Thursday, January 31, 2008

I can take care of myself!

Well, if you surmised from my last post that we are expecting our fourth child, you surmised correctly! Thank you for the congratulatory messages. :) As close as we can figure, my due date is September 23, and judging from three very consistent past experiences, we can safely figure on tacking an extra week onto that. So, sometime toward the end of September or maybe even early October? (I hope not.) So far I am feeling pretty good, which I am VERY thankful for! Just super-sleepy.......

The children are absolutely thrilled, well except Israel who is still totally oblivious. :) They keep talking about how much they are going to help me when the new baby comes. And in spite of Joshua praying all last year that God would send us a baby girl, he now says he hopes the baby is another brother. Dominique, on the other hand, wants a sister. Well, either way, it is a done deal now! We will all find out soon enough.. :)

Well, the other day, Joshua wanted me to dry him off after he got out of the shower and help him get dressed - things he is perfectly capable of doing for himself. So, I gave him a pep talk about how he had been talking about helping me when the baby comes, and how this is one BIG way he can help me - by doing for himself the things he can do by himself! Well, I guess something I said inspired him, because after he dried himself and dressed himself, he came out of the bathroom all pumped up about all the things he can do all by himself. He was actually so excited that he was inspired to compose a song about it! Here it is, for your listening enjoyment:

In case you didn't catch all the lyrics, they are:

"Just me, myself, and I
I can do everything, everything, everything -
I can do everythi-i-ing
I can take care of myself (take care! take care!)
I can take care of myself (take care! take care!)
I can take care of myself!"

I still have many pictures to post, but as usual, it is not content that I lack, but rather time to post it! So, maybe one day soon. :)

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Israel helping with laundry

Now that Israel is one year old, we figure it was high time that he start learning to help with some household chores, especially since he is going to be a big brother soon. :) The nice thing is that, at his age, he absolutely *loves* learning to help out the family! So, here he is, helping Mama with the laundry:




Yes, Fabio is one blessed man who walks in the fear of the Lord:

Psalm 128

1 Blessed is every one who fears the LORD,
Who walks in His ways.

2 When you eat the labor of your hands,
You shall be happy, and it shall be well with you.

3 Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
In the very heart of your house,
Your children like olive plants
All around your table
.

4 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed
Who fears the LORD.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Happy Birthday, Darling!

Today is Fabio's birthday and I put this little video together for him, with much love. :)

Monday, January 14, 2008

Does anyone remember these matching shirts?



Does anyone remember this picture of Joshua and Dominique from over two years ago? Joshua was 3 years old, and Dominique was almost 1.

I made these matching shirts for them with some vintage material I found that reminded me of the stuff they used to dress us in when we were little! Hehe, nostalgia.... :)











Well, fast forward two years and here we are!

The shirts now fit Dominique and Israel. :)



































I wonder what will become of these shirts another two years from now???

Friday, January 11, 2008

Our Daddy's the Greatest!!!

I so appreciate the time Fabio takes with the children to build things, read books, and take them fun places!

Last night, he and Joshua build this go-cart out of K'nex.








Reading with Dominique













Every first Saturday of the month at a Home Depot near you, they have a free kids workshop! It is a great opportunity for the kids to have an outing with daddy and build something constructive. They look forward to it all month long!











I usually don't go, because it is a special daddy day, but I got invited this time, so I snapped some pics while I was there.


























































Joshua is always sure to wear his Carhardt so he can look like a "real carpenter". :)
















Here they are before bedtime, reading the Bible with Daddy. This is the new Bible Joshua got for Christmas, in comic strip form. They all love it!








Tuesday, January 08, 2008

Happy New Year!!

Well, this is a little "after the face", but Happy New Year!

This is how we celebrated this year:

New Years Eve, we went to the zoo! I had never been to the zoo in the winter, nor in the dark, so it was quite a different experience that your typical idea of a trip to the zoo. It was fun! It was also snowing really hard, so that added to the excitement. :)

Joshua and Dominique measuring up to the dolphins.









Daddy and our little monkeys in the monkey house.


















On New Years Day, we spent part of the afternoon with our friends and neighbors Ernie and Nelly. For those who are wondering, NO, Nelly has not had her baby yet! Keep on praying!
Here are some cute pictures I took on New Years Day.





















































Then that evening, we went to my brother Aaron's house for some yummy homemade pizza. That was fun, as always, to be with family.


Dominique had a 'do going on here. :)












The kiddos.

Monday, January 07, 2008

Weird Weather!

I cannot believe this day! It is like a record high of nearly 70ºF (20ºC) - in JANUARY!!!!!! Did I mention that I can't believe it? I kept having to pinch myself and remind myself that it is still January, even though it felt like April!





So, we pushed back most things on the "agenda" and went outside! We started with a walk to the park. On the way there, Dominique pushed Israel in the stroller, and Joshua rode along on his bike. On the way home, Israel was in the Ergo, and Dominique walked half the way, and then sat in the stroller for the last half!

Anyway, see how happy they look to be outside in this awesome weather???






































Israel really did like the slide - I just didnt catch his smile in the picture. :)














He also figured out how to make the horsie rock back and forth by himself, after he saw his siblings doing it!

















It was rather windy, but the wind was not cold, so it was quite refreshing! Aaahhh.












Upon returning home, we made an amazing scientific discovery! Deer droppings, right in our front yard! That was, of course, the most exciting part of our outdoor excursion. :) We did a little scouting, and discovered quite a few deer tracks as well, in the mud, since the ground is now so soft. So, the children were thrilled with that and Joshua called it our "deer adventure".






Then I let them play in the sandbox for a good hour. Why not? How often do we get weather like this in January??? They were so excited, they decided to make "New Years cakes", which consisted of sand, mud and salt mixed together, topped with rocks for decoration and sticks for candles. Joshua insisted that it tasted like watermelon flavor, and Dominique agrees with whatever he says. ;-)











Then I let them eat lunch out on the picnic table too. Did I mention that I still can't believe we had a day like this in JANUARY??? Just as a reminder, let me post a picture or two of what it was like here last week, and will probably be like again next week:


Thursday, January 03, 2008

SLEDDING!!!





We have had quite a bit of snow off and on this year so far, so on this particular day we got out to take advantage of it. :)

We had not been sledding since Joshua was about 18 months old, so it was high time!















Joshua was brave enough to go down by himself a couple of times!











With all the clothes we both had on, Israel was easier to hang onto in the ergo than just with my bundled up arms! He was rather indifferent to the whole experience. He didn't fuss, but didn't seem overly thrilled either..... even when I took him down the hill a couple of times - no expression whatsoever!








Dominique and Daddy

Don't you just hate the "hood syndrome" where you turn your head and your hat/hood stays in the same place?!











Daddy and his little munchkins














Hiking up the hill wore them out nicely. :)












That black dot down there is Fabio, Joshua and Dominique on the tube at the bottom of the hill. I just took this to show the size of the hill. Not bad for Illinois!














Rosy-cheeked snow angel












The sun was setting (after all, it was nearly 4pm!!), and the glow on his face was just too precious.