figured out how to put pics on my blog through the eepad. So, its not my fault... Wrong! I have no one to blame but my self.
 Enough of that line of thought, lets see where do I begin?

Some things never change! Ashlyn is still as silly as ever.:)
 A big change was when Shane went from 7 to 8! He was thrilled to finally be the big 8.:)

The day after his birthday party was a sick day for Ashlyn.:(

 That horrid flu took its rounds through our family the first weeks of December, just when it seemed like it would never end, we were all healthy again.

String lights are so fun! That little boy in the background  totally ruined this string... If you twist the bulbs around while they are lit they will burn out. Oh will it was just lights.

My two big helpers! Washing the dishes was so much fun :)

The Christmas program was nearly cancelled with all the sickness among the students [or cast].:) When the night came for the program they were all able to be there. The directors chose the perfect play for this year, because of how messed up it was intended to be I had no idea when they missed a line or two.:)

Squinkies,football,semi,legos,stroller,doll... Presents are so much fun!

Now we are off to PA for Christmas! This is a story in its self. We had plans to drive all  the way out there. No, I was not looking forward to that long drive. Not one bit! But we had to get there somehow & driving was the cheapest way to go. About 10 days before we left our friend Rick offered us a ride to OH on his plane! Wonderful!!! We still had 4 + hours to drive from there, but no complaining here! That is a fraction of the hours it takes to drive all the was from here. It seemed crazy on Sunday morning while we were at church, to think that by late that evening we would be in PA.:)
 I am telling you if your gonna fly private planes are THE way to go.:) No security checks, no running to catch your plane!

 Looking towards the front to see how Rick does things.:)

 Can't make much sense out of this one? It was tight in there & they were all trying to watch Cole play angry birds.

Horrors! He has blue snot...

Olivia Wengerd & Ashlyn... We slept at Carl's the first two nights we were there. Mom & Dad's house can only sleep so many people then it is FULL.
 Olivia & Ashlyn enjoyed playing together. :) My dad has always thought Olivia looks like Ash. Maybe a little, but their actions make them look more alike.:)
 Now lets go to Grandma's house for Christmas!

 The lovely Mr & Mrs Shetler... Mr. cuteness himself is Logan.

 The girls... They thought they didn't have nearly enough time together with Emily!

 The boys...

 There is my Cole that loves smiling for my camera.

 All the presents at Grandpa's!

 This will be a treasured picture! Seems like I don't take near enough pics of the children with  their grandparents.

 SNOW!!! There was an abundance of it this year. It was gorgeous to see & so fun to play in!

 The girls in the tree... Not sure why this was so fun???

 I remember breaking off icicles when I was little. They find it just as much fun as I used too.:)
There was so much snow while we were there that we couldn't go visiting like we usually do. The van we rented was horrible in the snow, so we spent most of our time hanging out at my parents house. I  was sad that I didn't get to see people like, Mary Hochstetler, Elaine Miller, & many more! I am so glad we stayed at Carl's or we would not have seen them either!
 Our flight home went well & we were all ready to see our cozy house again. Well it was not so cozy... The boiler was not working, so the water froze... We did have two electric heaters going to warm the place up a bit, but when its bitterly cold outside they just don't keep up.
 Our landlord came out as soon as he heard our plight, they got the water thawed & running again. The boiler is still touch & go.:( Some days Dale can get it to work & it roasts me out of the house, other days it just stubbornly refuses to work. The repair guy is waiting on parts again.:( Mr. Chris feels so bad that its taking so long, but it can't be helped.
 Speaking of cold. We have seen some serious cold this winter. -0 many nights & only getting up in the teens during the day. We have had snow on the ground all month, unusual for the valley! The children have gone sledding on our hills many times. Its great fun to fly down those "cliffs".:) The walking back up is where its not so fun.

Sierra seems to think that emptying out my Tupperware several times a day is her personal duty. :( She also enjoys the lid drawer, but when she tried it with some of the other cabinets I said enough is enough!
 She is saying more & more words. I have also gotten her to do a bit of sign language, she picks that up real fast! Nights are going a lot better, she still wakes up several times. Normally all she needs is her pacifier put back in a the tag of her blanket tucked back in her hand.:) Its so nice to have her wake up happy!
 The past month I have been helping Inez some at the store till she gets a replacement for Erin. I enjoy working there & Dale is a great sitter for the children.:) I sure couldn't handle working full time plus coming home & taking care of my family the way some moms do! Gives me a fresh appreciation for the blessing I have of being able to stay at home with my children & only going to work for fun.:)
 This week I started painting our 3 bathrooms. I have 2 down & 1 to go.:) Its so fun to give things a fresh look. I didn't realize for old & dirty the walls looked till I put paint on them! The downstairs bathroom I painted 2 shades of gray, the master bathroom is aqua with brown accents & the children's bathroom I am still trying to decide what color to paint.
 Whew, that's quite the update! That's all for now folks. :) Have a wonderful worship service tomorrow!