Christmas is Right Around the Corner!

Christmas is a wonderful time of the year.  It's filled with treasured family time, indulging in delicious food and desserts, decorating the tree, and remembering the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  It's also filled with stressful shopping and planning the Christmas card.  Yes, the dreaded Christmas card, for those of us with young children.  Why is it always a struggle to get everyone dressed properly, looking at the camera, eyes open and smiling?  Nate and I tried on 3 separate occasions to have a family photo taken.  I'll just say, they didn't work out.  I ended up using individual photos of the kids.  Here are a few of the attempts...enjoy!

Who is that popping in the background??  

BG.  I don't need to say anything else.

Green...a little more festive!

Jman.  Very excited to be getting his photo taken.

So close!

Next year, we can hopefully get the entire family in one sitting on the card.  Start praying for us now!

Project on the Horizon

Our tub

We have one room left to completely redo...our main bathroom.  It is kind of our sore thumb.  You can see the blue sinks and tub above.  You can also see that we tried to paint the bathtub white.  It lasted for about 2 days, until the boys took a bath and dropped their toys.  It instantly chipped.  I've taken it upon myself to peel the rest off, slowly.  It is going to be a big project.  I'll start updates when we begin!

We Have Been Busy!

I moved the lazy-boy up from the basement and put our old computer chair downstairs.  It looks nice in the sun room, but the basement looks a bit bare without it!  

Nate finished up the trim  in the basement hallway.

We got a panel painted to cover the water meter.

Lulu's first tree trimming!

   

     We have accomplished a lot in the past 2 weeks.  The sun room got a little cozier.  It was the worst idea to bring up the lazy-boy by myself, but I did it and will never do it again!  I really wanted to rearrange the room the way I wanted to, so I decided to do it when Nate wasn't home!  HA!  Sore legs and arms is what I got for being impatient.  

     The basement trim got a little more complete.  The only rooms not trimmed out downstairs are the bedroom and the bathroom.  

     The bathroom panel is going to get mounted so we can access the water meter easily.  Once that gets done, the trim will go in.  I really enjoy completing projects!

     Lulu's first Christmas will be great.  The boys are enjoying the ornaments on and OFF the tree.  We'll see how many are still in one piece when we take down the tree!  

     Phew!  There's the quick update.  Until next time!!

Kitchen Floor is Done!

We worked hard at the cabinets and counter top, but always that ugly floor looming under our feet.  Nate and his dad worked hard the week of Thanksgiving and got the floor laid and put up the trim.  We haven't had trim in our kitchen since we removed it when we painted, 2 years ago!  It is great to have it done!

Laundry soap

UPDATE (8/30/17):  LAUNDRY SOAP UPDATE - I no longer make it. Click here to Find out why.

I've been forgetting to say that I just made my second batch of laundry soap about 3 weeks ago.  I made the first batch in May.  Six months of soap for about $8...and the only thing I had to buy this time was the bar of soap for about $2!  So a years worth of soap for about $10.  That's what I like!

Me and My Girl

Jman decided to pop in for a quick candid.

I LOVE this smile!

Lulu is my sweet little girl.  She is scooting everywhere now and laughs at Jman and BG a lot.  They give her an awful lot to laugh at!  Jumping on beds, playing the air guitar, shuffling down the hall...you get the idea.  Love, love, love them all!

Side Note for October

In the pictures I posted for October, I just realized that Benjamin and Jeremiah are wearing the EXACT same shirts in both pictures.  Riley and Ian did not visit on the same day!  I'll just say this:  My boys are a little particular about what clothes they wear...

Thanksgiving - Nick!!

It was all about Nick over Thanksgiving.  He finally came home and we had a GREAT time with him.  The boys stuck to him like glue and were ecstatic to see him every time he'd walk by.  I wouldn't mind that kind of reception every time I walked into a room.  Though, the poor guy couldn't get a break from them and they wanted to wrestle and play with him constantly.  Oh, to be loved by a 2 year old and 4 year old!

October...recap

Lulu, Jenny and I

The Boys: Riley, Jman and BG decorating cupcakes

BG, Jman and Ian!  Hot cocoa time

As the boys say:  JIMMY!!!!!

 All these photos are from the month of October...I finally got them off the camera!  We had lots of fun with friends.  My friend Jenny and her son Riley came to visit.  We got the pleasure of watching our good friend's son, Ian for one afternoon.  And for Halloween, we went trick or treating with Jimmy at Mike and Jenny's house.  Jman dressed up as Optimus Prime, BG was Lightning McQueen and their bestest little buddy Jimmy was a hamburger...possibly a cheeseburger.  They had fun...except for the last house which was a little scary.  Bad pre-surveillance on my part.  Jman wouldn't go up to the door, BG cried in Jenny's arms and Jimmy clung to my leg!  Oops.  It had to happen one time, I guess!  Lulu stayed in the house with Nate and Mike while they answered the door.

Lulu!

Lulu at 4 1/2 months old  

My three kids!  

Lulu in a 3 time hand me down hat!

Well, Lulu is now 5 months old and she's already scooting around the floor!  It was slow going at first, but now Jman has informed me that she moves fast!  We can't leave anything on the ground now, especially paper.  She seems to have a radar that picks up paper and goes directly for it.  Crazy!  I wish my babies would stay babies longer.  Jman was crawling at 6 months, walking at 9 months; BG was crawling at 6 months, walking at 10 months; Lulu is well on her way to 'true crawling' and then it's only a matter of time before she's walking too.  They grow up fast!

Wedding Celebration

We went to Fargo this past weekend to celebrate my cousin's wedding.  It was a great time with family and friends we hadn't seen in quite some time.  My boys absolutely LOVE my cousins' kids.  Jman kept asking if we were going to see Nolan.  "Are we going to Nolan's house?  When will we see him?  Will Cooper Coop Coop be there too?"  Needless to say, Jman and BG had a fabulous time!

During the wedding, BG and Jman were moving between Ashley in one pew and Nate and I, in a different pew.  We were both in pews towards the front of the church. BG decided to "tip toe" back to Ashley at one point.  He was trying to be stealthy: knees bent, eyes darting back and forth, and a HUGE grin.  Not to mention his "tip toes" were extremely LOUD!  He was so cute!  I think most of the family commented on that part of the wedding.  I don't know if anyone didn't notice him!!  Enjoy the few pictures we took! 

Grandma, Grandpa and BG before the wedding.

Cooper, Rachel, Lulu and I.  Cooper is 9 days older than Lulu. 

Christmas photo?  Hopefully we can get the kids to cooperate a little better for one! 

Nolan - the little guy my boys LOVE!  He's 11 days older than BG. 

Summer Recap

We celebrated Nate's 30th birthday with a few friends at our house.

The boys and both grandpas went to the Fargo Airshow.

Uncle Nick visited.

Picking apples at Grandpa's house.

I finally had a minute to pop on!  It's almost the end of September, a full 2 months since my last post...awful!  We've stayed busy! 

Nate turned 30 this August and we celebrated by having a few friends over.  We grilled and played lawn games.  It was fun enjoying everyone's company.

This summer also brought the Airshow to Fargo.  Nate took BG and Jman and both grandpas went with as well.  The boys had hear protection and loved it.  Well, Jman enjoyed the Blue Angels...BG slept through them!  Lulu and I watched them from my parents house.  They fly right over the house as they approach the airport.  I could have seen the pilots picking their noses.  The Blue Angels are awesome to watch.  It's exhilarating when they fly by in their formations.  It's amazing!

Uncle Nick was in DC all summer long and spent a couple of days with us before going off to Boston for his new job.  The boys loved having him here.  "Nicky can you read us this book?  Can you do this puzzle with us?  Let's go outside and play."  You get the idea.  Poor guy didn't get any rest! 

While in Fargo celebrating Great Grandma Gerry's 90th birthday party, we got to help Grandpa R pick apples from his apple tree.  It was a little crazy!  Nate was up in the tree shaking branches, while Grandpa, Ashley, the boys and I were holding the blanket below.  BG liked to shake the blanket, which would send the apples flying!  Then while sorting through them, BG would pick an apple, look at it, shake his head in approval and then proceed to throw it as hard as he could into the keep bag.  Jman was eating the apples and climbing up the ladder to check on the next best branches to shake.  It was a zoo!  And lots of fun!

GG's birthday party was a blast!  We got to meet Cooper and see Nolan, Jack, Ava and Caleb, all cousins.  The kids had lots of fun with each other.  I had a wonderful time seeing all the family and people I hadn't seen in years.  Grandma Gerry sure knows how to party! 

Well that sums up a bit of our summer fun!  Now that fall is here, we've started school again and the boys are loving it!  I'll keep you updated more often than I have the past 2 months!

Many Blessings!

We have so much to be thankful for!  We have 3 healthy children and a God who loves us and died for our salvation.  We don't have much to complain about!!

I've been so caught up in trying to get on a schedule with 3 kids that I've put my daily time with God by the wayside.  It's been wearing on me and I needed to make some changes.  I realized that I need to get myself on track before I can even begin to get the rest of us on track.  Memorizing and reading scripture has been so uplifting and encouraging.  I so often try to do things on my own.  I wish I would remember that it never works out!!  :)  God is full of mercy and grace ~ How awesome is that!  I am so thankful that He sent his son and that I heard about Jesus and chose to have him live in my heart and be my Savior!!  Enjoy your blessings today and everyday!

BG's new bike for his birthday...he's NOT quite big enough to reach the pedals on the down stroke!

Favorite Auntie!!

Lulu pictures!

Our sweet baby girl!  She's now 6 weeks old, so here are a few pictures to keep you caught up.  Isn't she beautiful?  We are so blessed!!

BG turns 2!

We traveled to North Dakota over the 4th of July for BG's 2nd birthday.  We had a great time celebrating with family.  It was fun for everyone to finally meet Lulu!  BG's party was a big success too.  He made out like a bandit with LOTS of trains!

Baby Lulu

Here are some pictures to enjoy!  We just love her and she's beautiful!  We are a little biased, but can you blame us?