Monday, November 30, 2009

Blips and Pics from Our Thanksgiving Trip

On Thanksgiving we joined the masses to grandma's house for Thanksgiving supper:) We left super early so we could spend most of the day with family and make our weekend trip seem longer:) Although it was short and relaxing, we definitely had plenty of fun!

Christopher noticed the birthday presents almost as soon as he got to Grandma's... so he opneded them up and headed outside to test out his HUGE remote control monster truck!!




Since Anna was a little intimidated by the bigger bike Grandma and Grandaddy had waiting, the boys took it our for a spin, or two!! You will never meet a father/son pair with such similiar mannerisms, sense of humor and interests... LOL!!















On Friday, we skipped the shopping to visit with Gran-Grandma!! She had fallen on Thursday, so we were all comforted to see her and be reminded that she's a tough little lady:)

Brian dotes on his grandmother! It's soo sweet to see! It's amazing that she'll be 101 years old come January!!



A flat tire on the way home from Gran-grandma's!! Nothing makes you worry more about your husband than seeing him laying on a highway shoulder changing the tire on the family van! Then nothing makes your more thankful and proud when you're back on the road minutes later.... I've got a great hubby! And a super father-in-law!



On Friday night we tried to sneak out for a movie! But the movie we were all hoping to see was "sold out"! So we headed to the Red Box! The girls enjoyed the warm car and sent the boys to do the soul searching of whether they were going to get a movie for their wives or themselves:)

I'm happy to report they are good husbands and got the girlie movie, although they totally got into the car singing the Transformer theme song... LOL!!

Grandma making breakfast with her three little "helpers"!!

Want to know how to really confuse Grandaddy???

Give him his Christmas present the Saturday after Thanksgiving while he's reading the newspaper:) LOL

We want him to try it out before Christmas!!


We tried to get some family photos for Grandma and Grandaddy's Christmas card.... LOL!! Chris wanted to wear binoculars... what a nutty kid!! Cute though:)



Before we left on Saturday, we did do a little shopping. Brian and I woke early to get some deals at an empty store... LOL... we probably didn't need to get up quite so early on Saturday:) But they appreciated the business, maybe not the morning breath!!

Later we visited the outlets:) At a children's store Brian and I scoured the 99 cent racks to find t-shirts for Anna next summer:) We wished we would have picked out some for Lydia too... since she already fits in their size 4 shirts:)

I thought these little shirts were adorable.... the girls loved them and wore them all day:)



We had a great trip and Thanksgiving with family:)

Sunday, November 29, 2009

I heart faces - from the Back

The challenge this week is "I Heart Tooshies".... LOL, I totally didn't think I'd be participating since I"m not about exposing bottoms. But it's just a fun way to show displays from "behind"!!!

This is one of my favorite photos of my family. I love my husband looking lovingly down at the kids. And the kids happily holding one another's hands as they walk... just a sweet moment!!

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Answer and a Giveaway

The answer to Christopher's Bible Story Picture from yesterday was.....

[Drum Roll, please]

Daniel and the Lion's Den.... the spikes on Daniel's head is hair...LOL!! And he is armed with two swords to protect himself (... those are the creative liberities!!). We've talked about how God protected Daniel and so he didn't need the swords.

Finally check out a really cool giveaway I was able to host:) I borrowed Andrea's Beco Butterfly Baby Carrier and LOVED it.... and get to give one away on SIMPLE!!! I don't need much for our new baby... but the BECO is on my list of what to get... when the gathering baby supplies begins:) Check out the review and giveaway HERE.

Friday, November 27, 2009

Which Bible Story????

Christopher drew a picture about the Bible story we learned last Sunday... he actually did the picture immediately after the teacher told him what the story was about that morning:)

So use up all your Sunday School and Bible knowledge to figure out what story Christopher was depicting in his drawing (that has taken a few creative liberties... LOL)!!!

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving!!



AS I was trying to think of something AMAZINGLY encouraging and uplifting to say about being thankful... I was reminded of my own struggles this year and how much of my struggle was about NOT being grateful for everything I already had.

SO take the time to be thankful to the Lord who gives us soo much! And show gratitude to others who support, encourage and love us!

Photobucket This is a fun photography meme... the theme this week is Food... how fitting for Thanksgiving Day!!

The picture was Anna's plate from the Thanksgiving Homeschool Party we participated in. With the kids' food allergies, we are always thankful for finding safe foods at potlucks!!

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

WW: My 4 Year Old

It's amazing that today we are remembering Christopher.... I'm always surprised by how quickly time passes and how GROWN my kids get. And I see the GROWN-ness in Christopher, daily!!!












We celebrated a little this evening... just Andrea's crew (maybe we'll do something a little bigger next year, but Chris didn't really seem interested in a party until this afternoon when he realized her could drink some soda.... which actually was a big deal for the kids... LOL). Here is his B-day song:)




Last year we made a montage celebrating my Christopher's 1st 3 years!! You might enjoy seeing it agian or for the 1st time:)


Happy 4th Birthday, Chris!!!



I was wordy again this week... LOL!!You check out some real Wordless Wednesday at Wordless Wednesday, 5 Minutes for Mom and Go Graham Go!!!

Enjoying Indoor Playgrounds again

So it's a wet or cold day.... the kids are bouncing off the walls and I need to get OUT of the house...ever have one of those days??? LOL!

The only problem is that last year it seemed like EVERYTIME we visited an indoor playground (at the mall or fast food restaurant) we brought home an illness.... everything from colds, Fifths Disease to a nasty stomach virus! Not fun or worth it!

We joked about putting gloves on the kids when on the indoor playgrounds, so that they wouldn't put their hands in their mouths or eat with dirty hands! And when they were done playing we were more aware of it and could clean their hands. We did worry that it would be a little odd.... but much better than cabin fever and stomach virus'!!


We tried some out when Ida (the storm) came to visit and we blazed a wet, rainy trail to meet up with family. Grammie picked up the gloves at a Dollar Store and we put them on the opposite hands so that they could use the patterns as grips:)

I was actually shocked that my kids willingly agreed to wear their gloves and LOVED them:) Now that the gloves have been washed they'll just wear them for kicks:)

And get this..... almost 1.5 hours at the indoor playground and it's been over 1.5 weeks and NO illnesses... nothing!

Ahhh... indoor playgrounds are back:)

Check out more Works For Me Wednesday!

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Tiny Talk Tuesday



One of the best times for me to vaccum the house is after the kids are in bed for bedtime or naps:) I know that sounds CRAZY... but we usually try to clean up before each sleeping time AND some of my kids are actually soothed by the noise. And if they are going to play, it's going to be when they first lay down while I can't hear them... LOL!

This week I vaccumed in the girls' room. And got THIS response:


Lydia said, "Oh, Mommy, Dat noise hurts my eyes!"


Just for fun... here is another Lydia-bug quote!
I asked her the classic, "Where did I get you from?"
And she answered back, "Walmart."

Read more cute conversations at Tiny Talk Tuesday at Not Before 7!!

Saturday, November 21, 2009

3 Thankful Turkeys and a Goat

On Friday we partciipated in a Thanksgiving Party and Feast with some more local homeschoolers! One of the activities was making Thankful Turkeys! I thought all the kids did really well... here are the three that we brought home:)

This is Lydia's!
Brian obviously wrote the words for her, but she told him what to write:) Soo cute! Gotta love that she is thankful for "popcorn"!!!

This is Christopher's!
He picked his feathers and how he wanted them arranged:)
Originially he was drawing pictures of things he was thankful for, like robots and sprayers...LOL!! But I think he got embarrassed so he colored it all in. And he told me his turkey had been playing in MUD:)

Anna did hers alone (minus me helping her with the word "house")!!!
I love the simple but sweet words (even those slightly mispelled... like "sestr"!
The two on the top that are soo light read "Gob" (aka God) and Word (aka the Bible)!! So sweet!


We had an informal mtg about 4H... after the meeting they had some goats for the kids to pet and feed. I LOVE how much my Christopher loves animals. He was the first to stick his hand in the bucket to feed the goats:)

I had to share this picture because I just LOVE his "I'm loving this" face!

Friday, November 20, 2009

Challenged....

Lately I have been challenged....

You see, I LOVE being a MOM!! And I love having such a hands-on role in their education and have them active at church....but there is soo much more to motherhood. It truly is a minstry!!!

When I saw the title of Ministry of Motherhood.... my heart leaped. I was actually looking for another book by this author, but this one spoke to what some of my recent prayers have been. I have LOVED this book and always look forward to a couple of quiet moments during naptime to read a few pages and just reflect on how to apply the lessons:)

I've also been blessed to be apart a of a Mom's Bible Study through the homeschool group we've joined this year. YOu'll never believe the book we are working through..... YEP, Ministry of Motherhood!!! Divine timing:)

Last week we had a conversation about pushing success on our children. And how one of our greatest our desires should be to equip them to be Christ followers! WOW.... talk about a hard concept to swallow by a bunch of homeschooling moms who worrying that our kids are "keeping up" with public school kids, are meeting State requirements, or will be "smart" enough to get into college.

In reading some inspiriational blogs, I ran across Proverbs 31 Ministry's post "I don't want to raise successful children". My favorite part of the article is this quote:


I'll stand by what I said and I'll say it again, I don't want to raise
successful children
. Because --- raising God-honoring adults who
will set the world on fire for Christ is just so much more rewarding.


** Brian and I have also dicussed this idea.... And I thought I should clarify that to be educated and taught to reason and write are good things to pursue. I think of how Anna can read her Bible and learn her Awana verses because she has been taught to read. And I think of intelligent men and women who use their abilities to write inspirational books that encourage us in our spiritual walk. Or doctors that have the knowledge to take care of us or travel to the most needy parts of the world.

The point is that we shouldn't be consumed with having "successful kids"!!! We should strive to help them become God-honoring children/adults. We teach them to work hard to honor God, not just for success alone. AND that our worth (both parents and children) is not based on "success" but on being a child of God!!

Now, isn't that challenging??? Especially in the mundane mothering tasks you have before you today... diapers, meals, correcting attitudes and actions, laundry, school-time, dishes, and vaccuming!!!

Thursday, November 19, 2009

More of Christopher's Art

Chris was drawing this morning before we got started with everythin this morning. He LOVES to draw and will use ANY paper and would try to empty my printer of paper if I didn't keep an eye on him. So here were his pictures:)

Man on a Skateboard



Man on a bike



LOL... he's still little but his little artist imagination is always at work. And his pictures are works of art to us:)

Where is she from????

The other morning after Lydia has a bowl of dry cereal (yes, she's still not drinking soymilk), she asked for something else to eat. I offered the gamit of fruits and breakfast foods but she wasn't interested!!

She opened up the fridge and pulled out some rice leftover from the night before!! I offered to at least heat it up for her, but she wasn't interested!!



She finished the whole bowl:) So tell me.... in what culture/area do people eat cold rice for breakast???

I should take the opportunity to update about Lydia's picky eating. She has actually been doing a lot better about trying green foods. She'll eat raw carrots and cucumbers and cooked broccoli:) And although she isn't crazy about green beans she'll put down a few without gagging to get a special dessert!

They all go through a picky eating stage. I tend not to worry too much, although I'm a Mommy and want my kids to eat their veggies and have well balanced diets:)

So for now we will praise for all the green (and other veggies) that the kids eat up! Hoping that they will eventually LOVE veggies b/c they are always on their plates... LOL!! Isn't that a theory out there??

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

WW: No he didn't...

Christopher has acquired some plastic bugs that are very, very realistic. By far my least favorite is the roach.... it's huge and just looks soo real to me, especially when I find it under toys or furniture at the end of the day.

For the last week, the roach has become a little "game" between Brian and I!!!

It all started when Brian was picking up random toys, out of the corner oF my eye I saw him pick up the roach. Minutes later I was sorting through the random clothes on Lydia's dresser and found the roach under a dress.

They all saw me jump and do a double take. And the game began....

*Under my pillow
*Under the comforter on top of the sheets on his side
*On my side of the bed (LOL and I slept on top of it b/c I didn't see it!!)
*In his underwear drawer

Then he got me.... This morning, during the rush to do some schoolwork, pack lunch and get to Library Reading Time..... he got me!!
He knows how to get me!!!

I totally wasn't expecting the roach to be under my hairdryer:) I jumped back AGAIN and then realized it was Brian!

So.... where do I "hide" it for him next???

You check out some real Wordless Wednesday at Wordless Wednesday, 5 Minutes for Mom and Go Graham Go!!! LOL

The Lycopene Kid

I thought it was soo cool this summer when little tomato plants started sprouting up, especially when I didn't plant any!! LOL

They were coming from tomatos that had fallen and were "naturally" planted in the ground:) And since they sprouted from a few tomatos, the little stalks grew up together:)

I started to worry a bit when I saw ALL the tomatos that these little Roma plants were trying to produce... the stalks were loaded!!! But they were "late bloomers" and weather was getting chilly and they weren't getting as much sun, so they weren't ripening...

So I picked them and brought them in...

Seriously, a TON of tomatos!!!!

And when I stood and wondered what I was going to do with all these Roma tomatos, my Lycopene Kid stepped up to the plate:)

Christopher is definitely known around here for his LOVE of ketchup:) He's even been known to eat ketchup out of the little Wendy's cups.... LOL!!! And on occasion he has eaten some tomato slices. So he's been asking for tomatos....

But Sunday he took it to a new level.....

He ate tomato after tomato.... just the whole tomato, some salt and pepper!!
So our tomatos are definitely are not going to be wasted!! Not with the Lycopene Kid running around asking for more tomatos:)
In fact here is the sandwich he built today:) I love the fact that there are many veggies that he really likes!!
I hope this veggie stage lasts a LONG time:)







Monday, November 16, 2009

My Autumn Beauty



Autumn Beauty is the challenge at I Heart Faces:)

While each of my children are darling, I immediately thought of this picture of Anna from last year when she was trying on her flowergirl dress for Uncle Scott's wedding.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Cousin Love Montage

She's sooo cute!!

Those little cheeks are irresistible!!

With the crazy, wet, cold weather our plans to visit with my family this weekend were cancelled. They finally agreed to meet us halfway for dinner when their house was dark from lack of electricity at 4pm:)

We spent over 2 hours in a Chick-Fil-A. It actually worked out well... the kids played and ate, played and ate (handwashing in between a PRIORITY...as well as another trick that I'll post on Wednesday!). Parents and Hannah Grace talked and ate and talked and ate:)

There were soo many cute Lydia/Hannah Grace pictures and a video.... so maybe that montage will be ready sometime today... depends if anyone helps with the laundry and ironing! LOL!!

Have a great weekend!!! Hope you Eastern Coasters are finally getting a break from the rain!!

Friday, November 13, 2009

15 Weeks and the Preggo Belly

It's hard to believe that we are 15 weeks into our pregnancy! In the midst of a busy homeschooling, kiddie house most weeks just fly by!!!!

We had our monthly checkup this week! At my last visit, my midwife (who delivered Lydia) asked that I bring the kids.... is she crazy??? LOL

Since it was with that same midwife AND just a check-up where we'd hear Baby's heartbeat, I thought we'd try it. The kids did well:) I figured Lydia would probably accompany me to the bathroom... I'm sure I'll be hearing, "Why you pee-pee in cup, Mommy? Dat is silly" for the next month.... but overall it was a good experience . The midwife got a kick out of seeing Lydia, how different my kids look and watching them roughhouse a bit in the room!!

Although I still feel like my belly is really "showing", I am still probably not showing that much. Oh, it breaks my heart.... LOL

So here's my little 15 week preggo belly. While I wish it was a little bigger making it obvious that I was pregnant, I know in a couple of months I'll be "singing a different song":)

My husband thinks I'm a little crazy... LOL... I keep telling him it's like a pregnancy "right" to be showing enough for people to know that you are PREGNANT and not just pudgy around the middle. And I think that desire is greater when your pants are tight or impossible to wear without a belly band.... when you feel pregnant!!!!

Like I said before, I've been blessed with a smooth pregnancy thus far. I did notice the other day that my nausea had returned and quickly realized that it was after I take my vitamins in the morning. So I'm trying to take them at night... good excuse for a yummy snack:)

And my back at night has bothered me a bit. This has happened with each pregnancy, so I figured it was coming. Usually they tell me to stop picking up my kids :( This is a little easier since my oldest two are so independent now. But when I need to put Chris in the grocery cart or Lydia needs some snuggling... picking them up is going to happen and honestly my body is used to their weight, so apart from my back, I'm not worried about it hurting anything else.

My greatest solution has been an egg crate mattress pad on my bed... a super simple and cheap one from Walmart that we bought when I was pregnant with Anna!! It has been wonderful for me!! We put it on the bed about week or so ago and I'm sleeping soundly through the night again!! Now I just need to get another body pillow or steal mine back from Lydia :)

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Ever feel like this???

It's been POURING out for almost 2 days....

I'm starting to feel like this :)


The story behind the picture is that a church member dropped him off for the kids to enjoy on Monday. After our schoolwork was done the kids went out to "play" with the turtle:) We let him roam around the fenced in but he had ONE goal.... escape:) LOL

He did eventually escape. Contratory to common belief, turtles move fast when they are on a mission to escape:)

Anyone see our missing turtle??? The kids are missing Sweetie Pie.... LOL

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

What we did

I sometimes have shared what I plan to use and then never really share what we did.... so here's a bit of accountability:) So here's what we did for Veterans Day today:


I wish we could have enjoyed a parade, like we usually have in our town or another local town. But the rain has been ruthless today.... so we missed out on that:)

Next year, I hope to include setting up a White Table... after reading the book, I was inspired!! And maybe find another story of a soldier... the America's White Table included a simple but moving story and the kids really got into and asked plenty of questions.