Welcome to the World Party...

Because Lindsay didn't know the gender before the baby was born, a shower was thrown for her after Moses was born.  Here are some Pinterest-worthy clips of the event!

 I thought I had the "knack" with babies... guess not.

 Here is Great Grandma with Baby Clara

Lindsay has two sisters and her younger sister is pregnant with her first.

Quick Trip to Meet Moses

I took a quick trip to Michigan with Clara to meet Moses!  

Clara doesn't know what to do with a younger cousin except to go for his face.

Two little Verwys heads...

 We celebrated Betsy's birthday and her boyfriend Peter came over.

   Grandma and Grandpa enjoyed bathing the babies.

  

Nice to meet you MOSES!

"I want my ears pierced!"

Before

  Before

After

 After

Although she looks sad here, Ellen has been LOVING having her ears pierced.  She has told every single person we have met since this day!  

She is all smiles now.

Ellen Time

Ellen and I spent some time together at a children's museum last week.  It was a blast to be with her and enjoy the things that she loves.  Here she is painting.  And look at that craft shelf!  I was jealous, I need one of those at home.

January Playtime!

We have had light snow in January, but the kids have loved the snow we have gotten!  

 Grace got all the snow she could to make a snowman.

 Sammy loves to shovel.

And then some days, it has been so warm we can be in tank tops and shorts.

  Big news for Clara, her food is taking up space in the fridge!

 This sweet little baby loves to be around her siblings.  The pediatrician told us she can't go on the trampoline so she likes to watch from the sunroom.

Friday Night Family Night

A friend of mine encouraged me to be more intentional about having "family nights" each month.  So last month, I asked Nate to plan a Friday family date night for us.  He picked a great place - the Air and Space Museum!  If you arrive after 4 pm, the parking is free and the place is EMPTY!  What made it even better was that it had snowed that afternoon and all the schools got out early.  So we had the place to ourselves.  We also went out to eat together afterwards for breakfast for dinner -

"BR-INNER"  .

 Playing in the "control tower" overlooking Dulles Airport.

 Sammy LOVING the airplanes.

Don't Ask Don't Tell (vol 33)

 While mommy was talking on the phone.... 

but she is okay!

Clara Dedication

A few weeks ago, we had Clara dedicated at church.  It is an informal custom that our church does to "present the baby" to our church family and ask for help and prayers as we try to raise her.  What is really special is that sometimes children get "dedicated" after they are adopted.  A few weeks before Clara was dedicated, a family dedicated their 3 year old in front of the church.  The pastor prays for us.  Grandma and Grandpa were here which made this extra special for baby Clara.

Normal Winter Days

Everyday we pick up Sam and then drive to get the girls at school.  

Some days we are very very tired!

This is the kid's Christmas gift.    

It has been a WONDERFUL addition to our yard.

Rita had her best buddy Allie over for a playdate.  

On the agenda:  American Girl Dolls.

Grace studying in the kitchen.

Our precious baby - we love her so much and are so thankful God gave her to us.  What a gift she is.

This is one of our close family friends that the kids have grown up with... Leah!

I am sad to say that my hometown favorite grocery store went out of business. 

I went there on the closing day and took advantage of the 50% off sale.

Ellen often comes with me to school and she is such a big girl.  Fully potty trained and loves to be with her older siblings at school.