Boy Time...

Can a boy have too many sisters?

Not if he can get some alone time once in awhile!

Alone time... Daddy time... boy time...

It all means time for the men to be men.

Who knows what all they do when they have man time... I don't really care... scratching, burping, getting greasy, dirty, etc... they love it!

Speed Racer...

You could never tell that a couple of months ago the very same girl was scooting around in a bright pink cast!

There is NO stopping her!

Who Could Resist...

The beauty of Fall...

Fun Night...

We just got home from the movies.  We had so much fun!  We ate popcorn, airheads, and drank soda... well, I had water.

It does me good to hear those great big belly laughs coming from the kiddos!

Now, we are all tired, full and the kids will be heading to bed in mere minutes...

Thank you, Lord, for blessing us with moments of pure joy.  Thank you for letting us truly love each other.  Thank you for loving us and blessing us with these amazing human beings.  Thank you for giving me such a wonderful husband.  Thank You!  Thank You!  Thank You!

Good Morning...

I haven't uploaded any pictures of the last few days, so today you just get... me.

We had a very relaxed day yesterday...

...due to me getting sick after church and Chey's car having some trouble that daddy needed to take care of.

So...  We got to hang out here and veg with books and kids playing and... trying to keep the headache and tummy sickness at bay.

Today, we are going to see a movie.  Yes, we are taking the crew to see a movie.  They don't get to do this stuff very often since... I find most movies to be a really bad  example of behavior for my children... but when we do get a chance, they love it.

We are gearing up for Thanksgiving.  I really do love this holiday.  I love telling people why I am thankful for them... how they have touched my life.  You never know when you won't get that chance again.  We do a really low key day.  We just hang out here... playing games, watching movies, cooking, eating and enjoying each others company.  This year we will be blessed by Grandma Carol and Bampa... and a friend of Cadi's...Rachel, who will all be joining us.  Yeah! for more people!  More to love, right?!

It's School Time...

And...

We're Making Cookies!!!!

One of our favorite cookies is chocolate chip bars.  Something amazing happens when you make it in a bar instead of the typical cookie shape.

This week the pre-schoolers are learning all about cookies.  So, they got to help make some yummy treats!

They had a blast and couldn't wait for a little taste of their hard work.

School can be yummy too!

A Walk In The Afternoon...

The sky was blue.

The temps weren't too cold.

It was the perfect day for a walk.

Brysen found the dirt... always...and climbed down in the ditch.

He found a stick and tried to hit his sister with it.

He slid down the hill on his butt.

You know...

He was a boy!

Cadi came along for the walk.

That was nice...

Lily decided that dirt and hills and the ditch couldn't possibly just be for boys.

So...

She gave it a try.

We ran into the medium girls who had decided to enjoy the day with a bike ride.

When we got home, they ran for the house.

The perfect way to end the perfect walk.

"I do not appreciate that..."

My daughters saw the post about their father below... and made sure I knew they think we are gross.

Hmmmmm.....

Too bad for them!!

My Mother-in-Law Is NOT Allowed to Read This...

Have I ever mentioned how much I love this guy?

But...

Have I mentioned that I REALLY love him?

...Like REALLY?!

... just thought you'd want to know.

An Important Letter...

First there were no leaves...

then there were some leaves...

...and then

there were tons of leaves.

Believe it or not...

they are forecasting snow for the next couple of days.

Ummmm...

Mr. Weatherman,

Please stop trying to kill me with this cold weather.

Things would go much better for both of us if you would do things...

my way.

Sincerely,

Me

His Old Lady...

My husband has always called me "kid".

But, yesterday...

His "old lady" turned 40!

Holy Cow!!

I never thought it was possible...

especially since I think I turned 20 about 6 months ago.

I had the BEST birthday, though.

I like laid back, relaxing days.

So, we had a normal day and didn't think about the birthday too much until dinner time...

When they fed me good food and then...

just what I asked for...

Apple Crisp and Vanilla Icecream!

I was in heaven!

This is me crying over the fact that I am 40!!!

...and such a drama queen...

Italian Crockpot chicken... Yummy!

My crazy family...

The most sane person in the house...

excuse me...

I was choking on that laugh!

I didn't... but I could have eaten this whole apple crisp by myself!

Really... but then I would have had to throw up and that would have ruined everything.

I have NO clue what this was about...

But...

I'm 40 now and so I don't care what anyone thinks!

I almost stuck my head in the bowl... but decided it would have probably gotten stuck and the fire department would have laughed at the  40 year old lady who had her head stuck in the bowl of apple crisp.

Talking to my boy...

He was trying to steal my presents...

This is me... acting a little more normal...

We decided to take a picture since it doesn't happen very often.

Yes, it is sideways, but I was too lazy to turn it...

Yes, I have the ribbon on my head that came on the present from my mother-in-law...

it is a tradition.

...and then I had to go and read her card and get teary... because I miss my Mom...

and because it is really something amazing and special and touches me to the core to know that I have a Mom who loves me, still... even though I wasn't born to her.

She may not know how much it means to me... but when she reads this, she will...

And then...

to break the teary tension...

The real me came back...

Crazy and 40!

It was the PERFECT birthday...

even if that number is 40!

Pre-School...

Our school day always begins with prayer, and then we say the pledge of allegiance.

The wonderful thing is that even my youngest (2 years old) knows the pledge!

We try to keep things pretty light and fun...

Apparently, this day the letter was H.

They made H hats and wore them until they decided to take them apart...

you know, about 10 minutes later!

Lordy, Lordy...

Look Who's 40!!!

Our Harvest Party...

We don't trick or treat anymore.

We don't care if you do... we just don't.

We do attend a harvest party or we throw one ourselves...

This year, we threw our own family harvest party and had a blast.

First, we did our normal devotions...

We do this every single night.

We spend a few minutes in the word and prayer and then sing worship songs.

Then we got busy with carmel apples and...

Yummy punch with sherbert icecream in it...

and crafts and games and candy and...

Dancing!

We got down with our bad selves...

which basically means I am totally out of date...

We made paper pumpkins.

We made a family tree with leaves decorated by each member of the family.

We played bingo using candy corn!

The kids ate candy and then showed me their chocolate covered teeth.

Gross!

Basically, we just enjoyed each others company.

Everyone agreed... at the end of the night... that it was the BEST time ever!