Christmas Eve: The Ham

Joe started smoking the ham the day before , he worked really hard and it came out amazing.  

Halloween: Trick or Treat

We went to the mall to trick or treat. Talk about crazy! It was packed, but the kids had a great time. 

Halloween: Pumpkin Carving

This is going back a ways, but I am determined to get caught up.  We went down to Decatur for halloween and we had a blast.  First, we had the pumpkin carving....

Then we lit up the pumpkins to admire the artistic talent of Nana and Daddy. Here is Nana and Robbie's pumpkin...

And here is Daddy and Serenity's pumpkin.

A Story by Sissy

The Three Little Princesses

By Serenity

(verbatim)

The three little princesses went in a forest, flying on unicorns (she says hancorns) and a dog. Then a unicorn pooped out an egg. It was a baby unicorn and Sissy came up and picks up the eggs.

The three little princesses found Sissy and she tricked them and disappeared. Then Sissy turned into a cracker then turned back into Sissy.

Then Sissy found a little worm who lost its mommy and daddy worm. Sissy found the mommy and daddy worm footprints.

And then she found an egg from a minnow.

The End

Serenity found me sitting outside and writing in my journal. She sat down next to me and after a moment of silence, asked me if I wanted to hear a story. Of course, I said that I would love to. This was the story she told me that day.

I am always amazed at the depth of my children's imaginations. This is only one of many stories Serenity has told me. The characters are ever changing, and the scenes vary, but there is one constant through them all. Serenity is always the hero of her own story. As her mother, I look upon her in wonder and a truely grateful heart that she sees herself in such a way. I pray that she always sees herself as a hero in her own story.

Abby: Ice cream anyone?

Daddy brought home a box of Drumstick ice cream cones for a treat yesterday. I was sharing mine with Abby when she decided she wanted it all to herself. I got tired of wrestling her over the cone, so I set her up in her high chair and let her have at it. And boy did she have at it!

Alex and Robbie Wrestling

Alex is so hard to photograph sometimes. But the other night I was able to get some great shots. He was content just to be bouncing on my bed. Then Robbie came in and they started wrestling. Alex was so excited and was laughing so much. He was so happy to be playing with his brother. I think Robbie had a pretty good time too.

Serenity's Birthday

Serenity's Birthday was July 16. Can you believe she turned 4?

Sissy had a great time and she got a new Disney Princess bike. But she ended up falling asleep right after cake and ice cream.

Robbie's Birthday

Robbie turned six on the 12th and he had a special request. He wanted a blue cake in the shape of a number six. Robbie and Serenity helped decorate it and it ended up looking pretty good. He enjoyed eating it even more than decorating it.

Robbie was so excited when he and his sister got to play with his birthday present. He had been nagging me for weeks about this sand and water table. The blue colored sand was a real hit.

Spotted Baby

I turn around for one second and this is what happens. Yes, my poor baby has yogurt melts all over her face. She doen't seem to mind though.

And who could have been so dastardly as to put spots all over my baby? Well, who else but the two mischief makers?

4th of July: Out on the boat to see fireworks

So here is Abby out on the boat. She loves being out on the water. However, I don't think she is too sure about the life jacket. It makes her feel a bit smooshed.

It takes awhile to get us all settled onto the boat and ready to "ship off". Some of my children were getting a bit impatient to get going.

We finally leave the dock and Serenity waves. She gets so excited, especially when Daddy makes the boat go really fast.

After cruising around the lake for awhile, we found a good spot for watching the fireworks and dropped anchor. Then we sat back and waited for the show to start.

After awhile, it seemed some of us were getting tired of waiting, or maybe they were tired of getting their picture taken....

The fireworks finally started and, to everyones relief, I put my camera down to enjoy the show.