December

Oh, the fun of Christmas-time! 

Sledding on the Roth runner sled.  This one has hauled a lot of Roths over the generations!

 The Parade of Lights :) 

 Then, off to fetch a Christmas tree. 

With, Jesse of course! 

 Then, I had a work meeting close to Auntie's house.  

So, the kids hung out at Auntie & Justin's for a few days while I worked. 

Thanks to a healthy supply of snow... it was snowman building at its finest! 

 I think a Snow-Giant might be a better descriptor :) 

 Of course, at the Jasper household...a measly snowman just doesn't cut it. 

So, of course- you build a giant snow castle complete with a window and flags.  

Thank you to the local utility companies for sponsoring the flags this year... ;) 

 And, because we're never bored... our sweet little church Christmas program was the next weekend.  

A precious group of kids they are!  

Suddenly, it was Christmas Week! 

 My absolute favorite Christmas tradition... the living nativity!! 

 And, before we knew it... it was time to open presents! 

 Life is Good.  Very, very, very, very good. 

Praise the Lord! 

 Followed by Christmas #2 at the ranch...

 The spoilage is real people. 

 Of course, Uncle RyRy gifted Elsie with an ENTIRE CANISTER of gummy worms. 

As Elsie would say 'oh, boy'.  

 I think he had a little fun...

 Grandpa of course, thought Elsie needed her own make-up....

 And, we brought home somewhere around 26 canisters of play-dough.  

Literally.  A mom's dream, right.  Or, maybe nightmare? 

 But, the fun wasn't done yet! 

Christmas Extravaganza #3 was just around the corner.

Even more craziness!!!

 His very own Broncos jammies.  

The boy was thrilled.  Still is actually! 

 Oh, ya.  We gave gifts too. 

Like these giant hairy toe slippers.  

 And, because Wes' birth-month had begun by the time we finally ran out of Christmas parties...we celebrated his birthday as well :) 

 Good times were had by all!!!!!!!!!!!!

November, November!

November was just as crazy, if not more.  

The deck railing was done, the bookshelf was finally a thing of the past and we spent the month purging our house.  Dumping closets, giving away kid clothes, sorting, cleaning, and working.  Lots of working.  Then, we headed to the country... 

'Kitty' is one tough cat! 

Does a startlingly good job at playing 'strangled by the toddler' however...with a little scratching behind the ears, quickly pops out of its hypnotized like state of being!! 

 Checking cows, looking for deer and figuring out life! 

 Of course, we shot some 'turkeys' with Grandma from the Hunt'n Cabin with the new pop guns! 

 Then, a little practice with the real thing.  

We had a little challenge between us adults.  And, I think that Grandma had the best shot.  So, we let Kaleb take a 'practice shot' as well.  Well, we went to look at it to 'find' where he hit the target.  Not seeing any changes on the target box Kaleb very confidently and quickly informed us:

"Mine went through Grandma's"

Ahh, why of course...'went through' the hole nearest the bulls-eye.  

Oh, boy.  This kid is way too smart!! 

 Kudos to Wes for snagging this big 'ole buck! 

We named him "Jerky" :) 

 Of course, we needed to make cupcakes for Grandpa's birthday as well. 

 Auntie tried keeping up with her 'helpers'!! 

 The next weekend, we actually had a video crew from Hawaii come visit us.  

They say we're interesting and our kids are cute.  I think they're at least half correct.  We'll see if they can edit us to the point of looking exciting, and normal-ish.  

In all seriousness however- we had a great time meeting the people from Chosen and Dearly Loved. 

A year ago, we were headed to China and really, really broke.  

And this group, came in with a matching grant which allowed us to go pick up our Elsie without coming home to a giant credit card bill.  They truly hold a special place in our hearts- we greatly, greatly appreciate them.  It was amazing to meet them in person and help them share the story of their organization's ministry!  

Seriously, check them out here:  And, if you want to help get more kids home...donate too! 

http://chosenanddearlyloved.org/ 

 And suddenly, it was Thanksgiving.  

Due to a twist in plans, we made the meal at our house. 

It was fun and pretty simple.

And, suddenly November had flown by.