Dana's Salvation!

I took the kids to another church in town that was doing a different VBS than ours. They had such a great time. On Friday night (the final day of Vacation Bible School)we talked with Dana about what she had learned during the week. She told us that she knew she needed Christ to save her. So we prayed with her as she made her decision to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We are so thrilled for this answer to our prayers----- A prayer which began before she was born. Here are some pics of the kids playing together after VBS in their Boomerang Express T-shirts (which they thought were so cool).

Dana's Ballet Program--"Deliver Us"

Dana had her first ballet performance in June. I'm so far behind I can't even remember the date (and I'm too tired to go look it up:) It was the story of the life of Moses. It was amazing! There were about 12 different levels of dancers and they all had a part in the show. Dana was a frog (from the plagues) for tap and a Hebrew child for ballet. It was so fun to watch her up there on stage---It made her seem so big! She is now dancing everywhere she goes:)

Dana's Kindergarten Graduation

Dana's Ballet Exams

Dana Turns 6

Aunt Christy bought Dana this shirt to wear on her special day. She loved wearing it to her Bible Buddies class and taking cupcakes to share with her friends.
She doesn't look like a baby anymore! We haven't lost any teeth yet, but I'm sure it's just around the corner:(
Grammie got Molly (American Girl doll) for Dana. When Dana got up this morning she wanted to dress up like Molly. This is the best I could come up with:)
Dana and Molly
Dana LOVES her Molly doll and is already half way through her Molly story collection this morning:)She just blurted out (while I was uploading these pictures) "Mom! The Nazis are in this book!" One of our school books this year was about some Jewish children that were hiding from the Nazis. It's fun to see her putting all these little facts together in her brain. She is growing up so fast!!!

Christmas Cradle

I was enjoying my family so much on Christmas day that, sadly, I didn't take any pictures. We did take a picture the next day of the beautiful cradle that Don made for Dana.

I had a cradle when I was a little girl and in October I asked Don if he thought he could build one for Dana. I had no idea it would be so gorgeous!!! I am always so amazed at my hubbies ability to make things happen. He drew up a sketch of what he wanted it to look like and piece by piece he started to build it. He didn't even have all the proper tools, but he is so creative and found a way to make it happen. This cradle is built to last (no nails-all dowels!). It will be a family heirloom for sure! Dana loves the fact that it's big enough for a real baby:)

I wanted to be a part of her gift too, so found a piece of foam for the mattress and made a sheet, pillow case and silky blanket to go in it.

I am so thrilled with the finished product!!!

Sneak Preview of Poppy's Book

My Dad wrote an amazing book this year called "Amazing Horse Facts and Trivia" (by Gary Mullen). It will be out in the Spring at Barnes and Noble! He got his hands on a few copies for our family and we have been thoroughly enjoying it:) If you even like horses, you've got to see this book! We are so proud of him and thankful that he did this just for us:)

Christmas Eve

My Dad came to spend Christmas with us this year. The kids just love their Poppy. The kids made a gingerbread house with him last Thanksgiving and a tradition began. This years gingerbread house was a definite improvement over last years. We found a lot of fun Christmas candy around the house to improve the simple kit we bought. My Dad is so much fun!

Dana left for cookies for Santa, which happened to be Daddy's favorite (Mint Milanos).

Growing Up So Fast

Jordan is changing so much right now. For the last couple of years he has been obsessed with letters. I am excited that he is finally starting to show an interest in other things. He loves to play with his toy cars right now and Veggie Tales Silly Songs is his favorite movie (at the moment). He loves to sing and we can hear him humming in his bed at night:) Oh, and I think his absolute favorite thing to do is chase his sister around the house and make her scream. He just loves to irritate her. They are really starting to play together, it just doesn't usually end well.

The Houston Ballet's Nutcracker

We took Dana and her cousin, Kiley to see the Houston Ballet perform The Nutcracker. It was our first time, too (and Don and I both agreed it was VERY long). It seems like it would be so much more interesting with dialog:) It's sooo much dancing and the moves start to look the same. The girls really seemed to enjoy it, though. The sets and costumes were beautiful. The girls both brought their Bitty Baby dolls (which they both named Claire). After the show we ate at a Thai restaraunt for lunch---delicious.

Dana's New Glasses

We discovered Dana needed glasses when she asked if she could move forward in church to see what the speaker was writing on the whiteboard. She moved forward and still couldn't see, so we printed out an eye chart off the internet and did a home test. Sure enough, she is nearsighted. I feel horrible that she has been seeing the world through blurry eyes. She is excited to see the individual leaves on the trees now:)