November and December so far

It's been a full couple months, OK a full year :) Back in September Isaac started his first season of soccer, which he just loved. It wasn't a team with games, just learning basic skills in a fun way once a week. He wasn't very thrilled with the idea when we told him about it, but after the first practice he could hardly wait for the next Monday. The season wrapped up in the beginning of November. Another wonderful means of expending the kids energy is the 13-foot trampoline I got off freecycle! It's in great condition, we just need to fix the net, but so far no one has fallen off :) Don't worry, they aren't allowed to jump without us there! I love freecycle :) My parents came up in November in the middle of the pastors' conference at our church so they could watch the kids for part of it anyway. We had a great time together, as always! Never a shortage of house projects to work on either :) We spent Thanksgiving with some friends here in town since all our families live far away. Plenty of kids to play with and lots of food to eat. We all had a great time, but it's just not the same as being home with all the family! No Black Friday shopping for me this year! All I heard was how crazy it is up here. Well, we did stop at Wal-Mart in the small town near us to buy a Christmas tree stand, but it was just about like normal there. Gotta love small towns :) Then it was on to get our very first live tree! Some friends had told us about a nursery about 30 minutes away that gives you a free tree when you buy a gift card of equal value. So we'll go back in the spring to get grass seed and our garden veggies. We were super glad not to have to pull out every little branch of our artificial tree, plus it makes me sneeze and itch from the dust! The tree is so pretty and smells so good! Another first was having an actual tree topper and not a bare branch! That was an after Christmas deal last year :) Since Luke is into everything we put the tree in the foyer to minimize temptation for him. So far he's only gotten to it once :) And the latest big event was the kids being in our babysitter's wedding yesterday! Sarah has been watching the kids for at least two years, and she's just so dear to us all! She and her now husband came over a few months ago to talk with us and ask about our courtship and such. When we had shared how we so quickly felt sure we wanted to marry the other, and both shared such similar visions and desires for life (including seminary), they looked at each other and said "that sounds like us!" They got engaged the next week I think :) I think Sarah must have told the kids something when she was here b/c they weren't very surprised when i told them they were engaged! So Samy has been counting down the days until she got to be a flower girl, while Isaac, on the other hand, would say, "It's so girlish!" They both made it down the aisle, no stage fright at all! Isaac forgot who he was supposed to take the rings to when he got down front though, causing one of those classic AFV moments when he calls out "What??" as i tried to tell him where to go :) oh well! We were so happy to be part of their big day, but I was totally exhausted at the end of it. Luke was cheery for all but a few minutes of the 5 hours we were there! Thank you kind God!!

October around here

Ah, the first snow of the season. Wait, there are still green leaves on the trees! This just ain't right my friends.  The kids were out having a snow ball fight with a neighbor yesterday.  I slipped on the icy driveway this morning (when I locked the kids and I out of the house leaving for church).  This is just craziness!  But it really is still pretty, though a bit weird to see green leaves with snow on them!

Last night was the Harvest Party at our church.  It was pouring snow all day yesterday and Keith was rather concerned about the roads b/c they were saying it was going to freeze, but we knew the kids would be so disappointed if we didn't go.  So we set out and by the time we were out of our little town there was almost no snow on the ground!  Crazy how different the weather can be just a few miles away.
Samy was Rapunzel and I made her a long braid out of yarn.  (if you look close at the pictures you can see her cast!)  Isaac was Anakin Skywalker, wearing the Jedi cape I made for him and armed with his lightsaber!  Our neighbor was dressed up as Rapunzel too and had her own yarn braid :)

Time to get to church, but hoping to update on the kids later!

We're experiencing some technical difficulties

Sorry for the long silence here...my computer is down and only works in safe mode, which means i can't get my pictures off my camera.  Apparently my computer wasn't a big fan of Isaac playing Lego games online :) 

So we've been busy little bees around here since my last post: the boys went camping, Grandma came for a visit, Grandan and Bubbe came for a visit, planning for home school, replacing and painting the boards on our front porch, and just all the normal stuff of life.
Luke is huge!  3 months old now and around 15 pounds.  The boy is the most contented baby I've ever seen, such a little sweetie!  He's sleeping from around 10 pm till sometimes 9 am!  He LOVES to suck his thumb (which may be why he's so very content), but he also loves to talk to people and see their faces.  It really is like a conversation in baby talk :)

Isaac turns 6 this Thursday!!  I can't even believe how quickly these years have gone!  He is a great reader, but we're still working on that love for reading :)  He and Samy were begging me to start school this past week after some of our stuff arrived in the mail, so I read them some history stuff which they weren't so excited about.  But have been having a good time with the geoboards and rubber bands :)

My parents arrive Wednesday, the last of our summer visitors.  Can hardly wait!  For them to arrive, I mean, not that they be the last :)
Whenever my computer is up and running again I'll post some pictures and hopefully get a few more posts about life in the near future!

Sundays and such

Most of you probably know that we love spending our Sunday evenings eating popcorn, drinking lemonade and watching America's Funniest Videos.  While since the NBA playoffs were on last Sunday evening, we had our popcorn on the front porch, followed by football and tag.  Isaac and Samy were too cute sitting together on the swing talking about Star Wars and princesses I'm sure :) 

Luke is growing like an adorable little weed!  He's grown 3 inches!!!  I haven't weighed him, but I guarantee he's still at the top of the chart.  I caught a few smiles on camera this week and had to share those.

While Daddy was away

Keith got to go to the NEXT conference in Orlando over Memorial Day weekend, which meant me alone with three kids for four days.  So I purposed to do lots of fun things we don't normally do, knowing that my temptation toward anger would be that much greater without Keith here to help.
As soon as Keith left Saturday morning we headed out to pick strawberries!  They weren't nearly as sweet as last year, but maybe it's because it's the very beginning of the season.  Samy had only one strawberry in her bucket at the end of it all because they all went straight to her mouth!  No wonder she had a tummy ache :)  When she had had her fill she started picking flowers instead.  Isaac lasted a little longer, and Luke slept the whole time.  We'll have to go with friends later in the season so they'll be more distracted and I can get more berries!
That afternoon Isaac's best little buddy from school came over along with him mom, and little brother and sister since his daddy had gone with our daddy to the conference.  The kids  had a super time running around and I got some time talking with my friend.  Then mac-n-cheese for dinner (their fav!) and ice cream for dessert.
Sunday after church we went to a little deli for lunch and ran into a couple Keith met through his evangelistic bible study last month.  They were so happy to meet the kids as they had already dubbed themselves Aunt Gloria and Uncle Peter :)
Oh, I should also mention that I woke up Sunday morning with no voice!  It was almost gone Saturday night, but I could scarcely speak by Sunday morning!  Allergies are in full bloom here ya know!  And then I must have pulled something in my back putting Luke in the car after lunch b/c I couldn't get the car seat out when we got home.  I could barely move without shooting pain!  I was finding all this somewhat humorous since Keith was gone when I lost my voice and could barely move :)  God's grace was quite evident that I was reacting in laughter instead of anxiety or anger!

Since it was blisteringly hot Monday I got out the Slip-n-Slide for the kids and they had a blast, though Samy was to afraid to actually slide, she just scooted herself down :)  Before he left Keith had gotten the A/C unit in the kids' room but forgot about the one in our room.  It was an adventure getting that heavy unit to our window, especially with my back out of whack :)  but Luke and I needed to sleep in the cool, it had to be close to 90 in our room!  Again, laughing that we were having a heat wave while my hubby was away, as well as our neighbors, so no help there.
Tuesday Isaac was back to school, which means out the door by 7:30 to pick up our friends' kiddos and make it on time.  Well, getting three kids out the door that early after a rough night (because Luke was in the room with me) was hard enough, and we were already a few minutes late, but then I went and locked my keys in the house after getting everyone in the car!  I called Helen and said I was so late and she took her boys to school.  And I was just grateful that it was so hot that day because I had already opened all the windows downstairs, so I pried off a screen and climbed in :)

Let me just tell you, I was so happy to see my dear hubby that evening :)  But truly, there was so much grace in the midst of all the hiccups in my plans!  I know how I have reacted to such things in the past, with anger and harsh words toward my children (whether it be their fault or not), but the Holy Spirit was working miracles in my sinful heart this weekend!  I truly was finding humor in the myriad of difficulties and seeing all the good gifts of friends and fun and not setting my expectations too high.  It was only by the grace of God! 

Here's some pics of the weekend and lots of little Lukey :)

May showers

Isn't it supposed to be April showers??  Well, we've had rain everyday for 2 weeks I think!  The ground is always muddy, which means so are my children :)  Last Sunday they couldn't resist going out to jump in the puddles (more like ponds!).

And a little catch up since I finally downloaded the pictures from my camera...
Just before Mom left we took her to the local paint-your-own pottery place to make her gifts to say thank you for taking care of us for two weeks/Mothers Day.  The kids each painted a coaster for her and I painted a vase for her new sun room.

Since the sun came out for a while on Monday we all headed to the park to enjoy it.

little tough guy!

beautiful girl :)

precious (and getting so big!) Isaac

he loves his paci, just like big brother did!

Tuesday I began my cloth diaper adventure!  I did it Tuesday and Wednesday with no leaks, but quickly discovered I need more diapers :)  So they are on their way and the other ones are washed and ready to go again.  It really wasn't that much more work than disposable, and a heck of a lot cheaper in the long run!  I even made my own cloth wipes out of an old flannel sheet.  I feel so Martha Stewart, though I'm sure her stitches would be considerably straighter than mine :)

For those who like to hear birth stories :)

Oh what a delight to have our little guy in our arms!  Especially after all the waiting :)  A few ladies  have asked about my birth story so I thought I'd share...
We went in early on the 22nd to be induced.  We were only at the hospital a few minutes when we saw (Keith says we were tackled) Cheryl, a nurse in the mother/baby unit who we know from our church.  She was just getting off her shift but said she'd be back at 7 that night.  A wonderful greeting to begin our day :)
We chose Friday the 22nd for a few reasons, one being my favorite doctor (Dr. Jones) in the practice I go to would be on call that day.  She thought I would just need to have my water broken to get things going.  So after my round of antibiotics (I was positive for strep B) she broke it at 9:30.  Things got going but I was making no progress after a few hours (stuck at 2 cm just like the past almost two weeks), so pitocin was started and the contractions quickly got stronger.
Keith was just wonderful through the whole thing, and I remembering commenting that I'm glad I don't have to watch him do this :)  God is certainly wise in assigning our roles!  Before I started pitocin we had alternated walking 40 minutes and monitoring 20 minutes, so at least we weren't stuck in the room, but after pitocin began I was stuck.  Keith read aloud from a book on Jonathan Edwards, and though I have no idea what he was reading, it was soothing to hear his voice.  And he kept me laughing when I wasn't in pain.  As he shared on facebook, the funniest moment was when he pretended to read the ingredients on my IV bag and said high fructose corn syrup was the first ingredient :)  This after we laughed about the nutritional value of all the Popsicles I'd been downing!

Dr. Jones was such an encouragement, even as I made no progress and the hours dragged on.  She was certain I would just progress all at once, which was exactly what happened.  I got an epidural around 5, when I couldn't take the pain anymore and I was still only 2 cm.  The nurse checked me again around 6:15 and I was still 2 cm.  Dr. Jones came in shortly after that, just before her shift ended, and was stunned to hear I still hadn't progressed.  At this point I'm beginning to think I'm going to end up having a c-section because this kid just doesn't want to come out :) but she encouraged me again that she really thought I would go all at once. 
Around 6:45 the nurse checked me again--8 cm!!  Oh, I was so happy!  And within another 15 minutes the nurse had called  the doctor and he was on his way because I was 10 cm.  The doctor now on call was one I had never met and was completely opposite of Dr. Jones. She's very animated and talkative.  He is a much older, quiet, stoic Jewish man.  But he got the job done well!  After about 10 minutes of pushing, there was our precious little BOY!  It really was fun to not know what they would announce.  Since it was after 8, our friend Cheryl was back on duty and she came in to ask if she could take care of us--I was so glad to have her as our nurse! 
We called the grandparents and then I was able to let him nurse.  Then Keith was off to get me some food!!  A huge burrito from Chipotle wouldn't fit in my stomach when I was pregnant, but it was no match for my hunger at the end of that day!   And a Krispy Kreme doughnut too :)  We won't talk about the nutritional value of that :)
Sometime the next day we were about settled on the name Luke.  When Keith brought the kids up just before dinner and Samy says out of the blue "I love Luke!" in her sweet voice, it sealed the deal!
We were discharged Easter Sunday.  Made it home before 1 pm!

Here we are a week later, and I'm feeling good.  Luke is sleeping well, though we had a few really tough nights.  The kids frequently just stop what they're doing and come give him hugs and kisses.  They love when his eyes are open and they talk to him and wave at him.  My mom arrived Monday night and has been a HUGE help!  Don't know what I'd do without her :)

Pictures of Luke

Sorry for the long wait for pictures, been a little busy. I was afraid all those grandparents would be calling to yell at me if I didn't get some up today :) Without further ado...

Awaiting baby

Since mom and dad came up a week ago yesterday, I've certainly been more desirous for this baby to come sooner than later! But God had other plans. It was wonderful to get my parents here for a week without a newborn to take care of :) My dad and Keith got most all the electrical in the house fixed, and Mom and I got to go to the tag sale! They left after lunch today and my mom will return after baby comes, probably on Monday. Oh, that's the big news for now: if I don't have the baby by this Friday morning I'm going to the hospital and the doc is going to break my water to get the ball rolling! The end is in sight!
So for now we just wait and enjoy the last two nights of sleep without nursing and diaper changes. Oh my, that really is going to happen isn't it!  Yikes :)

All this waiting certainly has been revealing of my heart--a desire for control, impatience with God's timing, thinking I know better how things should go, fear of what others think about me and my false alarms, anxiety over what we'll do without my parents to take care of the kids, etc. etc.
Nothing like a good squeeze to get some sin out of your heart :) But all that sin was met by God's grace and I am the richer for it! I know He will meet all our needs for child care and meals. I know He has the perfect birthday planned for our little one. I know He holds this baby in His hands and me as well. I know His grace is sufficient for today, and that will be true tomorrow as well.

We will try our best to keep you updated! We would appreciate your prayers as the waiting ends and labor begins :)

Blogging before baby

Hard to believe the time has almost come to welcome baby number 3!  I'm fairly certain this baby is going to come early, just that motherly instinct :)  And Keith and I both think it will be a boy...we'll see!

Thought I'd better do a quick blog before the time does come and then I never get the adorable pictures of Samy's ballet "show" (as she called it) up.  Also a few other pictures...some from our trip to Cold Stone Creamery to celebrate the lifting of the plague in our house :) 



My parents are in DC this week seeing the sights with my aunt and uncle. Keith, the kids and I went down Saturday afternoon with them and stayed until Monday night--a wonderful little rest before baby arrives! We hung out at the resort and played Wii (Isaac is addicted), and let the kids swim in the indoor pool, watched Toy Story 3 all together, ate way too much, and just got to enjoy being warm for a change in the super hot hotel room! (we actually turned the A/C on!!) I did remember the camera but never took any pictures :)

Now it's back to preparing for baby--making sure bags are packed and laundry is done. Went to the doc on Tuesday and she said I'm 1.5 cm dilated--a lot more progress than I had with first two! With them I was in labor for hours before I made it to 1.5 cm, but it could still be a while before anything happens...or maybe not :) I'm just glad to be a little ahead of our usual game!
I would bet the next time I blog it will be with a birth announcement! Until then...

Did you think I gave up on blogging?

So it's been almost 2 months, I think, since I blogged :)  In that time we had a visit from what we call "the Plague" that lasted for almost 4 weeks.  We've been busy putting up cribs and pulling out baby gear and clothes.  We painted the living room and got new couches.  We finally moved Isaac's dresser into his room and the train table out of baby's room.  And of course a few snows.  I can hardly wait for spring!!  The kids are actually sick again with runny noses and coughs.
I've been researching home school curriculum, cloth diapers, gardening stuff.  Samy has her last ballet lesson today (including a little "show" of what they've done!).  Isaac has been working hard at school.  He had a "gym show" as part of grandparents' day that we all went to.  Keith just got back from a couple days at the pastoral retreat.  And of course he's been hard at work around the house here too with the endless list of house projects and yard work.  Isaac is the cutest little helper out there!  I love looking out the kitchen window to see Isaac carrying wood, picking up leaves with his daddy or carrying food waste to the compost pile.  It's wonderful to see him learning to work hard even when it's cold outside!
I picked up a FREE Power Wheels Jeep last weekend that the kids have been driving around and around the yard.  Samy is a pretty bad driver, but is content to let Isaac drive as she rides with him :)
We're down to six weeks (actually a little less) before baby's due date and still without a boy name.  Keith and I just can't agree on a first name, though the middle name is decided.  I spent an entire day at the hospital to get my Rhogam shot (because of my blood type I have to get this shot each pregnancy so my body doesn't attack the baby as a foreign object if his/her blood type is different).  In Florida i was able to get this shot at one of my regular doctor's visits, but here in red tape Maryland, I spent an entire day registering at the hospital, getting extra blood work done, and then a wild goose chase to have a nurse give me a shot.  I'm a little scared what labor and delivery will be like :)
I've also been leading a book study of "When People are Big and God is Small" which is about fear of man.  It's been great to interact with ladies in totally different seasons of life and many of them who struggle significantly in this area.  I'm glad to be able to share what little wisdom God has given me in this area and point them to the gospel as our source of hope no matter what the sin!!
Keith is going to begin an evangelistic bible study in just a week or two with a bunch of folks who aren't sure what they believe.  We're both so excited about this opportunity for him to open up Scripture and tell them the truth about Jesus. 
Keith and our neighbor will be tilling up their large garden plot today in preparation for our joint gardening venture!  None of us know what we're doing but we're gonna give it a shot and I'll put chickens on hold for another year :)  Though the fact that they eat stink bugs sure makes me just want to throw some in our back yard!!

Hmm, I think that's most of what has happened over the last couple months.  A few pictures for your enjoyment...

The kids baking graham crackers with Samy's Christmas present

My first attempt at sourdough English muffins



One of the big snows of the year



Isaac not real happy about shoveling the driveway

Samy after her first ballet class



Freshly painted living room

New couch

Isaac's gym show (my pictures didn't turn out very good since i was far away and it was a gym)



Christmas, Christmas time is here!

You don't know how many times I've heard the kids singing the Chipmunks' Christmas song this year! :)

Our first Christmas at home and it was so much fun! We awoke Christmas morning to snow falling, but not a blizzard :) We started the day with bacon, eggs and star-shaped biscuits while we read the Christmas story in Luke. The kids were so patient waiting to open presents! We went to the living room to get started and Isaac graciously gave his presents to Samy and I, waiting to open one himself. I love seeing him grow and mature! This year we let the kids pick out presents for each other: Isaac got Samy Silly Putty, and Samy got Isaac a Beanie Baby skunk. They both loved their gifts! And Isaac had made two things for me at school: a little tea light candle holder and a sweet framed picture of him and his hand prints! He was so excited to give them to me :)
We adopted a new tradition this year (taken from the Girl Talk blog) of telling the person why we chose that gift for them to take some of the "my turn, me next" out of the morning. And also performing "Christmas services" for each other (something my dear friend Melissa had told me they've always done).
So we had a fun morning opening gifts and then Isaac and Daddy went out to play with the new remote control truck in the snow. Isaac's favorite part was letting Keith drive it while he threw snowballs at it :)

We headed out for Knoxville after church Sunday, only to drive right into another snow storm. It was way to reminiscent of last year, but thankfully it never got so bad we had to pull over and we amazingly made it in 8 hours!
It was a strange Christmas in Tennessee as my older brother didn't come in and my little brother and brother-in-law had to work, so it just felt a little disjointed or something, but a joy nonetheless! My mom and I went out shopping two mornings in a row and the afternoons were spent talking, playing games and of course lots of eating. Michelle and her girls got a seriously rockin' curling iron so almost all us girls got our hair all curled and pretty :) My hair that normally holds curl for about 10 minutes, held this one until I washed my hair two days later! And Samy was just adorable with her little curls!! Wish I'd taken a picture :)

We opened presents there the evening after we arrived. Samy was pretty tired and showed very little emotion during the whole process, but it was obvious that the stuffed Chipmunks and Chipettes were her favorites! She immediately had them around the manger so they could see Jesus :)

Onto to Grandan and Bubbe's where the weather was in the 60s! What a reprieve for us :) It was nice to get outside without shivering! Grandan had planned to set up a bed in the play room for he and Isaac, which of course Isaac was thrilled about! Jack and Sharon arrived the next evening while we were having dinner with Keith's grandparents. So afterwards we opened presents again. Linda restocked Keith's supply of Johnny Harris BBQ sauce, and Sharon and Jack selflessly gave Keith a UT hat that Keith had gotten signed by all the players his first year there (including Peyton Manning and some other big names) and gave to Sharon.  Then Aunt Sharon played some Polly Pockets with Samy while I put together Isaac's Lego helicopter and he played with Buzz Lightyear. After the kids went to bed we played a few rounds of Monopoly Deal and just laughed ourselves silly :)

We set off before lunch the next day and made a quick stop at Rock City to have some family time. Keith and I had both been when we were little, so it was fun reminiscing and seeing the kids excitement. And then onto Grammy and Papaw's for one more night. The kids didn't know we were going back until after Rock City, and boy were they excited :)
The worst part of the trip was not getting to see Keith's mom (she had to work). But she is planning to fly up soon and she left her gifts with Sharon and Jack. So we brought them home with us and videotaped as we opened (yet again!). It was so funny that after each time we opened presents the kids had a new favorite :)

What a joyous holiday indeed!  Now I'm still trying to get things put away in the midst of a cold.  Christmas tree is still up, as Isaac reminds me everyday.  Oh well, it'll be a whole year before we see it again :)

What number am I on?

It's amazing how quickly my memories flee while I'm pregnant :)  That's what I get for waiting a few days between posting my joys!  There are certainly way more than I can list here, especially when I'm looking for them.  Last night there were so many as we went to our very first Christmas Eve service together!  (There is a second service tonight, but we'll be serving at it :)  We've always been traveling for Christmas (actually I don't think I've ever been home on Christmas).
But I'll back up a minute to the rest of our week...Keith came down with a yucky cold Tuesday and I started shortly after.  Samy was the culprit for bringing it into the house :)  She's all better, not even much of a runny nose, and Isaac just has a little bit of one.  I'm grateful the kids aren't miserable this week as we've just been home playing and getting ready for Christmas!  Though Samy did accidentally whack Isaac in the head with a doll house bed and cause him to bleed profusely the other day :)  He's fine, head injuries just bleed alot.
So yesterday Keith was going to work but had to take a sick day and we ended up watching a movie all afternoon (The Manchurian Candidate with Frank Sinatra, it was really good, though not at all Christmasy).  The kids and I made some cupcakes as our birthday cake for Jesus to share with the neighbors later today.  Isaac pulled the last straw off and put it in the manger on the fridge we've been using as our Christmas countdown.  Lazy, long mornings all week with no school and a bunch of sickies!  The kids have been up late every night talking and laughing in their bunk beds.  Keith and I got to have a date out Wednesday thanks to our wonderful sitter!

So last night's Christmas Eve service...We decided to try keeping the kids in with us since the message was short and just lots of singing.  We weren't sure how it would go :)  Well, they both surprised us and did such a great job!  We love seeing how they are maturing!!  The night started with several Christmas carols.  Isaac sang a couple, but was more concerned with knowing where we were in the program.  Samy was singing what she knew and dancing around--it was adorable!  Amazing the differences in these two :)  During the message Samy sat on my lap and drew on some paper, but was obviously listening to the message.  Josh spoke on an admittedly unexpected passage from Luke 11 and the sign of Jonah and the queen of the South (the queen of Sheba).  The first time Josh said Jonah, Samy said to me, "Jonah was a prophet!"  Yes, he was Samy :)  A few minutes later Josh said, "Jonah was a prophet."  And Samy turns around to me and said, "See, I told ya!"  I couldn't contain my laughter!  I was crying from trying not to laugh out loud!  Then every time Josh would say "the queen of Sheba" Samy would say "I love her!"  Oh, this girl :)
They did such a great job we let them have a cupcake when we got home (after bedtime already!), but hey it's Christmas!

So today there are many preparations to be done before we head on holiday travels to see family.  And right now they are calling for snow on Christmas and the day after!  Another white Christmas perhaps, just glad we'll be in our house and not Verona, VA :)

Fires, stories, races, field trips, oh my!

Some other random October happenings around here to get caught up on...
We got our wood stove installed last month and fired it up on a rather blustery day a couple weeks ago. SO WARM!! Love it :) I might actually survive this winter if we don't run out of wood! So there's a picture in there of that--plus you can see how mom and I arranged the mantle :)

Then there was story book night at Isaac's school. So cute, everyone comes in their PJs and goes to three different classes for stories and then everyone comes together and has milk and cookies while the principle reads one last story. That was fun :)

We made our first small pile of leaves in the yard, though by the time it's all over you could probably make a pile as tall as our house! Isaac ran in to grab his goggles before jumping in! So silly!

And then the big race! Isaac's school does this each year to raise money for those who can't afford tuition. They have a Tot Trot, 2K and 5K. Isaac did the Tot Trot, but we really should have let him do the 2K as well--the boy has plenty of energy! They gave all the little kids ribbons, but Isaac is convinced he won the race :) Keith ran the 5K without collapsing :) As he was coming into the finish line there were a few teenage boys right on his tail trying to beat him, but my buff hubby kicked it into gear and beat them all! I was proud :)

Last, but not least, Isaac had a field trip to a farm and Samy and I got to join him. We met lots of farm animals and the kids fed several. Then we took a hay ride to the pumpkin patch where everyone picked out a pumpkin. Glad we got to share that with him :)

You might be a redneck if...

you are seriously considering raising a pig so you can have bacon :) 
And to go with that bacon, Keith is researching how to tap our sugar maple to make maple syrup!  These are truly both his ideas (well, I jokingly mentioned the pig, but he really likes the idea).
Neither of us have ever really liked the idea of pets, but a pig is short term commitment that the kids could learn some responsibility from and see that our food doesn't grow at Trader Joe's :)  And who doesn't like the idea of a pet that ends with bacon and barbecue!?
I honestly have more faith for a pig than a garden.  I don't think I'd forget about a pig like I do our tiny garden :) 
Just another installment in our transition to country life!

More catching up: Mom and Dad's visit

My mom and dad were up a month ago (yikes I'm slack).  We were able to get lots of work done, well the boys were, mom and I only got two pictures hung :)  Dad and his assistant, Keith, spent many hours in the basement pulling out OLD electric wiring and putting in new, fixing crazy wiring configuration, and freeing up some breakers on our three electrical panels :)  my dad certainly had his work cut out for him and will never be without a project when visiting!
They surprised us with a new faucet as our housewarming gift and it's beautiful!  Dad got that installed pretty quick.  He also fixed my dishwasher.  Did I miss anything Dad :) I did: the doorbells now work, our bathroom door no longer sticks, and we can shower without conking our head on the shower head now!

Mom and I played with the kids, cooked, cleaned up the boys messes, and shopped a little.  I did get my table and chairs refinished and mom got the cushions covered.  We also figured out some prettiness for our mantel using a cool old mirror that was left in the garage and finds from the tag sale.
I have yet to take pictures of the updates b/c the house is such a wreck these days!  Here are some pics from our time with them and a couple others :)

Catch up: The Fair

So blogging has been pretty far down the list lately as I spend a lot of time on the couch nauseous.  House work has definitely taken a hit.  Cooking is just unpleasant no matter what it is.  But it's good to know my body is doing what it's supposed to and baby is growing!  I had my first OB appointment today and she did a sonogram (which I guess is normal up here), so I got to see the little bean and hear their heart beat.  And I must say I was thankful there is only one little bean :)  all this sickness has made me wonder.  Oh and the due date is the end of April--20th according to the sonogram or 24th was the original.

Ok, so onto some catching up :)  We went to the county fair last month with the kids and had a good ol' time!  It just adds to feeling like country bumpkins to go pet livestock and sit on tractors.  The pig races and magician Steve Trash (he used lots of trash as props, supposed to encourage recycling I guess) were definitely the highlights!  They had a little corral with giant stuffed horses for the kids to sit on, and dozens of tractors.  There were even camel rides!  Enjoy the pictures :)  oh and a cutie pic from a visit from a friend from the PC class before last :)

Photo tour of our new home

Well since the house was relatively clean from having our dear friend Melissa over last night (I'm almost certain she was the reason I cleaned the last time we moved and i finally posted pictures) I took some pictures this morning for all you too far away to come visit us. And I thought I'd give you some commentary with it :)

So some of my very favorite things:
original doors in the bedrooms (including a skeleton key that works, and the fabulous knobs)
the huge mantel (though I don't know what to put on it yet--it is currently home to everything pretty that comes out of a box)
the etched glass doors on the book shelves (so maybe I should just include the entire fireplace wall!)
the molding all over the house--it's so big
the front porch--oh those swings are just wonderful
kitchen cabinets with those pull-out drawers and built in spice rack
the giant exposed wood beams in the basement that are actually holding our house up :)
the many nooks and crannies that come with an old house

We only painted one room so far, the master bedroom, but my head is full of ideas! Those will be taking a backseat to the long list of practical projects.
The basement is currently in shambles (not that it was super nice before) b/c Keith is trying to make sure the floor and walls are all sealed so we can suck the radon out. We're hoping we'll be able to get it fixed up and have someone live with us. We bought a wood-burning stove to replace the very inefficient fire place and heat this big ol' place. We need a new chimney liner anyway. My parents will be up in less than two weeks to help with radon, electrical stuff (don't know if you can see the mess of wires in the basement), and mom will help me with the pretty stuff :)

Oh, so the video store in the basement was from the previous owners. He works for the Boys and Girls Club and spoke at some video distributors or producers thing way back. Someone found out he had kids and started sending him videos. He said they would frequently get movies before they were even in the theaters (we've watched one and it frequently reminds you "This film is for screening and not to be sold or copied" or something like that). There is definitely alot of junk but lots of good films in there too (many still in shrink wrap--like 8 copies of Return of the Jedi).

I didn't make it to the backyard and out buildings, that will have to be another day and another post. Hope you can all come to the "Welton Country Resort" (this is what Melissa has deemed it) and stay a while :)

Mark and Kim's visit

My big brother and his family came up for a visit a week after we moved in. It was good because it made me get unpacked super quick instead of putting off all those boxes! We had a wonderful time with them that went by way too fast! I didn't have my camera out much though.

The kids had a great time playing, we hardly saw them after their arrival. They went into DC on Monday, and Isaac cried and cried that Mika had gone without him. So, the kids and I joined them on Tuesday at the Smithsonian. We managed to make it through American History and Natural History, plus a stop at Georgetown Cupcakes on the way home.

One funny from their visit:
Isaac: "Oh, I don't want ..." (in a whiny voice)
Keith: "Isaac, no. Try that again." (meaning the right way)
Isaac: "Oh, I don't want..." (same whiny voice)

Kim could hardly keep from laughing :)

Settling in

I have quite a few pictures that didn't make it onto the blog since I'm so far behind, but thought I'd toss this in while I play catch up :)  Here's Isaac and Samy having breakfast the morning of our move.  Just too funny.

So I guess I posted about the actual move, now I'll let you into my world post move in.  I'm still feeling so out of the groove of normal life it's hard to sit back and enjoy our new home still.  Plus we've got quite a few projects in the works.  We have radon, which means it's a good idea to get it mitigated by sealing the basement floor and installing pipes and fans to suck it out.  Well, our basement isn't your model citizen for this job.  There are two crawl spaces at opposite ends of the house that open into the basement through big holes in the wall (kind of creepy!), there are also several holes in the floor (not sure where those came from), and can you believe it, we found a well down there!!  I asked the previous owners if they knew that was there, and in all their 28 years here, they never knew that!  It was kind of crazy to remove all these old boards to find an 8-inch pipe that goes 30 feet deep with water at the bottom, especially in your basement. 

A friend of mine told me a few months ago about these really cool tag sales, and I managed to get there just before my brother and his family came last week.  I scored a great table and four chairs for the kitchen that I'm going to repaint and reupholster.  I'll have to be sure to do before and after shots :)

I've loved getting to know our neighbors!  On one side they go to church with us and the kids made fast friends. On the other is Mickey--she's 72 and lifts weights, swims daily, keeps her yard immaculate, and does amazing oil paintings!  Her late husband's family has owned the land she now owns since 1712!  She is so much fun to talk to, and I'm hoping one day to explore all the old stuff she has in her basement :)

So, this no A/C thing has been a little tough in the nice heat wave.  There were a few days we were really wishing we hadn't bought a house with no air conditioning when it was 100 degrees and like 90% humidity.  We got our big window unit into the kitchen just before my brother and fam arrived, and that has helped tremendously.  Most days though I still open the windows even in there until the mid-afternoon.  The house has a great breeze always coming through.  The third floor (where the play room is) is just hot, no way around that, so the kids are usually dragging toys to the kitchen to play on the floor or the hall where it's cool.  Good thing I've got such a big kitchen now!