Misc Catch-Up

Here are some recent hodge-podge pictures.

Dominique waving her "flag"! I am really getting tired of winter, but the kids still like playing in the snow. Of course, this week it has been too cold to even do that, but anyway, one day maybe it will warm up. (???)













I am so thankful that my little ones LOVE to read books, even right down to Israel!
On this day, the two older ones had their favorite Bibles that they were reading on the couch. So, Israel decided that he needed to join them, went and got a book, and crawled up to read with them. Too cute!







Reading books in the van makes the ride so much more enjoyable for them, and so much quieter for us!











We saw these deer just outside our window the other night! We got the kids out of bed to see them too. We turned on the outside light and started taking pictures and they were not scared away. :)









D9minique dropped and shattered Joshua's beloved piggy bank the other day....












I love this picture!













First attempt at feeding himself with a spoon! He didn't do too bad, considering. :) Kept him busy and happy for a good half an hour too, while Mama was busy fixing dinner.
















Sleeping beauties.
A couple weeks ago, Dominique decided to join us in bed about 6am and go back to sleep again. She did it every single day for a week, and then went back to her normal sleeping habits.....









Like Father, Like Son.














Israel would NOT look at the camera, so Fabio decided not to either. Again, like father, like son! :)




I have been feeling pretty decent so far, so I am thankful for that. My only "problems" are that I am typically so sleepy I can hardly function, and my apetite has been *quite* impressive! Just ask Fabio! I have been hungrier than usual with the others, but nothing like this time! I think I have been eating breakfast three times, lunch three times, and dinner three times, roughly. And snacks inbetween. :) Speaking of which, I'm hungry! I think I'll go make myself some food and try to catch a nap before the kiddos wake up!

Israel is walking!

Well, Israel took his own sweet time starting to walk, much to my surprise since he was my earliest crawler! I guess these little ones just like to keep us guessing!
Anyway, a couple days ago he took off, at 13.5 months old. :) No slow build-up here! Once he decided to go for it, he was off! And SO proud of himself to be such a big boy! It totally made his whole day - he was just so happy with himself!



































Look at him go!



























And go!










And go!




















So excited about his progress!

What a happy little guy! He is such a joy to have around!

Maybe this would be an appropriate place to include one of Joshua's recent comments about Israel.....
A few weeks ago, Joshua said to me with such a happy face, "Mommy, it is such a blessing to have Israel in our family! He helps us a lot! He cleans all the garbage off the floor so we dont even have to!"
Hehe, who needs a dog? LOL! Joshua was not being sarcastic at all - he was totally serious! I dont even think he knows how to be sarcastic.... :)


















And a video clip of the action:

Pulling Taffy

Does anyone remember reading about pulling taffy in Little House on the Prairie?
Well, being the down-home, grass-roots kinda family that we are, we decided it was something we had to try out! And ya know what? It's fun!









Here are my sister-in-laws Suzy and Amanda doling out the taffy to the eagerly awaiting young'uns.











Pull, stretch, fold. Repeat.




















Levi pulling, and looking excited about it!







This is just the kind of messy stuff kids love to be able to fondle! Gabriel's got rather.... sticky!












Dillon and Colton having a *surprisingly* good time!












Dominique pulled hers in a daintly, girly fashion.



















And Israel and Moriah decided to eat each other since we wouldn't let them have any taffy!
Hmmm... kissin' cousins!











This event took place at my brother Aaron's house and it was also our first opportunity to get acquainted with their two new bull pythons! As if the taffy were not excitement enough!

We also met their new dog, but I failed to get pictures of her. Probably because when she was around, I had my arms full of Dominique and Israel, who nearly got knocked down several times by the big loveable sweetheart..... :)

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. :)

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.

Happy Birthday, Darling!

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

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???

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!

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.

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: