On pause for awhile

For anyone who has checked in here lately, you may have noticed there haven't been any new posts for a few months.  I've decided to put the blog on hold for awhile.  I may or may not start posting again.  Everything is going great, but life is busier and I have decided to spent it other ways than on blog updates!   Thanks for understanding :)

Winter birthday party

It was time for another group of birthdays among the cousins.  We wanted to take advantage of the frozen lake when we set the date to celebrate the January-February-March birthdays, and it ended up being before any of their birthdays.  Last year when we had it towards the end of February the lake was already melting and not solid to walk across.

   Kids played ice hockey--some in boots, some in skates-- and some kids hiked across the water to explore the islands.  There wasn't really much snow, but that allowed us to see what was in the ice!  We were surprised at the amount of fish frozen below the surface.  The lake froze quickly this year and there are frozen fish to be seen every several feet!  

 Our warm-hearted Brielle!  Hat and mittens off at the end of her hike :)

 Winter birthdays: Lincoln, Brielle, Jolene, Dorothy Jo, Karley & Wilson

Brielle turns 6 in one month, on February 26th.

She loves PEACE signs right now and wanted that to be on her birthday cake.  And how perfect was this?  Emma & Josie happened to be wearing their pink peace sign shirts. :)

Brielle was excited about the Hello Kitty wrapping paper. :)

And inside she found a cooking set for her American Girl Doll.  

It was a fun family day!

Teddy's 1st Christmas

What a sweet Christmas morning surprise!  

It's the first morning we found Ted standing up in his crib :)

Ted slept in until a little after 7:30.  

This was wonderful for all of us as we enjoyed our Christmas morning together watching John & Brielle open presents and play. 

They had just opened their musical instruments and shared one with Teddy, which he loved.

 Then Brielle helped Ted with his presents.

He received baby food, a bib, books, a stuffed puppy, a talking toy house, and a wooden step stool. 

Merry Christmas, Teddy!  We love you. 

Christmas Morning

Christmas morning in our house began around 4:00 am when John visited our bedroom and we heard his little voice, "Santa Claus was here!"  John didn't turn any lights on, but he had already investigated and reported that Santa ate the brownies and drank the hot chocolate that we left out for him. 

 Tim led John back to his own bed... where John stayed for a little while :).  He came back in at 4:20, "Can we open presents yet?"  Then he laid in our bed for about 20 more minutes.  4:40 "Can we open presents yet?"  Then, Tim & John came out by the tree, and laid down on the couch with just the tree lights on.   Kristen fell back asleep.  John asked if he could wake up Brielle.  Tim said he could go into her room and only say her name twice :)  5:10 "Brielle, Brielle"  She stirred a little, but stayed in bed.

5:20 Brielle, John & Tim all on the couch together.  Then, Brielle and John were off the couch checking out the wrapped presents.

5:40  John & Brielle ate cereal for breakfast and opened their stockings

5:50 John & Brielle woke me up and presents were opened

There were many fun surprises!  They must have been good this year :)

Ted woke up after 7:30.  Here they are playing with the Melissa & Doug Music set which was a family gift from Santa.

Christmas at the Farm

Great photo of Grandma & Grandpa Berning with their 7 children:

 The Nativity Story... by Grandpa Berning.  Every family member plays a roll as Grandpa reads the story.  Some play Christmas music on the piano and others bring up a figure to add to the manger scene.  

Christmas Carols with Grandma Berning

 

Most of the grandkids... (missing Louis)

 John LOVES his new castle from his godfather, Matt.  Perfect gift!  It comes with many figures (knights, horses, catapult, etc.) and can be built in endless ways.  

Brielle is excited about her Scrabble scoop game... she likes spelling words she knows as she's been reading and spelling more lately.  She is also loving the American Girl Doll tea set from her godfather, Terry.  It came with mini menus, tea sandwiches, and cakes.  She loves playing American Girl Dolls with her girl cousins. 

Ted & his new toy from his godmother, Jolene...

 and from his godfather, Bob.

The kids and adults all had a wonderful day. 

Santa's visit to the farm

We enjoyed Christmas at the farm yesterday... a wonderful family day filled with sledding, playing, singing, eating, and giving!  

We also had a surprise visit from Santa & Mrs. Claus.  He was peeking through the window when he was spotted by many of us in the house.  The kids welcomed him by singing a few Christmas songs.  Then, one-by-one, Mrs. Claus called each child by name to sit on Santa's lap.  Santa asked each child a few questions about if they have been good this year and what they would like him to bring them at Christmas.  Each child received a toy and candy from Santa's toy sack.

John's face was priceless when he told Santa that one thing he wanted for Christmas was a castle and a penguin (John has been talking about wanting a penguin for the last week)... then Mrs. Claus pulled a Christmas penguin out of her toy sack!   

Brielle received a Bratz doll from Santa. She said she'd also like an American Girl doll closet and doll clothes.

Teddy was checking Santa out... he didn't last very long on Santa's lap :)!   He got a baby toy train.   All the Berning kids sent Santa & Mrs. Claus on their way with one last song.

Cookies with cousins

Brielle & John had a great time decorating Christmas cookies with their cousins!

December 9th snowday

On December 9th this year, we woke up to our first real snow fall of the year.  

It was a Sunday... so a perfect day to enjoy the snow all day long!  The snow was excellent packing snow, which meant by the end of the day there were snowmen all around the neighborhood :)

Christmas Tree 2013

Teddy was all bundled up for his first Christmas tree hunt.  

We chose a different tree farm this year, and it was excellent.  There were so many great trees to choose from that it did not take us very long.  We went at the same time as nearly all John & Brielle's cousins.  The kids burned a lot of energy running up and down the rows of trees and carrying the poles for measuring the tree heights.  :)

Then it was time to enjoy hot chocolate and candy canes.  

Later that afternoon, after most of the tree was decorated and Ted woke up from his nap...