Parties, parties, parties!

Oh and Lucy turned SIX!!!! 

She is getting big. Its amazing to see how much she has grown and changed over this last year. We were talking about what she wanted for her family dinner and dessert. I was expecting her standard mac n cheese (from a box). But she surprised me! She said she wanted a chocolate ice cream cake! not her normal chocolate with blue frosting cake. And for dinner she wanted my mashed potatoes with peels, cauliflower and pork chops! What a grown up meal!!! I don't know why her dinner choice makes me so happy, but it does. 

We got to go her class and bring cupcakes! They gave her a hat and sang to her. She has been waiting for this day all year. It was fun to be there to experience it with her. One thing I love about her is how much she wants us involved with what happens at school. She uses her reward points to have us come eat lunch with her every other week. And she wants us to be at every event that goes on. We are lucky she has such awesome teachers who don't mind me and the three younger ones crashing their class  all the time. 

She wore the hat all day.... :) 

Lucy is such a wonderfully kind girl. She loves giving to others, she loves to make people happy, she loves to be outside and especially to ride her bike. She is a wonderful big sister who plays with Eddi and is momma's biggest helper. She is loving that she can read, and tries to read everything and anything she can figure out. She is always trying to get people to come to our church and participate in our activities there. I love her I am grateful she is in our family and so grateful she made me a mother! She is our guinea pig and I pray she succeeds in spite of our lacking. 

Oh Eddi. I don't know what to say about his eating, or lack thereof. We are not allowed to feed him, he will swipe at the utensil, spit out the food and throw a fit if we try. So this is what it becomes, food all over him, his chair, and the floor, but he is happy. 

Tuesday  it was beautiful enough that we could clean this table with water and bare feet....I am not complaining! :) :) 

This tree is beautiful. I haven't even raked up its leaves all over our yard because I love the color it adds! Haha! 

Wednesday morning Devin left for a 2 day business trip. His shortest one so far, but we still miss him a lot and we purposefully planned a lot those days so we wouldn't be home wishing he was there too. At playgroup that morning we made christmas trees! 

 Eddi ate graham crackers with frosting and sixlets.

Cole's tree that he made for me. He is always making things for me. It is so sweet. 

 

He didn't even eat any of the candy off of it because it was for me. 

 Sadie had a lot of fun making hers, she ate a good amount of it before we went home that morning. 

Wednesday night we spent with some good friends, we had dinner together and then went caroling! 

 We visited a lady in our ward who turned 90 that day. Lucy and Sadie were put off by the atmosphere of the room and didn't want to go near the lady. Cole on the other hand went right up to her and gave her a hug and wished her a happy birthday. After having to take sadie out of the room and talk to her about throwing fits, she calmed down and said she would go give the lady a hug and wish her happy birthday. She did it! And then asked to leave the room. haha, I couldn't argue with that. It was the first time the children have been to a nursing home and it was good to talk about he importance of visiting older people who don't have families around to see all the time. That really stuck with them. I hope we can make it a more common activity for our family. 

Thursday it rained. It rained a LOT that morning. We got back form dropping Lucy off at school and the rain magically stopped. It was crazy because I couldn't see the cars in front of me while we were dropping her off, and within 5 mins. the sky was clear. 

 We had puddles and rivers galore in our neighborhood so we ran around outside for an hour. 

 Some of the 'gutters' (I don't know what else to call them) were up to Sadie's knees. 

 They were running and sitting and rolling through the water. They thoroughly enjoyed themselves. 

 Afterwards they enjoyed a warm bubble bath. 

 These two are becoming such good friends. Eddi used to just bug sadie because he always wanted to be near her and was always taking her things. Now she actually plays with him, and loves on him. 

 He is always giving her hugs and kisses, and she reciprocates in kind. 

 That night we decorated rice krispy trees and ornaments with some friends! It was a blast, and a super creative idea. 

Friday, daddy was home and Lucy had a birthday party with friends planned for that night. She had pajama day at school, so naturally we had one at our house too! Haha, They were showing Polar Express that day and I have never seen it. So Cole, Sadie, Eddi and I watched it at home. It was a fun morning. 

 Sadie was tuckered out, and fell asleep like this! Haha! 

 To pass the time after school we rode bikes and played outside. It was actually cold and we needed gloves and close toed shoes! Here are the kids taking a break and building pine needle castles on the side of the road.

 Lucy wore her eye mask to school since it was pajama day...

The only picture I got from the party that night! This was the piñata I made for her. She has wanted a pinnate for years. I didn't do a very good job because only 6 kids got to hit it. And we even had to tape it back together so that Lucy could have a shot at it!! Haha! I'll try harder to reinforce it next time! Lol. 

It was a lot of fun having people over. Lucy just loved it. Saturday we spent prepping for the coming week! Its been busy and needs to slow down a bit! Thankfully the holidays are upon us and there is no more time for preparations so we can relax and enjoy our time together! 

I am so grateful for this time of year and the opportunity to celebrate the birth of our Savior. I love talking to the kids about christmas and seeing them embrace the spirit of giving.  

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas!

Beans, Races, & Christmas Fun

To start off I didn't mention this in last weeks post because I didn't have the picture yet!

Devin and I got to go to his work christmas party. It was surprisingly an enjoyable experience and we were both disappointed to have to leave early. 

We had babysitters for four hours, and the babysitters survived! Haha! First time in a long time when the kids were babysat by someone who wasn't a parent. The kids keep asking when they can come back and we will leave... I think we will use them again soon :) 

We sent out packages this week. Cole helped me wrap during nap time.

 (In a loud whisper) "Mom! It's like we're secret ninja wrappers!" 

We ventured into Trader Joe's this week. The kids needed a picture of them in this fireplace. 

We had beans out to play in. Sadie decided it would be good to stick some in her ears. I saw too late as she was pushing it farther in with her finger. I tried to get it out with tweezers and pushed it even farther. While we waited for the appointment Sadie kept saying, "Mom, I hear a bean!" 

Thankfully, the doctor was able to flush it out with water. It took a while and we were both nervous it wouldn't work but she did it!

Since we moved here everyone has been telling us to go see the Victorian Christmas. So we went! Don't be fooled by the kids jacket hats and gloves. They were not needed :)

 It was fun! We didn't wait in lines so the kids didn't do as many of the activities that were geared toward kids. 

 We roasted marshmallows and saw some fun props and there was fake snow (a.k.a. soap bubbles!)

 We had an enjoyable time! 

 Saturday morning Devin ran a race! He has been running for the last couple of months now. The kids and I left later than we should have, I took a wrong turn or two and we missed Devin getting to the finish line. The whole way in the car the kids kept saying we don't want to miss daddy win!! And there were tears that I made them late. Mommy FAIL. Anyways, he came in second in his age group. They made good time, it was "respectable" in his words :) He is modest and doesn't want to make a big deal, but the kids think it is the awesomest thing ever :) 

 If I had known there were bouncy houses and slides for the kids we would have been there as early as daddy and just played until he started running. 

 After I foolishly stepped off the slide wrong and hurt my knee (and my pride) Devin climbed up with Sadie and this other little kid!

 Saturday Night was our ward christmas party. One of Lucy's friends from school came with her family and they all had fun. Cole talked and talked and talked. I think he told him every toy that he wants for christmas and his birthday! Haha

 I was impressed that all of our kids sat on Santa's lap and talked to him! At first Sadie looked at me as if to ask, "Is this ok? What am I doing here!" When I told he to tell him what she wanted for christmas she turned and talked for almost 3 mins! It was pretty cute. 

 Lucy was the most shy of the older three. And was happy Santa told her she had been good. 

 Eddi sat there long enough for me to get a picture...and then he was OUT!

That was our week! 

Christmas Time, Puppies and Camping

don't usually go hand in hand. Unless you live in Southern Georgia. This week we attempted to get back into our normal routine after having Lucy home all of Thanksgiving week.  

 Cole and Sadie practicing their photography skills in the shopping cart...Lots of fingers and legs! haha

 Eddi has a special bond with Po that I don't quite understand. Po runs up to Eddi as soon as Eddi is in the pen, then Po sits there and lets Eddi whack at him a few times, then he will run away and hop around the pen waiting for Eddi to follow. If Eddi doesn't find him quick enough, Po will come back to find Eddi. It is the cutest thing to watch. And it only happens between the two of them.

 We pulled out our tree, turned on christmas music and decorated the tree on monday. The kids were so excited, I was so excited. I love this time of year, I love the nostalgia it brings and the joy it brings as I teach our kids about the Savior and as we carry out traditions. 

The kids helped with every part of decorating this tree. They helped "fluff" each section of the tree, place the star, wrap the ribbon and hang the ornaments. We did a better job evenly distributing the colors this year. I love our tree. We are still deciding on what kind of ornament to make this year, if you have any good ideas send them our way! 

 I bought this set a few years ago and have never regretted it. I just love all these movies and they bring back so many memories of my childhood. 

 After putting out all our decorations I realized we have a lot of nativities! The baby Jesus from our felt nativity was lost last year. It is fitting since he technically wasn't born until christmas, and that gives me some times to make another one! Haha.

 We have been transitioning and testing out different nap times around here. One day it led to Eddi lying down on the floor while I made dinner one day. He was sitting there just crying and crying. At the time I was chopping and couldn't hold him. The older three were running around playing. Lucy stopped and asked, "mom, why is he just crying?" "He is tired and probably hungry, but I can't help him until I'm done with this." Immediately she responded, "I can help him be happy!" my little helper! She sang him songs and played with him then said, "Mom, can I get him some animal crackers? I know he likes those." 

 He ate some animal crackers and just rolled around.  Until dinner was ready. 

 He is lucky to have at least one sibling who cares to help him through some rough times. 

 We needed a wreath. So we bough a cheap one from walmart and spruced it up a bit! The kids collected pine cones and leaves from around the house. Then we spray painted everything with either silver or gold glitter paint. and Voila! 

 Please don't look too close at the paint job...I need to finish up our door and shutters! lol...it may be a while yet. 

Every now and then I feel the need to torture the children and myself and go to the petStop to hold the puppies and see all the animals. 

 All the kids holding a Jack Russel Terrier. He was adorable. I wasn't as tempted with this one because I know I don't want that kind of dog. But he was sweet and puppies are always cute.

 This dog is another story. She has been at the pet store for a long time. We have held her multiple times and was recently bought so seeing her back at the store got all the kids excited again. 

 She is a peek-a-poo and just full of energy and loves the kids. 

 I really want this dog, but we aren't sure if we are ready. We need a fence for sure, and we are trying to get through some home renovations, so adding a dog isn't the most desirable thing to do right now.

 But sometimes I think that I really wouldn't mind too much!! 

 Lucy has been reading a lot lately, she really enjoys reading to others. They aren't always up for it but sometimes I look around and find them like this and it makes me happy!

 Sometimes I bribe the kids to be good with promises of frosty and shakes....

                  

   We have been looking forward to going camping for a while. The summer is just too hot, it doesn't cool down at night. So we got some friends from the ward to go with us this weekend! We went to Seminole State Park. 

 I think the kids favorite part was the fire. Eddi was enamored and didn't understand the danger that lied within. Sadie still spatially clueless very nearly burned her little bum multiple times. Cole was just excited about it all and wanted to do whatever the daddy's did. Lucy was a little more cautious, she stayed the farthest away and didn't enjoy any disruption to the fire. 

We roasted hotdogs and brats, then came marshmallows, s'mores and starbursts. 

The park was lit up with christmas lights so we walked around after dinner and looked at all the different scenes. 

The night brought very little sleep for a certain 1 year old and his parents. But we all made it to morning. 

I forgot how cold 45* is in the morning, so we were a little underprepared as far a coats, but we had plenty of blankets and a lovely fire to warm us up. 

The kids played at the playground and wanted a picture next to this set up, we didn't come by the workshop the night before to see the lights. 

We went on a hike, made some lunch, packed up and headed home! It was great that the site was close enough to make one night doable and enjoyable! We are grateful we had people willing to go with us and that we could all have such a great time! We are hoping to try another place next month!

Lucy has had an ear ache on and off since thursday. We finally got her some medicine for it but she has been a trooper with it all. Today on the way home from church she asked if she could 'skip a meal.' I asked her what she meant and she explained that last week they talked about fasting and her teacher challenged them to fast for just one meal. She had forgotten to talk to us about it and so she wanted to fast for lunch today. We decided that would be ok and when we got home she started her fast. I was really impressed with her excitement and ability to do it. She and Devin even made cookies for some friends this afternoon. She was happy and didn't complain or seem upset that she couldn't taste test things until about the last hour of her fast. I was so proud of her today. She is going to be six in a week. It is exciting, and kind of scary that our little girl is growing so much. I had to get a picture of these two talking over a bowl of popcorn. I love this family of mine.