Catch Up #1 - The Party

I'm finally getting around to organizing and posting photos of the wonderful 1-1/2 weeks that our family spent with us. I guess the main thing that was holding me back is that there were so many photos that I wasn't really sure where to start. So - I finally decided I would start with the reason that we all got together in the first place - to celebrate Alice's (Oma's) birthday! We had such a fun evening hosting the party at our house and were happy that so many of our friends and family could be there for the special night. Here is the birthday girl getting ready to blow out the candles!

You can't have cake without the coffee!

It was really special for our friends here to meet our family that traveled from so far to be here.

Present time!

We decorated the tables with photos of Alice from her childhood to present. It was a great conversation starter for the evening!

Trick or Treat!

I've got a lot of catch-up blogging to do and so many wonderful photos to post of our family visits over the past week or so, but I thought I would get started with a few photos from trick-or-treating last night. Here are our little Robots in action!

Family visit...round 1!

Our family has started trickling in for the big celebration this weekend. Alice's (Oma's) brother Gerrit and his wife Ali arrived on Tuesday evening. Here they are having coffee with us yesterday morning. These are the kids' great-aunt and great-uncle. It's so special to have them visit us here in Colorado all the way from the Netherlands!

John's sister Winnie & her husband Harry arrived late last night and their four children arrive later today. Tomorrow we will welcome the rest of John's sisters! We're looking forward to having a house full of family and spending a great weekend together!

Perspective

Yesterday, in the midst of all the crazy drama that tends to fill up our days, I found out that one of my friend's relatives passed away - a young mother of 2. Although I don't know this woman personally, she has really touched my life and made me sit down to consider what is really important. Please take a minute today to tell your loved ones how much they mean to you, give them a big hug, and say an extra prayer for the Hummell family as they go through this difficult time.

http://www.thebrightonblade.com/content/remembering-diana-hummell