Ice Lantern

Day 364/365
It was a beautiful night to be out on the ice, celebrating New Year's Eve with a bonfire. Our attempts to launch some sky lanterns was thwarted by the gusty winds. The kids loved running around on the frozen lake in the moonlight.

Chopped Challenge

Day 363/365
Davin, Tovin and Grandpa Bruce accepted Jevin's Chopped Challenge. They cooked some amazing food with the ingredients they were given. They are all Chopped champions in my book.

The Catch of the Day

Day 362/365
Jevin's and Tovin's triumphant catch from the fish house this morning.

Polar Plunge

Day 361/365
Jana was the first to jump into the freezing water.

Snuggles

Day 360/365
Enavi loves to snuggle with the friendly kitties at her cousins' house.

Fish Houses

Day 359/365
Jason's and Tovin's fish houses on Rose Lake. The kids have enjoyed ice skating out to the houses, even though the wind is bitter and the temperatures are freezing.

Colorful Christmas Lights

Day 358/365

Circle of Light

Day 357/365
We had a candlelight dinner tonight, with our Advent wreath taking center stage.

Mini Guitar

Day 356/365
A fun stocking stuffer!

Christmas Cookies

Day 355/365

Orchids

Day 354/365

A Bright Spot

Day 353/365
We have had so much gloomy weather lately. These bright red rose hips brought a little life to the landscape.

Finishing Up the Gifts

Day 352/365
My little model is wearing a cowl that I knit to give to a family member this Christmas. It looks so nice on her that I think I may have to make her one, too.

Christmas Light in Detail

Day 351/365
I was just playing around with taking pictures of Christmas lights on the stairs and I thought this one was kind of fun.

Chai Spice Snickerdoodles

Day 350/365
Oh, these little lovelies are cookie heaven. They *might* make it to see the light of day tomorrow, but I doubt it.

Painted Ornaments

Day 349/365
Our Advent activity of the day: painted glass ornaments. The kids put drops of acrylic paint inside the ornaments and swirled the paint, creating the marbled look. It was fun to see how the designs changed as we put them upside down to dry.

Sorting Coins

Day 348/365
Enavi is hunting for state quarters, trying to find one for each of the 50 states.

The Angel's Candle

Day 347/365

TobyMac Concert

Day 346/365
We love TobyMac and his music and when we heard he was going to perform in Milwaukee, well, we had to go. I was even more excited to hear to one of the other performers, Matt Maher. Here they are together for one of the songs they performed. It was an amazing concert and an awesome night of music and worship.

The Holiday Express

Day 345/365
Our Advent activity today was visiting the Holiday Express at Olbrich Gardens. This is an annual event with two different models of large-scale trains that travel through out the exhibit. We've been to see it several times and the kids always enjoy it. Each year the display has a different theme and this year's theme... LEGOS! Oh, the kids were in heaven. We had to walk around the room at least three times to take in all of the displays - they were really impressive. This was definitely a hit!

Green Baubles

Day 344/365
Nature has her own way of decorating for the holidays.

The Gift of Pictures

Day 343/365
A friend of mine is giving her husband pictures of their kiddos for Christmas - what a lovely gift! :) The weather was not very cooperative - cold, drizzle, wind, but it didn't stop these kids from smiling. I was so impressed with their fantastic attitudes. This portrait was one of my favorites.

Lunch at Mikey's Deli

Day 342/365
This year I filled our Advent calendar with things to do together as a family, and today's treat was lunch at Epic with Daddy. We ate at Mikey's Deli, a small, New York-style deli with great food. I had an awesome reuben sandwich (otherwise known as a PTO - extra wet). YUM!

Dipped in Ice

Day 341/365
We had freezing drizzle during the night and spotty showers throughout the day. The trees and shrubs looked like they were dripping with diamonds.

The Bethlehem Candle

Day 340/365
Week 2 of Advent.

Choosing a Tree

Day 339/365

Christmas Program

Day 338/365

Late Afternoon Walk

Day 337/365

The Shed

Day 336/365

Pinecones

Day 335/365

Jingle Bells

Day 334/365
The kids love practicing their special Christmas music.

Beau

Day 333/365
Such a sweet face!

Ice Hockey

Day 332/365
All the "kids" out on the ice for a game of hockey.

Ice Rink

Day 331/365
Everyone worked together to build an ice rink on the lake.

Pumpkin Pie

Day 330/365
Happy Thanksgiving!

Winter Leaves

Day 329/365

Allergy Visit

Day 328/365
We had some time to kill at Jevin's allergy appointment this afternoon. I don't usually bring electronic devices to doctor appointments, but since I knew he was going to need something to take his mind off his itchy hives, I brought the iPads along for a special treat.

Snow Fun

Day 327/365
Our first significant snow of the season - enough to keep us home for the day. The roads were icy, but we were still able to get out and enjoy the fresh snow.

Tree of Thankfulness

Day 326/365
This tree is on the platform at our church, filled with leaves with notes of thankfulness for the blessings God has given to our church family. It is such a beautiful, and visual, reminder of all the amazing gifts God gives us every day.

Climbing Vine

Day 325/365
I love all the different textures in this photo.

Dinner Prep

Day 324/365

Icicles on the Vine

Day 323/365

Lego Creativity

Day 322/365
Jevin has been getting creative with his Legos again. He's been inspired to build new creations using the blocks he already has in his collection. I always love seeing what he comes up with.

Sassy Squirrel

Day 321/365
Is it just me, or is that squirrel sticking his tongue out at me?

Library Love

Day 320/365
Oh, the joy of bringing home new treasures from the library!

Snow is Here

Day 319/365
Looks like the snow is here to stay, at least for the next several days - brrrrr!

Fingerless Gloves

Day 318/365

Coloring with a Friend

Day 317/365
Enavi does such a good job playing with this little friend, entertaining her and looking after her. It is so sweet to watch them together.

Snow Dust

Day 316/365
We had some snow flurries today - the delicate flakes were quite pretty as they fell. I went for a short walk on a bike trail and found this snow-dusted bridge. It's cold enough that the snow is still on the ground.

In the Brush

Day 315/365
Only 50 more days until the end of the year!