I Am Special Open House

On November 29, the preschool that Aleah and Bruce attend had a fun day. They were able to invite a special person to spend the day with them. Grandma Allen accompanied Aleah, and I had the privilege of attending with Bruce. Bruce loves his teacher, Mrs. McHale.



















































































The best thing about music class is that Mrs. A is the teacher. She is also known as Grandma Amstutz. I can't believe what she is teaching them. Aleah's class can tap out the rhythm as Mrs. A shows them what to do. It is amazing. Bruce's class is learning some easier rhythms, but aren't quite as accurate. The favorite song is "Pony Boy" when they get to gallop around the room with their little ponies. Ironically, Aleah and Bruce chose the same ponies when they each were at the Music Station at different times.

Trimming the Tree

We put up our tree and decorated on Saturday after Thanksgiving. Here is the progression. We had a great time making memories. Next on the list? Ornament making for the kiddos. I have wonderful memories of ornament making back in Indonesia. I want to do the same for our children!







They love their stockings and definitely "hung them by the chimney with care." Funny thing is, Aleah was awake at 5:15 the next morning wanting to wake us up to see what Santa brought her. I'm not sure when a good time is to tell her the truth. It sure is cute to see how serious she is about Santa. Hmm.....





The finished product.

The first snow fall.

We got a little snow the day after Thanksgiving. Of course, it didn't last long. Thankfully, Scott was home and was able to take the kiddos out before it melted by lunch time.

All bundled up.



Of course, when it snows, you have to make a snow angel.

Thanksgiving 2007

We were able to spend the day in the activity room at the nursing home where my Grandpa is living. It was nice to spend the day with family from all different angles.

Josh & Lisa


Mom and Dad
What does a kid studying engineering get for his mom? An apron. See if you can figure out what it says.


The Allen Family


The Paxson Family


The Amstutz Family - It was nice to have Scott's parents with us again this year.


The Littlest Cousins (2nd Cousins) - Bruce (2yrs 10mo), Logan (19 mos), Aleah (4yrs 5mos)


Gettin' the food ready for them.


Aleah had a good time helping Grandma wash up the dishes.


My Uncle Glenn with his wife Joyce and daughter Alex.

International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church

Reminder: The International Day of Pray for the Persecuted Church is coming up on November 18. If you need more information go to the website listed under my Favorite Sites.

Today at my Bible study, we were talking about how the Holocaust and Hitler coming to power came about. We got to talking about the genocides that are happening as we live day to day and others that have happened in my lifetime. Our conversation then went to how can we as Christians help those that are recovering from persecution, to those who are in it right now. We didn't have a lot of answers, but we talked about praying for them and supporting them any way we could. Whether we purchase coffee from other countries to support the economy of that country to supporting organizations who know how to help, we definitely need to just prayerfully pick one thing and do it wholeheartedly.

In light of this, I searched a few things out and added a couple new links to my website under Favorite Sites. There is a great calendar on the 10/40 Window website that makes praying for other countries easier. I also added the "unreached people group of the day" from The Joshua Project. I would love to hear any other ideas you may have. Feel free to leave a comment.

Halloween 10.31

Dress Rehearsal for Grandma....


She was kind enough to bring us lunch. A pizza in the shape of a pumpkin from Papa Murphy's. :)

All Set and Ready to Go!!!

All the goodies. Bruce kept saying, "Hold it mom, heavy!"

Here's what they brought home. Thanks goodness they want to share with mom & dad.

I guess he enjoyed his chocolate.

"Decorating for Halloween"

So, Aleah kept bugging me about decorating for Halloween. I finally asked her how to decorate for it. She said, "We have to put a face on our punkin!" So that's what we did!!