Christmas

Getting ready for dinner on Christmas Eve.

Fancy Dinner in the Dining room

Cheers!

Opening Christmas Eve present from Mommy

New jammies made by mommy!

Christmas Eve Service

Silent Night


Good Night!

Christmas Morning.

Christmas Break

We had tons of fun on Christmas Break! The kids and I put this puzzle together. It was our first big one (550 pieces) and the kids were so proud of it, I had to take a picture or two!

Noah lost his very first tooth!

And, of course, we made cookies!

Tadaah!

Thanksgiving

This year our home school group decided to change it up a bit and put on a Thanksgiving Show instead of a Christmas Pageant. I thought it went really well and the kids learned a ton about our country's history. This show incorporated two of the things I love about homeschooling. One, it provided an opportunity for kids ages 2 to 10 to work together and learn together. And two, we gave the older kids an opportunity to write a portion of the script and do what they wanted with it. Kate and her friend Thomas decided to be John and Priscilla Alden (historical pilgrims who came over on the Mayflower). They wrote and acted out a scene in the show together. I was really proud! Julia wanted to be one of the four narrators who read a portion from an "old" book. Although she only just turned 7 (2-3 years younger than the other narrators), I knew she would be up for the task. She did not disappoint! She did a great job and she looked so cute in that huge rocking chair! Noah was awesome and said all his lines at just the right time! Over all I think it
was a huge success!

Brendan

On Monday, when my phone rang and my brother gave me the news that a family member would be adopting Brendan, my world came to a halt. We knew all along that this could happen, I even told people, "It's never for sure until you have those adoption papers". But I was not able to keep my heart from being invested in this sweet little boy. I scolded myself for allowing this to happen. Why didn't I keep my distance until he was legally available for adoption? And what about this growing passion that Joe and I have for adoption? Should we just give up? It would be a lot less painful. What is the Lord trying to say?

I took the rest of Monday and all of Tuesday to grieve and pray. This is not to say that I am not still grieving or praying, but I can't hide out in my pj's forever. The Lord kept bringing back a blog that I had read a few days before this happened. It was actually from my brother. He was talking about things that he had learned from being a foster parent. The thing that stuck most in my mind was that when you care for a child (foster, adoptive or even biological), it's not about you. It's about that child. Sure, my heart is broken, but what is best for Brendan? And who is this about? Should I withdraw my love for fear of getting hurt? Or could I possibly, with the help of God, give my love away with full abandon and no hesitation, knowing that this is what God has called me to do? So, as hard as this process has been, I would not trade knowing this little boy and even loving him. I will pray for him until I see him in heaven and trust that God has the perfect plan for him and for us. As for adoption, we are still continuing to pursue this as Joe and I both believe that that Lord has laid it on our hearts. And I thank Brendan for giving us the motivation to research adoption more fully and to find out the steps we need to take to get us there.

Halloween

This halloween was probably my favorite. It was absolutely beautiful outside, we were able to be out the entire night with no jackets! What a huge blessing! We also met us with some of our best friends and all had a really great time! I do think that the nice weather brought out every trick or treater in the neighborhood though. I really don't know how anyone had enough candy for all those kids!

The two most handsome army guys out there!

Noah as a soldier

Kate as a Spring Fairy

Julia as a Wildcat Cheerleader

The moms: Julie, Molly, Kerry, me and Jenn (as Michelle Duggar)

The kids: Way too many to name (although less than Michelle Duggar has!)

Julia's Frankenstein

Kate's Rose

Noah's skeleton

All lit up at night.

After trick or treating we had everyone over for soup and chili. It was a perfect way to end the day!