*Gasp!*

Have you seen the moon tonight? It is absolutely breathtaking. Oh my goodness friends it is beyond beautiful and if I had a camera that could do it justice I'd photograph it.

For now, let your eyes feast on this beauty God has created!~

Just a lot of chatter...

There is not a whole lot to say at the moment. I keep waiting to be inspired. Actually what inspires me to share here are the pictures I take. And there has been plenty of that going on but I'd rather just write a post without posting pictures.

We're on Christmas break now and here are a few things going on at our house...

Jim is home with us for the whole break! I'm so glad to have him with me while all the kids are home from school.

We've decorated Christmas cookies.

We've shoveled driveways and gone out sledding.

We've gotten haircuts.

We've played with shaving cream.

We've watched UP a LOT of times.

We let the kids watch Prep and Landing online.

We've palyed games and listened to music.

We've built forts and played nerf wars.

We've had hot chocolate and pizza dinners.

We've also heard a lot of whining and shouting and even a few doors slam.

We've heard apologies and the phrase "I forgive you"

We've heard crying....and the laughter that follows it. Eventually.

It's New Year's Eve and for the first time in a long time...years actually we have plans! We'll be joining a few friends and the kids will run around crazy together as we laugh and chat and talk about who knows what. It'll be fun. We had planned to go sledding with this crowd but as it is forcasted to be -10 degreees tonight, that may just have to wait for another time.

HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL...

A little decorating...

This is a naration of some of my favorite photos taken this morning during our Christmas cookie decorating hour.

The very beginning...very clean, very calm, very organized. But not for long. Two other kids quickly followed.









I think these candy cane ones are so pretty. Especially on the new blue table that my sister got me for Christmas! Thanks Maria.

I love the contorted fingers. If you look closely you can tell they've been licked a few times. I love that. And I love that you can see all the things that I took close ups of as they were on this table.

As we say in our house, she's a little bit snotty. I don't mind snotty photos, but the green frosting drip? It's what I was going for when I took the picture but didn't realize how much it'd make me cringe when I saw it afterwards. I just want to take a sponge and wipe that frosting right off! Which I eventually did but not until I got a few photos.

Waiting for their turn...

And there you have it. Our hour of decorating this morning. We've got cookies coming out our ears and I don't think the kids would have it any other way.

I went to a yard sale this morning...

and spent $52.

I know.

But look what I got!

Apparantly, when I'm tearing up the house in order to put it back together (and especially when it's gotten really out of control and looks like a tornado hit it, like this morning) Ella Jane is inspired to gather up her things whatever she can find and have a yard sale.

She had some really good prices too. I mean who couldn't pass up these nice kleenex boxes blocks for $75 a piece? I think she gave me a discount on account of me being her mom and all, because like I said earlier, I only spent $52.

What do we do in the snow?...

Last week we had two snow days.

Today we have a delay.

It is safe to say, winter is officially here.

So what do we do with all this free time? Play outside of course.

When our youngest snow reveler has mittens and a hat on, I declare them ready to romp.

Sara has wisely decided she'd rather not go out in the snow after venturing out barefoot on our front porch yesterday. It looked like she was doing some sort of dance the way she was trying to get her feet out of the snow that blows up onto our front porch. She came inside telling me how cold it was. Smart girl. So we watch through the window and oooh and ahhh at all of the antics from the big kids.

And our newest one? Colored water in a spray bottle. Thanks to my friend April our kids (especially Matthew) have been having lots of extended playtime in the fresh fallen snow. Take a look.

Yesterday, we had time before church to make this big guy. Matthew even said, "you're doing a good job mom." He's so sweet. I formed each piece and he evened them out. I forgot how much fun it is to create something in the snow! Last week, before we headed off to school Matthew and I snuck a few sled rides in and I tell you what. That's just good for the soul. No wonder he loves it so much.

But while the big kids are outside for usually an hour or more, Sara and I are inside doing fun stuff like this.



It's so fun to watch her settle in and decide how she is going to play with all these beans. Matthew measures how many scoops = a certain container, Ella Jane looks for pennies, and Sara has decided she likes to scoop and dump.



And then after the snow, we get warmed up with our newest treat; a lavender foot bath or a nice cup of hot cocoa. We've downed a lot and I mean a lot of hot chocolate these past few weeks. We add a few marshmallows and a candy cane and I tell you what else, that's just good for the soul too.

Welcome to winter peeps.

When girls get together...

"Somethin's goin on out there"...

The above quote is one Jim heard during our first stint here in the midwest. He was referring to a gentleman who was referring to the weather at the time. And here we are, nine years later still quoting that stranger!

If the weather predictions are correct we should be bracing ourselves for a pretty big storm set to hit in a day or two. Storms like this used to make me nervous, "what if we run out of food?, what if I can't get out of the house?, what if we run out of food?" And then, I have to take a breath and realize that it won't be a storm forever. It will pass. The snow won't be melting until March but the plow and salt man will clear the way until the next big storm hits.

And so, here we are on that eve. Refrigerator is stocked, salt bag is full and ready by the door, and cell phone set to the school for notifications of delays and cancellations.

In fact I know it's officially winter here when it's the plow and/or a snow blower waking me up instead of one of my children. That's when I take a quick peek out the window, see what kind of damage has been done and promptly jump back into bed all excited that we might get to stay home that day and just play, and not have to worry about getting snow gear on and getting to school.

Snow gear is so much more fun when we don't have to wear it. Like on the way up to school I bundle up even the girls so they can stay warm and Sara although a little bulky is fine b/c she has the cush of the stroller and this morning blessed me by taking a little cat nap.

It's Ella Jane that is a little draining. She is expected to walk unless I have Sara in the wrap and she certainly lets me know she is not happy about that arrangement. So up and back we go with more than a bit of whining... but I've come to quickly realize it's nothing a little hot chocolate and candy cane can't fix when we walk through the door.

Gingerbread House Compound

Complete with bed, pillow, gingerbread man, wiring for a telephone, gutter and stack of wood.

as well as a few nibblers and hard workers...

"Mama?...

Some of your teeth look golden."

Said my sweet 6 year old.

Thank you dear.

Go Spartans!

We trekked up to St. Paul yesterday to cheer on our very own UD girls in the NCAA DIV.III soccer finals. Six hours up. Six hours back. Oy. But we came prepared.

DVD player-check!

Arts and Crafts-check!

Picture books-check!

Snacks-check!

Patience???-check!

The girls didn't get the win they were hoping for but it was fun to make the effort and show our support!

Jacks and bits...

A little late, but here is the cutie little picture of the kids' jack-o-lanterns. New this year, Matthew and Ella Jane have both taken pleasure in dropping them over the deck and watching them go SPLAT! Perhaps we have a new tradition to uphold.

(Matthew on the left, Ella Jane on the right)

Haven't written in awhile because I feel like I'm back in the trenches of motherhood. When the big kids were still little kids I was in the trenches and wondering when in the heck I would ever see light. Then I left for a year, maybe even two.

Now I'm back!

The big kids argue. A lot. And Sara is in between that stage of wanting to do it herself yet still wanting to hold onto mama. So, if you call between the hours of 4:00-6:00pm, chances are you'll hear her crying in the background as I try and get dinner on the table and keep the other two from killing each other!

But, there are fun moments in between all this madness. Like this one below. Sara is more than thrilled that she is becoming a big kid too and has the privilege of walking the culdesac with her sister. So cute.


And then there is Ella Jane and her dress up. She's never taken ballet but she likes to dress up and pretend and the tights and the boots were just too much. Had to snap a memory of that.

Matthew is a voracious reader these days and at times can be seen walking around the house with book in hand from time to time. I'm amazed at his ability to retain what he's read even though he reads it so quickly.

(He's in the middle of pushing the chair to the counter so that he can climb up and make his lunch for school...eyes glued)

Nearly three weeks ago now, I set off a geyser in our master bathroom. And I mean geyser like water shooting up to the ceiling and wreaking all sorts of havoc.

The good news is we no longer have a leaky faucet.

The bad news is we no longer have a faucet due to the fact that since so much damage was done, we figured now was the time to gut and remodel. So, it's bare bones in there until we can come up with a new design and find the time to learn how to redo a bathroom. Mmm... this could take awhile.

Well, I'm out of things to say.

Goodnight!

Pumpkin time...

but first, I'm glad to be hauling around my youngest like this again! When I see her legs in this picture I'm amazed at how big girl she looks. She is a year and a half after all. The last time she used this wrap though was about 6 months ago and she was just smaller then.

She's my outdoor girl, always finding her way to the stroller in the garage telling me she wants to go for a walk, so when she sees me get out the wrap she drops what she is doing and comes running. It's so funny. And when she was a baby and I'd get out the Bjorn, she'd pump her arms and legs up and down in excitement. So funny. (And she really isn't naked underneath; Wouldn't that be uncomfortable!)






Anyway...

So, here we are carving pumpkins on our day off from school this week. It was a definite highlight for the kids. And me too really. I'm glad to finally be able to create memories that they will remember from year to year!

This is Matthew's face that we carved. You can't see it in this picture but at one point I found Matthew jabbing his pumpkin with a carving spoon. I had no idea what he was doing, I was just glad to see that it was a spoon and not a knife. He matter a factly informed me that his pumpkin was wearing a belt. And could I do the rest of it? Because his hand was tired. So I completed the belt which looks like the little half dome of an upside down spoon!

...and this is Ella Jane's. I absolutely adore the way she makes people. It's very cute and this little drawing just screams her name. Notice the hair on the sides.

the good stuff...according to Jim who likes to toast the seeds.

And sorry to leave you hanging with no picture of the final product! Perhaps tomorrow night before we trick or treat I'll get out there and take pictures of our new Jack-O-Lanterns.