These are a few of my favorite things...by Luke.

1. Wanket
I LOVE my blanket. I try to carry it around all day, but Mommy sneaks it away. The teachers at school like to call me Linus.

2. Hoi-see

This horsie was Seth's when he was a baby, but I recently discovered it and it has been permanently attached to my ear ever since. It plays lots of my favorite songs. I like to dance to them too.

3. White-Man

Daddy keeps telling me it's BATMAN, not White-Man, but that's just what I call it. I love to dress up and show my muscles.

4. Mrs. Tammi

I heart Mrs. Tammi. She is my favorite teacher. If Mommy knows I'm about to go into a class with another teacher she has to start warning me the day before so that I can get used to the idea.

5. Wauklet Milk

Yep, chocolate milk is soooooo yummy!!! Mommy especially enjoys finding old cups of chocolate milk under the couch, in my bed, and in other hiding places. Have you ever seen what chocolate milk turns into after about a day?

6. Waum-ade

Lemonade is my #2 favorite drink. It is not as fun to look at when it's a few days old though.

7. Hamming it up for the camera

Mommy likes to take lots of pictures of me. She always says "Smile Luke, smile!!!!!" and this is what I do instead. I think it's funnier.

8. Singing my ABCD's

Here I am for your viewing & listening pleasure...

9. Singing Winkle Star
This one's actually my favorite. The ABC song just made the list because it has the same tune.

10. Being two-and-a-half

Mommy took my two-and-a-half-year-old pictures today. Did you see all those faces I made in #7? Well...I thought of a bunch more, so this was the only good smiling picture Mommy got. Aren't I cute?

At a wedding rehearsal tonight...
Kallie: Mommy, is that a violin or a jello?


In two separate conversations this week...
Kallie told Nana that Luke wanted a boy swimming baby for Christmas, and Seth told Nana that Luke wanted an electronic dinosaur. Hmmmm...are we thinking of ourselves maybe?


In other news...
Luke climbed out of his crib this morning for the first time. Kallie knocked on our door to wake us up and ask who got Luke out of bed because he was wandering around downstairs. I found him crying, asking for Daddy, and his face was all red and splotchy like he'd been crying for a while. I have no idea how long he'd been down there. I'm just thankful that he didn't decide to leave the house. Tonight we put a childproof doorknob on the inside of his room & shut the door so that he can't get out. I broke out the baby monitor so that we'll hear when he wakes up. I guess it's time for a big boy bed. We haven't not had a crib in our house in over seven years.

No news is good news...

Well, there hasn't been much activity to report lately! I owe you Halloween pictures, but I have yet to upload them to the computer. Here's some randomness in the meantime...


'Miss Accident Prone' fell up the steps last night and bit her tongue so hard that it is bruised. Have you ever seen a bruised tongue? I haven't until now. There is a big knot underneath the skin on one side as well.



Luke wanted me to take a picture of his tongue too...


On a similar note, we are headed back to the orthopedist next week to see how her arm is healing. It is starting to feel like she's been in either a cast or a splint for most of this year. Let's just say that your prayers for her arm to stay in one piece are not wasted!

Kallie went to a friend's house after school today, so Luke and I came home alone. It was such a gorgeous day that we decided to take a walk through the neighborhood. Would you believe he held my hand the entire time? I was soaking up every second of it. We stopped to look at ants, stomped in every pile of leaves on the side of the road, watched the airplanes, balanced on the curb, took a detour to the playground, picked some flowers from a neighbor's yard (with consent, of course!), and then came home & ate popsicles! Shane and I absolutely love this age. It sounds so trite when parents say that their kids are full of life...but there really is no better way to describe Luke. He is such a joy!


The little yellow ones are the flowers he picked. The other ones came from our friend Chris who came to visit last night. Thanks for the flowers, Chris!

A Pumpkin-y Day!!

We went to the pumpkin patch today! The kids had so much fun. They look forward to this every year & start begging daily from the second they see the bales of hay going out. This year we painted pumpkins, carved pumpkins & baked pumpkin cookies. Here are the highlights...enjoy!













(I love this picture below ... I think his hands look so sweet cradling that pumpkin.)






The end result .... messy kids & scary pumpkins!!




Happy Fall to all of you!

Luke's first fish...

Luke got to go fishing with Daddy for the very first time today, and he actually caught a fish! (At our house, your first fish is as big of a milestone as your first tooth.) He was excited as they were reeling it in, but once it got close to him he started freaking out a little.









And of course, Kallie and Seth shared in the fun...

We have a winner!

Seth came home today with a blue ribbon for winning 1st place in a race at school. He was so proud of himself! Apparently, this is a race they have every Friday in P.E. that includes all of the second grade. Way to go Seth!

Our graceful ballerina...

Okay, so maybe not the graceful part...

Let's just say the apple doesn't fall far. There are many things I can do gracefully...moving is just not one of them.

Two broken arms in four months helped us decide that some grace/coordination training was in order. So last night Kallie attended her very first classical ballet class...

There were only four little girls in the class, and Kallie was the oldest. I know I'm probably just a little biased, but she definitely had the best pointed toes in the class! (Um, and definitely the longest legs...)

Just for fun...

My friend Emily tagged me (under slight duress) to post 7 things about myself that you may or may not know about me. So here's my list:

1. I don't enjoy anything at all about planning or preparing meals. In fact, if I were being really honest, I'd admit that I wish food were an option rather than a necessity. My pastor from a long time ago used to talk about how he couldn't wait to get to heaven so that he could eat all the time and not gain weight. I can't wait to get to heaven so that I never have to prepare a meal again.

2. I'm incredibly unobservant. Case in point...a few days ago I was a having a conversation with someone about countertops. I knew what color ours were, but I couldn't for the life of me remember what our edges looked like.

3. I have a ridiculously sensitive gag reflex. If I'm not hungry and try to eat anyway, I gag. Yesterday on the way to church I started gagging as soon as I smelled the sausage rolls Shane brought into the car.

4. I secretly want to have twins one day. (Don't tell Shane.)

5. I only wash my hair every 3rd day. Hey, it's very, very thick.

6. For some reason I can't seem to just take the first item off the shelf when I'm shopping. I have to get one from the back.

7. I eat another meal every night around midnight. I can't go to sleep it I don't.

Okay, now that you know all my weird-isms, I'm tagging Tami, Jeni, & Mary!

Yucky, yucky sick germs...

Luke is sick. I think it's the hand/foot/mouth virus, or something similar. His little mouth is full of sores. He's had it before, but never this bad. He hasn't eaten anything in three days. Today I was feeding him a chocolate shake with a medicine dropper. He won't even talk or smile because it hurts so bad. :( I feel so sorry for him. He is bored too. He just wants me to hold him. At one point Shane asked him if he wanted a ride in Daddy's truck & his eyes just lit up. So off they went to Sonic (for the chocolate shake). And then Seth walked in before bedtime with hives all over his body. We have no idea why. My boys are falling apart!

Bedtime Conversations

Kallie: Mom, God can hold everything in the world in His hand if He wants to. Or on His pinky. But I want to know, does God have a nose?
Seth: (screaming from his bed) Kallie, God has everything!

Seth: Mom, what's the biggest thing in the whole world? And you can't say God or Jesus.
Me: A blue whale.
Seth: Wrong. It's love.

Turning 5 doesn't make you brave.

Today is Kallie's 5th birthday. She woke up bright & early and headed off to school, pink cupcakes in hand to share with the whole class.

When I picked her up from school, we headed home for a few treats. First, she found a mailbox-full of grandparent greetings! Few things make her smile as much as a letter or package in the mail (hint, hint!!). Then I told her to run upstairs and check the bathroom. Callie (our friend that's living with us right now) had left her a birthday greeting on the mirror along with a card & gift. (By the way, the squealing had begun at the mailbox, and it just got louder as she found more & more treats!) Next I gave her the bracelets that I'd had made for her on our cruise (they sold gold & silver by the inch...her little wrist is tough to fit so it was perfect!), and we also gave her a Disney princess play tent for the living room. Actually I think it's a real tent, but I figured she & Luke would have a blast in it. And maybe one day she can use it for a sleepover.

Once Seth got home from school we left all the boys at home and headed for the mall with two things in mind...Build-A-Bear and Libby Lu. She had received a Build-A-Bear gift card at her party (thanks Sandy & Kristin!) and then wanted to use her birthday money from Grandma to get her ears pierced.

First she built a cute pink bear at Build-A-Bear that she named Pinky...



They had her stand at the front of the store & ring a bell to get everyone's attention, and then they sang to her. She loved it.

So with Pinky in hand (for comfort, of course), off we went to Libby Lu. Unfortunately though, when we got there we found out that there was only one associate available for ear-piercing, which meant they'd have to be pierced one at a time rather than together. Um, no. That won't work. A sweet little 5-year-old with only one earring is not a good thing. So next we tried Claire's. Same story. There were two Claire's in this mall, so we traipsed to the other end to try our luck at the second store. Nope. Our last hope was The Icing, which is owned by Claire's. You guessed it...just one sales associate. They offered to make us an appointment for Friday, but by this time Kallie had WAAAAAAY too long to think about it & decided she really didn't want to get her ears pierced after all. Oh well, maybe when she turns 6. We're in no hurry.

Headed home...no earrings, but lots of bear hugs...



Pinky ate dinner with us. Daddy says Pinky will not eat dinner with us every night.





Happy birthday sweet Kallie! You make our lives so fun and sweet. You are so full of joy & innocence. It's hard to believe five years have gone by so fast. We love you!

Kallie's "Girly Girl" Party!!!

Kallie's birthday is Tuesday, but we had her party this past Saturday. She's never had a big friend birthday party before, so this was extra special for her! We went back and forth between having an all-girl party and having a mixed party (or as Kallie called it, a "mixed up party"). But in the end, the girl theme won!

Luckily, Shane is a youth pastor, so I had LOTS of help. We ended up with fourteen little girls and ten big girls (high school & college age) that did the girls' hair, makeup & nails. When they walked in the door they received a punch card that looked like this...

Every time they visited a station, they would get their card punched and then move on to the next one.

Here's a few shots of the makeup table...

And then there was hair...

Fingernails were extra fun because we had GLITTER....

At the accessories station, each little girl got to pick out a treat bag full of jewelry...

And don't forget to get your card punched...

And the last station was pictures...

Each girl then received a 4x6 card with their individual picture on it along with the group shot:

Here are four of the beautiful princesses all made up... (Most of the girls were blondies!)

Shane and I were amazed at how calm and quiet these girls were. We're used to mixed parties (that truly are mixed up) where everyone is screaming, running, yelling and grabbing presents. You could have heard a pin drop while Kallie was opening her presents.

The most treasured present of all was the beloved swimming baby from Nana & Papa. Kallie has been asking for this for over a year. When you put her in the water she actually kicks her legs, moves her arms, and swims across the tub. Kallie rushed home after the party and got in the bathtub to play with her. We put Luke in too, but he was scared of the swimming baby. He just kept saying "ow, ow, ow" & backing away from her. Tonight when it was time for their baths, Kallie looked at her baby and said, "She's such a miracle. I think I'll name her Miss Amiracle. Miss Amiracle, are you ready to go swimming?" Yes, she loves her swimming baby.

The girls absolutely LOVED the party. Kallie says she wants to have the same party next year with the same friends.