My Son's "Wife"

So my boy Charlie, top picture below, apparently got married the other day while over at his friend's house.  I was a little offended that I didn't get to be their photographer, so I made them pose for a few pics.  She is a very stylish little girl (as you can tell by her new, and fake, glasses she's sporting)!  It is amazing watching these two together!  They crack me up!!!

They both have older sisters going through the adorable age of toothlessness!  A tooth here, a tooth there, no tooth in between.

And then there's my dark blue-eyed boy sporting my favorite shirt on him.  I'd say that his irish eyes are smiling, but when he smiles, his eyes disappear!  But when they are open, boy do they glow!

I LOVE THESE KIDS!!!

THESE KIDS ARE CRAZY!  We had a great winter and are anxiously  looking forward to a warm Spring!!!  We never got around to building a snowman this year, but covered the snow-angels and sledding (without too many injuries)!  Here are a few pics when we had a snowday and were trapped in our house.  They're all a little ready to be outside running through the field, planting a yummy garden, and roasting marshmallows/hotdogs!  So Am I!   

Charlie is 4!!!

Well, after a week and a half worth of celebrating, Charlie finally turned four!  It's so much fun to see how excited kids get and to remember the joy in birthdays.  It seems as you get older, birthdays tend to be more of a reflection on life, not enough celebration.  As the kids get older, each year is my favorite, but I'll miss the ages they were.  

Charlie had plenty of John Deere celebrations filled with multiple deserts and remote controls!  Happy Birthday Little Buddy!!!

Papa's Pumpkins!

Really, I promise.  I do try to post more.  Hopefully once I get my iPhone, that will help.  

This past weekend we went down to Brown County to visit family and pick some pumpkins along the way.  It was much needed family time.  Of course I just happened to have my camera so I snagged a few shots.  My little pumpkins are so cute!  AJ and his shirt are the feature for this post.

It's been a while!

I know. I know. It's been a while since my last post. If you've spoken to us over the last few weeks, then you know what's been going on. We're trying to get settled and bring peace back into our lives.

I came across these shots of Libby I took when we went on a "Photo Date" the end of June. Rebecca picked out this hat and it was perfect. This six year old looks beautiful, yet shows attitude at the same time. The good looks are obviously from me and we all know where she got the attitude from! (Okay, so it's switched around.)

Anyway, here are some of the shots of my little girl. She survived her first week of first grade already! Man, I'm getting old!

Learning to Fall

The other week Charlie and I converted his sister's Dora bike into a man's bike...John Deere!  I must admit I'm pretty impressed with the paint job and how a few stickers off an old toy can be given new life.  

Well, Charlie was anxious to ride so he jumped on the next day and took off down the sidewalk.  I was impressed to see him riding up and down as if he had done it for years...until...he hit the edge of the grass and fell over.  I got him to get back on pretty easily, but he continued to fall a few times and became more hesitant.  Then I realized something...I taught him to get on and ride, but never took the time to teach him to fall.

In life, we need to learn how to fall.  It's often when we fall that we are able to get back up and soar to new heights.  I take this opportunity with my children to tell them how we're going to fall a lot in life and it's important that we know how to get back up and try again.  

Finally, after holding the bike in the grass and tipping him over till he learned to put his foot down and catch himself as he was falling, whenever Charlie falls now he calls out with a big smile "Papa, I put my foot out!"  Now he knows how to fall.  

Happy Father's Day

How could I not post about Father's Day on my Papa Blog?  I'd like to say that it was a special day, and it was; however, every day is like Father's Day for me at my household.  My beautiful wife always takes care of me and sacrifices so much for our family.  The kids always greet me with singing a song called "Papa's Are Special".  

Father's Day is something that I'm only able to celebrate because of the ones that have made it all possible.  Thank you Rebecca, Libby, Charlie, and AJ for giving me the honor of being called a Papa. 

Happy Father's Day to you all and to my fathers in Heaven, my dad and my Lord Jesus.