October 2016

 October is such a fun month!  First...a goodie box from 

Pink Grandma with her frosted, cut-out pumpkin cookies.

 Faith & Fellowship night with friends.  

We played Bible Pictionary.  Jessica rocked it!

 Jenna's turn!

Birthday cupcakes a little early for Char's 11th birthday.

Look at all those candles!

 A special omelet breakfast for this 11 year old birthday boy.

 Birthday lunch at Grecian Gardens!

 Present time!

 We finally got these beautiful name paintings framed.  

They were painted in Taiwan when we adopted Char in 2006.

 Finally, his first gun!

 His one birthday request was to have hot dogs over the bonfire with the Meffert family.

 Happy birthday with Jerrod, Jacob, Jenna, Clay, Hannah, 

Amarin, Jacob, & Laura.

 Inspired by Aunt Susan's annual Halloween Party, we hosted our first Candy Dive!

Our yard is FULL of oak leaves.  So, we invited our friends and neighbors to dive for candy.  Of course, we also served our traditional popcorn and hot cider.

 Teens!  Adam, Addie, Harry, & Kaylee.

 The handsomest cowboy and cutest Snow White ever!

 Ready, set, go!

 Miryam Walker visited!

 AJ from a few doors down...

 Levi & Danielle Holloway, with Kacer, Tate, and Aza.

 Beautiful princesses.

 Jacob drove the kids around the neighborhood.  Score!

We came in the house just in time to see Gus trying to eat one of Jenna's lollis!

August 2016

 Moving day!  We are so thankful for so many friends that helped us haul boxes, furniture, and clean the new house!

The teens took off to explore the new property.

 One of our first hangouts?  Happy Thoughts!!

 Another hang-out, soon to become a favorite, was The Coffee Hub in Lacon...especially when they give out free icecream just for being called "Jake."

 Charlie/Mom date at KFC!

June 2016

 So, who would have thought we would move within Peoria County??  Not me, for sure.  However, God had other plans and this is going to be our new home, in Chillicothe.

Kids love cooking and baking.

 We spent a Saturday at the airport in Pekin.  

They had mission pilots and other organizations present.  

And cold treats on a hot day!

 While waiting for their helicopter ride, Jacob and Amarin spoke with a missionary pilot.

 There they go!

 We had to find activities to do during showings on our Dunlap house.  This day, we headed to a school playground.

 For our anniversary, not really, we headed to Port Huron.  

The lake by grandparents was great for fishing.

 Guess who caught the biggest bass?

 Once we got home, the packing began!  Very thankful to have kids old enough to pack boxes.  

It was a massive job!