A Nice Visit

We just got home from a visit back to Texas.  We had such a wonderful time and we were able to see so many of our family and friends.  We couldn't have asked for a better visit.

Our fun time with the Goldsmith's and Olson's.  Thanks for meeting with us at the last minute.  You guys will always be such great friends!!

2 Grandparents + 7 Grand kids = ...

...  LOTS OF LAUGHS!!!

My sisters-in-law...my brothers married such beautiful, trendy gals.

The Little Women

Us
Little Miss started walking a lot more this past week, and she made us clap each time she stood back up.
Dinner with the Nelson's and Turner's.  Thanks for calling us!!!  There is never a dull moment with you all. :)
Like I said, never a dull moment...thanks Scott!

Uncle Matt won Little Miss over.

She gave Papa lots of kisses, and always wanted to be held by Nana.
Big Guy was demonstrating how sleepy he was while we waited in Dallas for our departing flight.  Yes, we were all EXHAUSTED!!!  When we got home, Little Miss went to bed at 6:00, the boys were in bed by 6:45, I was asleep by 7:45 and J was out by about 9:00.
The boys got Leapsters for the flight home.  It amazes me how they can pick something up and have it figured out before I finish reading the instructions.

Her new word is "Mou" (mouth).

Even after a good night's sleep, those eyes still keep drooping.

Thank you everyone for a wonderful time.  I just regret that I forgot to take my camera back to Dalhart.  We saw our church family and couldn't have been loved on any more than we were.  We miss you all so much and we're thankful to have you all in our lives.  Brenner, thank you for coming to see your buddy.  You are a very missed guy!!  Miersma's and Berngen's, thanks for a great lunch at our favorite restaurant!  Rachel, I'd love to see your pictures.  It was so cute to watch our girls feed each other.  Also, I was so excited to get to visit baby Piehl and love on him.  He is precious, just like his sister and brother.  And Dave and Kara are some of the most genuine people that I have ever met.  

We love y'all!!!

Couch Potatoes

What do you do when your 17 month old wants to be held all day long?  That's what has been going on around here.  Little Miss has not let me put her down these last few weeks.  And she won't go to anyone else.  After Christmas, J went to a session of school, and then he was gone for a conference with our church.  Needless to say, my back has been killing me (that girl is HEAVY...and can't walk!!) and the proof is not in my biceps.

But I figured it out!  T.V.  She has never really watched it before, but this day it worked.  I turned on a movie, plopped her on the couch, and washed dishes.  Of course, I had to take pictures of the 3 kids lined up on the couch, losing brain cells.  It was cute.

Relief!

Middle Man couldn't stand to not sit by his sister.  They are really forming a sweet bond.

I really like B&W.  :)

Can I Still Call It "Pig Tails" If There Is Only One Tail??

I know that I've written a lot about Olivia lately, but she's at such a fun stage and so darn cute.  :)

Well, her hair is starting to grow out, so tonight I decided it was time to see if it would go into a pig tail.  It did!  What a great day for a mom of two boys and three brothers!!!  I only had one hairband in my bathroom with me, so she just got part of of the hairdo.  :)  And...it was pretty messy.  But, hey, it was my first attempt!

Here she is sucking her cheeks in.  She's always making some kind of face. 

...Like this one!  I love it when she sticks her top teeth out (especially when it's a toothy kiss).

She's watching the water in the shower as she waits for her brothers to hop into it.  Oh, those cheeks!

I've been messing around with Photoshop, so that would be why the photo colors keep changing...no, nothing is wrong with your computer, I just can't decide what I like. :)

Yo voy al mercado.

Instead of teaching Olivia Spanish, we decided that she might learn it by pushing it around in a shopping cart.

I love this coloring, because it makes me think of pictures of me as a little girl.

Alright, we weren't hoping for Liv to learn another language at 16 months.  The Spanish dictionary served as a weight in the shopping cart.  She kept falling down while pushing the cart because it was going too fast for her.  But as you can see by the last picture, she still had a rough time with it.  (And check out those torture devices coming through her gums!!)  Walk baby, walk!!

Tagged

Here are the tag rules:



1. Go to where you store your digital photos & open the 4th folder.



2. Go to the 4th picture and post it.



3. Explain the picture.



4. Tag an additional 4 people.

I just got a new computer, so my 4th folder just happens to be from today.  And the 4th picture just happens to be a little more modest than all of the others.  :)

In this picture, Olivia is waiting for Jay to come home with a diaper for her.  We had run out of diapers, so we just put her in the bath while Jay ran to the store.  She got a tired of soaking her feet, so I let her crawl around and this is where she ended up.  She had been standing up, looking out the little window in a cute hiney-thigh-belly shot.  But the squat is pretty darn cute, too!

Oh yes, and I must tag.  So, I tag Mom, Marcy, Lindsey, and Tamra

Delivering Neighborly Notes

My kids love to go out to the mailbox and get the mail.  They especially love looking to see if their magazine is in the mail.  They both have a subscription to a kids' magazine and receive it monthly.  Well, today Isaac's magazine came in.  Josiah was a little jealous, so I handed him some junk mail and he was a happy camper.  

After awhile, the boys decided to grab a pen and go out on our front porch and "sell some mail".  I didn't know what that meant, but came to find out that it meant they wrote on the tear-out cards from the magazine, and delivered the cards to the neighbors' porches.  (Sometimes my boys remind me of The Little Rascals.)  I felt bad, but I had to make them go to each porch and pick the "mail" up off of the ground.  They were pretty bummed, so I told them to come into the house and we'd make some "real mail" for the neighbors.  I pulled out scrapbook paper, markers, ribbon and tags, and they got to work.  They made 4 different cards, and we went and tied them to 4 different doorknobs.  

I told them to be quiet (and told Josiah to quit looking in all of the windows) so that they wouldn't open the door as I was tying on the note.  They were HILARIOUS!  They were sneaking around, covering their mouths, and giggling so much.  

After our little adventure, we went back in the house and they watched out the window as each neighbor came home.  I didn't stop them, because it was so funny to watch.  But they would throw open the door and run outside and announce to each neighbor that they had something on the front door.  

One couple was so funny.  They are a little grouchy and probably think that our kids are annoying.  But they went and untied the note, said "thank you", and shut their garage door.  Haha!  The other 3 neighbors smiled so big and had funny conversations with the boys...especially Josiah.

I love having outgoing kids.  I would be a recluse if not for them (okay, and if not for Jay).  

I wonder if my boys will remember sneaking around attaching notes to doors when they grow older, or if this is just a fun memory that I will always have.

Heather's Story

There is a blog that I really like to read called This is Reverb.  The guy that writes the blog is a pastor in Cincinnati and is very interesting to read.  Today he posted a blog with a link to the story of a lady in his church.  The story takes about 40 minutes to listen to, but it is totally worth your time.  Click here and it should take you directly to the page.  If you listen to it, let me know what you think.