Portrait Innovations Shoot

So...I just wanted to take the kids to PI for the $9.95 package. I wanted to get a professional shot of them in their Christmas outfits. It has honestly been almost 2 years since I have taken all 4 of them there together. I took Bex back in Jan. for his 2 year pics. and it was a nightmare. I was just praying for ONE good photo of the 4 of them. Well...Bex was perfectly behaved and was a total ham. The lady who helped us even remembered him from January and commented on how much better he was this time...I am not joking. I ended up spending more than $9.95 but it was worth it. If I could just get Sawyer and Eden to smile more naturally...I guess that comes with age. Overall, I was very pleased!

I think I am mostly caught up with my blogging now...yay!

Visit from Holli

I think most people know that although I didn't really enjoy living in England...that I did, indeed, enjoy the friends I made there! My time (all our time) there was/is short but we have a bond and I just love these girls! Out of the 5 of us in this picture, Holli is the last one still living in England with CAT (she LOVES it btw). She is a very busy mom of 4 but made a surprise visit back to celebrate her best friends' 30th b-day. It was so fun to get together and catch up! I will be happy when Holli and her beautiful family move back where they belong :) I want to do a special shout out to Jenny's hubby (Dan) for standing on a stool to take this picture so that we all look thinner and more youthful :)

Putting up the tree!

My kids love decorating the Christmas tree. This is why I could never have a tree to myself...I really think it would hurt their feelings. Every year I want to get a new tree but I bought some new decorations for it after Christmas last year for cheap and gave it a little makeover...it looks better and I am good now! I bought our tree after the Christmas that I was pregnant with Faith at Hobby Lobby for $35. We are looking forward to Christmas!

Thanksgiving

I have no photos of Thanksgiving. We were just too dang busy! Tyler and his family came for a whole week and we had a great time. The kids love to be with their cousins. We saw Rapunzel, made jewelry, ate out and shopped! My mom, sis-in-law Amy and myself all did the black Friday shopping. It is a tradition and more about the "experience" than about the deals. We always have a lot of fun! I am thankful to have such a loving family where everyone truly enjoys being together!

Faith and Jr. High

Jr. High has been pretty exciting for all of us. It is something different from elementary school which is a nice change. I was so nervous at the beginning but it has been nothing but positive. Faith finished up Cross Country at the beginning of Oct. There was an awards banquet and she was recognized with 10 other kids for taking 4+ minutes off her 2 mile time over the course of the season. She actually took off over 5 minutes...but who's counting?? She earned a letter (a very tiny one, but a letter nonetheless). She has also been busy with band and had her first concert. I can't remember if I have posted about this or not but she also tried out for and made Girls Choir Ensemble. Choir is her favorite. She also tried out for and received a solo part. She can sing great but needs to work on her "showmanship". She looks pretty bored when singing. Most importantly...Faith received straight A's her first quarter and was put on "High-honors Honor Roll." She also just took a test and will be 1 of 40 kids in her whole school to compete in a Geography Bee. She gets her smarts from her daddy. Lastly, Faith is helping our piano teacher with a class of younger kids and is getting paid! She received her first ever paycheck last week. Sometimes it is hard to keep up with all the kids' activities but I really want them to have lots of experiences. This post may seem a big "braggy" but I just want to make sure we remember it all. Some of my other children (who shall remain nameless) aren't as easy as she is. Her even temperament and sweet disposition is a blessing to me. Jr. High has surprised her in some ways though....like kids that have poor hygiene and the mean things they say to each other. Elementary school is (in most cases) a sweet and caring place. I would love to protect her from all of it but I know it isn't realistic :(

Halloween

We have been without our laptop for several weeks which is why I am so behind on my blog. I didn't want to put pictures on our desktop clear down in the basement or on the laptop my father-in-law was lending us while he was so kindly repairing ours. I am going to make these posts brief so I can get caught up! The kids had a great Halloween! My mother-in-law painted them adorable, personalized pumpkins this year! Faith had drama trying to decide what she would be for Halloween but finally decided on being a "bee" since her first two ideas couldn't be found and she didn't trust me to make her anything. Eden was "Spider Girl"...this surprised me but as soon as she saw the costume it was love at first sight. Sawyer was a football player. He already had the jersey so that was good. Beckett was "DJ Lance Rock" from Yo Gabba Gabba. He loved his costume and was determined to keep those darn glasses on. Eden went trick-or-treating with a friend. Beckett LOVED it this year. He was so excited after every single (and I mean every single) house. He immediately had to see what was in his bag. The kids got a ton of candy...in fact we still have a lot of it. Sawyer, Eden and Bex all had a costume parade/party at school.