My, how they are growing

 A huge shout out to Heather Kramer for taking some awesome head shots of my kiddos.  They turned out great!  So excited to print and frame them for my bedroom.

Don't let me fool you with these pictures though.  The ones I've selected were the best ones to choose from.  From these pictures, it appears that my children are complete angels.  So to "keep it real" I will post the out- takes with commentary...

Look close...can you see the seething anger in K's eyes?  Can you see the wincing pain that G is in as K jumps on his chest in repeated motion.  Yup, this is how we started the photo session.  Cute, aren't they?!  (yikes)

A little Tim Tebow action going on...

 Why, you ask, is he giggling like a school girl?  Because his mom is behind the photographer, dancing like a school girl, trying to get him to lighten up a bit for the photo session.  Had to be there I guess?!

A picture is worth a thousand words...

             let's just say she fits right in with the rest of us!

Trick or Treat...smell my feet

M and her cousin A

 Beautiful butterfly

Ninjas

K and his cousin T

 (with their yellow Festy bags, HA!)

B as an old man, I think.  Not quite sure what he was supposed to actually be.  He lost the wig before we even got started.  Oh, I didn't forget the oldest...all he had on his mind was candy and he was off finding his sugar high before I could get a snap a picture of him.

For a special someone, who shall remain nameless!

I'M STILL ALIVE EVERYONE!!!  Though I have not blogged in a very long while, I promise you I have NOT been tied to a chair.  There is one of my favorite followers out there (ahem, Jeremy) who sees this as my future, done by my children nonetheless.  They may be getting bigger, like almost taller than me, but they won't be able to outwit me (yet!).

I sound like a broken record, but I really am busy around here...I wish I was sitting around eating bon-bons, and drinking some fabulous icy drink, but for now I drive hither and to and have a permanent butt imprint on my lawn chair from being at baseball games.  Never mind the whistle I'm blowing from breaking up the chaos that happens occasionally often in the house.  Really, I'm just praising the good 'ole Lord from keeping me sane and some of my toilets clean.  It could be much worse!

This says it all...

Wondering what we've been up to for the entire month of February???

Yes, we have done other things, but not without more than half our family being sick the entire month thus far.  UCK, this is getting old really fast!  We have now started re-infecting ourselves.  Not cool.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Missy Sue Lu!

Birthday cupcakes after supper

We started off the day with sending birthday treats to school...

She just loved the balloons I bought for her! 

Here she is, my birthday girl who just turned 4! 

 Can you believe it?  She is 4 already.  Before I know it, she will be 16...*sigh*

**Just noticed the entire day in pictures is out of order, at this point I don't have the time to fix it...sorry.**

Good morning birthday girl!  

She is running through the streamers we put up on her door.

We had a party for family a few days later, and this was the fun cake I was able to make.  Why a monkey you ask?  Missy Sue LOVES monkeys!!

Growing Up

As I was deep cleaning the laundry room this morning (don't be jealous, this happens maybe once a year) I felt a bit of a draft coming from the back door.  What in the world?  Why is the door open?

To let the dog out to go potty...of course?!  

I should have realized!  Missy Sue is getting creative these days.

On the off chance you can't tell, this is not a real dog, but her 2 in. tall plastic toy dog.  

We even fed it lunch today.  I'm such a nice mom.  :0)

Another mom is in the house and her name starts with an "M".  When a baby is in her arms, she dutifully points out that she is that baby's momma.  Quite the sight when she is telling you in sign language (baby is practically falling out of her arms).  So, not only is she "the momma", she also acts like one.  Apparently copying me, for when she pushes her baby in the stroller she also has her "cell phone" to her ear chatting with the other end and laughing endlessly.  The positive here?  She is hearing me laughing...

BTW, that "cell phone" is the magnet for our refrigerator that tells whether the dishes are clean or not. 

We are all about re-purposing around here!

What to do on a fine day like this?

Yesterday was the most awesome JANUARY day I've ever experienced.  We never get a day like this at this time of year.  So, what does one do on such a fine day like this?  BE OUTSIDE!

 We walked baby...and picked up stones, and sticks, and...

Neighbor kids...

riding bikes, pogo stick, hula hoop, basketball

What a difference a day makes!

Christmas vacation

It has been a wonderful Christmas vacation (period).  Sometimes when I see the words -NO SCHOOL- I dread what is coming next.  However, this year has been quite enjoyable.  We have had a mix of relaxation and activity. 
Our time off started with Christmas "eve eve" where Adam played his trumpet in a brass quartet at our church service.  I must say, it brought me back to my HS years where I remembering swooning over my trumpet playing man! (Not that I don't swoon anymore...)  Of course Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were the highlights for the boys as they got to open their gifts.

 showing off new Christmas pj's

 The kids could hardly contain themselves...the excitement was palpable!

 G playing his trumpet for our guests

 B playing his recorder

 Missy Sue with her new doll 

(she has stripped it of its clothes already)

 Christmas morning

"little angels"

 Great Aunt Bama came for Christmas this year.  What a joy it was to spend time with her!

 Gotta love those waffles on Christmas morn'

Cousin love.

K and his cousin dressed up in the dress up clothes they got for Christmas.  

One is an FBI agent and the other is a scientist.

 

The fun never ends...we celebrate a birthday next....

 

 Our tradition...movie night for the birthday boy.  Alvin and the Chipmunks was the movie of choice again this year (for the 3rd time).  I'm sort of hoping they don't come out with another Chipmunk movie at Christmastime anytime soon...

The Globetrotters were in town so we visited them.

 Not sure who the boy on the far left is, but he snuck into our picture.

 WHAT?  The Packer game?  

Yes, we were completely blessed to be able to go the game on New Years Day.  Some tickets were made available to us and we couldn't pass up the opportunity (and the seats, 2nd row near the end zone).  What you can't see is all the layers we were wearing.  We each had 4 layers on top and bottom with a jacket, hats, mittens, and hand and feet warmers to top it off!

This was a wonderful way to spend time with my family.  Bonding with my boys and my dad...... PRICELESS!!

 GO PACK GO! 

So excited to see the players up close.  G even made the jumbo tron with his sign.

We got to see the action way up close, pure awesomeness!

So today, Jan. 2, we sit in a warm house playing with the "stuff" we got for Christmas.  But, we also have been talking as a family what we can do in 2012 to make it an awesome year.  We concluded that we need to be more respectful of each other and that we need to continue to listen to that still small voice of God, and to be obedient when he is telling us to do something.  We don't want to miss out on what God has for us in 2012.  WE WANT TO BE A BLESSING TO THOSE AROUND US!!