Just like Daddy

Silas spotted this shaving kit when we were shopping one day and I sneaked it into the shopping cart and gave it to him for Christmas. He was very excited to try it out!

He was loving looking at himself in the mirror. "I' m just like Daddy".


Then Daddy and Moses had to join the fun. Notice Moses is using a toy dolphin to shave with. Hey whatever does the job.

and two more...

Hopey modeling two of her presents at my parent's house

The Buckwalter Clan

(not the best pic but wanted to include it for the memory)

Christmas 2010

Well. Christmas has come and gone. It's hard to believe. I really enjoyed counting down the days to Christmas this year on the blog. I liked the anticipation and the time it brought reflecting on the many blessings in our lives. We spent Christmas Eve with my family and the day after Christmas with Mark's family but on Christmas we actually spent the entire day as a family at our house and it was such a good time of relaxing, playing legos, coloring, watching movies, cutting wood (mark got a chain saw and HAD to try it out) and just being together! I loved it.

We watched Toy Story 3 with the kids on Christmas and will confess we cried at the end (mark will probably not like me posting this). At the end of the movie there is a picture of Andy and his toys shown that reminded both of us of this picture taken Christmas day of Moses and his beloved legos. It is crazy to think how fast he is growing up and wanting to savor these Christmas's where he still lights up over a box of legos.

Sarah was sick on Christmas but was a trooper. Here she is smiling but you can see in her eyes she does not quite have the sparkle that is usually there! We are actually battling round 2 of the stomach bug this week with more fevers, diarrhea, and vomiting. I am ready for healthy children again!

It was a Phillies Christmas at our house as all the boys got hats. I love this picture of my boys!

I love the glow of a tree and sitting by the light of it at night. Mark and I have a tradition of opening our gifts to each other Christmas Eve. It feels more intimate than doing it in the craziness of the kids opening their presents on Christmas morning. This is always a special time for us and this year was no different. We love to surprise each other. This year I surprised Mark and printed out our entire blog and made it into a book. I was pleased with how it turned out (aside from a few perfectionist things i would change) and it was cool to look back on the last three years and the journey we have been on. We are looking forward to what is in store for 2011.

Oh Come Oh Come Emanuel

...And Ransom Captive Israel.

May He come and ransom your hearts this season. He will come as surely as the dawn.

REJOICE. REJOICE.

Merry Christmas!

Praying....

Sick kids and Christmas. They just don't go together.
Moses and Silas have been battling a stomach bug off and on all week and now miss Sarah woke up with a fever and stomachache. I am trying to remain postive. I am praying for quick healing. If we come to your minds today please pray for health over our family this Christmas. Thanks.
And may health and joy reign over you and yours this Christmas!
Happy Christmas Eve EVE!

tis the season

Sometimes in the midst of everything it is easy to forget the reason why we celebrate Christmas. I say this every year and every year I battle these feelings. This year Mark asked the kids what they could give to Jesus since it is his birthday. I was impressed with the idea and wished I would have thought of it! Right away Moses sat down and wrote out a song which he sings in Jake Hamiliton (a hard core worship leader) type style. I loved it. So then Sarah wrote a song. They challenged us to write our own songs to Jesus too which we are working on. I was impressed with their hearts. Child like faith. Isn't that what it is all about after all.

little angels

i am so very proud of my children today. i took all four children to the dentist for three of them to get their teeth cleaned and checked....and they did awesome! i was seriously dreading the appointment and actually called and had two people praying. i am not kidding. lately just going to the grocery store usually turns into someone fighting, crying or even children running down aisles chasing each other and screaming like last week. and even yesterday at target i lost silas in the store for a few minutes and ended up pinching sarah for not listening (i am not proud of this fact). you get the idea. BUT today was so great and i was so proud there were tears in my eyes! i did not even have to bribe them or anything so afterwards we all headed to McDonalds. I am not sure the dentist would have approved but it was just what the doctor ordered!

the GOOD life.

Does it get any better than this?

This picture kind of captures all of them and their personalites right now. Moses is thinking "Do we really have to take another picture?". Sarah is making a goofy face. Hope our little ham is loving all the attention. And Silas is his usually JOY-ful self.

I am filled with gratefulness today. Even though it is so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of Christmas I REALLY want to enjoy this season of life.

May this season bring tidings of COMFORT & JOY to your house!

let it snow, let it snow

So my post a day till Christmas as has been quickly put aside in the last several days for party hosting, gingerbread house making with Sarah at school, christmas shopping and cookie baking.
But I had a few minutes this morning to post some pictures of the first snowfall! This was the first time Hope experienced snow (she was a baby last year)...and she loved it. Mark came home early and took seriously over 50 pictures of Hope in the snow! She was hamming it up and loving every minute of it!
I was loving the romanticism of the first snow and the beauty outside until I waited 45 minutes at the bus stop for the older kids to come home! My heart was racing and so were my thoughts by the time they were dropped off. Maybe the snow can wait! So while I was at the bus stop here's what else was happening...

miss junior photographer

Sarah took these pictures of Mark & I and was very proud of herself. I think she did a pretty good job too!

We love you Sarah!

miss sarah.

here are a few shots of my girl in all her glory...being outdoors and daddy taking her picture.

Have a great Tuesday!

consider the flowers.

So...I was reading through the story of Jesus in a kid's bible with Silas the other day. And the story was talking about how Jesus came to the world to die for our sins. We started a discussion about what "sin" is. I was listing some sins like fighting with your sister, hitting your brother ect.

And Silas chimes in "and worry".

"What?" I asked thinking I heard him wrong.

"And worry" he repeated. "Worry is a sin right Mom?"

And my heart is exposed by my four year old son. I do not know where he got that idea except the Lord was using him to bring home a point in my own life.

Far too often I worry...over very stupid things. Just this morning I was worried about which grocery store to go to and how much money to spend. Not to mention the time I waste worrying about finances, the kids, my health...I could go on and on. I am not proud of how much I worry.

I decided to open and up my bible and re-read the passage in Matthew about worry. It is amazing how clear the Lord is about worry in our lives. Here are few excerpts:

"Can worry make you live longer? Look how the wild flowers grow. They don't work hard to make their clothes. God gives such beauty to everything that grows in the fields, even though it is here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow. He will surely do even MORE for you. Why do you have such little faith!"

"Only people who don't know God are always worrying about such things. Your Father in heaven knows that you need all these things.

Do not worry about tomorrow. It will take care of itself. You have enough to worry about today".

Matthew 6:25-34

What a challenge. Now that I wrote this down I am even more challenged to walk it out!

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas

Last night we got our Christmas tree and had fun picking it out and decorating it. Then this morning we took an early morning visit to central market in Lancaster City. It was early because my kids have been waking up at the crack of dawn. It was cold outside (only 23 degrees) but we still had fun stolling through market, eating donuts, looking at all the Christmas decorations, and taking some fun pictures! All this and home before nine. Fun times.

childhoood.

The only thing more fleeting than summer is....

Childhood.

-source unknown

This quote is so true. Wasn't it just summer and I was complaining about the unbearable heat in our old farmhouse? At one point it was so bad I told Mark, " I think I would be a better mom, and maybe even a better overall person, if we just had air conditioning". Pathetic I know. And now it winter already and the coal stove is humming and the dog days of summer have come and gone.

I kind of feel the same way about my kids sometimes. Wasn't it just yesterday Sarah was emptying out closets at naptime instead of sleeping... and now she is in kindergarten and naps are a thing of the past! And wasn't it just last year that Silas started to talk? No, that was 2 years ago and now he is telling strangers that he is 4. And wasn't it just recently Moses learned to write his name with backwards "s"s... and now he is reading chapter books. And Hopey...she's my baby right? No, she's almost 2 already.

It's crazy when I stop and think about how fast they are growing up. It makes me want to cherish these moments even when it feels crazy and I want off the rollercoaster that sometimes seems like life. Instead I should put my hands up in the air and enjoy the ride.

Hello Winter!

Winter is here. The coal stove is burning and our big ol' farmhouse is actually somewhat warm & cozy this year. I miss the days of sending the kids outdoors to play but we are enjoying indoor activites like puzzles, games and books that don't get used during the summer. The other day Hope & Silas wanted to go out and play but it was freezing! I relunctantly bundled them up and they ran and played for almost a half hour. I captured a few shots of them sitting on the wood pile. My two little loves.

Good-bye Autumn...

apple of his eye

"Boyhood is a time of affirmation..."
"For this is the time in life when we were meant to come into the knowledge that we are the Beloved Son, the apple of our Father's eye."

-Quotes by John Elderidge-

Moses loves to rise early and be with Daddy. He will wake up at the crack of dawn just to make sure he gets to see him off to work. These two have a special relationship. It challenges me on how i view the Father...

Lord, may Moses always know that he is our beloved son and the apple of Your eye...

A New Day Dawns...

Three Musketeers

Here is Matt, Mark & Jonathan after baptizing 4 people in the Furnace Bay on a cold December afternoon!

FULL

We just came back from a weekend away at the Chespeake Bay with some old friends and no kids. I came home FILLED....refreshed, challenged, encouraged, loved, blessed....I could go on and on. God is faithful. And I feel so full.

"Mom, We're SPIES..."

Oh...so that is what this outfit is...hmm...

These guys gave me a good laugh the other night. Hope especially was hilarious. She is a real ham and loves to dress up. She lets the kids do the most crazy stuff to her and she loves the attention.

Thank God for my little Spies...for keeping life interesting.

Countdown to Christmas...

Okay so the countdown is on. And I thought it would be fun to post a picture a day until Christmas (not like I don't have anything better to do) ...
So far I have two days under my belt. Sometimes I wonder why I blog....is it for me, for others? Recently Mark and I spent some time looking over old posts and I remembered why I blog. Looking at the pictures and memories I was reminded that life is REALLY good. Blogging brings perspective to me at times when I wonder what we are doing with our lives.
So here is to 25 days of enjoying life, counting our blessings, celebrating the gifts of Jesus, family, and LIFE!

Give me an "E"...

My little Eagles fans...

wagon ride

These two have a special bond now that the older two are in school. When Hope takes a nap Silas gets very restless till she wakes up and they can play again. Silas is very gentle and protective of his little "Hopey". Here the two are doing one of their favorite things...wagon ride.

Biker.

There is something about a boy and a bike...

Silas had been riding on Moses's worn hand me down bike with a blown out tire (he did not get very far) for the last several months and the one thing he wanted besides legos was a new bike! Well his wish was granted. Thanks Grandma and Pa-Paw!

He is so proud and loves his new bike! The new biker jacket perfects the look don't you think!

Here's to new bikes and wishes come true!

little potato head

So... i am in the kitchen only to see this emerge from the playroom. Her brothers and sisters had "dressed" her but she was a willing sport and actually refused when i tried to de-potato head her.

When asked to say "cheese" this is what I got. She squeezes her eyes real tight and says "eeze".

the instigators with their little side kick

Have a great Tuesday!