Daddy's Bible

The last few mornings, Samuel has brought his Daddy's Bible to me and has asked me to read to him. How can I turn that down? Usually I'm in the middle of doing something so I tell him to go sit down and pick out what he wants me to read and I'll be there in a minute. He usually goes, sits down, opens the Bible, and starts singing/reading the Bible as he waits. He just makes up words and turns the pages as he goes. So cute! Yesterday we read about the battle of Jericho and today we read a Psalm. He doesn't sit completely still while I read and it is usually only about 5 minutes of reading, but he does pay attention and he loves it! If I stop reading, he'll tell me to "keep reading, Mommy!"

Samuel, Mommy prays that you will always have a passion and a love for reading the Bible and hearing God's Word. I want that love to only grow deeper and stronger!! I love you, precious boy!

Holly Jolly Trolley

Today, my Mom and I took the 4 kids (Savannah included) to Bronson Park to ride the Holly Jolly Trolley. It's a free trolley that goes around downtown throughout the Christmas season that is decorated with Christmas lights and plays Christmas music. We did it last year and had a blast so we decided to make it a tradition!

Aliyah playing by the nativity while we were waiting for the trolley.

Samuel and Hope feeding the camel some straw.

Giddy-up sheep!

"Aliyah, where are your mittens?"

"There they are, Mommy!"

Riding on the trolley with Grandma. They both loved it and had big smiles on their faces for the whole ride (about 1/2 hour)

For the last part of the ride, we went out onto the back of the trolley. It's all enclosed around the bottom but open to the outside air on the top. They thought that this was the best.

They were waving at all of the cars and shouting "Merry Christmas" to everyone that they saw. A lot of people would wave or honk back. They were in their glory!

Sitting on the steps of the City Hall after we got off of the trolley. It was a pretty cold day . . . but still no snow! Such a fun morning!

My 29th

Today was my 29th Birthday! I can't believe I'm that old already . . . I don't feel that old!! I had a great day hanging out at home with the kids. I woke up thinking, "ugh, I wish I could just spend my birthday relaxing, reading a book, and doing whatever I want to do!" As soon as that thought crossed my mind, another thought came immediately right after it, "Wait!! No!! If I was spending my 29th Birthday doing whatever I wanted to, I would be so incredibly sad because that would mean I would not have Samuel, Hope, or Aliyah to share my day with." My thought process immediately changed and I became thankful that I could share my 29th Birthday with my favorite kids!! I spent the whole day playing with them and not worry about cleaning up the house or doing anything besides just focusing on them. It was wonderful!!

Playing play-doh with Samuel while the girls napped. I love this picture!

Daryl came home for lunch, made me a yummy salad, and gave me running gloves and a running headband for my birthday. So excited!!

Daryl was supposed to be at the hospital doing his internship tonight but he cancelled that and instead got my parent's to come over and watch the kids so that just the two of us could go out to supper. We went to Applebee's and had a wonderful time! Grandma brought over a cake and while we were gone, Grandpa helped the kids decorate it. They did the majority of the work all by themselves! Aliyah sat on the table and at the little decorating stars. :)

They were so excited to show-off the cake that they made for me when we came home. I love their enthusiasm!

Lighting 29 candles.

Singing Happy Birthday!

I had lots of help blowing all the candles out!

Samuel LOVES to blow out candles. Good job!!

And their favorite part . . . licking the candles off!!

After the kids went to bed, my parent's stayed for a game of hand and foot. My Mom and I lost . . . aren't you supposed to win games on your birthday??

I had a great day! Thank you Daryl, Samuel, Hope, Aliyah, Dad, and Mom for making it so special!!

2 year old wisdom

A conversation between Hope and myself the other day when I was loading her into the van.

Hope: I was in my other Mommy in Haiti's tummy

Me: Yup, that's right! You were.

Hope: And then I came to Mommy and made Mommy very happy!

Yes, you did Hope. You made Mommy very very happy!

When we changed our room around about a month ago, we knew it would only be a matter of time before the kids figured out that they could throw stuff in the area behind our bed. Tonight, they figured it out. They were playing so well together so Daryl and I busied ourselves with doing things around the house. When we realized what they were doing, there was already a ton of stuff behind our bed - blankets, pillows, clothes, toys . . . pretty much anything they could find! There was a lot of giggling and laughing and running around going on. We decided to just let them keep on having fun and worry about the clean-up later! After Samuel and Hope were done, Daryl picked them up and dropped both of them behind our bed and had them throw or hand everything out. They thought that was pretty fun too!! We'll see if this turns out to be a regular "activity" . . . if so, we might have to put a stop to it!!

There is nothing better . . . .

. . . . Than having a lap full of kids!!

Centerpoint's Family Fun Day

Our Church put together a Family Fun Day . . . it took place last Saturday and then again today. It was raining last week (and we had a busy day) so we decided to go today. Daryl's Mom and her husband were here so we had extra hands to help with the kids. My Mom came along as well! The kids had a blast but it was so cold. The wind chill was under 10. We stayed for about an hour. The first half we spent outside at the petting zoo and riding the ponies. The second half was inside warming up and enjoying hot chocolate and popcorn. We stayed for when they turned on the Christmas lights and then we took off for home, warmth, and supper!

Checking out the ducks. Samuel loved feeding them!!

Samuel got into it the most. Hope was a little unsure. Aliyah hates to walk in the snow with her boots on so I just put her in the ergo and carried her that way. It worked out alright but I think she got cold pretty fast because she wasn't moving around at all.

Showing Aliyah the pig

The pig was doing a lot of squealing/grunting and Samuel thought it was absolutely hilarious! He would start laughing every time! It was priceless.

Trying to keep warm!! (Edited on 12/29/11: See the snow? We haven't had much more than that this year!)

Samuel and Hope were both brave enough to take a pony ride! They both loved it. It was fun to see their smiles of delight!

Once inside the Church to warm up and have some hot chocolate and popcorn, we met up with some friends that were caring for this sweet little girl. Her name is Callie, isn't she precious? Aliyah immediately fell in love with her and didn't leave her side until we told her it was time to say goodbye to Callie and head for home. Hope was also pretty fascinated with her and now has a baby that she calls "Callie"