It was such a joy to see the excitement of Christmas abound in Blake and Brenna today.
Fruit snacks before breakfast? Santa must have thought you were a very good girl.
(he was right!)
Mom got a new camera from Santa!!! Blake was excited as well, as he got to take pictures with mom's old camera all day long.
We're gearing up for yet another winter storm that is supposed to arrive today and last through Friday. It's not looking good for those who are planning on traveling over the holiday but fortunately our plan from the start was to stay home and celebrate as a family. Is it bad of me to say I'm kind of looking forward to this impending storm? I'm SO looking forward to time 'stuck' at home with my husband and kids. No places to be, no errands to run, no set schedule... just time together as a family celebrating the birth of Jesus and the gift he is to all of us.
So, I'm just saying a quick prayer that hubby will get home safely from work this afternoon and then- let the CeLeBrAtIoN begin! :)
A few weeks ago, we celebrated Christmas with my parents in Eldora (I'm a little behind on posting, I know). But here are some pictures from our time there. We had a great time together and it is so fun to see all of the cousins interact and play together as they are getting older.
A winter storm is blasting through Iowa right now... leaving us with 15 inches of snow and counting and nasty wind. With a blizzard warning until midnight tonight, they aren't even letting street crews out to plow yet. The 30-50 mph wind gusts makes for dangerous driving.
All that being said, it's been a great day at the Farwell home. Hubby stayed home from work and I got tons of cleaning and things done around the house. It's been a fun 'Saturday' in the middle of our week.
Blake got to go out in the cold for a brief while to explore the snow and had a blast.
Blake stayed pretty clean... until he decided to lick his bowl clean (notice the chocolate on his forehead).
Brenna was a mess from the start! :)
Blake has had his heart set on being a penguin for halloween for quite some time. Tonight was the big night- cutest penguin I've ever seen!
Ready to eat some fish? Or a great big penguin laugh? Not sure...
Our pretty ballerina stayed home with mom to hand out candy.
Happy Halloween, From the Farwell's
Brenna love, love, loves her babies. All of a sudden too, she wasn't really interested in them at all until this week.... and now her babies are all she wants to play with. This morning I was cleaning the kitchen and she came strolling around the corner pushing her baby on this make-shift stroller. Pretty creative- although baby doesn't look very comfortable. Maybe 'Baby Emma' as she's known in our house, would like a real baby stroller for Christmas?
Each fall a local church opens up 'Pumpkin Town' for the community to attend. This is our second year attending- check out pictures here from one year ago at Pumpkin Town. A little windy and cold, but the kids had a blast. So much fun in fact, that we went back yesterday! :)
Pumpkins. Pumpkins, everywhere!
In the bouncy house!
Feeding the animals.
Sweet little girl, picking up all the little pumpkins she should get to!
I know, I know... it's been over a month since my last blog post! Let's just say, in the whirlwind of the past couple months, that blogging has not been at the top of my to do list.
Let's talk about this little girl- can you believe how big she is getting?
Brenna had her 15 month doctor appointment yesterday and is still just a petite little thing. Weighing in at 21 pounds (25th percentile) and 29 inches tall (5th percentile). Although small, she well makes up for it in personality! She is a sweet, but sassy...loving, but determined... cuddly, but strong willed little girl and we love everything about her. :) Her vocabulary is blooming- she says words like hi, bye bye, see ya, mommy, daddy, doggie, ball, all done, up, please, thank you, cookie, ee i ee i oh (old mac donald song), uh huh (yes), outside, and more that I'm sure I'm forgetting.
Blake is 2 1/2 and growing up far too quickly! We visited a preschool this week and he loved it. He participated in the opening circle activities and answered all of the questions the teacher asked to the class. On our way home, he informed me that he was a bit disappointed that there wasn't a trampoline at preschool but he liked it all the same and wanted to go back. Sorry, buddy- not until next fall!
Aren't they getting so big?! That's it for now...
We had such a wonderful weekend with Nolan's brother and his family visiting from Kansas. The weather was gorgeous, company was great, and the kids had a blast together! Thanks for making the trip Rod, Annie and Kenton!
Ready for church!
Brenna giving Kenton a ride.
Kenton and Blake on our way home from Moo Roo... our favorite ice cream joint!
Fun in the tub.
This past weekend, Nolan and I were able to get away for a long weekend. It was WONDERFUL! We headed to Northern Wisconsin were some friends of ours have a cabin right on Long Lake. We enjoyed 4 days of relaxing, boating, riding atv's, watching bald eagles, napping in the hammock, playing games, roasting marshmallows, and enjoying eachother's company. 
Many of you have heard by now that a big storm rolled through Eldora Sunday morning. Most every house is damaged, including my parents. They had baseball size hail and hurricane force winds, knocking out 14 windows, holes in the roof and siding, many downed trees and a very large mess. They even have hail damage inside their house... yes, that's right! There are dents in the walls from hail inside their house. We were there to help in the clean up yesterday and I headed back there for the day today. Alot has been accomplished, a lot yet to do- but praising the Lord that everyone is safe and my parents are well.
Here are a few pictures of my parent's house but they don't even begin to show the extent of the damage. The pictures don't do justice!
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someone once told me that little boys are so much messier than little girls are....
Much to Nolan's liking, Blake loves Home Depot. Every time we are even in viewing distance, he squeals with delight saying, "I see it, I see it, it's Home Depot!"
Tonight we went to Home Depot to get some lumber for some storage shelves Nolan is going to build in the basement. As Nolan and a empoyee we loading the lumber into the back of the car, Blake looked at the plain 'ol sheets of lumber and said, "It's beautiful Mommy!"
All I could do is laugh...
Pizza making with cousin Malia...
Nolan and Blake were gone this afternoon. I was in the living room reading when I realized the house was extremely quite. I found Brenna in the bathroom....
the cake...
the girls...
the mess...
the family...
We had such a wonderful time celebrating Brenna's birthday today with my family. It was a perfect day full of cake, gifts, outdoor fun, and time with family. The kids are exhausted and so are mom and dad. :)
