Time for an update

Life has been busy...I know, your life has been busy, too! I try to check in on other bogs and often feel that I should update my own, but then someone needs me to get them food or clean up a mess or teach them math or just yell at them so they'll stop arguing with a sibling :)

I have wanted to update my photos....we had a fun photo shoot recently and I'm so excited about all the great pictures that came from it! I know there are lots of pictures in the post, I just couldn't decide which were my favorites :) Enjoy!

Christmas tree pod

The night we decorated our tree, Lillee found a little gift under the tree as she was placing baby Jesus on a limb. I found her discovery the next morning when I was vacuuming pine needles from the carpet. It was this odd little pod. It had a texture similar to a wasp nest, but was shiny in places, not dull like a wasp nest. I thought it may be sap that had leaked from the tree because one end almost looked as if it has been oozing out of something. It was attached to a branch, not the trunk of the tree and felt very light, and I assumed hollow as I shook it and heard nothing.

We decided to cut into it to see what we might find. I expected a worm, an insect, an egg of some sort. Instead, there were layers of the outer material and no room for a worm, insect or egg....so I thought. I squeezed it a bit and yellow fluid began to seep from the layers. Then I saw black specks coming through the yellow fluid.

After further examination with a flashlight, we found the layers were actually divided into cells....fascinating!

We searched for an hour on the internet, using very descriptive terms but came up empty handed. Within 5 minutes of posting on one of my homeschooling boards, someone told me it sounded like a mantid egg sac. Sure enough, it was a mantid egg sac!

I love discovery, research and answers! Science is such fun and I hope my kids will continue to enjoy and have a love of exploration and the desire to find answers without fear.

Chase's first time playing in the snow

We had our first snow this year and Chase is finally old enough to bundle up and head out, especially since it was only 1-2 inches of snow.


Chase all bundled up! He's trying to warm his freezing hands because he won't keep mittens on.



We've not taken down the Halloween witch...she's pretty cute and the girls like her. So we topped her with a santa hat and now we can keep her up longer!


The kids were cleaning sidewalks at our neighbors' houses as their daily service.


Isabel tossing a snowball at the camera. Unfortunately, the snow was very powdery and the kids were disappointed that it would not stick together.



Not sure what to make of it all...he kept batting hsi eyelashes to get the snowflakes off.

A true angel...love ya Belly!

Decorating the Christmas tree

Chase didn't undecorate the Christmas tree, like he did last year. It was a lot of fun! We put out the decorations, made sure they all had hooks and were ready to go before letting Chase at them.

He carried these same 3 Christmas balls for awhile.

And did not want to put them down! Surely his little fingers could hold more...

Connor is growing up so fast! Al and Chase left to run an errand and I was goign to start the tree decorating with the kids while Chase was gone. Connor refused to decorate the tree without Chase. He insisted that Chase be part of it all and the girls joined the chorus! I was so proud of them.

Chase got the honors of topping the tree this year...it took awhile.

And finally (with the help of grandma and daddy) he did it....applause please!

Temple and Visitor Center at Christmas time

We were blessed with an opportunity to go to the temple to see the Festival of Lights with some friends, this year. Connor was our photographer for the event.


There is a creche display that is fascinating! There are creche from all over the world that are on loan for this event each year.

I liked this one because Connor caught his reflection in the mirror from the display.

The outdoor, life-size nativity. BRRRRRRR

Beautiful Christmas trees inside the visitor center.

Connor captured a great picture of the Christus.

Most of the outdoor pictures looked like this. It was very cold and hard to have a steady hand.

Connor's final picture for the night was simply gorgeous!