Favorite Photos Friday

Christmas Picture Out-takes

Gage being Gage

Gage still the issue

Getting better

Mass chaos

STAY TUNED FOR THE ONE THAT MADE THE CUT !

Your Christmas is Most Like: A Very Brady Christmas

For you, it's all about sharing times with family. Even if you all get a bit cheesy at times.

What Movie Is Your Christmas Most Like? I think this is pretty accurate. I love getting together with family and yes, we are a bit cheesy.

The difference between boys and girls.....

Parent Teacher Conferences: Brylie's teacher: "Brylie is such a good girl, I just can't get her to talk." Hunter's teacher: "Hunter is very smart, I just can't get him to sit quietly in class."

I love the Christmas season!

The Christmas season is upon us and I am THRILLED! I absolutely love this time of the year and look forward to it all year long. It makes me happy to walk into a store and see beautiful Christmas lights all through the aisles and hear Christmas music playing in the background. I love the shopping, the baking, the parties.....all of it! This time of the year warms my heart and reminds me of the true miracle of the birth of our Lord and Savior. He is the reason for this magical season!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Preparing for Thanksgiving

A yummy treat!

My mom has the best popcorn ball recipe that we use so often this time of the year. They are out of this world delicious! I thought I would share the recipe. (don't count the calories on this one!)

*****Popcorn Balls***** Pop approximately 8-10 cups of popcorn and set aside. Melt 2 sticks butter, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1 large pkg of miniature marshmallows together. Pour over popped corn and form into balls. (they are messy to make, but oh so good!) ENJOY!

OH NO YOU DIDN'T

OH YES I DID!

Favorite Photo Friday

This picture was taken yesterday when my monkeys decided it would be fun to climb a tree. :) As you can see, it is a little chilly here in SD nowadays. Of course the cold doesn't stop the kids!

Thankful Thursday

I’m thankful for: A loving husband, healthy children, friends that keep in touch, a close family, a warm house, a Savior who loves me so, life in the country, beautiful sunrises and breathtaking sunsets, a wonderful church, the opportunity to adopt a baby girl, all 4 seasons, the awesome responsibility of raising my children, my daily fill of hugs and kisses, a safe community to live in, food on the table, and of course my blogger friends!

Don't ya hate it when.....

You open your son's backpack and find this letter: Dear Parents: We are sending this letter to all parents to increase head lice awareness so that you may take steps at home to help prevent your child from being infested with head lice. We do suspect that head lice is present in our school.

I'm back....I survived!

The week is over and I survived. All went very well with the hunters and we finished up with harvest. (HAPPY DANCE!) It feels great to be at this end of the week. I am going out to supper tomorrow night with some friends to relax a bit......a much needed break.

Here's a picture of our hunters at mealtime. My groceries are quite depleted around here. I am always amazed at how much food several men can consume. They were very appreciative of everything and we always enjoy their visits. They went home with two deer and a lot of fun memories. We can't wait to have them back again next year.

Well, I told you last week that I had some adoption news to share, I'm sorry I kept you waiting. To make a really long story short, we have decided to switch countries. After a lot of set backs with China and so many unknowns, with the waiting time extended to 3-5 years, we decided to pray about it and felt led to look into other countries. We feel really good about choosing Ethiopia. We were brought to tears when reading about the conditions people live in there. We have all heard about starving children in Ethiopia, but to read the statistics was literally sickening. Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world with a per capita income of only $110 per year. Four million children are orphaned, nearly 1 million die of AIDS. One in 4 women die in pregnancy or birth. Only 6% of births are attended by a skilled health professional. Only 18% of children reach grade 5. It is obvious there is a TREMENDOUS need for families to adopt these babies that may never see their 5th birthday if they aren't taken out of this type of environment. We didn't have to contemplate this decision for very long....we know there is a little girl there that NEEDS us to survive. We have a great peace about this decision and if all goes well, we will have her in our arms by this time next year!

Sorry....I gotta take a little break.

This week is going to be a little crazy at the Arnold house. This is our last week of corn harvest. YEAH! Since the guys can see the end they are working longer hours than usual. Like 5:30 am to 12 am, so sleep is very minimal around here lately. I am very excited for the harvest to come to an end and to relax a bit before the holiday rush. Also, we have friends from Colorado rolling in today to stay with us for a week deer hunting. They have come every year for several years and are very easy to have, but there is extra cooking involved, (a group of men can go through an insane amount of food in one week!). I'm on my way to town this morning to grab some last minute items. So, all of this to say that I won't be doing a lot of blogging this week, but look forward to sharing some Arnold Family Happenings with you next week. I have some adoption news that I will update you with also. Have a great week! Stay warm!

Favorite Photo Friday

Happy Halloween! (glad it's over)

For a parent with small children, Halloween is an exhausting day! There are school parties, trick-or-treating, and the harvest party at the church. Here are a few pictures to highlight the day. (I discovered at the end of the day that my camera was on the wrong setting so my pictures aren't that great...bummer)

Bibleman, Pocahontas, and Buzz Lightyear This is Brylie's preschool class. The Kindergarten class.

Gage got to enjoy the party with the preschoolers.

Aunt Kim did the face painting at the Harvest party. Hunter and Sage, the Pirate

These are my nephews, Alec, Ethan and Noah.