more to come…

I have a lot to post, but thought I would post this picture from July 4th for now!  What a great day!

Goings on…

Well, there has been a lot going on around here.  We are doing pretty well, just staying busy.  I am having a hard time finding the time to post – I hate that.  But I thought I would update on some things over the past few weeks.

Park Day…

One Saturday, we had a work day around the house.  We decided to have a picnic lunch at the park.  So Chris and the boys rode their bikes while Ella and I drove in the van (with the food!)  It was such a fun little outing.  It was such a great day – relaxing, fun and productive!  Doesn’t get much better than that!

 

Alec LOVES to swing!

Havin’ fun!

 

Ella also loves to swing!  She was in there a long time!

 

Sweet kiddos!

 

 

Ella’s Ducky…

Recently, Ella has a new love for the bath.  She liked it before – well, most of the time, but now she gets excited!  Her favorite thing in the bath is her ducky!  She now says, “Duh” when she sees the ducky.  (We were at the store the other night and she started saying it – I turned and sure enough, there were a whole bunch of rubber duckies! )  She also says, “Ba” for bath.  It is so fun to see her making connections and figuring things out!

 

 

[] lego party []

We had a little party on Saturday to celebrate both boys’ birthdays (which are next week). They love legos right now, so it seemed an appropriate theme for the party.

We had a building challenge for the most creative car and they also raced their creations! They had a ball!

I made their cake. It was a fun challenge, but butter cream icing is quite challenging to get smooth. I will try fondant next time. But I think it still turned out pretty cute. The boys loved it, so that is all that matters!

Here are some pics of the fun day!

**7 months**

I haven’t updated in a while…just so many other things needing my attention! 

Let me start by saying that our sweet girl turned 7 months old yesterday!  It is amazing how these months are just flying by.  I am trying to enjoy each stage with her.  I know this season will be gone before I blink.

She is doing quite well.  Her two teeth are prominent in her mouth now and she seems to be adjusting to them.  She wants to eat ANYTHING that we have!  She especially likes bread (rolls, etc) with dinner.  She likes her baby food okay, but seems to like the veggies more than the fruit.  She really likes mashed potatoes! 

She still isn’t sitting up great, but she will do it fine at times.  I think some of it is the wood floor in our living room.  But she gets around – rolling, scooting, not always sure how she gets from one place to the next!  We have also stood her next to the couch and she will do that!  She has tried to even pull up, but hasn’t figured it out.  That is FINE with me!  It’s a whole new ball game once they start really moving!  I want her to be a “baby” as long as possible!

Her hair is still growing at a snail’s pace!    Hopefully she will have more soon!  We have also talked about getting her ears pierced soon!  I just need to get it all worked out.

So here are a few photos from yesterday…we met Chad, Cindy and Andrew at the park – it was beautiful!  I think this was her first time on a swing and she LOVED it! 

So sweet!

 

 

She liked to watch her shadow as she was swinging!

 

  

Andrew!

 

   

                        New shoes!

Oh, I promised I would update on the post-election conversation!  Last Wednesday morning, the boys were all interested in finding out who won.  When I told Caleb that Obama won but that he wouldn’t actually be president until January, he misunderstood and thought the president wouldn’t be chosen until then.  Once he realized that McCain didn’t win, he got pretty upset!    poor kid!  But I assured him that it was fine, even though Mr. Obama wasn’t our choice!  We talked about how God is the One who allows things to happen and it is in Him that we put our trust!  It was a good conversation!

Okay…gotta get going!    Bye for now!

.election day 2008.

The day is finally here!  Election Day 2008.  In school we have been studying the American Revolution, George Washington and the journey of freedom for America.  The timing has been appropriate as it has made me reflect once again on this great nation in which we have the privilege to live.  We have the opportunity to vote for officials that we believe will make the best choices for our country.  We have the freedom to talk about and make these decisions without threat against us.  I was able to walk into that polling place without fear or worry.  So many people in so many nations can’t say that… 

As I was voting, I found myself praying for each candidate as I voted, praying that the Lord would use them to accomplish His purpose in our country.  And also just being grateful to God that we live in this nation.

This has also been an opportunity to talk about things with the boys.  Obviously, they really don’t understand a lot of things, but it isn’t too early to be talking to them about standing up for what we believe – choosing leaders that we believe will best honor the Lord.  That we have the honor and privilege to be involved in our country’s political system and that we can make a difference when we take a stand.  We want to protect those very freedoms that we have been reading about in our history lessons!

But above all, my faith is NOT in who our next president will be.  He is only a man.  But God is still God – no matter the outcome!  And He already knows that outcome and has plan for each one of us!  What peace that brings to my heart.  I know that My God is STILL in Control!  That is good news!

So, I took all the kids with me this morning to the polls.  I was praying that there wouldn’t be a long line.  The Lord answered that prayer!    We walked right up to the table…waited just about 2 minutes for a poll booth and the longest part was just actually marking the ballot!  Oh, funny story…the kids were all standing behind me as I voted.  One of the workers walked up and gave the boys “I VOTED” stickers.  She asked Alec if he was voting!  He said, “No, but my Mama is…(and in a loud voice said) AND WE ARE VOTING FOR McCAIN!!”  It was so funny!   As we were leaving, each boy helped me insert a ballot into the machine (I wanted them to be as involved as possible)…we all got our stickers and we were done.

Of course, we couldn’t leave without taking a few photos!    (Did you expect any less of me?)

But before I end this post, I wanted to let you know that Starbucks is giving away a free cup of coffee to everyone that votes!  All you have to do is have your “I VOTED” sticker or your voter registration card!  So I am enjoying that now!  (Caleb said that the only reason I wanted to vote was for the free coffee!  I assured him that that wasn’t the case – but it is a fun treat!    )

     Free coffee!!!

 

God Bless America,
Land that I love.
Stand beside her, and guide her
Thru the night with a light from above.
From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans, white with foam
God bless America, My home sweet home.

-fall festival 2008-

We went to Journey Christian Church’s fall festival last night.  It was a lot of fun!  We have gone almost every year since Caleb was little.  The boys LOVE to get dressed up and they talk about fall festival all year long!  This year, we decided to dig in our closets to find costumes.  Caleb was Darth Vader and Alec was Jedi Luke!  Ella was a pumpkin!  All of my kids were dressed as pumpkins as babies! 

It was just our family last night, but we still had a great time.  The air was chilly – so nice! 

Here are a few pics from our evening!

 

            Darth Caleb                                    Jedi Alec

 

                    all dressed up                                             they love star wars!

 

                                 our little pumpkin!

 

                                                                punkin’ doodle!

  

                    sleepy little pumpkin!

 

not sure what this is called, but they bounced on trampolines and were attached with harnesses…they had fun!

 

Caleb on the rock wall                                            Alec playing a game

{the pumpkin patch}

We went to the pumpkin patch on Thursday.  Cindy & Andrew and Dacia and her boys joined us as well.  We had so much fun.  There were TONS of pumpkins and the kids had a great time.  My boys love the pumpkin patch.  They aren’t always crazy about me taking pics of them – ha! – Ella got most of Mama’s camera time this year!    But the boys had their share of photos as well!

 

{My precious PUMPKINS!}

 

{Happy it is Fall!}                                                                {Cindy & Andrew }

 

{Ella loved the hay!}

 

 

                                                                                                   {Ella & Winston }

 

{Dacia & Manning}

 

{My Alec – he turned the gourds into guns – such a BOY!}

 

{My big boy – Caleb – he is really growing up!}

This last week…

As I mentioned in another post, this past week has been a little crazy around here – due to illness.  Not sure where this came from but boy it got us!  Alec got sick last Monday.  He originally had croup and then it turned into bronchitis by Saturday.  Ughh…we knew he was sick when he didn’t want to play soccer!  The doc put him on antibiotics and a breathing treatment.  It all seems to be working – Thank You, Lord!    He still has a cough, but it isn’t as bad.  Overall, he seems to be feeling much better.  (Back to his trouble making self!  ha!)

Last night, Caleb said his eyes were burning and that he had a headache…you guessed it…he had a fever..102.3, I think.  So back to the couches!  (When my kids are sick, the high point of that time is that they get to sleep on the couch with their pillows and blankets.  I sleep out there with them, so I don’t disturb Daddy as I get up and down during the night.  I can also keep a closer eye on them.  Often I let them watch cartoons if they can’t sleep.  Last week when Alec was sick, Caleb said that Alec was lucky because he got to sleep out in the living room!  Ha!) 

Ella’s first tooth is still cutting through, so she has been pretty fussy and clingy.  At times she is fine, but other times she just squeals (in a way that can go all through you!)  I am just trying to keep Tylenol in her so she is more comfortable.  But she has still been very sweet!

Needless to say, I am in even more need of grace and strength from the Lord than normal.  But he has promised to give me everything that I need – that is GREAT NEWS!  We would love your prayers for health!

Here are a few photos from last week.  Alec seemed to be feeling better this night, so we went to Coldstone for their ice cream social.  They gave out free (tiny) cups of ice cream to benefit the Make a Wish Foundation.  We saw a lot of people up there that we knew.  Here are just a few pics from our night out.

-soccer season begins-

Yesterday was the first day of the soccer season for the boys.  They have been SO excited about this!  It is amazing to see how much more they are “into” the game now that they are getting older.

Caleb stayed well hydrated, so no headaches!  Yay!  That was amazing, since it was so hot.  They had a great first day…and…both of their teams WON! 

Alec was pretty funny when he found out he was on the purple team…he said, “But Mama, purple is a GIRL’S COLOR!!!!”  I wouldn’t have chosen purple as a team color for him either, but he had an opportunity to work through his bad attitude.  And let me tell you, he DID NOT look like a girl out there!  ha!

Here are some photos from soccer:

Afterwards, we changed and went out to Liki Tiki for the afternoon.  The water felt great after having been in the heat all morning.  Ella loves getting in the water!  So much fun!

-piano lessons-

Monday was a big day for Caleb!  He had his first piano lesson!  Julie VanLue is his teacher!  He was so excited and has been looking forward to this for a long time.  In fact, he drew a picture of a piano on the calendar in the kitchen – just so we wouldn’t forget!  (He does this anytime he is looking forward to something!)

He had had a headache all that day, but thankfully, he was doing a little better and was able to “push through.” 

And for those of you that were praying for Caleb’s headaches – thank you so much!  Yesterday and today were headache free!  We were able to have good and productive school days!  Thank you, Lord! 

We are excited about this new season of music lessons!  We pray that the Lord will use this to equip him for the future!