Today Abigail lost her first tooth.  Our little girl is growing up!

Once upon a time a young lad and his new bride spent their first anniversary at a New England Inn, located in the quaint little town of Grafton, Vermont. 

During that time the young lad and his beautiful bride had some wonderful experiences.  There were many days of exploring the countryside, antiquing, researching the local history, and relaxing on the front porch of the inn, rocking with a good book in hand.

One evening the two dressed up and went out to dinner.  During the dinner the young lady sampled a dish named Ratatouille, that she just loved.  It made her whole evening.

Later, the young lad found found out that this particular dish included that vile vegetable, eggplant, and banned it forever from the household residence.

Twenty-five years later, some one was skulking around their house and slipped in carrying the putrid produce.

Unbeknownst to the husband, it was slipped into the meal for that evening, the aforementioned Ratatouille.

Unbelievably, the husband ate some of it, and history was made - he liked it!

But…faint heart never won fair lady.

This past week we celebrated Emily’s birthday.  Here are some highlights:

Emily displaying a watch necklace.

Opening a present.

Reading a birthday card from Grandma and Grandpa.

 Lunch with Mom and Dad at Jason’s Deli.

Working on her dollhouse with Dad.

Looking through her baby picture album.

The family gathers for a birthday dinner.

Checking out the cake, made by big sister Kathy.

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While at Jason’s Deli, the cashier showed Emily how to balance a dime and nickel on top of a quarter.  Here she demonstrates her prowess.

A present from big sister Karen.

A porcelain doll to add to her collection.

Once the celebration was finished, here is a creative thing to do with balloons.

Kimmy gets creative.

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Today Kimmy Joy is four years old.  She had a wonderful day of celebration.

What makes this birthday interesting is that everyone else in the family is down sick in varying degrees except–Kimmy Joy.  Fortunately, she did not notice a reduction in enthusiasm by the rest of the family.

Blowing up balloons - a favorite activity.

Opening a present.

Eating a birthday dinner of her choice - french fries (hmm).  Some stuffed animals were also invited to dinner.

The many birthday faces of Kimmy.

Cake by Kathy (a lion).

Singing happy birthday (it may take a minute or two to load). 

More balloons.

Opening a card from Grandma and Grandpa, who live in Florida.

Today is Kimmy Joy’s birthday.  Stay tuned…

Recently we visited with the Wennker (the younger) family.  They have two very young children that, for some strange reason, are a major attraction with my family, especially the youngest Wenneker.  Why is that?

Visiting on the front porch.

Karen and Kathy with little Zadok.

Karen holding Zadok.

Hope holding Zadok.

Kathy and Zadok.

A new year has begun. 

This past New Year’s Day our church met together for a time of praise, singing, Bible reading, encouragement, fellowship, and a casting of vision for the new year on both the church level and family level (click here to view our church vision and goals for 2008).

Here are some pictures from that time.

Arriving early to set up.

Our friends have arrived.

Time for breakfast.

Creative minds at work.

This is great!

Smiling for the camera.

Pastor Phil leading us in the Bible reading for January 1.

I’m ready for the next activity!

A few rounds of Duck, Duck, Goose.

New friends.

Satisfied and exhausted.