Our Heavenly Father has richly blessed us:

Titus Michael

Born at home December 10th

9 lbs. 2 oz.

20 inches long

We are all doing well, sorry- no pictures of Naomi with him, she has been really sick with a cold, so we haven't had her hold him, though she really wants to. She hasn't been jealous of him in the least, but has been a wonderful big sister and very helpful.

Thank you all for your prayers!

Braids!

Christmas Tree Hunting

One of my favorite traditions- Christmas Tree Hunting. We got up into the mountains, find the perfect one and enjoy the fresh air. This time Luke got to cut it down and carry it back to the car. Most of the time there is alot of snow, which makes it much prettier- but it was easy to hike around this time.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving 2008

Left and clockwise: Sean, Luke, Brian, Rachel, Naomi, Jesse, Stephen, Karen, *Suzanne's seat* (she was taking the picture) and Laura.

It was a good day- any day with that kind of feast is a good day!!

Where's the baby?

My midwife and I have a great bond- I apprenticed with her for about 7 years while I lived in Washington and we grew to be such great friends. Since I moved out here, she has come out for my births. Here is a picture of her showing the kids what position the baby is in- they all got to feel the butt and the head and could tell where the baby was. Naomi was enthralled and touched my stomach as well.

Bosom Buddies

My friend Suzanne came for a visit this last week. We have been friends for almost 20 years- seems so crazy to be able to say that! We were really hoping to have the baby while she was here, but God had other plans. Suzanne is a Personal Organizer- which is something I am not. While she was here she rearranged the kitchen and the livingroom and cleaned- kept all the dishes done, etc. What a blessing! She says she's OCD, I really had never thought of her that way. More of gifted!
The livingroom arrangement was rather funny... my midwife was here as well and I left to pick up the boys from piano lessons, 20 minutes later I walked in to a different livingroom. Why? What do I expect leaving 2 OCD people in the same room? Oh and because the way I had it set up before was not conducive to conversation. Ok. I change the livingroom every couple months anyway- so it's nice, just funny!
I really enjoyed her visit- we end up just being able to see each other every couple years, so it's always refreshing to be with her. We hadn't planned much- since I was thoroughly convinced I would have this baby as early (or close to it) as I had Naomi. The week was fairly low-key and we just enjoyed each other's company.
Naomi grew quite attached and started saying "Suzi" right away, it was very cute.
Anyway, my heart was blessed by having her here- so thanks Duncan for sharing your lovely wife for a week, it was a great gift!

Update on Erin-

My friend Erin had a beautiful baby girl on November 18. Aliyah Joy. They are both doing really well.
When a baby comes into the world, it's not just a birth of a baby- it's a birth of a mother, a father, a child and a family. Bryan and Erin are committed to raising Aliyah for the Lord, and it is such a blessing to see them grow!

A shelf to sit on

Hopefully not for much longer!

Flower Girl

Naomi was a flower girl for our friends wedding in November.
She really enjoyed wearing a pretty dress.

My New Purse

My Mom is so talented- she can do pretty much anything! She made me a new purse for my birthday- I just love it and had to share a picture!

Luke's First Deer!

Luke was able to go hunting Saturday night with Brian and a friend from church. Brian sat with him in a tree stand and Luke was able to shoot this 2 point buck. He dropped it with the first shot!

Masks...

We were sick the other week and Sean and Laura had planned to stop in, but I told them to stay away- it was really not something anyone else wanted. That was early in the week... Saturday morning they decided to stop in and bless us with Cinnabon Cinnamon rolls but still didn't want to get sick...

Pony Tail!

Naomi's hair is finally able to be put into a pony tail!! Granted, it comes out pretty easy... but if I put it on top of her head she keeps it in fairly well- as long as she's not trying on a bunch of her hats.

Expecting Mamas

My friend Erin is about 3 weeks ahead of me with her pregnancy- It's not often that I am so close in due dates with someone- The guys are already planning play dates. :-)

Naomi's Baby

Naomi's baby was sitting in her high chair- so Naomi gave her a drink. She makes a good mama.

Halloween

I have to confess, I didn't get a picture of Luke and Jesse in their costumes- we had a wedding rehearsal on Halloween, so the boys stayed with their grandparents. I'm hoping to get a picture from them. Jesse was a sword. Luke was a knight, but on Halloween he went as a cowboy. These were taken during our Annual Costume Party- Stephen was an Eagle. Pretty cool, huh?


One of our friends came as a chicken (his wife was an egg!) Naomi liked the chicken head.


Naomi was a pumpkin- I know, she was a pumpkin last year, but I had the costume... and she makes a pretty darn cute pumpkin! She liked it too. :-)

Pumpkin Carving

From Right to Left:

Naomi's, Stephen's, Jesse's, Luke's, Rachel's and Brian's.

Pumpkin Patch

We've gone to a pumpkin patch every year- until we started our garden. Last year we had enough pumpkins just from our own garden, which was alot of fun. But this year our garden didn't do too well and we had 3 tiny green pumpkins... so we went to the pumpkin patch again. Sean and Laura went with us- it was a windy day, but other than that, very nice.


Naomi loves dogs. She just stayed next to this dog and said "puppy!"


A rare shot of the whole family!


Naomi and Jesse.


All my pumpkins!


Stephen and Jesse helped Naomi- she enjoyed "jumping" over everything in the path.


Luke always picks the biggest one...


Trying to decide- it's a rough life!


Jesse and his pumpkin.


Naomi in the pumpkin patch... with her pumpkin hat...


Dad and Naomi found the perfect Naomi pumpkin!

Working on Halloween Costumes... well, not exactly.

Our friends Sean and Laura (you'll probably hear about them alot- we do alot together, pretty much family) brought a bunch of cardboard for the boys to make costumes with.
Each year they make their own costumes- rather than buying them. But this time... they got a little distracted...

These days...

Just wanted to let you all know that if I'm not posting on here- it's because I'm sleeping all the time. When Naomi has been taking naps, rather than playing around on the computer I have been napping too. :-) Only a few more weeks before we meet this baby!

Jesse's snow fort

Jesse built this up and then was digging the bottom out. As you can see it was pretty warm out, (like the gloves with the t-shirt?lol) so the snow was melting fast- not cold enough to hold the shape of a fort. I know they were hoping it would snow again right away- but the snow is all gone now.

Stephen's Birthday

Stephen had a birthday this week. Friday we made his cake- he picked a Greek Lemon Cake (will post on my cooking blog later). We mixed it up together- he was completely involved in making it. After it was cooled we made the frosting and we both decorated. He added all the finishing touches. I was very much reminded of myself around his age- I loved decorating my own birthday cake.













While we were baking he said to me: "Mom, you know what the best part of a birthday is? You get the biggest piece of cake!" I laughed to myself, because the day before Brian had made Stephen a birthday card- and it had said exactly that!! Yup, we've got him pegged.


Stephen loves food. He just does. And he loves making it. (Takes after me- I love it too.) We've gotten him gift cards to his favorite restaurant before for his birthday, and thought he would jump out of his skin in excitement. Last year I got him Rachael Ray's kid's cookbook. This year I went shopping and got all the ingredients to make 4 of the meals out of it, ones that he hasn't made. The fridge is stocked. He wants to make dinner tonight.


Later on Friday, our friend Kristy took Stephen to the rodeo- he got all decked out in his western wear to go. He had a good time, talking with Kristy and her friends and munching on candy. (More food...)

Saturday we had a birthday party for him. He invited a couple friends from school. They got here, made their own pizza and then while it was baking Brian had them play some games. The first one we had teams and they had a balloon between their backs- the fasted team to pop it was the winner. Turned out to be a challenge.
The next game we had a string tried to our ceiling fan with a clothes pin on the end. They each had a fruit roll up they had to eat, from the bottom up with no hands. The fastest won. Jesse was the fastest (of the kids) with 10.2 seconds, followed closely by one of Stephen's friends at 13.8 seconds. They ate their custom pizza and then enjoyed Stephen's birthday cake- and yes, Stephen did get the biggest piece. So much so, he couldn't finish it all.