Lake House

We have loved going to Lake LBJ to "our" lake house.

Our favorite thing is the daily adventure hikes.

We found some animal bones on our first hike.

Finding the bones was a huge victory because Isaac was intent on finding fossils (and this counted big time in his book: "This is the best day ever!")

We brought the bones back to the lake house and tried to lay out the skeleton.

We think it was a racoon. 

One of the many swings on the property.

Bingo!

Morning play/snuggle time. 

Boat trip.

Another walk.

Amelia got upset at one point because the bigger kids were running too fast for her to keep up...

...so Isaac gave up the lead and walked her carefully by the hand (at least for a few minutes).

Sweet.

Holiday Fun

CHRISTMAS

I didn't take many pictures this Christmas because I think the moments start looking so much the same from year to year.

But we did take the traditional family photo on Christmas Eve...

...and I wanted to capture the first reading of the yearly "Lagosh" book (a new story each year that my sister and I write / put together, starring our kids as the characters).

NEW YEAR'S EVE

We had the families from Adel's men's bible study (all close friends of ours) for a family NYE party.  First we celebrated an early New Year with the kids upstairs.

The girls with their crowns.

Watching the countdown video (from Hong Kong, but they didn't know any better!). 

And then the party started!

This picture does nothing to help you feel the deafening vibrations of a dozen party horns being blasted in an enclosed room.  After getting the kids riled up, we promptly abandoned the baby-sitter to calm them down with a movie and try to get them to fall asleep.  About half fell asleep and half (including the 2-year-old triplets) stayed up until midnight.

Celine and Nathan had to leave before we took pictures, but here's the rest of the couples waiting for the countdown.  

Notice how everybody is cozy and snuggly with their spouse?

   

They lean in together and look cute...

They actually look like they enjoy being together...

...And then there's us...

This is the snuggliest I could get Adel to be.  

Notice he's the only guy who's facial expression seems to communicate that showing affection for your wife is embarrassing? Yep, that's him.

Sometimes I could strangle him.  

I probably would if he didn't treat me so good.

But I kind of like him, so I think I'll keep him around.

We wore ourselves out over the holidays and spent last week getting the house and routines back to normal and the kids off to school.  Abby, on the other hand, found her first day back at school to be more exhausting than any of her vacation days...

 She slept from 5pm until bedtime, woke up and ate dinner and then went back to bed.

Now we're all rested up and ready for the year ahead!  Happy New Year!!!

Cookie Day #2!

As if we hadn't baked enough sweets yet this month!

And by friends, I mean little friends.

13 of them!

My friends (the mommas) do such a good job of keeping the kids busy and helping with EVERYTHING so I can just enjoy and not get stressed about MESS (not always easy with 13 kids!).

Lots of sampling going on.

Mmmm....

Isaac had to make an iconic "jumbo freestyle" cookie again. This time: a snake.

Tea Time

Aunt Cindy came for a quick visit last week so Mom and her sisters met us for tea and lunch after picking Cindy up from the airport.

We surprised Isaac by picking him up early from school to join us.

Isaac is telling Mimi about how he lost his tooth. 

And then he quickly plugs in to the nearest device.

What a special lunch!

A Glimpse of Omniscience

^{I recently encouraged my friends and family to watch the "Life in a Day Video".  Then later I felt it might be too dark and if I didn't explain my reasoning for promoting it, it would simply be depressing.}

^{I liked it because the depravity in nearly every shot (one way or another), reminded me of God.  It so clearly shows our need for a Savior.  And it also gives us the slightest impression of what He must see in any one omniscient moment.   It reminded me of these verses from Ecclesiastes 12:}

13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:

      Fear God and keep His commandments,
      For this is man’s all.
       ¹⁴ For God will bring every work into judgment,
      Including every secret thing,
      Whether good or evil.

I had a similar, but more uplifting, moment watching Isaac sing with the elementary students in "big church" last Sunday.  Isaac was placed on the floor-level (not on the stands), which seemed great at first because I was sitting in the front row and we were practically eye to eye.  But there were more kids and they lined them up on the floor level in front of Isaac's row.  So Isaac was blocked by two taller kids.  I was straining to see him, smiling at him, waving, and blowing kisses, pouring out all my mushy momma-love as I watched him sing.  Isaac was lost in the crowd to anyone but me; though he was the smallest and least visible, I had eyes only for him.  And that's when I realized that God sees each of us that way ALL the time.  We are small and seemingly insignificant, but God sees us with more clarity and love than I saw my son through the crowd.

So, twice in a very short amount of time, God has used circumstances to help me see the way He sees ALL the time.  Just an interesting glimpse into His omniscience.

Moments

Some fun moments of the past week:

Abby playing dress up in my winter clothes.

Bitsy dreaming of a better life (ha!).

Isaac lost his third tooth on Sunday (first top tooth)!  With his "no pulling policy" his teeth stay on the verge of falling out for weeks before they finally succumb. 

The kids wearing their new winter coats (2 sizes too big...you know, so they'll last a few years).  We love driving out to different parts of the neighborhood and then walking a few blocks to tour the lights.  

Cookie Day!

The family drove down to my house today for a cookie day.

Ready!

And willing (to taste-test!)

DD showing the kids how to make stove top cookies.

Time to decorate the sugar cookies.

Isaac decorated ONE cookie...

...A nativity scene of baby Jesus (front), Joseph (left, with his staff), Mary (right), and angel (middle, back).

We attempted to get a family picture between batches.

This was the best one by far.

Now we're getting serious.  Too many cooks in the kitchen.  Yum!

And the grandpas enjoying the game and staying out of the kitchen.

Here's one of each cookie,