Does anyone need help in your kitchen?

Just ask Joanna! She loves to work in the kitchen!

She made holiday pancakes with sprinkles,
and she even took this picture by herself. : )

They loved them and didn't even ask for syrup!
Nice & healthy! ; ) Oops - don't notice the skittles!
(A treat for waking up dry.) She also helped make pizza.

She was a big help with making
chocolate covered pretzels too!

She loves to get her picture taken. Hm-m-m...
She's following in the footsteps of some of her Aunts! ; )

By the way, Carter is a great help with cleaning up.

Please don't ask if he was eating them off the floor! ; )

The kids loved decorating for Christmas!

Carter watched Joanna hang her candy canes,
and then he tried...
...and tried to get his to work, but they
never would stay on upside down! : )

Nathan was taking things off almost as
quickly as they were putting things on.

Psalm 23

Well, he said almost all of it. : )

There's nothing like diving into a pile of clean,

warm laundry - straight from the dryer! : ) ... or trying to bury yourself in it.

He did help by gathering all the socks into a pile.
Joanna was excited to wear Daddy's paint shirt

so she could paint him a picture.She worked carefully on this picture for an hour!

(She used Q-tips - one for each color.)

Best Buddies!

How many kids can we fit in a box?Looks like there's room for one more! ; )

They loved this "Orange Dream" smoothie.
(Orange sherbet, milk & ice in the blender)

Joanna & Carter were singing a duet

for Nathan from their little Bibles.

Ready for Sunday School

We had a great day at Navy Pier with

Rebekah, Tabitha, Joanna & Deborah

Nathan wouldn't crawl where it was wet...

so he decided to start walking for the first time!

Something novel, Something new,

Something always distracting you.

Satan always stirs the fire,

Trying to control your heart's desire.

He can never satisfy,

All his ploys are but a lie!

Temporary pleasure you may find,

But in the end, sin will leave you blind.

Only God can set you free,

And satisfy for eternity.

He longs to give joy and peace to you,

And prove that His promises are true.

If you turn to Him in times of trial,

You'll see He's been there all the while.

When times are hard He gives abundant grace,

To those who come and seek His face.

Seek Him first and his righteousness,

Then you will see His great faithfulness.

~ Lloyd & Bethany Estep

Lloyd's birthday was on Tuesday, and
we spent most of the day at the zoo.

Nathan was not afraid of the goats at all.
When this one got in his face, he just slapped it away!

They loved watching the monkeys.

Nathan did great, but he couldn't quite make it
through the day without a little nap in the stroller.The penguins were Joanna's favorite.

When we got home, we realized we were
locked out of our house! (It was nobody's fault. ; )
Our neighbor let us borrow a ladder so Lloyd could break in.

A few minutes after we finally got in, two wonderful people showed up with the offer to babysit so we could go out to dinner, AND gave us money to pay for it! (Thanks Mom & Rachel!)

We took off before they changed their minds,
and went to Texas De Brazil. What a treat!

We finished up the day with cake and presents.

It was a bit of a challenge to blow out all 30 candles,
especially since some of them were trick candles. ; )

It was a long day, but a very fun day!