November 2010

November 1- did school, enjoyed the cooler weather with the kiddos, went on a field trip to tour the back of CFA with the kiddos and the williams, watched caden and caroline for a couple hours of fun, had a dead van battery after waking ephram up to go to the Y, played with my teething baby, heard, "i will!" all day from e, realized that he's been saying "animals" instead of 'elmo', got messy painting with kinsey, and watched braden ride his bike a ton.

November 2- ran 4+ in the neighborhood, LOVED the hours of outside time with the kiddos that was actually a little cold, took cailey to meredith's for a playdate, did school, cut coupons, cleaned, loved, hugged, watched my little girl play outside with a friend, held, rocked, played princess games with kinsey, read books to all four, had talks, sang songs with e, listened...to piano, listened to children, found the girls asleep in the twin bed together, and prayed.

November 3- ran 5 with beth, did school, played lots of games on our dreary day, heard ephram say, "mama here?", had a puppet show with kinsey, snuggled with my teething baby, had a fun talk with braden, met the papa's at cfa for dinner, and served at awanas.

November 4- did spelling, math, and english, went to two craft shows in the pouring rain, took cailey to have her wart frozen for the third (and most painful time)...she was SO brave!, did super double shopping (again in the pouring rain), fed the kiddos lots of cookies, muffins, pretzels, and other craft show 'junk', bought some cute things, went to dinner and toy story 3 at the klick's, watched cailey be AMAZED at their new playroom, went to a Sunday school women's social, put all the kiddos to bed LATE and discovered a blinking light in the van...very scary with the kiddos (brian followed me home).

November 5- spent lots of money having the van fixed for the third time this week, went to co op, subbed in a great Native American class, taught preschoolers about bears, realized that ephram always sucks on his stuffed animals noses while sucking his thumb...and will only suck his thumb when he has a stuffed animal (any), had a cleaning day and watched Cailey and Braden do an AWESOME job on their jobs, was amazed by Cailey on the piano, celebrated with Braden as he was so diligent at his given tasks, loved on Kinsey extra...because it was a hard day for her, and cleaned under everything (couches, beds, dressers, etc.)

November 6- woke up with a pinched nerve in my shoulder/neck which altered our entire day of plans, entertained the kiddos from bed while brian ran 10 miles in the rain, and enjoyed a day of listening to the kiddos play inside with each other (and daddy).

November 7- missed yet another long run because I couldn't move my arms w/o pain, thanked the Lord it wasn't something worse, had awesome one on one time with cailey talking about God's will and different times in my life, and spent another day laying down while listening to the kiddos play outside, inside, and have a blast with each other.


November 8- did double school, had a sick big girl who tried her best, watched Toy Story with cailey, tried to rest my shoulder more and spent time snuggling and reading to my babies, chased ephram all around just to hear him giggle and squeal, watched braden ride his bike 'super fast', and stayed up too late reading.

November 9- ran 4 with Beth, did double school, cleaned, sang lots of songs with a super cute boy and girl who just happen to have almond eyes, had a teething baby, listened to piano lessons, read an awesome Uganda blog, read TONS of books with kinsey, had a playdate with the Lawley's and met sweet Alex, went on a super doubles 'date' with kinsey, snuggled with cailey LOTS, got sweet compliments from braden at dinner, and realized that ephram does.not.like.to.share....toys.

November 10- ran early with super fast kelly:), drove to laura's for a playdate and sleepover, had a blast all day catching up and hugging on lots of littles, got extra lovin' from my hannah, took all the kiddos to AWANAS and went on a date with Laura and ephram (who ended up being sick for a while), got the kiddos to sleep quickly (yay:), and laughed a lot....especially about perforated handwriting pages:).

November 11- was pleasantly surprised to wake up in the morning and NOT in the middle of the night, all night (from ephram) on our sleepover, spent all day with cailey, rebecca, and auntie anne at the southern Christmas show, traveled down memory lane, LOVED the precious time with all three girls, ate my fav. coated nuts, bought crafts, decided we'd DEF do this again, was blessed by laura, who watched all 6 other kids, was THRILLED to see my other three babies again and get lots of hugs covered in chalk, drove home to see my hubby, and didn't unpack.

November 12- had a great 6 mile run with the girls, went to the last fall co op, picnicked with kelly and beth at the park, cleaned, hugged, hung out with my sweet kiddos, played games, read scripture, encouraged, loved, snuggled, met the klicks for dinner, went to legacy co op finale night, and came home to pack.

November 13- went to the wakefield craft show with braden and cailey, loved that braden bought a gift for cailey when she wasn't looking, packed up and drove to the OBX, picked up brian's race packet, enjoyed WINDY time together on the beach, loved hanging out with the fam in front of a fire, listened to loud laughter as the kiddos played and jumped on the bed, and was surprised that everyone fell asleep in the same room early and slept soundly.

November 14- woke up early to cheer brian on for his 1/2 marathon!, didn't get lost, cheered the kiddos on as they walked a mile to the finish line, congratulated brian, cheered on friends, packe, ate lunch out together, picked cotton with the big kids, watched the littles nap, got perspective on the face of 1/2 marathoners, cleaned up kinsey after she was sick...twice...in the van, snuggled with her, read books to her while the others were at choir, heard so many new words from ephram, watched cailey read two ramona and one american girl book in the van, and loved chatting with braden.

November 15- slept in just a little, woke to big hugs, did some school, took a Y break to run 4 miles, got many giggles from the biggest, had crocodile tears from the littlest as i attempted to take a Christmas picture, did more school, beamed as braden got an award and walking stick at boy scouts, had a fun playdate with the Corbetts, left lots undone, chased a happy boy, sent kinsey to find a lost shoe...three times in one day, loved, hugged more, chased, was given a sweet note from cailey, listened, and crashed.

November 16- took cailey and braden on their first 2.2 mile training run for the Jingle Bell Run, finally got adoption paperwork notarized at the bank, did school, listened to an AWESOME piano lesson, played a new loop game with kinsey...all day, did sorting (aka throwing) with ephram, read some great stories written by the oldest two, did speed work with molly, received a special homemade card from kinsey, finally figured out that ephram's "ah knee" means "help me' and spent great time with braden.

November 17- had SORE legs on my 5 mile run (loved running two of those with cailey), heard tons of new words from ephram (just like everyday) but none as cute as "knock knock knock" after the song "i stand at the door and..." he even did the motions and we had NO clue he knew that song, ate yummy chili, wiped e's nose a lot, read tons of books to the youngest two, and was a proud mama at AWANAS when Cailey finished her entire book as well as the gold and silver AND braden said the entire first chapter of Genesis.

November 18- cheered on c and b when they came home from running 2.4 with brian, went on a nature hike with the hileman's and klick's, saw God's AMAZING colors in the woods, laughed, watched rocks being thrown into water, hugged a silly big girl, shared kinsey's excitement as she went to her first drop off party (sniff sniff), hung out at the klick's all day and night, went shopping with kelly...without kids...to the mall for dinner, uggs, and great deals at old navy, and came home to kiss my sleeping babies.

November 19- ran 7 (5 on treadmill 2 outside solo), prayed for sick brian, spent over 5 hours having a blast at marbles with the klicks and williams, laughed a lot, rocked all my babies, learned how to ping chat, consoled a sad girl who had a tummyache and had to miss her first AG book club, and put the kiddos to bed early with lots of reading:).

November 20-parade day! went to the christmas parade and watched the joy on the kids faces as the different things passed by, went to casa linga for lunch with the williams afterwards, watched the kiddos play in leaf 'tornados', got the house cleaned so we could decorate for Christmas, got sick and couldn't help, spent the night in pain and throwing up:(, and got lots of hugs from my Cailey girl.

November 21-heard ephram say the sweetest words EVER "love you", spent my day in bed trying to get better but still feeling sick, listened to braden's adventures about his scouting hike, wiped baby's nose...a lot, sent two kiddos to choir, and prayed for my sweet Cailey girl as she was SO sick all day long...throwing up so much:(.

November 22- loved watching the look on Cailey's face as her sister made her a get well card, took care of my sick Cailey and let her watch TWO movies, did a little school, played games with kinsey, read Barney's 5 senses to Ephram about 10 times, read a "Samantha" book to the girls, prayed, laughed, and tickled with Braden, called uncle matt for his birthday, and packed for our Thanksgiving trip.

November 23-LOVES that cailey said she was thankful for 'lightricity', ran with beth, did school, ran errands, met the williams for lunch, praised GOD for saving cailey's life when she ran in front of a car, ran more errands, laughed at littles, got great deals on Christmas gifts online, watched precious kinsey sing in her Thanksgiving program for choir, drove to MD late at night, sang carols with the family, had great talks with Cailey, listened to my big book read, and chased my baby boy.

November 24- ran 3.1 miles with cailey and braden!!, went shopping with the fam, met nonny for lunch, played many games (including jenga, to grandma's house, scrabble, tiddly winks, candy land, plus more), listened to kinsey read, kissed braden's squishy cheeks and tickled him...lots, loved on my four precious kiddos, and talked about thankfulness and I Corinthians 13.

November 25- woke up early to a sad stinky baby and barking dog, went to CVS with braden for some great deals, talked about things we're thankful for, had a great 8 mile run with Brian in 1.23!, took mom to CVS, smelled yumminess from the oven all day, made pizzelles, played lots of games, tickled, snugged, rocked, fed, helped, cleaned, sung, taught cailey hand slap games (say say oh playmate), watched the kiddos play in the leaves, kissed boo boos from kinsey falling outside and ephram inside, was very thankful, hung out with mom, and was filled to the brim.

November 26- went shopping early and realized it wasn't worth the fuss when the Internet has better deals, cheered on the kiddos as they ran 3 miles again, played lots of games, went to a 'bouncy store' with the kiddos and loved watching ephram enjoy his freedom, play air hockey w/ the oldest two, watched braden box with poppy, loved hearing about all of mom's ornaments as we unpacked them, watched kinsey show off her reading skills to nonny and poppy, listened to cailey play the piano (and watched how proud poppy was of her), and went out for ice cream and shopping with nonny.

November 27- ran a fast 3 (and cailey joined me for the first mile), the kiddos ran over 2, played games, watched cailey rake up bunches of leaves, sent them trash or treating with poppy, took Christmas pics outside in the COLD windy weather, ate lunch at the amish place, chased my baby, read to my biggest boy, decorated nonny's tree with the three oldest, had a great talk with cailey, ate one last dinner with nonny and poppy and drove home late.

November 28- woke up super dizzy, unpacked, relaxed, watched daddy make a model heart with the big kids out of marshmallows, graham crackers, and frosting, spent hours on a picture calendar, wrapped presents, and read to my babies.

November 29- did school, had the kiddos help decorate the 'kid tree', cleaned as a team, started teaching ephram to feed himself with a spoon/fork, read lots of books, chased, heard ephram say, "help me mommy" in addition to a ton of other phrases he says daily, started picking out toys to donate with the kiddos, had a sweet moment with cailey when she offered to pray for me, and heard all about braden's 'go see it' to the police station.

November 30- ran 5.2 miles (3.2 with cailey and braden), school with my sweet babies, 'dejunked' and got rid of toys with braden, got extra hugs from kinsey, cleaned, read lots of books to ephram and kinsey, dressed babies with kinsey, saved $20 on a new ice maker because braden said chapter 1 of Genesis, listened to piano lessons, made pizzas for lunch, took my biggest girl on a surprise date to Chili's for a brownie sundae before shopping for a black skirt for choir...loved our talk time! and came home to rock a baby who was calling my name from his crib:)

Parade Day!

we didn't get there early enough for a family picture
but i was just happy they were still in a great position
and could see everything!

We had a great time at the Christmas parade this year! The weather was perfect and everyone had great seats where they could see:).

Ephram did awesome and enjoyed snacking, sitting in my lap, and LOVED whenever doggies came by. He would literally try and get down and yell, "doggie, doggie!"

Cailey's favorites were the HUGE shopping cart with 'grown ups riding in the baby part', the jump ropers, and the travel through Jesus' life, death, and resurrection.

Kinsey kept telling us that she wasn't afraid of anything this year because she was five:). She did awesome and loved it all...except for the Star Wars characters...which she'll still say she wasn't afraid of but let's just say she jumped up awfully quick and ran to me:).

Braden's favorites were the marching bands, bmx bikers, and police cars. He was content to just sit and take everything in but had an AWESOME grin on his face as the bikers rode by. He loved watching all the tricks they were doing.

After the parade we went to Casa Linga for a yummy lunch with the William's!

Take II

below 40 degrees and super windy but they all smiled
so great! LOVE how it turned out:) it's amazing what a difference
having help from daddy makes!

playdates with the klicks

we spent ALL day with the klicks starting at Umstead park and moving to their house so Ephram could nap while kinsey went to a birthday party. the other kiddos had so much fun reading, playing, and watching a show together. then we even stayed for dinner! we are so blessed to 'do life' with the klicks and just love them!


one day carter needed to nap at our house while caden had a dr apt. and the older kiddos were able to play together. at lunch time...the girls sat in one room while the boys were in the other.

it's SO cute to watch ephram and 'car car' or 'car ker'
actually play together now! they were chasing each other
and landing in the bean bag. ephram always calls for
carter as soon as he sees ANY of the klicks:)

the girls played babies and games while the boys played LEGOS.

this first picture makes me laugh because i came down the stairs after taking a shower (we had been at the Y before hand and i was sweaty from running) while Kelly was gone to the dr. with Caden and kinsey got a 'look' on her face. she said (in the funniest kinsey voice possible), "what you doing here? i thought you go with klick." i said, "kinsey, you thought you were here all alone with Caroline??" she said, "yes, i watching her. i the babysitter. i take care of her. why you here?" SO funny to me that she actually thought I was gone and that there were no adults in the house! The best part is that they were just playing nicely on the couch the whole time...even when they thought they were the only ones home.

TnT

Cailey started TnT this year in AWANAS. She was super excited to move up and has been having a great time with new friends. She decided that she wanted to do one section (discovery) per week which meant she finished her entire book in eight weeks. The TnT book is MUCH harder than the Sparks book (as it should be) and is neat because it focuses not only on memorizing scripture but also bible study and time spent with parents studying the bible. There are also 8 optional silver and gold sections which she was told not many children do (and are not required.) Cailey wanted to do them and worked super hard to get them done along with her other discoveries. Overall she memorized around 87 verses (including the gold and silver.) We are SUPER proud of her for wanting to hide God's word in her heart! Last week she finished up book 1 and was given book 2 (as TnT is only three years at our church but there are four books to go through). She WANTS to continue to learn a discovery a week but we've had to slow her down because at the pace she's going she'll end up completing four years of AWANAS in one year...leaving her with nothing to do for the next two years. We are SO proud of you, Cailey! My prayer is that you'll continue to hide God's word in your heart your whole life and will remember these days of LOVING spending time in the Word always.

she wanted a picture taken with BOTH
of her books:)

Thanksgiving 2010

so VERY much to be thankful for!!

first lollipop

what's this? hmm...let me try it. WOW! this is great!

Ephram cries when his brothers and sisters aren't home. Lately it's been super hard for him on Wednesday nights and they are at AWANAS. This week they were given lollipops and came home to give him one since he had been so sad. (Yes...I did let my baby eat a lollipop at 8:30pm). I think it's safe to say he loved it:).

christmas pictures...take 1

everything started out great...except for the dark sky...

got GREAT smiles from my three big kids

and then we added ephram to the mix who wanted NOTHING to do with it. after many, many, many attempts and changes we finally got one where he wasn't crying. the oldest three were BEYOND patient and did their best to keep smiling through the screaming

i wanted a solo one of him....and one of just the boys.
ephram had different plans. we'll try again at mom and dads over
thanksgiving when i have brian to help me out:)

AWANA spirit!

The kiddos had native american/pilgrim theme night at AWANAS this week and little Ephram wanted in on the action! He saw me making them hats and kept walking around pointing to his head saying, "hat!" SO...we made him one too! He wanted to be in the picture too because everyone else was. Funny how when he's NOT in a picture he wants to be in one yet when we TRY to get a picture of him he doesn't cooperate:).

They just love dressing up for all these theme nights!

my two running buddies

Cailey and Braden have always enjoyed running and have asked to run in a race several times. We haven't been able to work out the logistics of the other two kiddos as well as us running until now. They are running the Jingle Bell 5K run with Brian while I run it with Beth. I started training with them last week and they are doing awesome! They both woke up early every day and were dressed and ready to go running before school. I wasn't sure how far they'd get but they both made it past two miles and would have gone longer if someone didn't need to go potty:). We went out two more times after that and they continued to go further. They simply AMAZE me as when I started I couldn't even run for 3 min. without getting winded! They aren't even breathing hard when they are done! They both intend on running the whole thing and considering how far they're running now I'm sure they'll do it! I am SO proud of these two kiddos!

our girl is reading!

Back in July I started doing phonics with Kinsey and she has progressed at her own pace since then. She started reading sentences and short BOB books back in August. We are SO very proud of Kinsey girl and can't believe that our 'baby' girl is reading! We celebrate with excitement and cheers whenever she reads to us. She is doing a great job! YAY KINSEY!

Bobcat Award Ceremony

getting his face painted by the Webelos and daddy pinning on his patch upside down until he completes a good deed when it can be turned around. each color on his face represents a different character trait (ex. red is for speaking the TRUTH, etc.)


he was also presented with bead and his favorite: his walking stick! every time he goes on a hike he'll bring it and get to add beads to it. at the end they had an opportunity to do a good deed and load groceries for backpack buddies into a car. he helped out and was able to get his badge turned right side up.

Braden LOVES cub scouts! He's having so much fun going to weekly meetings, monthly field trips called 'go see it's', and other fun things that are added in. It's been neat to do this with just him. Brian or I take him and the other one will stay home with the other kiddos so this can be 'his' thing right now. He's earned badges that I haven't been able to sew on yet...but hopefully his shirt will be all put together soon:).

Just in two months he's been on a field trip to the library, a football game, the art museum, and a hike...all to work on badges and learn about different things. I'm SO glad he loves it and he was THRILLED to have all of us there for his ceremony:). We love you, Braden!

Legacy Finale

cailey performed a song from papau new guinea
for her missions class. she learned a lot about
missionaries and loved praying for them all.

Braden took another weather class and a
concoction class where they made different things.
These were his weather teachers! (The other
teachers weren't there for finale night)

Cailey also took a botany class which I think was AWESOME because I definitely don't have a green thumb!

i moved kinsey up from the preschool this year into
classes and she loved it! she took the same ones as braden
(weather and concoctions) because those were the only
ones offered this fall. she had a great time and couldn't
wait to tell me all about her classes!

hanging out and eating cookies with friends