Christmas on the Farm

We spent Christmas with Debbie's mom and dad, who live on the family dairy farm

Christmas Eve!

Yearly family photo.  Five of seven looking at the camera, four with nice smiles. :)

Abbey Irene, 9 years old.

Ethan Gary, 7 years old.

Isaac Anthony, 4 years old.

Naomi Nicole, 1 year old.

Luke Payton, 1 year old.

Sisters!

Brothers!  Luke didn't want to sit for any more pictures.  

Mommy and Daddy

No idea how all these children happened!

 Out take :)

Abbey waiting for Mommy to open the present from Abbey.

A shawl, chosen by her and paid for with her own money.  She is such a generous girl!

Isaac with one of his gifts.  We opened stockings in the morning and everything else in the afternoon, after church (so hard when Christmas falls on a Sunday!)

Each of the kids bought a present for Mommy.  She's pretty special!

Daddy, Mommy and the twins as the big family Christmas gets started.

Ethan with a brand-new Nerf gun!

There was target shooting, a la William Tell, much later.

Possibly after too much egg nog?

Even Grandma got in on the action!

Naomi with her new stroller, and Luke with his popcorn toy.  In matching Christmas jammies!

Christmas 2016

We can put a full-size tree up in this house.  Which is good, because everything had to be up out of the twins' reach!

Mary, Joseph, & Co. safely up high.

Christmas at Purdue: including a full-size gingerbread house made from real gingerbread and candy!

And a giant Christmas tree!

The kids were very patient about all the pictures.

The house was probably the work of an engineering class.

Cute girl on the lawn.

Home Time

What a house full of kids actually looks like!

Cute girls in baskets!

Abbey got a cookbook for her birthday (Happy 9th birthday Abbey!).  

She made her own cinnamon sugar this day

Ethan made his own tow truck.  With the spaghetti spoon...

Isaac with the fox he colored himself.

Lots of fun parks!

Five on a swing!

Or do your own swing.

Merry-go-rounds seem to be getting rare any more.

Who doesn't love a twisty slide?

Luke in the sun.

Luke with a hedge apple.

Isaac showing off his acrobatics.

Ethan's a pretty good climber, too.

He has a great smile.

And so does his littlest brother!

Halloween 2016

 Superhero Isaac, Princess Abbey, and Batman

We enjoyed the Trunk 'r Treat at a local church.  Above: throwing darts.

Collecting candy

Princess target practice

Naomi's costume: sockless baby

Ghost bowling (most of the ghosts had lost their eyes!)