Christmas Fun

So...no tree pictures but some other pictures of family fun this Christmas season!

The boys' present from us this year was a construction project on their room. The picture below shows the project mid-build. Justin had already removed the ledge that originally was there (shorter and narrower) and built the new window seat.

Here is the completed project: bookshelves for all their books and storage for their toys in bins underneath the window seat.

They are very excited about their desks as well. To do homework on, to color, and all in all they are just ecstatic to have their own individual space where they can keep their stuff and not have it mixed up with other stuff.

You can see their joy and excitement! (The girls are pretty excited too, and Madeline has asked when she is getting a desk and bookshelves in her room!)

We also made gingerbread houses at our local library (thanks to Miss Angie, our wonderful children's librarian for having wonderful activities!). We brought them home and took a picture before allowing them to eat them.

Growing Family

Our family has grown so much! Here are some pictures that really show the growth.

                                                                     Fall 2012

                                                                       Fall 2013

Lily has grown the most!

Easter 2013

Much more recently

The girls hugging Justin on his way out the door

The cute frame from Nate and Kelly that we finally updated the pictures to reflect our two additional children!

We are amazed at how much our family grows and how much our love for them grows as well!

Halloween

I know it is 2 months late but better late than never!

Lily was Tigger--she almost was going to be a ladybug again or a princess like Madeline but I found the Tigger costume that Benjamin and Seth used and couldn't resist. Her favorite stuffed animal is Tigger. She was at first upset that I put her in some weird clothes with a hood, but as soon as I showed her in the mirror and said who she was she got really excited and happy to run around with her tail.

The kids got to paint their pumpkins one week and then carve them the next week--double fun with just one pumpkin apiece.

Benjamin dressed as Harry Potter (complete with pipe cleaner glasses that missed this picture) and talked Justin into helping him make vampire fangs on his pumpkin.

 Seth enjoyed being an astronaut but overall wasn't feeling well so didn't want to be in too many pictures. Luckily there wasn't school the next day so he was able to rest up and get feeling a little better.

Madeline loved twirling in her princess costume--Thanks Grandma Clendening for bringing and modifying the dress! (I vaguely remember her watching some of the kids while I took other kids to the doctor--don't remember now who or why...) We have been having amazing weather sprinkled with cold which could be contributing to the rash of illnesses that have been making the rounds in our family for the last couple of months.

Lily's adventures

 Lily is definitely an adventurous one! She was out playing and climbed up on Seth's bike all by herself and was so excited. I took the pictures and took her off--she got really mad at me and climbed back on!

Her latest adventure involved everyone. I wasn't paying attention to coincidences at first, or I might have realized earlier that the kids' toilet started having trouble flushing around the same that 3 of their toothbrushes disappeared. A few weeks later and all of Justin's efforts to fully unclog the toilet never lasting long, I made the connection, and we finally took the toilet apart. Sure enough, lodged in the very back curve was the longest missing toothbrush.  We are very insistent with the kids that they keep the bathroom door closed and the toothbrushes pushed far back on the counter to hopefully prevent this from happening again.

At least we didn't have to buy a new toilet! We love our Lily--and life is an adventure with her!

Benjamin

 Benjamin has had an eventful fall full of growing up things. He has wanted to play a strings instrument since hearing about the after school strings program at his elementary in 1st grade. He showed us this summer that he would be conscientious about practicing by practicing the piano regularly without any whining. He chose the viola and is loving it! He practices without complaint and sometimes without prompting. He is doing really well and sounding great. He also loves how it helps him manage stress--3rd grade is the start of End of Grade testing.

He also is helping out around the house more and likes doing dishes "because the water is so warm".

He also got glasses and is happy that he can see! He is amazed at how well he can see different things that used to be blurry when they were far away.

Benjamin is of course loving reading and reads voraciously (hm...kind of like Amy).