Thanks grandma!

This is mostly for my mom. She gave the boys pj's for Christmas but I needed to iron on their names so she didn't get to see the final product. I asked each boy what they wanted for their names (Bubba vs. Micah). I had enough letters to put names on the back.

I also had enough letters to put the work "princess" on Rebekah's pajamas.

This is Isabella. Micah helped her name it. I love it cuz' it is the same size as Bekah :)

And of course I had to put a pic of Anah just because she is cute. AND GETTING SO BIG!

Abbotts in Kansas

My parents were able to come out and see our new house over the holiday. It was too short (it always is) and they had to leave the day before Christmas. This actually ended up being a blessing because of the weather but at the time I was thinking of letting the air out of their tires to keep them here an extra day :)

This year we put up an artificial tree. I guess I've been spoiled with beautiful, perfectly shaped, Colorado Christmas trees. At least it was a nice, full artificial tree.

I love my mom! Last time we took a picture of us, I was pregnant with Rebekah at a Mother/Daughter banquet. Mom didn't like the picture but I think we look great!

Gingerbread Train

The kids and I built our first gingerbread project last year. It was a cute little house that we built just like the box said.

This year the kids picked out the gingerbread train. I skipped all the icing and hot glued the train together which was a tremendous help.

By the time I thought to take a picture of the finished project, 

I had already eaten almost all of the candy :)

Family Time

We have greatly enjoyed our family time during Christmas Vacation. There were quite a few days where we were supposed to get certain things done but in the holiday spirit, we ended up doing plenty of fun activities.

Family movie time: The first time watching, "How The Grinch Stole Christmas"

Kansas' first snow fall didn't occur until almost half-way through Dec. and then it wasn't very much.

Thanksgiving Day Turkeys

On Thanksgiving Day Sharon helped the kids make candy turkeys. They consisted of Oreos, malt balls, Reeses Cups, candy corn, and frosting (glue). I never thought I would see the day when none of the kids would be able to finish their snack because it was too sweet to eat the whole thing!

Micah gets baptized

I was going through the photos on my camera and realized I never posted these.

In June of this year, Micah prayed and accepted the free gift of salvation! After many, many months of teaching and praying for him, he came to the realization and he could never be good enough to get to heaven on his own. He understood that Christ had already paid his sin debt by dying on the cross, and all Micah had to do was admit he was a sinner unable to save himself, believe on Jesus Christ and accept the gift of salvation.

Micah then began asking questions about being baptized. We were able to explain to him that being baptized was not what saved you or allowed you into heaven but that it was an outward expression of the work that Jesus has done in a persons heart. We also told him that as a new christian, it was an opportunity to be obedient to God's commands.

We waited until we had moved to Kansas and Micah's Papaw had the joy of baptizing his first grandchild and now brother in Christ.

Family Camp

We had the wonderful opportunity to go to Family Camp recently. Our church rented a lodge for one night, that had three sleeping rooms, a kitchen, and a common area with a wood fireplace (sigh*). We originally had it set up so that all of the Joneses would be in one room, men in the second room and women in the third room with the children divided up with which ever parent they would sleep with. We ended up only have two other families stay for the overnight part so each family was able to stay in a room together.

This was our room. The boys were thrilled to sleep on top of the
bunkbeds! Anah and Bekah both did decent on the floor
and the crib.

It was so wonderful to have a wood fireplace to roast marshmallows
and sit around. We ended up putting the kids to bed and the adults stayed
up past midnight, laughing, cutting up and playing board games.

The next morning the kids enjoyed pancakes and sausage
and a late morning in their pajamas!

Report card

Micah began school this year in Faith Baptist Academy instead of being home schooled. He was already familiar with the curriculum since it was the same one we used last year. He is absolutely thriving in the christian school environment. I am in the wonderfully unique situation of being able to teach at the school. I stepped in as substitute teacher the first week in Nov. and I will be able to again the first week of Dec. Honestly, ACE's learning center is like homeschool on steroids! I love it! There are only seven students enrolled this year so it would be no different than a family with 7 children doing school each day. Yet with the other students present, there is more of a sense of order (I like order) and there is even some friendly competition and a wonderful reward system for good grades.

Every 9 weeks each student gets a report card to inform the parents of his grades, behaviors and number of paces completed for the quarter.

Math and English were Micah's worst subjects when I schooled him. It was a constant battle every day for me to try and find fun, creative ways for him to do his school work but it always ended up with me forcing him to complete his work and him doing poorly. 

Yes, Micah's report card states he is an A+ student. He has completed 23 paces in 9 weeks (an amazingly fast rate), he read 168 wpm and comprehends 98% of what he reads. He also reads aloud better than the 4th and 5th graders at school. He memorized 41 verses of the Bible during his 9 weeks.

A mother couldn't be more proud...

Faith Baptist Church Harvest Party

We were just in time this year for Faith Baptist's 2nd Annual harvest party. We enjoyed an after noon of country games, country food, and christian fellowship.

Micah is trying so hard to get an apple and
Bekah is being such a "helper" by keeping
all the other apples out of the way

Pin the ear tag on the calf

Sun set was sooo beautiful on the prairie!
Everything took on a surreal color

A day (or two) at the zoo

We love to go to the zoo. When the weather is nice we try to go at least once a week. Why, you ask? Because its FREE!! 

Cheap entertainment is always the best especially when the kids can burn a lot of energy.

Bekah and her friend Clara

Looks like some of the monkeys got out of their cages!!

Rebakah's 3rd Birthday

Rebekah was able to celebrate her 3rd birthday with her mamaw and papaw this year. This has been the first birthday we have been able to spend with the Joneses since Micah's first birthday. Not to mention, she shares her birthday with her papaw which made this a unique and special time together as a family.

Rebekah "bustin' a move"

More dance steps :)

Happy 50th Birthday, Papaw!

Current kids Photos

Sunday night PeeWee performance

Anah and her "BFF" Christen

HFM

.....also know as Hand, Foot, and Mouth. (No, not Foot and Mouth, aka Hoof and Mouth. That's for cows :) It's kinda like Chicken pox but without the itching. I guess everyone either gets it as a child or is exposed to it.

Rebekah got the worst of it. Not only did she get them on her hands and feet but every spot that had an eczema patch broke out into raw blisters.

The boys only got a few blisters; one or two on the hands and feet. Both the boys got them in the throat though. As of this post, Anah has not gotten sick yet!

Mother's Day Brunch

I've always enjoyed going to the Mother's day brunch with my mom (this was formally know as the Mother/Daughter Banquet). Then when Rebekah came along the day brought special joy to be able to take my own daughter. It was special because it was more than just being a mother, it was being a mother to a daughter. Even though my own mother was not able to make it to this year's banquet, I was still overjoyed and proud to bring both my daughters.

 Even though it seems like the girls are much harder to raise than the boys, I look forward to raising them for God's glory and seeing what kind of young ladies they will become and someday godly young women.

I love you, my princesses!