So much to be thankful for...

We are so thankful for our family and our friends. We are have so many wonderful people that love us and support us as a family. We are truly blessed!

This Thanksgiving we headed to Nana and Gipa's house for a weekend of family fun. We have all been sick so we were not sure we were even going to make it this year. Everyone was still suffering a bit from a cold but we had a good weekend in spite of it all. We had our big Turkey Day dinner at Mimi and Papa's with all the extended family. The kids had a fun time hanging out with cousins and we had a nice time visiting. On Friday, Nana and Gipa took the kids so we could get some Christmas shopping done. It is always nice to spend some time shopping - especially without little ones in tow!

Gigi and the baby

Nana and the baby

Hanging out with Mimi

Falling behind...

This fall I seem to be falling behind in all sorts of things like updating our blog. It has been a few weeks again. We have been pretty busy with the usual daily activities that go with a family of six! The kids are gearing up for Thanksgiving break and very quickly after that comes Christmas. Where does the time go?

We have had our fair share of being sick this fall. Right now half the family is sick and the rest of us are hoping to stay well. We are planning to head to see family for Thanksgiving so I am hoping this flu bug does not put a wrench in our plans. We are all ready for some turkey, pumpkin pie, and of course a healthy dose of grandparents and cousins!

So, what have we been up to? A few weeks ago we had the baby dedicated at our church. It was a wonderful day. We were able to have grandparents as well as great grandparents in attendance which made the day extra special. As always, it is a great opportunity for us to share our faith and join together in praying for our littlest family member.

The sweetest baby enjoying her day.

The whole family after the service

A trip down memory lane

A few weeks ago, we went back to our alma mater for homecoming weekend. Grandma and Grandpa came to stay with the three oldest kids while we took the baby. We had a great time wandering around campus and visiting with friends. While we were wasting time together, we decided to take a few self portraits of some of our most important places. Enjoy our picture diary of a weekend remembering where it all began!

In front of the TKE house where we met.

Enjoying the quad. This is the building where we both lived the year we met.
In front of Post Hall - just another place I lived.


A favorite study spot in the library.
In front of the bowl...

Happy Halloween

Trick-or-treatng was lots of fun last night. The kids all had a blast of course. It was cold so we really had to bundle up but the little girls costumes were nice and fuzzy so that helped. In attendance was our super sleuth detective/spy, little bo peep and her two little sheep. C just kept saying "me, me, me" at every house. Then she was never quite sure what to do after they gave her candy. She just stood there - sometimes she tried to go in the house. Very cute!

My Little Pumpkins!

This morning we took an outing to the pumpkin patch. We normally get there earlier in the season but for some reason this year we were running behind. I think it was all those October birthday parties! Unfortunately we had to take this pilgrimage alone since Dad is out of town for work. It was a little bit of a logistical nightmare. How do you manage 4 kids and all the pumpkins? Well, a baby b'jorn, a wagon, and a good friend are how we did it. We were lucky enough to have my good friend and her two kids with us so everything went smoothly. Aside from the chilling winds and damp air, we had a great time. C was happy that she could run around and fortunately she was not scared of pumpkins this year. And little W was a trooper and seemed to think the pumpkins were just dandy! Afterwards we all warmed up by heading to Noodles. Yum!

Happy Birthday!

Today we celebrated another birthday in our family. Little A turned 9! We had a fun party with some friends at a local laser tag spot. The boys had so much fun shooting it up - apparently they are all natural born killers! A was thrilled to have fun with friends. Nana and Gipa came up for the day too so that was a treat. He loved opening presents too of course. I think the favorite was the new skateboard, followed closely by the book "Diary of a Wimpy Kid." Of course a book mom has been avoiding but he was THRILLED to get! Enjoy the pictures.

Happy, Happy Birthday!

Yesterday was little C's 2nd birthday! What fun. She was supposed to have a little party with her some friends in the morning but unfortunately big brother has been home sick so we had to postpone the party. But, we still celebrated as a family last night.

Her favorites these days include Elmo and anything Sesame Street so I made an Elmo cake for her. She loved Elmo but was not sure about the fact that he was a cake. It took a little while for her to understand that we were going to eat that Elmo!

She had a fun time opening her presents as well. She got a new scooter from her grandparents - she was thrilled. Now she can be a big kid just like her siblings. We got her a zebra bouncer which seems to be a big hit too. It was a very fun birthday!