5 Year old IN THE HOUSE!!

Sunday was Isaiah's 5th bday. It was his year to have a family party so he chose for us to go to Chuck E. Cheese's together.

Ready to go in!!

Lauren hit the jackpot!

Feeding the tickets!!

He got over 400 with the help of several of us!!

"Slap Happy Sammy"

Vicious!

Bball star!

Tickets galore!

Hanging out with Chuck!

I was so shocked when she hugged him!

Cruisin'!

Lunch time!

Caged animal

Cody created an invention to reach under machines and get lost tickets and coins.

He calls it "American Ingenuity"

Papa and Grammy got this cool toy for Isaiah!

They are dirty and when you wash them with warm water, they get clean.

They also have body wash in them.

They also got him a big boy water bottle.

No more sippy cups when you turn 5 in our family!

I just loved this reaction to his new scooter.

Grandma gave him a gift card to Walmart

He got lots of gifts from his brothers and sisters, too!! He was one happy little guy.

We gathered together for the dinner of his choice:

Rudolph sandwiches, Doritos, and Caprisuns with Cars 2 plates and napkins

Blow those candles out, baby boy!!

We had brownie cookie bars and ice cream for dessert

To end the night, we loaded up the truck in our jammies to go to a local church's drive-thru Christmas lights display. They have over half a million lights that range from Santa and Mrs. Claus to a living Nativity. Isaiah was as entertaining as the lights display. He talked to everyone in the display through the whole ride saying, "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year." As we approached Santa and Mrs. Claus, he had this discussion with them

Isaiah: Are you the real ones?

Clauses: Of course.

Isaiah: Well, then, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Isaiah: (As our truck began to move forward through the display, he desperately yelled out) Oh, and I want a new fire truck for Christmas!!

He was hilarious. He was true to who he is. This kid is an extrovert to the maximum extreme.

Isaiah,

I know without a doubt that God has big plans for you, son. He has had his Hand on your life from the beginning. I love you deeply. I pray for you desperately as you grow and process the life that you have been given. You are loved! You are chosen! You are not alone!! You make me laugh. You challenge me. You amaze me. You steal my heart away!

Love you,

Mom

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

...in our fam-i-ly!

Lauren made this with salt dough

Wearing Christmas jammies from Christmas past

and relaxing!

Red Starbucks cups filled with Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate

Rudolph sandwiches, a favorite December treat in our house!

Lots of shopping with my little helpers carrying things in

Lots of bread baking for teacher and friend gifts(36 loaves so far)

A fabulous life group Christmas party hosted by Garrett and Elaina. Mandy did a great job sharing about it. Go here to read more.

Here is the framed song phrase that Rick and I received from the song,

"Never Once" sung by Matt Redman.

I really can't think of a better phrase to represent this last year for us. This group of people have been a living example of God's grace in our lives. They are walking with us through the healing of our hearts, have challenged us spiritually, and are just really fun people to be around. I have to say, the thing I have needed the most this year has been to laugh. I literally laugh until I cry when I am around these people, like almost peeing my pants kind of laughing. I love them, I love their hearts, and I love the direction we are headed as a group in the new year!!

I have to pause for a minute to throw in a plug for an amazing organization. Just in case you didn't read it in Mandy's post, we purchased 12 stoves as a group to help families in Haiti. I think that is pretty awesome!! You might want to do that, too. Go here to read more about this amazing opportunity to bless others. I believe in the mission of The Adventure Project. I personally know one of the founders and know that she is the real deal. I think that $20 will accomplish a lot more through this project than pretty much anything I could spend it on for me or my family. I feel honored to participate in it. If you are looking for a way to look beyond yourself for Christmas, this would be a great way to do that!!

Back to the Christmas activities of our family:

Delivering bread to the neighbors

(Sam chose to stay warm in the house)

There were several class parties going on this week. Isaiah's was the first!

His gifts from the book exchange

It was so funny. He helped me pick out a book at the store to take to his class for the book exchange. He knew they were having a book exchange, but when he opened that Mickey Mouse Christmas book, he screamed, "Oh. my. goodness. IT IS A BOOK!" He was so excited! I am pretty sure that most of his little friends in Swaziland would have been that excited, too! I am so glad that he is still experiencing Christmas with such passion and gratefulness.

Laila got to join him in eating party treats!

Sam's class had Pioneer Day on the last day of school and experienced a Pioneer Christmas

There was Pioneer Story Time

Square Dancing

(Sam is in the red plaid shirt and brown cowboy hat)

"Quilt Making"

(In case you can't tell, this was not his favorite activity)

We both agreed he might not have a future in quilting

Popcorn and cranberry stringing

He really enjoyed this

I am thinking this would be a great way to occupy my kids during Christmas break. The class was so busy focusing on their work that they were so calm and quiet!

The Pony Express

They delivered letters they had written to other classrooms

After some snacks, they decorated snowballs

Then came the snowball fight!!

It was really a great day for him. I loved how fun and interactive they made it. I was reminded how much fun Sam is and how much I love spending time with him. They learned a lot and had fun doing it!!

Lauren's class had a Christmas party, too.

They did bingo, a s'mores craft and had quite the feast!

Abby's Christmas party included a craft, game, and snacks

Christmas is just around the corner. Everyone is out of school. This week will involve lots of baking, gift wrapping, some dr. appts., last-minute shopping, looking at Christmas lights, hair braiding, relaxing(I hope!), and sleeping in.

Build-A-Bear

Isaiah was invited to a classmate's bday party at Build-A-Bear Workshop. He had never been before, so it was a real treat to be able to go and choose his own bear to create.

Meet "Teddy" the Koala Bear

Picking a Heart

I love how they got the heart ready by putting it on their

eyes, ears, nose, etc. so that their bear could see, hear, smell, etc.

Kiss the heart and put it in your bear!

Stuffing the bear by pushing the pedal

Time for an "air bath"

Brushing and bathing

He chose a Lightning McQueen shirt for his Teddy

He even got a little home to carry him around in!

Isaiah was into every moment of this process. He can't stop talking about it. He was the loudest, most excited kid in the store, but that is usually the case everywhere we go!!

Speaking of Birthdays, this little man will be 5 on Sunday. Yesterday he celebrated with his preschool class by taking a big cookie to school!

As a matter of fact, I did make that all by myself. To most that would mean nothing, but if you know me, you know that I DO NOT decorate cakes or anything of the sort. How could I not attempt it for my little man? Not too shabby if I do say so myself!

I am pretty much ready for his bday to be NOW!! I am really exhausted by having to discuss every 5 minutes how much longer it will be. "3 more night sleeps, Isaiah, 3 more!" I think I have already said that at least 25 times today and it isn't even lunch time yet.

Christmas Craziness

Every year, I try to make things special for the month of December.

Every year, I end up running around like a crazy woman trying to get it all done.

It doesn't help that Isaiah has a bday on Sunday, exactly one week before Christmas.

To top it all off, this month has become "appliance/major necessities of life breakdown month."

That is really special during Christmas time. I hope that does not become a tradition!!

We have replaced 2 tires, had our furnace worked on, had 3 major dental events, the garage door opener needs to be replaced, and lots of random things keep breaking around the house.

Each kid needs various things for their class parties this week: food, 3 books for book exchanges, teacher gifts(20 loaves of bread: loaves 16-20 are in the oven right now!!), costume for Pioneer Day for Sam, etc.

I have more loaves of bread to bake for some special people in our lives.

Christmas cards are in process.

Christmas baking will begin this weekend.

Christmas shopping needs to be finished. I have done very little at this point. There is not even one gift wrapped yet!!

We are doing a couple of new traditions this year that I am VERY excited about.

The kids get out for Christmas break after their half day of school on Friday.

Next week includes: Laila's hair braiding, 4 kids getting dental cleanings, and Isaiah has his 5 year old checkup, oh, and it is Christmas.

Crazy, Crazy Christmas!!

Flashback

After Sam was born, I started giving away the girls' clothes as Abby outgrew them. I was so overwhelmed taking care of 4 kids, I gave up on my dream of having 6 children for a while. God had a special plan for us to have 6 kids and those days of being overwhelmed and realizing my body couldn't handle another pregnancy were all part of His plan to lead us to Isaiah and Laila.

Over the last few months, Laila has been able to wear some of Lauren's and Abby's hand-me-downs. There is just something special about that for me. I love seeing them in the clothes their siblings have worn. It reminds me how fast the time really goes.

I have this picture of Abby with an attitude wearing one of her favorite outfits

when she was 4 years old.

She seemed so big to me back then. Fast Forward 5 years. Now, it fits Laila. She is a year younger than when Abby was wearing the same outfit. Sister has an attitude in this picture, but it is not quite the same as Abby displayed!! She wasn't thrilled about this pic, but I couldn't resist.

My, how fast they grow up!!

Oh, how I wish I could capture her personality in pictures more.

She is so resistant to sharing it with the world.

Want to see how sweet, funny, and adorable Laila really is? Come to our house where she feels comfortable and put on some music. Sister will light up the dance floor and talk your ear off!!

Randomness

We came home last night to a house that was 49 degrees. With negative temps in the forecast for the night, we knew that waiting to get our furnace fixed was not an option. My handy dandy husband was able to figure out what the problem was, but because he is not a contractor, he couldn't get access to the part. Thankfully, we know someone who works in heating and cooling. He as able to come over and get it fixed so that we could sleep nice and warm last night. Another "ouch" to the wallet, but we are so thankful that things turned out well.

Here are some pics from the last week:

My friend, Holly, who has been on EVERY Swazi trip with us did a wonderful thing. She made Swazi blankets for Isaiah and Laila with some fabric we found on our trip this summer. They were both very excited to get these special blankets.

One more way to make Swaziland a part of their lives!

We also received a package this week with some Christmas surprises from Papa and Grammy. Each year, my mom calls and reads "Twas the Night Before Christmas" to the kids. They were pretty excited to receive this book that has her voice recorded reading the story to them. It was so funny watching the little ones listen to it. Isaiah kept saying, "Thank you, Grammy," each time a page ended. At one point, Laila leaned down to it and said, "Where are you, Grammy?" They were very confused. Abby was cuddled up under a blanket on the other side of the room. She was too cozy to join the pic.

I got a sweet deal on a bedside table for Cody at Goodwill.

After looking at very basic tables for over $50 at various stores, I found this real wood table for only $14.99. That was a huge score that I was very excited about!!

I have seen some funny things lately that have just made me laugh. I thought I would share these products with you. I am thinking they are pretty essential to life:

Since when did the Berenstain Bears become Bible teachers?

This is what I have been looking for my whole life!?!

Who thought to put this together?

Notice the age on this little tool set, 14+???

I am thinking Cody would not be seen carrying this thing around!

I know you are each going to want to add these to your Christmas shopping list this year!!

I Fought the Curb and the Curb Won!!

We have a tradition around here that I am not very fond of. It is not one we started, it just started on its own. When Rick is out of town, bad things happen. Last week was no exception. He was gone to New York from Mon.-Thurs. On Wed. afternoon, disaster(that may be an exaggeration, but it is the only word I can think of) struck. At 3:10, I was headed to do my daily 3 school afternoon pickup extravaganza when I cut the corner a little too close on the curb and ended up with a flat tire on a very busy road.

I looked at the clock. I had 10 minutes before I was supposed to be at Isaiah's school to pick him up. I immediately called his classroom to inform them of my situation and let them know I was trying to find someone else to come get him. He gets out at 3:20. They responded, "Well, we will stay until 3:30." At that point, I am thinking, "So are you going to just leave him there by himself?" I didn't say that. They then said they would see if there is a teacher that will be staying later. I immediately got off the phone and began scrambling to make phone calls. I first called my friend, Laura. I had just left her house and thought, "she is the closest person around." If Rick had been in town, I would have just called him. His office was very close by. Instead, not only was he out of town, but he was in meetings and unreachable.

Laura, so graciously offered to come by, stay with my truck and call AAA while I took her vehicle to pick up my kids from school. Another friend, Tosha, drove by and called to see what was going on. She was able to go get Isaiah for me right away so that we weren't holding up his teachers. That was a huge help.

The thing I love is that Laura thought to take pictures for me. She knew I would want to blog about this and remember it. See those "snazzy" rims on my truck? Well, they can complicate things. A special "key" is often needed to remove them. Thankfully, mine did not need that because I couldn't get in touch with Rick to find out where it would be, but it was a job I couldn't have done alone. Even though I "know" how to change a tire, I could not have done this task on my truck. It was a job for a professional.

The spare tire made my truck lopsided

My tire, my wagon, and my Swazi Sales stuff

After the tire was changed and I had all of my kids, I headed to the tire store to get things fixed.

We had a snowstorm coming in the next day and I did not want to risk driving on that spare too long. We were like the "Clapp Clown Car" unloading to go into the store. One of the mechanics asked how many people I had stuffed in there. All 7 of us sat and waited for the verdict. I think our presence was a bit overwhelming to the men.

At one point, Isaiah was licking tires.

Lauren loved the "tire smell" and decided they should make a candle with that scent.

She worked on her homework while we waited.

There were some kid meltdowns in the process.

Abby had a migraine, Isaiah was in timeout multiple times and 2 children ended up with being grounded from some major privileges as a result of their attitudes.

I love this picture!

I kind of wish I had a pic of me, too.

I am pretty sure it would have had a very grumpy look on my face!!

When it was all said and done, I had to buy 2 new tires. Ouch, that was painful. Seriously, it is 2012, people. Can't someone figure out how to create a tire where the sidewall can be repaired. It stinks to buy 2 new tires to replace 2 perfectly good ones!!

At this point, it was 6:15. I decided that with all of the drama, we needed something quick and easy for dinner. For all of our sanity's sake, we picked up dinner at Chick-fil-a to take home. Seriously, what is $25 more when you have just spent $437? Merry Christmas to me! Boo!! We finally arrived home around 6:45. The 3 1/2 ordeal was very exhausting.

Even saying all of that, I am thankful. I am thankful that God provided people to help me. It could have been so much worse. The weather could have been worse. I could have been all alone with no help. God sent just the right people at just the right time to help me. I was able to get it all taken care of on that day.

Needless, to say, I am driving around curbs very carefully now!!