Sisters

Grateful for relationships in Christ that will last a lifetime.

A Very Merry Christmas

Here are a few pictures of our Christmas yesterday.  It was so wonderful to be together again as a family!

Hannah is one of my "snuggle bugs". 

Rachael received a box of gloves from Ben and Laura to assist in changing the diapers of the little ones.  Quite appropriate for the nurse in the family.  Katie thought it was funny, too. :)

I think it would be safe to say that the gifts "outgrew" the tree. :)

Little Katie reminds us all of a baby doll - except that she's alive!

The first gift that Samuel opened that day was all he really needed.  The animal crackers had to eventually be removed from the room so that there would be some left for later.

Essie is smiling in this picture because the package of socks she is holding doesn't contain a single match, something which only Aunt Rachael would think to give! :)

After opening gifts, we ate dinner and spent the remainder of the evening playing games, doing puzzles, reading stories, and talking and laughing together.   What a fun day with special memories.  So grateful for another wonderful Christmas!

It's Christmastime

It is that time of year when you want to be with family and close friends and do those extra-special, out-of-the-ordinary things that only happen in December.  Peppermint hot chocolate, homemade treats, festive decorations - it all means it's Christmastime.

I came home from work one Friday night a week ago wanting to do something to enjoy the holiday spirit and proposed the idea that me, Dad, and Rachael go downtown to see the Circle of Lights.  It turned out to be a really fun evening together, other than the fact that it was very cold, windy, and rainy.  But the elements didn't keep us from getting a few pictures!

Several weeks ago, Mom and Rachael were in Walmart and spotted a small, potted live Christmas tree.  We haven't pulled out our Christmas decorations in years due to lack of time and space, but this small Christmas tree ended up in their shopping cart and through our front door, finding its final resting place on our hearth.  We bought a few lights and some bows and ornaments and had the kids help us decorate it.  They had so much fun, and it turned out so pretty!

We also just recently celebrated Dad's birthday.  The kids were very pleased to give him homemade gingerbread cookies, which represented the Turner clan with Grandpa and Grandma.

Only a week left and Kathy arrives home!  Maybe there will be fresh snow on the ground to greet her.  We look forward to being together again!

November Birthdays

It's fun to have four Turner birthdays all in one month.  This past weekend, we celebrated three of them all together:  Hannah's (Nov 15), Sarah's (Nov 20), and Samuel's (Nov 24).  

Hannah told me several weeks ago that she wanted "pink cake" for the party.  Since Sarah was also in agreement, and I knew that Samuel wouldn't really care what he had since he was only turning two, I fulfilled the request.   Here's the what the pink (strawberry) cake turned out to be: butterfly cupcakes!!

The chocolate covered pretzels made a perfect party favor.

Some little girls (or, should I say big girls since they are now five and seven?) were very excited when it came time to blow out the candles!

Big sister Essie helped Samuel with his....

Samuel is such a handsome little man.  He literally posed for this picture for me before diving into his dessert.  

Present time was a little wild with three children opening their gifts all at the same time! 

Here were Samuel's gifts...

...and Sarah's gifts...

...and Hannah's gifts.

There were plenty of smiles and squeals!

It's hard to believe that we are now on to the holidays!  Perhaps the moment we are all eagerly awaiting the most is Kathy's arrival home on December 19.  It will be a joyous reunion.  Stay tuned for more pictures!

Little Cuties

Need I say more?

Summer Fun

The last several weeks have flown by in a whirlwind!  We just finished a very brief visit with Kathy.  Is seems the anticipation of waiting for the arrival of her four-day visit far surpassed the time she was actually home.  But we are grateful for the time we had together though it was short.

The Saturday she flew in we had a party celebrating all the summer birthdays.  A beautiful flower arrangement graced the table.

We were also grateful that Kathy could be present for little Katie's baptism!

Before the season ended, Dad and I wanted to take the four oldest Turner children to an Indian's baseball game. It was so much fun to watch them enjoy this classic, summer sport!  And it was an exciting game, too, with a grand slam the very first inning!  Folks, I think the world has some new baseball fans. ;)

Watching the batting practice...

I think Hannah's favorite part was eating popcorn and crackerjacks, drinking Pepsi, and clapping with the rest of the crowd.  You know, all the baseball necessities... ;)

Just last night I enjoyed an outing to the Indiana State Fair with several friends.  Summer certainly wouldn't be summer without enjoying that delicious fair ice cream and seeing the world's largest pig, right?

So now it's looking into the fall!  The calendar already looks like quite full, and I'm greatly looking forward to the day when the holidays bring us back together again.  Until then, we go forward grateful for God's faithfulness and grace.

June Days

It's hard to know where to begin to catch up on the events of our lives.  The last month in particular has passed so quickly, and it's hard to believe that Kathy has returned to school for summer classes and we are seeking to adjust to life without her once more.  Those were wonderful days and weeks we shared together, and we pray for many more in the months ahead!

While she was home, Kathy taught a series of Bible study classes in our home for the ladies in our church.  We were thrilled to have Essie and Sarah join us for a couple of these times.  During one of those sessions we learned how to do a Discourse Analysis (aka, Bible Diagramming).  We all had to think hard but the truths gleaned from the Scripture passage were richly rewarding!  

Dad took Benjamin to his very first Indians baseball game one evening, and they had a blast together!  And what do you know?  Benjamin went home with a ball!

A robin nested in our dwarf dogwood tree this spring.  We were thrilled to catch a glimpse of her babies waiting for another meal, a wonderful visual of God's children opening their mouths wide to be filled by a faithful and wise heavenly Father.

With the Turner clan now only 15 minutes away from us, it has been fun to see all of them more often during the week.  One Monday, I brought Sarah over to spend part of the day with me.  We baked watermelon cookies and went shopping for some flip flops, sunglasses, and a new cross-stitch project to do together.

 We also started a count-down calendar until Kathy returns for four days in August.

I wouldn't say that the last several weeks have been all that easy for us.  It seems that each individual is facing a life circumstance this is posing new challenges and discouragements.  But as we walk through these things, we know that God is with us and working on our behalf to accomplish his purposes in our lives and make us more like himself.  As the well-known hymn aptly reminds:

All the way my Savior leads me;

What have I to ask besides?

Can I doubt his tender mercies,

who through life have been my guide?

Heavenly peace, divinest comfort;

here by faith in him to dwell.

For I know whatever befall me, 

Jesus doeth all things well.

The Passing Days...and a Birthday!

The last several weeks have been quite full with a lot of extra activity.  It has been a joy to have Kathy home and have her enter in to the family events!  One Monday shortly after she arrived, we (Mom, Kathy, and I ) spent most of the day at Laura's helping her pack up rooms to prepare for their move.

The cooler, damp weather has made the flowers this spring so beautiful!  Last Saturday afternoon I enjoyed snapping a few photos of our blooming  roses.

The kids recently participated in another music recital.  Just as they were waiting to turn in to the parking lot where the the recital was held that afternoon, they were involved in a three-car collision.  We ourselves had just parked and were getting out of the car when we heard the awful crash - and all of us instinctively knew it was Ben & Laura.  It was a scary few moments as we ran down the drive to see if everyone was okay.  God graciously protected all those involved, and the Turner van sustained hardly a scratch.  We unloaded the children and all their instruments and, while Ben remained at the scene to talk with the police, the three oldest proceeded with the recital and did amazingly well.  

At the picnic reception following the recital, we managed to get a sister picture.

Perhaps the crowning event this month was Grace's birthday party!  This little redhead had been waiting a long time for her birthday, so I knew we needed to do something special. After all, turning three is a big milestone, right?

We decided to decorate with green since that is Grace's favorite color.  When I asked her several weeks ago what she wanted for her birthday, she said, "Candles!"  So interpreted, I knew that meant we needed to bake a cake to have something to hold the much-desired candles.  This is what resulted:

The cake was a huge success since this is all that was left of it...

Another fun activity we prepared for Grace and the other children was a piñata.  Mom and I found a cute cupcake piñata and filled it with some of their favorite snack foods.  Thankfully since it wasn't raining, we hung the giant-sized cupcake on the monkey bars and let the whacking begin! 

Things didn't go exactly according to plan when the string to attach the piñata was destroyed, so we finished off the cupcake pounding it on the ground.  It was still fun. :)

Little Katie missed all of the action...

Samuel is growing up and is getting good at throwing balls!

At present time, Grace was one exuberant, thrilled birthday girl!  It seemed that there was a delightful squeal after each gift she opened.  This was the typical expression:

Here she is looking up at Grandma after opening her butterfly chair - such a precious expression.

It was a wonderful party and everyone had a grand time!

We are now looking in to June (can you believe that?!)  Between helping Laura, hosting a ladies Bible study on Thursday nights, trying to spend as much time with Kathy, and dealing with all the other things that come with normal life and work,  the days and weeks are extremely full.   But we treasure these days together and thank God for the memories he continues to give us.