Christmas parade

This is the first year we've made the attempt at going to the Christmas parade in our town. Honestly, it's always so freezing cold, and bundling up all the kids to fight the crowds to stand and wait...not on my list of fun ideas. But this year, I thought we should attempt it, since likely next year I won't want to take out the little guy in the cold. Apart from parking SO far away, we really enjoyed the parade! We didn't get there until a few minutes before it began so we didn't have to wait in the cold very long. And as far as the weather goes, it was snowing a little and made for a beautiful backdrop for the night.There were so many horse drawn carriages decorated with lights but I think the favorites were the ones with the miniature ponies. Sadly, none of my pictures of the actual parade really turned out well (bad lighting, I guess mixed with snow). But we did get a few cute pictures of us!

Field Trip Time!!

We've lived in our town for more than 5 years, and had no idea there was a Christmas tree farm here. But, there is ! Haleigh's Botany class took a field trip to visit and learn about how they grow and harvest Christmas trees. What a wonderful learning experience, and a lot of fun on top of that! I took all of the kids with me, and after a little "class time" with one of the owners, we set out on a tractor trailer to get up close and personal with some of God's creation. It smelled so good out there among all of the pine trees. It made me want a real Christmas tree this year!

Charity Chow Cafe'

Welcome to Charity Chow Cafe'!

One of the classes Haleigh took this trimester at our homeschool co op was called Open a Restaurant. During the past 10 weeks, Haleigh, along with other 3rd and 4th graders, learned what it takes to open and operate a restaurant. They thought of a name for the restaurant, created a menu, and presented different charities to their classmates in order to pick one to donate the proceeds to. The charity they chose was KIDS AGAINST HUNGER, and at the end of the morning, they had earned $285.00! Each student had a job that you would normally find in any restaurant (hostess, server, bus boy, cooks, manager, etc). Haleigh chose the job of hostess, which was a pretty tall order. She and another girl seated all 100 customers that visited the restaurant in the short 45 minutes they were open. It was a great experience for Haleigh, and as a paid customer, the food was great too!

Almost ready to open!

Haleigh calling for those with reservations. They served more that day

than any other year before!

Joshua's Pre-K class got to be special guests at the cafe'. He

ate his doughnut with a knife and fork!

Quite a crowd!

Visit with Mimi and Granddaddy

My mom and dad came to visit us for a week recently. We packed their visit full of fun things to do and lots of giggles and spoiling. I found a park nearby that we had never been to before. It had swings and a great jungle gym for the kids. The skies looked ominous, but we really wanted to get outdoors before the rain came. We had such a great time with them!

My mom and I also participated in her very first 5K. We packed up the kids and gear and left REALLY early to get to the Creation Museum for the race. We had planned on walking it all, but after starting with the other runners, we decided to make it challenging and run. We ran a good bit, but there were so many hills!! I was pushing Ava in a jogging stroller and she fell asleep midway into the race. We finished running at about 48 minutes! Maybe next time we will run the whole thing! After the baby is born, of course!

Ava and I before the race....the sun isn't even up yet!

Hallow-Him

If you know my children, you know that they LOVE to dress up. We have never made a big deal about celebrating Halloween, but instead have attended a harvest

party at our church. This year, Haleigh and I decided to get creative and make her unicorn costume. We found the idea in a Family Fun magazine, and I think it turned out great!

Joshua opted for the black spiderman look this year.

Caleb as Bumblebee

Ava as tinkerbell...pretty stinkin' cute, huh?

It's a BOY!!

Well, it's official...We're having a BOY! Shawn, Haleigh, Caleb and I went to the office to have my 20 week ultrasound, and everything looked great! Of course, the thing that was on everyone's mind was if the baby was a boy or girl (except mine, I was just wanting to make sure there was only 1 baby!) The first part of the ultrasound, the little guy was facing away from us, but was giving us some cute shots of his legs and feet. Finally, he turned around and we got some good profile pictures. I love being able to see our little one and take in the fact that he's been "knit together by the Lord". So far, Caleb would like to name the little guy, "Chewbacca" and Joshua is hoping for "Larry"(think Veggie Tales). Haleigh is more conservative and would like his name to be "Matthew". Good thing we have some time to decide!

Our healthy baby boy!

A day in the life...

There are so many random pictures that I've wanted to post, but they really didn't go with anything we were doing. I figured I'd post a few of the things that occupy our day. You'll notice many of Ava doing things that many 18 month olds do. She is into EVERYTHING!!! I turn my head for a minute, and she's covered with marker, or dumping cereal on the floor, or sitting on top of the table! But, this age also has a LOT of cute and sweet fun. For one, she is talking like crazy, she repeats much of what her siblings say, and has begun stringing together her own sentences. She said, "Mommy, I love you" the other day. She loves to read and be read to, play with baby dolls and dress up clothes, and pretty much follow Joshua around all day taking toys from him (hey, a girls gotta be entertained!)

On another note, I realized I haven't even posted anything about our newest addition. We are expecting baby #5 in February. Which, if you do the math, makes me almost 17 weeks along. I'm feeling great now, a little sick earlier, and am now in maternity clothes which I love. I just felt chubby before. The last couple of days, I've felt the baby move, which is still so cool, even after 4 other pregnancies. I go for another Dr. visit Monday, so I'll get a chance to hear the heartbeat again. So...now, hopefully I'm caught up (mostly). Enjoy the cute random pics!

A little princess!

They love watching the big kids play daddy's phone games

Like, I said, you turn your back for a minute....

Getting ready for the big race!

This was really cute, they were all racing their stuffed animals!

A little innocent fun with markers

Lovin' Lake Erie!

Last week the kids and I took a short road trip to visit friends in Norwalk. We lived there only about 2 1/2 years, but have made some friendships that are more like family. We stayed with my friend, Kim, and her hubby and daughter, Carly. They were the best hosts...made us lots of yummy food :) We had a great time visiting with her and her family (whom we are also very close to). One day, we drove the short distance to Lake Erie. Really, it's only about 15 minutes away. I forgot how much I missed being that close to a body of water and sand! We brought a picnic lunch and played for the day in the sand and water. The weather was great for the beach...almost chilly when the sun went behind a cloud, though! Ava was pretty content to play along with Joshua on the sand, while the older kids like splashing around in the lake. Here are some cute pictures of our time at the lake. Thanks, Kim, for making the trip so much fun! I LOVE YOUR FAMILY!!!

Ava and Haleigh building a sand pit...it never made it to a castle!

Carly, Caleb and Joshua in the lake.

More building in the sand.

Little swimmers!

Tennessee fun!

We've been in Tennessee visiting family for a week, and you'd think I would have a ton of pictures to show you! But, sadly, I was really terrible about bringing my camera the different places we went during the week. We had a great time, but stayed really busy...which is good! Patrick (my brother) and his wife, Amanda, were off of work all week, so we got to see them more often than normal :) My most favorite thing we did outside of visiting family was going to the local skating rink. I was transported back to the 80's when I laced up my roller skates and zipped around the rink to the sound of "Thriller"! It was so much fun watching the kids try their best to maneuver around on wheels. For the most part, they did great. Haleigh's skates were not tightened, so she ended up on her rear more than anyone else. But she kept getting right back up! We did the hokey pokey, races and the limbo! Joshua enjoyed skating on the carpet more, since he went slower and the fall was softer. Here are some random pics of the skating rink and the rest of our week.

The kids and their cousins walking home from the park(we made them all hold hands!)

Haleigh waiting for the race to begin

Caleb and Haleigh in "skate school"

Awaiting instructions before trying a new skill

Some catching up needed!

The month of June completely got away from me! Not that we've been really all that busy. All of us really needed some time to just play! This past month, we've had Vacation Bible School at our church. The theme was Saddle Ridge Ranch and it was a lot of cowboys and horses. In fact, Shawn was was of the main characters, as he played One-Eyed Dusty Twails who turned from bad to good during the course of the week. I helped out in the 3rd grade class, which was a lot of fun, and despite Caleb having strep throat most of the week, the kids loved VBS! Here are some snapshots of our VBS.

Welcome to Saddle Ridge Ranch!

One of Shawn's(and the kids) favorite parts was the shootout between One-Eyed Dusty Twails and Four Eyed Rusty. The decorating crew did a great job as always!

The cowboys with our missionary for the week, Dale McCloud and his horse Spirit.

This was decorate for the workers as we got our dinner each night. So fun!

It was a great week of learning and fun with the kids.So glad we got to be a part of it!

The beginning of summer fun!

I have so many random pictures to share this time. We' ve only been out of school for about two weeks, but have already had a lot of fun. We visited our local library a little early for the summer reading program, so I only let the kids get one or two books. Haleigh chose a Paula Dean cookbook for kids. So far, we've made chocolate covered banana pops and homemade doughnuts. They both turned really yummy, especially the

doughnuts!

Here they are ready to be fried.

Starting to look yummy!

Add a little confectioners sugar and presto!

Here are a few more random things to make you giggle...

Shawn was giving the boys a much needed summer haircut. Joshua's had grown out pretty long, so my goofy hubby decided that Joshua should have a mullet. (Don't worry, I wouldn't let him do THAT to our poor son!) He cut it normally the next morning.

Business in the front...

Party in the back! Hahaha!

Ava decided that she was old enough to do her own teeth brushing. Shawn found her in the bathroom all by herself....using her sister's toothbrush! Sorry, Haleigh!But, cute, nonetheless!