Vacation at the Goffs in January

~a hot, sunny vacation near a large body of water sounds great, just about now~ William. is. ready!

Hmmm...which ones should I frame?

...if only I had enough wall space! I'd frame all of them, but... I think I'll put 3 in the bathroom and a couple in her *new* room...but which ones???

Bathtime...


Madeline is 24 weeks old = 6 months!! Can't believe she's that old already. She seems so petite to me.


Madeline likes to:
~chew on everything (William the 2nd!)
~play w/ toys
~watch the boys
~laugh at the boys
~roll over both ways
~pull hair
~take a bath
~have her socks pulled off


Today she had her first cereal. I was trying to stave her off as long as possible. I've read a little bit about starting grains too soon, but the last few weeks have been rough at night. She wakes up every couple hours to eat. I can tell she's growing. I'm happy to have exclusively nursed her for 6 months...that's a milestone for me. ;) I hoping to continue to, for another 6 months...we'll see how that works out. :) Tonight will be the test...I'll keep my fingers crossed that she (and we) will sleep all night. (Samuel has been up a lot at night w/ bad dreams. Justin was in an out of bed ll night last night, poor guy. It'll probably be that Baby will sleep all night, but the boys will be up...that's how it goes, though :)


Miss Madeline:

She looks like her Daddy...at least that's what I keep hearing...

...she's rubbed almost all of her hair off...


Here she is in her Great-Great-Great Grandpa's rocking chair!

~thanks Elisha, for taking my pictures~
~Madeline~

Stages...

...kiddie faces crack me up...the good, the goofy, the funny, and the ugly! I love Baby Girl's innocent lil' expressions, William's-guilty-toddler-look, and my wacky-3-year-old's-face...couldn't help posting these...




Madeline Hope:
5.5 months old

Something surprised Madeline!!

Mommy & Madeline (missin' Daddy)

I love having a little girl! There's nothing like it! Her smile makes me smile~


I'm enjoying each "stage" my children go through. I look at these "everyday" pictures, and can't help but post them. They reflect "real life" for me. Mom tells me this is the "easiest" stage (that's from her perspective;) I'm sure each "stage" of parenting has it's unique challenges. For the moment, I'm trying to remind myself to ENJOY it. I know time goes so fast! For now, the word, explosion, defines my life (and my house, and my laundry, the diapers, and the trash cans) I seriously, have trouble keeping up! The house can be in order, and 5 minutes later, it looks like a tornado rolled through. I suppose, it's due to me, letting my helpers "help" me, and our lack of a basement or toy room. ;)
~Samuel and William counting their money...all was quiet, and I went to go investigate...this is what I found. (kept them busy for 30 minutes!!) This was serious business!



William found Daddy's dress-up Army shoes...pretty snazzy!

Samuel came home from Mom's completely thrilled w/ this dress up ensemble: swim goggles, a leather cowboy vest, and his "happy camper" shirt. Dad talked him out of the water wings. I just had to look in his eyes and smile...his enthusiasm and innocence just made me want to crack up and squeeze him to death...I love my 3 year old! He honestly had no clue how hilarious he looked!

Playtime w/ legos (thanx Auntie Becky!!) Samuel was into making towers and William just enjoyed disassembling them and putting them back in the box--good combo!

I love this picture of Justin and William reading...havin' a little 1-on-1 time. (I remember doing this w/ Samuel!)

good food and fun friends!

A few of our last date nights have been "double dates" We're friends w/ a sweet engaged couple: John and Christina. One night we ate at a super-duper-steak place, the other night, we ate at a Japaneese Steakhouse. The chef cooked our dinner right in front of us, on the grill. My favorite "tricks" were the spinning egg and the onion volcano.






Madeline is our lil' sidekick. She doesn't take a bottle yet, plus we feel bad leaving all 3 of our chickadees w/ the worlds-most-fun-auntieunclepapaandnanasitters. Soon enough, she can join the boys. ;)

J and C's wedding date is this June...they're pretty excited! (i think they're such a cute couple!)

We had a lot of fun hanging out w/ them, talking about nothing-in-particular, laughing, eating coldstone ice cream, & getting parking tickets. There's a different dynamic when you hang out w/ younger people, who aren't at the same "stage"...it's actually refreshing, and brings back all those courtship memories. Wow, time flies!

I love to celebrate people getting married...and then having children. It brings such hope and expectation. Justin and I know several couples who are getting married, and several other couples expecting babies. I enjoy witnessing new families being born, and young couples training their children for God's glory. Better get some gift ideas rolling. ;)

...tasty treats...

Hi There!

I made some yummy things yesterday, so thought I'd share the recipes. I've made both before, but was reminded how good they were! And, perhaps they just tasted exceptional, b/c we had a special someone unexpectedly at our supper table last night! ;-)

Sweet Potato Rolls:

1 pkg yeast
4 T. sugar
1.5 cups sweet potatoes
1/2 cup warm water
3 T. butter, melted
1 t. salt
2 eggs
3 c. flour (I used spelt and all purpose)

~Disolve yeast , warm water and 1 T of sugar...let stand 5 min.
Add remaining sugar, sweet potato, butter, salt, and eggs. Stir to mix well. Stir in 3 c. of flour. Knead 2-3 minutes...just till it's soft and not-too-sticky. Place in an oiled bowl. Cover and let raise about an hour.
~Punch down and allow dough to rest for 2 minutes. Divide into 20 balls and place in a 13 x 9 inch pan. Allow to rise till doubled.
~Bake at 375 degrees for 12 to 20 minutes. Serve warm
(These were just the perfect texture...and I accidently baked them the perfect amount of time. Usually mine turn out too dry. Very yummy w/ some butter on them)

Two Mustard Chicken
(I must confess that I was too "chicken" to try this recipe. We ate it at Kyle and Gretchen's house last summer, and it was delic!! It's now a stand-by of mine...and super easy!)

1/2 c. Dijon mustard
1/4 c. coarse-grained mustard (I was out, so I used horseradish---it turned out wonderful!!)
1/4 c. honey
8 chicken breasts

Heat oven to 375...Spread mixture on both sides of chicken. Bake about 30 minutes. Serve w/ brown rice and a veggie.

Mega-Christmas-Picture-Post

~The Christmas gatherings we attended this year were very fun! I think we saw everyone this year...which was great! I can see now, how the average person gains 3 lbs between Thanksgiving and New Year's! Sometimes those rich foods and sweets are way too accessible. So here's our pictoral Christmas, for ya! (p.s. sorry about the commentary not lining up correctly...anyone know what I'm doing wrong there?)

~~~~~~~~~~~Christmas at Grandpa Kendall's~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Justin and his Dad)


Kendall and Carolyn bought the kids some fun toys. They loved them!




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Christmas at Lou and Janeen's:
Janeen had quite the spread for dinner! Yummy soups and finger foods. We had fun chatting and kid-chasing. The laughs and memories are priceless! One of the things I really appreciate about Justin's fam, is their ability to laugh and have a great time! Jolliness is healthy! ;) I think it must come from that hearty German stock... Hee.

Here's Justin and his sweet mom, Janeen, w/ the beloved sock monkey. (flash back from 30 years ago!)

Santa (aka: Poppa Lou) was quite the hit this year. He's one of a kind, let me tell you...we were laughing so hard! (*you'd just have to be there*)



Lots of kids, dogs, and presents!





Auntie Brookie


Madeline and Justin takin' a siesta (and Madeline getting a whiff of the ol' armpit)



The Empty-Nester-Love-Birds (thought you'd like that, Becky:)

Poppa Lou and his crew


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Christmas Day at Dad and Mom's
....arm wrestling...

Dad, exhaused from all the excitement!.
..the infamous "tickle test"...


...music...

Feasting...

Some pretty gals...

Aunt Carolyn, Grace, and Krista (our Aunt is closer in age to us, than she is to our Mom...fun!) I think that has happened more than once in our family!

Carolyn and Matt

...sorry Krista, couldn't resist...

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Christmas Morning:
...began w/ Justin reading The Christmas Story...then, one by one, we opened our gifts to eachother...all of it was practical things~





...so fun to see Uncle Bruce and Aunt Lisa...they were both popular w/ the little ones....










Singing Christmas Carols...w/ Leah at the pIana :)

Krista and Dad



Me and my Honey

George and one of his honey's

Aunt Lisa speaking William's "language" He was wondering about her ;) McKenzie sure thought it was funny!

Spreading some cheer up at the Oaks Manor on Christmas Eve. I'm so glad we got to play together a little bit. We have some very fun Christmas songs..."The Grinch", "Sleigh Ride", and a beautiful arrangement of "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel"



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Christmas Eve Eve w/ The Extended Miller Family
...look alikes??

Twin cousins...

Krista and Briggs

Max and Briggs

Leah and her friend, Christina, from Tiawan (and Madeline)

Uncle Jim at the new white elephant gift exchange tradition...I laughed so hard, my mascara was running down my cheeks


The cousins in height order...5'11 to 5'5

Krist & me

...some big eaters...



looks like a serious conversation!


...the newly engaged: ryan & ashton

Nana & Grace

The 3 new Miller additions: Grace (4-08), Briggs (7-08) & Madeline (8-08)




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Fun W/ Daddy...