A nice visit.........

Joshua's mother and younger sister came to visit last week. We had a really nice time. Of course, they wanted to go to the beach and see some other things so we took them. The locals thought it was way too cold to swim but I guess when you just flew down from NY and there was 6 inches of snow, it seems very warm to them.
It was a great time to go. It was about 85 degrees but not humid and even though the water was not as warm as it is in the summer the kids still wanted to swim and didn't seem to be bothered. Joshua even took the kids in for a dip.........
We found out that Jack gets sun poisoning when he wears sunscreen (an ingredient found in sunscreen, PABA, When mixed with the sun and his skin it causes him to break out in a very bad rash all over his body) so he has to wear a t-shirt and usually a hat when we go to the beach. But he still loves the water..........
Grandma was cold the whole time but she still played in the sand with Abby.........................
Sammy still loves the sand more than anything. After a dip in the water and a big wave in his face he decided to stick to more "messy" things.

Even if all we did was go to sit and watch the water it would have been beautiful!!!!

My mom and I have been talking about our Christmas decorations.........All homemade because we are always on a budget........So my mom wanted to see some of my "innovative" ideas and here are a few pictures of the things I've put together. This candle set is just my creation..... I had the candle holders and the artificial stuff from years ago so I just put the holly around the bottom of the candles and laid the rest of the stuff down. The candles are just from the dollar store.....2 for $1.......
The kids have a "Little People" nativity so I used that and then I just put some pine garland around the top of our china cabinet to make it festive. The only things that cost money were the stockings and stocking hangers (actually bought on clearance after Christmas several years ago for very cheap).
Just a dollar can go a long way........I put this together out of some leftover junk from other projects and the candles are from the dollar store.......4 for $1.......
In my living room (great big empty room) I have these beautiful vaulted ceilings with this cut out on both walls at the very top. There are lights up there but otherwise they are just big empty spaces for dust collection. So I found some poinsettia runners and some sprigs of artificial pine (at the dollar store) and put a few together to dress up those spaces on both sides.........
Of course there is the tree........ most of the ornaments are homemade and to dress up the tree a little more we found some beads for garland.........Of course when you have little kids, they love to hang the ornaments and rehang them and pull the beads off and throw ornaments on the floor (if you look closely you can see them scattered). Then the curtains behind the tree (they are a little hard to see) I just used flat bed sheets and tied them.....then for Christmas I put the bows on...... I made them from some old ribbon someone gave me..........


Anyway, there you go Mom...........I really liked your decorations too......

Tooth Fairy............

Jack lost his first tooth on Saturday.....He was thrilled!! When I was a kid I remember my parents playing up the tooth fairy thing a little and thinking it was cool but Jack doesn't care about the "Tooth Fairy" or "Santa" or any other imaginary character unless it is Spiderman. And so, when the tooth came out the first thing Jack wanted was his dollar for his tooth (yes, teeth are getting expensive) because he knows that the "Tooth Fairy" (AKA Mommy and Daddy) gives money for lost teeth. He wanted his dollar because he almost has enough money saved up to get a new spiderman toy. He immediately went to figuring out how much money he has and then asked how much his toy cost. He still doesn't have quite enough but he is determined to save until he does. He made the comment that he can't wait until the rest of his teeth fall out because then he will have a lot of money. I think Mommy and Daddy will have to take out a loan from Jack Evan Financial Institution..........................

"Little Man"

Time is flying by so quickly! We just celebrated Jack's 6th birthday on Friday (his actual birthday is on the 19th but since he was 2 we have celebrated it about 2 weeks early so it was done and over so we could concentrate on Christmas.) I am very proud of my boy and I am looking forward to watching him grow more over the next several years. Here are some photos of his "BIG 6."

Christmas traditions......

Every year we try to take the kids to see Santa. Our kids know that Santa is "not real" but they really like to go see him just for fun......it is part of their tradition and it is kind of cute for Mommy to watch her kids with Santa........Not to mention it is great for the scrapbook! Now, this year we got to see Santa but it was a little "nontraditional." The kids thought it was the coolest thing anyway because, after all, why would Santa want to deliver gifts to kids here in Florida and have to wear that heavy, hot suit???

Feels Like June......

It is almost the first day of winter and Christmas is getting closer and the kids are loving it. The Christmas lights are up in town, our neighborhood is decked out and our house is decorated and looks very festive (if I do say so myself). Everything seems to make you want to sing "Tis' the Season......"..........................and then you step outside! Now, I'm not at all upset when the weather is nice. The kids can spend much more time outside and I don't have to spend any time preparing them to go out. All the socks, shoes, coats, hats, gloves etc. can take a lot of work and cause frustration when you have 4 kids, but I don't even need to worry about it. I love that! But, it just doesn't seem like home when the words "Christmas Day" and " 85 degrees" are in the same sentence. Needless to say, the weather is beautiful but I miss North Carolina and the visits we made to see family in the North Country at Christmas time. I think the kids agree but are just glad that it is finally "COOL" enough for them to play outside for long periods of time.............

Her are some pics of us at the park the other day. It was so nice but we still got a little sweaty if we stayed in the sun too long.

Soccer Days

Eve watching very carefully...........
Eve on defense clearing the ball..
Jack waiting for the ball..........
It is soooooooo HOT................

The kids have really been enjoying themselves even though it was so hot in the beginning of the season. Here are just a few pics................

It's "Unofficial"

We have finally been able to have an ultrasound done for this pregnancy.................
I went to my appointment expecting it to be like the other 4 ultrasounds I've had and was fairly disappointed...............At the radiology imaging place I went to (or maybe just in Florida) the Radiologists are apparently not supposed to tell you anything while you are having the ultrasound...........including, what the gender of the baby is (even if you are well past the 5 month mark and it is pretty much not going to change). They also were not allowed to give pictures of the baby's "parts" and they were only willing to print ONE picture for me to take home. But, after much conversation with the tech I asked her if she would give me her "opinion" about the gender and she told me that her "opinion" was that it was a girl. She was also nice enough to show me on the screen what she saw to make her say that. So......we are "unofficially" having a girl!!! Overall, compared to my other four pregnancies, I would say that expecting anything to be the same in Florida was MY mistake..........................

Happy Birthday "BIG" girl

Children grow up so fast...................but some days it seems like they are not growing fast enough. Eve and Jack are sprouting and becoming their own persons and it feels like it is happening so quickly. Every time I blink they are different. Sammy is still small but he is smart as a whip. He can do anything he puts his mind to ( including, but not limited to, learning how to unlock all of the child locks even if it means he has to break them ). He is just out growing the environment we have put him in. But, then there is Abigail........... the cutest, most precious, the smartest and most unbelievably stubborn child out of the bunch.

Abigail turned 3 on Friday. She had been waiting for her birthday ever since Eve had hers and she saw what it entailed. Every morning for a month she would wake up and say it was her birthday today and mommy needed to get her cake and presents and that we needed to go to Chuck-E-Cheese. She was so excited! So, I thought I would use this as an opportunity to show her what it meant to be a "BIG" girl and really start to push the whole "using the potty thing" (something she has absolutely refused to do before). I told her that Eve was a big girl and since Eve used the potty then Abby should try to also. Eve had a birthday and Abby was having a birthday and that meant she was growing up like Eve and that if she used the potty then she would be able to wear "big girl" panties like Eve (you know, all the things one might try to say to make the stubborn child comply and make them feel like it was their decision). Unfortunately, it seems to have backfired on me, at least for now..................Abby was doing a great job potty training. She was telling me every time and had not had any accidents but for some reason, after her birthday she decided she was done with the potty and I could not convince her otherwise. She would not tell me when she had to go but instead, when mommy was otherwise distracted, she would go and get a pull-up (which we still have for night time anyway) and put it on herself and go in the pull-up. She has decided that she won't go even if mommy makes her sit there and watches and she doesn't want Eve to help her either. So rather than pulling out my hair I am giving it a rest for awhile (about a week) and then we will resume. I think that she thought that if she was a big girl, she would be able to have a birthday and now that it is over, she has nothing to prove to anyone..............Especially not mommy.................

Anyway, here are some pics of the big day...........Mommy loves you very much Abigail!!! Happy Birthday my "BIG" 3 year old.............

More "Fall" Pics

The kids picking out pumpkins.........

No signs of Fall...............

Down here in South Florida it is hard to find any signs of Fall. There are NO real trees, NO leaves to rake, NO "Fall Festivals", and NO pumpkin patches. We searched high and low for something to take the kids to that was a little like home and wouldn't cost us much. Finally, I was hooked up with a local homeschool group that Invited us to go with them to a corn maze last week. We had to drive almost 2 hours to the farm (because there isn't anything closer) but we made a day out of it. We had a picnic lunch and then did the maze. Then we got to go on a hay ride and the kids got to pick out pumpkins. We had a blast and the kids loved it. The only negatives about the whole thing were that (because it is South Florida) it was way too HOT and Mommy got sun poisoning................But getting pictures for the scrapbook makes it worth it!!

It wasn't me................

My kids all have selective hearing..........except for Abigail. Abby seems to hear everything that is said but believes that nothing applies to her. I will say to her, "Abigail please stop screaming at your brother," to which she looks at me, turns to her siblings pointing her finger and says....... "guys, top creaming, it not nice." I try to politely say, "No Abby, Mommy is asking YOU to stop." Then she agrees, "Yeh Mommy, Ebe and Dack did it," Like she knows that what I was really saying was that she needed to stop SO SHE could tell THEM that THEY needed to stop. After all, you can't expect mom to be able to handle things on her own. If I ask Abby to be nice she will say, "Yeh Mommy, Ebe and Dack be nice," or "Yeh Mommy, Sammy take my doll and dat not nice." But rarely does she realize that she needs to change what SHE is doing.

Sometimes I think we do that with God (sometimes I do that with God)......... We don't want to hear what He is really saying to us because that might mean that we need to change....................... "Lord, help me listen to you and be at peace with what you are saying....."

Abby is a beautiful little girl and she teaches me a lot. I think God uses my kids everyday to show me things.

Anyway, here is a picture of my darling daughter..............................

Happy Birthday Eve!!

Our oldest daughter had a birthday last week. It is so hard to believe that Eve is 8 years old. Here are some pictures of her big day........

Children are a blessing...........

Here is an actual face picture of the kids.............. God is really a great God and my kids remind me of that every day. Children are a blessing............. The more the merrier... or cheaper by the dozen....... or whatever the saying you prefer is. We will be adding one more to the picture in March!!!! Thank you Lord for our kids!!

What is it about the beach.......

We went to the beach on Saturday and we had a good time. But what is it really that makes people desire to vacation there. Sure, maybe if you didn't have any kids (or they were older) or if you only intended to sit and watch the waves or get a tan it would be beautiful but, when you have four small children...................................it becomes One Big mess!!! First, the sunscreen needs to be lathered all over 4 kids (mess). Then they get in the water and right back out with sand sticking to all of their exposed skin (mess) and they walk onto the towel needed to dry off with and now the towel has wet sticky sand all over it (mess). After a while of being in the sun the sunscreen needs to be reapplied to the wet, sand covered body (mess), and then there is the going home routine. Getting the kids out of the water and walking across the sand to the dock where you have to try to get as much sand off as possible with a small trickling shower and then get them to the car across the parking lot which is, of course, a sand lot. Then get them into dry clothes (or at least diapers on the babies) for the 30 min. ride home. Of coourse they still have sand on their bottoms and it gets in the car and on their carseats and the sand never comes out of their hair (mess, mess, mess).................................................................

But all that, I guess, really isn't as bad as it seems when you look at the pictures. We love the beach and living so close to it!!!