Sabrina turns four! September 21, 2007

Here we have the delightful birthday girl helping with her pink cupcakes. They will later be frosted with scrumptious pink frosting and pink sprinkles. Of course you have to lick off the batter when you are done!
See the pink balloon in the foreground? Here is Sabrina opening a gift from one of her brothers.
Ruthie is just making sure that she has a good view and that Sabrina is doing it right.
Pom poms!! Ruthie has played with them more today than Sabrina has. What little girl doesn't like pom poms?
A noisy tamborine. That toy lasted about 5 minutes before we had them put it away. It is one of those toys that gets played with sparingly. It would be much better for them to play with it outside, far far outside.

more birthday pics...

Pink haired doll with a pink dress. Are you sensing a theme here?
Sabrina with her new "dress jammies" as she calls them. My second complete sewing project.
She had to wear them to bed last night. They are so cozy! She told me this morning that she wants to wear them again tonight.
We were halfway through the song when she decided she had to blow out her candles. And yes, the cupcakes were pink, with pink frosting and pink sprinkles.
And pink candles. We served the cupcakes with pink bubble gum ice cream. Thank you to Nicholas, our budding pyro for generously offering to light the candles.

Ruthie.

Ruthie kept handing me the camera, so I tried taking a picture of her so she could see herself on the screen. Each time the flash went off, she would giggle and turn her head. This was our first try.
Second try. (my personal favorite)
Third try. She loves seeing herself in the camera. And for the record, her eyes are still blue!!

A glorious Lord's Day celebration.

We had a house full of people yesterday afternoon for a combined birthday party. There was a near monsoon happening outside, so although we were mostly confined to the interior of the house, a blessed time was had by all. I can't remember the last time there were so many little people in our house. What a treasure to see the faithfulness of God in the next generation. We ate, sang psalms, laughed, drank wine and celebrated birthdays. Thank you Lord, for the fellowship of the saints.
Here are the two birthday boys. On the left is Daskin Dade, recently turned 11 year old. On the right is our very own Brian, new teenager. The carrot cake was scrumptious!
Some of the men deep in discussion I am sure.
If you look closely you can spot a rainbow. The children were so excited to see it that they rushed outside to take a picture. By the time they got outside it was almost faded out completely. Thank you, Lord, for giving us this visible reminder of Your faithfulness to us.

Another teenager added to our household. September 12, 2007

Brian David Pederson, the third of the children entrusted to us, turned 13 on Wednesday. It was a low key affair, as last year was his "golden" birthday with many glorious festivities. Also, we are having a combined birthday party this Lord's Day (I am sure there will be many pictures of that day, as well). So here are a few pictures taken on the actual birth-day.
Brian, now 13 with younger sister Sabrina, almost 4.
Nicholas, the could-be pyromaniac, having lit the birthday candles and presenting the cake to the birthday boy.
And of course, the blowing out the candles picture.

The house is now ready for drywall. September 12, 2007

These are some rough photos of the interior of the house after insulation, before drywall. As you may notice, the drywall has been stocked inside the house. As of today (Saturday), half the drywall is completed. I will try my best to describe to you which room(s) you are looking at. I think I am far more excited by these pictures than any of you will be.
This is the view from the front door looking kitty-corner. The bright window on your right is actually the kitchen window that is over the sink. The railing in the foreground is for the stairway. The framed in room with no insulation is the walk in pantry right off the kitchen.
This is a view of the master bedroom/bathroom. The arched doorway leads to the master bath.
This archway leads from the west bedrooms to the east bedrooms. The doorway directly ahead of you is the boys' room. To the right of that doorway, would be the girls' room and bathroom (both are out of view). The railing is open to the staircase below.
This is a view of the school room/guest room (left doorway) and one of our many bathrooms (right doorway).
This is a view down the stairs looking at the front door. The previous two pictures and this picture were taken from the same place. One was looking east, one was looking west and this one is looking down. Perhaps that helps you get an idea of the layout of the house.

Hiking with Dad. August 11, 2007

On a glorious Sunday afternoon, Dad took many of the children hiking up on Rabbit Ears Pass. The following pictures tell part of the story.
Here is the trusty lead dog, Liebe (pronounced LEE' buh--German for "love").
From left to right, Ellie, Joseph, Maria, Dad, Matthew, Brian and Nicholas. Thomas is taking the picture.
From left to right, Ellie, Brian, Maria, Dad, Joseph, Matthew and Nicholas.
This time Brian is the photographer and left to right this time, Ellie, Thomas, Maria, Dad, Joseph, Matthew and Nicholas.

Some of the glorious views from the rear of the pack.

Stucco is on!

The stucco was actually done a very long time ago, it just took me over a month to get a picture of it. The bottom of the house (the non-stucco part) will have a rock face.