I went to my Dr. appointment yesterday. I just love hearing his little heartbeat. The Dr. wants me to schedule my c-section about 3 weeks early, if baby is ready. I was instantly excited and freaking out at the same time. That means that I will be delivering in mid September. For some reason that sounds way sooner then the beginning of October. Which is only 11 weeks away!! I started working today, even more, on preparing for his arrival. Of course that also means that we need to come up with a name sooner too
Bailey is concerned that Carter is going to freak out when I go to the hospital and don't come back for 2 days. The boy is seriously attached to me. I think last Summer's baby boot camp intensified it too. I am fine with it He likes to be wherever I am. So when I am at my desk he plays with trains or legos in the boys room. I love to hear him talk to himself as he plays and tell me all about what he is building. Another thing he does, is when I call him in my you are in trouble mister voice. He smiles so cutely and tells me he loves me as he rubs my cheek or arm. It is so hard to stay stern, but I try my best
Here he is playing with the trains. Also if anyone wants a toy boys from 2 and up LOVE and have never broken Geo Trax is it! He is hugging the tracks and telling me he wuvs trains.
Jun. 28, 2009 - Friends, Friends, and More Friends
Our family was once again blessed with great company. We had 2 families over that totaled 22 people (including ours). I have been blogging with both Laura and Angel for a while and we got to get together again. It was such a nice day!! There were 16 kids, that played, swam, and ate together too. The parents had a chance to talk about things from what the Lord is doing in our lives, to school, to just life. It is amazing how the Lord gives us a kindred Spirit that just makes friends so nice to have around. We are already looking forward to getting together again.
I didn't get a chance to take too many pictures, but here are a couple.
Thanks again for coming over friends, you are welcome anytime.
:>Michelle
Well the Summer is finally here. We are having hot hot days and I am not complaining. Well not that I am not sitting in the air conditioning, but the sun does my heart merry.
We began getting our pool cleaned and set to go a few weeks ago. We have had a bit of trouble, but I think it is getting better. All the kids love swimming. I remember going to the public pool as a kid. One Summer I think we went nearly everyday.
My garden is growing nicely. I am sooooo looking forward to being able to enjoy the fruits err I mean vegetables of my labor. Last years garden was attacked by aphids and I am praying they don't come back. However, I did read that banana peels keep them away. I have been saving them and freezing them. They didn't come last year until about July. I will be putting them peels out very soon. I hope it's ok that they are frozen and it works.
My pregnancy is moving along I am almost 25 weeks now. I just love feeling him move around. I am so anxious to see what he looks like. I get more excited to see the babies features and kiss it's little head then finding out what the gender is. We are all wondering if it will look like Collin. He is my only blondish kid. Collin also has light colored eyes. But I do have to say Jeff's genes have very little power over mine. HaHa We are still not sure of a name and may not have one until he is born. Carter was a day and a half old before he was named. Now if I was having a girl a name would be much easier. It is so hard to choose a name for a boy. It has to be a good kid and man name. Well he can't go nameless for too much longer, so I am sure we will come up with something.
I am off to do more housework. We have lots of guests coming over this weekend. So excited
:>Michelle
After 4 yrs of Homeschooling, although I have been HSing since Bailey was born, we went to a HS convention. We weren't sure what to expect and Jeff wasn't crazy about the idea. But it turned out that we both loved it!! We each went to different workshops and were able to share with each other what we had learned. They also had times where everyone gathered to hear a speaker.
I went to only 2 different speakers. The workshops that interested me most, were hosted by Jeannie Fulbright.
She not only gave great school info, but also all areas of life. She talked about what it means to be a wife who builds up her house, the power of prayer, that our goal isn't for academics at the cost of godly character, and real life stories that make you realize we all have our days. I was really encouraged.
I am excited that we will be doing her, "Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day" book this year. All the kids are interested in birds and will love to explore them more. I will need to do my homework on what we will be doing and how often.
They also had a huge exhibit hall filled with curriculum and hallways with tables and tables of books. I have to say it was a bit overwhelming. I am glad I have an idea on what I want to teach and what I wanted to learn more about. Many of the creators or direct workers of the curriculum were there to explain and talk you through what you were looking at. I didn't buy too many books. I mostly looked around.
Later on the ride home, Jeff and I talked about what we had heard and taken away from the conference. We even had some similar things that we had gleaned from the speakers.
As I listened through out the day and saw so much I was reminded about what the Lord had put on my heart last year. I am re-posting it as a reminder to me as I pray and consider our upcoming year. I pray that each year I am teaching we are all more Spirit led in our home and school time. Here is that entry.
September 2008
As the new year of school arrives, so many thoughts, worries, ideas, and wonders begin to mill around in my head. I tend to get insecure and wonder if my kids know enough or what this person's kids know, why don't my kids love to read like so and so's kid, when will what I am teaching click, .....and more lies and not of God thoughts begin to linger in my mind. I really think WAY too much. And the more I consider them, the more discouraged I become. I went to the Lord in prayer and one of the verses He gave me was Phil. 4:8
Whatever is True, Noble, Right, Pure, Lovely, Admirable, if anything is Excellent or Praiseworthy think about such things.
He also began to remind me of some things.
He reminded me that He called me to Homeschool our kids
He reminded me that they are His children
He reminded me that my children love Him
He reminded me that my kids love to pray and worship in song
He reminded me that when I am weak (or shall I say realize and admit) then I am strong in Him.
He reminded me that I can do all things through Him.
A friend who just began Homeschooling began asking the Moms she knew that HSed what worked for them. She asked questions and suggestions from each of them and was amazed at all the different answers there were about what is "important" or "unimportant". She received so many different "ways" to homeschool. One stressed this and the other thought that was vital. She was told not to bother with that and others said make sure you do that. And she said rather than feel overwhelmed by all the make sure and be sures, she knew that there was no "one way" to do it.
After this conversation, which was weeks ago, God began to speak to me. He reminded me that He intentionally chooses the parents for His children. The things that God puts on my heart to teach my kids and those things that I see as important are the things that God planned. That as I submit to Him, He is able to use me to train them for His work. I don't know what plans God has for them, I don't know where He will send them, what they will do for Him, their careers, their future friends or families etc... Yet God does.
I am continuously praying and asking the Lord, "teach me to teach them". I seek Him on what He wants them to know, for direction, and guidance. And though I may not be doing the things other Mom's are, the public school is, or the private school is, that is not what God has called me to do or planned for them at this time. Realizing this is truly setting me free and keeping me from getting discouraged and overwhelmed.
I just thought I would share one on the things God has been doing with me in my walk with Him.
:>Michelle
This is going to be one crazy couple of days! I need to get my plants in the garden tomorrow. On Wednesday we are going to Indiana Beach for a homeschool day. We are praying the rain forecast is not true I figure if it rains today and tomorrow we should be good.
On Thursday and Friday, Jeff and I are going to our first Homeschool Convention. I am a bit excited and wondering what it will be like at the same time. I know everyone loves them, so I am sure it will be informative and refreshing. Being able to go away for 2 days is sure a challenge with so many kids. I think I have it figured out. Jeff and I are going to be able to stay with a cousin. I am so glad!! If we didn't we would be spending 8 hrs in the next couple days just driving. I will have to post my first experience and maybe even bring the camera.
We are also in the process of opening the pool. I have to say it is no easy task. We have never vacuumed the pool and so we really need to figure out how to do it this year...sigh I hear they have a local pool school and that may not be a bad idea.
Other than that life is moving along. I have been garage saling and finding baby boy stuff. I am now almost 22 weeks. I keep thinking at the end of Summer we are going to have a new baby...too exciting.
:>Michelle
Our school year is coming to an end. The kids will be doing a math page and some reading each day. I want to keep them from getting rusty
When the boys were 2 or 3 yrs. old we bought them a sand table. They kept climbing in it and breaking the legs. After Jeff had fixed it a few times we gave up and packed it away. A couple weeks ago I decided to get some sand and ask Jeff to fix it again. I figure they are old enough to know not to climb in it now. Let me tell you what great idea it has been. The 5 of them have been having so much fun. They have played it for hours at a time. They even set up chairs around it, since the bigger kids are a bit tall now. I love the idea of a table. It keeps them from getting sand in their shoes and clothes and tracking it through the house. Here are they are one day when I came out to see what they were doing. Carter likes to be silly for pictures or not look at the camera at all.
I guess he chose silly this time.
With Spring also comes lots of baths and showers. I am so thankful the older ones can take their own. They like lots of bubbles to help soak their grimy bodies.
The boys are playing baseball for the first time this year. They are having so much fun and doing great.
And finally last Friday we found out we are having another boy. I was totally shocked. I thought for sure it was a girl. I am excited to meet our new little man in about 20 weeks. Of course finding a name is going to be a challenge
Here he is:
I like the top one of him putting his hand on his head.
:>Michelle
May. 15, 2009 - 2 Mamas and a Bunch of Great Kids!!
I never thought that blogging would ever be more than my Mom world and thoughts on paper or shall I say computer screen. Instead, I have made some really neat friends and I have even had the pleasure of meeting some in real life. On Monday the kids and I were able to meet another family. Laura and her family recently moved within driving distance and so we set up a day to meet!! We were very excited!
Her kids were so sweet and I learned all their names quickly The kids played great together and Laura and I got to chat. The ages of the kids were 8,8,7,7,7,6,5,4,3,3,2,1 and 2 babies in our bellies. Carter got in on the girls picture Here are the "big" boys. The littler ones were off playing. Kiley climbed this high mountain at the park. It took her some time to figure out how to get down
It was really a great day and we can't wait to get together again soon!!
:>Michelle
The boys are in their first pinewood derby race next week. They are very excited. We let them pick their own themes for their cars and helped them create them. Cameron chose a Red Bull car. He would tell you it's his favorite drink. Not that he gets more than a drink or two from Dad. My husband works for them and so to him it's the coolest thing in the world
I bought Cameron the Red Bull can colors and got stickers from dh. He took tons of time painting and designing his car. He is a detailed kind of guy.
Collin decided on some colors and kept calling it names with the number 3000 in it. He painted his in about 20 min. and I painted some lightning on it and wrote our decided name
Apr. 27, 2009 - A Birthday Party and One Smart Kid!
Last week we had Kiley's 5th and Carter's 3rd birthday party. We had the perfect weather for all the kids to play outside all day It is also always so nice to visit with everyone. The kids were blessed with nice clothes, toys, and some yummy candy Here they are showing how old they are. Carter likes to do his like Spiderman :) present time. It would be only a matter of minutes and Kiley and Carter would be completely surrounded with kids
Cameron often says funny-clever things. The other day we had this conversation.
Cameron: Mom, how do Moms know everything and what's going on and where things are?
Me: God gives us special wisdom to take care of kids and know if something is dangerous or not right.
Cameron: Why don't Dads get it too?
Me: Speechless
Cameron also called me the other day to ask where something was. I told him and when we got off the phone he told Jeff, " We need to keep Mom she knows where everything is". Jeff agreed. He thinks I have that fine talent too.
:>Michelle
ps. I will post pics of the kids room as soon as they are clean for more than 5 minutes, so I can get a picture
Well the rooms are built and the kids are moved in. We still need to do a few more things, but I am just thankful that it's coming together. It is always a new challenge to find places for their stuff and the furniture. My kids have sooooo many stuffed animals and love and play with them. I need to get rid of some of the boys and find a way to store them. Anyways, the kids love their rooms and so do I.
We had a lovely Easter! Our church put on a great play and the praise and worship was God glorifying!! We were also hosting dinner at our house and 23 friends and family came. We were so glad to have our them all over to celebrate Jesus!!
The weather was great and the kids were able to play outside. My Mom hid and scattered 180 eggs in our yard for the kids to find. She wrote each of their names on them and they not only had to find the eggs, they had to find their eggs On Saturday we colored eggs. ( I just noticed my date is off...hhhmm) The kids had a blast and colored and recolored their eggs. Carter only dropped a couple and only one cup of dye got spilled
Sunday morning baskets. Bailey was so excited to get a Bible. She has such a heart for God's Word. The kids are ready for the hunt! The group includes my 5, my brother's 5 and a friend of our family
Our house has been turned upside down the last couple of weeks. We are in the process of switching rooms and that meant building rooms for the kids to go into Our lower level has a large family room. We were using half of it as a classroom and the other for the couch and tv. We decided to divide it in two and give one room to the girls and the other to the boys. Their rooms were small and on the other side of the house. We hated having them so far away when we slept. We have converted one of the rooms to a tv room and the other will be our classroom. Which works out great, because they are right off the kitchen
I can't wait for them to be in their new rooms and get them all organized. I have plans dancing around in my head. Carter is still in our room and sleeps on a futon. He will be moved to the new room when it is done. I figured we better get him good and used to it, before the baby comes.
Here are some pics of what's been happening so far: This is the before picture I took. The boys love watching Jason work. The kids wanted to be watching his every move. He was great at answering all of their million questions. Luckily for him we did school a good portion of the time he was working. The rooms framed out! The kids made a game where you had to throw a football between the beams and knock over all the items on the metal box. They even kept score. Here is Cam trying to hit the empty pringle cans, blocks, bowl, roll of tape, and whatever else they found to pile up. They also drew pictures on the 2x4's and wrote verses on them.
Who would have thought a framed room could be so fun
It was really hard to get a picture with the actual walls up. Here is one of the girls room. We gave them a nice size closet. I will taking their dresser for the new baby This the girls room and their new closet. Jeff is going to hang 2 rods and put some shelves up. I am hoping to get a better view of the room when it is cleaned out more. We still have our school stuff in the back half of the room.
Life has been moving along. We have been starting our Spring projects and have a list of things still to do. At the top of my list is getting my garden together. I want add more dirt and so the area needs extra boards around it. We also expanded the garden area this year. I am so excited to start working on it, but then a lot of it I can't do
I have been feeling ok. I get nauseous here and there, but am mostly tired. I don't have another doctor appointment until April 20th, by then I will be almost 16 weeks. I am interested to see what he says about my measurements. I just heard a story of a woman who is currently pregnant (just a few weeks ahead of me) and found out she was having twins. Her first ultrasound said that there was only one and the second ultrasound showed two
School has been moving along. It is so neat to see how much they know from the beginning of each year to near the end. The boys are reading better and do great in math. Kiley is learning letter sounds and her hand writing is getting better. Bailey is starting to enjoy chapter books more and has a grasp on long division. We will begin to do more unit type studies for the rest of year.
Well that's pretty much what's new. I am off to watch a movie with the kids
We are excited to announce that we are going to have a new little duck in our pond I am due October 7th. I went to the Dr's for the first time on Monday. It was so neat to hear a little heartbeat again. I was measuring big and so my Dr. ordered an ultrasound. The ultrasound showed only one. She/he was moving around so much, it is always so sweet to see. The kids are very excited and are even suggesting names. It will be precious to see the older ones helping and falling in love with the baby.
Here are some ultrasound pictures: :>Michelle
Have you heard of Gospel for Asia? It is a great organization that gives 100% of the money you send them to the kids or missionary you sponsor. A couple we know sponsor a few kids and a couple missionaries. When we were at their house one day I really felt like that would be a good thing for our family to do. I was also very interested in doing something that would get my kids out of the box of life they live in. I want them to have a heart for missions and those who are in need. I prayed about it and talked to Jeff and we decided GFA would be a great way for us to help .
I began to pray and ask the Lord for a way for the kids to be part of this and a plan began to stir. I decided the kids would pick a child and then work for the money that this child needed each month.
I told the kids about my idea and how I was planning on them taking care of this child. They didn't say much. I told them that each sponsor pays $28 a month and they would each have to work for $7 a month to pay for the child's needs. Then I sat them around the computer and we watched some video clips on their website. I prayed with the kids and we proceeded to find a child that they felt led to care for. After seeing the videos and then all the kids pictures they begged for us to sponsor 2 kids. A boy and a girl. The girls would earn money for the girl and the boys for the boy. I informed them that that would mean double the work and each kid would have to work for $14 a month. They didn't mind and were happy to do it. The boys chose a 12 yr old boy named Ravi and the girls an 8 yr old girl named Akhila. We talked about how important it was for them to get the money and that the kids were counting on them and to pray for the child each day.
Here is where my plan had to come into play. I decided it would be more effective if they actually saw the money they worked for. I went to the bank and got $56 (actually $60, but we only needed $56) in singles. I got six envelopes. I wrote each of the kids names on the envelopes including the one we sponsor. I put 14 singles in each of my kids envelopes. As they work and earn a dollar it goes into the sponsored child's envelope. I write a check for GFA (it actually goes on a credit card and so I write the check to the credit card company). At the first of the next month all the singles go back into the child's envelope and we start over.
I included pictures. I am a visual learner
I also decided that I needed to come up with a list of jobs that could be done to earn the money. I figured the kids would be coming to me asking what they could do to earn their dollars. And well I have learned a child's timing is not always the best. i.e. In the middle of me making dinner, while I am in shower, while we are rushing to get somewhere etc....Then I would have to think of things off the top of my head and well these days I am not the quickest thinker. I have a 2 page list so far on a pad of paper on my desk. They have been told that the list stays there and is available for ideas on how they could earn their dollars.
Things on the list include:
folding 20 items of laundry, cleaning the bathroom, emptying the bathroom and laundry room garbage, vacuum the dining room (we have carpet in our dining room obviously they didn't have kids when they thought of that idea), put shoes by the door away, hang up all the coats (they are often laying around on chairs or thrown on the bottom of the closet), etc....
The kids were concerned about the kids we didn't chose. If any of you readers feel like the Lord is calling you to sponsor a child please let us know. The kids would be so happy to know more kids were picked. I am excited to see how the Lord is going to work in our family as we reach out to His children.
One of the verses that came to me when I was praying was in Matthew 25.
Matthew 25:31-40 31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
Carter turned 3 on Sunday. He was really excited and kept telling anyone who would listen that it was his birthday. On Friday my brother's family came for a visit. I decided to have a mini-party for him. I knew we would be too busy on Sunday to do too much. I will have his real party in April and combine it with Kiley's birthday.
I asked him what kind of cake he wanted. He told me he wanted a yellow and blue cake with M&M's. So I made a yellow cake mix, blue frosting, and Bailey decorated. He was thrilled.
I am so thankful to have this little guy! He is so sweet and loves to cuddle. He loves all things boy. He smiled that big the entire time we sang to him.
Here he is rocking the little lamb Kiley bought him.
Mar. 3, 2009 - I am on a Mission and Easter plans for School
I have been in the lets clean out everything and get rid of most of it mood. I have two things stopping me, but only for now. I will declutter our house. I will!! My two current obstacles are that I am consistently surrounded my little ones, who will insist that each book, toy, and stuffed animal is their favorite. The other is that I need Jeff to get me some containers out of the basement/cellar. He has been busy with a project and I know he wants to finish. I will be posting pictures of that soon I am sure he will gladly get them when I tell him my plan to purge our home.
In school news...We will be taking a break from our usual Bible reading, History, and reading lessons soon. I will begin our unit study/lapbook on the death and glorious resurrection of our Savior. I will be reading NT and OT verses and memorizing some. I will also prepare projects that are based on Easter. I really look forward to this study each Spring. I think it really prepares out hearts for the season.
And what would a post be without pictures The kids worked on this one morning while waiting for school to start.
One of the boys at our church likes to wear a suit coat. The boys asked if they could match him this week. They had the coats and ties sitting out all week. I love my little men!!
Well it is near the end of winter and besides the cabin fever and the kids begging to go outside, we are showing other signs of its end. While we have been able to keep school fresh and interesting. We are so longing for hands on, put the garden together, find some frogs, and seeing what might be budding kind of school.
However, my main sign of the end is our wardrobe. Bailey's coat is getting too small, her clothes don't fit as good, and her shoes are feel snug. I can't see buying anything now. Soon it will be flip flops and Summer clothes.
The boys are no different. If their pants aren't too short they are tore to bits. I can't believe what a couple of seven year old boys can do to a pair of pants. I guess it means they have had lots of fun
I am also so anxious to see the kids little piggies that have been hid by socks all Winter. Their little legs and arms too. And most of all getting out of the house much quicker with out someone trying to find their coat. It is unbelievable the places a coat can hide and don't get me started on shoes hahaha
I am thankful that daylight savings is in a couple weeks and the end is in sight. The sun will shine a little longer and we will be out taking walks soon.
:>Michelle
A friend of ours gave us their old computer. We thought we could hook it up and the kids could have their own computer. Well it was very old and would need some parts in order to get it up and running. We were going to throw it out, but didn't want to dispose of their hard drive. I had seen other blogs where kids had taken apart electronics.
I told the boys that they could take it apart in place of their Math lesson. They still had to do their practice work They were very excited. It was amazing how fast they could get their work done that morning. Bailey decided she wanted to help them too. I didn't even tell them what kind of tools they would need. It was cool to watch them make decisions and figure out different ways to get it apart. I think I will be saving all our broken electronics for future school projects. They also learned teamwork too!! Ready to go Bailey got the hard drive out.
I decided to take the kids to get an eye exam. It had been about 2 years since our last visit. I was also thinking that Cameron might need glasses. Well I was right. His eyes were also kind of bad. 20/80. He was pretty excited and thought it was cool to try on the different pairs of glasses. He loves "boy" accessories, his twin is just the opposite We picked the glasses and went to go pick them up later in the week. He was told to put them on for adjustments. He puts them on and Kiley blurts out (in a VERY loud voice) "You look like a hillbilly!" Of course everyone in the place turns to look at us. She then responds, "what he does". I was cracking up. Where does this kid come up with this stuff??? I don't think Cameron even heard her (not sure how) I think he was too focused on how incredibly cool he looked in the mirror
We also went to a Valentine's Party this year. I have always bought my kids valentines, but they haven't ever really passed them out. They weren't even completely sure how it worked. Collin asked if he would have to walk around. I told him he would and he responded by saying, "can't I just sit there and they could get there valentine from me while they are dropping off mine. LOL The kid is always thinking of shortcuts in life. The new look
cookie decorating Friends Collin being goofy with their friend.
:>Michelle
I like many people have been using my blog time to be on Facebook. I keep finding "friends" I haven't thought of and/or seen in years. We have been doing our regular routine at school. I don't plan on starting a lapbook or a special study until Spring.
My Mom also bought us a Wii. It's so nice to be doing something that gets us all up and moving. The kids are better bowlers than meThey don't even try as hard as me to do good Geesh! I must be getting old. haha It is really fun and I am glad we have it! I am even letting the kids go play one game if they are waiting for the others to finish before we move on. I figure it gets them up and moving and then they are not distracting those who are still trying to finish up.
Thanks Mom
We have had more cold weather and snow. I am ready to see some green. Maybe that's why I picked green for my entry?? I also planted some bulbs and other plants last year. I am anxious to see if they sprout this Spring.
This past weekend we went to my Aunt and Uncles and the kids went sledding. They have the perfect hill. Not so big it takes forever to climb and big enough to make it fun. We have been wanting to go out there all winter and finally did. I didn't take any pictures...sorry. My cousin also took the kids out on their lake. It was about 12 inches thick in ice. My cousin and Jeff hooked up 5 innertubes and 1 tobaggan sled to the back of the 4-wheeler. It was really cool.
They also went out on Monday with our friend. She started babysitting for me when I had the twins. She was only 14 at the time. She was the only one that didn't seemed freaked out to be watching 3 kids under 2 :) outside of a couple family members and my friend Kristin. She did such a great job with them. Not that I went out much, but it was nice to have her when we needed her. We love hanging out with her too I did take some pictures that day.
My Dad's birthday is on Monday. He will be 60. We are having a party here. I seem to be the closest to central for all and have the most room for 10 kids to play. Also my kids love having parties and I like hosting them, so it works out.
And finally lets all pray that the groundhog means nothing and is just a big rodent that gets way to much publicity. At this point I would settle for a day in the 40's. Our area had a record cold January with the average temperature being 15 degrees
Here are some pictures of us at our friend Amanda's house. Carter was helping drive :) If you are wondering, Kiley was at a friends house. Sometimes they didn't hold on good enough
I think Carter really liked "driving" it. The kids smiled and laughed the whole day.
:>Michelle
I am so in love with Jesus and am seeking to know Him more each day. I am a wife to Jeff and Mommy to 5 children (Bailey 8, Cameron & Collin 7, Kiley 5, and Carter 3). We are also expecting a baby boy in October. My house is often crazy, but always full of love. This blog is a story of my adventures, God's mercy and grace in my life, and funny days that aren't always very funny at first.
He likes to be wherever I am. So when I am at my desk he plays with trains or legos in the boys room. I love to hear him talk to himself as he plays and tell me all about what he is building. Another thing he does, is when I call him in my you are in trouble mister voice. He smiles so cutely and tells me he loves me as he rubs my cheek or arm. It is so hard to stay stern, but I try my best
He is hugging the tracks and telling me he wuvs trains.
We are still not sure of a name and may not have one until he is born. Carter was a day and a half old before he was named. Now if I was having a girl a name would be much easier. It is so hard to choose a name for a boy. It has to be a good kid and man name. Well he can't go nameless for too much longer, so I am sure we will come up with something.
Carter likes to be silly for pictures or not look at the camera at all.
Carter got in on the girls picture 
Here are the "big" boys. The littler ones were off playing.
Kiley climbed this high mountain at the park. It took her some time to figure out how to get down
Cameron's car
Collin's car
Here they are showing how old they are. Carter likes to do his like Spiderman :) 
present time. It would be only a matter of minutes and Kiley and Carter would be completely surrounded with kids
On Saturday we colored eggs. ( I just noticed my date is off...hhhmm) The kids had a blast and colored and recolored their eggs. Carter only dropped a couple and only one cup of dye got spilled 
Sunday morning baskets. 
Bailey was so excited to get a Bible. She has such a heart for God's Word.
The kids are ready for the hunt! The group includes my 5, my brother's 5 and a friend of our family
This is the before picture I took. The boys love watching Jason work.
The kids wanted to be watching his every move. He was great at answering all of their million questions. Luckily for him we did school a good portion of the time he was working.
The rooms framed out!
The kids made a game where you had to throw a football between the beams and knock over all the items on the metal box. They even kept score. Here is Cam trying to hit the empty pringle cans, blocks, bowl, roll of tape, and whatever else they found to pile up.
They also drew pictures on the 2x4's and wrote verses on them. 
This the girls room and their new closet. Jeff is going to hang 2 rods and put some shelves up. I am hoping to get a better view of the room when it is cleaned out more. We still have our school stuff in the back half of the room.
:>Michelle
He smiled that big the entire time we sang to him. 
Here he is rocking the little lamb Kiley bought him.
The kids worked on this one morning while waiting for school to start.
One of the boys at our church likes to wear a suit coat. The boys asked if they could match him this week. They had the coats and ties sitting out all week. I love my little men!!
Ready to go
Bailey got the hard drive out. 
We picked the glasses and went to go pick them up later in the week. He was told to put them on for adjustments. He puts them on and Kiley blurts out (in a VERY loud voice) "You look like a hillbilly!" Of course everyone in the place turns to look at us. She then responds, "what he does". I was cracking up. Where does this kid come up with this stuff??? I don't think Cameron even heard her (not sure how
The new look 
cookie decorating
Friends
Collin being goofy with their friend.
Carter was helping drive :) If you are wondering, Kiley was at a friends house.
Sometimes they didn't hold on good enough
I think Carter really liked "driving" it. The kids smiled and laughed the whole day.
