Merry Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas! The kids are at the perfect age to really enjoy Christmas and understand what it is truely all about. We don't "do" santa at our house, but I guarantee you that they are not missing out on anything. What joy it brings me to see them understanding God's perfect gift to us and relating that to why we give gifts to each other.


I am so thankful that all of my family lives close together and we were able to spend lots of time together during the holidays.
Grandad and BeBe (Brent's mom and dad) came to visit us and the kids really enjoyed spending time with them. We really missed not being able to make the trip to Louisiana to see the rest of Brent's family, but hopefully we will make it down to visit after our new baby comes!

As you can see below (with Isaiah), the dogs enjoyed Christmas too!

Living in Fort Worth...

Living in Fort Worth has been great! There is always something going on, especially this time of year. We had a great Thanksgiving. Brent's parents came to visit and we were able to do lots of fun things. I only wish that I had taken more pictures! We went to the Ice show at The Gaylord, the circus, and the Parade of Lights! The kids had so much fun at the Ice show. They keep asking when we can go back. You can see the pictures of the kids in their big parkas and sliding down the slides made completely of carved ice!

It's a GIRL!!!!

We had a sonogram on Tuesday and found out that it is a girl!!! We are so excited, especially Ashtyn. So now it will be even in our household...4 boys and 4 girls (including our 2 dogs)!

THE PUMPKIN PATCH

Friday, the boys and I went to the pumpkin patch with some of our church friends. We had a great time. We have been 3 times and I think this was our best visit, because Isaiah was big enough to really enjoy it. Josiah knew that I was trying to get some good pictures of them with the pumpkins, so needless to say, I was not really able to get any. However,I did get lots of funny faces. Not only did we pick out some pumpkins to bring home, but we got to have a picinic, go on a hay ride, and play on lots of different inflatables.

SUPERHEROS

Wouldn't it be nice if this is what your day consisted of...

Josiah's trip to the Apple Orchard

Josiah's class and Ashtyn's class both took a field trip to the apple orchard. With one major difference...Ashtyn did not want me to go, but Josiah did. Ashtyn loves school and is very independent. When I go to chapel at her school she doesn't want to sit with me, Josiah and Isaiah. She would much rather sit with her class! So if you walked in you would see all the other parents sitting at the back with their children sitting next to them and you would see me and the boys at the back and Ashtyn sitting up front with her class. Oh well, at least I don't have to worry about how she does without me! Anyway, Josiah and I had a great time with his class. We had Johnny Appleseed as our tour guide! One of Josiah's favorite parts was watching the lady turning cotton into string...very interesting! And best of all, we got to pick Fuji apples and they sure were yummy!

KINDERGARTEN SLUMBER PARTY!

One Friday night we invited our cousins, Micah and Josh, to come over and spend the night. I was not sure how it would all go, but we thought it would be fun to try. They did great! One of the highlights was listening to all 5 children singing, I mean screaming, "Rock on Larry Boy!" If your child is a larry boy fan then you know exactly the song I am talking about! Bedtime went fairly well, or probably as good as could be expected with 3 five yr olds, a four yr old and a two yr old. I convinced Isaiah to sleep with Ashtyn in her full bed by agreeing to lay down with them, that way the 3 bigger boys could sleep on the bunk beds and its trundle. Of course it took a little while for the boys to get quiet and stay in their beds. The two rooms are right across from each other so we could see what the boys were doing. At one point, Isaiah sat up in bed and yelled across the hall "God doesn't want people to get up!" Then he looked at me for confirmation, "right? God doesn't want people to get up?" Trying not to laugh, all I could say was "well, if you are not supposed to get up, then He doesn't want you to". Isaiah talks about God all the time. The funny thing is that you never know what He is going to say.

Bunk Beds

I have been such a slacker by not posting anything since August! So now, I've got to get caught up. The boys got bunk beds (it has been a couple of months ago) that they love! Of course who would not love to have a ladder in their room that it is okay to climb on! This first picture is Josiah and Isaiah helping daddy take out their old beds.

The Boy's First Day of Preschool

Ashtyn and Josiah did great waking up at 6:15 this morning, however Isaiah is a different story! To say he is difficult to get up is an understatement. The only way I could motivate him was to keep saying after you..., you can put on your backpack. (get up, put clothes on, eat breakfast, brush teeth, etc.) He does love wearing his flame/monster truck backpack! Josiah had a great day, according to his teacher, Grana. She said that he did very well and followed all the directions! On the other hand, Isaiah had a rough day. It may take him a little while to adjust. However, he did love playing on the playground and he says that he is ready to go back again on Thursday.

Ashtyn's First Day of School

Ashtyn had a great first day of school! When I brought her to school, I expected that she would be hesitant to stay and that I would need to encourage her and tell her how much fun she would have. That is not at all what happened. She walked in and sat down at her desk. There was a color sheet on her desk, so she pulled out some crayons and started coloring. I really didn't know what to do with myself so I said "Well, I guess I will go then." It surprised me, but I guess it shouldn't have. She is so ready for school and thrives on strutcure and learning. I waited anxiously all day for 3:30 to come around so that I could go and pick her up! The first thing that she said when I picked her up was "I really like that school." She had a very busy day and was tired afterwards. The only thing that she did not like is that they "went outside 3 times and it was really hot!" She was so excited to go back today and now is excited again to go back tomorrow! Her cousin Micah is in the class across the hall and Ashtyn is glad that she gets to see him at lunch and recess. I know that we are going to have a great year!

Blastball!

Just wanted to let you know that Josiah finishd off the t-ball season with a bang! He finally decided that he wanted to play. From that point on he was doing it all, by himself. It was so cute to see him running after those baseballs and catching them! Isaiah got to keep playing too! They are all looking forward to playing again next summer!

see.....what had happened was......

Daddy's Girl

I just love this picture. I took it as we were about to walk out the door to take Brent to the airport last Friday. He had a job helping his friend, Shelby, photograph a wedding. He had a great time, so I figure there might be alot more photography opportunities for him in the future.

T-BALL

T-Ball got off to a slow start due to all the crazy rain that we had, but it is definitley not slow now! This week we have 6, yes 6 games on 4 different nights this week! It is alot, but the kids love it so much. Ashtyn is already talking about playing again next summer. (I'm so glad that she has no idea that there are fall and spring teams too!) I wish that you could all see her play. It is so cute. She has her pink glove, pink bat and pink batting helmet, with a hole in the back for her ponytail. What more could a girl want? Of course, you know Ashtyn, she takes it very seriously. She is such a great student, because you can count on her to always do what she is supposed to do. Her favorite thing is hitting, and her favorite position is pitcher, because most kids don't hit the ball very far, so the pitcher gets to catch most of the time.

Josiah is coming around. He likes it, but is not quite ready to get in front of all those people by himself. That is why I don't have any pictures of him yet, because I am either helping him hit or running the bases with him! I think that I have figured out that he just doesn't like attention. He will play until someone compliments him or says "good job, Josiah". At that point, he becomes limp like a spaghetti noodle and I can't get him to do anything else. But it is really cute to watch the 3 and 4 yr olds play. Their bases squeak when they step on them. That is how I have been getting Josiah to run to the next base. I say "let's go make that base squeak!" And he does! Thankfully, it is very relaxed (unlike Ashtyn's).

On the other hand, Isaiah is not like that at all. He really wants to be old enough to play with Josiah. One game, I was holding Isaiah out on the field, while trying to encourage Josiah to catch the ball. It was hot and Isaiah was getting heavy so I put him down and he starting running after the balls. I was in the middle of telling him not to get the ball, when the coach said "mom, let him play". So I did. He actually caught one and threw it to 1st base! This is my 2 yr. old! Something good did come out of it. I think Josiah decided that he wasn't going to just stand there and let his little brother catch the balls, so he starting going after them, himself. I guess whatever works!

daddy...

The kids love, love, love their daddy. They will all tell you daddy is the funny one. That is part of why the kids love him so much. They love to play with him and do things that mommy would not do, such as...

2 days at Sea World

boy, do i have some photographers in my family...

Josiah got a Fisher Price digital camera for his birthday. Thankfully, he is a sweet boy and doesn't mind sharing with his brother and sister. This is a picture of Isaiah on the boat ride. Most of the ride Isaiah either had the camera in his hands or was crying for it, you gotta love 2 yr. olds :). We have at least 350 pictures from our trip, probably more if I was willing to really count them all. I'd say that the kids are taking after their daddy and love photography!

ridin' the river

We had a great, hot day out at the riverwalk. Did I mention that it was hot? We did alot of touristy stuff, including riding the riverboat and going to the riverwalk mall. We took the kids to see the Imax movie about the creatures under the sea. It was my brilliant idea, thinking that they would love it and that this would really set the stage and get them all excited about Sea World. Just as a preview of how this story turns out, Ashtyn says she will never again go to one of those movies and wear those 3D glasses! We were trying to decide between the dinosaur movie and the sea movie, so I called ahead of time to find out if either one was scary and if they were appropriate for young children. They said oh yes, they are educational movies and not scary at all. The first thing after we put on our glasses they showed a preview for the dino movie that consisted of a scary t-rex chasing after another dinosaur, which in 3D looks like he is coming right after us. I think all three kids were almost in tears! I managed to convice Ashtyn to put them back on one more time and something popped out and scared her again. Ashtyn and Isaiah would NOT put the glasses back on after that! So they watched the entire movie without really even being able to see it! However, Josiah did put them back on and I think he really enjoyed the movie. It was so cute to see him trying to reach out and grab all the fish. We had a great day, but the kids were wiped out and ready to go back to the hotel. Of course, when we got back they found their lost energy and were ready to go swimming!

On the Road

We just got back from our first ever vacation with the kids! We had such a fun time, I can't believe that we waited this long to go! We stayed at the Radisson Hill Country Resort and Spa in San Antonio and it was perfect for us! It was full of other families with small children. We didn't usually make it down to breakfast until about 10:00 or 10:30 and the restaurant was still packed. We weren't the only ones that did not want to get up early! Every morning they had crafts and activities for the kids and every evening they had balloon artists, face painters and some sort of entertainment out in the courtyard. They also showed a different kid movie each night. The courtyard was full of sitting areas with fire pits where you can roast marshmallows and make smores. Not to mention that they had a shuttle van to Sea World that ran about every 20 minutes that let us off and picked us up at the front gate. We also stopped in San Marcos at the infamous Natural Bridge Caverns. Of course, everyone from Texas knows that you can't go through San Marcos without stopping at the Prime Outlets. I know that Brent was so glad that our car was already packed full, because I could have done some major damage at the Pottery Barn/Pottery Barn Kids/West Elm outlet store, if only I would have had a way to get it all home!

Josiah is 4!

Josiah is 4!

Josiah is 4!