Whose Birthday?

Libby so gladly shared her birthday crown with her brother. Amazingly, because the pacifier is in his mouth, he didn't fuss a bit. I don't know how long he actually wore this crazy thing before we found him.

Shoes!

Chris felt I needed to take this picture so that I could prove that he lived in a house full of girls...and John. One pair of shoes is his and the rest...well, ya know. Actually after I took this picture I got rid of two pair of Libby's shoes that she likes to wear even though they don't fit her and one pair of my shoes because they are ugly and they hurt my feet. :)

Happy Birthday Elizabeth!!!

Hello World!

1st Birthday

I am 2!

Look at me grow...I am 3.

Now, the princess is 4.

I am 5 finally!

Wait a minute! Did I just say she was 5? NO WAY!!!! Unfortunately, it's true. I just can't stop this precious little girl from growing up. She has definitely been a joy to watch as she grows. We have been through so much together over the past 5 years as a family. Amazing!

We got pregnant while we were still living in our apartment in Indiana...where our mattress was on the ground and the guy beneath us smoked like a chimney (even though he wasn't supposed to). The smoke smell would waft through his ceiling and up into our bedroom. You could actually see the smoke coming through the cracks in the hardwood floor...you'd think the building was on fire! Finally Chris had to ask him to stop because I was pregnant. By the time I was 6 months pregnant we were moving into our newly built house in Clunette, Indiana. We had some WONDERFUL neighbors out there!!! As the time approached that we should have our little princess...well, we waited. For two EXTRA, LONG weeks...then, once induced for 43 LONG HOURS!!! I didn't think she was ever going to come out...neither did daddy.

We lived in Indiana for 18 months more before taking the leap of faith and moving out to "nowhere land" in terms of family support...Dubuque, Iowa. We lived in town in a nice, comfy little house behind the Church of the Nazarene on University Avenue, waiting (and waiting and waiting) for almost a year for our house in Indiana to sell. Then we had to wait through having another house built out here. In the meantime, Libby had a sister (Grace) born while we were in that rental house...and actually still asks to move back to that house because of the swingset (which is now gone). Grace was born on the exact same day our house in Sherrill was...they were pouring the footers on the day Grace arrived!

We got moved out here, and Libby had the privilege of enduring mommy babysitting the next door neighbors' kids for 6 months. I tell you what, Soya and Libby are STILL like sisters. They have an absolute love/hate relationship with each other. :) Then, she got to go through another pregnancy and a little brother (John). Through all of this, she also got to try out MANY of Dubuque's churches and be my little Moppett while I helped out with the MOPS program. We have been through SO much more together, but I could go on forever if I covered it all. :)

For this year, I just pray that I can teach her little sponge of a brain (and heart) more and more about God, who He is, and what His Son did for us. We are embarking upon our homeschooling journey. She is ALWAYS a big help with her younger siblings. And, who knows what else God will throw at us this year. I know that He never gives us more than we can handle, so I say, "Let's hit the next year running together...with God in the lead!"

Zebra

Have I mentioned how much I am absolutely loving this homeschool thing? It took me a while to get into the curriculum, but now I am itching to buy the first grade curriculum! Can I consider it a birthday present since I'll buy it on my birthday? Ha! Anyway, this is Libby's cool zebra. We have learned that they have stripes so they can hide from their predators, mainly the lions. BUT...they can't hide from God, and neither can we. Our words to remember are, "I can't hide anything from God". This cool guy was made with popsicle sticks. Libby dipped the side of the stick in whatever color paint she wanted (she was actually a little disappointed that we couldn't find the black paint) and then put stripes on her zebra. Then, she gave him an eye...a big eye. :) I love it! We only have about 8 weeks left for this school year and then we will be done with this curriculum. I'm almost sad. I don't think it will be long into summer before Libby is begging to start her next curriculum though. She loves to "do school". Great! Because I love to teach her. :)

Our Little Acrobat

She is absolutely thrilled that she can do a headstand now...er, kind of. She was so proud of herself, though. To be honest, I'm surprised Grace hasn't tried. She does EVERYTHING her sister does!!!

Seriously!

Because Grace is still in the crib, John sleeps in a pack and play in our closet. Because there is no natural light in the closet, we control his "sunlight". Too make sure he knows when it is night, we only turn the lights off during the night. In the day time he sleeps with the lights on so that when he DOES move to the crib, he'll be able to sleep with the sun filtering in.

Well, on Sunday, he was ready for his morning nap before we went to church. Chris had his bear blanket (the bears are on the other side) hanging over the edge of the pack and play. Well, John evidently decided there was too much light because he grabbed hold of the blanket and pulled it over his head so he could sleep better. What a goofy little boy. :)

Yeah, and that sock that is missing from his right foot up there? We put it back on him before leaving for church. By the time we got to church? It was missing again. Couldn't find it. So, we go to take him in to church...with one sock. By the time we got him to the nursery? The OTHER sock was missing too! We can't find either of them! That must be one hungry boy!

And, last but not least, here is after waking up from his little cat nap. Isn't he so cute?

M&M Face

Love it! Look at the rainbow on this girl's face. Yummy M&M's...well, except the shiner on her forehead. That, was an ouchie! Anyway, back to those M&M's. I try not to give my kids too many sweet treats, but sometimes...how can I resist? Go give your kids a treat today! :)

Locks of Love

Here I am at 6:30 pm.

Here I am at 9:00 pm.

Love the "Locks of Love" program, but kind of miss my hair already. I was able to donate 12 inches though. Almost wish I would have had her take another 2 inches and make it really short.

P.S. The pretty necklace? It was made by ladies from Uganda. Part of the money paid for it goes to support those ladies, another part goes to support our dear friends, Chris and Carin's adoption. If you would like one let me know and I'll hook you up.

Grandpa and Grandma

Yeah, I'm running a little behind this post, but still thought these were cute pictures of the kids with grandpa and grandma. :)

Adorable!

Doesn't she look so cute? She also looks like she should be about 20 in this outfit. Yikes! She does look adorable though. Love it!

Comfortable?

Does this look even remotely comfortable to you? I think not! Crazy little boy!

Wordless Wednesday

Outdoor Fun

Hallelujah for warm weather!!!! Chris came home for lunch today and was working in the yard, so while he was in the yard, the girls played on their bikes (or wheeled objects) while he was out there. I had the pleasure of keeping them (Grace) on the road and out of any vehicles (only one came by) way. I also had the pleasure of taking pictures. :)

We had a blast outside together. I absolutely loved watching Grace scoot her little red tricycle around. This is the first time she's really been old enough to go outside and ENJOY the weather. It was so fun for her that she really didn't want to stop. It was also funny watching her because she scooted right along while she was going down hill. Up hill, though? She would go for awhile and then just get off and drag that baby up the hill. :) Hilarious!

It was also fun to watch Libby ride her bike. She would really lean into it going up the hill. She would pedal hard and she did very well. It was the coming down part that was great to watch with her though. She was a little bit nervous about building up that speed so she would ride for about two seconds, then push on the breaks...over and over and over until she made it to the drive way.

The forecast is calling for some more snow this weekend. I am hoping not, but if so, we have at least enjoyed this reprieve from the weather.