Disgruntled Guest of Honor

I got on the scale with and without Carter yesterday and the difference was 18 lbs! Not sure how accurate that is, but it wouldn't surprise us! Hence the nickname "Moose!" We wish his 6 month appointment was sooner than the 25th...he'll almost be 7 months! Oh well!

So "the guest of honor" passed out on the ride over and slept through the first half of our meal.

Mal and Daddy had fun coloring...that girl has a mean pencil grip! :)

Boo Bear woke up when the food got to our table. He was so sleepy...guess we should have considered that his bedtime has moved to 7 and he eats at 630...poor guy was not so happy on the ride home. Mommy and Daddy sang to try to calm him all the while Mallory kept saying..."Carter crying!!!!" Then after we would finish a song she would say, "I want to try again!" Oh well...not sure how much fun Carter had, but we had a good time reflecting on the last 6 months and how much we love our little Moose! :)

Beautiful Choas

I heard someone use that phrase one time... "beautiful chaos" and I thought what an oxymoron....But that phrase pops into my head often in the afternoons here. Sometimes it's not so beautiful, but most of the times it is! Bubbles, chess, marble mania, and blanket chewing all occuring at once!...I love having a full house and having the "big family" feel for a while each day.

1st Half B-Day

How grateful are we for our little guy!?!?!? We can't believe we are celebrating his 1st Half B-Day today!!!! The Before Kids are even into celebrating and one of the 1st Graders made Carter this crown! Too fun! :)

We are so grateful that God gave us Carter!!!! We can't imagine our family without him! He always has a ready smile and a hearty laugh! We hope to go out to "his restaurant" tonight to celebrate. (The one we went to after our good OB appointments...) God has done so much for us and we are filled with joy! (Click here to see us at the restaurant when he was 12 wks in utero.)

Down in Who-Ville

Here is our little "Cindy Loo Who" in her new house given to us by neighbors who outgrew it. She was excited as Daddy constructed it yesterday in the nice weather and went straight in and proceeded to look out the windows and door over and over saying, "Hello...Goodbye...Hello...Goodbye..." I know it's just the beginning of hours of fun in there this spring! :)

Migrating South

It was time for Grandma and Grandpa's annual journey south for the month of March. Click here to see last yrs pics...We had a great time with them the past couple of days and the kids have def kept them busy! Mallory enjoyed doing puzzles, playing the "light game", reading, and playing "Puck-a-Boo" (as she calls it) etc, etc with them. Carter enjoyed being held and loved on. :) We also enjoyed getting both "Morin Clans" together last night for pizza. The cousins always have a great time! Can't wait to see you again in April!

"Puck-a-Boo Grandma!!!!"

Rolling Rolling Rolling...

The days of "baby on a blanket" are over I fear...every time I put this guy down today on his quilt he was rolling to a new destination! Sneaky little guy! :)

Signing up "The Sidekick"!

So you would think I just applied to college for Mallory today! Ohhh the drama! Today was PreK registration for a popular school in our area. The sign ups were at 10am...no earlier...so after putting the kids on the bus we headed over...the line was already over 20 people deep when we arrived 40 mins early! Yikes! It was fun bonding with the other parents as we waited...Def felt the drama building and had butterflies! It was hilarious! But she got in! Some of the other classes were full and kids had to be wait listed...I'm so excited we got there in time to hold a spot for next yr in her age bracket! I'm sad to be losing my "sidekick" for 2 days next yr...but she will have her "own thing" and I think she is ready. And the teacher in me is so excited for her!!! Yay!!!! Now I can go relax before lunch with the kids and watch some "Barney-saur" as she affectionately calls him! :)

Shower and Sleepover!

Yesterday was a whirlwind! MiMi came over and brought lunch (notice Carter eying her sandwich!) and then took Mallory back for the afternoon so I could get ready for Bookclub and our surprise shower for one of the girls who is due any day! Then Mike took Carter over at dinner time to spend the night as well.
We had so much fun celebrating with Jen, chatting, and eating yummy food! :) Then I headed over to spend the night with the kids and Mike and Matt came back from dinner and had the house to themselves for "Brother Night." What a fun day!

Carter enjoyed one last ride in the swing before passing it back for the new baby to enjoy...Can't wait to meet Baby Samantha! :)

"Hermie Cabs"

We have been having lots of fun with the "hermie cabs" that have been at our house this week while our friends are on a Disney Cruise....ahhhh the life! Mallory loves them and wants to get them out all the time and "play" with them.

Tiki the crab is quite friendly...while Pebbles is super shy...I have to check his location every night before going to bed to make sure he has moved at some point in the day!

Maybe one day we will be the proud owners of hermit crabs...you never know! I know Mallory will be sad to see them leave tomorrow.

Rain Rain Go Away....

...we want a ***snow*** day! :) We are desperate for the "white stuff" around here! I have so many wonderful memories and so does Mike of snow as a child and all the cool activities that go along with it...and missing school! So fun! But we have been at a loss here for YEARS! I am hoping the "pendulum will swing back" and we are in for some good snowy yrs...but I'm afraid that there might be something to the whole "global warming thing." I hope not...I want my kids to have cool memories too!
Today the flakes were so big and fluffy...I sent Mallory out in her snow boots before we loaded up into the car for the bus stop...and she had fun running around in it...I'm glad she did bc by the time we got home it was all rain....


It's fun to stomp in the rain puddles anyway! Maybe next time will be "our time!!!" :)

"My Turn!"

Mallory wants to be just like the "big kids" I sit for...she grabbed the wii remotes today after they were gone and said, "my turn!"...a bit too early for video games I think...but I humored her for a sec. The kids are also into The Lord of the Ring Monopoly that we have. She has been watching closely apparently, bc the other day after the kids left she said, "I want to play!" and took up the dice and rolled them and announced "4!" (even though the dice added up to a different #) and then proceeded to hop a figure around the board counting all the while. It was cracking me up, bc when they are here she is often doing her own thing...but she is watching! :)

Jamma Day!

We have had a super relaxing day today! The kids both have colds so I stayed home with them while Mike went to work on the Setup Team at church. Carter got lots of Tummy Time with Mallory's new Valentine dog. (Thanks Aunt Susan!) See how well he holds that head up now! We have come so far! And notice the drool...we are working on those teeth I think although we have yet to see one! That's fine with me! I love his gummy grin! :)
We watched the Veggie Tale version of Esther this morning and Mallory would stop her playing and watch when they sang. (I can't wait until she gets into watching those videos!...I think they are so cool!) I told her Esther was in the Bible and she went and got the Bible for me and I turned to the book so she could see and told her a little about Esther's story...a bit later I looked over and she was literally "standing on the promises of God!" Not sure how appropriate that was...but it was a teachable moment...So of course I had to sing the song to her!

"Standing, standing,

Standing on the promises of God my Savior;

Standing, standing,

I'm standing on the promises of God."

When Daddy got back we had a fun afternoon all together...reading lots of books and playing. Then Daddy grilled out for dinner and the kids both went to bed a bit early! What a restful day!

Feeling the Love! :)

What a fun couple of days! MiMi and PaPa babysat last night so me and "My Valentine" could go out to hear an amazing speaker at MOPS talk about having Adventurous Marriages, Families, and Kids! Lots to think about and discuss! And then today Aunt Susan came over for breakfast bearing gifts...Then I went to teach a Science lesson at a B-Day party with a friend and Mike and the kids got to hang out with Matt and Sandy and then MiMi this afternoon. Love family and holidays! :)

It's been a fun day to make everything look like a heart...heart chicken nuggets, cheese, etc.
And then Chinese and a movie with my Valentine tonight! :)

Rooted and Established....

So I've been stuck on a verse lately (really a whole passage...I love it!!!) and especially with Valentine's Day tomorrow!

"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love..."

I want this for our family....like the verse "As for my family and I... we will serve the Lord." And the Lord calls us to love. But what does that look like? It seems to look a lot like the opposite of LAZY...bc "Love, love is a verb!" Jesus states that the greatest commandment is to love God and others. Loving is hard work and nothing we can do without Him. "We love bc God first loved us." At our wedding the word "death" came up a lot...bc love looks a lot like dieing. We have to "die" to our own selfish desires and honor other people before ourselves...even when we are tired and want to be lazy. God calls us to more than that....and it's overwhelming bc I fall short every day. It's humbling bc its so hard to love when a certain someone is throwing a tantrum..."Love is patient, love is kind..." or when someone else won't take a nap despite your efforts...But "love is spelled T-I-M-E" and as we remember how much God loves us and is patient with us in the midst of all of our "fits" and "rebellions" we see His heart for us and our kids.

So I like that there is a "love" holiday to kinda re-evaluate how you're loving God and others. As I approach tom I'm going to ask God to help me show more love to the people in my family and others. I want to show Mike my love by taking the 2 mins it takes to take out the trash instead of taking longer to strategically place a piece on the top of the overflowing can. I want to love our children well and pray that they see Christ in me in the midst of our days. I pray that our family would be "rooted and established in love..." so that we can bear fruit. "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." (Love is first on the list!!!) "Faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." Happy V-Day!!!

"For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen"

~Eph. 3:14-21

Book Fair in the Backyard!

One of the perks to keeping Elem. kids is that we are "in the know" about things! We took a walk tonight before dinner through the woods to the school for the Book Fair! It was such a nice pre-dinner activity....It was the first time (other than voting) that we had been in the school and it was fun to think of the kids in a few yrs being there too! Mallory loved seeing all the books and getting to hug Clifford the Big Red Dog!! We even purchased a book to support the school!

Ta Da!!!

I left the room this morning and came back in and had to take a double take...Carter had flipped the other way and was on his belly...and tickled as he could be...(that is for the next 10 mins!...now he is his own worse enemy for Tummy Time!) He needs to slow down...Mallory was a bit older when she did this! My baby is growing up!!!!

Turtle Boy Has Some New Tricks...

Carter loves rolling from side to side on his blanket now when he is on the floor. He also has been doing a funny "Turtle/I'm-a-90-yr-old-Grandpa-without-my-dentures" gum sucking thing with his lips lately...it is hilarious and I wish I could get it on film! He really looks like a turtle when he does it in the excersaucer!

Spring Fever!!!

We've been having some "Spring-y" weather around here and it has been soooo nice to get outside...tomorrow is supposed to be 74! Can't wait!

Carter enjoyed his first "swing ride..." not sure if he will like looking back at pics of himself in a bunny suit...but it's blue right!?!?! And I had to put something on him...I mean it is Feb! He acted more like a "Billy Goat" than a bunny though in the swing nibbling on the strap the whole time...I'm surprised I got a pic without it in his mouth! Yay for warm weather!

Bedtime...

Praying and reading! The folding of the hands and the crossing of the feet crack us up!!!

So tonight before dinner Mallory wanted to pray...usually when she asks to pray she just sits there with her head down and we say, "Amen" after a bit. But tonight after Daddy started she wanted to and said, "Dear Lord"...it brought tears to my eyes...and then Daddy said, "Thank you for..." and Mallory rattled off a list of her favorite people. It was such a neat moment and we pray that every day she learns a little bit more about God and how much He loves her and each one of us. It's like a quote I read the other day:

"With God there is always more unfolding, that which we can glimpse of the divine is always EXACTLY ENOUGH, and NEVER ENOUGH."

~Kathleen Norris

And below is a video of her being silly in her room tonight before bed...I had told her I liked when she said "Dear Lord" at dinner...then she started doing it again, but got really silly...

And here is part of a story for you from Girly Boo...Enjoy...

Road Trip!

We headed up north to see our "Beach Buddies" at their new house (well they've almost been there a yr now! They've been coming to see us a lot!)....We had so much fun! 12/18 members of the "Beach Crew" got to see each other today! Their new house is awesome and the weather was gorgeous for a walk on the paths in the neighborhood! I can't believe I left my camera at home...I snapped this pic as we prepared to leave to come home at naptime (which was very late today bc we were having such a great time and the day got away from us!!!)...Thanks for letting us use your car MiMi! The kids loved sitting right next to each other! I will add pics when I get them from others! Can't wait to do this again soon! :)

King and Queen of Cheese!

So Mike has to learn how to use a webcam for school...so we had fun goofing off and messing with all the settings for picture taking!

Scary-ness!!!!!!!!

Blair Witch anyone?!?!

Mike is waaaaaaaaaaatching you!

We are so silly! But we had fun! :)

Special Alone Time

Carter has been fine since the "false alarm" on Wed. night...must have been that rice cereal! We are so grateful! He is getting to such a fun age (all baby ages are fun...but I wish I could "freeze" them sometimes from 5 months to a yr!) He likes to try to sit up and he wibbles and he wabbles and he DOES FALL down! Look at the concentration it takes in the above pic! :)

(Trying to be a little "artsy" in the above pic) He loves playing with things...sometimes I hear him playing and think...what is that...and look over and it's him playing! He plays a lot in his car seat now too!

Mallory got to spend the night with MiMi and PaPa last night so her bed was empty and Maggie took full advantage...Can you see her? Mallory loves finding Maggie in her bed sometimes before going to sleep! Mallory had a blast as always with her grandparents...we are so grateful for the memories and relationship they have with each other...and it gave me time to concentrate on just Carter and that was so much fun!

Carter fell asleep on the way to my Bosnian friends house today for tutoring and then again when we left...but over the last few days when we've been at home he has slept in his crib for all of his naps...and he has put himself to sleep 3xs without help! (2xs without any crying!) I think his lovey...Mr. Doggie is really helping him during this transition! When I have to go in to help him after he cries for 10 mins (which is def hard and feels like eternity!!!...sign that boy up for Anger Management 101!!!) I put his paci in and then Doggie in his hands and he grabs Doggie for a big hug and passes out! It's adorable! :)

I'd Be Like 444 Yrs Old!

Carter had a rough hour last night...woke up an hour after he went to bed and threw up. Of course Mommy went into "panic mode" and thought that the "stomach bug" that has been going around had finally hit our house...got on the phone with the doctor and settled in for a long night after Mike called out of work so that he could help throughout the night and then today. Well we are very lucky bc it was only a couple times in that hour that he threw up and hasn't since. We think it might be a reaction to the med he's taking for his ear and having his rice cereal for dinner (he hadn't had rice cereal since Fri. bc of the fever he came down with on Sat night...but he seemed good to go for eating on Wed. night bc he hadn't had a fever since Sunday and we thought he was adusting well to his med...but little guy must not enjoy his rice with a side of amoxicillin! He always has a smile for you though...even after throwing up...(This pics are from yesterday afternoon after his bath...his hair is all spiky!)

And here is our little lady in her first ever "fort" that she made with the cushions...she has seen so many of the older kids do it at our house and wants to be like them...

God has been working on me so much through my children. I love them so much and need to constantly remind myself that they are "on loan" and aren't really mine. I can become so consumed by worries for them, the state of the world, people losing jobs, children fighting things like cancer, etc that I fail to trust God in the midst my days and fall into fear. I don't want to teach my children to fear.

"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?"

~Matt 6:26-27

So if worrying could add hours to my life I would be quite an OLD LADY! I spend WAY TOO MUCH TIME WORRYING! And I know that is not what God has for me, bc "He came so that we may have life and life to the fullest." So why do I constantly fall into it? I want to be like a bird and not worry about tomorrow...There are no Momma birds storing away worms for their babies...they are trusting that what their babies need and what they need will be given to them for that particular day. And all the while they sing! I want to be more like that and be a a Woman of Prayer and not a Woman of Worry! I am so thankful that the Lord is patient with me as He tries to teach me the same things over and over again!!! I need to remember that Jesus said:

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me."

~John 14:1

My Folgers Boy

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Every morning when I go in to get Carter the song goes through my head, "The best part of waking up is Carter in his crib!!!" (I spared everyone and didn't sing it on the video! :) )

"Daddy's Workin!"

Got a call from Daddy yesterday before going to the bus stop...He had left something he needed at home and we were going to make the trip out to his school to see him and drop it off. In all the hustle and bustle I forgot my camera...but got some pics there with the cell again!

My boys hanging out in Daddy's office at the back of his room...

Mallory enjoyed playing ball in his classroom (we were there during his planning so the room was empty), sipping on a juice box, drawing on the board, and putting on Daddy's special "Thinking Cap" a student had made for kids to wear while learning. She was a bit overwhelmed when we got there and clammed up when seeing Daddy's coworkers again...sometimes she gives looks as if she is 2 going on 13...yikes! But she had fun once she warmed up! It always nice to go in and be part of "Daddy's World" for a bit!

And then we came home to play before naptime...such a fun day!