The Art of Halloween

For those of you who know our amazing Aunt Sally, you know how much fun it is to be with her! Well, we've been missing her lately as she and Uncle Mike did a major home project and remodeled 2/3 of their upstairs and added a new BIG art studio! The kids and I started art with Aunt Sally over 2 years ago with just us, but now the class has grown to include Aunt Jenn and the cousins, too! Aunt Sally was kind enough to let us all squish in the old art room, but I think it gave her a good reason to build her dream art studio, and now we all get to benefit! Can you see the joy and jubilation on Aunt Sally's face as we celebrated the completion of the art studio with a ribbon cutting ceremony!?!?!?

It didn't take long to officially break in the new room...Aunt Sally had a fabulous Halloween project ready for our little artists to create, and soon the art table (which sits all 8 students-and Aunt Sally, too!) was covered in all manner of exciting supplies! The kids created 3D "bat caves"! Very approriate, don't ya' think!

Bekah working hard all by herself!

We have the best Teacher ever!

Well, after the art project, the fun kept coming! The momma's and Aunt Sally had planned a holiday lunch for all to enjoy! What do you think of the menu?!?!?

You can click the picture to enlarge and get a really good look! If you still can't read the signs, I'll help you out! We served "dragon eyes", "baked bat wings", "toasted toad toes", "boiled belly buttons with entrails", and "bandaged pinky fingers". Everyone topped off the gourmet meal with some fabulous "dirt and worm" cupcakes! Thanks, Aunt Sally, for a frightfully gruesome time! We all loved it....

except maybe Briella! "I'm not eating that!! Can't I just have some good ole PBJ?"!!

Was it really 5 years ago?

According to the calendar, Rebekah turned 5 years old on Wednesday, October 29th. I'm not convinced! Surely my sweet little peachy pie just started to walk and talk a few months ago, right? Where does the time go?

The birthday morning loves is a favorite birthday tradition! I love snuggling the birthday child in my lap and telling them about their very first birthday...the day they were born! Rebekah loves to hear how she tried to arrive bum first after doing a somersault and gowing breech at 8 centimeters! She prides herself on being the only one to arrive the "extra-special way"...C-section! (Those red-headed tendencies exerted themselves early...and till this day she still tries to do everything "her own way"! ) I will always love cradling my babies, no matter how big they get!

Bekah is starting to look awake, and momma is trying not to bawl thinking back on Bekah arriving in our family!

Ooh, now this is extra special! Bekah tried out Pop-tarts for the first time along with her birthday breakfast Kamberlynne made just for her! Bekah picked out the Barbie Poptarts last week at the store for her birthday breakfast, and they nearly didn't make it to the special day! But Bekah says they were worth the wait!

On to the traditional birthday photo shoot! What a special thing to be a big sister!

So sweet as Ella moves in for a slippery birthday kiss!

My favorite. The birthday girl with her two favorite playmates! Aren't they adorable?!?!?

Even though momma still made everyone do school, we still celebrated with a movie in the middle of the day! And we all enjoyed Bekah's birthday pick for dinner...not just regular pizza, but as our kids call it "pizza that the man brings"...in other words, not the kind mom makes! Believe me, I don't mind!

The day only got better when Grandmom and Pop joined us for...

Birthday Cake! Chocolate Peanut Butter Surprise cake! That's momma's girl, all right!

Thanks for the tent and sleeping bag, grandmom and pop! What a great present!

Everyone is going to enjoy it, I'm sure!

Crawl into your sleeping bag and go to bed, big girl! We're praying for you to grow big and strong, and that you will always be blessed with happiness! We're so grateful for all the happiness you have brought to us! We hope you had a very Happy Birthday! We love you forever!

Yee-Ha! It's Bekah's birthday!

Our little cowgirl just keeps getting cuter...and bigger!

The annual "Harvest Festival" party for Bekah's birthday was better than ever this year because we got to share it with one of her dearest friends who has her birthday on the very same day! Kaia is the perfect little indian companion to our cowgirl, and we think they are both the cutest!

Here's some of the party fun!

The cookie eating contest....without using your hands!

The brothers loved wrapping up Dad in toilet paper and making him a mummy!

I don't know what these darlings liked better....Bingo, or the M&M's we used as place markers! (My vote is the chocolate...no surprise!)

I can't resist sharing how adorable these costumes are...and the smiling kids are even better!










Friends are such blessings!

The Birthday Girls!

We hope you had a wonderful time today little Cowgirl and Indian! More importantly, we hope you know how how special you are and how much your families love you each and every day! Your beautiful smiles and sweet spirits bring us untold joy! May the Lord keep you in His loving care throughout the coming years!

Pumpkins and Hayrides and Scarecrows, Oh My!

Oh, I just love the change of the seasons! Pulling out the sweaters, the beautiful colors on the trees, the cooler temperatures...and the annual trip to the pumpkin patch! Aren't my little pumpkins adorable?

"I'm not sure what I'm doing here, but, hey, it's better than a nap!"

We take the whole "pick out your pumpkin" thing VERY seriously in this family!

It's a keeper!

The search for the perfectly round one paid off!

Off to the hayride!

A little interjection here! October is Rebekah's Birthday month...she was born just before Halloween, and her many pet names include "Bekah-Boo" and "Pumpkin Pie"! It's my favorite time to take pictures of my little red head...but don't let Bekah hear you say her hair is red, she'll quickly correct you..."It's actually orange" she says!

Kamberlynne wanted a more scenic picture this year...growing up...(sigh)!

"Just because I'm so cute!"

If you're happy and you know it...

Two years ago these guys dressed up as the Three Musketeers for Halloween...I still can't think of anything better...
Have I mentioned how much I love this time of year...but even better than the sweaters and outings and the beautiful colors is the opportunity to rejoice in the goodness of the Lord, His blessings of harvest, and the continued joy of family! We are so blessed!

Pretty in Pink!

There are only a few things cuter than little girls in tutu's!

Rebekah has been twirling in Kamberlynne's hand me downs for years, and we finally thought it was time for her big ballet debut!
As many of you know, Bekah has been keeping all of us on our toes for as long as I can remember, and I can't wait to see her on her own toes, now! I couldn't resist sharing her scrapbook! Take a look at that natural form at the barre'! ( I just figures out that if you click on a picture, it zooms in!) She stuck close to Teacher Pam and tried to imitate her every move!

I love being a momma! Thanks for making me smile, Bekah!

It'll grow back....

A couple weeks ago Kamberlynne finally convinced me to take her for a haircut! Trauma for me, joy for her! This is the first time she has gone for a return cut before it has grown back enough to donate to "locks of love" , and I tried to convince her to wait a couple more inches, but she was set on it! Once it was all over, I thought it was pretty cute. But then again, how could I think my darling girl was anything short of adorable! You are a cutie, Loo!

True Love!

I hope Christian looks this smitten in his engagement pictures years from now! Christian, our resident animal rights activist, rescued "Fred" the toad from the evil clutches of Smokey, our cat, and then Rebekah (which may have been more dangerous for Fred than the cat)! Though I am prone to exaggeration upon occasion, I am completely truthful now when I say this toad is the biggest handful of reptilian discovery we've ever experienced! Sadly enough, Christian's excitement was short lived. After making sure the coast was clear, Fred was released back into the wild! He has a better chance of survival out there than with Rebekah in here!
"Can't we keep him, pleeeeaaaaassssseeeeeeee?"

"Sorry bud, that guy is big enough to eat Briella!"Rebekah has sent her last four rescue missions to heaven...two worms, a butterfly, and some other unidentified multi-legged critter! Yipes! Christian has her in "kindness to God's Creations" training here!
"You mean people actually eat this?!?!? Who would ever do that, mom?"
"I have absolutely no idea, buddy. No idea at all."
(Notice how Christian can't get his hand even close to around this enormous fella'!)
Briella tried and tried to get close enough to touch Fred, but wasn't quite brave enough! She sure thought watching him from a good two feet away was absolutely fabulous, though!

Ahhh, the joys of childhood! Best wishes to you, Fred, wherever you are! You made a ten year old boy's day!

Breakfast Baby!

In my momma-hood, I always thought doing the spoon thing was a major accomplishment! It takes a while to get it down, but with big pay-offs! As fun as it is to see these little ones learn and grow, it always makes me a little melancholy to see my babies grow up! Didn't we just bring her home a few months ago?!?!? We sure love every bit of our milky soggy sticky sweetie! Way to go, Briella!

Momma, don't let your babies grow up to be....

Ok, so Bekah is pretty convincing as a good ol' country girl, huh? I don't see any banjos in her future, though! She is about the "pertiest thang" this side a Baltimore, though, don't ya think!?! Our girls look forward to the Annual Daddy Daughter Church Activity every year, and this year's Western Hoe-down lived up to the expectation! Cow roping, line dancing, and ice cream...more fun than "a couple of pigs in the mud on a hot summer day!" Well, I would sure hope so!

After 5 days of wearing her cowgirl dress momma made her for the dance, Catherine was finally able to pry it off her and get in into the laundry! I have to admit, I hung it in the back of my closet so she wouldn't find it....maybe it'll last till Halloween that way!
(And for those of you wondering, yes, I did figure out how to turn the camera date off so we don't have those very annoying and unsightly stamped numbers on the bottom of any more pictures! At least I think I did...!)

Ahhhh, Date Night!

Ok, for those of you who know us well, you know "Date Night" is a our favorite night of the week! For years now, Brian and I have had a date night once a week, whether it be just upstairs with carry-out Chinese or an actual leave the kids at home and hit the town (by town, I mean more like Rita's Italian Ice!). Well, for this stay at home momma who usually has sticky fingerprints and baby drool all over my clothes, it is an amazing treat every now and then to get a real winner of a date night, and we had one just this week! Brian had a work thing...dress up, valet parking, fancy food, handsome husband, intelligent conversation...a fun reminder that I actually am an educated adult who can mix with other intelligent adults! So what did I do just before we left home for the kid free night....I printed out a recent family photo so we could show off our little darlings to anyone who would take a look! As fun as going out is, I'll gladly keep my day job...bring on the sticky fingers and baby drool...but let me change my clothes first!