Life's little pleasures!

We bought a box of Hostess powdered donuts at the store. Sam has not had powdered donuts before. He loved every messy, sticky bite and then was even willing to share a bite with Mommy! He is a good little dude!

Christmas Day 2006

We had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed the kids and all their excitement.

I had to add this photo of Sam at Uncle Gary and Aunt Lois' house on Christmas Eve...he LOVES the train that encircles their tree and cannot watch it enough!

Thanks to so many of you that sent cards and pictures! We love them!

Merry Christmas!

Hello to all and we trust you all are enjoying a wonderful Christmas season!
We are eagerly celebrating Christ's birth and the kids are so caught up in all the activities, decorations and delicious things to eat! We are especially thankful this Christmas to have Samuel home. He has enjoyed the festivities very much and has not gotten into the Christmas decor and goodies as much as we anticipated. He is FULL of life and mischief!

Best wishes and many blessings to all of you!

Merry Christmas!

Mitchell's Pearly WHITES!!

Mitchell received an EARLY Christmas gift this year...he got his braces off! Oh, does he ever look handsome. He was so pleased to chomp on the goodie bag of sticky, gooey candy and gum that he got at the Orthodontist's office!

World Travel!

Bob had the opportunity to travel to Belgium for a few days and visit his good friend, Ed. Ed and his family are living there to attend language school. They will soon move to Mali, Africa for Ed to work in a hospital there. Ed and Bob took in as many sights as they could in Belgium, Bastogne, Brussels and Amsterdam including the Van Gogh Museum.

A Nativity Play

Madeleine was so pleased to play, Mary, in her pre-school play this Christmas. Her good friend, Meghan, played a Christmas angel. They had such a wonderful time putting on this performance and their teacher, Mrs. Winey, is amazing teaching them the wonder and joy of Christ's birth!

Science Fair 2006

Well, Mitchell embarked on his first Science Fair experience this year in fourth grade. His experiment was on gum. It took him many hours of work compiling data and setting up his information log and display board. He did an awesome job and earned a much deserved "A" on the project!

His hypothesis was: Gum that is made with chicle has longer lasting flavor than gum made from synthetic gum base.

He made two batches of home made natural gum, one mint and one fruitti flavor and compared them to Doublemint and Juicy Fruit. The overwhelming result was that the store bought brand had much longer flavor! Oh well, it was fun!

Nate turns THIRTEEN!!!!! YES, THIRTEEN!!

We just celebrated Nate's 13th birthday! He had a great day out with Bob and they picked out his new skateboard which makes Nate VERY happy! He really enjoys being a "SKATER DUDE!" And, he is pretty good at it if I do say so myself! He is always working on new tricks in the drive or with his friends who skateboard. Happy Birthday Nate!

Go Light Your World

Our focus with the kids at LeMaster Reunion 2006 was to let your candle burn BRIGHTLY for the Lord. The little ones sang This Little Light of Mine with flashlights along with a couple of other songs while the older kids did a fantastic black light show with Go Light Your World. It was a challenge to everyone there. Thank you Howie and Cindie for all your work! The program was AMAZING!
I have some more photos I will post later.

Go Light Your World ~ Chris Rice
There is a candle in every soul
Some brightly burning some dark and cold
There is a spirit who brings a fire
Ignites a candle and makes his home.

Carry your candle, run to the darkness
Seek out the hopeless, confused and torn
Hold out your candle for all to see it
Take your candle and go light your world.

Frustrated brother, see how he's tried to
light his own candle some other way
see now your sister, she's been robbed and lied to
still holds a candle without a flame.

We are a family whose hearts are blazing
So let's raise our candles and light up the sky
Praying to our Father in the name of Jesus
Make us a beacon in darkest times.

Carry your candle run to the darkness
Seek out the lonely the tired and the worn
Hold out your candle for all to see it
Take your candle and go light your world!

OH! Kentucky Day! (a LeMaster OFFICIAL Holiday!)

Well, we made our annual trip to good old Kentucky for the LeMaster Reunion 2006! The kids look forward to it almost as much as Christmas! We stay in a wonderful hotel that is perfect for kids and the hotel staff seem to handle the LeMaster clan and all the noise pretty well. Sixty seven people all talking at once has serious volume! There were moments during the Ohio State game on Saturday that we feared we would all be asked to leave! The hoots and screams were at an all time high but our people are physically incapable of quiet under the best of circumstances!

We were able to make it up on the farm despite a GREAT DEAL of rain and the kids were able to go pretty far up the holler with Uncle Gary. While wading in the creek to wash off the mud Mitchell, Grace and I all managed to fall in...but it was a beautiful day so a little cold water didn't upset anyone. Lots of swimming, ping pong, pool, Twister, crafts, card playing, coloring, Corn Hole, hide and seek and a great pre-game party before the OSU game made the weekend extra special. At the gathering on Saturday night we played a CRAZY version of The Sisters VS The Mob and ummmmm, I forget who won...wasn't it the MOB???? :)

We are thankful to have such wonderful, loving family. We realize how unique it is and that it is a blessing. Thanks to all that made the weekend special. Only 360 days until we go back!!

The CUPCAKE thief!!

SO! Making lots of little cupcakes for the school party and put them on the rack to cool...Madeleine and I were in the Great Room when we heard the two step stool in the kitchen being drug across the floor...we KNEW immediately what was going on so I headed into the kitchen armed with the camera to catch Mr. Sam IN THE ACT! When he saw me he said, "Me, cake? Me cake? Please cake?" Oh he is SO funny!

Good Ole Trickin' and Treatin'!!

Well, the much anticipated BEGGAR's NIGHT has come and gone with much excitement and fun. We had such a great day. The sun came out after what seemed like days and days of rain and some pretty serious winds appeared. We didn't let that interfere with our plans to carve our pumpkin, BBQ pork and eat lots of CHOCOLATE! Can I get an AMEN?? Nate has been dying to be something "scary" for years so we relented and he was some ghoulish looking creature. Mitchell happily transformed into a rugged pirate. Emma wanted to be a "cute witch" which by the way she WAS cute and very purple! Madeleine made a darling Penn State cheerleader and Daddy had her cheering, "We are **clap-clap** Penn State **clap-clap**!!" And, Sam was Scooby Doo as a VAMPIRE!! Oh, was he funny walking around saying, "ruff!" He does love his doggies! The Chinese do not have Halloween so this was Sammy's first experience. It did not take him ANY time at all to figure out that the people at the houses were giving out CANDY!! He does love candy!!

A "spring" of adventure!

Bob was in Boston for a couple of days and we were itching for something to do on a nice evening... so we headed out to poke around our new property which is definately a favorite pass-time these days. There is a spring on the property that runs a little creek bed and it has been a great place to play. Tonight the kids got on their boots and walked through the creek investigating all the nooks and crannies. They were hoping to find a snake or two or even a tiny frog. Daddy had seen a nice sized frog a month or so ago in the water and there are lots of holes that look like they could be snake holes but no such excitement for the Kinney Kids tonight! Still, there is much to be said about the fun it is to walk in four inches of water with a big stick!

Beautiful Pennsylvania

We were happy to make the trip into Reading this weekeend. Sam had not had the opportunity to meet his Pap and Nana Kinney, Great Aunt Susan (sorry for the "great" Aunt Sue :) and his "G.G." (Great Grandmother who just recently turned 94! She is an awesome lady.) We had a very nice weekend and the kids are great travellers. We enjoyed the beautiful Pennsylvania mountains and got to see all the fall colors in ALL their glory. The kids love the tunnels that take us directly through the mountains. Thanks to Pap and Nana for letting the C-ville Kinney Gang descend upon your quiet house en masse!!

The first bonfire!

There is something about being outside on a cool fall evening and enjoying a blazing bonfire. Bob,with his new chainsaw, spent several hours clearing a section of woods on our new property. The kids had already declared a nice size hole as the official firepit. They had spent many visits to the property collecting stones to line the inside/outside of the fire pit. Tonight, we all chipped in and piled brush and deadwood on to the fire pit and had our first bonfire. It was GREAT! Dad and Mom came out to enjoy some of the excitement too. Dad is busy putting the chainsaw to work too.

Dinner at Midtown!

Each Saturday evening our family has the privelege of attending our church which serves an impoverished neighborhood. It is hard work, but our kids have learned so much about the needs of other people. They are able to SEE how blessed they are to have such simple things as snacks and a clean bed in which to sleep. One of our ministries at Midtown is to provide the Saturday evening meal to our neighborhood friends and our families. It takes a great deal of food to fill all those bellies! Madeleine and Emma have been a REAL help and truly enjoy helping to make food for our family dinners at Midtown. Madeleine is busy making a Green Bean Casserole and Emma is in charge of a Texas Sheet Cake! Thanks girls!

PUMPKIN TIME!

OH!! Do we ever love Autumn here at the Kinney household!!! BEAUTIFUL!
A trip to a local pumpkin farm is just what we needed to finish the decorating at our house. The kids had fun choosing just the right pumpkins for our porch and yard and the PERFECT one for a Jack-a-lantern. This decision takes much time and a unanimous decision! Watching Madeleine and Sam try to pick the pumpkins up and walk with them was hilarious!

Madeleine gets her ears pierced!

Nate, who had the day off from school, Madeleine, Sam and I headed to the mall today to get Madeleine's ears pierced. Emma had hers done for her fifth birthday and Madeleine REALLY wanted hers done that day too. We told her when she turned five she could pierce her ears. When her birthday came in August she said she had decided NOT to get her ears pierced. Then, suddenly a couple of weeks ago she said she was ready, so off we went to the mall today. She didn't cry and was very proud to tell that to anyone that would listen. She just wanted the mirror so she could see her new BLING BLING!

Then, of course, we had to play in the play area for awhile!

A new address for the Kinney's?

God has blessed our family with the opportunity to build on a lot outside of Cedarville. We are all very excited about the future. Our land is spacious and the kids LOVE exploring it. Dad has been our manager helping us line up all the necessary details to keep things moving. Bob, Nate and Gramps went out and transplanted trees and we all had to go out for a hike on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

Sammy too!

Hey, being the youngest in the family has its down side... everyone got to go school and Sam wants to go to school too! So, he gets to go to a playgroup at Maddie's school twice a month and here he is with his VERY OWN back pack! OH, DOES HE LOVE IT!

Time for school!!

Madeleine was up and ready LONG before 9:00a.m. today as she was so excited to start Pre-Kindergarten with Mrs. Winey. She was especially pleased to wear this blouse that Gram let her pick out just for the first day of school! She loved her first day and said some of her old friends are there and some new ones too!

FUN FIVE!!!

We are really enjoying the hot summer days. The kids come home from school ready to be OUTSIDE. We have a great field next to our house and we play over there a great deal. They recently installed an automatic sprinkler system so we head over there for a RUN through the spray from time to time.
The kids let me take some snapshots while we waited for the sprinklers to turn on!!

Mitchell and Emma are off to school too...

Well, Emma started second grade today and Mitchell walked into fourth grade. Both of them are pleased with their teachers. Mitchell's teacher was a year behind me in school so went to Cedarville as well. Both of their teachers are gems!
Mitchell claimed that fourth grade was "hard" although they didn't do any real work today and Emma said second grade was good but she is still "a little nervous" to be there.

Bob and I cannot believe how quickly the summer went!!!!

Nate starts SEVENTH grade!

Nate walked out the door today an official seventh grader...hard to believe he is starting his second year in Junior Highschool. He really does like school and was eager to get there and hang with some friends he had not seen all summer.
He gave the first day back a thumbs up!

Deep and Wide

Today, we are all laughing as we watch Madeleine and Sam sing "Deep and Wide" on Emma's Karaoke machine. (Thank you Uncle Bruce!) Madeleine has on the headset and Sammy has the microphone and their stage is MomMom's black steamer trunk!

Deep and Wide
Deep and Wide
There's a fountain flowing
Deep and Wide

It is one of the most endearing sights we have ever seen!
Gram and Gramps stopped by just in time to view the show.