such a thoughtful son...

Kaine is such a little tease...he wrapped this up for Nathan for Christmas.  What a goofball :)

"snowing"

One thing that we will miss about living in the Midwest is the snow.  Although I love the snow purely for how it looks (I hate driving in it and I really don't like playing in it), my kids love BEING in the snow!  What kid doesn't?  I'm sure I liked it when I was a kid, too :)

Kaine, Halle and Layla were very excited to get out in the snow these past couple of weeks.  It was actually Layla's first time ever playing in the snow!  She has talked about sledding (or "snowing" as she calls it) for months.  So we tried it out...

Halle loved it :)

Of course, Kaine did too...but Layla was a little unsure :)  She was hardly able to walk!  I don't think she knew what she was getting herself into--I ended up carrying her around for most of it.

Nathan and his dad made a fun snow ramp for Kaine...

and a snow fort...

And Layla was ready (at first) to try out "snowing"...

(wouldn't sledding be so fun if you could be carried up the hill like this??)

But...she wasn't liking it too much :)

The next time Kaine and Halle went out, Layla preferred to stay inside with Daisy and watch:)  Maybe she will like it next year!

As much as I want my kiddos to enjoy this snow, I am very over it and so ready for it to be gone!  Spring, come quickly!!

new year's...

We celebrated New Year's with a great night at Nick and Jessica's! (Just like last year...thanks for being such great hosts, guys!)  Our kids (and we) always love going to their house, and this year was no different.

The kids had so much fun on the trampoline and the massive bean bag that was on it!  (Doesn't this look like a kid's paradise??)

Our wonderful hubbies organized games of kickball, dodgeball, musical chairs, and who knows what else with the kids.  While we ladies sat and talked :)  

I was so thrilled that Halle made some new friends...she doesn't know too many girls here in our hometown, so this was awesome.  They had so much fun together!  Halle keeps talking about Madalynn and Haleigh, too (and I'm pretty sure I spelled their names wrong :) ).

And it is always great to get these two boys together (and they missed Hudson!).  I know I have mentioned it before, and I probably will again...but we so so so appreciate the friendships that Kaine shares with these boys!

Thanks for such a fun evening, Nick and Jess!  We love you guys :)

a post about cousins

Here is a tribute to our kids' cousins...we feel so blessed to have them in our lives!!  We are so thankful to be doing life so closely with our kids' first cousins (Ivy, Israel and Abel).  This Christmas it was also so fun that our kiddos could spend some time with their second cousins, who they do not see too often (Avery, Atticus, Atlas, Drew, Hannah, Spencer, Allison, Caden, Conlin, Quinn).  We didn't get too many pictures, but we did have good times with them :)  

 

 

What a blessing to have cousins :)

perspective

Has sickness hit your house yet these holidays?  It has hit ours.  The past couple of weeks have been filled with kids (and me) with fevers, terrible coughs and major runny noses.  The other night, the stomach flu hit our little Layla.  This girl seems to attract the stomach flu!  She gets it multiple times per winter!  Sigh.

 

But as you can see from these pictures, she is a very sweet and surprisingly happy flu patient (at least this time, she was!)  What a sweetheart.  (And what a sweet hubby who stayed up with her on the couch for a couple of hours in the night!  He is always willing to do this...thank you , Natie!)

So at times, all of this sickness can frustrate me--it means I get less sleep, have to deal with more fussing, and don't get to do all of the plans that I want to do.  Notice how it is always all about me? 

God has been so faithful in helping me to see my selfishness and unjoyful attitude.  Although it is still no fun to be sick or have sick kids, I have been finding joy in it, in being so thankful for the health that we all do possess...and also remembering that God is so good, even in the midst of suffering.  Ha!  And this "suffering" can hardly be called suffering.

And recently, God has REALLY challenged my perspective...some good friends and neighbors of ours, Lane and Emily, were in a terrible car accident a couple of days ago.  Lane and Emily were married last spring, and they live on the third floor with us at NTBI, just a few doors down.  They are a super sweet and godly couple who are planning to give their lives to missions.  Praise God that Emily came out of the accident okay, but Lane is in bad shape.  Thankfully, it sounds like he came through his brain surgery pretty well, so it seems that prayers are being answered...but wow.  God has used this in MY life to challenge my thinking and my attitude.  Please join us in praying for Lane and Emily! 

Merry Christmas!!

 

With love in Him,

 

Nathan, Rachel, Kaine, Halle, Layla and Daisy

more goodbyes...

As my sister Jill said recently in a blogpost, our lives are full of transition.  Along with these transitions will come MANY goodbyes.  A few days ago we had to say goodbye to a family whom we have grown to love very much.

Scot and April are on staff at NTBI, and our family has grown close to theirs.  Our kids have become such good buddies!  But they are leaving soon to spend  a few months in Texas--so when we get back to NTBI from our break, they will be gone.  So anyway...we said goodbye to them :( 

This is Jon Wiley.  He is a couple of years older than Kaine, but neither of them notice or care!  They are such good friends!  I have overheard them saying things such as:  talking about how they are "brothers in Christ"; talking about maybe being on the mission field together someday; and about becoming "blood brothers" (they actually asked us parents if they could cut themselves and become blood brothers!  So funny!  We persuaded them to make matching tatoos instead).   Anyway, Jon Wiley has been such a good friend for Kaine, and we have appreciated the influence he has had on him!

This is Madison.  She is only a couple of weeks younger than Halle, and they are such good friends, too!  Maddie is a very affectionate girl with a fun personality...she says such funny things!  I have always appreciated how much she enjoys Halle and how well they get along together.  Maddie and Halle were ballet buddies this semester, and it is always so cute to see petite little Maddie in her tutu and leg warmers!  She is so cute:)

And here is sweet Sadie.  She melts my heart :)  She says the funniest things, and she is always wondering where Layla is when we see her (she loves Layla!)  They are good buddies, too...they are in childcare together and it is so cute to see them hug when they see each other in the hallways at school.  What a sweetie.

A couple of weeks ago, Scot and April had Kaine and Halle over for a sleepover!  They had sooooo much fun.  (and no, Daisy didn't spend the night, too! this picture was earlier in the evening while Nathan and I were there).

Here is Scot with Nathan and Aaron...haha!  They were going to go out with Scot for coffee and showed up in their Christmas sweaters for a joke.  It was very funny:)

I am so sad that I don't have any pictures of April!  When we left NTBI today to come home for Christmas break, I was thinking earlier that I wanted to take a picture with her...but then I forgot.  Sigh.  Oh well.  April is a super godly woman whom I respect very much.  She has been a great friend for me at NTBI!

We are so thankful for this family blessing us in many ways.  As Jon-Wiley said to us one time, "Being a missionary is hard because you have to say so many goodbyes.  But it also means that you get to say more 'hellos'"!  Such a wise thing for a young boy to say!  But so true, too...and a perspective that I want to remember.