Congratulations, Janae!!
Janae was baptized on June 6, 2009 at 4:00 pm. Thanks to all the family and Ward members who helped make this a special day. We enjoyed seeing all of our family and we are blessed to have such a great heritage. Here are a few photos of Janae on her special day:
I had to take this one quickly, I was losing Ben's interest. Silly little punk; he just doesn't like pictures taken of him. :P
And now for some excited photos in the car on the way to the church:
The girls and I sat in the back seat together. Janae was on my right . . .
. . . and Anna was on my left.
We wanted to get a picture of Dad in there too, but he was driving and we had a hard time getting a clear shot. But you can see Grandma Voelkel to the right and Daila's carseat on the left.
Oh here's Dad!!! :) Anna helped me take this shot. We got pretty lucky--this was our first try.
And last but not least, Grandpa Voelkel was in the front passenger seat.
Needless to say, the girls and I were excited and had a lot of fun with the camera on the way to her baptism.
We want to honor Janae's wonderful dad who performed the ordinances for her today. We are so glad he was able to do that. His good choices and desire for righteous living continually blesses our home. He is a great example and Janae was glad he could baptize her.
We also want to honor the men in Janae's life who were able to help confirm her: Her dad, Grandpa Hamblin, Grandpa Voelkel, Bishop Brown, Lafi Manumaleuna, Jeff Hamblin, John Hamblin, Gabriel Novak, Josh Voelkel, Brian Voelkel, and Nathan Voelkel. All related to her (except the Bishop). How blessed to have so many worthy men in her life to show Janae what a man is supposed to be. Thanks to all of you and your wives and families for supporting Janae on her special day.
We received a wonderful package in the mail the other day. Anna won 2nd place in the District writing contest for her book report on Flat Stanley's Christmas Adventure! We are all very proud and excited for her. She completed this assignment at school and on her own. She didn't have any help from me and just lots and lots of encouragement from her positive, energetic, and awesome 3rd grade teacher. In fact, a girl from Anna's class got 1st place (I guess her mom made a DVD of her doing a book club type speech). But Anna won all by herself because of her hard work and good study skills. Woohoo! Good job, Anna!!
So what was in the package? A letter from the St. Louis English Teacher's Association congratulating her on her achievement and a check for $50!!!! She was really excited about that. Plus, her teacher had added lots of sparkly fairy stickers, a letter saying how proud she was of her, a separate personal certificate, a journal, and a mechanical pencil. Way to go, Anna. I guarantee you one thing . . . Anna will always love writing now. :)
Isn't he cute. :) Ben took two weeks off of work to study for his classes and of course plans changed and he found himself with some extra time. Well of course he couldn't just relax in his spare time . . . oh no not Ben. So he decides he is going to sand down our front porch and stain it. Here are some before and after pictures:
This is like original wood porch we're working with. So that's like 80 years old. And the previous owners have just been painting it. So it is very slippery in the winter and dirty and chipped and . . . well . . . ugly. 
They didn't use any kind of decking or outdoor type materials. Ben says the wood is the same kind that was used inside the house. Weird huh. So needless to say it is very weathered, beat up, and rotten in places. We should really replace it, but we weren't prepared for that kind of project.
I'm kinda used to the blue and it has taken me awhile to get wrap my head around other possible colors.
Ben suggested a clear stain and I agree with him now. It will show much of the wood's imperfections but the color is so lovely! I had talked him into doing a brown tinted stain so the dirt would not show up as well, but when we did a test area neither one of us liked it. 
He is looking so much better here, just a day before being released, playing cribbage with Ben, Jeff, and Becky in his ICU room. 
Okay . . . going around the room counter-clockwise. Here is Jeff (peace out homie) and Becky. Apparently it is her turn with the crib since she is shuffling.
You can play cribbage with 2, 3, 4, and 6 players. I was player 5. :( No problem cuz I thought of that and brought a book to read while I listened to the gaming antics. (Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan)
Ah . . . our fearless photographer. 
Today Ben and I are celebrating our 10 year wedding anniversary! 10 years of marital . . . um . . . bliss. :) Well you know what they say, "Up, down, in and out, high, low, anyway the wind blows, anyway the wind blows . . . goes love." 
This old tin-type was taken on our honeymoon at Silver Dollar City in Branson. Doesn't Ben look young. And angry. lol He may seem serious and all business, but I assure you . . . he is a mass goof ball!! 
His sense of humor is just one of the things I love about him. He is a leader, a great example, and determined. He never gives up and he is the ultimate do-it-yourselfer. I mean this guy can do anything! He is not only a handy man but a great cook! 
And family is important to him. He makes his family his first priority.
He is a great dad. 
So I took a trip down memory lane this year for their birthdays and I actually had a little time to scan some pictures. Here is a picture of my "twins" when they were still adorable. Just kidding. They are STILL adorable. But just look at how sweet and innocent they are!!
Here is the evidence. They really do love being together.
Okay how cute is this?!! Their first game of hide-n-seek. Janae can't even walk yet, but Anna would run and hide around the corner, and Janae would maneuver the walker to find her. Never too long from each other's side . . . 
. . . even when they are all worn out. Happy Birthday, my lil sweeties. 
