Grandmary is 90!!

Today Grandmary is 90 years old! What an amazing woman she is and we are so blessed to have her in our lives. She lived in Bolivar, MO for many years and has since moved to Owensville to be closer to Jim and Sue, so we get to enjoy her even more. We recently had a birthday party for her in Bolivar so she could celebrate with her many friends and family. She is famous in Bolivar after all!

It is a pretty good drive for us to get to Bolivar, like four hours or so, so we stayed a night in a hotel to break up the trip. The hotel had an indoor pool so we knew the kids would love that. That was actually one of the highlights for them. Matt's cousins, Stacy, Laura and Meri Ann, and their families also stayed there. Laura's daughter, Haley, was able to get in the pool with Brandon and Anna so they had a lot of fun.

So many people came to celebrate with Grandmary. It was so great to see her so happy and enjoying herself and seeing people she hasn't seen for a while. The whole family was there so it was like a little reunion for us as well. I believe a great time was had by all. Great job Sue for making it all happen. Everything was wonderful! We can't wait to celebrate her 100th!

Children's Choir Program

Tonight was the children's choir program at our church. Brandon is in Lord's Lambs, the choir for prek and kindergarteners. He loves to sing and has a natural ability to hear notes and pitch and all that music stuff. He did not get any of that from his mommy by the way. It comes from his daddy and his Grandy.

The kids did a great job tonight singing their songs. It is wonderful to hear children lifting their voices and praising God. What sweet sounds!

A Family Tradition

When Matt and I got married we started some traditions of our own and one of them is cutting down our Christmas tree. We go to a tree farm and find just the right tree, cut it down, bring it home, and enjoy the smell of fresh pine (and deal with the needles that drop on the floor). So, when we had kids we continued the tradition and it has been so fun to share it with them. When we moved into our house, the previous owners left their Christmas tree for us because they didn't have room for it. What a deal we got! It is a 9ft. artificial tree that is perfect in our living room. So now the kids get to go and pick out a tree that will go on the landing by their bedrooms. They get to decorate it with ornaments of their choice and special ones that they make.

We bundled up and headed out to Sunbrite tree farm to find the perfect tree. After a little bit of searching, a potty break by a tree for Anna, and a little more searching, we found just the right one! Matt got the cutting started and the kids took their turns and in no time it was down (or should I say up when looking at the picture). The kids hauled it back to the guys who shake it and wrap it up for us and we were on our way home. It was a successful, fun, and absolutely special day!!

Santa and His Reindeer?

Anna and Brandon were playing together the other night and getting along at this point. They were upstairs and I could hear some commotion so I asked what they were doing? Matt and I laughed so hard when they revealed what they were up to. Brandon had Anna hooked up in front of him, she with her antlers and he had on his Santa hat. Santa and his reindeer? Sure enough.

Linhardt Family Pictures

We had Thanksgiving in Owensville this year with the whole Linhardt clan together. It was a great opportunity to have some family pictures taken and we were so blessed to have Matt's sister, Sarah, take them. She did such a great job and we had so much fun (despite the cool temps). Mom and Dad's back yard provided an awesome background as well. We took the formal family picture and then had some fun with the others. They were all so good, but I only put a few on here.

Being all together as a family is such a wonderful blessing and we will cherish times like this. Thankfully, we can look back at all of the pictures.

So, thank you so much Sarah for capturing this special time for us.

Tooth Fairy Visit

Brandon lost his first tooth the other night which was so exciting! I don't know who was more excited, me or him. I loved pulling out my teeth as a kid and right now Brandon does too. He wouldn't let me get my hands on it, he wanted to do it all himself. As he was working on getting it out, Anna noticed a little blood was getting on the tissue he was holding. She started crying and was so concerned about him being hurt. I reassured her he was okay and by the end of it all, she was trying to pull one of her teeth out. It was all so cute and funny!!
I asked Brandon how much he thought the "tooth fairy" was going to leave him and he said $30. Wow! I told him the "tooth fairy" had a lot of teeth to pay for so he probably would not get that much. He then said $10, and by the time Matt got home from work it was down to 20 cents.
Well, the "tooth fairy" did visit and left 4 quarters, "a whole dollar", according to Brandon. He was so excited! He is now working on the next tooth, which is pretty loose, so I expect it to be out in a few days. He better get wiggling it, or I might have to get my hands on it!

Can we keep him?

As I was taking a letter to the mailbox today, I was startled by a sound in a bush by the garage. I just figured it was a rabbit since we have had them around constantly eating up our shrubs. I shook the shrub thinking the rabbit would run off, but the rustling underneath the shrub didn't stop. I looked a little closer to investigate the cause and was very surprised to find a turtle trying to get under the shrub as far as he could. Brandon and Anna were outside with me and I told them to come check out the turtle. I pulled the turtle out of the shrub so they could look at it. They thought it was pretty cool! The turtle wanted to get back under that shrub so it took off, and of course Anna tried to stop it. She loves animals and isn't afraid to touch most of them. I was trying to figure out what to do with it, not wanting to put it in harms way in the road. The kids said, "Can we keep it?" I didn't have to think too hard about this. "No, we don't need a turtle and he will be much happier outside trying to find a new home" I said. So we took the turtle to an open area where hopefully it will be safe. A little later when Brandon was going to get on the bus, we looked for the turtle but couldn't find it.