Christmas 2013

 

Christmas Eve walk at the park

 

 

Little boy "walks" big dog

 

 

It's hard to describe how special it is to have the first b day and first Christmas with a new child.

 

 

Happy Mark

 

 

Juneau (about six or seven now) and me

 

 

Beautiful brothers

 

 

 

 



Luke's 10th B Day

 

Our beautiful sweet boy turned 10!

We had friends over for a camp fire with hot dogs and also decorated gingerbread houses.

 

 

 

I had to laugh when I noticed that Nathan was putting candy inside his house instead of on it. Guess he was squirreling it up for later. Busted!

 



Home Addition: Rafters

We're excited at the progress!

 

 

 

 

 

The cutest helpers...see Luke peeking out?

 

 

 

 

 



This Fall

 

This Fall has been going by so quickly! Here's an update on what

we've been up to...

 

 

Some friends and I are putting on a craft sale the first weekend in Dec. They have created awesome pallet art & I am featuring my felties hand sewn toys & tree ornaments as well as these super cute polymer clay pendants made by a talented friend of mine. (You know who you are MH!)

 

 

We are also building a new home addition...very exciting.

 

 

John is using his mad skills to build us some great new space!

We're adding a new living room as well as a big upstairs area. Cannot wait!

 

We're also taking time out to snuggle...it's essential, you know.

 

 

Nathan with Juneau & Finn

 

 

 

 

And...the biggest & best news....

we finalized Sam's adoption!

He's our sweet boy forever!

Thank You God!



All Dressed Up & Someplace To Go ...and oh, Our Addition Construction

We took the boys to a Truck-or-Treat that a local church put on. At first Sam didn't understand but he was quick to learn that nice people were putting CANDY in his bag, and before we knew it, he was saying, "Treat! Treat!" in his sweet little voice.

 

 

I love how Sam is laughing at Luke in this one.

 

 

Bumblebee's true identity is finally revealed!

 

 

Here's a sneak peek at our addition construction. We're excited about the new space!

 

Harlow

 

So, we heard about a guinea pig that needed some TLC...and Harlow moved in.

He is a middle aged American guinea pig that is now happily living right in the center of our home's activity. He is sweet, friendly, a lover of veggies, and a great little school buddy. Harlow joins Mark nearly every school day to 'help' him do his Math & Reading. I'll have to get a picture of it, but he sits quietly on his towel next to Mark for up to an hour plus, keeping him company and helping him stay on task...it is ADORABLE! Who knew that this simple little creature would be such a sweet blessing to our oldest son? I love it!

An Addition...To Our House, That Is!

We love our house and we are thankful for it, but it has been a tight squeeze lately. With six people and multiple house pets, as well as the PILE of home school resources, we are full!

So, we are building another addition

(and we're really excited about it!)

 

So, first came cutting down the trees that were in the way. John took down three towering Poplars and landed them perfectly, I must say...gotta brag on my guy!

 

 

 

Next...the concrete was poured last week & the block should be completely laid by tomorrow. Framing comes after that...John's favorite part and really fun because then you can see the bones of the space take shape. We are very thankful!

 

 

 

More pics soon....

 

 

Fall Sports

My kiddos love sports & I love what all that exercise does for them. It brings them joy & takes an edge off ALL their energy!

 

Boys and John

 

All three older boys are playing soccer again, with John as Luke & Mark's coach. Little Sam wants to play too. He ran out into the middle of the field during one recent game when he saw his brother out there. The refs had to stop the game while I retrieved my runaway!

 

M & L at Swim Team

 

The older boys have been on a competitive swim team the last few  Summers & now we have the opportunity to continue with an indoor team for the colder months.

 

 



Beach Bums

We were so excited to get to go to the beach this year. We relaxed, had FUN & got to introduce Sam to the ocean which was a really neat thing for all of us. At first he was afraid of the surf but by day # 2 he was having fun splashing and playing.

 

 

Taking a minute to celebrate sweet boy #4!

Such a sweet gift from God!

 

 

These two sweeties are my "right hand men"...such a help to me!

And so cute too, right?!

 

My five fave guys in the whole wide world!

 

 

 

 

Family Fun

John's employer puts on a really fun picnic each year for all employees and their families. It was fun to get to introduce Sam to this tradition we always look forward to.

 

 

 

Mark & Luke loved the laser tag!

 

 

Luke let the balloons go at the end of the night.

 

 



School, Snails, Silly Dog Faces, and Sam!

Random sampling of last few weeks...

 

Nathan working on an entry for the upcoming Fair

 

We are back to school...using some great curriculum we are familiar with and also trying out some new computer based classes that we are really happy with so far.

 

 

Nathan made friends with a little snail and I love the way this picture turned out with our hands together and this delicate creature who felt so at home in Nathan's care.

 

 

Finnegan makes the funniest faces & I managed to capture this one.

 

 

We are all feeling a lot more at home with our new normal of being a family of six. Sam has been home for 4 months now and is doing well. He is the most mischievous of all the boys and often has a twinkle in his eye that keeps me wondering! He loves all fruit, his big ride-on truck, the toy shopping cart, going to soccer with his big brothers, his Daddy, and Veggie Tales. He is a sweet, personable, busy little fellow and we all love him bunches.

 

 

 



Dancing in the Kitchen

 

 

...on a Saturday morning...

 

 

Yes, that is a messy kitchen, but we decided to just not worry about it.

 

 

 

 

 



Pool Time

We are very thankful to be able to go to the pool a lot. It's close to our home and includes a regular swimming pool and also a shallow water park...perfect for our family.

 

 

I love the way Mark is looking at Sam!

 

 

Daddy love

 

 

This isn't the prettiest picture but I loved their game. The big boys were letting Sam push them and were then falling backwards with great drama as if he were SO strong! He loved it!

 

We are a normal family with normal sibling bickering so when I see this kind of brother-style-love, I savour it !

Sam Update

Our precious Sam has been with us over three months now.

 

He is becoming a very funny, mischievous, busy little boy...he makes the funniest raised- eye- brow faces (to make me laugh), and likes to wrestle with his Daddy and try to do everything all the big boys do.

 

 

"helping" Mark with the new game

 

 

 super hero time

 

 

sweet little boy giggles

 

 

We are amazed at how God brought us this amazing little person and made him our son. We are so blessed...and thankful...and...trying to keep up! :)

 

Summer So Far

Oh, I am so behind with blogging....but these little boys are keeping me hopping!

Here's what we've been up to...in point and picture form...

 

Hugging/wrestling - around here it can go either way!

 

 

 

Taking care of lots of pets - Nathan has "Big Mac" (his much-loved French Angora bunny) and Mark has tropical fish and 50 or so tad poles. Then there are the three dogs, three cats and 10 hens!

 

 



 

 

Anniversary - John & I celebrated 18 years of marriage last week!

Yay for love and so very thankful for all God has done!

 

Also...

 

*finished up another great season of swim team with all three older boys making the All Star team

 

*playing at the pool/water park - Sam is getting braver with the water every time we go and really has FUN!

 

*gearing up to begin soccer

 

*starting to think about school again...I'm wrapping up my curriculum plans for everyone and trying to create lots of little busy activities for Sam to do. I confess I am nervous about trying to home school with a toddler in the mix but we will just jump in and se how it goes, making changes as necessary. I'm starting Mark on some on-line classes and hope that will be a big help to all of us. If we love it, we'll also begin transitioning Luke to some similar curriculum.

 

*So, that's our Summer so far. We've kept it busy and fun but pretty low-key. We're trying to allow ourselves lots of time to adjust to being a family of six. It's hard work but good work!  We feel everyone is doing well and are delighted and thankful for the way God has brought us all together.

 

 

 

 

 

 



Bed Time

It's the fourth of July and we're happy and it's been a fun day and now that it's bedtime, we're feeling silly. Even me. So, instead of just going to bed, this happens....

 

Mark gets in bed with Sam & Sam thinks it's funny

 

 

Mark gets in Nathan's bed & Nathan puts on his 3-D glasses.

 

 

Boys decide it will be funny to pretend they are choking each other.

 

 

 

Sam tries on Nathan's glasses

 

 

Mark, who is supposed to have brushed his teeth, blows a bubble (thanks to all the candy thrown at the parade we went to today).

So, that was bedtime tonight.

I think it might be awhile before anyone actually falls asleep!