Update

We have been enjoying our holidays so far!! It was great seeing family and spending time with cousins and grandparents. We even got to see some snow. Today I'm off for my glucose test and a checkup for baby. She has been quite active lately which has been fun!! The kids love feeling her squirm around in there :) Hope everyone has a very blessed new year!

Christmas book ideas!

Our kids opened some Christmas presents early and what a treat they have been!! We absolutely love these 3 books in particular and have read them several times already!

By Jeannie Bishop: is about a young princess who is safely guarding her 'first kiss'. She has been given this precious gift to do with as she wishes....either give it away or save it for the man who is worthy of it. This book teaches the value of purity for young girls and was such a wonderful read!!

By Karen Kingsbury: this is a book about a young knight who learns the true meaning of being a great leader. While all the other knights give in to cheating, stealing and lying, this one brave young knight stands for truth and is rewarded.

Another book by Jeannie Bishop: is about a young squire who sets out on a journey to recover the stolen Lantern of Purest Light from the evil dragon. There are many traps along the way, but this squire remembers to keep himself pure in thought, sight, and action, overcoming all the obstacles set before him.

And don't forget this book that we absolutely LOVE!!! (I've mentioned it several times before on my blog)

By Susan Hunt: You will see Psalm 23 in a whole new light. Taken from the view point of the sheep(child of God), Sammy walks you through the 23rd Psalm, describing what it is like to be cared for by a gracious, loving, and protective shepherd (Almight God). One of the BEST children's books I have ever read!

Elf

The kids saw their cousins in action and pleaded that they get theirs done!! So here they are....thanks Jess :)

Homeschooling

I have started reading Teaching the Trivium by the Bluedorn's. I have heard alot about their book and finally got myself a copy! Now everyone knows I love homeschooling but it is not something I push onto people....that is for the Lord's leading in their lives. When I come across some good info though, I do like to share it! Here are just 2 passages so far that have really stuck out in the first 2 chapters.

No true education can take place without reference to God. Education is for a purpose. If the purpose does not have God in view, then it is godless education, and it will eventually produce godless results. The objective of education is not service to self, the community, business, church, or state, but service to God. Education which does not serve God is an empty education, and that emptiness will be filled by other gods to serve.....

Children are placed under the authority, and protection, and tutelage, not of the government, nor of the church, but of the parents. Parents are accountable to God for how their children are raised. Barring unusual and unavoidable circumstances, we- the parents- will answer to God for who raises our child, and for how they are raised. God is not going to place the primary blame for any failures upon the government, or upon the church, but upon us, the parents.

We have been given such a privilege to be able to teach our children at home. To hand over our children to the school system is really denying ourselves and our children a blessing that God has given to us!

Christmas Party

Tonight was our first staff Christmas party for Answers in Genesis. There was anywhere from 400-500 people in attendance :) It was nice being able to meet many of the people hubby works with outside his computer department (we know most everyone in his group). It was so funny watching our 4 yr old say "There's Ken Ham!!!" or "Where did Ken Ham go?" They have only ever seen him on videos or in the books we have.....so I know they enjoyed getting to meet him tonight and shake his hand. We also were able to go on a ferry ride across the river there and back again. We even were able to sit next to some volunteers that just happen to be our good friends from church back in South Carolina! They have come to volunteer for the week, so it was great being able to see them again. The supper was very good and the kids were zonked by the time we got home! A very enjoyable evening......

Christmas photo

I don't know why I attempt this alone! I should learn from year's past to wait for hubby to get home to help me take our Christmas photo of the kids!! But anyway, last week I lined them up and between our 2 yr old wanting to do some rather elaborate posing, our 6 year old squinting, our 4 year old not liking to smile for pictures....well, I think we will have to try again when daddy is around to help :) Here is one good shot I got though.

Birthday celebration

Here are some birthday pics from last night. All my cake supplies are still packed away, but I managed to find this pooh bear mold handy.....and since our girl likes 'pooh bear' it worked out perfectly :) She enjoyed her cards from everyone and was very, very excited about her baby carriage!!

Birthday girl

We now have a 2 year old! Where has my baby gone??? She is such a big girl now and has developed quite the sense of humor. Her vocabulary took off after our move several months ago. She loves to do everything her big brothers and sister do! ..... and she is definitely the most mischevious one of the bunch so far :) She is mommy's girl for sure (which I love) and we still have yet to figure out if she is a lefty or a righty! She constantly switches hands for eating, drawing, coloring etc. Here is a pic of our big girl! Birthday pics to come later...

Quick update

Not much new going on around here. We did get the Christmas tree up. Our little miss has already been into the tree and broke one non-glass ornament. Our 4 yr old is not happy that his zebra now only has one leg!!
The kids were also able to feel baby sister move last night for the first time. I love how their eyes got so big when a kick was felt.
I've also been enjoying cooking and baking. I have made homemade chicken noodle soup twice now and it was delicious!!! I think we'll be making more banana bread today :)
I've done a little Christmas shopping online....I love that I don't need to be at the malls, just wait for the package to arrive at the door!
Here's a pic of the kids after they finished decorating the tree.....

Best ever Banana Bread

Tis the time for baking for alot of us. Here is a recipe for banana bread I found on All Recipes. I tweaked it according to one of the reviews from a lady who has been baking for over 40 years. It was fantastic and our family gobbled it up....very delicious and moist!!
(this makes 2 loaves)
Ingredients
1 cup butter
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3.5 cups all-purpose flour
1.5 tsp baking soda
1.5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup sour cream
2 cups mashed bananas
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 2 9x5 loaf pans.
In a large bowl, cream butter and add white sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla, mix well. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix into the butter mixture until smooth. Fold in sour cream and bananas. Pour evenly into loaf pans. Bake for 60 minutes. Cool in pans for 10 mins before removing to wire rack. Cool completely before cutting!

You will love it!!!!

Seeing pink!

We're going to be seeing alot more pink around here come the new year!! Today's ultrasound appointment went very well and it looks as though the girls are going to outnumber the boys in several more months :)
We have one very, very happy 8 year old sister!

Vision Forum

Don't forget to enter Vision Forum's giveaway's where you can buy Christian books, toys, family resources and more!!! You can enter at Raising Olives, Life in a Shoe, Smokity Frocks, and Generation Cedar.

Some pics

Here are just a few pics from our weekend down south. I should have gotten my camera out alot more but kept forgetting about it :) We visited one set of great grandparents on Thursday and the other great grandparents on Saturday. Here are some pics from Saturday......

Wait for me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!





feeding the ducks........

this is what happens when you get TOO close to feeding the ducks....mud!!


father-daughter moment


kids with great grandparents

this one is for Nana and Grandpa....she finally likes it!!

Back home

We are back home, safe and sound after a nice Thanksgiving weekend down south with family! Was great to see our church family again too. Rained the whole way home pretty much.....miserable for driving, but all is well and looking forward to getting into my warm bed :) Goodnight!!

Supper

Since we have posted some messy faces yesterday....can you guess what we had for supper last night!!!!

First sandwich

She sees the kids eating sandwiches for lunch most days and she pointed to the bread....so we tried our first jelly sandwich! What a mess, but so cute!!

Vision Forum

Hop on over to A Wise Woman Builds Her Home and enter the giveaways for a $100, $200, or $300 gift certificate to Vision Forum. Vision Forum has Chrisitian Books, Toys, lots of Biblical resources for the family....just in time for Christmas shopping :) Thanks Vision Forum!!

Cousins

We had some of the cousins visit for the weekend. We had a fun Saturday at the Creation Museum and went to check out Jungle Jim's (ok...so I need to insert a correction here. It wasn't Bull milk cheese, it was Buffalo milk cheese *grin*).

The kids all sat down on the couch wanting a picture and they did great!!! Here's their cute faces....

Our little guy didn't get to go on the camel last visit to the museum, so this time he had a chance to ride with big brother and sister. He was beaming!!

Biblical unicorn

An interesting video explaining unicorns in the Bible :)

Trumpets?

You know that Revelation is spoken of often in your home when your daughter stops the vaccuum and seriously asks "was that the sound of trumpets I just heard?"

Josties

I was reading through some friends 'facebook' and came across one friend who 'liked' this group. The kids have really enjoyed listening to their first music video. There are 11 kids in the family (not all pictured in the video)....hope you enjoy!

the video is cut off a little on the right hand side :)

Sweet moment

Last night Daddy says we are doing something a little different during prayer time for devotions. Tonight we are going to praise God for one thing as our prayer. Daddy starts by praising God for who He is. Mommy praises God for the movements of baby that I'm feeling at that moment, and the new addition He is blessing us with. Sister, I believe, praises God for the house showings we've recently had, hoping for a buyer soon. Then we get to our 6 year old. I open one eye and watch as his demeanor has changed from his normal rambunctious boyish style, to a serious and quiet disposition. He rubs his eyes like he does when he's trying to hold back tears. I'm curious. He starts very quietly by thanking Jesus for dying on the cross. I smile! He clears his throat....he's getting chocked up. He says how painful it must have been for Jesus. My eyes start filling up with tears! He thanks Jesus again for dying on the cross. Ok....tears are now rolling down my cheeks!!
As a parent, you wonder if your children are understanding the things you teach them from the Bible. Are they truly getting it?? Are they growing spiritually? Is God working in their life at such a young age? Then you witness these moments. There is growth happening even at 6 years of age.
I give him a big hug before bed. Thank you for your praise I tell him....he smiles.

Updates

Our girl is feeling better. She had little pain meds yesterday and none so far today. I think the antibiotics are kicking in!! I like it so much better when she has a smile on her face :)

Today I had a prenatal appointment. Strong heartbeat. Should I tell you how I'm leaning??? I'm thinking boy but we will find out for sure on Nov. 30 at the ultrasound :) I told the doctor about my dizzy spells and how it started after I pulled a muscle in my neck. He wasn't thrilled to hear that....said it is probably a bulged disk pressing against a nerve and nothing to do with pregnancy....bummer. He has recommended a few chiropractors in the area to begin with to see if that will correct it.

Other than that....the day is cool and mommy is tired as usual :) Looking forward to my afternoon nap!!

Double whammy

We've got a wee little girl with a double ear infection :( It has not been a fun day! She came down with a croupy cough several weeks ago and has rubbing her ear alot but today....oh dear....she was in pain. Hopefully the antibiotics will kick in soon for her. For now it is Tylenol and IBuprofen getting us through!

Peekaboo

It was so cute watching our littlest play peekaboo from behind a tree. I grabbed a few shots and also took one of me :) I haven't taken any belly shots yet this pregnancy....and this one is blurry. Oh well. 17 weeks tomorrow!

Everybody smile!

Thought I would at least update the header on my blog with a new and updated pic of the kids. It is quite difficult getting 4 children to look in the same direction and smile at the same time!! Yay for digital cameras (that will let you just keep clicking away in hopes of getting at least ONE good one!)
Here are some of the pics from yesterday.

New header

Hard getting ALL of them to look AND smile at the same time! Best pic of the day made the new header :)

Special gift

When our friends from Canada came to visit, they brought our youngest kids a special gift. This is a hand made rocking horse that his dad made for their two children. Since their kids are now too big for it, they kindly thought of us and passed on the joy!! Our youngest one has a ball on it!

Saturday fun

We love our Saturdays because Daddy stays home and we can spend some much needed time with him!! So today, Daddy had a surprise in store for us. We were heading to Cincinnati to visit a ...... GROCERY STORE. Ohhh, but this is no regular grocery store!! This is Jungle Jim's!

We didn't know what to expect but when we got there, we loved it!! The place is HUGE. It has aisles for every culture you can think of. We went through the Asian cuisine, German, Indian, Hispanic, Italian, Middle Eastern, Greece, Sweden, England....and I know I have forgotten some. England was done with the theme of Sherwood Forest (Robin Hood and all), Seafood was done with the Gilligan's Island, Asian had the dragon streamers etc..... What fun! When we first walked in, you come to the Olive Pit where they sold every type of olive you can think of. Then the cheese aisles......oh my!!! I didn't know there were soooooo many different types of cheese all over the world (all listed under their country). They even had goat milk, sheep milk and bull milk cheese :) The kids loved the live fish biopond with all sorts of fish and lobster for sale. The hot sauce aisle had a big fire truck, the frozen aisle was done in penguins, and oh the candy section....so much candy!!!....There was a big mechanical soup can that talked, the cereal aisle had the Lucky charms guy, the rabbit and some other character all in a band singing....I could go on. It was such a fun place to go. Here are some pics of the entrance into the store.... (no pictures allowed inside the building)

Brrrr.....

What a difference a day or so can make! Baby, it's cold outside :)
Today required hats and winter coats for our outside adventures. ....and of course I have pictures....