Literally Speaking

Last Sunday Josiah clearly demonstrated that he is in that stage where he takes everything literally. He wanted to wear his handsome clothes to church and after he got dressed I said, "Hey Buddy, you look sharp!" A few minutes later I heard him talking to Bob. "Daddy don't touch me...I'm sharp!"
Just a little while later in church the Pastor told us to turn to one another and "Pass the Peace of Christ". The gentleman in front of us turned around looked at Josiah and said, "Peace." Josiah looked up at him and said, "I'm not peace, I'm Josiah." I laughed out loud at that one...mostly because it's ironically true.

Buckeyes...my holiday staple!

Buckeyes - It's as easy as 1, 2, 3!
1 lb Butter/Margarine, softened (I like to use Blue Bonnet)
2 lbs Peanut Butter, creamy OR crunchy (I like to use Skippy)
3 lbs powdered sugar
6 bags semi sweet choc chips
1/2 block paraffin wax

Beat butter and peanut butter until smooth. Add powdered sugar in small amounts until completely combined. It always gets too thick for my little hand mixer and I have to finish with a wooden spoon. Roll into balls and chill or freeze.
Melt choc chips and wax in double boiler. Dip balls into choc. using a toothpick or skewer. Chill or freeze. ENJOY!

If you don't want to do the choc chips and paraffin you can use candy melts or the dipping chocolate that you can buy now. I have tried several different methods and while others might be easier, I prefer the choc chips.

Look for "Gulf Wax" when searching for the paraffin. You should be able to get it at Wal-Mart or your grocery store might have it as well.

Have Fun!

We had a BALL!

Last night we attended the Bureaucrat's Ball, a Harvard event, and had the most wonderful time! I've been rushing around trying to put my outfit together for days and yesterday all my planning came together. It was so much fun to get my hair done and put on my beautiful dress and my sparkly shoes. Bob was also looking very handsome in his tux! The event was held at the Harvard Faculty Club which was very elegant. The only downside to the night was that it was snowing so my fabulous strappy shoes were completely and utterly impractical and somewhat ridiculous to walk through the snow with...but it's the price we pay, right girls! There was dancing of course and fancy little cakes and desserts that were scrumptious! It was just all around fun! Bob and I really enjoyed the time together. I'm looking forward to the time when I can put on my little red dress again but the clock struck midnight and the dress is back in the closet, my strappy shoes are put away and the ever so heavy chandiler earrings are back in the box. I'm comfy cozy in my hoodie sweatshirt, jeans and fuzzy boots. :) Dressing up is so much fun but I'll never trade in my tennis shoes for heels...not even ones with sparkles!

Many hands make light work...sort of.

We have several large trees in our yard and they have been bare for a few weeks. The kids and I have raked them into piles twice but we never got the yard waste bags to actually take care of them. We had a nice Sunday afternoon last week and Bob decided it was time to get rid of the piles. So we all pitched in and filled 30 yard bags and three trash cans full of leaves. It took about 2 hours but the kids hung in there and worked hard! They were even enthusiastic about it most of the time. :) It was nice to complete the task together and the yard looks MUCH better. I hope the kids will be as excited to shovel snow!!!

Thank you Lord. How could I ask for more?

I am so very thankful for my family and yesterday we had the most wonderful time together. I always make monkey bread and orange julius for breakfast on Thanksgiving but this year was a little different. The kids wanted to help. So I set them up and they made the whole thing! It was so much fun. They had a little assembly line going on and they loved it. I guess I'm out of a job when it comes to Thanksgiving breakfast. Abigail helped with the julius. We actually didn't do orange...it was more like a raspberry smoothie and it was YUMMY. After breakfast the girls settled down on the couch to watch the parade and the boys went outside to play football together. It was like my dream Thanksgiving morning. :) We eventually got dressed and out the door. We were invited to the home of one of Bob's classmates who lives in New Hampshire. She has 6 kids and so it was a full house but it was full of fun. The kids played and played and we all ate and ate. The dinner was delicious. We topped off the eating with a new recipe I tried for Turtle Cheesecake! YUMMY! Then the kids started playing Rock Band on the XBox. Bob really got into it and by the end of the evening he was jamming it out with the fam!
Our fun day was just a reminder of how sweet my life is and how many times I get so bogged down in the daily hum-drum that I forget that I have been showered with blessings. All day long the words from the song "Thank you Lord, How could I ask for More?" kept going through my head. I sang this song at church when I was in high school and I've always liked it. The last stanza of the song says it well:
So if there's anything I've learned
From this journey I am on
Simple truths will keep you going
Simple love will keep you strong
Cause there are questions without answers
Flames that never die
Heartaches we go through are often blessings in disguise
So thank you Lord, oh thank you Lord
How could I ask for more.

Stringorama

Last night was Abigail's first violin concert. I was pretty impressed with this performance. The orchestra is made up of only third graders. They did an excellent job! Abigail has really enjoyed learning the violin so far. I'll be interested to see if she wants to continue with violin lessons after this school year. It is so exciting for me to watch the children as they discover what they are interested in and find the things that give them joy. **Once again I am not able to upload the video here :(

A new delima...hockey or baseball?

Today was the beginning of the youth hockey program in Belmont. I knew that Joshua was going to do great because he picked up roller-blading so quickly. He was awesome! He started slow but he was strong and confident the entire time. The program is 2 hours every Saturday. They started right in with instruction and drills. They did that for an hour and took a break...except Joshua asked if he could stay out on the ice and practice. Then they did another hour of instruction and even after all the kids came off the ice Joshua was asking to stay on. They had to kick him off in the end because the zamboni was coming through! He really had a lot of fun and is already asking if he and Josiah can come to an open skate so he can teach Josiah about hockey. The down sides of hockey...it takes about 20 minutes to get Joshua all geared up and then of course a few minutes afterwards to get everything off, which makes this about a 3 hour affair. The other 3 kids got a little bored. Also, unlike the first time I took Josiah to the rink, I brought our winter coats but even our feet started to get cold after a while. Next time the girls will wear their fuzzy boots. So I guess we'll have to get used to being penguins. At least for now Joshua can pursue hockey and baseball since the seasons don't overlap. I'm fine with it as long as he doesn't want to grow a mullet!

Happy Birthday Dear Joshua

I should have known from birth that Joshua was going to be the sports kid in the family. After all, I was in labor (contractions 2 or 3 minutes apart) and Bob told me that he just had to play flag football...they were counting on him to be the quarterback that night. I reluctantly said ok and off we went to the field. He played, they won and then my mom had to go tell him to stop chatting with the guys because this baby was ready to come cheer for his daddy too! Joshua was born a short time later. Joshua recognized his athletic beginning and is following in his daddy's footsteps. Note to self--warn his future wife of possibility that she may have to labor through sports events if she marries my son. Joshua just excels at all things sports and we are very proud of his accomplishments. What's better is that he also excels in school. He has become an excellant reader and does a great job in math and science as well. He has started taking piano lessons this year too and is progressing well in that (although what he really wants to learn is the guitar). And most importantly Joshua has the desire in his heart to please God with his life. He has made several requests to profess his faith and become a member of the church. Although we think that he needs to have a deeper understanding of what that means, we are very encouraged by this and pray that he will continue to seek to glorify God with all he does and says.
In the end I just have to say that I am blessed to be Joshua's mom and I am so thankful for my boy! Happy Birthday Buddy. I love you!

**I have a really funny video of us singing happy birthday and Joshua blowing out his candles but can't get it to upload right now. I'll try again later. :)

Snowplow Sam

Josiah had his first Snowplow Sam skating class on Tuesday. He has been waiting for this class to start for weeks. We had to get him a pair of skates and a helmet for the class and he has been dying to wear them both. He just couldn't understand that the skates could only be worn on the ice. And the helmet...forget about it. He thinks it's the coolest thing since sliced bread. I'm so glad that when it actually came time for the class that he liked it. There are only 2 kids in his class which means he will be getting lots of one on one time with the teacher. He did a great job for his first time on the ice and it was so much fun for me to watch. I can't wait to see how he will improve from week to week. FUN!

Some tricks and lots of treats!

In case you couldn't tell we have 2 marines, a kitty cat and a rock star in the house!




We had a really great weekend...most especially because our friends Mr. Mike and Mrs. Susan came to see us from Albuquerque. It was so great to be with them again. Saturday morning Joshua had his last double header of his fall-ball season. His coach put him in to pitch and he struck out 2 batters! He did great!!! We are so proud of him. This Saturday he starts hockey!
Saturday night the kids got dressed up and we went trick-or-treating for the first time. We turned on the porch light and left a big bowl of candy on the porch. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) the bowl was completely full when we got done treating. UGH! Why did I buy the kinds I like???
The kids were so excited they were practically bouncing down the street. Josiah started getting tired about half way through the treating and Mr. Mike had to carry him. He kept saying he was sleepy but then just couldn't stop going up to houses. It was a difficult inner battle and in the end candy won out over sleepiness. On Sunday we attended church in the morning and then did our second family photo shoot. It was great to have Mike and Susan along to help get the kids attention. Josiah was still the #1 pickle and it shows in MANY of the shots but I think we could definitely call the session a success! Monday morning we got the kids off to school and then Josiah and I took Mike and Susan to a bakery that I've been wanting to check out. We had a nice breakfast and then had to say good-bye to our friends. We were so thankful to get the chance to see them and pray that it won't be too long before we see them again.

Here's my favorite picture from the shoot. I laughed so hard I cried when I saw this one for the first time. Seriously people you should see the rest of the pictures. Ha-lar-i-ous!!!!

Happy Birthday My Baby (he hates it when I call him that!)

Today my baby is 4 years old. It is embarrassing to say but I have a hard time remembering his birth. I know that it was raining and that Bob and I decided to stop at Subway on our way to the hospital, it was dinner time, and we knew once we got there we wouldn't have the opportunity to eat for a long time. So we checked in and I think for the most part they left us alone. I guess they figured we'd done this three times already, we didn't need a bunch of people standing around in the room with us. After having an epidural with Chloe that didn't work all the way I decided to pass on that and just go the no drug route again. One moment during the birth that I do remember quite clearly was when Josiah's head was crowning and I said (rather loudly, I think), "It's burning!!!" The nurse replied in a matter of fact sort of way, "It's the ring of fire." Fortunately for me it didn't last very long. Josiah came quickly, just like the others. It's funny, I'm remembering now that after the delivery they were cleaning up Josiah and the nurse was asking us if we had ever looked at the placenta. She lifted it up and was giving us an entire lesson on this amazing material that was so strong and yet so thin. I think Bob was fascinated and I was far more interested in seeing my baby than seeing my placenta.
Anyway, he was the sweetest little guy...not so little actually. He weighed 9 lbs 6 oz, exactly the same as his big brother! It's been strange lately as I watch him and think, "This is the last time we'll be doing this" (as we are not planning on having any more babies). Sometimes it feels sad and other times it is exciting.
Josiah has a funny little personality. He has been dubbed the slushie bandit because he knows how to use his good looks and the power of persuasion. He is our biggest fruit eater...the downside of that is when I find the pits of all the fruits he's been eating all over the house! UGH! He loves playing with his friends, especially Ellie, and when he knows a playdate is coming he will continually ask, "Is it Ellie day?" So sweet. My boy has always been a farm lover and John Deere enthusiast. I wonder how long this love will last?
The worst part about him being the youngest of four (for me anyway) is that it feels like he has grown up so quickly because he is always trying to keep up with the big kids. He rode his bike even earlier than Joshua and at this point is a master on the scooter. He knows how to navigate around on the computer too, which is so amazing to me! He definitely picks up everything the big kids do and just does it too. Some days it's hard to see my baby being such a big boy but mostly I'm excited...excited to see what kind of people all my children are becoming. What they like and dislike. What the excel at and what they struggle with. Mostly I pray that will continue to grow in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and that they will love Him the most in their lives. I pray this for Josiah and trust that my baby is in His hands.

Here's some pictures from Josiah's birthday lunch with daddy and his party with our friends Mrs. Katie, Ellie and Clar.

Lunch at the famous Mr. Bartley's Burger Cottage in Harvard Square

After lunch, a visit to the Curious George toy store.

Here's the cake Josiah requested. We called it the "Over the rainbow" cake, which was fitting since it was such a rainy day today. I was surprised when he selected it over all the other ones we looked at...but after I thought about it I realized it was a cake covered with jelly beans and marshmellows...who could ask for more?

The birthday bunch!

Pumpkin time!

We usually get pumpkins for the kids each year but we've never actually carved them. The kids were begging to carve the pumpkins that we brought back with us from Ohio, so today we took the plunge and did it. I wish I would have purchased some of those safety carving knives for kiddos but since I didn't have any we used the poke method. I printed up some stencils and the kids poked holes with push pins around the image. Then I went back and carved along their lines. Oh and before we got to that we had to get the guts out and let me just say that their pumpkin carving excitement was quickly dulled when they saw what was inside the pumpkin. Chloe wanted nothing to do with it! So I got to do most of the gutting too. In the end I was sitting at the table alone carving the pumpkins while the kids played outside waiting for theirs to be done. Once everyone had a carved pumpkin I decided we were going to toast the seeds, which I have never done before. I separated a bunch of seeds from the guck and found a recipe online. I went with one that called for butter, Worcestershire and salt. It took all afternoon for this pumpkin fun but in the end we were all pleased with our carvings and the oh so delicious pumpkin seeds! We will definitely carry on the seed toasting tradition...how come I never did this before? The best was when it finally got dark and we lit the pumpkins. The kids thought it was the coolest thing! These are the days I love.

With friends like these who wouldn't drive 14 hours alone with 4 kids for the weekend?

When I looked at the kids school calendar and saw that they had Friday and Monday off for Columbus Day I decided we needed to do a road trip to Dayton to see our friends! We left Wednesday after school and got home Tuesday afternoon. It was so great to see our friends, go to our old church and just let the kids play with their buddies...and I got to hang with my buddies too!!! Our military worlds collided at Boonschoft Kids Museum where we met up with our friends the Martins who were stationed with us in ABQ and are now stationed at Wright Patt. Fabulous! We got to celebrate Jeremy and Marshall's birthdays, go out to lunch with the Burkholders and go to the pumpkin farm that we used to visit every year. We are so thankful for our friends all over the country who are so close to our hearts even though we are so far away.

Make new friends but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold.
This weekend...pure gold!

Disclaimer - I am not good at selecting the best photos to post so I just put up a ton! I just can't adhere to "less is more" when it comes to cute kiddo pictures. So enjoy!

Josiah driving the recycle truck

She's just cute...what can I say?

Chloe and Eliana reunited

I just love that they are holding hands

Dayton friends and Abq friends

They both look like their daddies

My son is a poser

Josiah almost ended up IN the touch tank

These two have been best friends since they were 1 1/2 years old!


Seriously people...how cute are they!



Backyard football...why do they insist on taking their shirts off? It's a boy thing!

SILLY

More posing by Joshua

It's a bumpy ride
The only hayride I've ever been on that the kids think is a roller coaster!