Sharing Christmas

Last year I participated in a blogging event called "Sharing Christmas" but I couldn't get my act together in time to do it this year. But I did want to share some pics because last year's event made me realize that I didn't have many Christmas decorations throughout the house and so I got a bunch of stuff on clearance at the end of the season last year! So, here are just a few pics of our home decorated for Christmas. If you want to read about our traditions etc., you can read last year's post by clicking here.

Also our house project is ALMOST DONE! So, I will soon be posting some before, during and after shots!













We have never done an Advent Calendar before, and I don't know exactly what you're supposed to do, but we have been using it to teach the kids about Christmas. So each night when they open the door, we have 3 things listed on a piece of paper - a Christmas song, a special family or person in our lives to pray for, and a part of the Christmas story or a special Christmas memory to talk about. It has been so much fun and a great way for us to connect each night as a family - it has really drawn out the Christmas season for us and we will definitely be making this a tradition.

We hope you all have a Merry Christmas! Peace and Love!

A Very Happy Thanksgiving!

We went to Wisconsin to celebrate Thanksgiving (and early Christmas) with the Lowery clan - I can't even believe this, but I think it was almost 3 years ago that we were all together - we didn't make it out there last year, and the year before that when we were there, Danny & Kris were over in Ethiopia getting Caleb. So, it was very special to finally all be together again! Although, technically we weren't all together, because we are eagerly awaiting Micah's stateside arrival - Micah is Danny & Kristen's 2nd little boy that they are adopting and we are hoping they get their court date any day now! And Jeff & Darla's baby joined us inutero, so we are looking forward to having 2 more little ones with us by next year's celebration!

We had a great few days together. When we were all there, it was 10 adults, 5 kids and 4 dogs sleeping under one roof! Scott & Deann were great hosts as always! We also got the pleasure of seeing my Aunt Dianne & Uncle Jerry and cousin Jeremy, his wife Alisha and their baby Joel. It was a wonderful time of reconnecting and it went way too fast.

Sophia had a hard time parting with her cousin Brittany this time! She must have cried 4 or 5 times on the way home. Brittany is a really special big cousin that takes so much time to play with Sophia. (Thank you Brittany!)

Whenever we come away from our family, we always feel sad that we live so far apart, but we also enjoy that when we are together, we are all in the same house for several days and nights - it's a great way to bond!

Love and miss you all!!!

Farewell (N POZEGNANIE) Dear Friends

Tonight we are getting together with our friends, the Martys, for the last time while they are PA residents. We've always known this day would come, but that doesn't make it any easier to say goodbye! Four years ago in October, we were unexpectedly and pleasantly blessed with the gift of living close to each other. Bethany and I met in jr. high and immediately clicked - we've been best friends for over 21 years now. We met Quenton & Jon in college and the 4 of us went through our early dating years together. After both getting married in '96, we went our separate ways, never believing we'd ever get to live near each other again (but always holding out HOPE!). Eight years later, we got that chance when Quenton's job with HOPE International brought them to within an hour of us.

Over these past four years we have created so many special memories. When they moved here we vowed that we wouldn't let this time pass us by and end up with a bunch of "if onlys" or "we should haves". We made so much effort to not let the hour drive be a deterrent from getting together as much as we could - and it was worth every minute and every $ of gas! Our friendship as couples has grown so much over these years and it has been a great joy to watch our children grow into the best of friends. We have built the foundation for a life-long friendship for our families, regardless of the distance between us.

Quenton, Bethany, Eden, Truman & Briar, we love you so much and will miss you immensely! You are going to leave a big hole in both our hearts and our calendars. We wish God's richest blessings on you as you begin this next phase of your amazing journey in POLAND! We admire your faith and sense of adventure!

So many of our special memories include the Z's and so they are in many of these pics! DMZ gatherings just won't be the same without you! Enjoy this slideshow that captures many of our fun times together!

With much love,
Jon, Dawn, Sophia & Anthony

AAAAAARGH! Halloween Was Sad!

I am all about the costumes on Halloween...so I was very disappointed when we woke up Friday morning and Anthony was very sick! You know a kid is sick when they don't want to go trick-or-treating! We had such great plans for that day too. I had a 1/2 day off work, the kids were off school, it was beautiful weather and we were supposed to attend our 1st Annual DiCo Cousins Halloween Extravaganza at Joel & Shannon's! Sophia headed over with Grammy, PopPop and Aunt Lizzie while Anthony and I laid in the dark house and hid from the trick-or-treaters! She was a great big sister (as always!) and brought home candy for her Bubba.

Since the kids had such fun costumes, I decided to dress them up today and get some pics. Enjoy the pics of our pirate and gypsy!

AAARGH FACES:



and check this out...(I'm not a very crafty/creative person, so I am proud that I "made" this shirt)

12 Years of Wedded Bliss

On October 12, Jon and I celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary! It does not seem like that is possible, but we did get married pretty young, so I guess it is!

Our dear friends Bethany and Quenton offered to take our kids for TWO nights! It was so nice to have time to be just the two of us. We went to a movie one night and then headed up to Lancaster for an overnight stay at The Lancaster Arts Hotel. We would highly recommend it, along with the restaurant in the hotel - John J. Jeffries. Downtown Lancaster city is really cool - full of cafes, coffee shops and art galleries. Not what you think of when you think of Lancaster! We had beautiful weather - just like the day of our wedding - and a great time together.

No pictures from our great weekend because we lost our battery recharger for our camera and are having trouble finding the time to go get a new one!

Thanks B&Q for taking our kids - it was such a nice offer and it's great to be able to go away and know your kids are having a great time. Thanks for the hotel recommendation too.

Happy Anniversary Jon - I love you!

Anthony's First (Ever) Day of School!

Well, our pre-school days are over! :-( Our baby boy is now officially a school boy! He goes to pre-K every day in the afternoon! The first day was a little bit bittersweet as Jon and I dropped him off and went home to a quiet house.

A couple of pics of big sis getting him excited for his first day!














And here he goes...bye Baby Boy (for 2 hours and 45 minutes) :-)




(I can't believe it's taken me so long to get this post up - sorry to those of you that have been checking so much since I told you it would be up the day he went to school for the first time (last Thursday, August 28). We have had all sorts of computer problems and I have not been able to get on here. It might be awhile until my next post as well!)

Back to School

(click on this pic to see the toothless grin up close!) :-)

Sophia started 1st grade on Monday! Our school district decided to go with uniforms this year - I was not particularly thrilled, but I have to admit, she looks pretty cute! The first day of school is getting easier for me now that she has couple of years under her belt...but Anthony starts pre-K on Thursday - that one will probably be a little tough!

Heroes? Idols? Inspirational!

I had a hard time knowing how to title this post - it may be going too far to say that the Chapman family are my heroes or my idols, but for sure they have inspired me! Did any of you see the Larry King Live interview with them last week? This is a family that has gone through a horrible tragedy, yet are closer and stronger than before. Their love for each other and their faith in God just shines through them. These are the kind of Christians I want to be associated with - they are so genuine. There are so many negative portrayals of Christians in the media, and frankly it's probably because so many Christians are weird (or fake, or power hungry, or hypocritical...fill in the blank). But the Chapmans are the real deal - they are normal people that have been given an extraordinary amount of talent and an extraordinary burden to bear, and they are doing it with extraordinary grace. Steven and Marybeth must be so proud of their 3 children that were interviewed along with them - they were so mature and showed such wisdom. I love that the whole family got tattoos of Maria's name to help them in the grieving process...I love that they are planning on having a blast at Emily's wedding in October - dancing together and celebrating life and love....I love that Marybeth said that she doesn't care who is touched by this story, she just wants Maria back - that is just such a real comment that any mom can identify with (actually she said that on the Good Morning America interview) . Watching the interview of this family really made me think about the values that I want to instill in my children and the kind of bond that I want to have with them during their teenage/early adult years and beyond. I think we're going to be hearing a lot of great things about the Chapman family over the years.

Another Beach Trip!

We had so much fun at the beach on Friday, that we decided to go back Monday! This time we tagged along with the Marty's on their mini-vacation. It was great to have their hotel room just a block or so off the boardwalk so we could all get freshened up to go on the boardwalk at night after our day in the sun. Another day of beautiful weather and fun with great friends!!


The girlies


The buds


D and B

While on the beach, Sophia lost her other front tooth!!! How "6 years old" is this smile?! ;-)




Boardwalk Fun!

Ski/DiCo Annual Beach Trip!

This was our 4th year to go to OCNJ with our good friends Greg, Tricia, Lexie and Noah! (...of course the first year Noah was inutero!) A couple of the years we have spent the night down there, but this year we just did a day trip. We were blessed with perfect weather again (4 years running) and just a wonderful time of enjoying the sun and ocean, as well as the boardwalk and food. Here are some of our favorite pics of the day.

From the Beach:








From the Boardwalk: