Halloween 2009

This year for Halloween I decided to try my hand at making a couple of costumes. Evan decided he wanted to be a robot, Hannah wanted to be a skeleton (we had a costume for that already), Lexi decided to be a monkey. So I made a robot and a monkey costume. Brock was going to have a costume but I never got around to it so maybe next year he will dress up. So we went to Evan's school festival and Hannah won the scariest costume award for her costume age group and Evan won the most original in his age group. Lexi wouldn't dress up and even on halloween night I had to bribe her to get her to wear her costume (this is why I didn't spend a whole lot of time making her costume). She finally wore it long enough to go to about 8 houses and then she was done. Enjoy the pictures.

Evan is Seven

So this is a bit late. But Evan had his birthday and is now officially seven years old. His birthday is the 10th of October which was during fall break so he had to wait for two weeks to have his party to ensure that people would be in town. He had his party at the gym and I think everyone had a great time.

Evan is growing up so fast it seems like just yesterday that I found out I was pregnant with him. He is a fun kid to have in our family. He is full of endless energy which sometimes I wish I could tone down but daddy often reminds me that energy isn't bad it just has to be guided in the right direction. He is so good to his little sisters and brother. Hannah often says she loves Evan because when she is sad he always does funny things to make her laugh. It is true he can make all his siblings laugh when they are sad and truly turns their frowns to a smile. What a great ability that is. He is a great student, he is such a smart kid and I am so proud of how well he does in school. I love that he has been blessed with the great ability to gain knowledge he loves to learn new things, I hope he never loses that desire. Evan is an all around great kid, and I am so proud to have him as my son. Happy Birthday buddy!!

AHHHH I MIGHT GO CRAZY

So here it is, this is a report of what has been going on at our house. Well I believe that the flu has hit our house. My kids have passed and are still passing around this awful flu. They have had really high fevers, coughs, sore throats and ear infections. Hannah hasn't been to school in a week and Evan just came down with it yesterday so he has been home for two days and who knows how much longer. Lexi I believe is done with it except to finish off her medicine for the ear infection. This just won't go away it lasts for at least 7 days for each kid. Brock has a stuffy nose but no fever and hopefully it will stay that way because the other kids have had fevers that were as high as 105 degrees. I am getting really tired of sick kids and feeling like I am a prisoner in my own house. I keep praying that it will go away soon, but I am feeling really blessed that there is no puke involved because if that were the case I think I would be completely crazy.
Not only are the kids all sick, the camera is broken, Chad's truck battery died and our refrigerator freezes everything. Let's just say that it has been a very trying week for me. Hopefully they can fix the fridge today when they come out so that we don't have to defrost everything. I have the fridge set all the way to almost zero on the temperature gage and even the gallon of milk is frozen.
Well I thought I would vent about how my last couple of weeks has been. But on a more positive side at least the kids aren't throwing up and at least the fridge is cold so that I don't have to try to save food in ice chests. Things are sure to get better soon!!

He Can Roll Over

It is official Brock can roll over. I cannot believe how fast the time flies. Brock will be 5 months old next week and he is such a happy cute little guy. His smile just makes my day. So a couple of weeks ago I couldn't get Brock to nap during the day for more than about 30 minutes and then I would hold him on my chest and he would go back to sleep so I knew he was obviously still tired. So I decided maybe he would actually sleep in his bed if I let him sleep on his tummy, and sure enough I had my great napping baby back. Well about 3 days ago this new stage started. I would put Brock down for a nap on his tummy and when he would wake up I would go to get him and find him on his back. So I obviously think, cool he can roll over. In the last 3 days I have tried to get him to roll over so I could see and he would only get really mad while being made to lay on his tummy. Until today he finally rolled over for me, from his tummy to his back. I have witnessed it several times today. Now we are moving on to a new problem because he doesn't like to sleep on his back and I put him down for his nap on his tummy and he sleeps for about 45 minutes rolls over and won't go back to sleep. I guess the rolling over is a great accomplishment and a curse all in one. Oh well this too shall pass as all the baby sleeping problems do. Seems I solved one problem only to create another, that is the life with an ever changing baby!!

Delight in your Children

Some days I just delight in the fact that I am a mother. Although sometimes it is hard to find days you feel that way. I feel like I should share on this particular day. The day started with me a little tired and unsure how my attitude would be (some times those are the worst days) but I got Evan up and he was in good spirits. We ate breakfast together while all the other kids were asleep. We had a nice chat about his friends and what he has enjoyed so far this school year. He even practiced his spelling words without complaining. Then when I picked him up from school he had a huge smile on his face and said he had a great day. He doesn't often go into details, so I didn't push. He did tell me how at recess some of his friends and himself destroyed some ant hills. It must have been fun with the enthusiasm he spoke with. That boy can certainly light up a room with his smile when he is excited and that face makes my day a little brighter.
Lexi was a little tried from our swimming day yesterday so she wasn't as silly as usual. She decided that her "geenkey" (or blanket as we call it) needed a bath today. So I took her up on the offer and washed it. How excited her sweet little face was when it came out of the dryer, I love how something so simple can make her so happy.
Brock and I had some time to play just me and him today while Lexi slept and the others were at school. He is so dang cute. He has a super contagious laugh that makes you want to keep tickling him so he will laugh some more.
Hannah had a little project she had to do this morning so she could take it to school, she was so cute cutting and pasting and decorating. When she got home from school she told me all about it and how much fun she had with her friends. Her face just lit up telling me all about how fun recess was with the new friends she has. She told me about the silly book Miss Ranelle read to them, and how they practiced their letter sounds with a funny song. Her blue eyes were full of wonder and life. There is nothing better in a mother's life than to see her children happy and excited. I am so lucky to have four great kids. I am thankful for days that I stop and see the joy in all of their lives. Children are so full of love and life I only wish I was more like that. Today is a great day to be a mom!!

First Day of School

Today is Hannah's first day of school. She is in preschool and was very excited. She is my social butterfly and I think she will enjoy the social aspect of school more than the school work. But who knows, maybe she will really surprise me. We are doing a carpool with two other kids in her class who we don't know very well but Hannah hopped into the car with the other kids and left with a smile on her face. I sure hope she has a great first day. Poor Lexi, before we even got the front door closed after loading Hannah up she said "I miss Hannah". The good thing for Lexi's sake is that Hannah goes to school in the afternoon when Lex is napping so they will still have the morning to play. Wow I can't believe how fast they grow up!!

I can't believe that my Evan is in 2nd Grade already. Where did the time go. Even though Evan actually started school a couple of weeks ago I wanted to document it. For those of you who know Evan and know how much energy he has might be surprised that he is actually a little shy when it comes to new things. He was a little nervous on the first day of school so I had to drag Hannah, Lexi and Brock into his school and to his classroom to drop him off the first day. Of course by day 3 he was good to go. He seems to like school for the most part, he just wishes that more of his friends from last year were in his class this year. I just keep reminding him that it will give him an opportunity to make new friends. I am proud of Evan and know that he will do well this year!!

Happy 10th Anniversary

Today is our tenth wedding anniversary. I can not believe how fast the time has flown by. It seems like just yesterday that we just got married. But four kids later here we are. I really am very lucky to have such a wonderful husband who loves me and our children. He is a blessing in my life and I don't know what I would do without him. Here is to a great past ten years and many many more to come!! And to all those skeptics out there we were even married on Friday the 13th!!