Catching Up....

It's Christmas break, and we are enjoying a slower pace for a few days. I'm getting caught up on all sorts of things that fall by the wayside during the busy-ness of life...blogging is one of them. =)

Homecoming 2012:

This past Fall was MSU homecoming. When Jon was playing for MSU, his team was the first to break a 16 year losing streak with the University of Montana (our arch rival). This year was the 10 year anniversary of that AMAZING day! At homecoming, Jon and his teammates were honored on the field. How cool it was that Marian was able to go out on the field with him. Another bonus was that my Dad came with us. It was a special day. Marian is a tried and true Bobcat fan and a tried and true despiser of the GRIZ, so it was quite exciting for her to be standing among the players who beat those GRIZ 10 years ago. =) GO CATS!!!

The sign Mare made before the game. =) 

On the field with Daddy

Love this...Mare waiting on the sidelines while Daddy gets interviewed

Jon and Ryan Johnson getting interviewed for the local news

Jump a few months...here we are after getting our Christmas tree up at Bridger Bowl...we always sled at the end....this is one of our favorite things to do as a family.

And now for making our Gingerbread House....love that there's college football in the background...this is a common site in the Montoya home during the Fall. =)

And finally...here is Macy, as a pilgrim girl, right before her Thanksgiving play at school. She was adorable and did her lines so loud and clear. We were so proud of her!

Happy Birthday Macy!

What a blessing it is to be a parent to this sweet little girl. She has matured so much this year, and I must say it is bittersweet. She is and will forever be my baby, and yet how wonderful it is to see her grow and mature. Happy 7th Birthday Macy! You are a precious gift from the Lord. 

The surf board cookies for her class celebration

 The girls are really into the "Soul Surfer" movie and the story of Bethany Hamilton who was attacked by a shark when she was 13. I love that they have such a great role model of a girl who loves and lives for Jesus even in spite of great tragedy. She walked through her accident and recovery with an attitude that could have only been because of her relationship with Christ. It was neat to play games with one arm and have hawaiian music blaring in the backyard. The girls had so much fun!

Her "Soul Surfer" Birthday Party!

The cake version of Bethany Hamilton's surfboard, complete with the shark bite taken out. =)

Musical chairs to hawaiian music

Marian and her best friend teaching the girls how to hula dance...they were so cute. =)

Daddy's got the hula going on =)

Marian and her friends were on the "greeting committee"

Limbo!

How cute is this? She's not too sure about clearing that. =)

Blowing out the candles... Happy Birthday Mace!


Be sure to scroll down...I've updated about 3 or 4 blog posts tonight. =) 

Such a trooper...

I got a call last Monday afternoon that Marian had fallen at recess and her arm (the same arm she broke this Summer) was already swelling up. I took her in and the doctor confirmed it was broken (in different spot than last time) and we were escorted to the ER where an Orthopedic set her arm. It's splinted now (in what we endearing refer to as the "Behemoth") and should be casted this week. She has been such a trooper. She's really in a lot of pain, but I'm so thankful she's tough like her Dad! 

Football!

Marian has been so into football lately...throwing it, catching it (that is until she broke her arm....that post to come...) and watching it. We've been blessed that she's been able to go to a few Bobcat games this year. She loves it and cheers so loud! Here she is practicing football with Daddy after a game the two of them went to together. 

She wasn't exactly thrilled when I first came out with my camera, but I know one day she'll love these pictures of her and her Daddy.

First Day of School

About 3 or 4 days before the first day of school we got word that the girls' school, Heritage Christian, had a devastating fire. Amazingly enough, the Lord provided desks, chairs, and even a building for us to use temporarily for our school in less than two weeks. What a blessing! We are thankful for all the Lord has provided and for the godly example of the teachers and staff in the midst of a challenging time. Here are some pictures of the first day. We are so thankful for this awesome school. It is a blessing in our lives.

My big First Grader!

My big 3rd Grader! 

Sisters! 

At the temporary siter

Good Friends

We were blessed by a visit from the Drollingers in August. When Rach called me and said they were coming, I felt my heart "lift" because that's what time with her does for me...it rejuvenates me. The Bible says "as iron sharpens iron so one man sharpens another." I feel "sharpened" from being with her. I'm so thankful for my friendship with her and for our husbands friendship with each other. I love watching our kids play together. All my pics are from our berry picking at Rocky Creek Farm, because I can't find Marian's camera right now and the rest are on there. 

Eager to get to the berry-picking =)

...and they're off!

Precious Brighton...sampling the berries

The two "peas-in-a-pod" 

Drew...love this kid like he's my own

Mare

Brighty was so sick and such a trooper!

It was so muddy our shoes were coming off and sticking into the mud!
We didn't wear the smartest shoes. =) 

Cracks me up how her expression looks so grown up and then you see the berries all over her face......hmmm? =)

This next picture needs an introduction....so after we picked our berries, we went to pick apples in another field nearby. The kids were so afraid someone would take our berries that they "hid" them under Rachel's SUV. After we picked the apples we were so focused on getting the mud off everyone's shoes that we got in the car and gave no thought to the berries "hiding" under the car. Rachel backed out of the field (with some serious power I might add...haha), we got back to the Farm's office to pay and suddenly realized, "THE BERRIES!!!" We asked the kids if anyone thought to grab the berries from under the car and the answer was no (except for Sierra's little bucket). We prayed all the way back to the field and this is what we found....

I think we lost 5lbs laughing our heads off in the field. I seriously cannot remember the last time I laughed that hard....we couldn't even talk. The poor kids were watching from the car and were stunned at all their hard work smashed in the grass. Of course these buckets all belonged to the farm, but they were so gracious. They didn't even charge us for the berries (or the buckets) and they gave all the kids otter pops and gave me a free basil plant!