Bethany turned 20!!  One of her requests was to make her own birthday dinner.  She made a delicious meal of chicken with fettucini alfredo.  Sooooo good!

Her birthday table

I found this amazing recipe for breadsticks.  You can find the garlic alredo sauce here (http://mmmcafe.blogspot.com/2012/01/chicken-alfredo-roll-ups.html) and the breadsticks recipe here (http://mmmcafe.blogspot.com/2008/02/divine-breadsticks.html).

 

Present time!

 

A lighted frisbee and awesome boots!

 

Carvel birthday cake

Happy 20th Birthday Bethany!!!!

 

Mom’s & Bethany’s birthday came quickly after Dad’s and Jen’s.  We’re in a bit of a birthday lull until Christmas (my birthday), though the birthday pictures are still coming!

Mom’s birthday table!  I feel that I should explain the Flirt thing.    My mom is not a flirt.  Flirt is an energy/vitamin drink our neighbor made and is now selling, and it’s a drink we really like (plus it’s healthy for you).

I made a chocolate bunt cake completely from scratch, and it was deeeeelicious!

Someone had the fun idea of putting birthday sticky notes on every cabinet in the kitchen.  Marianna and Missy enjoyed helping with that. 

Mom with her birthday balloon and table

Mom is always on the run, helping others, and NOT sleeping.    She’s an example to us of a servant, and we’re thankful that God put her as our mom.

 

Opening presents!!

Had to.  It’s tradition now. 

Our friend Rachel had stopped by for something, so we handed her the camera for a few family shots. 

Happy Birthday Mom!!!!!

 

 

Recently, we’ve gotten to visit quite a bit with our dear friend, Nana Pat.  She lives in a retirement home about 25 minutes from us, but was at her daughter’s house (our neighbor) for a while. It was so much fun going down the road and hanging out with her.   

Playing cards

Missy brought over her cello one day and played for Nana Pat.  So cute!

Our toothless girl!  We also brought over a small keyboard so the girls could play some of their pieces.

Marianna made a cute pillow for Nana Pat.  She did a great job!

Playing tic-tac-toe. 

More tic-tac-toe.  Looks like they’re having fun, huh?

Nana Pat is a special friend.  The little girls love her.  We all do!

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Mom, Jen, Marianna, and Missy went on a field trip with some friends to Riverbend Farm.

There were lots of fun things for them to do!

Pumpkin picking!

Interesting!

We remember Riverbend as the farm that has the big slides.  They’re so much fun!

They bring out the kid in you

Walking up to the slide                                                                                                

Fun times!!

 

I have the week off of work this week (!!!!), so I will hopefully be able to catch up on posting pictures from the last two weeks. 

 

 

 

 

 

Mom and Jen found a fun place to take some pictures for their “birthday portraits.”

The two lovely ladies

 

Mom took Jen out to Penn Station for lunch.  It’s one of our (or my) favorite places.

Jen & her declicious sub

 

Mom never fails to have candles on hand during birthday season.  She’ll put them in anything. 

Perfect weather for pumpkin painting outside!

While we were in New Jersey last month, we “tie dyed” our nails with our cousins. It’s the coolest thing!! You get a cup (or, like Jen did below, a paint holder) and fill it with water. Then choose the colors you want on your nails.  Untwist each nail polish and put one drop of color in the water. You’ll have color upon color in the water.  When you have all the colors you want, take a knife or tooth pick and slice the colors to make a cool design.  

Make sure you put tape on your fingers (only leaving the nail showing).

THEN….dip your fingers in the water.  It’s probably best to do one finger at a time (you can do one from each hand at the same time).  Immediately take off the tape and let the paint dry.  You can do all your nails or just a couple. Some people just do one or two nails and paint the rest solid color.   Have fun with it!!

 

Marianna had a great time with her soccer team this season.  She’s a fast runner and a great teammate!

Look at her go!!

Jen coached a girls’ volleyball team this season and had a blast with them.  They especially liked her too.  She’s a great teacher and encourager.

 

At Jen’s volleyball game.  Aren’t they cute? 

Bethany’s chamber ensemble had their performance recently. UNCC has definitely had it’s fill of Wescott’s…and there’s still more to come! 

 

 

Jennifer turned 22 in October!  We had fun eating, laughing, and celebrating together.

Jen’s birthday table.  So cute!

Her birthday dinner was southern fried chicken, a pasta side, rolls, vegetables, and salad.  And, of course, sparkling cider1

  

Opening gifts

  

Christopher got Jen five nail polishes.  He made sure she knew he DID IT FOR HER.  He was so proud of himself for doing a good job in picking out the colors, but also said it was quite uncomfortable (and funny) asking one of the employees where a certain brand of nail polish was.  Go Christopher!!

Bethany decorated an apron for Jen.  It’s so adorable!!  She put two encouraging phrases on the pockets (for when things don’t go right in the kitchen) and wrote her name.  Love how personalized it is.

Getting the birthday cupcakes ready!!

 

Ze birthday girl!

Christopher contributing his share to the dessert and Missy serenading us on the piano.

Pre-posed pictures crack me up!  We cleaned up pretty nicely though, right? 

Happy Birthday Jen!  You’re a constant example of what it means to be a missionary and live for the Lord.  Keep your eyes on Him and glorify Him with your life!

 

 

 

I’m a bit behind on updating.  We’ve had four birthdays pass since the last post.    (4 birthdays in thirteen days means a LOT of food, sweets, and pictures)  I’m slowly but surely going through our pictures and will document each one hopefully by the end of next week. 

The first birthday we celebrated in the birthday race was Daddy!  He turned the big five-O this year.  We had fun celebrating as a family.  We literally have to take out the calendar to see when we’re all going to be home at the same time for a long enough period so we can celebrate.  Haha!

Dad’s birthday table

We get a bit crazy when we’re all together.

Dad’s birthday dinner was taco salad!!!  So yummy.

After dinner, we did presents.  The little girls love to help hand the birthday person the gifts and then organize them after they’re opened.

 

 

Mom and Dad will be going on a trip sometime in the new year.  They still have to pick a place (which will be fun!).

The observers.  Sometimes we forget that the birthday person is supposed to get the attention. 

Gifts from the little girls

We had a visitor with us that night!  Our neighbor, Snickers.

I made a chocolate truffle cheesecake that I’m super proud of.   It came out really well and tasted soooo good.

Mom and Dad

It took me a second to realize this was our “singing faces” moment.  I was wondering why we all looked so weird (besides Dad and Missy).

Dad and his kiddos.  Happy Birthday Dad!!!!

 

 

We started out with a cool fall (!!!), but the temperatures have been up in the 70s this past week.  Crazy!  We’re enjoying this weather, though.  Definitely beats the 100-degree summer temperatures!

The girls have had fun in the backyard playing in the trees and using their imaginations.  They made a little home in an area behind a bunch of trees.  I still don’t know where this is in our yard.  Haha!!

 

“Enter” and “Exit out” signs

L-o-v-e this sign.  “Fall! season” - I guess they wanted to clarify what they meant by “fall.”

  

 

 

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Mom took the girls on a field trip to the police department a few days ago.  They had a good time together with a group of other people.

 

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At the music school where I work, we have something called Ministry Night where we go to a retirement home and have the students put on a recital for the residents there.  The October concert went wonderfully and the people loved it!!  Look forward to the November and December recitals.

 

Toward the end, I asked Christina (teacher and my boss) if she wanted to play something together for fun.  She was all for it, so we sat down and just played a few hymns and requested songs by ear.  It was so.much.fun.  I think the people watching got a kick out of how much fun WE were having!

 

Missy and Marianna also played their instruments.

It’s as big as her!!

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We went to a Bible study cook-off event a couple weeks ago, where we all competed with main dishes and desserts.  The theme was pizza and pieces.  It was fun seeing everyone’s creativity!

 

What fascinated me was that there was only ONE “regular” pizza.  Everything was SO different.  And super delicious!!

 

We made the Mexican “Fiesta Pizza.”

 

The desserts were great too!  My favorite was the crossword puzzle cheesecakes.  We made the “3-piece delight.”

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Love catching up with friends!!  Renee (middle) is moving from Raleigh to Asheville with her husband and son soon and was in Charlotte for a weekend, so we met for dinner one of the evenings and had an incredible time.  So thankful for godly (and fun…and hilarious!!) friends.

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I took the girls on a field trip a few weeks ago to Reed’s Gold Mine.

 

Panning for gold.  Marianna actually found a tiny piece!

  

Going into the mine

Friends from church

 

We went on a whirlwind trip to NJ and NYC last weekend.  Our cousin got married and we visited some family while we were in the area.  We started out in the NJ mountains and ended in the city.  Will eventually get pictures up from that (the wedding place was GORgeous), but it will take a while to go through all of them!

We’re waist-deep in birthday celebrations.  We celebrated Dad’s birthday yesterday and are celebrating Jennifer’s tomorrow.  Then Mom’s and Bethany’s next week!  Looooooots of unhealthy stuff going on here at our house. 

 

 

 

 

Christopher turned the big one-eight in September!  We had fun celebrating as a family.  Actually did dinner, gifts, AND dessert all in ONE night! 

 

He’s such a great big brother (and little brother, too, of course ).

Birthday table                                                                                                     

Christopher’s birthday dinner request was Mexican Lasagna.  We’d never made this before (it was a friend’s recipe), so we were wondering how on earth it would turn out.  The title of the dish threw us off guard.  Haha!!  BUT…it ended up being one of the most delicious meals we’ve had!!  It was sooooo good.  Nice pick, Christopher!

  

Gifts from Missy and Marianna

 

Gettin’ a little crazy over there

The six

 

Some awesome gifts!!

Birthday brownies!!

Happy Birthday Camel, Bewawa, Cwidofer, Christopher! 

 

As usual, NC weather has proven to be predictably unpredictable.  We started getting a nice fall, then it got warm and humid.  It was really cool today (loved it!), but this week is supposed to be warmer again. At least it IS getting cooler. Seasons are amazing, aren’t they? Isn’t it neat to think how much detail God put into His creation, even down to the change of seasons?

We’ve been staying busy here. Lots happening!

 

^This^ little girl lost her front tooth.  Boy, does she look cute with that gap in her mouth!

It’s hard to tell the tooth is gone, but it’s definitely not there.

They love having tea parties.  Dressing up (over PJs, of course) always makes it more fun!

The CSYO performed at Freedom Park’s “Festival in the Park” a couple weeks ago.  They played for about an hour.  Loved hearing the orchestra!  Christopher had a few solos, so we cheered extra loud for him.

Dr. Pereira has been conducting the Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestras since 1988.

Joseph and Hanna came home from college for the weekend and went to the concert with us!

Missy is LOVING being in choir.  She’s been listening to the CD her director gave her and singing her choir songs.  It’s so cute when she ^sets up^ her dolls and stuffed animals and conducts her own choir.   

This is Rebecca.  She was Jen’s when Jen was little.  I remember when Christopher was shorter than her.  Marianna and Missy still play with her. She’s lived a long life!

Mom took the little girls and went with some friends on a field trip to Windy Hill Apple Orchard.  This was one of our favorite places to go when we were younger.

 

The girls got to hear the Johnny Appleseed story, go on a hay ride, make a scarecrow, get apples, and eat/drink donuts and apple cider.

Petting some of the farm animals

This man has been doing this for years.  He’s so great!

The kids and the moms

 

They had the perfect weather for a day on the farm!

Mom and the girls also went on a field trip to Old Salem with some friends.

The girls had fun dressing up and walking around the historic place.

Having some fun

 

 

We have a third cellist in the family!!  Missy officially started taking lessons from Jen a few weeks ago.  She’s doing a great job and has already played at a retirement home for a small concert we put on.  It’s so cute to see her carry the cello on her back…it’s as big (or small) as she is!

Guidance from Jen

 

Who doesn’t like to make bubbles with our milk?

 

 

Can’t wait to share some *exciting* news about Wescottage Music soon!!!

 

Attempted to make cinnamon buns a few weeks ago. 

Camping out in the backyard!!!

Missy put herself under a hamper and asked to be covered.  I don’t know how long she stayed there, but it was a long time.  Silly girl!!

 

 

Enjoy the fall weather!!

 

 

Can’t believe these girls are 6 and 9 years old now!!  Feels like yesterday they were babies.  We’re so grateful God added them to our family.   They are huge blessings and a constant source of joy.

Missy was just a week and a half old here.

So cute!!!!!! 

 

 

They love having their pictures taken.  We’ve got some of the sweetest pictures of them. 

 

And here they are……the 6 year old and the 9 year old.  Jen took their birthday photos together last week.  They had a blast doing it.  Enjoy looking through them!

Marianna Faith is in 4th grade and is excelling very well.  She loves to read and write and is often found practicing her piano or violin.  She has a servant’s heart and loves to cook.

Missy Joy is in 1st grade and has blown me away with how well and fast she can read!  She LOVES playing the piano and just started the cello last week.  She also started choir this year (along with Marianna) and is enjoying it.  She sings all the time….and she’s quite good!

Sweet girls

 

I wouldn’t have known how to pose at their ages. Haha!!

 

Love this one

Missy lost one of her front teeth today…so she’s a bit toothless.  Looks so cute! 

Love these girls so much

Our prayer for these girls is that they will grow up to be godly women who desire to serve the Lord in whatever capacity God asks of them.  They are still young, but it is also never too early to live for Jesus.

 

Missy and Marianna.  The best 6 and 9 year olds in the world.