Thanksgiving weekend in pictures

This past weekend was so much fun. Chad has been working very long days over the past few weeks, so it was really nice to have him home for 4 whole days!

I'm not going to write too much ... while it was a fun weekend, it was also a very tiring one with some very long nights. Yeah, you can keep praying that I will get more rest. It ain't happening lately.

Our indian princess eating her breakfast

I took the kids to the mall to see Santa on Wednesday. We had an absolutely wonderful time together! I almost couldn't believe how good everyone was. I took this picture to show Audrey's pretty hair - some lady at a kiosk offered to curl it ... and we said yes!

Audrey, my blue collar gal, "fixing" stuff around the house. Daddy said she should drink gatorade like he does when he is doing field work :)

Chloe hanging out with her Uncle Andy on Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving tree completed! Although are we ever done giving thanks?

We started decorating for Christmas. Boy, does Carter love this musical snow globe.
Boy, do I NOT love this musical snow globe. Thanks Mom & Dad ...

Audrey was totally into decorating the tree this year. A girl after my own heart!
Carter's comment: "Ooh, such a wonderful tree!" Now really, where is he getting all this vocabulary??

Audrey with her favorite princess ornament.

My girls in their Christmas jammies. Although Audrey has been wearing hers since September ...

Here is one way Chloe differs from her siblings ... she will actually do "tummy time."

Daddy & Audrey had some fun together this weekend -- they even went bowling, just the two of them!

Hope you had a blessed time with family & friends over the holiday weekend. Don't we have so much to be grateful for?

Now, bring on the Christmas fun!

Deal of the week

If you are in the market for 4x8 photo cards for Christmas ... you have to check out this link right here.

It is an offer for 50 FREE photo cards through seehere.com. All you have to pay is the shipping rate of $3.19. Seriously. I just placed my order today! You choose from a variety of backgrounds, you can include as many photos as you want, you add frames to your pictures, type in the text you want ... and voila! You are set for Christmas cards.

The only hitch is that you have to get your tail in gear. This offer ends on November 30th.

I am all about a bargain so I jumped right on this. :)

Enjoy!

Funny Carter

That Carter. Lately I could write a book of all the cute and funny things he says. Yesterday when we were outside he pointed to me and announced to all who were within earshot "That's my friend Mommy!'' So cute!

Anyhow, tonight I was reading a Christmas book to Audrey & Carter before bed. I know, I know, I couldn't help myself. I'm like a kid about Christmas. I couldn't wait any longer.

So as we were reading, I pointed to Santa and said "Carter, do you know who this is?"

He shook his head yes, and confidently answered "Noah!"

Guess I'm glad the Bible stories are more imprinted on his brain than Santa is ... as much as I like Santa, knowing God's Word is much more important, huh?

Big sisters ...

....talk a lot.

Sometimes it is necessary to sleep with your blanket over your head when you share a room with one...

4 months ago ...

... this sweet little face entered our world.

And now look at her!

You forget how quickly they change in such a short time...

So ... what's going on at this age (just fyi - this post is mostly for me so that I can remember what Chloe did month by month, since I am not doing a great job of writing it down. Guess we have that whole "neglected 3rd child" thing going on!)

In the past month, Chloe has gained a tooth .... yes, already! ... and the other bottom tooth is on its way. Kinda explains the sleep issues we've been having over the past week or so. It seems like we have a good night, a bad night, a good night, a bad night, et al. I will be really glad when those teeth are in, but of course we have many more to "look forward to", I suppose. Audrey got her 6 year molars in the past 6 months with barely a mention, so at least it gets easier!

AND, in the past month, Chloe lost half her hair!! She kinda has a mohawk goin' on (that is, if I combed it straight up). Boo hoo. I loved all that dark hair she was born with. Hope it comes back sometime soon.

Other than that, she is continuing to sit more steadily in her bumbo seat (although not for too long without getting tired), reaches for and plays with her toys on the activity mat, and pushes her head up well while on her belly. Plus, she has legs like a sumo wrestler!

Despite all our nighttime "visits" - Chloe continues to be a very smiley and happy little girl. While I hope the sleeplessness goes away soon, I sure hope she continues having such a pleasant little personality!

Love ya, baby girl!

Thanksgiving Tree

It's becoming a tradition for us to put up a "thanksgiving tree." It's basically a place for us to remember all the things we're thankful for throughout the month of November and leading up to Thanksgiving.

First I cut out a "tree" from brown wrapping paper and hung it on our wall. Then the kids and I went out and collected leaves, traced bunches of them onto construction paper, and Audrey & I cut them out. Then every night (or most nights) at dinner each of us writes down something on a "leaf" that we're thankful for. Next we hang them up! By the end of November the tree is all full of the many blessings God has given us.

I guess Audrey has good self-esteem, haha ... (hers is the purple leaf) :)

I don't know that Carter totally comprehends what "thankful" means, but it is cute that he is thankful for ice cream, toys, and choo choo trains. (It's not in these pictures, but both kids have said they are thankful for "candy" ... hmm, was it perhaps just Halloween??)

I also must point out my own purple leaf above. Can you tell I have a teething infant??? Oh what I wouldn't give to sleep through just one night. :)

Keep being thankful! God has blessed us all with so much.

Ok folks, breathe a big sigh of relief ...

... there's a new post. You no longer have to look at that awful photo of the lady with the baby popping out of her chest ... :) Mom & Amy J., this post is for you, ha!

So, what to say.

I am absolutely exhausted. Chloe has been up the last two nights - for two hours at a time. Last night I think I got something more like 2 long naps rather than a night's sleep. Chad got up with me at one point and I just burst into tears. I just wanted to sleep SO BAD. It is now 8:30pm and I plan on going to bed pretty soon here ... Of course I hoped to lay down and rest a little this afternoon but of course the 2 kids who nap around here had other ideas. I spent a lot of today praying that God would just give me the energy I needed to get through ... and He did. And I didn't get grumpy with the kids either. (That for me is an achievement when I am tired!)

Speaking of prayer. This fall my ladies' Bible study did a study on prayer and it has really breathed new life into my prayer life. (Okay, that and feeling desperately needy these days ...) I just feel more and more convinced and convicted about bringing my life's concerns before God. And God WANTS us to bring our concerns to Him! I spend a lot of time asking for wisdom, energy, and the usual requests - but I also have been praying more for OTHER people. Right now with the circumstances of my life, there is very little I can "do" to help other people. I can't serve on committees, I can't be involved with any ministries, I can't even leave the house very often ... but I can pray for people. So even in the dark of the night as I feed little Chloe, I am often praying. When I am doing dishes, I am often praying. And I am enjoying this little "ministry" at home. It helps me feel connected to God, and to the people I am praying for. One of the blessings of this "season" in my life, I suppose.

So Chad & I took the kids to get their pictures taken on Saturday. Does anyone else out there get as stressed as I do over this? I look at other people's family photos and all their kids are smiling and looking all perfect ... and then there is picture-taking with my kids. I always have to resort to major bribes to get them to cooperate with getting their pictures taken ... Audrey is much easier as she gets older but now I have an unpredictable almost 4 month old to boot. Anyhow. I had it all planned to get Chloe up at a certain time, feed her, get her a short nap, and be off to the studio. Well. Miss Chloe had other ideas and decided to get up an hour earlier than my planned wake-up time, so she was all thrown off. By the time we were shooting photos, she was already tired. Every time I put her down, she would cry. It was nearly a disaster but it ended up okay after all. Got a few good pics of each kid and one okay picture of all three.

A little sampling ...





So that's my life over the past few days. What have you been up to?

Is it me, or is this scary??

"Excuse me, ma'am, but I think you have a baby exploding out of your chest?"

So what do you think? Should I get one for Chloe?

This is called a "peekaru" ... it can be yours for only $79.99!!!

Scary!

UPDATE: JUST TO BE PERFECTLY CLEAR ... I WOULD *NEVER* PUT CHLOE IN THIS STRANGE CONTRAPTION! (or pay 80 bucks for it!)