Holiday Treats

We are busy getting all the holiday treats made so we can send them out in time for Christmas. We don't get gifts for our brothers or sisters but we do send out these tins of lots of goodies. That is our labor of love to our families. We end up sending out 10 or so tins in all and there is usually not much left over for us to enjoy (although I think we taste plenty while we are making them!)
We make frosted gingerbread men, sugar cookies, pecan fingers, toffee, peanut brittle, turtles, chocolate covered peanuts, peppermint bark (going to add oreos to one batch - mint chocolate bark-to see how that works, Miss Margie gave me the heads-up on that one)....and that is all I think.

So I was finishing up the turtles yesterday, melting the chocolate and dipping them in. I have to chop the chocolate before I melt it so it melts faster and nice and smooth. Anyhow Isaiah had been in the kitchen with big eyes and I needed to run back upstairs to get Kiersten out of the tub. So before I headed up I gave stern instructions to stay away from the candy. No touching. I came downstairs to a boy with chocolate around his mouth and all over his fingers. Immediately I became angry and asked him to show me what he had 'touched'. He took me into the kitchen and pointed to the cutting board. My littlest man had obeyed me completely and stayed away from my candy. And because I had told him to leave the bowl with chocolate alone he had gone over to the cutting board and was getting slivers from there to enjoy! He obeyed and still won out! :)

I'll put some pictures up of the treats once they are finished. The kids plan on helping me frost some cookies this afternoon..so that will prove interesting I'm sure.

I do hope everyone is having a blessed Christmas season. I am working hard to keep appreciating what the season is all about. The stress (brought on by procrastinating) sometimes clouds the joy of Jesus' birth. What a wonderful story of God's amazing love and his amazing way of bringing it about! I hope the joy of Jesus is yours and you can celebrate his birth.

As an f.y.i. my beloved uncle had a successful surgery. They took out his entire esophagus and found no cancer in the surrounding tissue. Thanks so much for your prayers. I think the recovery will take some time...as he spent a few days in I.C.U. and is still at the hospital almost a week later. I do have another request though - my sister-in-law's mother, Miss Jacki, is just filled with cancer. It has come on so fast and is taking over everything. She knows Jesus and is o.k. if it is time, but her husband isn't and doesn't know the Lord. So if you could pray he would see God's love for him in his wife as she lives out her faith to the end, that would be awesome. My sweet sister-in-law, Wendy, could also use your prayers as she struggles to let her heart be o.k. with letting her mom go to be with Jesus. Sorry to end on a sad note-but these are my loved ones and I couldn't not ask you to pray :) We'll be back soon with Christmas goodies and sweet faces to share. Be blessed!

Little Overwhelmed

I have to admit I am feeling a little overwhelmed just now. Thanksgiving was the start since we had to miss a few school days. Or rather we did miss a few. It seems to be extra hard to get things done when Daddy is home. We just don't stick to our normal routine and there is added distraction. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy when my Beloved gets to be with us, it just throws me off. So I have felt like we have been playing catch-up ever since then. It doesn't help that I am not a naturally organized person or super motivated. As we head into the home stretch I hope you all will bear with me. I'll get some of my Christmas things up eventually :) So don't give up on me just yet!

As a side note, I, or rather a very precious Uncle of mine, could use your prayers for tomorrow. He is undergoing surgery to try to remove all the cancer found in his esophagus. Just asking for it all to be found, contained and removed as well as a smooth recovery. Thanks so much!

Put to Shame

You know I think there is something wrong when the youngest family member can put the rest of us to shame with her stink! :) Katie is precious and I love her, but she has carried a foul smell when she makes 'stinkies', as we call them, ever since the day she was born. It is a like a black cloud that hangs over you when it happens. And often times she 'traps' me when I am feeding her and cannot escape.

I knew it was going to get worse since we just started her on cereal. Rather I knew when she went to the bathroom that smell would change. I went out to start the car this morning, to warm it up, and came back in to the living room where all 3 kids were. Immediately I asked Isaiah if he made business. Nope. Kiersten, did you make stink? Nope. Sure enough Katie had filled her pants in the few moments I was outside and had managed to change the smell of the entire room! Unbelievable. Let me just say for the record that she gets that from her father! :) And with that I shall sign off. :)

Lessons

Lately I have been wondering whether the lessons for Kiersten are really for me. It just seems like whether we are doing school lessons or going over church lessons (we get little cards each week with a memory verse, scripture and things to discuss) that the Lord is speaking more to me than to Kiersten. It has been good and has prompted me to get in gear on a few things - like serving within the church itself. I am thankful for the 'shout-outs' from the Lord and even more thankful that I am hearing them. My walk with the Lord hasn't always been strong or consistent. I always desire to spend time in the Bible and in prayer, but that doesn't mean I always do. It has been even more difficult to find the time with each child and then home schooling. All of which are only excuses, so I suppose it makes it all the more endearing that Jesus would catch my attention through those things that seemingly distract me or take my time away from Him. :) He is oh so good to me!

Anyhow, one thing that caught my attention was through a book we were reading called The Light at Tern Rock by Julia L. Sauer. It takes place just before and around Christmas time. The thing that caught my attention was that one of the characters always had a habit of cleaning the house thoroughly on Christmas Eve. It did not matter where they were - they readied the place where they were for the coming of the Christ child. The story was that instead of Santa visiting each home it was the Christ child whom would go to and fro through houses and visit. So this character wanted everything to be in tip top shape for when the Christ child would come. That is also why people leave candles and such burning on Christmas Eve, so that He can see the way to your house.

It just hit me and connected with me - getting and keeping my heart ready and clean for God. I have ready My Heart Christ's Home and it talks about my relationship with God using the picture of my heart as a house with many rooms in it. (If you want to read it, please click on the link.) It especially hits home as we approach Christmas and are trying to change a few things we do to celebrate, particularly with respect to gifts, giving and receiving them. I am just so thankful for all the little ways the Lord sneaks something in on me in the most loving of ways.

Speaking of lessons, and as a side note we were doing a project today for science around measuring. Kiersten had a picture of Gallon Boy but we just had to make a Gallon Girl :)

We used different scraps of colored paper for each measurement. She needed to add a buddy for Gallon Girl- it is a puppy.It is a neat way to remember the different measurements and how many of each equals what. I dare say I won't forget after this! It is a blessing to be able to do school with Kiersten and I cherish the things we get to do together and really just the time we get with one another. Well, I hear Katie crying so I need to run! Have a most blessed day and weekend!

Shout Out to Grandma Darlene

Hi, Mom! I have been meaning to send a shout out to say I love you and am thinking of you! The kids' are too and are looking forward to seeing you at Christmas time. For those of you wondering why I have resorted to sending a note to my mom via the blog instead of emailing or calling - I shall tell you. My mom works overseas in a war zone for a company contracted by the military to do logistical things around bases and such. She has a position such that she receives more than 300 emails a day - so you see where sending an email gets me no where. :) As for the phone. There has been trouble lately with the satellite and our conversations this past month have consisted of 3-4 minute chats of broken reception followed by being disconnected. We play the game about 3X times and resign ourselves to try again another day. I could tell she had become quite accustomed to being cut off when I called back for the second time and she says, "Before we get cut off and I don't get to say it, I love you." Sure enough within 2 minutes we were. It made me laugh and also feel a little sad. For that is wisdom gained but loneliness with it. So I am writing to say, " WE LOVE YOU MUCHLY!" and we'll be sending a little holiday cheer out soon. Take care and get some rest, Mom. I'll try the phone again soon, promise. :)

Treasure Coming Soon

A family treasure is coming soon! One of my dearest uncles on my dad's side let me know he had researched the family genealogy and was going to let me know what he found so I could put it on the blog. This is surely something special as my grandpa was adopted and my grandma came over from England. They met in WWII, she was a nurse. My uncle said he even found where she came in through Ellis Island. How special is that?

Endangered Species!

I know you are asking is this in reference to my beloved or the Katie-girl? It is a fair question since on a bad day the husbandry makes it on the list....as I am ready to kill him! :) Just teasing. I thought it was too funny to pass up. Anyhow, what I am referring to is Katie's toothless grin. It is almost a thing of the past. She poked through one of her bottom teeth over a week ago. It is slowly growing in and is hard to see just yet, but not to feel, let me tell ya! That thing is like a razor it is so sharp. She is following in her big brother's footsteps in that she is an early teeth er at just past 4 months old.

I thought since I have dedicated several blogs with pictures to the other two kids I would leave this one to the littlest princess. :) She really is a joy and her smile is so precious. It is fun to watch Kiersten and Katie interact. They just seem to love one another and not to grow tired of seeing each other. Katie went into the nursery for the last 1/2 hour of Bible study this week and the ladies were commenting on how thrilled Kiersten was that Katie came in. She kept talking about her baby sister and going over to smile at her. It really is precious and a blessing.

Here she is hanging out with me while I load the washer. :) You can tell she is a good sport already with all the stuff she puts up with! What a cutie pie. She hasn't rolled over too much and that might be partly my fault. I am not as faithful with her as I was with the other two to give her time on her belly each day. The few times she has rolled over it has been funny because she surprised the both of us! It takes time and is always an accident when they first learn.

Lastly is a picture of Katie with a onesie we were given as a gift. I swear it was a gift! It came from some friends my beloved works with, Mr. Adam and the lovely Miss Audra. They have been waiting patiently for the time Katie would fit into it. :) I know I am partly to blame because I called my beloved a nerd/geek/dork whatever you like, when we were having dinner together. I am justified in my thoughts as any person who takes a textbook on vacation for free reading has some serious issues! Am I right or am I right? Anyhow, here is the promised picture and my beloved was a good sport and even held her for the pose! What a man!

We All Fall Down

We have been having some super nice weather for November over the past few days. So while Katie was sleeping Kiersten & Isaiah got out for a while to play in the leaves. Here are a few snapshots of the troublesome duo having fun.

If was funny because Kiersten was throwing leaves all down on Isaiah's head but the minute he returned the favor she squawked something terrible. Sometimes you have to remind them the road runs both ways. Little as they are it always comes back to if you don't like it being done to you then don't do it to other people. I do have to say she left him alone after that. :)

I did manage to rake a little, probably about 1/4 of the yard. This helped the kids' out because their leaf pile grew. There is just something enticing about being able to jump into a pile of leaves. Who knows what it is, but it speaks of fun. (It is too bad this picture wasn't clearer because that smile is just precious!)

This last picture is just a bush in the front yard that looks gorgeous. I have to admit sometimes pictures just don't do justice to the glory God gives us on this earth. The colors that come out in fall.....God is some artist. And the beautiful thing about God is His artistry isn't limited to just the Fall. He provides gloriously beautiful sights all year round and all for our benefit. Isn't He good?

Trick or Treat

The kids had a really nice Halloween. Last year all Isaiah did was cry (probably had to do with waking him up from his nap so he could trick or treat!). This year he was a happy camper. He put on the costume, smiled, said 'Trick or treat! Thank you.' and walked most of the way. :) Here is Kiersten & Isaiah ready to go out.

Katie stayed at home with me and we just improvised on a costume for her. A girlfriend had had a birthday party and gave out these party costumes - tutus for the girls. Here is Katie modeling her tutu. She received many smiles and lots of, 'Ahhhh's.' She is just such a cutie.
Then of course I made the three pose together after they got back from trick or treating. The kids' only went for an hour of the 2 hour time. We had them come home so Kiersten could help hand out some candy. We have been struggling with Kiersten and gift giving. She is more than willing to receive, even if it isn't her birthday. She actually asks if she'll be getting anything. So we are striving to hone the giving spirit. Thus she came home to hand out candy. We have been talking a lot about the servant as it has been a topic in church for her. So we're on working on it and this was just one way to try. Moving on :)

Lastly is a picture of their pumpkins. Kiersten has been getting the Kids National Geographic magazine and in the back were different ideas on how to paint your pumpkin. She liked the puppy and Isaiah chose the ghost. Mom was supposed to have a pumpkin done too but it just didn't happen. This ideas works well because they were able to help with the painting, whereas the carving is all Mom or Dad. And yes, the kids did help me! :) K, hope you had a Happy and very sweet Halloween.

Surprised

I have to say every now and again my beloved does surprise me. I think I mentally tend to give him a bad rap with helping out around the house. We've had lots of conversations over the years, as this starts to be a sore spot for me now and again. He just isn't a natural servant and has blinders on when he is home. I have really struggled with cleaning the house, not just picking up, since Katie came and school started. When I ran out for a quick shopping trip in town this weekend he mopped my floors for me! I had been thinking I would stay up late and get it taken care of and my beloved did it for me. It was a true blessing and the best part is I didn't have to say anything - he just did it on his own. Wonder if that speaks to the true condition of my floors? :) Oh well, we'll just be thankful!

Neglectful

I have been neglectful about getting some pictures up of the kids' recently so we'll be loading this one up a little :) We have been doing well, keeping busy with school, dance and church. The kids' have also been struggling with colds. This is the second one within a months time which is unusual. Isaiah went down first and now Kiersten is struggling through it. We'll just pray Katie avoids this one as well. In light of how the little ones are feeling today is a movie day. We went to the doctor's office this morning for Katie's 4 month check-up and Kiersten's yearly check-up. Both girls look good and are growing well :) The Katie girl is hanging out below in one of her favorite toys smiling like a loon. :)
School time is going more smoothly for me. I am getting into the routine. My only obstacle is Katie. She hasn't been taking long naps, just small catnaps every few hours. This only frees me up for 40minutes or so here and there. She does well until she gets tired and then it is holding time or feeding time. I definitely forgot how much work babies are. Love them as you do they just really take up a lot of time. Anyhow, back to school time. So the picture of Kiersten is with some flowers we purchased for the things we are learning in science. She has been doing a lot with flowers and plants. We bought the roses to get a better look at the parts of a flower. I only needed one, but the price difference between one rose and the bouquet was so small I thought it would be worth it to see my princess smile. Which she most certainly did!Right now we are growing bean plants in jars. We'll be transplanting those in a few days and then we'll be running some experiments with them. I'll have to take a picture of two of Kiersten's nature diary. It is just precious :)

We have taken a few family trips around the area the last few weekends. We were headed out to our favorite pumpkin patch 2 weeks ago only to find it was for sale! We were really bummed. Since we were already out and had promised some fun we decided to head over to an apple orchard. This picture shows the 3 trouble makers in the 'apple tree'. It ended up being a lovely morning playing outside and getting some pumpkins and apples. We have since decorated our pumpkins (picture coming soon!) with paint. I think we'll have to head to an orchard next year where the kids' can pick the apples themselves.
Then this past weekend we headed out to a pumpkin fest at a nearby town. It was really a nice time as the kids' and I needed to get out of the house. Wouldn't you know it though my camera batteries died after only a few pictures!!! So frustrating. I think I need to buy another set and keep them in the camera case so this ceases to be a problem for me. Luckily I did manage to get a few pictures as the kids' were feeding the animals. Isaiah was giggling so hard when the goats or llamas would come attack his hand. I tell you that laugh is just precious. Kiersten isn't so fond of the pushy animals and always tries to feed the babies. She isn't quick enough usually and the older ones butt in to steal the food. The two of them also did a little pony ride and when they were done my beloved said Isaiah went, "Yay! I winned!" What little nuts. We then managed to go on a horse cart ride and grab a few treats. The weather was nice fall weather - little crisp, but not too cold.So we are looking ahead to Halloween and jumping in the leaves outside. I'll be posting more pictures here soon of the pumpkins and the kids'. Love to all my family and friends and have a blessed day!

Tag You Are It!

I don't know how this all works, but I'll just go along :) My dear friend Margie tagged me a few days ago and I've been thinking on what 7 things I could share that wouldn't completely bore people to tears. Here we go....

1. I am deaf in my right ear and partially deaf in my left ear. No news to my family, but a few friends weren't aware of this. I had a hole in my inner ear as a child and thus complete hearing lose in the right ear. It definitely made for some interesting balancing issues as a child that unfortunately didn't cease to exist even though the hole is no more! :) Perhaps that just pure clumsiness.

2. I have groves in my tonsils that of late have been wrecking havoc in my throat. Just this year has this been a problem. These grooves can act as a catch all for things that should be going directly down my throat, stopping no where in between. Nevertheless things get caught and form these icky balls of white in the back of my throat. I can pop them out using a q-tip and away they go. Hopefully as time goes on I won't be so groovy. :) Aren't you sooooo glad I shared that? And then doubly glad you don't have to kiss me?

3. My Mom works overseas with a company that services the troops. I am going to cheat a little and share an interesting something about her! She has been able to work closely with some of the major players in the war. She has a picture of her and General David Petraeus as well as one with her and Dick Cheney. Believe it or not my 5' 7" mother is taller than Dick by a good few inches!

4. I spent 10 weeks or so the summer of 1999 in Kenya working with Africa Inland Missions. I lived with a local family and taught in the elementary schools there. I taught math, science and Christian/Religious education. Where we were they was no running water and no electricity. I went to the bathroom in a fancy port-o-potty, you know a simple whole in the floor over a dug out pit. I bathed each day using a small amount of water in a container - sponge bath really. Although I have to say I did manage to keep my legs shaved the entire time I was there! :) It was an awesome experience.

5. I want have 4 children. Don't ask, I can't explain. I simply want to have an even number of children. So when we decided to have #3 I said there must be a #4. Interestingly one of my favorite cousins said the very same thing before I even told her what I was thinking :) Great minds think alike.

6. I love to read. Not so interesting, but oh so true. I tend to lean toward christian fiction, although I do read some non-fiction from time-to-time. Some of my favorite authors are Karen Kingsbury, Bodie & Brock Thoene, Beverly Lewis, Caroline Hart (Henry O series in particular).

7. I am a part-time chemistry tutor for tutor.com in the evenings. I know, a secret identity that has my loved ones shocked. :) It keeps me on my toes and helps me to not lose all that I worked so hard for in college. It is a nice change from diaper duty and little people chat. It has its moments though and can be interesting.

Well, that is more than enough info. Sadly after Margie tagged me and another girlfriend that left me with no one else I knew who blogged. So the game of tag stops here I'm afraid. If someone I love starts blogging I'll share the love. K, I need to run. The kiddos have been awful quiet and we all know that spells trouble. :)

My Very First Hickey!

The Katie girl gave me my very first hickey! She was sucking so hard on my thumb knuckle last night that she bruised me! :) Let me just say that I am thankful this is the only one I have received because they sure do hurt. I was lucky on the location too. :)

Left Out

Poor Isaiah. He is left out of all things girlie and isn't quite sure what to make of it. Kiersten started dance classes a little over a week ago and he cried when he couldn't go into class with her. He just simply could not understand why he wasn't going to do it too! So it is no real surprise he has taken to putting on some old dress shoes of Kiersten's to make 'dancing' noises and such on the floor. It is really adorable. He loves her so and just wants to be like her.

Then we went to a birthday party the other day and the girls', both Kiersten and Katie, received tutus and he a shield and sword. He was all into the sword while we were at the party because the other, bigger boys were playing with them. However when we got home he wanted to put one of the tutus on :) My poor husband has just been shaking his head each time Isaiah tends towards the girlie things. But the poor guy is mostly around the girls' and his idol is Kiersten. It is sweet and yet I feel bad for him at the same time. We'll have to find something he can do and enjoy without the aid of the girls'.

She's Laughing

There are so many firsts with babies but one of my favorites is when they first start to laugh. :) Katie starting laughing about 2 weeks or so ago. It still starts out kind of sounding like a cry and then occasionally it is an out right giggle. It is the most precious thing and you find yourself working so hard to hear it again.

She was on my shoulder yesterday looking back at Kiersten and whatever Kiersten was doing was making her giggle. I could feel it as I was holding her and it was so sweet. She was laughing again at Kiersten this morning while she was dancing behind my back. I think those two are going to be fast friends. I look forward to the many more times I get to hear that giggle whether I am the cause of the joy or not. What a fun and memorable first! :)

Happy 50th Anniversary

Wow, if that is not a feat in today's society I don't know what is! It is amazing to see these anniversaries be celebrated. :) My mother and father-in-law have been married 50 years (September 27th). We had a family shindig that turned out pretty well. My in-laws did not want much in the way of a party and so we honored their wishes and just made it a small affair of immediate family and a few neighbors.

We got the reactions we wanted, at least from my mother-in-law. See, my beloved and I went down to their house a few weeks ago while they were out of town to steal their wedding album and some old pictures of each of the kids' and the entire family. My unsuspecting in-laws returned home only to notice the wedding album missing, which we had to quickly explain for my mother-in-law gets over worried with all sorts of ideas. Anyhow, what we did was use an old wedding picture and had it screened onto the cake. Here the lovely couple is below:

Then we used all the other pictures combined with ones from each of the six kids' to make a photo book on Shutterfly.com Did it turn out awesome! And with all the pictures and commentary my mother-in-law was in tears :) She loved it. A truly priceless gift and an unexpected one. One of my favorite things is how their wedding album ended. Seen here.

So that is just how we ended out album. We took a modern picture with their shoes under a very similar bedspread. 50 years side-by-side and going strong. What a blessing and testimony to all of their children and their children's children! Happy 50th Anniversary Ma & Pa!!!

The KK Girl

As promised here are a few drawings I came upon one afternoon. The whiteboard was out and Kiersten went to town. She is funny because it is all in the details for her. You'll notice both she and Isaiah have buddies and she has a bow in her hair. I think those are supposed to be earrings in her ears, not sure, but a good guess. Anyhow the pictures were precious and I couldn't pass them up.

Here is her first story as narrated to me:

The Possum and her Friends by Kiersten
It's about this possum. The possum's name is Emily. And she lived in this tree. She buys some toys from the toy store. And she plays with them. She has friends to play with. Their names are Elizabeth, Emmy and Twinkle. They love going to the Eiffel Tower to play. They also watched the parade with fireworks. They always read at bedtime like we do. They sing songs at bedtime and read stories too. They fell fast asleep. They lived happily ever after. The End.

Super Size Carrot Cake

It is not believable until you see it. My beloved and I went out to a Fish Market chain restaurant to celebrate his birthday. The food was wonderful and the hour away from children even more so. We had known there would be a free appetizer/dessert something before we went but hadn't put much thought into it. When we finished dinner the waiter asked about a dessert on the house and recommended the carrot cake. I always love carrot cake but wasn't sure if my beloved wanted something chocolate. He went ahead with the recommendation and I have to tell you we about died laughing when it arrived at our table. This is no lie- it was a 7 layer round piece of cake that had to have been about 1/6 the entire cake. It was HUGE and oh so delicious. It is not often you have to ask for a box to take dessert home because you couldn't finish it. Amazing.

The Three Stooges

Here they are: Larry, Mutt & Jeff :) I managed to grab a picture of the three kids' together just the other night. I have been working on a special project, a photobook, for my in-laws 50th anniversay. Of course I can openly talk about it as they have no computer. Anyhow, it has kept me pretty busy, but is finally done and this picture was part of our family display. The kids' are doing good and keeping me a little too busy, if you know what I mean.
Kiersten and I started school this week. The new scedule will take some getting used to but will hopefully work out well. I'll be posting a few of Kiersten's recent drawings as well as her story here in the next day or so.

O.K., Not Everything is Cute

As much as I have raved about Katie, not everything she does is cute. Do you believe it?! :) This morning I was burping her only to discover a few minutes later that she had spit-up so much that not only was my shoulder wet but there was a trail (seriously, I am not exaggerating) half way down my back. That cold wet feeling does not appeal to me, especially when I know it is spoiled milk. Of course that wasn't all the spi- up. As I am changing her Isaiah goes to the couch and says, "Ew! Gwoss!" Katie had managed to still project some spit-up, other than that which soaked me, onto the couch. Amazing and not really all that cute. :) Oh well, it would be too good to be true if she didn't have her not so cute ways to.

So Abused

WARNING: To any male readers, this story stems from breastfeeding issues :) Just thought to give you a heads up!

The Katie girl was trying to manipulate me hard yesterday. She has had a few bottle feedings here and there. Especially the last one of the day, at 12am-ish because she is too asleep to do a good job. This feeding ensures I will not be getting up in the night so I like to make sure it is a good one. Anyhow, Katie has caught on to the fact that the bottle is much easier and much faster. So what she did yesterday was decide to throw a fit when I tried to breastfeed her. When she felt something touch her lip she literally screamed. The full blown wail, not just the usual cry. I let her get away with it once earlier in the day, but when she did it again I had to wait her out. I let her cry herself exhausted so she would take right from the source! I am not opposed to pumping, I just am not willing to go full time. There is no need. You would have thought I had beat her. Poor girl, so abused because her momma is trying to feed her! :) It was both comical and loud.

A Wonderful Day in the Sun

We enjoyed a beautiful Labor Day weekend! Saturday we just hung around the house, but Sunday was busy. We went to church and then off to the beaches to check out a local kite show. It was beautiful and the water was just perfect. The kids' had a fun time playing in the water and digging sand up on the beach. We had so much fun we headed back out to the beach on Monday night for a picnic dinner and a little more playtime. :) Here we are enjoying the beauty of the day and the kites!

Isn't She Lovely?

Isn't she lovely? Isn't she wonderful?....That song is playing in my head as I look at pictures of our sweet Katie girl. She is a gem. A real peach and a plum. :) My beloved and I have been so enjoying Katie as a baby. When she focuses just right on you you can always tell because she breaks out in the sweetest of smiles. Here are a few pictures of the lovely lady.

I have to say she is making my case for baby #4 real easy! Why #4 you might ask? Well, simply for the fact that 4 is an even number and it just suits me. My cousin told me, when I said we were going to have a third, that we simply had to have a fourth (with no prompting for me!). Her reason was that if we ever went somewhere, say Disney Land for example, then everyone would have someone with whom to ride. No one would ever be the odd man out. :) Don't you love the logic? :) I do. Thanks for all the help, you sweet Katie girl you.

Up North II

As mentioned before Kiersten's 6th birthday fell while we were up at my grandparents' cabin. It was special and fun because it was the first birthday we had celebrated with my family. My mom got her the baby doll she has been asking for for the last month or so. Ever since the arrival of Katie, Kiersten has been wanting to play with a baby doll. Not sure yet whether this will last or if is just a passing fad. Anyhow, she made me a little bit embarressed when she boldly asked my grandma if they got her a gift as well. We'll have to work on this, since this isn't the first time she has been so bold about asking others for gifts.

Birthdays aside the kids' did get to spend quality time with both my grandparents and my mom and her beloved. Here are a few snapshots the Isaiah and Kiersten getting some love. :)

Isaiah snuggle right up with my grandma in the morning for a snack. This has become his usual picture face- the squinty eyes. What a nut!

Here is Kiersten with her new baby doll :) (Amy is her name) and both my grandparents. Grandpa is quite the teaser and there has been an outstanding joke the last few years with him being mr. wonderful. I had actually found a mug with mr. wonderful on it and brought it up. Not so sure if grandma will love on me after that, but I have moved into a special place in grandpa's heart! I'll have to find a similar type mug for grandma. Can't let grandpa's head get too big! :)

And lastly we have Kiersten sitting on the swing with my mom and her beloved. Kiersten had such a good time with Grandma Darlene! She hardly left her alone and even went looking for her while she was in the bathroom! Thankfully Grandma is a good sport and treasures all the time Kiersten wants to have with her. Although Kiersten was a bit jealous if Grandma wanted to spend time with the other two grandkids'. She actually asked me to take Katie from Grandma so she could play with her. I had to set her straight, especially since my mom hardly held Katie. She had to learn the lesson of sharing not just toys but people as well.

We definitely had a wonderful time and look forward to going up again next year. It is only a few hours drive and is always such a blessing. I treasure the time with my grandparents. Being one of almost 40 grandchildren, time alone with them has always been hard to come by. Anyhow, that is the trip up North. See you later!

Up North

Last weekend we went up North to my grandparents cabin. My mom, her beloved and my two brothers were there along with my grandparents. It is so nice up there. We haven't been in 3 years and just needed to get up there to see my grandparents. The place never changes. As a kid growing up this is where we took our vacations. Every year. So it is pretty special and holds a lots of memories for me.

Here is a shot of Kiersten and Isaiah out in the canoe with my brothers. You can't see the boys' too well, but Jason is in front and Jacob is in the back. The kids' were putting their hands in the water the entire ride and Isaiah was giggling pretty good. Kiersten got to do a bit more than Isaiah. My Mom and her beloved walked with Kiersten up the road aways with the inter tube and floated down a river that empties into the lake my grandparents cabin is in on. The outlet isn't too far from their dock so once you hit the lake you swim the inter tube over to the dock. She had a lot of fun and managed to escape a sunburn. She also went on a half day canoe trip with my beloved and I and my two brothers. She was funny trying to use the paddles to splash the boys' in the other canoe. She did get to hold a frog that Daddy caught for her when we stopped to rest. It was her goal for the trip. We have a shot on her camera that I'll have to upload. She did really well for the 4hrs we were on the river. Her echoes off the surface of the water were the best :) It is fitting that she got to do a few more special things since it was her birthday weekend. The little bugger turned 6! Amazing how fast she has grown up. Here is Kiersten and my Mom getting ready to walk to the river.

We also took a pontoon ride around the lake. Grandpa got rid of the speed boat several years back. He likes to cruise with the pontoon so out we went. Isaiah didn't get a nap and as you can see the boat lulled him to sleep. He fought hard but the gentle rocking won and he slept the entire hour we were out.

This is just a taste of our visit. More to come later! I will try to be a more faithful blogger and not let so much time pass between posts.

My point exactly

Well, I am not often proven right. Today my children confirmed that I made the smart move in buying some the cheaper bunk beds. I had my eye on some really nice bunk beds, albeit, more expensive. And then I found another set on-line for a much better price but not as fancy. In the end I decided to go with the less expensive for the fact that they would be used solely by my CHILDREN. As we all know children write on, dent, scratch and are in general not to kind towards the wear and tear of furniture. :)

Anyhow, I go to wake Isaiah up from his nap today and I discover, to my dismay, some childish art work added to the natural beauty the beds possess! Lucky for them (and quite frankly me too) they had done their art in pencil, which easily came off with a wipe - except where they pushed so hard with the pencil that they imprinted the lead in the wood. I am extra thankful that my head won out over my heart when it came to choosing the beds-right again, James! :)

State Fair

We went down to State Fair last weekend with some family. This is somewhat of a tradition with my Beloved and I. We just always go, and we always go around opening weekend. Now with the kids' especially because after the initial weekend the amount of animals still at the fair dwindles quite rapidly. Anyhow, we had a good time excluding the heat. It was a bit warm as you'll notice the flush on the kids' cheeks in their pictures.

So State Fair is about food...and of course a few rides for the kids'. Kiersten usually isn't into the big yellow slide, but she went this year. Lucky for us and her the slide was a little slow on the edges, where she and Daddy went, and she had a good time. She also got to do the pony ride- this was supposed to be the compromise for Isaiah doing the slide and she not. Oh well :)

Isaiah did ride the slide and he and Daddy flew down the center. The dare-devil was laughing the entire time - even when they caught a little air. He also enjoyed the little barn where they show off all the newborn animals. He kept running from thing to thing. He laughed at the chicks and saw piglets that were less than 12hours old. We had a good time and were most thankful for the Dippin' Dots ice-cream to cool us down.

Such a honey

That Katie girl is a real sweetheart of a baby. I am so thankful for how sweet and calm (for the most part) baby she is. The Lord has given us 3 blessings and this last one is equally as precious as the previous two.

It has been fun to just enjoy her. I don't remember taking the time to enjoy Isaiah - of course there is probably a good reason for that :) Although with Kiersten things went slow and we are able to relish our time with her. The Lord really has given us more patience with Katie and we are both having fun watching her.
She does give the sweetest of sweet smiles now. Her whole mouth opens up wide and she kind-of gives a little squeak at the same time. I know I am partial, as I am meant to be, but she is beautiful. Here she is resting....I don't think my beloved and I are the only ones enjoying Katie :)

She's so lucky...

I didn't give it to her good. Kiersten had a near brush with death yesterday. The kids' wanted me to set up the tent outside, but is not a job I can manage when they are playing around me while I do it. I say playing around me, but you all know I mean messing with the tent as I am working on it. :) Anyhow, I came back inside to find a bouquet of flowers by the front door- inside. I knew immediately that Kiersten had heard the doorbell and, while I was outside, opened it herself and received the delivery. All three kids' were right there in the living room and could have been taken or hurt or...... the imagination and reality of all that could have happened left me speechless. I didn't know what to do to punish her. I have since put a child proof door handle thing on and she is no longer able to get the mail for me. Needless to say the flowers didn't brighten my day as they were intended to!

My First!!!

I found my first gray hair! :) I have no idea how long it has been there, but I saw it! They tend to blend in a little with my hair, at least for now. I am hoping that I will favor my dad and have lots of gray hair or that I will favor my dad's mom and have that sweet looking 'white' hair. I am not sure if my hair color is dark enough to have that very distinguished look with gray....time will tell. Nevertheless it is a milestone of sorts. One that definitely lets me know I have entered my thirties! :)

Sisterly Love

Kiersten is quite taken with the Katie-girl. Not only does she want to hold her and love on her, except when she is crying, of course, but now she wants a baby doll! Now for those of you who don't know Kiersten all that well she has been extremely adverse to baby dolls. She cried about 2 stuffed ones being in her room last year and wouldn't go back up until I took them away. So, you can imagine my surprise yesterday when she says she wants to play with her baby doll! I had to tell her I gave them all away and she pouted. :) Her birthday is coming up next month and I told her maybe she would get one for a present. I have been looking at those American Girl bitty baby dolls, so we'll see. Anyhow, I found it rather amusing that Katie joins the family and now we have an interest in playing with dolls. That is the power of sisterly love :)

Officially a big girl

Well, it is official. Kiersten is a big girl..... she lost her 1st tooth yesterday. She had to have some help, mind you. When we went to the dentist to get my teeth cleaned last week they suggested putting some baby ambesol on her gums before 'wiggling' it out. That worked like a charm. I had to get Kiersten's attention to show her I had pulled the tooth. Her other tooth is already so far up it doesn't even look like she lost a tooth! (It is her bottom left tooth- you can see the bumpy top of the new tooth.)

We had been talking about the tooth fairy and when she went to bed she reminded me we needed to put the tooth under her pillow. A few minutes later I hear her crying up in her bed, so I go to investigate what the problem is. Turns out she doesn't want the tooth fairy to take her tooth! :) I did my best not to laugh - the things that distress when we are little! So, we ended up taking the tooth out from underneath her pillow. I let her know if it wasn't under the pillow the tooth fairy would not be taking it. I also told her that no tooth means no money. I think she wanted to show it to Daddy. He was away at a business dinner last night and didn't return until after she was asleep. We'll have to see how this one plays out. ( She did ask me this morning if the tooth fairy was real or not and I had to say I don't know. I couldn't lie!!! Why do they ask these questions?!)

The deception has begun....

In light of duodenal issues mentioned in the previous post, I decided it was time I took a more serious look at my deceptively delicious cookbook. I had gotten it for Christmas and looked at it then but hadn't been real serious about it. I made a commitment to make 1 meal this week where I incorporated hidden veggies - lasagna. I didn't make the recipe in the book but took the suggestion for the veggies and put them in the lasagna that I normally make. The cauliflower is a little harder to hide taste-wise than the sweet potatoes, but both were masked quite well! Even my husbandry, who knew what was in there, couldn't really taste the difference. :) Yeah.

It was funny too, because I was making the purees earlier today and Kiersten kept asking me what we were having for dinner (she asks early in the day so she has plenty of time to decide she isn't going to have any!). I told her lasagna - one her favorites. She was curious what I was up to though and kept asking me about it. I just told her she need not worry and did everything else behind her back. Ah, the beauty of deception....... well at least the healthy kind! :)

I thought we were past this!

I could have sworn I potty trained Kiersten many a year ago now. I guess we are going around again. Now, just to clarify, Kiersten is potty trained. She took to it well when she first learned but struggled with going poop on the toilet. (Sorry for the bathroom talk, but I just had to write about it!) She would constantly say she didn't 'want' to go. Not she didn't 'have' to go. It was a battle of the wills.

Well, last weekend she as having trouble going - partially because she hasn't been drinking her liquids and partially a diet issue. Nevertheless she became quite scared and couldn't go even after trying. She was sweating and shaking a little so I have to pull out the 'ol hinder medicine, as we call it around here (a.k.a. an enema), to help her out. Sure enough problem solved and a much happier and healthier little girl emerged.

As the week progresses we realize she hasn't gone poop all week- and it is the following Saturday. Knowing we have a potential big problem on our hands we give her the talk and then some time to try and go on the toilet. She refuses because she is scared from last weeks experience. Once again I had to pull out the hinder medicine and things are better. Later on that evening we are at the zoo, my Beloveds company picnic, and she says she isn't feeling so well. Then she tells my husbandry she wants to go home and lay down in bed! (Words she tried that very morning to get out of sitting on the toilet and taking care of business.) My beloved quickly catches on to the fact that she needs to go to the bathroom and just doesn't want to. So she and I proceeded to nearest bathroom where we battled it out- and of course I won. Once again a happy little girl emerges feeling much better.

What is it with the bowel movements?! So here were are 3 years later fighting the same battle we did just after Isaiah was born. I hope this is a quickly passing fear and phase!

Getting too big too fast...

Kiersten is just about to lose her first tooth! I can hardly believe it. It seems like such a big girl thing for such a little girl to be going through :( Oh well, I suppose the baby makes me nostalgic for the days when the KK girl was just as small. It is true that you remember things as if they happened just yesterday. I can clearly recall the day she was born and vividly see the people and details surrounding that day. Anyhow, it isn't only one tooth, it is both her front bottom teeth that are loose. You can already see the other teeth peeking up behind them! Amazing. I'll definitely be posting her first picture without her teeth. I told her to be sure to tell me when she lost them so that I could call up the tooth fairy to let her know she needed to make a stop that night!

Look at all that hair!

The Katie-girl has a nice amount of hair. I had mentioned this to Mom and several other family members but was remiss in getting a picture that showed her mop of hair. Here she is showing off her locks.She is doing really well and is giving me a fair amount of sleep each night. I definitely cannot complain. We are still adjusting to having her here. I haven't ventured out too many times just yet with all three. We are going to try to resume the weekly park dates with the other mom's from church this week as well as school for Kiersten. We'll see how that goes. I am trying to finish up the kindergarten material we have before the Fall so she can begin the 1st grade- this is the jam you are in when you start in January. Lucky for me she doesn't know that she is doing school when all the other kids' aren't! She just doesn't know any better :)

Isaiah is doing O.K. with Katie. He has his moments when he is not happy that I am holding her or feeding her. I did manage to get a picture of him with little sister and smiling.

Time will tell with these two. Whoa to her when she gets to the point she can touch and take his cars!

Well, I need to run. I'll try not to let it get so long in between posts! Have a wonderful day :)

I lost the bet!

Miss Katie Lee joined our family Friday June 20th at 7:34pm, thus putting me on the losing end of the bet my beloved and I had about the sex of the baby. Oh well, it sure is a nice way to lose! :) Katie is just precious. She weighed 8lbs 11oz and is 19" long. She favors Isaiah more than Kiersten in looks. Though there are some traits- like the back and arm hair- I was hopping she would escape! :) Time will tell on that one.

Kiersten is absolutely thrilled to have a sister. When daddy showed her a picture the next morning she saw the umbilical cord and asked in a sad little voice if it was a boy. Dad quickly told her it was a girl and he said it was like the sun came out from behind the clouds. Her face just lit up! She has held Katie several times and tends to whisper when talking around her. She has mentioned on more than one occasion that Katie really likes her. It is sweet to watch Kiersten love on her. For a girl who has absolutely no interest in dolls, but prefers animal buddies, she is quite taken with her sister.

Now Isaiah on the other hand has no more than a passing curiosity about Katie. She's the baby but that is about it. It is funny to watch his reaction and remember Kiersten's when he arrived on the scene. He acts just like she did, although I fear he will cry more in the coming days than she ever did once he was home. That's what I get for a mama's boy :)

Well, I need to run. I'll do my best to get some more pictures of the 3 kids' up soon and keep everyone updated. Thanks for all the prayers' for a good delivery and a healthy baby!

There is something wrong with me....

A few months ago another mom mentioned her job with an on-line tutoring company. I was curious because I had been thinking on ways to use my degree but not be gone from the house for extended periods of time. Just something to keep the mind busy and bring in a few extra dollars :) Well, it took a few months to get all squared away, but we're in. When the summer hit the amount of hours available decreased considerably and for a few weeks I couldn't get any. So this week some hours were available - at most unholy hours mind you, but I bit the bullet and signed up for 4-5am Tues-Sat. What was I thinking???!!! For $5.50/hr?!!! Seriously, this baby most be making me unstable upstairs. I'll not be doing that again! My poor kids' and their crabby mama who is walking around with eyes that are only half open. Oh well, we live and learn.

Happy Birthday Pop!!!

Happy Birthday & Happy Father's Day Pop! We love you and miss you muchly and hope you had a most wonderful day. The kids' wanted to sing happy birthday, although, they couldn't quite decide whose birthday it was while singing! :) You'll see. Hope this brightens up your day.

Lots of love

XOXOXOXO

Kiersten & Isaiah

Worn out

This is Isaiah after our trip to pick-up pictures. We didn't get home in time to do a nap and just about dinner time Kiersten asks me where he went to. All I saw were little feet and a hinder and I knew right away he had fallen asleep on the floor while playing. :) It took him a bit to wake up- he had that blank stare for at least a half hour. Aren't they the sweetest when they're sleeping?