Happy Birthday, Daddy!!

I am sure that many of you know today is Chris's 30th birthday!! He is the big 3-0!!!! Oh my goodness! We don't care how old he is, we love him just the way he is. So in honor of our special husband and father, here are 30 things we LOVE about him :)

~1 He is funny...when I asked the kids what their favorite thing about Daddy is, this is what they both said.

~2 He gives good hugs.

~3 He gives good kisses, too.

~4 He likes to wrestle.

~5 He likes to tickle...ALOT!

~6 He has an awesome iTunes library.

~7 He is good at sports.

~8 He is a good listener.

~9 He gives good advice.

~10 He is very loving and supportive.

~11 He has Daddy's Day with Jaron.

~12 He takes Jordan on "Snack Outings"!

~13 He watches "The Office" with me.

~14 He sends me Flair on Facebook :)

~15 He has an awesome, fun job.

~16 He goes to work everyday so we will have a nice place to live and good food to eat, among many other things we enjoy.

~17 He sings in the shower :)

~18 .....and it always sounds good!!

~19 He ALWAYS wins when we play games.

~20 He is spontaneous.

~21 He is a good gift-giver.

~22 He is strong.

~23 He is handsome.

~24 He likes us just the way we are.

~25 He is smart.

~26 He loves God, and shows that to all of us.

~27 He prays with us.

~28 He is a good leader.

~29 He is forgiving when we make mistakes.

~30 He is just plain WONDERFUL!!!!

We love you, Chris. You are the most special person in the world to us. We appreciate everything you do for our family, because we know you do everything with us in mind. Thank you for nurturing your relationship with Jordan and Jaron, wanting to be with them and do things for them. They think you are so amazing! Thank you for nurturing our relationship, and for being an understanding person. I hope that we let you know regularly how important and special you are to us, but just in case we haven't....you are our world, and we are so glad to share each day with you!! We love you most dearly!

Family Day

Guess where we have spent the last two days? The farm. I told you it is becoming one of our favorite places to go!! But today was different...we got to take Chris with us!!!


















After the farm, we decided to go to the Washington Crossing State Park, which is only a few minutes from where we live.


We stood on the actual place where George Washington and his men crossed the Delaware River into Pennsylvania. It was very, very fascinating.

















We had such a great day together, and also exploring our country's history. I know that Jordan and Jaron will someday appreciate these experiences, and realize how fortunate they are to partake in such history.

These Are a Few of Our Favorite Things

The farms are quickly becoming one of our favorite places to visit here in New Jersey. They are EVERYWHERE, and all open to the public. On Tuesday, Jaron and I went to Terhune Orchards for one of their "Read and Explore" programs they offer during the winter. Jaron listened to a story from "Frog and Toad Are Friends" and then he got to explore the farm looking for signs of spring. We saw many, many things beginning to sprout. It gave me some hope that spring is actually going to be here eventually! Then his favorite part was digging for worms. This is something he has been enjoying in our little backyard, so he jumped right in and found some of the biggest worms in the group :) He also discovered the guinea hens. They were wandering around everywhere, and he loved their black and white speckled feathers they left behind. We made it home with pockets full of feathers! And of course we spent time visiting the other animals as well...chickens, roosters,sheep, goats, horses, ducks, geese, a couple of very friendly dogs and a playful kitty. We had a great time...and we must go back!!!


Jaron got to plant some seeds for spring. Somehow we ended up planting the seeds that said "Gourmet cat blend" on the package!! Hmmmm, we will see how that turns out.

Jaron and his friend the billy goat...Jaron fed him for the longest time!!





I bought some birdseed at PetSmart the other day when I went to get food for our pigs. This birdseed has attracted some of the most beautiful little birds I have ever seen. We have really enjoyed watching them over the last few days. They are out on our porch all day just pecking away at the feeder and the ground.

This is a white-breasted nuthatch.

Black-capped chickadee

I am thinking this is some kind of finch.

I am not sure what kind of bird this is, but it is absolutely gorgeous.

A chickadee and nuthatch sharing the feeder. The chickadees like to get down in it, almost like they are taking a bath!

I tried all day long to get a good picture of our woodpecker friend, and finally around 5:00, he was at the feeder long enough for me to get a picture. Unfortunately I had already shut the screen door, so the pictures seem a little fuzzy.





It's a little hard to see, but he has the most brilliant red head, and beautiful black and white speckled wings. He has been such a joy to watch! When you stop to think about it, isn't it amazing all of the things God made and put in this world? When we look at such wonders, we are actually seeing a part of Him, I think. If he made these birds so beautiful, just imagine how beautiful Jesus will be when we see Him some day...very soon, I hope.

It's Sweeter After Dark.......

I realized this evening that we have been in 3 states today. First, we were in NYC for church, then back home in Jersey for the afternoon, then we got a bee in our bonnet to go to Sonic. This is quite a feat around here, let me tell you. The closest one is in Bensalem, Pennsylvania...about 20 miles away. So we headed down I-95 to our third state of the day, and some Sonic treats! It was fun........for a moment we were back at 50th and Indiana enjoying a slush :)

Translation, please!!

Jaron is so hilarious with his made-up words. Where he comes up with some of them, I will never know! Jordan has had a few herself...like the other day. We were at her friend's apartment and she got mad because the other two girls were not "rehearsal-ing" right. She kept saying "rehearsal-ing" over and over again, and we got a big kick out of it. However, I don't think anything can top what Jaron pulled out of the clear blue sky yesterday!!!!

He likes to listen to "Shot Through the Heart" by Bon Jovi on my iPod. So yesterday I can hear him in his room singing it, only with his own made-up words. You ready for this??

Chocolate a heart and you're to wait,
You give woh a bandaid!

I have been trying to get it on video...I will post it as soon as I get it! For those of you either too old or too young to know this song, the real words are...

Shot through the heart, and you're to blame,
You give love a bad name.

On another note, Jaron has learned the days of the week song, and he did cooperate with me long enough for me to get it on video. Enjoy!

Chris and I think this is the most beautiful painting we have ever seen. Let me rephrase that...we KNOW this is the most beautiful painting we have ever seen! This is Jordan's art work that is being displayed at the Arts Festival this month. We attended the Artist's Reception on Thursday night, and it was alot of fun. Art from all of the schools in our school district was displayed. It is amazing how talented so many of these children are. There were some wonderful pieces there. But none can quite compare to a little first grader's interpretation of a fall landscape! During a portion of the presentation, the mayor asked all of the artists who were present to stand so we could give them a round of applause. Let me just say I was fighting back the tears; I was so tremendously proud of Jordan, but what I enjoyed the most was seeing the pride she had in herself. Jordan has always been happiest when she has a pen and paper in her hands. She is covered in marker 99% of the time. She drools over crafts. She calls herself an artist, and she knows who gave her such a wonderful gift. Jordan can create something full of life and color out of a blank piece of paper. What beauty in that statement. Isn't that exactly how she was created? Doesn't that perfectly describe her? She was mysteriously and wonderously made to be full of life and color. Let me rephrase my first statement again...Jordan is the most beautiful painting we have ever seen. And her paintings are just an extension of our loving God.

More Snow, Y'all!!!!!!!

About 4 to 5 inches...school was canceled again. Can you hear Jaron telling me I am making him cold when I opened the door?! What a little booger :)

Old McDonald Had a Farm........

Did you know that New Jersey is the Garden State? Yep, it is! Now, it ain't no Lone Star State, but it really does have some beautiful rural areas. There are farmer's markets all over the place, and they are so fun to go to. There are farms everywhere, too. There are several farms within 15 miles of where we live, and they all offer really neat family-friendly activities all year long. Saturday the kids and I took the short drive to the Howell Living History Farm. They were tapping the maple trees and making maple syrup. Yum! We got to taste homemade wheat pancakes with homemade maple syrup...delicious! And we got to visit some of our animal friends :)









The kids got to make a "Maple Man" out of a cookie and loads of toppings. Surprisingly, Jaron only wanted "fruit froops" on his. Jordan was a little more ambitious with hers...I was beginning to think she was going to use every type of topping they had! And boy, they had their maple men eaten in a New York minute!!!!!