Advent Calendars

I bought these advent calendars yesterday (the tree shaped ones in the link). I was originally going to buy them just for DD and DS#3 but then DD was with me and asked if we were getting four of them and I started feeling guilty. I wasn't sure if the older two would like them. I shouldn't have worried. I brought them home and I let each child keep their tree in their room (except for DS#3, of course). To prevent an insect infestation, I required them to eat their chocolate in the kitchen. They were all excited about the thought of having that treat every day until Christmas. Of course, if they don't know what day it is, they'll eat them a day early. DS#1 didn't realize that today is the 30th of November and he had his first piece of chocolate today. Tomorrow, I'll take a photo of the others eating their chocolate. :)

DH Jr.

I'm always kidding about how DS#1 is starting to sound and act like DH. They have similar humor. That is, they make and laugh at the same types of jokes. They love the same video games and they love playing them together. Usually the games are role-playing type games with some Dungeons and Dragons type scenarios. (DH will probably correct me when he reads this.) Remember that time when the rest of the family was in Houston and DH and DS#1 stayed up playing video games? They also like to eat similar things. For lunch today we ate at California Pizza Kitchen. When we go to Italian restaurants, DH often orders the Chicken Fettucine Alfredo. DS#1 does the same thing, except more often. Today, they both had the Chicken Fettucine Alfredo. We also talked about how DS#1 is about 5' 8" and 120 pounds, which is what DH was when he entered college. DH laughed and said, "Was I really that skinny once?"

I made similar comparisons about DD and me. Of course, I can't compare most of the things yet because there's a whole lot of difference between a 6-year-old and a 41-year-old. Some personality traits, unfortunately, are very similar. When she's in a bad mood, you can't get her out of it. It just takes some time by herself to get in a better mood. Of course, when I sad this to DH, he just tried to have a blank look on his face and he said, "I don't know what you're talking about". Somehow he seems to think that is a loaded question. ;-)

Holiday in the Park

Tonight we went to Holiday in the Park at Six Flags Fiesta Texas. Some of the rides were open and the park was decorated with lights. They even had a lights display that was timed to music by Mannheim Steamroller. I'm not sure what the song is called, but I want to say that it was "Christmas in Sarajevo". There were a lot of people there, so when the kids wanted to ride on the Roadrunner Express roller coaster, it took them about 40 minutes to go through the line and ride. We walked around for a bit just to look at all the lights, and the kids rode on the Wave Runner, which spins your seat as the whole ride spins, if that makes any sense. I'm just glad that we have season passes, because DS#3 was really pooped after only a couple of hours. Have you ever wondered why a child that only weighs about 22 pounds feels like he weighs 2-3 times as much when you have to carry him for long periods?

I have to share a DS#3 story too, of course. Last night, he got very upset when I wouldn't read his "School Bus" book just one more time (after a couple of times already). In order to distract him, I gave him one of DS#1's old Thomas the Tank Engine trains (whichever the small red one is--James, I think). I put him to bed with that train. Even in the dark, I could see him rolling it back and forth. A few minutes later, I heard him calling, "Mama, Papa, Hep Me", over and over again. I went to his crib and he handed me the train. I guess he was done playing with it and was ready to go to sleep because I took the train, told him to lie down, and he did, and didn't fuss at all when I said "goodnight" again. When DS#1 was about his age, he would fall asleep with his trains and sometimes awaken with a train imprint on his cheek. I guess we don't have to worry about DS#3 doing that!

Thanksgiving 2008

I volunteered to work on Thanksgiving. I knew that I was taking Monday through Wednesday off for our friends' visit. At the time, I thought that one of the boys would likely have a soccer tournament this weekend. By volunteering to work on Thanksgiving, I would have the rest of the weekend off. Besides, next year my grandmother will turn 95, and her birthday usually falls around Thanksgiving. I'm earning brownie points for a long weekend next year, right?

The price was that I would be away from my family on Thanksgiving. That's not usually a problem since we're not really big in the traditional Thanksgiving foods, and what matters most to us is being together, even if it's a day later. As I walked into the building yesterday morning, however, I started feeling so depressed. I don't like being away from my family. Everyone else at work was talking about their plans for lunch or dinner with their family (depending on what shift they were working). I like to order takeout when I'm working on call, but most restaurants were closed, so I couldn't even do that.

Thankfully, my family came to visit me, and that was just what I needed. We had food from the hospital cafeteria, some turkey, ham, cornbread dressing, rice, and some glazed carrots. I was the only one that ate any of the carrots. The food was decent, but just not what I would have wanted. As we were eating, DS#2 asked, "So, are we going to have a 'feast' tomorrow?" DH and I didn't know how to answer that. Did he mean that he felt like he was missing out on Thanksgiving by not having all of the traditional food? I told him that I wanted to have Chinese food. He said, "Oh good, I like Chinese food better than this stuff anyway." Too funny--that's my boy! :)

So, I decided to count my blessings instead of being depressed about working on Thanksgiving. I had a wonderful dayshift crew who were efficient, hard working, and great to work with. I have a wonderful family, who visited me at work and gave me kisses and hugs. They even brought some pumpkin pie and yummy chocolate cheesecake from Marie Callender's. This adorable little boy ran up to me and gave me a big hug when they arrived. He was also running with me in the hallway during their visit. It was fun watching how fascinated he was with the automatic doors. Of course, I have to be thankful that I have a good paying job during difficult times like these.

Happy (belated) Thanksgiving! Remember to count your blessings! :)

Meeting Some Goals

Today, I was supposed to finish up some Christmas shopping. I'm so close to finishing that I'm getting excited about Christmas already. Instead, I decided to take some creative time and finish up some scrapbook pages using some really old photos that have been sitting on my desk for years, literally. These were what I call "fast" pages. I just wanted to get these photos in an album. I didn't spend too much time on design or being artsy.

I'm still plugging away at my 2002 photos. This one has photos from my Dad's 71st birthday "party". We were already in Houston for my nephew's birthday party and my family decided to also throw me a small "baby shower", too. I hadn't expected anything since I was pregnant with my third child, so it was a really nice surprise, plus I got some girly gifts!

This one has photos from when some friends were visiting and we took them to the nearby Natural Bridge Caverns. I didn't get to go on this trip, but I still had to scrap the photos. Nothing special about these pages from a creative point of view, but I did get some photos out of the way and I'm almost completely done with my October 2008 Studio Calico kit!

This one has photos of my niece (and goddaughter). She was the first granddaughter on our side of the family. She's still a beautiful girl, but wasn't she the cutest baby?

With this page, I'm finally done with the photos from when these friends visited us in 2002! Yay me! They've since moved to Ohio from Texas. It's too bad, because we don't see them at all anymore.

Last but not least, with this page, I'm finally done with the photos of my nephew's third birthday weekend! Yay me! I still have a few 2002 photos to scrap, but I'm so close to finishing now! :)

No Regrets

Monday night, we went out to a restaurant on the Riverwalk that DH and I had never been to before, called Boudro's. It felt good to be able to leave the two 13-year-olds with the younger kids. Our plans were a little bit "spur of the moment", so it was nice to have that freedom of not having to plan ahead to get a babysitter. DH and I can certainly get used to this! :)

I split the seafood platter dish with J, which was a good thing, because it was delicious but I ate just enough without being so overly full. I still had plenty of room for dessert. J and I decided to split the flan, but that was a little disappointing to me because it had coconut on the bottom which I didn't like at all. We all enjoyed having adult conversation without being interrupted by the kids. After dinner, however, I was really pooped, so we headed back home.

I don't know if I was so tired because of the long road trip, but Tuesday was a catch up on sleep day for me. DH let me sleep in until after 8AM. That's quite a luxury for us. I didn't do too much yesterday and I was still able to take a 2 1/2 hour nap in the afternoon. Our friends left for the airport right after dinner. I've said it before, but they are one of the reasons why DH and I will never regret our time in Illinois. :)

LBJ Library

Our friend Ga has a goal to visit all of the Presidential libraries, so today we went to the LBJ Library in Austin, which is only an hour and a half or so from here. With nine people and eight seats, we were packed rather tightly into the van. You can't see DD who is in that back row on the left behind the seat. Ga was sitting in the front passenger's seat with me and I was driving. DH volunteered to get squished in the back row. DS#2 and Gr got to sit in the middle seats since they can sometimes both be prone to motion sickness also. That is also my problem, which is why I felt like I had to be the one to drive. It didn't end up being too bad, but I still hate driving.

I enjoyed the library visit a great deal. I realized that I really didn't know much about LBJ or his presidency. I didn't realize his administration produced some of the programs that are still around today, like Medicare/Medicaid, and Head Start. I knew about the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but I didn't put two and two together that LBJ was the one that signed that piece of legislation. The exhibit on the events of November 22, 1963 were chilling, and seeing a video of LBJ's address to Congress after the assassination was inspiring. The best thing about this library is that it's free. DH and I decided that we'll have to go back again some time.

DS#3 didn't take a nap again today, but he really traveled very well today. We were all so cramped from being in the van for three hours round trip today that we played outside for a bit this afternoon. It was windy, but sunny with the high in the 70s. This is a photo of Ga and DH that I took outside. They've been good friends since they were both the only dads at Story Hour at the public library. DS#2 was only a few months old then. DH and I have always been very thankful for such great friends. They're leaving tomorrow, but as always, we're already looking forward to the next time we see them again. :)

Two Wins!

DS#1 played in two more soccer games today. He and DH left the house around 6:30AM this morning so he could make it to his team warmup before the game. They came home in between games to pick up the rest of us. Our visitors went to the River Walk area to have some fun while we were at the soccer game.

This is one of a few photos I took today. There were some better ones, but at least in this one, I didn't have to blur out a bunch of other faces. Look at those long, muscular legs! They actually won both of their games today (both 1-0). Those are the only games they've won this season, so it was a very welcome change. We're hoping for the best next year!

Poor DS#3 has been carted around the last two days and hasn't been on the same schedule. Because of our houseguests, he hasn't been getting to bed until 8:30ish, which is an hour past his usual bedtime. He was happy enough at the soccer game. He was even "singing" while playing with his little truck at one point. At least he was able to get a good two-hour plus nap today, although DH had to spend two hours getting him to nap. He was very energetic for most of dinner but at least he was enjoying himself and that allowed us to enjoy ourselves too.

We went to DH's favorite restaurant tonight, El Mirasol. Our guests request this place whenever they come to visit--it's that good. :) We went to our favorite ice cream shoppe, Brindles, for dessert--another request. I took this photo today at soccer. I realized that I don't post too many photos of DH. Isn't he a cutie--especially because he took DD to the concession stand so I could watch the game. DS#3 started following him so it was a family parade to the concession stand. Yes, I'm afraid my kids are well-behaved at games sometimes because we feed them so they stay happy. Whatever works! :)

I Love This Boy!

I took this picture about a week and a half ago, but I only downloaded it from the camera yesterday. DH and I were out to lunch at Paesano's, a local Italian restaurant, and one of our favorites. I tried many times to get a "normal" expression on DS#3's face, but I got lots of cheesy smiles, unhappy faces, lots of looking down and all around, etc. Then, I got this one. I can see his bright eyes and dimples. I can see light brown/dark blonde hair that's too long because he won't let us cut it. I can even see a little mischief in that grin.

DH and I were talking this morning about how lucky we are to have DS#3. We tried for so long and had so many problems before being blessed with this little boy. There was even a time when we weren't sure we wanted to go through diapers and sleepless nights again. It's not that DS#3 is an easy baby. He takes up a lot of time and attention. He doesn't like to take naps. Like most kids, he wants what he wants when he wants it. It's just that DS#1 and DD weren't so affectionate when they were this age, and DS#2 just cried all the time. DS#3 runs up to me after a long hard day at work. He's all excited and all he wants to do is give me a hug. He'll run away soon after to do his own thing, but that one hug just makes it all worth it. The other day he saw another kid in his Gymboree Play class run up to their parent and give them a hug. Then he said, "Papa" and ran up to DH to give him a hug. DH told me that just made his day too.

This little boy was a lot of work today. He didn't get to take a nap because DS#1 had two soccer games. He kept running out onto the soccer field with his little ball. He wouldn't eat very much at lunch. I'm just reminding myself how blessed I am--just in case I forget. :)

The Jeep Incident

When I got home from work today, I saw that DH and the three youngest kids were all outside playing in the culdesac. DS#1 hadn't gotten home on the bus yet. I joined them outside. DH was playing with his new toy/birthday/Christmas present--a new high-definition video camera. DS#3 was happy kicking at an old soccer ball with his tongue sticking out the whole time (see photo). Our neighbor A made a comment that he would probably grow up to be a soccer star since he was surrounded by soccer. DD was playing with her good friend L (A's DS#2) and my DS#2 was playing with E (A's DS#1).

DD and her good friend L (A's DS#2) went riding in the ride-on Jeep. The two of them were so cute, chatting away while L was driving. DS#3 was watching them, waiting for his turn for a ride. Before any of us realized it, L was driving directly towards DS#3 and hit him, causing him to fall backward. He was halfway under the Jeep before I was able to stop the forward progress of the Jeep and pull him out! I think my heart must have skipped a few beats, and he was crying, but he was okay. Thank goodness he was okay! He was just a little scared and I just held him for a while. Our neighbor A pulled her son L into her house to have a little talk with him. She was so apologetic, but really at 5 years old, L didn't really yet understand the importance of looking at the road when you're driving. I didn't get a good "after" photo, but DS#3 finally got a ride in that Jeep with L, who was driving slowly and much more carefully.

Double Teeth

Remember when I posted about DD getting a new tooth growing in behind her bottom front teeth? That was way back at the beginning of September (HERE). Now she has had double teeth on the bottom front of her mouth for a good month or so. Those front teeth are loose, but she's just not wiggling them. It's uncomfortable for her, so she just doesn't want to do it. We've "threatened" her with having them pulled at the dentist, but since she's never had a bad experience at the dentist, she doesn't really know what this means. We don't want her to be scared, of course, so the teeth are still there.

She went to the dentist for her checkup yesterday. He said that he was going to order some sort of numbing liquid (also for his DD who has a loose tooth as well), so he wouldn't have to give her a shot. His office is only open two days next week and we have friends visiting from out of town, so the next time we could go back would be the first week in December. We can only hope that she'll wiggle those baby teeth out before then.

Backyard Thoughts

This tree isn't changing colors but it is dropping leaves. This is our "Fall" here in South Texas. This is also the view when I look up from the lounge chair on my backyard deck. The weather was clear and cool today with a high in the upper 60s. This is the only time of year when I'm outside. A little earlier and it's too hot. A little later and it's too cold. What can I say, I'm an indoor girl.

DD wanted to play "Hotter/Colder" (at least that's what she called it) where we each took turns hiding two small balls. It's a simple game where the person that hides the balls tells the finder whether or not she is getting closer (hotter) or farther (colder) from the balls. She had a little trouble giving directions. For example, she would say, "Burning Hot" when I was still a good 5 feet from the ball. She would also say "colder" then "hotter" even though I was standing still in one spot. I have to admit that it was a little fun for me to play a silly little game with DD.

DH had gone to Academy Sports and Outdoors to buy DS#1 some new jeans. His current pair are Boys Size 18. I was going to get him another pair, since he put a hole in one knee of his only pair while playing soccer on Halloween, but I noticed that they were getting a little short. That's the largest Boys size, so that meant getting Men's jeans! I was looking at sizes online and the good thing is that now we can pick waist size AND inseam separately. I used to always get the boys the Gap brand jeans because those used to be the only brand with the adjustable waists. The Mens Gap brand jeans are twice as much as the Boys jeans! That's why DH took DS#1 to Academy to get some cheaper Levi's brand. DS#2 just went along because he wanted DH to buy him a football. They came home with a pair of Size 29 waist with a 32 length (DS#1 is about a 28 waist with a 31 length). I couldn't believe how long his legs are!

This is DD wiping her baby brother's nose for me. What a good girl! Notice how compliant he is, and he usually isn't. Poor thing has had a runny nose and low grade fever this weekend. I think it's a combination of allergies and the weather change. Either way, he has been miserable at night, which means he makes his father miserable. DH is so good about getting up for me in the middle of the night! Thanks, Sweetie! :)

This is DS#3 noticing that I have a camera pointed at him. DD is just like me in that she can't help but laugh every time she sees DS#3 with this absolutely hilarious cheesy grin. Notice his large clothing. DS#1 was born in October, so his old clothes are "off season" from DS#3, who was born in April. DS#2 was bigger at his age so he was able to wear DS#1's clothes in the appropriate season, even though he was born in June. In other words, DS#3 has a bunch of 2T hand-me-down clothes, which he gets to wear instead of the size 18 months clothes would probably fit him better.

This is DD noticing me taking another picture of her wiping her baby brother's nose. I'm a little biased, but I think she's gorgeous when she has that natural smile on her face! :)

Future Chatterbox

DS#3 has been talking a lot more lately. My mom and dad are here visiting, and he's been calling them by name. The kids have always called them "Lola" and "Lolo" for the Filipino words for "Grandma" and "Grandpa". DS#3 has been calling them "Yoya" and "Yoyo". He also says "Hi" and "Bye" frequently at the same time as doing his one-hand opening and closing-type wave. When I let him play with my flip cell phone, he'll flip it open, put it at the side of his head, and say "Heh-yo". Some other words that he can say: boo (book), eat (eat), see (sit), voo (move), beebee (beep beep), uff (off), up (up or down), no (no or yes), my mi (my milk), moo (milk). He can also say our names: Mama and Papa, of course, Ah-ee (Anthony), Ah-ye (Alex), Nah-ee (Natalie). He talks in this cute little voice and he sounds SO cute! He has also been "singing" a lot lately. It's high-pitched and sounds almost like DD's singing, but it's so much less annoying. I'm not sure why, but it may be because the pitch of his voice, although high, isn't as painful to our ears as DD's.

Reluctant Pianist

DD has recently been telling me that she wants to stop taking piano lessons. At first it was "next year", but today it became "after her recital", which is December 6. Her teacher is on maternity leave and will be back on December 1st. Her substitute teacher just told DH after her lesson last week that he's very pleased with how she is doing. She seems to have some knack for it. Sure, there are days during practice when she correctly plays her assignment pieces right away, and there are some days when we really have to work for a good 20 plus minutes and she still can't get it quite right. Usually it's related to how tired she is. I've never envisioned that she would be an award-winning pianist or anything. I just want her to play well enough that she can really enjoy it, if that makes any sense.

What I'm more worried about is whether or not she is one of those types of kids that quit activities just when they have to start working harder. I want her to be able to put some long-term effort into something so she can reap the rewards. I don't want her to be a "quitter". She loves gymnastics and dance right now, but what happens later? She says that she wants to play soccer next school year, but that means that soccer will be at a higher level than what she has played before. What if she shies away from that too? I know she's only six, but what if, what if, what if!

I spoke to DD's piano teacher after her lesson today, and he reassured me that everyone gets to a point when they don't want to work hard or to even continue lessons. She had told him that she didn't want to continue with piano lessons. He thought that because she has been working on her recital piece, maybe she is getting bored with playing that same piece over and over again. So, we'll see what happens. In the meantime, I know that I'm getting tired of hearing "Go Tell It On The Mountain."

Happy Veteran's Day!

Okay, so I know that it's not Veteran's Day anymore. That was yesterday. I started my blog entry yesterday, but then I couldn't think of anything to write, so here I am today. The kids still had school, but since it was a Federal Holiday, I was off from work. I volunteered in DD's class again. I hung around for a bit after the class went to P.E. so I got to chat with DD's teacher for a bit. She's such a nice lady and she really seems to enjoy teaching. I'm so happy that she is DD's teacher.

They were having a Veteran's Day presentation at the school in the afternoon, but I couldn't go since I had a hair appointment. Since I work with veterans almost daily, one could say that I honor them almost daily. Freedom isn't free, after all. I'm so thankful for what our military does (and has done) for us. I can live the way I do because they have sacrificed their lives fighting for my (our) freedom and way of life.

On a less serious note (I always have to have a story involving one of the kids, right?) I have to write about what happened to DH this afternoon. I'm at work tonight, so he had to take DD to her dance class (4-5PM), then go home and get ready to go out again to take DS#2 to soccer practice (6-7:30PM). DH was talking with DS#1 about his homework assignment. DS#2 was getting his soccer gear on. DD was changing from her leotard to regular clothes. Apparently, DS#3 went out the garage door, got the wagon, and was halfway into the street before a neighbor found him. What made it worse was that this neighbor is the one DH and I always talk about as being the one who lets her young children run around unsupervised outside. We were horrified!

New Babysitter

Last night, we left DS#1 to babysit his three younger siblings for the first time ever. Just in case, a good neighbor friend of ours offered to be around just in case he needed anything. DH and I went to a pre-deployment party at a nearby restaurant. I didn't think it was going to take as long as it did, but we were gone for about four hours--more on that later. DS did fine, of course. He even changed a poopy diaper. After his siblings were in bed, he got to play on the Playstation 3, which is what he was doing when we returned home. That and 20 bucks--not bad for his first babysitting job, eh? :)

There has a been a lot of stress at work due to some altered interpersonal relations. I don't think I'm free to discuss it here, but it involves some rules that weren't followed and whistleblowers. The party last night was for one of the "whistleblowers". When I found out about this dinner, I knew that this subject would come up and I didn't think I wanted to hear about it any more. I thought it would just be stressful and I would rather go out to a nice dinner with just DH and me instead. There were some explanations at dinner last night, and in the end, I feel a little better just because I know a little more. I'm still a little stressed about it, though, so I hope things get resolved as quickly as possible.

On a positive note, here are some photos I took today. I took this first photo at breakfast this morning. We didn't have any bananas left, so instead of making my usual Saturday morning banana chocolate chip pancakes and turkey bacon for breakfast, I made double chocolate chip pancakes and turkey bacon. As you can see, DS#3 is enjoying his double chocolate chip pancake. He was waving around his fork because he was dancing to the music playing on TV at the time. :)

These next photos were taken at soccer today. DH and DS#1 were in Laredo, TX for a game today--about 2 1/2 to 3 hours away, so that left me with the other three kids. I took the other three to DS#2's game. It's always rather stressful dealing with the little ones at a soccer game, but this sight made me smile. At the game, DS#3 was just walking around like this, with his hands behind his back. So cute!

Trying Not to Fall Behind

I just recently started subscribing to Studio Calico's monthly kits. I used to subscribe to a few others but inevitably, I would fall behind and the kits would pile up. I have told myself that I won't let this happen this time, so pretty much since I got my October kit a couple of weeks ago, I've been trying to use it up. I've done a decent job of it, I think. I did one page already and here are three more. I'll probably do one more before I set the kit aside for making cards. I'm a little behind, because my next kit is due to arrive tomorrow, but that's not too bad for me! :)

This first page is about DS#2 and how he was very apprehensive about starting in a new school this school year. I managed to get one photo with him smiling, then he refused to smile for another one. He didn't even turn to say goodbye as he got on the school bus (for the first time ever). DH and I were relieved that he ended up loving his new school and new teachers.

This next one is about DS#1 turning 13. This photo was taken at The Picture People. He was a bit embarrassed to be sitting for his own photo shoot, but he did it because he wants to make his Mama happy. What a good boy! I also wrote some vital statistics on there, like the fact that he is 67 1/2 inches tall and 119 pounds, he wears a size 9 1/2 shoe and Boys size 16-18 clothes.

This last one is my favorite. These are photos that were taken at JCPenney's over five years ago. I've always loved how these photos turned out, especially since DD had not been cooperative with her one-year-old photos that session. You can only see it on the original, but there is still a little tear under her right eye in the left hand photo. I didn't do much journaling since I really only wanted to showcase these great photos. I did add the quote which reads, "Every child is a different kind of little flower, and all together, they make the world a beautiful garden." I love those beautiful kids--sometimes I still can't believe they came from me! :)

Give Me a Kiss

DS#3 doesn't know how to give kisses. He doesn't know how to make that "smack" sound. He doesn't even know how to put his lips up to your cheek for a kiss. When I ask him to "give me a kiss", he leans his head toward my mouth--cheek first and then waits until I give him a kiss. Sometimes he'll do that on his own. Without prompting, he'll lean his cheek or head towards my mouth and he'll wait for me to give him a kiss. Sometimes he'll do this a few times in a row, and it's just so darned cute that I can't help but giggle. I have to be careful because sometimes he bangs his head on my lip doing this. He did this tonight when he was in DD's bed and I was about to sing to the both of them. DD couldn't help but giggle too.

I'm Not an Outdoors Person

Tonight, DH dropped off DS#2 at soccer practice, and then he and DS#1 went to "Magnet Night" at one of the local middle schools where the eighth graders and their parents can explore the available Magnet high schools in our area. For those of you not familiar with that term, Magnet schools are specialized public schools. Some are designed to put kids in jobs out of high school. Some are more designed to be college preparatory programs in specific subject areas. DH and I are a little overwhelmed with all of the choices, but we're still glad we have those options.

This left me at home with DD and DS#3. It was a nice evening, especially since the sun was already going down. I don't usually go outside because it's usually too hot. The last couple of weeks have been gorgeous here, however, and even an indoor person like me has been coaxed outside. DS#3 carried his sister's old Size 3 pink and black soccer ball out to the culdesac. Most of the time he just held it there, but sometimes he dropped it and would kick it forward, chasing it and giggling as he kicked it. He was pretty adorable but alas, I didn't have a camera. Sometimes it's better to just enjoy the moment.

Speaking of adorable, I took this photo on Saturday. The sun got a little hot but it felt nice in the shade. DD of course complained about being hot, so she used one of our golf umbrellas. DD and DS#3 looked so cute under that umbrella that I got the camera out. Of course, DS#3 had to show that cheesy grin of his. He just cracks me up when he does that!

Later, DS#3 climbed onto DD's lap. I just love how he brings out the best in his siblings and that he has so much fun with them. It was so cute that of course, once again, I took out my camera. Once again, out came that cheesy grin! I just love this picture because both of them look so happy. :)

What Time Change?

This morning, the kids got up oblivious to the time change. On the up side, they all got ready for church early, and they all dressed up. I didn't want to waste this opportunity to take a photo for our Christmas card. I didn't even take that many photos, but as you can see above, after only about eight or nine photos, they had had enough. DS#2was the only one that was still smiling. DH says it's because he's learned to keep smiling so it will all be over quicker. ;-)

It was a beautiful day. It got a little warm if we were standing in the sun, but it still felt fairly dry and it was definitely nice in the shade. The kids all went outside to play after lunch, and DS#3 went outside after his nap. This outfit that he is wearing was given to him by his godfather's family over a year ago. The shoes finally fit, so I had to take a picture. For once he didn't give me the cheesy smile. I still think he's cute, though. :)

DH wanted to try a little "experiment" on the grill today. He got some prepared chicken kabobs from the local grocery store plus he bought a leg of lamb to make into kabobs. He seasoned them himself after a little research on the internet. He even included the vegetables with my favorites in mind. They turned out great! Even DD enjoyed them, and she is quite the picky eater. DS#3 ate what I gave him plus seconds. I think DH is welcome to experiment like this any time! I love you, Dear! :)