Snow Anyone?

So....we had a bit of a thaw, which of course got me into "spring fever" mode. Realistically, I knew it wasn't going to last, and it didn't. The past 2 weeks have been crazy with snow. The highways up around Munising were closed for days.......down here, we could have driven on the roads had we been crazy enough to want to. So, I guess we are still in the southern "banana belt" when you consider the surrounding area. :)

Brad and Emma in the front yard. She loves to help him plow on the four wheeler. Here, they were getting ready to plow and he finally convinced her to sit on the snowmobile. It wasn't running of course. The noise scares her too much.

Emma on top of her mountain.

Better perspective? Spring will come.....right?

Random Pictures

I thought I'd just put a few new pictures up to show you what we've been up to lately. Stay tuned for pictures of Baby Jones arriving February 27, 2009 via scheduled C-section. Please pray all goes smoothly, and that Baby arrives healthy. I will try to have pictures up as soon as I can.

Brad on his new toy. He couldn't stand it anymore, and bought himself a used snowmobile to bomb around on in the winter. He's been having fun exploring the trails from our house.

Okay....so here are some preggo pics of me with Emma. This was last Sunday before we left for church.

Em loves to kiss, hug, and talk to my belly. As she says, "I'm going to be a GREAT big sister."

A few weeks ago, Brad was tightening up a few of the stools to get the "wiggle" out of them, and of course Emma wanted to help. She pulled out her new tool set she got for Christmas (thanks again VanEerden crew), and was able to dig right in. It was so cute to watch them. She LOVES to work with Daddy, and even chose the right tools for the job.

What a hard working pair.

Winter Fun

We took Emma outside to play in the snow today. It took her a little while to get use to the deep snow, and to figure out how to stay in her sled when we pulled her, but she got the hang of things and had a really good time.

Emma and Daddy on the 4-wheeler. She loves to go for rides.

Em tried out her new sled. She slips around like crazy when she is sitting in the bottom of it, and she hasn't acquired the skills to maneuver herself very well when she is being pulled through deep snow. It was cute. Brad even tried to pull both me and Emma in the sled so I could help her.....that was a sight.

CHEESE! She liked crawling around in the snow and making snow angels. The funny thing was, as soon as she was on her back moving her arms up and down, she wanted to get up because it was snowing on her face and she didn't like it.

Big ol' Brush Fire

On New Year's Day, Brad burned the big brush pile that was left from clearing the building site for our house. My Dad and our neighbor Jarrod were on hand to help him out. I'll admit, I was more than a little nervous at first......this was a HUGE pile of brush, at least as tall as our house, but it worked out just fine. These pictures really don't give you a good idea of how BIG this fire got. I took these pictures from inside our living room, which was probably 150 yards or more from the fire.

I tried to zoom in here....

This was without the zoom, across our backyard and into the woods. Can you see the small orange spot in the middle of our woods?

So, while Brad, my Dad and Jarrod manned the fire, my Mom, Emma and I, took down the Christmas tree, finished moving all of Emma's things into her big girl room, and started getting the nursery back into baby mode.

What a way to ring in the new year, huh? It was a successful day all around though, as we got to check more things off our "to do" lists. The brush pile is no more, Emma is all settled, and the nursery is nearly ready for baby Jones.

Christmas Time

We had another wonderful Christmas season again this year. It always goes by so fast after all the planning and preparations. Here are just a few photos from family parties. Emma had so much fun playing with all of her cousins!!!!

Emma, Makalynn and Great-Grandpa Weemhoff getting ready for the big party at Grandma and Grandpa Dryer's.

Emma and Addison eating some treats from their stockings.

Emma was very excited to open her presents this year. She certainly didn't need any help. :)

Emma, Alyssa, and Makalynn in their matching princess slippers from Grandma and Grandpa Dryer.

Emma and Hallie cuddling up!

Emma and Momma. She even sat still so I could braid her hair.

Emma and Daddy spent some time in her new tent Christmas Day at Grandma and Grandpa Erickson's. She really loves it, and sleeps in it every night now!

Our little princess showing off her dress up clothes from Aunt Lindsey and Uncle Kyle. She took her pj's right off and wanted to wear her "pretty dress".

Christmas Eve at home after church......almost ready to jump in bed and wait for Santa.

My Erickson side of the family does fun "theme" Christmas parties. This year was breakfast time - wearing your comfy clothes and all. The surprise was that we were also throwing Lindsey a bridal "shower" at the same time. My aunt couldn't help but get shower caps for the whole group!! Linds was very surprised, and we had a great time as always. Here, Linds is getting ready to open some gifts with Emma and Lauren helping.

Come on Mom! I love this look

Lindsey and our cousin Suzanne. Suzanne was the mastermind behind the surprise.

Emma and Lauren playing the keyboard. Emma loved hanging out with her big cousin.

We are blessed beyond measure, and are thankful to have such a wonderful family. We hope the holidays found you all happy and healthy as well.

Random Updates

I thought I'd just throw on some random pictures to keep everyone posted on what we've been up to lately........

We put the Christmas tree up last weekend. Emma was very excited.

Emma hanging the first ornament.

Here's a fun piece of information.....the day after this photo was taken.......the tree fell over, ornaments and all!!! We survived with only a few broken ornaments and a few tears.....Emma and I certainly won't forget watching that happen. The tree is back up and standing strong.

Emma and Brad made a snowman!!! We have a whole lot more snow than this now.....this was only the beginning.

Emma got her first haircut!!!! November 21st she and I had our hair cut together up in the mall in Marquette. Grandma Erickson came with for support. You can see she was a bit nervous and shy, but she did a really great job of sitting still. I was so proud of her.

Here is Emma with Great Grandpa Weemhoff in November. He made Emma her very first jewelry box. She loves it and tells everyone how her Great Grandpa made it for her. What a special gift.

Hunting Success

Brad had another successful hunting season. He got to spend time with his friends/family, have a lot of fun, and fill our freezer at the same time. Here are a few of the not-so-lucky deer. There were many more deer taken by Mark, James, Jarrod and the Cattail crew..... Sorry guys, I don't have pictures of all of the fallen. :)

Brad and our friend Jarrod with the doe Brad shot with his muzzle loader this December.

Brad's eight point taken at the Blyth Orchard in Muir with his bow.

Brad with his trophy.....oh, and the HUV. :)

Another buck from the Orchard. This one James got with his bow.