Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Saying Good-bye with Joy and Peace

Grandpa and Grandma, Christmas 2007
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We said good-bye to Aimee's Grandma V. on Monday, December 21. It was so wonderful to see her one more time before the Lord took her to heaven to be with Him. It was a joy to sing to her, "Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling... come home, come home. Ye who are weary come home. Earnestly, tenderly Jesus is calling... come home." She was married to Grandpa for 62 years, with him caring for her almost every need during these last couple of years. We were (are) all sad to say good-bye here on earth, but it was with peace and joy, knowing that she was going to her real home to never again experience any problems, and to be in the presence of her Savior, the Lord Jesus. And, as Silas said the other night when he saw her picture, "I love Great-Grandma just the way she is!"

Grandma and Silas, December 2005

Grandma and Amelie, March 2007

Grandma and Josiah, July 2009

Silas, Grandma R, Grandma V, Amelie, Grandpa V, Summer 2009

Grandma's Roses, Summer 2009
I'll always remember her flower gardens.

See you soon, Grandma!!!

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Family Photos - November 12

Sneak preview!

Tipoo the Cat

This is Tipoo. She is David's parents' kitty. She has a few interesting habits that I decided to catch on "film."

"Oh goody- my favorite treat- milk!" Dip, dip.

"Mmm, mmm- paw-smackin' good! Granted, it's not as good as the cup of coffee I tasted like this the other day, but it's still pretty good. I just love the flavor of my kitty litter and all of the other places I've been today mixed in with my milk. Gives it such a fresh, wholesome taste."

"What?!"

"They're looking at me strange again. Guess I'll have to drink like a normal cat. Sigh- these humans!"

November 8


Here is what the pear tree (don't ask me what kind of pear- not any kind that we ate!) out in the driveway looked like at the beginning of November. Contrary to what it looks like, it does not grow out of cement, but has a little tree bed of its own.

November 7 & 8 - Happy Little Fella'

I just love these paper napkins! Great shredding material!
Mmm, mmm, mmm- just can't get enough of these tasty little toes!

November 5- Gingerbread Men

"I've run away from a little old lady, a little old man,
a cow, and I can run away from you! I can! I can!!!
So run, run, fast as you can.
You can't catch me,
I'm the Gingerbread Man."
(From the looks of things, these ones got caught and eaten all up!)

Saturday, December 5, 2009

The New Baxter-Mobile

Hurray- a new Baxter-mobile provided in October (oops- late post). We were praying and looking for this vehicle. We can now haul around eight people plus some cargo. This is a dad's perfect family vehicle. It hauls enough cargo to make him happy, carries all of the children plus, but isn't totally a mini-van. Kind of a cross between rugged SUV and family-friendly minivan. The mom''s pro-points are that it's not a full-size van (that's actually kind of a praise in her mind! Regular full-size vans are on her top-ten list of ugly vehicles) and that it carries all of the children plus, as well as a stroller and groceries. The 's con list includes the fact that she was vehemently apposed to driving an Astro or anything similar in appearance up until the month of purchase of this vehicle. We were doubly thankful that God provided this van for us (through Craigslist, from a Christian family) when we learned that the Cash For Clunkers program killed millions of good-condition, used vehicles. Suddenly it made sense why it was so hard to find a decent used vehicle on the local (and Denver) car lots! All of the good ones had been turned in on the C-4-C program and had their engines melted, their useable parts sold, and then were crushed within the required three month period. So, if you happen to come by for a visit- we can now drive you around in the comfort and style of a 2003 Chevy Astro!

Monday, November 23, 2009

Giant Pumpkin

Here are the kids with a giant pumpkin (Amelie is sitting on it) that David's mom grew out in front of the house. It got a lot of comments as the summer progressed into fall! Our summer hail storm shocked the plant, so all we got off from it were these two beauties. The one Silas is sitting on looked like it crossed with a squash, as it was shaped more like a giant squash.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Loving Carrots




The sign of true carrot love- when they grow with their arms around eachanother! These two love-roots came from Aimee's parents' garden recently. Got any funny captions for this one?

Friday, November 13, 2009

You know you're a mom when...

...you open the dryer and the faint, but delicious smell of lightly cooked garlic wafts out to greet your nose. That's funny- no one's cooking garlic at this hour of the morning. The funnier thing is that the load contains all of your baby's next size of clothing that you just pulled out of a storage tub, as well as a couple of pairs of your preschooler's pants. You definitely know that you did not tuck a clove of garlic in with the baby clothes when you put them away 3 years ago. Sniffing the laundry, you note that each item seems to smell fine- a pleasing mix of odors from your detergent and the dryer sheet you used. Still, the aroma of garlic lingers in the air. All of the clothes are laid neatly in the basket when you reach in for the last item- the dryer sheet. Hmm... what's this? A peeled garlic clove (lightly browned and slightly dried thanks to the heat of the dryer) snagged in the fibers of the dryer sheet?! How on earth?!!! All you can figure is that you inadvertently lost a clove on the floor while cooking recently, and that your preschooler pocketed it on his way through the kitchen. Stranger things have happened!

Thursday, October 29, 2009

October Catch-Up!

Here's a run-down of some things I am late in posting for October- just not enough time these days! As it is, I'm up waaay to late. If I get an opportunity, I'll try and expand some of the subjects. For now, a picture is worth a thousand words!

Free day at the Denver Zoo on October 7! Never in my life have I seen such a collection of moms, little kids, Baby Bjorn front carriers, and super-spendy strollers! We skipped the stroller and did our wagon and our hand-me-down Baby Bjorn. Unfortunately, Amelie decided to try and climb out of the wagon while I was pulling it, which resulted in her hitting her head on the pavement. Thankfully there were "concerned" people who gasped, made comments, and informed me that they had "definitely heard her head hit the ground!" I was rather upset with Amelie that she had disobeyed my simple instructions (to stay sitting while the wagon was moving), very concerned about her fall and a possible head injury, put out by the gawkers, and feeling a bit awkward trying to get down and cuddle my screaming child with a 15-pound baby in the front carrier! My mind was picturing a visit to the zoo's medical office, a trip to Denver Health (hospital), and the ensuing bill for a CT scan to check for a subdural hematoma- yes, that's the nurse in me going crazy, combined with all of my mothering instincts- a lethal combination at times). The best I could politely muster to the rubber-necking, "informative" by-standers was, "Thank you; I heard it as well." Well, the Lord's mercies are new every day (and in our family's case- every hour- every minute of the day!), and she survived with what I think was a mild concussion (felt sick for about and hour or more, threw up once and was fine). We managed to enjoy a good portion of the rest of the zoo after that, including the ever-popular carousel.
Oh, the delight of being a small child on the back of a large animal!
Here they are- totally exhausted. Mission accomplished! We had a very quiet drive back to Greeley. Thankfully, my energy levels were still at operational levels.
That night we tried a coconut for the first time.
Mmmm... tasty!

Sl-u-u-rp! Interesting. Not interesting enough for more than one or two sips by each kid, though. I ended up finishing the juice inside- kind of sweet with a light coconut flavor, combined with a fresh, green flavor (like plant juice).


Of course, because the day at the zoo had been so nice, the next day brought a cold front with some snow. The kids were so excited to put on their boots (rain boots, of course, thanks to our days in Ketchikan), and run around in the big, soft flakes. They were hoping to eat some, but well, obviously they'd have to graze as well in order to get any snow!


Josiah also turned an official four months old on the 8th. He's trying to sit up, and does quite well. We keep the Boppy behind him since he tends to go backwards when he's looking up at someone. He's such a sweet little guy- I hope he always keeps this grin on his face and never learns how to say "no" defiantly. I know- in my dreams- especially since Romans 3:23 says "For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." David and I know from experience that there is much training to be done- some of which has already commenced. We also know that the only real change in his heart attitudes will come through the saving grace of our great God, and so we pray for his salvation. It is lots of fun to have a baby around.

Mmm... pumpkin-oatmeal-chocolate chip cookies.

Here's Silas in an outfit handed down to him by Uncle Aaron. (Yes, Uncle Aaron does happen to be 27 years older than Silas- what on earth made you ask?! Are the polyester pants such a give-away?)


Don't break the ice! Silas caught on right away with this "new" game.

This is what happens when my dear husband runs the grain mill for pancakes without making sure the flour container is pushed into position as far as it should go. Everything (I mean EVERYTHING) gets a coating of flour! Thankfully, we run it in the wash room with the door closed. Thus, the flour was only on the washer, the detergents and such, the walls, the door, the floor, etc. I spent a lot of time vacuuming wiping down, and thus was quite thankful for the non-toxic nature of spelt flour. This was a couple of days after the room had been cleaned up of fire retardant from an extinguisher. Yes, a little excitement when the dryer caught on fire... but again, the Lord is so good and David's mom checked her load in the dryer when the fire had just caught in the back. She yelled, David's dad ran a grabbed an extinguisher which was just outside the laundry room, and he quickly took care of things. Further investigation by David and his dad revealed that somehow some lint had gotten in on one of the elements. So, for all of you folks who love your dryers, don't just clean your lint trap and the area around your dryer to ensure that it is safe, but check the motor/element area as well (and clean it) to ensure that no lint has entered the compartment!

That's all for tonight. I"m going to bed.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Kitchen Helpers


Tasting a freshly ground batch of spelt flour. Mmmmm!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Miss Amelie


Growing up so nicely. Potty training is well in-progress- hurray!

Fall Colors




Scenes from around the yard at Aimee's parents' house.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Rabid Baby!

Check out all that foam!
"Grrrr..."

Happy Birthday to Silas!

Silas turned four on October 2.
He's looking quite handsome and grown up these days.

It was supposed to be an airplane cake. The kids were fully convinced! In fact, Silas was rather delighted. I guess that's what counts- not how perfect it is by the maker's standards.

Here's the usual Baxter chaos.


Happy birthday, Silas! It's hard to believe we've been parenting for four years. It's been a very full four years, with a lot of learning on the part of the daddy and mommy. May the Lord bless and keep you during the coming year, and may your life bring glory to Him.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Just Cute