The start of 2017

In an attempt to do a better job of posting our pictures on the blog, here are the few pictures I've taken over the past two weeks.

It is true what they say that "more is caught than taught," and our THREE kiddos are well on their way to becoming avid readers.  I came home from a solo walk the other day, and when I walked in this was my sight -- daddy reading a book to the big ones, and little Naamen flipping thru his own book.

We love having Emma all to ourselves during the holidays, and one of the fun things for everyone is of course the way her and her little partner in crime play together.  One day they decided to build a train in our TV room, and they must have played a total of five hours on that make-believe world of theirs.  

On that same day they decided to have a little parade outside, with a stick as a mic and an old box and maraca as a drum.  I'm not sure why we bother ever giving our kids toys for Christmas... they always just go back to the basics -- sticks and boxes.

And then another day they discovered some sand behind Memma and Poppa's house and decided that they would build "ant houses."  How kind of them...

In an attempt to live a little more frugally and below are means, I've been trying to incorporate more meatless meals into our diet.  With avocados being 50 cents at Aldi, this beans and rice dish is hardly a sacrifice to consume.

We've been taking a lot of walks lately up our 3/4 mile driveway, and on this slightly cold day, this handsome little "bear" was so cute I couldn't resist not taking a pictures of him.

One of my latest projects has been figuring out a family sourdough bread recipe.  This was my second attempt at it, and compared to my very first attempt (a complete failure), I'd say this one went much better.  I still need to work out some details, but I'd say all in all we are well on our way to making this a family favorite.

Family fires have been a favorite thing of ours to indulge in.  On a cold Sunday night, after the kids are in bed, you may find Byron and I having a little picnic date together near it, sipping hot chocolate after dinner is cleaned up.

And back to our kiddos playing together.  Here you have "Miss Morris" teaching Byron his lesson for the day.

This picture is sideways, but if you are able to read it you'll see that Emma is quite the perfectionist... just like her daddy.  We love having our Emma Girl with us during the holidays, but we also love watching her thrive in school both socially and academically. 

The last picture dump of the year

The kids had been wanting to camp with daddy for a long time, so at the end of October they finally got their wish granted by camping outside of our land.  LB ended up coming back into the house to sleep on his bed.  When we asked the kids what their favorite part about camping was, Emma's response was:  "sleeping in the tent" and LB's response was:  "sleeping in my bed." :p

I had been wanting to refurbish our dinning table chairs for a while, but didn't want to spend too much money on them.  Lo and behold I found a huge roll of this fabric at a yard sale for $4.  I was able to refurbish all eight of our chairs, plus make the cover for one of our small side tables in our guest room.  Score!

LB likes playing with his tools, but somehow he got hold of one of daddy's tools as well, and one day while nursing Naamen, I heard him "fixing" something out in the hallway.  When I can out, I saw that he had dug a hold in the wall :'(  I just about died!

 One of Emma's school assignments one weekend this Fall was to bring Paws to the house and take care of him.  I'd say she did a great job at it.

 

I finally broke down one day at around Thanksgiving and gave Naamen a haircut that got rid of his head mullet that was always covering his eyes.  I took this picture and sent it to Byron to see.  His response:  "are you sure you've got the right kid?" :)

An early Christmas gift from Memma and Poppa -- a family outing to see the Nutcracker.   It was a hit, and both kids are already asking when we'll be going there again.

That glorious afternoon when all three of my children fell asleep in the car.

Setting up the Christmas tree.

Dunkin Doughnut treat with my kiddos to celebrate the beginning of Emma's Christmas break.

Emma loves to read to her brother, and brother loves to be read to.  I caught these two doing just that one morning over Christmas break that just melted my heart.

When we asked LB what he wanted for Christmas, one of his requests was that he wanted to go to "Green-bell" to see his cousins.  We had a wonderful day playing with them the Friday before Christmas.

This boy is just too cute.

We did a Nativity play this year on Christmas Eve at Memma and Poppa's house.  Emma was Mary, Ames was Joseph, and LB was the donkey that always tagged along side with them (he was supposed to be the innkeeper, but LB had other plans for himself).

It always startles me a bit the first time I see my babies pull up on their own.

Loving their gifts from Tia Alison.

Naamen's passport picture is just too much :)

Our friend comes home with us after school

Our good friend Zeke Boy came home with us one day last week.  The pictures do a great job at showing just how thrilled they were with him.

Right after pick-up.

Apple cores and homework, and a little three year-old little brother joining them in their work.

And then of course, it wouldn't be a complete playdate if they didn't dress up in superhero costumes and pushed the four-wheeler with dead batteries around the driveway.

Playing in the rain

School got suspended last Friday due to hurricane rains, so we got to enjoy our Emma Girl at home all day once again.  What a treat!  Of course, the kids decided they would be their usual nutty selves and dress themselves in their winter attire and go out and play in the rain.  These pictures do not do them justice, but they were quite the site, especially since Byron was wearing his sister's boots! 

Halloween 2015

This was the first year Emma got excited leading up to Halloween, and had us counting down the days for it.  She had decided to be Anna from Frozen, and had carefully planned out her outfit, including white nylons and black shoes that buckle, just like Anna's.

A friend gave us LB's monkey outfit, which was perfect since we often say he both acts and talks like a monkey.

 At the church's Costume Carnival.  They brought in a petting zoo, which was such a treat for the children.

My sister Alison and her hubby came to town for a visit this weekend.  And they brought their beloved dog Po with them.  The kids enjoyed him so much.

And of course Emma made sure Tia read to her some books before she headed back home.

Catching up with the blog

It's embarrassing to see how behind I am on the blog.  I refuse to ever say I'm too busy for anything, but the fact of the matter is that life has become too good to spend down time catching up on the blog.  Between happy children, a new home I have enjoyed making ours, helping run a ministry at church (MOPS), friends, exercise, books, and just being plain ol' tired (pregnant!), it's easy to see why I'd put the blog at the bottom of the priority list.

However, I don't print pictures, so the blog is the closest thing to recording our family life, so here it is -- pictures since September:

Just a sight I enjoyed turning back to in the car.  My darling girl with her John Deere hat she enjoys so much.

I turned 31 this year, and for my birthday I requested going out dancing.

Baby bump showing!

Our friends Chris and Shannon joined us for our evening fun.

Our men.

Then cousin Ames and Ezra came to River Pointe for a few days, which meant lots of playing.

And Mexico's Independence Day rolled around mid-September and I decided to make the traditional pozole and invite a few friends to enjoy the evening fun.

Preparing our yummy bowls of pozole.

And like I said earlier, we have two darling happy children who love and enjoy each other far too well.  And here is proof -- watching a Dora cartoon, on the same chair, sharing their blanket.  

And Byron is such a good sport basically agreeing to do everything big sister tells him to.  Here he is being put "to bed" on the floor.  Why not?!?!

And dinner picnics have become a common thing for us to do.  When busy nights come along, instead of running through the drive-thru somewhere, we end up packing a picnic and enjoying it as a family somewhere.  Here we are at the church, meeting daddy before he headed to Bible Study.  It seems like we end up doing one of these about once every two weeks or so.

 And then Halloween rolled around, and Emma spotted these "Halloween cookies" at Target, which were a hit with the children, and with mommy as well since it didn't require us to make such a huge mess in the kitchen.

And then I just love this picture of me and my Little Man.

This good-looking duo enjoyed our seasonal decorations all too well.

And on many occasions, this is how they choose to spend time with each other, snuggled together in the same seat, either reading or watching cartoons together.

October 19th rolled around -- daddy's birthday -- and we celebrated it the best way ever -- in our home with our little family.  The kids each got daddy a balloon, and a few gifts.

I made breakfast for dinner -- eggs, grits, bacon, and watermelon.

For our table centerpiece, the kids and I went outside and gathered flowers and weeds.  It looked so nice!

The kids' gift of choice for daddy.

Two days after daddy's birthday we found out the sex of our third child.

A boy.  And he's being named after my dad -- Naamen.

I found this kid's doctor's kit at a yard sale for 50 cents, and you'd think I'd bought the kids the Moon.  It has provided them with hours of entertainment.

Again, how they choose to watch TV.

And this pic does not do what's going on any justice, but the kids loooooove chasing lizards around the house.  The poor lizard in this pic was terrified, and eventually met his Maker by the end of the ordeal after Little Byron stepped on it :'(  We have been working hard to tell them that lizards are our friends and that we don't kill them.  It has also been fun for the children to watch the lizards they chase around change colors before their eyes.