Visiting on Friday

We got to go with my mom around and visit family. Here we are with my great great Aunt Marcella. She is my dad's dad's aunt! Isn't that cool :) She is about as sweet as can be. She of course got out a plate of cookies for the girls. I think Hannah ate 15 of them :) Oh well. She also had five dollars set aside for each of the kids' piggy banks. I was so impressed, she had memorized all the kids' names. I think Joseph weighs as much as she does....but she insisted on holding him. What a lovely lady!

This is my wonderful Grandma! She is just too cute. She has a bazillion grandkids, but she enjoys them all like they are few and far between. We went over to my Aunt Tina's house to visit with Grandma and see their family. Notice the outfits, my brother picked out all three outfits and gave them to my kids for Christmas. Aren't they adorable? I was quite impressed!

What a cutie pie. He looks like he could be in a kid's clothes magazine. Thanks Chris and Dana :)

Happy Birthday Dakota!!!!! It is hard to believe but Dakota turned 11 on Friday. We went to his birthday party that night. He is such a sweet kid. My kids just adore him, and he does so well with them. He is always playing with them and teaching them good things. My kids are blessed to have such wonderful cousins to look up to.

Here I am with my brother and his bull python named Jake....get it Jake the Snake? Man, I hate the Broncos....never mind :) Aren't I brave? This snake can get 6 feet long. The girls didn't want much to do with it. Hannah actually agreed to touch it after I held it. I was so proud of her. She was much braver than her daddy. He actually threatened to run and scream like a girl if it came any closer to him :)

Thursday in WI

The kids are having a super time visiting with everyone. Here they are spending special time with Nanna and Bumpa playing cards.

Today Allen babysat all six kids (even though technically watching your own kids is not babysitting) while all us girls went out to lunch. We were treated by Aunt Annie. It was a great time, though it didn't last nearly long enough. Then after lunch we got to do a little shopping. We found some really good deals. Nothing beats 75% off sales :)

We have been trying to break Miss Em of her pacifier. About two months ago or so we had her throw hers all away. Well, there are times that she has paci envy and steals her brother's. I caught her in the act. This one is clipped to his shirt :)

The girls got to open one more of their Christmas presents from my mom and dad tonight. It was princess dresses. They looked so cute :)

Merry Christmas (WI edition)

Buddies! Hannah and Allison got matching jackets. It is so cute how my kids love Chris' kids. I am so grateful. They are having a super time!

Singing Happy Birthday to Jesus!

Paula opening the dishsoap she got from Hannah. Carrie is in the background.

Merry Christmas (WI edition)

All right! So we wake up Christmas morning and have a lovely breakfast that Papa was working on all morning. Then we had a nice breakfast with everyone ....well, except Michelle and her sleepy family. I will have to say that I am a little bit jealous. Never, never since we had kids did we ever get to sleep until after 10!!! Then we packed up and headed out for our 6+ hour trip. I was a little nervous because we were almost 2 hours behind schedule. But Allen made great time and nothing was open so we had to just eat gas station food in the car, so we arrived for our Christmas dinner in WI right on time.

We had Christmas up here with Nanny, Bumpa, Uncle Chris, Aunt Dana, Dakota, Allison, Gavin, Dakota, Aunt Annie, Carrie and Paula. It was very nice! The gifts just kept coming....whatever happened to "this is going to be a small Christmas" Nanny?

Here is a picture of Chris and Dana with their Negro drummer angels Hannah said they would just love :) Her gifts up here were: Nanny got a new paddle (not for a boat..for butts :P), Bumpa got a lovely white metal basket, Dakota got cupcake liners, Allison got a choker necklace, Aunt Annie got an angel for her tree....and I don't remember the other one. Carrie got a salt water fish bank and Paula got dishsoap :) The picture below is Gavin sporting his present. We laughed so hard!!!!

This is Aunt Annie and Chris' kids. They got her a ceramic cookie jar. It said Kitchen Diva and it was a pig posing like Ms Piggy. She has really gotten Martha Stewart like for the season....haven't you Aunt Annie? She has been baking and making all kinds of goodies. Pray for her. She was really worn out from the festivities. We love you Aunt Annie!

It was soooo cute. The kids acted out the Christmas story. They did such a good job! Even though it was crazy, it was good for all of us to stop and reflect on the whole purpose of this season. Praise God for His son.

Merry Christmas (IL edition)

Uncle Gary and Aunt Carlma with all the kiddos! Joseph was sooooo sick of taking pictures :)

The gift opening bananza. Wow, there were a lot of gifts to open. From left to right is Marvin, Papa with Emily, Jacob, Joe, Diana, and Kenny. Hannah gave her Uncle Alan furniture polish, MawMaw a scrub brush, Papa a mini pine tree, Uncle Gary a flour sifter, Aunt Carlma a bright orange wisk, and Auntie Chelle a pizza cutter. I guess she was into practical this year :)

My lovely friend Sandy. She was giving the girls and Sami a bath. Wow, they had a good time in MawMaw and Papa's huge two person whirlpool tub. It was bigger than our kiddie pool :)

MawMaw, Emily, Hannah holding Julianna, Papa and Joseph on Christmas Eve right after church.

The Jam session. Uncle Gary used to play for a group and so did Marvin in the background playing the drums. Hannah was studying Kenny's fingering. Too cute!

Merry Christmas (IL edition)

You want me to what???

"I love my baby Julianna"

Alan, Michelle and Julianna Moore and Alan's aunt Kathy

Ha ha ha! MawMaw gave a perm and 2-3 haircuts on Saturday. I teased Aunt Carlma about putting this on the blog :)

I seriously want to kiss those adorable cheeks!

Merry Christmas (IL edition)

Here are my cuties on Christmas Eve. We had Christmas in IL for the first part. We spent the with lots of relatives. Michelle, Alan and Julianna came and brought Alan's Aunt Kathy from OK. Uncle Gary, Aunt Carlma and Marvin came from MO, and Kenny, Diana, Joe, and Jacob came from KY. We were able to catch up and relax. Of course there was lots of eating and cleaning up. In fact, it seemed that kitchen was constantly in use either preparing or cleaning up goodies. Sunday morning we all went to church with MawMaw and Papa. The kids did pretty well for the church not having a nursery and lasting two hours. I guess they have Sunday School first in the auditorium and then go right into the service. I think MawMaw and Papa really enjoyed showing off their family, especially the 4 grandkids (didn't you guys :P).

Here is Hannah and her cousin Julianna. That girl is still such a peanut. She is now up to 8 pounds, 1 ounce. She is now 3 months old. That is what Emily was born!!!!!!! I think she will be a really petite one like Hannah and her other girl cousins Heidi and Elizabeth. The girls just loved mushing on Julianna. Thankfully, Julianna didn't seem to mind much...well, except when Emily was waking her in her swing. Oh well. I think she actually liked Hannah holding her. Thank goodness because that that is the first thing Hannah asks to do :)

Here are all four kids. The girls were all in matching dresses. They were just too cute. Then you can't miss my little man in his bowtie!!!! What an adorable crew.

This is Hannah jamming on her new guitar with her cousins Kenny and Marvin and Uncle Gary. It was too cute. Kenny was playing the electric guitar and Hannah was just studying his hands.

Here is Papa and Joseph in their Santa hats. Ha, Joseph looks so enthused. Actually he had stopped what he was doing and was posing for his picture crazy mom :) Allen's family can't get over how much Joseph looks and acts like his daddy!

Our Little Family's Christmas

Hannah gets to go shopping at the Dollar Store for her very own gifts. Then she will pick out the bag and bows for each person. She gets such a big kick out of it, and I find it so fun. Here is what she bought for Allen. I laughed so hard. It is lavendar air freshener. While we were in the store she said, "My dad...he needs this." Too funny!

Emily with her cheeto face opening her first gift.

These pictures are in reverse order. Oh well. Our big gift to Hannah this year is a guitar. She was so funny. As soon as she saw the box, she said, "I fink that is a 'tar or a violin." She kills me. She loves music, so this will be her first shot at it :)

She played her 'tar the whole night. I also love this picture because you can see her curls.

Our Little Family's Christmas

Here he is! My favorite little man on his first Christmas. We decided to start our gift opening tonight. First we took a walk down our lighted street to downtown. It was so pretty. We were hoping Santa would be in the corner store front like other weekends. They usually have sleigh rides too. This town is so cute. We had to settle for the enormous statue of Santa that was actually bordering on frightening. Also on the lawn was a beautiful manger and baby with a Bible verse.
This picture almost made me cry. I was showing the girls the baby Jesus. Hannah went up to him and began sooshing the baby saying, "Shhssshhh baby Jesus." It was so sweet!

Praise God for His gift of His son. I know now how much of a sacrifice that must be now that I am a parent!

Making Memories!

Today was busy, but we really had a nice day. My kids and I finally delivered the Christmas bags and cards we had made up for our neighbors. It was fun seeing their faces. Though we have lived here for 2.5 years, we don't know our neighbors well. I think this will be a good ice breaker. It was so sweet. The neighbor we know the best actually had gifts for all of us. She gave the kids a little stuffed animal and pop up books. It is nice because the books were all Christian....Daniel, Noah and things. Then she gave Allen and me a devotional book. What a blessing!

Then we went to the post office to mail last minute things, stopped at the Christian bookstore in tiny downtown, almost got run over when Hannah fell off her bike in the middle of Main Street. Then we got in the car and went to the library. Allen and I like to listen to books on tape while we drive to WI. It really helps pass the time. Then of course we stopped to pick up lunch at McDonalds. No day trip of any sort is complete without this ritual :)

Allen actually came home on time tonight....well, that is because he got to work at 5:30 am. Poor guy. It was so super to have more time with him. Then I got Chinese for dinner (yeah yeah eating out a lot being so busy :P). Then we got to watch Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer on tv while snuggling and eating popcorn. It was so awesome to get to experience this with my girls for their very first time. It was a special time! Then they went straight to bed with no complaining. I am so blessed!

The Christ Child

I was reading in my Beth Moore devotional the other night and it was talking about the Christmas story. Now the author said can you even imagine being 9 months pregnant and riding a donkey for any length of time. I have no idea how long it took to get from Galilee to Bethlehem. Can you imagine that jostling on the old bladder much less how uncomfortable that seat (or lack of one) would be. Then the author was saying that Joseph was going back to his hometown. It was filled with family. How could there not be a place for them to stay? Not one of his relatives or acquantances could give up there spot for the pregnant chick? I can't even imagine even in today's day and age.....but I have to assume that hospitality was much more important back then. In fact, most towns felt it was their responsibility to bring in travelers, feed them and even give them a place to stay. He was saying that Christ was born into a situation that was humble and uncomfortable. We have never had it worse than Christ. What a comfort! He knows all our heartache. He cares and takes care of us. What a wonderful story. Praise God for sending His son to be the Savior of the world!!!!

TO NANNA

MOMMY JUST PUT BROTHER TO BED. NOW WE CAN TALK TO YOU. I DIDN'T PEE PEE MY BED. I LOVE YOU, NANNY!

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HANNAH

TO BUMPA

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BUMPA, WE ARE WATCHING POLAR EXPRESS. I GOT IT FOR ST NICK. I WILL SEE YOU IN A COUPLE DAYS. I LOVE YOU!



HANNAH

New Year's Resolution/Goal???

Do you guys do this? I haven't really given this a whole lot of thought, but I have some things I know I need to be doing.

My New Year's Goals for 2007:
1. Read my Bible every day
2. Keep a praise journal
3. Exercise 2 times a week (a start is what I need)
4. Drink 5 glasses of water a day (40 oz)...I know that is not even close to what you are doing
Christina!
5. Work with my kids on verses and schoolwork 3 times a week

What are some of yours???

Battling the Bulge Part 12,558

It just seems like I have been doing this forever! I am a bit discouraged....not really in my results as I know I have not been doing my best...but that I am no longer inspired to do my best. Pray for me. This is a tough time of year for me as I am definitely a see-it, need-it eater.

I do have good news though. I am down that 1 pound I gained last week. I am grateful as I have eaten way too many chocolate covered pretzels that I have been making. Allen is down two more pounds too. So, that puts me at a total of 35 pounds lost and 65 pounds lost for Allen.

Roxane, Karen and Michelle...feel free to post your weigh in results :)

Thank you to all of you who have traveled this annoying road with me. I am so still learning and growing and hopefully will be shrinking. My goal for the rest of 2006 is to maintain my weight loss. Then at the start of the New Year I will start up again.

My Little Chef

Today while the two little ones were sleeping I started a video for Hannah so that I could take a shower. I kept the door open to hear any strange happenings. As soon as I stepped out of the shower I heard it.....you know IT....something wasn't right though the sound wasn't at all extraordinary...that is until I put it all together.I heard slam....then beep, beep, beep! That's when I realized that was the microwave!!!! I ran in the kitchen to find what you see in the picture. Hannah immediately held up her hand (like nothing to worry about, I have it all under control) and said, "Mom, I'm just making some rice!" She had gone in the fridge, taken out the rice, put it in the microwave and set the time for 5:08...thankfully she couldn't figure out the start button in time :) Yikes! She is so very smart.

Then this afternoon after we returned from errands I told the girls they could ride their bikes in the garage as I carried in the bags. I came out of the house to hear Hannah scream. I ran into the garage only to see her finger caught in the sliding van door! AAARRRGGHHH. Thankfully I don't think it is broken or even bruised much ....so far at least. She said she didn't like the door open, so she had to close it. Ahhh, what a mini me :) Like I always say....never a dull moment here!

How Blessed am I????

I have to warn all of you....I am going to be bragging. I am truly married to the MOST amazing man and father in this whole entire world. Let me just tell all of you where I am right now....I am sitting in Panera Bread drinking a nonfat sugar free half caff vanilla latte and munching on a lemon poppy seed muffin. My husband dropped me off with my computer and told me to enjoy the time alone. He was going to take all three kids shopping! No, really I am not kidding. He has to get my birthday present and something small for Christmas. We were getting a little stir crazy today so he thought we better go while we had the chance. He is such a good dad! Every day I am more and more amazed at the delightful, intelligent, sweet, compassionate and godly man I get to spend my life and share my family with (did I mention studly and sexy :P...sorry mom is that was too much info :P)!!!!! I love you, Allen. I am so grateful for you, and I really hope the kids are angels so you will offer to do this again sometime :)

Singing the Blues

Emily was playing dress up and wanted to wear Hannah's ballerina dress. I thought she looked so very precious, so of course I had to get a picture. :)

Here is a picture of Emily's mouth. Though it is healing well, you can see the front teeth are spread farther and on an angle from the injury. If you look closely you can see how the point of her gums between her teeth was pushed behind her front teeth. Poor baby!

Here is a better picture of my two angels. I have the sweetest girls in all the world. Even when they are naughty they have such sweet hearts. In fact, yesterday Hannah got in trouble for using a red marker pen that I told her 15 times not to use. She then of course got it on her new shirt >( In the car hours later she apologized again for being naughty. It was so precious.
Pray for all of us. We are all sick with a head cold/sinus infection. The kids' are now draining so they have runny noses and coughs too. We are feeling pretty miserable. Pray that we get rid of all this and can have a illness free Christmas!

Amazing Little Lady

I wanted to take this opportunity to brag on my little Miss Hannah. She is now 3 years old (39 months old to be exact). Allen and I have been working with her on letters and phonics. This week we have had her sound out CAT, HAT and Hannah. She did it by herself today on the phone with my mom. So, she read cat already! She is such a smart, sweet little girl. Hannah, I am so proud of you not only because of how smart you are and how hard you work, but for how much you love your family and watch out and pray for all of us. Beauty on the inside is the most important. I love you very much!

Happy Birthday, Joseph!

This week my little man turned 7 months old. I just can't believe how fast 2006 has gone. It has been a super year with many challenges, hospital stays, a beautiful baby, Allen's new job, and a very happy family. I am so grateful for all the Lord has done. This year has also brought us halfway through our weight loss saga/journey/tormenting. I am proud of how far we have gotten, but I am weary from the journey. I sure could use prayer in this regard! We have a LONG way to go. I need healing from this stronghold in my life. This is so not to time of year to be struggling with this either.

"I love presents. They taste great!"

My 7 month old Joseph Harrison Kish. He is just such a doll. Even sick he has been such a little sweetheart!

Sisters! I love how close these two are. I hope they always stay like this.

"Who me???"