The Adventures of the York Family Seven

Triple Bunk Bed

2012-01-28T01:24:00.000-08:00

We finally made it. A triple bunk! We integrated it into the wall, each section has their own lighting and plugs. Will loves his top bunk, and it’s not too tall for me to turn off the lights or make the bed if needed. We also built a staircase type ladder, so easy to climb. I am amazed at all the space we have in the room and the beds are so neat and tidy. Love this!

Robert on his bunk.

All the boys. We love our new beds!!

I have the building phases around here somewhere... if I find them, I will post. But don't hold your breath!
Praise God for His blessings!
Coree

Crazy Hair Day

2012-01-28T01:21:00.000-08:00

We had crazy hair day a while back and I am just now posting some pictures! The kiddos had so much fun with this. I think the most excited was Robert with his fish head. We cut off the head of his broken water sprayer and attached it to his head with one of the girls stockings, and added a few scales with foam shapes. And orange and red color too.

Rob at school with Winston, who got some color in his hair too.

I drew up our ideas for kid approval before we started anything, it sure helped save some time.

Geneve the pretty butterfly. She had two foam shapes in her hair. Can you believe these pictures were taken after the end of a school day!?! Wow, the hair lasted. We also attached butterfly wings to the top. The wings were great because they were so light.

Me trying to draw out her design!

Bella had ivy hair. We attached pieces of ivy leaves to metal barrettes and clipped them to her hair. Her favorite part was coloring her hair green and adding glitter. We made a pink crown to top off the whole thing. It was a little dollar store glitter one that I attached some flowers to the top and ivy and ribbon around the edges. It turned out great and was light for her head.

Bella's drawing, I got a little crazy with the ivy!

Will didn't want in on all of the hair attachments. I had some good ones for him too. We tried and tried to convince him of some fun ideas, but all he wanted was some color... and just basic at that. I did get a stencil out and sprayed some white stars on the back of the blue part of his hair, it actually looked like Captain America's shield. Will thought it was ok. He thought it was cool later on when he decided he like it.

I thought all this styling and coloring would take forever, but for four kiddos and one little one to paint up, it took about 45 minutes over and above our regular school day morning routine. You all would have giggled watching us with me in my bathrobe spraying kids hair on the front porch early in the morning with black trash bags over their clothing!

PS - Even I got to wear the Pink crown...

Well, on to more updates! I am very behind! Up next, triple bunk bed goodness!
Coree

Our Adventures - crazy kiddos

2011-10-21T13:23:00.000-07:00

Here are the middle three. Yes, they are superheros of a different kind... I don't know what got into them, but Geneve and Robert had tons of fun running around the house with underpants on their heads. When the camera came out, these interesting poses were struck as well. Our funny little ones!

Yes, I need to get updated on some posts! I will be adding more adventures and will just have to jump forward into the beginning of school. I am thinking of getting caught up on some summer photos by posting groupings by child. It's fun to see their personalities when you can see their photos collectively. So get ready for a ton of posts!!!

God Bless,

Coree

Sophia is One!!

2011-06-25T14:12:00.000-07:00

Our sweet Sophia is one! How does the time fly by so fast? We are so blessed by God's Grace and especially these precious little ones He has given us to raise, what an honor. Our cup runs over!

Well, Beckie Woodfield from Becka Jayne Photography did her usual thing of making us look Amazing. I don't know how she does it, but that girl is so talented! Not only making us look pretty, she captures personality too. Thank you so much Beckie, you are such a blessing in our lives!

I also have not been on the computer for a time. Sorry for the slim pickings on posts lately. We started the process of moving in late February and we are just now getting back to normal. I will try my best in posting some of our fun adventures from then until now, but I couldn't resist posting these fun pictures first. If I could have Beckie on retainer to follow us around and take our pictures all of the time I would do it in a heartbeat! Our family photos are next... I can't wait! Check out more of her work at www.beckajaynephotography.blogspot.com or beckajayne.com

Praising God for His blessings,

Coree

Love those feet

Beckie couldn't have captured her personality better! Laughing away.

Could there be a cuter setting? So fun!

I love the sunshine.

Love those blue eyes!

Yes, she is as sweet as the picture! Love this girl!

Rob's baseball game

2011-04-16T15:32:00.001-07:00

Video from Robbie's game

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Rob's first baseball game of the season

2011-04-16T15:26:00.001-07:00

Today was opening ceremonies and Robbie's first game of the season. Robert has been looking forward to his game for such a long time. He started asking at the beginning of the week how many days until his game. This continued during the week along with re-folding and laying out his uniform. He was so cute to watch. Well, the day finally came and Rob got to play his game.

Now you may have noticed I have not posted in a bit...as well as a sideways picture. Well, I have been without my computer for some time now...future posts will explain why. So this is my first attempt at posting with my phone. I don't know how pretty this will turn out but it's worth a shot. I have a bunch of photos to post showing our Spring Training trip to AZ, but I have not figured out how to batch the photos from the phone to the blog yet. I may just have to wait a week or two until I can get my computer back up. We hope you are enjoying the wonderful spring weather and I will get you up to date on the York adventures soon.

God bless,
The York 8

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Our Family Pictures

2011-02-04T23:31:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's February already! Where does the time go? I meant to put these pictures on here in December, and well, you can see, time has just flown by. We took these family photos, with the wonderful Beckie of course, after church. We all marched out into the cold, posed for a few minutes and that was it. It was the fastest photos I have ever taken. Beckie knows just what to do, and the kiddos have it down pretty well too.

We also took a few quick shots of the baby for her 6 month photos. I just love them, she is out little sweetie.

Little Sophia is getting big! Six months in these pictures!

Love this one!

We hope you have had a wonderful 2011 so far! We are planning some trips and excursions for the month of March, so stay tuned for our adventures.
God Bless,
The York's

Winter Choir Concert

2010-12-02T00:15:00.000-08:00

The Children's Winter Choir Concert!!

We are Thankful!

2010-11-23T16:39:00.000-08:00

Psalm 100:4

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,

and into His courts with praise:

be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.

"The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God... No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.
It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday on November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens..."
President Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation
Washington, DC - October 3, 1863

Thanksgiving is not just a time to eat with the family, or a day off from work, but a time to praise our Great God for the provisions He has blessed us with! We pray that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving this year and are mindful of what God has done for you and your family. Happy Thanksgiving! Praise God for his provisions!

It has been a while since our last post, but it seems like yesterday it was just summer! Where did the time go? We are working on some Thanksgiving projects today and the kids are walking through the house right now pretending they are on the Mayflower ship as Pilgrims on their way to America. The lesson I reviewed this morning must have sparked some creativity. They learned about the Puritans and Separatists who were looking for religious freedom ~ and what those names really mean, and also what the First Thanksgiving was like once the Pilgrims arrived in America. Also about the Thanksgiving Proclamation in 1863 by President Lincoln. What an awesome God we serve! Let us be Thankful!

Now for some pictures of what we have been up to during Harvest time...

Corn Harvest Time!

Look at those little corn people

William, Bella and Robert got to ride along in the harvesting trucks

Watching the truck go by

William in the truck

Will's prize from Harvest!

Now for some Almond farming - time to rake almonds!

Will working hard raking almonds from around the trees

Bella Hard at work

Our little tired workers

Little Sophia!!!

Time to pick some pumpkins for harvesting - Winston in the pumpkin patch

Robbie

Bella blue

Will looking cool in his glasses

Carving time

Will's creation

Bella's scared pumpkin

Rob's bearded pumpkin

Oh, yeah, Fear the Beard!

More bearded creations

Our crew

And finally, we ended up bearding the kiddos too

Even the baby... :)

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

What we've been up to...

2010-09-27T02:12:00.000-07:00

Well, it's Fall and it's still hot out! Here is our version of cooling off in the backyard. The kiddos would spend all day out there if we'd let them.

We celebrated some birthdays recently, Robert turned 5 in August and Bella turned 9 just a few days ago this September! They are growing way too fast. Our little Sweet Sophia is 4 months this week. We enjoy her so much, she is well loved by all of us! She gets tons of hugs and kisses throughout the day!!

Now here are some old photos I found on my old camera phone, I didn't realize I had these. They were too cute to not share.
Here is Bella and Will working on painting the office back gate. They were so excited to get to help paint with their dad...

But Bella tired out a little

Here is my attempt at getting all of the kiddos to pose in order for me...

These things don't always work out that well :)

These older pictures reminded me to get a new group shot of all six together. Not my spectacular Beckie photos, but the regular mom ones by the front door. We will try to take some this week and update our blog a little more frequently!!

Up next, we are off to Yosemite for a field trip this week, can't wait!!

God Bless,

The York's

Photos of the Kiddos

2010-08-06T15:27:00.000-07:00

Our wonderful photographer, Beckie, came by to take the baby's photos... They are amazing as usual! I have a few more, but will post them next.

Our summer has flown by, we got a lot accomplished, yet had a nice relaxing time as a family as well. God is so Good! I will be adding our summer adventures next!

Love,

Coree

Sophia Lorraine York

2010-06-06T23:32:00.000-07:00

If you haven't heard the news already...our newest "New York" is here! Sophia Lorraine arrived May 25th, 2010 weighing in at 7 lb 14 oz, at 5:57am. I am a little late posting this, but we have been a little busy here at home!

Here we are in the hospital. We dropped off the kiddos at VaVa's around 4:30am and made it to the hospital a little after 5am and had little Sophia at 5:57am. I am glad I didn't wait any longer at home - I felt bad waking everyone up so early. Delivery was nice and quick and I would have to say it was the easiest delivery as well as the quickest recovery, which is a blessing! Little Sophia is doing great and the kids can't get enough of her. Winston and Geneve can't pass by her without giving her a kiss on the top of her head. I also have a lot of very enthusiastic helpers. We are enjoying our new Sophia very much!

We put on her little zebra print hairbow and blanket just for her Nana

Getting her first bath

Posing with Nana

Sophia and Auntie Muffie and Auntie Angela too

Sophia and mom hanging out in the hospital

Bella, Will and Rob visiting

The boys like their new sister!

Bella has a new doll

In her car seat for her first ride in the car - ready to come home!!

We are gearing up for summer this coming week. We have swim lessons starting on Tuesday for Will, Bella, Rob and Geneve. Then the following week we will be adding in tennis lessons for those four as well. Next up will be a trip to the beach, the kids can't wait. We also have a Disneyland trip planned as well as camping at family camp! We will try to keep you up to date on our adventures.

Love,

The York's

You Know You're a Big Family When...

2010-05-20T12:23:00.000-07:00

We are down to the wire now with our "New York!" The Baby can come any day now!!
I am getting excited to see this new creation that God has made. I definitely have a different outlook on number 6, as compared to 4 or 5. With 4 or 5 I was a little worried about how to do it, what to expect, etc., etc. Now with number 6 I feel completely prepared and have laughed at myself at how I have not had those concerns cross my mind. Instead I have only looked forward to the idea of a new child within our home and have busily prepared for their arrival. I love the content feeling and joy this new child brings. I am so blessed that God has allowed me to grow and learn and has prepared me for this time.

Praise God for His amazing blessings and trials in our lives that grow and stretch us to become more like Christ. My prayer is that I will continue to honor God in all I do and to teach my children through training in righteousness and by being a Godly example of a wife and mother.

I have posted this in the past, but came across this again while reviewing some old files and I enjoyed reading this! I know you will get a few laughs out of it like I did... it's too funny how true all of this is, for us at least.
You Know You're a Big Family When...
by Rebecca Prewett

Many people have asked exactly what constitutes a "big family". Some have defined it as any family with more than the socially acceptable number of children. Others have defined it as four or more children. Yet others have defined it in any number of ways. We have come to the conclusion that, almost no matter how you define "big family", we probably stand a good chance of meeting the criteria. How do we know? How can you know if you're a big family? Well, read on:

You know you're a big family when...
...people count the number of your children out loud when you're in public

...people ask, "Are they all yours?"

...you start counting your children when you're out in public

...you have at least three bunk beds set up in your home

...almost everyone you know has less children than you do

...people say, "Wow! How do you manage?"

...people ask you, out of the blue, if you are Mormon or Catholic.

...you buy your pots and pans in the restaurant supply store

...supposed "family size" food portions seem awfully small

...you complain, "Doesn't anyone make large dining tables anymore?"

...you outgrow your mini-van

....you've forgotten what it's like to be alone anywhere else but in the bathroom

...your children never run out of playmates among their siblings

...everything you buy is in bulk

...people ask, "Don't you get overwhelmed?"

...you and your husband can no longer hold each child's hand while crossing the street

...it takes a wonderfully long time to hug and kiss everybody

...one of your children looks wistfully at the newborn and asks you, "Can't you have another baby really soon? I hardly get to hold this one because everybody else is taking turns."

...you realize that few houses are designed with your family in mind

...people ask you if you've ever accidentally left any of your children behind

...life around your family never seems boring or dull

...your tent is the largest one in any campground

...you feel sorry for people with only two children

...you sometimes wonder what on earth mothers with only two children do with all their spare time

...whenever you set your dining table, it looks like it used to look when you were expecting lots of company

...you read a cookbook and joke, "They call these meals? Sounds like a little snack to me."

...your gratitude at the abundance of God's blessing moves you to tears unexpectedly

...you start thinking of yourself as "rich in children"

...you secretly think that life in your family might possibly be a much more joyous adventure than life in smaller families

...you are vastly amused at much modern parenting advice, realizing that it is unnecessary, impossible, impractical, or simply silly to try to apply it in a large family setting

...it seems as if you pack more stuff going on a short trip than some people pack when moving their entire household

...your husband sighs happily, "I've finally got my dream car"--and it's a used 15- passenger van - or an extended Excursion :)

Outside Adventures

2010-04-30T21:06:00.000-07:00

I came outside the other day to find my little ones having a conversation with our twin neighbors, who are a few years older than us. What was funny was the measures my little ones had taken to be able to see over the fence and talk. This first picture shows them easily looking over, asking their neighbors a 100 questions and thoroughly enjoying themselves. Well, as you see below, they were teetering on the tops of my folding chairs, I had to laugh. I made sure they were secure, which they were, but it was too funny to see, so I had to grab the camera and get some shots. Afterward, I joined them and stood on the chair with them and had a nice time talking to the neighbors... and also asked if we were bothering them too much! The boys were just busy playing a game of catch and loved the conversation. So in all, we had a nice time.

My guys are inventive! But they now have been told to ask before they do this... Geneve looks like she is barely holding on just to see over the edge and I could just imagine them all tumbling down together.

Easter !!

2010-03-29T15:41:00.000-07:00

For our Easter celebration with our family, we will be doing a 5-day Easter Unit Study as part of homeschooling this week. The unit study is from "The Teaching Home" Newsletter I receive weekly. You can find the full study online at www.theteachinghome.com. We will be using the main themes of the study to share with the children about the celebration of the Lord's resurrection.

Our 5-Day Easter Unit Study

Activities for Each Day
Day 1: Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem
Day 2: Celebration of the Passover (Last Supper) and the Garden of Gethsemane
Day 3: The Hearings and Trial
Day 4: The Crucifixion
Day 5: The Resurrection and Ascension

May we use this precious time to -

• Teach our children the heart of the gospel so that they will thoroughly and accurately understand this most important doctrine.

• Proclaim to the world the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ — and salvation through faith in Him.

• Remember, reflect on, and appreciate what the Lord has done for us — then thank and praise Him!

The Good News of the Holidays!!

(From the Teaching Home Newsletter)

The spiritual significance of Christmas and Easter is the very essence of the Gospel – the Good News of God's love and gift of eternal life through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Christmas: The Incarnation of Jesus Christ
Jesus is God's gift of love, celebrated at Christmas. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16).
Easter: The Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ
The gospel includes four historical facts (celebrated at Good Friday and Easter) concerning the God-man Christ Jesus, the object of saving faith. "Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel, . . . that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time" (I Corinthians 15:1-6).
1. He died for our sins.
The death of Jesus Christ in our place is God's only provision for man's sin. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). "Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone" (Hebrews 2:9).
2. He was buried.
The burial testified that His body was really dead. "And Joseph took the body . . . and laid it in his own new tomb . . . and he rolled a large stone against the entrance of the tomb" (Matthew 27:59-60).
3. He rose again on the third day.
"He (Jesus Christ) was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification" (Romans 4:25).
4. He was seen by many witnesses.
The record that Jesus was seen by many assures us that the resurrection was genuine. "To these He also presented Himself alive, after His suffering, by many convincing proofs" (Acts 1:3). "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9).

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you" (I Peter 1:3-4).

We will also be learning this song this week!

Christ, the Lord, Is Risen Today by Charles Wesley, 1739

Christ, the Lord, is risen today, Alleluia!

Sons of men and angels say, Alleluia!

Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!

Sing, ye heavens,     and earth, reply, Alleluia!
Love's redeeming work     is done, Alleluia!
Fought the fight,     the battle won, Alleluia!
Lo! the Sun's     eclipse is over, Alleluia!
Lo! He sets     in blood no more, Alleluia!
Vain the stone,     the watch, the seal, Alleluia!
Christ hath burst     the gates of hell, Alleluia!
Death in vain     forbids His rise, Alleluia!
Christ hath opened     paradise, Alleluia!
Lives again     our glorious King, Alleluia!
Where, O death,     is now thy sting? Alleluia!
Once He died     our souls to save, Alleluia!
Where thy victory,     O grave? Alleluia!
Soar we now where     Christ hath led, Alleluia!
Following our     exalted Head, Alleluia!
Made like Him,     like Him we rise, Alleluia!
Ours the cross,     the grave, the skies, Alleluia!

Praise God for the Gift of His Son, Jesus Christ!

In Christ,

Coree

The unit study material and information are by Cindy Short and Sue Welch,

Children's Choir at the Gallo Center

2010-03-24T14:45:00.000-07:00

The kids were able to perform their Spring concert at the Gallo Center last night. We had such a great time! All of the kids involved did wonderfully, and our honor choir always amazes me. They are 3-8th graders and are all so talented. It does help to have a wonderful choir director, Mr. Thompson! Below is a link to the Modesto Bee article on our group - it also shows a video, you have to check it out to see what an amazing job our Honor Choir does! It includes my favorite song of the evening, and I didn't get a chance to tape it, I was so happy to see it online!!

Hickman Charter School performance at the Gallo Center

Modesto Bee - About 100 homeschool students from Hickman Charter School, seen during rehearsal, performed on the Foster Family Theatre stage at the Gallo Center for the Arts Tuesday evening. The honor choir performed in addition to the jazz band. An art show was also featured in the lobby of the Gallo Center for the Arts, featuring student works. Hickman Charter School was started in 1994 and wanted to celebrate their continuing commitment to arts education with the performance for family, faculty, and friends. Mar. 23, 2010. (Brian Ramsay/bramsay@modbee.com)

CLICK FOR MORE PHOTOS

Hickman Charter School Foster Theatre Concert

If you haven't noticed, I havn't posted much lately... so sorry. I always have such good intentions, but... I have a hard time posting without including a few pictures here and there. And my "regular" computer decided to not work on me after we got home from a Disneyland trip the first week of March. I have such cute photos of the trip too! I love my computer, I have it all set up with just the right programs to efficiently post pictures, make movies, all my homeschool files, and other numerous files, etc... But at the moment, fixing it has not been on top of my to do list, and I have my husbands lovely laptop to check emails at least! So one of these days - after housework, laundry, school work, kiddos... I will get a chance to haul my computer and get the little thingy fixed - I did try to fix it myself, to no avail. It will just come down to necessity and priority, when I absolutely need a file for church or something then it will get fixed! Then I can post all of our lovely pictures of the concert and of the kiddos singing as well.

Well, lastly, I have to post this! My sister found us a car, or should I say transport vehicle! Check it out below. Thanks Angela! And thanks KC for the great graphics. (This actually would work out better than any SUV, hee hee). Would I need a different license for this?? Do they actually sell these to the public? I guess if you ever see me driving one, you will find out!
God Bless!
~ Coree

Adoption

2010-02-07T19:29:00.000-08:00

Redeeming Silent Souls - Conference Trailer from Joseph Horsefjord on Vimeo.

Close friends of ours are in the beginning stages of adoption... which is such a blessing for them as well as the children they will be giving their love and home to. I ran across this video Elyse Fitzpatrick had posted and wanted to share because we tend to forget about the children that are out there who are not only in need of families, but of the love of Christ displayed in the lives of those around them. May God put it on our hearts to touch the lives of others - whether by adoption or the simple act of sharing the Word of God.

(From what I can find, this is a trailer for a film coming out on adoption, the link referenced does not work at the moment, so it must not be up yet. Elyse mentioned that two couples she knows are in the upcoming film, I will be keeping a watch out for it!).

In Christ,
Coree

Psalm 23

2010-02-07T18:57:00.000-08:00

A Mighty Love - An Animation from Joseph Horsefjord on Vimeo.

I love Psalm 23 - God's love is a Mighty Love!

Crock Pot Blog

2010-01-21T13:23:00.000-08:00

I have been making yummy soups all week. I love a nice warm bowl of soup on a cold day! Plus they are so easy to make. I love recipe websites and here's one I want to share:

The Crock Pot Blog
http://www.thecrockpotblog.com/bow-tie-chuck-wagon-soup/

They always tend to have great tasting ideas and recipes just for the crock pot. I love being able to start dinner early in the morning, especially on those busy days! The recipe listed for today looks especially good, plus it consists of items I usually stock my pantry and freezer with, which is a double bonus.

Now an update on the home front:
We are busy getting back into the swing of homeschooling. It takes about a week or so after a big break for the kiddos to get used to the old schedule and to stay on task, we're finally there. In my mind I like to just keep on having them work, but the reality... it's nice to give them some time off and have fort building and fun adventure days.
We have also been enjoying these rainy days. We sat on the front porch yesterday, drank some hot chocolate, with extra marshmallows, and watched the thunder and lightning. What a beautiful sight! We talked about the awesome power of God and how he is in control of all things. It was a great visual to show them His power and might! What a blessing! Our God is an awesome God!

Now for a picture of the day:
Here are my little ones who raided the dress up box - Robert is the baby bear from the three bears - we have the whole set thanks to some friends at church, and Geneve is my little mouse. They have all had a lot of fun putting on plays that older sister Bella likes to put together. They are such a joy to be with! Thank you Lord for these little blessings!

God Bless,
Coree

Maximum Capacity

2010-01-20T00:49:00.000-08:00

As most of you know, we are expecting our 6th child this May. We are overjoyed and are excited to see this new creation God has blessed us with!
We will now be a family of 8 and have come across a few issues in the space department. The first, with our car, it seats 7.... ouch. So I am trying to come up with some options. One option is a company that installs additional seats into your car, and the seats match your interior too. Plus they are local, which is nice, they told me to come for a visit! This is a great option and we are thinking of doing this anyway, but the problem is - where would I then put groceries, and adding one or two seats still does not allow me to takes guests or additional family members and such. (And yes, most of the time, we all trek down to the grocery store, we get a lot of looks, probably since they are all still pretty little).
For my next options I have photos! So I want some feedback.
First is a Sprinter van.

At first blush, this does seem a little large, but realistically it would work very well. It can seat from 9 up to 15 depending on how you format the seating. I went on my birthday to test drive one and they laughed at me and called me the "Crazy Lady." They were nice, but I have resolved that yes, I am probably a little crazy, but I don't mind. Bill still chuckles when we think of our initial car dealership experience. We had hoped there would be one in stock to check out, since it was listed online, and when we got to the dealership, nada. I tried to let the gentleman know that he had one parked out back, needless to say, it was their shuttle van. I convinced him to let me check it out anyway, that's when I got the "crazy lady" title. When Bill got to check out the real thing, he asked me..."You won't drive a mini van, but you'll drive this?" Yes, I admit, I am crazy. And I don't just want the small one, I want the big extended one, groceries and guests, remember? So in order to decide, at least on this particular option, I need to test drive one to see if this is something I can even handle!!

Now for option two, extending an Excursion.

Like I mentioned before, I'm not much of a mini van fan, so the thought of still being able to drive an SUV is a good option for me. When I first saw this, I thought, maybe no one would notice the extra door. And for some strange reason, I still think of myself as young and hip, thus the reason for this option. We actually found a reasonable way to do this ourselves - well at least we know the right people who can do this for us. This will seat around 11 and still have the full space in the back for strollers and stuff I tend to haul around, in addition room for those groceries.
Additional considerations - since I think I am still young and hip - at heart at least, I have not listed the traditional 15 passenger van. Yes it's functional, but I am going to try out these options first. And both of these options are reasonably priced as well, since we have the resources of converting these ourselves.
So, what to do? Any additional ideas? Am I really crazy?

The next space issue is with the house, it's getting a little tight. But so far, it's very doable, but if we have more, (I'm not saying we will and I'm not saying we won't), we may need to look into more options!! I won't worry about that one until we get there.
God Bless,
Coree

Snow Time

2010-01-06T15:29:00.000-08:00

We started a new tradition this year and went to the snow for Christmas. We had a ton of fun! We headed up to a cabin on Christmas Eve morning and stayed for three days. There was the perfect amount of snow outside the cabin for the kiddos to play and sled in the snow. When they were tired, we'd drink hot chocolate and get warmed up for the next round. Bill built them a sledding area behind the cabin - complete with a little hill to stop them at the end. They thought it was great. And of course we had "Pie in the Sky" Pizza for dinner on Christmas Eve! We read the Christmas story, acted out the scenes with Jesus at the manger and talked to the kiddos about the true meaning of Christmas - Jesus Christ!

On Christmas morning we had breakfast and opened some presents. We then went out to do some sledding on some bigger hills. It was such a beautiful day! We didn't need our jackets at times.

Heading up to the mountans was a spur of the moment idea which Bill thought of, and we liked it so much we are thinking of doing it again next year! What great memories we made! What a blessing! I praise God for all that He gives us and the joy we have as a family!!

Bella and Will building a snowman on the lower deck.

Sledding on Christmas day!

Winston liked sitting with me watching the action

Going down the hill!

Win Checking out the scene

The kiddos went up and down the hill, hauling their own sleds, they loved it.

Robbie in his Lightning McQueen snowsuit

Bella and dad

Will, either resting or waiting for his dad to fling him down the hill as fast as he could!

At the cabin, Winston is the blur who ran out of the picture.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

2009-12-28T15:43:00.000-08:00

In just a few days it will be 2010! Where or where does the time go? I taught the kids to say, "See you next year" to our friends and family that we will see after the 1st. They didn't get it at first, but when mom explained, that's all they want to tell people now. These kiddos crack me up!

Well, as you can see, I have been very behind in posting... my vision was to get caught up by posting three months worth of activities in order, with their individual post. The reality? I will probably not get it done without putting it off longer and thus not posting a thing. So, I am going to just jump in with some current pictures.

First is our Christmas pictures. We headed out the Stanislaus State after Thanksgiving and shot some photos for our Christmas card. Reed Douglas took our pictures for us and did such a great job. He had a lot of patience for 5 wiggly kids on a windy day! Overall, we ended up having a fun time, the kids especially, who got to climb and jump on rocks to get to places to take photos.

My favorite pictures of Winston

Robbie

Will

A family shot... but Winston is contemplating something...

His sister's hair looked so tempting to pull. But Bella is a trooper, she kept smiling.

Jumping rocks

Bella

Winston

I loved this picture in the leaves, but it didn't quite make the smile cut.

I also loved our candid shots

Happy New Year Everyone!
May God Bless you and keep you,
The York's

Bella's Birthday!

2009-09-22T10:44:00.000-07:00

Today is Bella's 8th Birthday! Wow, how time flies. I can see her growing into a young lady before my eyes. It seems like yesterday, she was my first little baby who I got to dress up, take numerous pictures of, and of course learn from! I am posting some pictures of her throughout the years and am amazed at how many photos I have, I took pics probably every week, maybe daily at times. They are titled, Bella, this and Bella that... I had to include some of her first year pictures, they are too cute! I Praise God for this sweet girl, I am very thankful for her and enjoy her immensely.

1 Day old and already decked out in pink!

She was a teeny tiny little thing!

With Nana, more pink!

Playing with some dolls

Working with her Grandpa

Working with her dad

She worked at the office a lot!

Look at that room! Number 5 is lucky to have a space in the corner right now!

Her first photo shoot, already posing!

What a cutie!

Photos with her Cousins Ava and Boston

I love this photo, she looks like a little elf

With her Papa and cousin Ava

Bella's first birthday

One year old and no hair! First Birthday photos

Skipping ahead a few years!! These could go on and on!

Bella's 6th Birthday

7th Birthday

This past year...
Bella and Geneve

Flower girls! She is getting so big!!!

Back to School

2009-08-19T22:48:00.000-07:00

We have been slowly starting up our school schedule and have finally got into full swing. I have to say, those lazy summer days are nice, but the precision of a school day schedule that has the kids in a routine is soooo nice. I have been working and working on prep work to get this year's curriculum printed and ready to go for our 3rd and 1st graders. They now have a check off sheet with their assignments for the whole week... now when I hear... "Mommm what do I do"... I sweetly say, "Did you check your assignment sheet?" and they answer, "Oh yeah!" So nice. It's also nice to hear, "Mom, I am almost done with my assignments!!" Oh, the joy of all my hours pulling all our curriculum together has paid off!

Now I had to share this one from the other day... I am working on a word problem with Will. I give him the following scenario - Little Brian has one cat. His uncle brings home 7 more cats. How many cats do they have now? Will looks at me and blurts out, "1" without really thinking about the problem. So I probe and ask him..."Well William, what happened to the other 7 cats?" He quickly answers me back with, "They ran away!!"

Oh my! I could not hold it in. You know when you don't want to laugh at your child for saying something so honest and sweet, but I was cracking up! They ran away! Where did he come up with that? So funny. He started laughing with me and said, I know mom they have eight cats. He and I laugh at his cats running away now. So cute! I could fill pages with the funny things they say! Praise the Lord for giving us these sweet children!!
Well, back to work... I am printing up their tests for Friday.

Will's 6th Birthday

2009-07-22T13:15:00.000-07:00

We took the boys to a Giants game for Will's birthday. The boys had a blast and ate their share of popcorn and hotdogs. We also were able to take a ride around the park with Lou Seal, the boys were so surprised. We also celebrated his birthday throughout the week with cupcakes and balloons at our church park day, and then a night at the big game. I think he enjoyed his 6th Birthday!