We have a new house!

Well, the girls do, that is! They have been saving up for a while to buy a playhouse to go outside. We wanted one that would last a long time and that they wouldn't outgrow quickly. We got a kit from Sam's Online for this one and our parents came this past weekend so our dads could help Jeff put it together. We still need to do a few things to it (window boxes, a front porch, painting, etc.) But it is ready for the girls to play in it now! We moved all their play kitchen stuff out there and they played all day yesterday after church! They are having a ball and are really going to love having this playhouse! Heck, even I am having fun playing in it! Here are some pictures of the progress so far. One of my favorite pictures is of Jeff and our dads studying the instructions. I think that one is so funny. Stay tuned for more updates...

A Cute "Annlee-ism"

As we were walking Kaylin into school this morning, it was drizzling a little outside. Annlee wanted to know if God has a big watering can that He uses to make it rain. I just love how their minds work!

Our Snowy Vacation!

We spent our long weekend in the Smoky Mountains and had a blast! It was SO cold! It got as cold as 15 degrees - and that was in the daytime! I'm sure it was colder at night. I think they warmest we saw was around 44 or so. We drove into the mountains, shopped at the outlets in Severville, stayed in Pigeon Forge, and walked around Gatlinburg. By far our favorite part was seeing the snow when we went into the mountains! As we were driving through the Smokies, I just kept thinking about how much fun God must have had when He created the world! He has such a huge imagination to be able to create all these wonderful sights we get to enjoy! I think making the mountains must have been like playing with playdough, getting to mold them all just so! And snow! It's so simple but so beautiful! Only God could come up with something so pure and pretty and fun as that!

Of course, I took pictures while we were there (you didn't think I had forgotten that, did you?) I came home and had to sort through almost 300 pictures! So bear with me! First of all, I just have to share the pictures of the mountains with you. I'm telling you, I could go on and on about how beautiful it was. And the pictures don't do justice to it at all!

Beautiful huh? I could have spent days just looking at those mountains! WOW!

Next are some pictures of us playing in the snow.

And here are some other miscellaneous pictures...

Our cabin that we stayed in in Pigeon Forge was on a steep incline. Quite a scary drive, I must say. Here are a few pictures of the cabin, inside and out, and the last one is of the turn into our driveway. We backed up to get that picture. We came up the lower street that you see and had to turn almost backwards into the driveway.

Here's a picture of Kaylin and Annlee in downtown Gatlinburg in front of a cool giant ball that floats and spins on water. Also, how Maryella spent her day in Gatlinburg! And then there's a picture of Gatlinburg from above - a neat sight that I had never seen before. We took a bypass around Gatlinburg and were rewarded with that sight.

We saw 4 or 5 deer on the side of the road and stopped and were able to get really close to them. Annlee loved it! Kaylin stayed in the car (of course) - don't show her any animal, please!And this is what happens to hair when it's cold outside and there's lots of static electricity in the air.

And one last picture...Maryella on our 12 hour drive home (yes, we had to stop several times). I just couldn't resist showing off this picture though. How sweet she is!

A Huge Thank You!

To everyone who sent us a Christmas card, gave us a gift, invited us into their home, or just helped spread some Christmas cheer our way...
We would like to say a huge and heartfelt thank you! We love you all!