Emma's Birthday Party

Today, Ellie went to a birthday party at church for her friend Emma. Emma turned 5 and had a dog party. Kudos to Ben, Emma's Daddy for making the giant dog houses from their left-over moving boxes.The kids got to wear dog ears and have their noses painted black. They even got their own stuffed dog to take home when the party was over.

Doggie Ellie

Enjoying cake and ice cream

Church Friends
Emma, Mikayla, Ellie, Mackenzie, and Evie

Snow Day!!!

Yesterday we got a couple inches of snow. Today, we got several inches of ice and then 10 more inches of snow! Jacob even got to have a 'Snow Day' from school. I had to explain the concept to him...poor homeschooled kid didn't realize the value of it. Once he found out what it was though, he went cheering through the house. When Emmaline took a nap, Jacob and Ellie played outside with Nathan. They had a good time, but it was pretty chilly, so they didn't stay out long.

Emmaline - Our Little Eskimo

Trying out their new shovels and NOT dressed for the weather
(I thought they had let the dog out but found them outside shoveling a path across the backyard)

Our icy driveway was perfect for tubing

My Blue-eyed Boy

Late Night Story Time

Tonight after everyone was in bed, I heard Ellie talking. I went to check on her and found her in Emmaline's crib reading a book to her little sister. They were having quite the slumber party until I came in and broke up the fun. I love that Ellie always takes care of her little sis and pray that they will always be close.

Surprise! Mommy caught me doing something nice!

Silly sisters

Okay, I've had enough! Time for bed!

Ellie's Future Occupation?

Look Mommy...I'm a P-fessor!
Have I mentioned lately how much she cracks me up sometimes?

Emmy Update

This little girl is growing like a weed. She amazes us everyday with what she can do. I can't believe that she will be 2 next month. Here's a list of some of Emmaline's recent accomplishments:

1. She has started signing: dog, more, please, and all done I have to add this funny story about Emmy. She got this book for Christmas and at the bottom of the pages, it says, "Turn the page." Every time I said that, Emmy would sign the word dog (patting her thigh). She did this after several pages and I finally made the connection. Our dog's name is Paige and every time she heard the word "page", she was calling for her friend. Who says these kids aren't smart?!

2. She can stand for several minutes without holding on to anything and can walk 10 ft. by herself (if properly motivated).

3. She started saying "MaMa" when I get her out of the bed in the morning! This is the
sweetest sound in the world and makes me tear up just writing about it.

4. She is entering the terrible twos and will loudly voice her opinion or roll on the ground and
kick her feet if she doesn't agree...again, she's more typical than not!

5. She loves to dance when she hears music (actually picking her feet off the floor) and jump in
her crib (great exercise for kiddos with low muscle tone).

6. She is learning her body parts. She is really good at pointing out noses in pictures.

This was taken a few days ago when she was fighting some sort of cold virus. Despite running a fever, she was still able to smile for the camera.

One of her favorite things to do is play this piano and dance.

Funny Girl!

Here are some funny things Ellie said over the weekend. She can be so dramatic!

#1
Ellie: "Mommy, I love you!"
Me: "Thanks Ellie, I love you too!"
Ellie: "Yeah, I love you more than cereal!"

#2
Ellie: " Jacob is ruining my day. Today is my day, and he is ruining it!"
It was a regular Saturday, but apparently, it was special in her 4-year old mind.

#3
Ellie: "Jacob, be quiet! This is my opportunity to talk!"

My New Business

For those who don't know already, I am a new independent consultant for Usborne books. I went to a party in November hosted by a friend, and thought this would be a good part-time job for myself. Tonight was my first party and I was able to host it at my home. Friends and family came...I even got to meet Kelsey from Midwest Mom for the first time. She is as nice in person as she comes across on her blog. Anyway, if you are looking for great books for your kids or to give as gifts, please ask me about helping you host a party of your own. You can earn FREE books and help my business grow at the same time. Also, because I'm new, I can offer you double free books if your party is $250 or more and you have one friend book a party. After my party tonight, I'm getting at least $160 in FREE books. Click HERE to visit my online webstore and see what Usborne has to offer.

Our Budding Political Cartoonist

After watching the presidential inauguration today, Jacob drew the above picture (with no prompting from his conservative parents). He then asked if we could hang it on the front door...you can guess why it ended up on the front of the refrigerator instead. Even though we don't agree with a majority of President Obama's views, we're still trying to instill in the kids respect for our leaders and the importance of praying for those in political office. I have to say though, that Jacob's drawing brought a smile to my face.

3 Birthdays!

Tonight we celebrated 3 birthdays at home group. Greg turned 60 and twins, Owen and Sam, turned 5 today. We had snacks, cake, and Graeter's ice cream.

My hippie-princess, Gabrielle

It's Super-Jake

We have this same minivan at home and Emmaline loves to make it play music.

Snow Day!

It didn't snow much today, but the kids still had a blast! We met my sister, Dee, and nephew, Colton, at Mom and Dad's for lunch (yummy grilled cheese and tomato soup). Then, we hit the slopes with the kids. It was more of a small incline in the backyard, but it was enough for the kids to tube down. They made snowballs, played in the fort, and outlasted all the adults in the cold. Afterwards, we all enjoyed homemade hot chocolate (thanks Mom!).

Ellie gets kisses from Papaw

Jacob

Emmaline thought it was funny to drop the tinker toy pieces down the heating vent.
She had amassed quite the collection when they opened it up.

Jacob does some tubing

One Sweet Girl and Two Silly Boys

Colton and Ellie

In the Fort

Climbing the Ladder

My Snow Angel

Enter to Win a Lunch Tote

Erin at $5 Dinners is having a contest, so head on over to win a cool new lunch tote. She has lots of great money-saving ideas and yummy recipes. Click here to visit her blog and enter the contest.

Goodbye Until May

This morning, my baby brother (okay, he's 23 now, but still...) deployed to Iraq with his Air National Guard Squadron. He'll be gone until May which isn't terribly long, but we'll still miss him. We are so proud of Andy as he serves our country. Please keep him and all of our troops in your prayers. We're counting down the days until we see him again.

Packing the van to drive to Blue Ash...so little luggage for 5 1/2 months!

The Sign at Andy's base in Blue Ash, near Cincinnati

Giving Dad a goodbye hug

Until May...

Andy's Last Supper

Andy deploys to Iraq tomorrow morning, so we ate dinner at my parents' house to spend time with him before he left.

The Kids and Uncle Andy

Emmy's never quite sure what to think when Uncle Andy holds her

Uncle Andy and Jacob play video games for the last time together until May

Alora and Andy

Dad, Andy, and Mom

Siblings: Katie, Andy, and Jen
It cracks me up how we all have our hands the same in this picture...we must be related!

Andy with Our Family

I love this picture of Dad and the kids

What a ham!
Whenever Emmaline see us taking her picture, this is the smile she gives...silly girl!