Cousins

Getting a picture of the three newest cousins is tricky. Kezia was so curious about these two babies. She wanted to touch their hair, put her hand in their face, stare them down. The twins were very patient! Oh, the trouble I'm sure they'll all enjoy/cause together in the future!

Merry Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE ARMSTRONGS!

Hats made by Auntie

Christmas in Bellingham

Kezia's first Christmas!

Every year the kids find Santa's bag near Grandma's tree.

Kezia liked eating paper - even if the paper was still on the box.

Reading books with Auntie

Reading with Grandma, too!

Handprints

Kezia got her hands into her mouth too quickly! Yummy?

Christmastime is Near

We've never had a real tree. It's sort of a long story, but it started with the fact that Travis had a fake one he bought before we got married on a clearance deal. Anyway, we always said we'd go cut down our tree when we had kids. Then, we had kids. Carting a baby out to cut a tree didn't sound so exciting. She won't remember anyway, right? Then, the next Christmas we went and got a tree for my parents and the kids came along. So, that worked. We don't need to go spend money on a tree and the kids got to go to a tree farm. Year after year, there was either a baby or an excuse. It wasn't that we didn't want that experience, but our frugality and traveling usually got the best of us. This year, though, Travis and I put our foot down and squashed those excuses. Here we live in the Pacific Northwest... and we don't cut our own tree down for Christmas? The shame... So we embarked on the adventure.

Zane found a tree and announced, "This is the perfect tree!" To hear his three year old voice announce so confidently, Travis and I just cracked up. Of course, then I had to take a picture. Because of that, the other two older children decided they'd pick "the perfect tree."

Katiree took my picture with Kezia to document the fact that she was, indeed, a part of this adventure!

Tate proceeded to get filthy. This picture does not do him justice. We aren't really sure how he got so dirty, other than he was taking sticks and digging in the dirt, dragging sticks behind himself and basically being all boy. Good thing his coat is brown and washable!

After picking the perfect tree, Travis had the honor of cutting down the first Armstrong Christmas tree.

Merry Christmas!

Baby Kezia

This is what happens when you have older siblings! (see above... then see below!)

The Many Faces of Kezia

Playing with cousin (Scott & Stef Randall's)

Gratitude

Travis, Gary, Janet and Chanda with Katiree, Tate, Zane and Kezia

 

Katiree helps with Thanksgiving dinner



We're thankful for family. This year Travis' family drove down to join us for Thanksgiving. It was wonderful! We enjoyed each other and ate scrumptious food! There are so many things to be thankful for...

The love of family and friends

Christ's sacrificial love

Laughter and smiles

New experiences (see pictures)

A house and jobs

Auntie Chanda helping Zane make turkeys



Tate's Oreo Cookie Turkeys



October Whirlwind

October was a whirlwind. We started by celebrating Zane (he turned 3 at the end of September) in fine fashion with Rex (from Toy Story) and ice cream cake (yes, this child refuses to eat cake).

Then we spent days at Papa and Nana's helping them pack up to move. This was truly challenging in so many ways. We are thankful for the ability for Nana to feel better in a warmer climate, but that means we had to say good-bye. This was hard on us. For those of you that know me, I'm not good at good-byes. It hit the older children pretty hard as well. Katiree, Tate and Zane are all close with both sets of grandparents, so having
one set of grandparents move far away is heartbreaking. We made it through the tears, though the missing continues. We are thankful for Skype and for Nana's pain levels decreasing in the warmer weather. Before they left we made sure to capture some memories on camera.

October ended with Papa driving away on October 30th and Nana staying an extra two days before she flew down to Arizona. She was here to watch as the kids dressed up for Halloween. Katiree wanted to be Rapunzel. Tate chose to be a basketball star. Zane made a fantastic Buzz Lightyear. The kangaroo outfit that Tate and Zane have both worn was given to Kezia!