2015/16 School Portraits

We decided, why buy cookie-cutter school pictures when we can do our own with much more personality! Kaeleigh, 6th grade (and how grown-up is she getting?!?!), Mack, 4th grade, and Piper, 2nd grade.

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4th and 2nd

Off they go! 

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Shoes by the door means school in the morning. :(

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So glad summer officially starts this afternoon for these two. They need a break! #schoolisntwhatitusedtobe

{summer in a nutshell}

Whew...that went by too fast!

is anybody out there?

This past weekend, we got to visit with David & Misti and their girls for an afternoon.
David sweetly encouraged CHASTISED me for not updating the blog often anymore.
I wish I could tell you my reasons were virtuous...
...because I'm too busy volunteering all my time in my kids' classrooms...
...because I decided to go to college...
...because I've been traveling around the world, serving the needy...
Ahem.
No.
None of those things.
I have no reason! Except perhaps laziness!!
So please forgive me, and enjoy these excerpts from the past few months:

Spring decided to show up!!

Easter came and went...
Thank you Grandpa and Robin for the treats!!! The kids LOVED IT ALL!!!!
That last picture is a cookie Piper decorated to look like our babysitter, Elizabeth. hahaha!

This year, Piper's big ballet performance was the CAC School of Ballet's rendition of
"The Nutcracker", called "Clara's Magical Dream".
Piper was a peppermint.
The sweetest of all!
Yes, I am biased.

Mother's Day!
The top picture is the bag Piper decorated that held my Mother's Day present.
Notice she loves me...awww...
...but also that she is FARTING. Ahem.
On Mother's Day, we made the trek to Michigan to hunt for mushrooms.
While this was NOT my idea of the perfect Mother's Day,
(we just HAD to go THAT DAY or ALL the mushrooms would be GONE)
we all had fun and I enjoyed hiking through the woods with my little fam.

Randoms, from top to bottom:
1. Self-explanatory!
2. The last Friday of the school year.
3. Piper's class made a different recipe every Friday, then compiled them all into an adorable cookbook!
4. The first fire and s'mores night of the season.

Today is their LAST DAY of school!
We are very proud of them...they both worked hard this year.
They both made improvements.
They both learned new things.
But most importantly, we saw real spiritual growth in both of them.
THAT is a gift and blessing from above that this mama treasures in her heart forever.

oh, hey!

Soooo it's been a while.
We've had a lot of this going on:

#snowmageddon
Indiana NEVER sees this much snow!
We have loved every single flake.
The kids got to have a bunch of extra days at home...



...and we've had some of this going on:

We shared the Super Bowl with our dear friends, the Gerbers.
We all refer to each other endearingly as "The Stoops" (it's a long story that would bore you...)
so we dubbed it "The Stooperbowl".
Yummy snacks, lots of laughs, and frankly...not that much football!

The Forgotten Children Worldwide Benefit Dinner & Concert Night(s) happened...
at the beginning of February...success!
God continues to bless this ministry beyond anyone's wildest dreams.
And while we've had our share of storms and dark days,
He's never forsaken us nor allowed us to fall.
We'll soon have FIVE HUNDRED sponsored children!
500!! When I began volunteering for FCW 5 years ago, we had less than 100!
God is amazing.



Someone had a birthday....

...and sadly these are the only pictures we took!
He was pretty pleased that school was CLOSED just for him on his birthday.
Ok, maybe it was the foot of snow and 25 below zero wind chill but shhh....don't tell Mack!
It's hard to believe this boy is 8!
He is the most compassionate, kind, funny, sweet, ornery kid on the planet
and there's no way we could be any prouder of our boy.
The girls are beginning to notice...
but thankfully he's still more interested in Minecraft than silly girls. :)



Last but not least...we know a sweet little girl who had a mid-winter ballet performance last weekend:

Our little ballerina was the best baby crow and baby spider IN THE WORLD!
Yes, we're biased.
We're allowed to be biased from time to time!

christmas leftovers

The kids received this North Pole Communicator in the mail before Christmas from my Grandpa and his wife Robin. 

They got to call the North Pole every night before bed and have a conversation with various North Pole residents...

even Santa and Mrs. Clause! 

This was so much fun and the kids LOVED it!

Soon after Jason and I got married, we began daydreaming and wishing and hoping and even praying for another couple to share life with. In our WILDEST and most hope-filled dreams, this couple would have children the same ages as our children and the children would all get along splendidly and love each other like siblings. 

We knew our dreams and hopes were unlikely to come true, but we did dream on. 

Then we got to know the Gerbers. This family is a gift from God to us!! All of our wildest dreams have come true and even some we never dared to dream! Our families are scattered all over the country, so the Bakers and Gerbers have become family to each other. It's wonderful and we are so grateful and we know we are blessed!! We got together before Christmas for what we hope will become an annual tradition. We had Ashley's Swedish Pancakes with bacon and sausage, we gave gifts, we played games, we laughed and laughed some more.

"WE ARE TIRED OF WAITING!!!!!!!"

(Christmas morning)

"Alright, alright...come open your presents!"

"Will this fit in my mouth?!"

This was our backyard last week!! The kids got to have a WHOLE extra week added to their Christmas break! It was absolutely perfectly wonderful. We enjoyed every single moment!!!! Today the snow is melting, I can see patches of brown earth being revealed by the dwindling snow piles. The kids are back to school and I am slowly getting back to normal.

Mack received this car-maker from Grandpa & Robin. It's so fun and really cool!! There are wax sticks that get melted into a mold and once it's cooled, he can customize his creation however he likes with stickers and various chassis'. 

We've all enjoyed this gift!

snowed in!

I took these pictures yesterday as the snow was still coming down.
Today we have sunshine and the temperature is a balmy -9 with a windchill of -35.
There's a massive drift that takes up our whole backyard and is almost half as tall as our house!
Winds around 25 mph leading to decreased visibility and county roads that are impassable have led to
school being canceled today and already for tomorrow too, making for an extra long Christmas break!

WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are loving every minute of it!
We've had lots of family time, pancakes, cookies, video games, and board games.
Once I get out of my warm cozy chair I am headed to the kitchen to see about a big pot of soup.

Now I know there are some northerners (like my mother), who live in these arctic conditions every winter,
scoffing and balking and even laughing at the idea that school and businesses are shut down.
To them I say "Laugh it up!!! Enjoy your Monday grinding away at work and school, we'll continue enjoying
OUR day together as a family holed up in our little nest with treats and kin."