Trick-Or-Treat!

Halloween 2008 has come and gone! It was different this year, because we usually just go around to family who all live in the same county. This year we started out trick-or-treating at the mall then proceeded to walk around to all the willing participants in our neighborhood. Our neighborhood was packed with trick-or-treaters all crowding the sidewalks. They got way too much candy (as usual). Micah counted 159 pieces in his bag and you can multiply that by 4 pretty easily (probably more).

Abbi was a pretty bride (I made the skirt and veil with my crafty skills):


Hannah was a ladybug:


Micah the RockStar (I bet you can't guess who designed this...there is a hidden hint on the shirt):



Chloe the Puppy. She barked instead of saying "trick or treat":

Pre-Halloween 2008

Micah and Abbi had "Dress for Success" day at their school. So, they basically dressed up in clothes to represent what they wanted to be when they grow up. The kindergarten didn't participate for some reason, so Hannah just wore her Halloween t-shirt. They looked cute as buttons. Abbi wants to be a farmer, which was inspired by our trip to the orchard and Micah wants to be a RockStar.

They were actually awake this morning before I went in their room. I think they are way too excited for tonight! I have to admit that I always look forward to Halloween too, and even happier that it is on a Friday this year. I can still remember how fun it was to dress up and go trick-or-treating as a child. That excitement has been revived since I'm a mommy and I always have a ball trying to get the perfect outfit together for each of them.

Tomorrow I will post the real pictures from Halloween 2008, but for now, here is the preview.

My Husband the Hobo

Yes, Jordyn, I stole that term from you. Aren't you flattered?

Jamie has decided to grow a beard. Here is the conversation that we had this past weekend.

Me: Wonder what you'd look like with a beard.
Jamie: Alright! I'll grow one and find out!
Me: (sigh)

So, right now, he just looks like a hobo with a scruffy sandpaper like face. He is a man that gets a 5 o' clock shadow anyways, so surely in a few days, it'll start looking like it was on purpose rather than the "I woke up too late to shave" look he has going on right now.

My theory is that he secretly really does just want to be able to sleep an extra 10 minutes in the morning though.

The joys of living with Jamie:-) You just gotta love him!

Celebrating Abbi's Birthday and Our Busy Weekend!

Last night we celebrating Abbi's birthday. She had a good day at school and we had fun last night. We had speghetti (her favorite) and cherry cheesecake. She didn't want cake for her birthday, so she had birthday pie. We got her a doll she had picked out that is kind of a knock-off of the American Girl dolls (what child needs a $100 doll anyways!?!?), and she was tickled pink.





This past weekend, Jamie's parents came up for a couple of nights to visit. We also went and did our special weekend for the two birthdays. We were going to go the Chuck-E-Cheese, but we talked about it and decided to go to the Playzeum here instead. It was much more peaceful for us old people and the kids still had a blast.

Abigail Renee is 7 today!!! & Micah's Spiritual Birth!!!!

Today Abbi is 7! She was born around 5 weeks early at 12:30 in the afternoon and was a whopping 5 # 8 oz and 18 inches long. When she was born, the nurse held her up to me so that I could give her a little kiss on the forehead, and then they whisked her off. I didn't get to hold her until she was 4 days old, and it was in small amounts of time, because that was all she could take before her stats started dropping. We got to miraculously take her home when she was exactly 1 week old!

Sometimes, I will still sit and look at her in amazement that she is such a smart, healthy, and beautiful little girl. She loves to turn cartwheels, ride her bike, and draw. She is my oldest girl and sometimes I think that she acts more like she is 13 than 7, but then she'll turn right around and cuddle up in my lap. So, today, we are celebrating 7 wonderful years. Even though I told her that I was going to skip today, so that she could stay 6. Why do they grow so fast!?!?



On another exciting note...Micah accepted Christ last night right here in our living room!!!

We had the Lord's Supper last night, which prompted a few questions in his mind. Jamie had to work late and the kids and I had gotten carried away reading on the couch and had totally lost track of time. I was going to let them stay up until 9, but realized that we had gone too long when Jamie came in the door. We got everybody ready for bed and then Micah said he wanted to ask us some questions. Jamie and I put the girls to bed and then sat here and answered his questions and we asked him some questions and he looked up with tears in his eyes and said, "I think God is telling me to trust Christ right now". It is one of those moments as a Christian parent that you pray for before they are even born. But, as Micah sat here between us and prayed his little heart out to God, it was such a surreal moment and one that I will cherish for the rest of my life! He looked up and said, "my heart feels better now". He was bouncing around this morning all excited about it, and I'll admit that I didn't sleep well either out of excitement!

This Picture Makes me Laugh!

As Jamie and I were watching the last debate, we noticed McCain almost went the wrong direction. He sort of did this little dance thing and just made a joke of the situation. Jamie and I were literally laughing out loud and we figured that Saturday Night Live would spoof it, but they didn't. I did, however, find this screenshot of the little dance and it makes me smile.
...and I do realize that this is totally unrelated to my family, but I couldn't resist. I'll be so glad when the political mud-slinging is over in a couple of weeks. We have watched almost all of the debates and speeches this year so that we could make an informed decision. Neither candidate is perfect (are they ever?), but I think I have finally settled into one. Whether my choice wins or not is not important to me. I just pray that GOD places the right man into the job. It is a scary time in America and our next president needs our prayer.

On a family note...Pat and Glenn are coming into town tonight and the kids are super excited. Chloe exclaimed yesterday that she was "so excited" and that "Paw paw really likes me" (that is the understatement of the century).

I have 3 Halloween outfits completed and one to go. 2 are store-bought, but really cute anyways. I made Abbi's yesterday and I finally had to MAKE her take it off, so I guess it got 2 thumbs up even though she had very little confidence in my ability. What happened to the days where they thought Jamie and I could do anything?

Our Birthday Celebration!

We had a good afternoon with Micah yesterday. We had fetticine Alfredo for dinner followed with chocolate cake with white icing. We got him 2 Bakugan toys and a scooter. Apparently, Bakugan is all the rage and he has carried them around since he got them. He did say last night that he didn't "feel 9" yet, so maybe he will today. HA!

We then headed to church to enjoy the kids' choirs singing and some testimonies from church members about the church. Our last Services in the church will be Sunday and I know that it will be emotional for many people even though everybody is very excited about what God has provided and the future of the church.

Today, Chloe and I went shopping for Halloween 2008! They are all going to be super cute (as usual, of course!).

Micah David is 9 today!

Today is Micah's birthday and I can hardly believe how fast time flies by. I still remember where I was and what I was doing and what I was feeling at every moment during that day. We had just moved into our house a few weeks prior and had just finished up the little details. I still thought I had another 2 weeks (at least!) to settle in, but Micah had other plans. It was a long day, and I won't bore you with the details, but he finally arrived around 5:35 that evening.

He was 7#0 oz and 19 inches long. He already had long eyelashes and those adorable kissable dimples. He just had tiny bit of black hair and already reminded me so much of Jamie when I looked into his eyes. Now, he is so big that I can hardly believe my eyes!

"Goofy Gourds" at the Library

I love our library here! First of all, it is big, which is always fun, but they also have extra activities for kids to enjoy throughout the month. Best of all, it's free and entertaining for the kids! You can't beat that!

This week, they are doing "Goofy Gourds". So, we headed out tonight to check it out. The kids got to pick out craft supplies then choose their pumpkin to decorate. We spent about a half hour there letting them assemble their creations. They had a ball and it was fun to watch and help them get things just like they wanted them. Of course, the glue stick that the library provided didn't stick things very well, so I had to get the ol' trusty hot glue gun out when we got home to make sure everything stayed stuck. Now we have our cute little pumpkins decorating our counter!

Chloe Made a Nose Dive Towards the Pavement!

Yesterday, I took the kids out to play. They were riding up and down the sidewalk and Chloe was on her favorite riding toy, "Clifford". Here is a picture of her on it from a few months ago:


I was looking the other direction and I heard a noise and then screaming. I looked over and Clifford was upside down and Chloe was face down on the sidewalk. I ran over there as fast as I could and wasn't sure what we'd be dealing with when I picked her up. The last time she face planted was back in the winter and she had to go get stitches! I picked her up and she was bleeding. Her chin, upper lip and part of her nose are pretty skinned up. Nothing too major, but it made for many questions at church today.
Jordyn goes for her doctor's appointment tomorrow, so keep her in your prayers. I know that they are anxious to hear what the next phase will be.

Oh My Goodness! Positively Mouth Watering Sinfulness!!

I just gotta say that I think I have found the most sinful dessert recipe that I have ever made!!! Doesn't it look yummy!?!?

I'm always on the lookout for new recipes to try out. I kind of like cooking, but never anything complicated (no time for that) or with a lot of weird ingredients that I have to go buy. We have had an abundance of apples since our orchard visit, so lately, I have been busy looking for good apple snacks and ways to prepare them. I stumbled across this recipe a few days ago and it met my easy and non-weird criteria, so I tried it out tonight. This recipe should come with a warning label! It is seriously the richest most perfect dessert that I have ever made! And, Jamie was excited, because the recipe called for a can of Mountain Dew. I can't say that I have ever cooked with Mountain Dew before, but I threw caution to the wind and did just as the recipe said (minus the cinnamon due to Abbi's allergy).

So here is the link. Just don't say that I didn't warn you!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/02/apple_dumplings/

If you look at the toolbar on the left of her website, she has a lot of other yummy recipes too!

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (or something like it)

The Baby in the Family will Always Be the "Baby" In the Family

It is interesting to see family dynamics, especially in larger families. My mother was the "baby" in her family. There were only 3 of them, but she born 9 and 10 years after my aunt and uncle, so she was always "babied". My uncle would pat my mother on the top of her head to show his affection, despite the fact that my mother was 60 when he passed away.

I see the same thing going on with my kids. Chloe isn't really that much younger than my other kids. Micah was only 6 when Chloe was born, but she is still such a "baby" to them. Well, she really isn't anymore, and I wonder sometimes if they'll be the ones patting her on the top of the head when she is 60.

A couple of weeks ago on a Saturday, I looked over and saw this sight on the couch. Abbi was patting her as a mother would and Chloe was happy as a clam being loved on by her older sister.

A Busy Saturday of Fun!

We started out our morning with another session of Drama Club. Today's session focused on hair and make-up. Micah came out of class looking like this...
He was kind of excited about this new hairdo and decided that it is a cool style (without the gray of course). I'm not sure I really want him going out in public like he rolled out of bed, but whatever. Abbi has to sit by him in the backseat of the van and she would hardly look at him with his face like that. She held her eyes and cried all the way home, which thankfully is only a few minutes. I'm not sure how well she would handle things if he (or any of us) were ever severely injured.
Micah may be the only one in Drama Club, but needless to say the girls can really bring their own drama!

Next, we headed to Holiday World. Jamie's dad had gotten us some tickets, and this was actually the last weekend to use them. We've been busy! It worked out great though, because the kids are on fall break now and the weather is fantastic. We had a good time, but I can't even remember the last time my legs and feet have been so tired!

We let the kids take a few passes through the splash park area. We didn't really want them to get soaked, but it was hot, so it did help.
Abbi shooting Micah...
Chloe on the little bumper boats...Every time she rode something, she would shout, "Yook at me!" (Look at me!)

Micah and Hannah on the carousel...
Later, we went to story time with Santa. The kids got to sit up on stage with Santa. The kids were all sitting up there waiting, then Santa came around the corner with a booming "Ho Ho Ho" and Chloe shot out of there like a light and ran straight to Jamie's arms (who was sitting further back than I was). If only I had had my video camera on!

Here is Chloe right after Santa scared the living daylights out of her. She said "Scary Santa" after it was over...
Story time...

We are now home and tired, but it was a lot of fun!