Camping Gear

Our big family Christmas gift this year was camping gear for the entire family! The tent was too big to set up in our living room...and I was not able to display everything that we bought. A great big "thank you!" goes to my TX parents who made it possible for us to be outfitted in such a way that we'll be enjoying the great outdoors for years to come! I can hardly wait until Spring!

Getting Ready for Christmas

We're getting ready for Christmas! Everything has arrived, and we're going to have an amazing day tomorrow! A special thanks goes out to our TX parents who made much of this possible!

Lily

Meet Lily! She is a Christmas present for the kids, and a welcome addition to our family!

Daniel's Birthday

Today, Daniel "officially" turns 4! Happy Birthday to my gentle soul...who is so caring and compassionate towards his siblings. God has blessed us beyond what I could have imagined!

Birthday Party

We had a combined birthday party for Sam & Dan today, and it was a lot of fun! I would like to say "thank you" to everyone who sent gifts for their birthdays!

Sam is Six!

Sam is six today! Happy Birthday to my funny, thoughtful, loving, and helpful little boy!

Becca's B-day

Our "baby girl" Becca is celebrating her 11th birthday today! We went to Edinborough Park, the Mall of America, and now we're home opening gifts, decorating cupcakes, and just having a small family party. Here is a picture of Becca with one of her favorite gifts..."Bitty Baby" twins from the American Girl shop:

Christmas Tree

My kids helped decorate our "Christmas Corner" downstairs in the family room:

Thanksgiving Craft

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We are counting our blessings today! We cooked & ate some great food, then made this "Thankfulness Tree" with our kids:

Becca's Visit to the Orthodontist

Our sweet Becca just got back from the orthodontist. We found out that her little mouth is too crowded to fit all of her adult teeth, so she had to have two lesser adult teeth pulled. She will also get the first phase of braces for her birthday. Yay, what a present. It will be expensive, but our little princess is worth it!

The Young Marine

Here is an old photo of my dear husband, Eric Crafton! He has changed quite a bit since we were stationed together in Misawa, Japan. Here is what he looked like when we were dating:

First Snow of the Season

Here's a cute picture of all six kids playing in the first snow of the season!

Autumn Craft

We've never really been into Halloween, but we had a few fun days of celebrating a beautiful season! We made & enjoyed treats such as pumpkin pie, caramel corn, "Autumn Harvest" candy, etc. We watched "Monsters University", and all of my kids enjoyed this silly acorn craft:

15th Wedding Anniversary

Today, Eric Crafton and I are celebrating our 15th Wedding Anniversary! He bought me some of my favorite flowers, and I wrote him this poem:

We've gained some weight,
and some wisdom.
We've moved six times,
and had six children.

Some days are long.
Some nights are longer.
Yet, through it all,
our love grows stronger!

Although the future is uncertain,
this, for sure, I know:
My love for you will never fail,
and wherever you lead...I'll go.

Autumn Update

Today, Sam & Dan updated their "Learning Tree" to reflect the season...

Twins' School

Two-year-olds can "do school" too!

Twins Sharing

My twins sweetly shared the iPad with each other for 30 minutes today!

"Hands-on" Craft

Here's a "hands-on" craft that I did with all six of my kids to celebrate the first day of Autumn!

Dress-up

Dress-up fun for my girls!

My All-American Kids!

The Teaching Calendar

Here is my final getting-ready-for-school decoration for this year. I decided to put the calendar in the family room, and I set it up for September, since that is when we "officially" start school. So much can be taught from this set-up: days of the week, months of the year, weather facts, odd & even numbers, holidays, etc.!

The Teaching Tree

Here is another addition to our "Woodland Animals" theme in the boys' room! My kids have been great helpers, and I am thankful for them!

Boys' Bedroom

Since our four boys are so close in age, we decided to give them our big bedroom upstairs, and we took the little bedroom. This arrangement also left us with an extra bedroom downstairs for guests. My parents wanted to help us with bunk beds and bedding, so we chose a woodland animal theme...appropriate for where we live!

Updated Picture

Here is an updated picture of me, Michelle, the happy mommy of six wonderful children! :-)

Extra Storage Space

Eric assembled this nice cabinet for me so that I have extra space to store some of our homeschool supplies and books. I have the best husband in the whole world!

Becca's Bearded Dragon

Becca finally talked us into getting her a pet. She wanted either a veiled chameleon, a leopard gecko, or a bearded dragon. We went with the bearded dragon, since they thrive on human interaction. This little lizard is going to get a lot of interaction!

Oregon Vacation

We had a great vacation in Oregon visiting Eric's side of the family! It went by so fast, and it is hard to believe that we are already back home again. Here is a neat picture that Eric's mom took of us at Timberline Lodge:

Twins' Birthday Party

Tom & Troy turned two on June 17th! We had a "Thomas the Train" themed birthday party, and it was fun for everyone! The twins got some new train sets, and many more tracks to add to their collection! It is hard for me to believe that they are two already...where did the time go?!

Photo Update

For my non-facebooking family & friends, here are some photos that I have posted lately. Enjoy! :-)

New Floor

Eric and I both share our birthdays in the month of April, so we decided to spoil ourselves with a new floor in our kitchen & dining room. It is so nice, and will certainly be easier to clean than the carpet we had before! I was taking a picture of the floor, and just happened to catch one of the twins jumping from the living room carpet onto the new floor. He thinks the floor is great also! ;-)

Christy's Birthday

Christy turns 12 tomorrow, and we are having her friend party tonight! We have already done the cake, ice cream, present-opening, and singing. Eric and I (with the help of some very generous grandparents ;-) bought Christy a Karaoke Machine and now she is downstairs belting out "Amazing Grace" with one of her friends! Happy Birthday to my energetic, quick-witted and sweet-spirited daughter!

Minnesota History Center

We took a field trip to the History Center today! The new children's exhibits are fantastic! The kids really enjoyed all of the hands-on learning, and the twins kept us on our toes. Thank you, Julie Dalton Crafton for our Minnesota Historical Society membership...it has been great!

New Cookware

After 10+ years of faithful service, I decided to replace my old, worn-out pots & pans with this new set! They are supposed to last a very long time according to the reviews I read about on the website. We'll see...I tend to really wear out my cookware as I try to keep up with my large family! ;-)

Quilting Room

We finally cleaned out our spare room and set it up for quiltmaking! We have all of our supplies organized, books at the ready, and fabric neatly folded in drawers. Now, all we need is for daddy to keep the boys busy so we can have our "girl" time! ;-)