Mia...ism's

The kiddos all say some of the funniest things at times. I, like many others, am trying to commit them to memory,but alas I am getting older and more forgetful. So, I am trying to journal some of them. The last few days Mia has been on a roll (not that she doesn't always keep us laughing).
Here are a couple of Mia-Ism's:
*Mia to her daddy,"Daddy, can I have a dollar?" "No,Mia" "Don't you have any paper money?" "No, Mia" "Ok, I'll just take some circle money then !"
**Mia and Levi are always singing in the car. We were going shopping last night, and they began the sing-song chant "Mommy and Daddy sitting in a twee.... Kis-y-n-g." Nate and Mandy" think" they can correct their spelling... and so proceeded to spell K-I-S-S-I-N-G. Mia starts again..."Mommy and Daddy sittin in a twee...KisF-Y-N-G". "NO,Mia" like this...K-I-S-S-I-N-G"
Mia,again,"Mommy and Daddy sittin in a twee...Kiss-U-I-V" .... with a big sigh,the other kids gave up.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

Since the temperature was warm and the weather incredibly beautiful, we decided to get a head start with our Christmas decorating. The big boys did most of the outside decorating, and mom,the girls and little brothers(in between playing) helped to get the tree up. Dad and Nolan helped by putting on the tree lights, and we will finish decorating soon. I love all the decorating and fun family times that this season brings. I must admit though, it is hard to believe that the end of November is here and the Christmas season is beginning.

My light man....putting up the outdoor lights... This part scares me just a little... my guys walking around on the roof...

Dad and His assistant... While daddy was decorating, Mia was entertaining Elvis...

Elvis decided that he needed Mandy to pet him too.It was so nice outside that mom couldn't resist a photo-op. Aren't they gorgeous?...My girls...Nolan stringing the lights on our "cookie cutter/ Gingerman " tree...

Mia helping... maybe she was just a bit "too much" of a help... (P.S. the light string Is Not wrapped around her neck, she drapped it over her shoulder)

Levi had to help too,of course...

Setting up the big tree... after I got it half up, dad and Nolan came in telling me that I was putting it together backwards.... I should have started at the bottom and gone to the top. I didn't think it made a bit of difference until... I got to the last layer of limbs, and I had to lay down under the tree to get the limbs to fit in their slots... Oh well, live and learn.

Not completly decorated, but a least the lights are up... we added our "traditional" boot to the top. The kids and I will finish decorating tomorrow if time permits..

Things we have been up too...

Football Watching...this picture was taken a few weeks ago, but there aren't many Saturday's that we aren't watching one of these two teams play. School working....

Sister Loving...

Cow Tending...we are looking after a friends house and animals while they are away...and my "boys" are loving it...

Puppy Training...which is going pretty well...

Airport Sitting....waiting for friends to arrive home from China

Airport Greeting... we joined others in welcoming home this sweet family and their precious children ... I have to tell you that it never gets old and never fails to bring me to tears to watch God join families...

Well there hasn't been anything overly exciting going on around our house, but I can say for certain that there is never a dull moment around here. We are just loving being a family and enjoying our blessings!

Some Halloween Fun

The Gang's all ready...

Nolan decides to be a "rock and roll" musician...

Garret wins the most creative...he decided to be a Mad Scientist Mandy is our "Prima Ballerina"...

Nate is a "Clone Trooper"... He got his costume as a birthday gift. Gotta cheer big bubba's team on... Mia and Levi wear there OSU costumes.

A FAll Festival... we had fun playing games and winning candy prizes

Mia is very serious about her game playing...

Levi went right for the candy at first...but soon picked up on playing the games... "Hey, I like this kind of fishing..."

Mandy was a bit stand-off-ish at first...she was thinking she was "too big to play these baby games"; however, she soon decided it was more fun to participate than to stand doing nothing...getting candy didn't hurt either.

We usually don't celebrate Halloween in a big way especially the "scary, gory"kind. I do love fall though, and the kids and I love to decorate with fun fall things like apples, pumpkins, scarecrows and such. This year fall and Halloween snuck up...and decorating went out the window...or maybe out with the rain and wind. So, we found ourselves searching for last minute costumes for some of the kids...not to mention that we were trying to conserve money. As the kiddos get older, it gets harder to find non-gory costumes, and they go back and forth on whether they are "too old". We had purchased Mia and Levi's costumes early in the fall. So we gathered costumes together for the older kiddos, and off we went to a Fall Festival at a church in town. We stayed for only a short amount of time.It was extremely crowded, and the older kids didn't find many things to do... at least that didn't have long lines(like the Wii games, and rock band, and basketball ). The little ones enjoyed playing the carnival games, and everyone got a little candy. We ended our "mini" celebration with cake, hot cocoa, and an exhilirating game of "chicken foot" dominoes at home. It was just a nice evening for family fun.

Meet "Hot Chocolate"...aka Coco

Long Story made short... Nate has been begging for a dog for well over a year now(not just any type dog...but a Boxer). So, when we went into the pet store(to get food for Elvis) we somehow ended up with a new puppy. Every Saturday is pet adoption day at the pet store. Nate asked if he could go look at the dogs...no surprise there... . He zeroed in on the cage full of puppies and went over to pet them. His puppy picked him out, and when Brad and I saw that it was a boxer/shepherd mix, we were very torn, and ultimately unable to say no. We had discussed that we would allow Nate to get a dog in the future. We had had many discussions with him about pet care responsibility, thus we knew that he was prepared...but was he old enough?. We decided to allow it knowing that we might have to help a bit. We looked at each other and proclaimed,"We Are Crazy!" She has amazed us with her quick learning, and she is super loving and sweet.We have learned in the last day that she is almost crate trained(she will go in with little fuss),almost potty trained, and sleeps well. We are working on "NO Bark"...as she barks a lot when she wants to be with people. She is extremely well behaved as long as she is in the room with us. When in the crate, she barks if she hears others moving about the house;however, she sleeps if the lights are out. It will be interesting to watch Nate and his dog.

A Little Girl's prayer

Our Mandy shows us a bit more of her tender heart as time goes on. She has been home with us for a little over two years, and we have watched as she has grown and changed. We knew from the moment that she joined our family that she was quiet, polite, and very respectful. We now know that there is a precious heart...
Our girl has a passion for children and for adoption. She has expressed to us many times how much she prays and wishes for her friends to have a family...to come to America(she also tells us often that we need more "babies" at our house, but we'll save that for another post). She was so excited to learn that one of her close friends had a family and would come home. She was thrilled at the surprise when this friend came for a visit. At this time, she and her friend would remember another sweet,precious friend that they had played with at the orphanage. At that moment, Mandy took this to the Lord in prayer.** We didn't realize that she had been praying for all her friends at the orphanage until she shared her heart in a conversation with mom. She enjoys sitting with me and looking at pictures, and we visit about her past. It is rare that she will share her emotions and feelings with us, but occassionally the window of opportunity will open.( I am so thankful that the Lord prompts me to stop and listen.)**
A few months after these adorable girls had gotten together, we found that the third little one was indeed going to come home to another family. Mandy was able to see a picture, and she just said,"YES". A couple of months later, we would read that this family(due to a family situation) might not be able to proceed with the adoption of her friend. At that time Mandy proclaimed that she would take it to the Lord in prayer, and that she knew that God would place her friend in a family..."right here in...". This in turn prompted a discussion with mom about God's answer to prayers. "Yes, God can and will answer our prayers"..."But, it might not always be the answer we desire"..."God knows the plan and sees what is best"... Mandy was unwavering in her desire to pray for this little girl...her treasured friend, the 3rd person for their three muskateers. So,she prayed... we prayed ...
God did indeed answer this precious child's prayer. Thanks to the internet and the group websites, we were able to read that this family was indeed able to proceed with the adoption. That this child would join their family. When I read this to Mandy, she pumped her fist in the air and said,"YES, I knew HE would do it!!" She was grinning from ear to ear...

"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." Mark 11:24

A Star Wars Party

Jedi SKYNATER... The Jedi Council and the Padawons... Jedi SkyNater... a present from his big brother Jedi Nolan...always the jokester, he got Nate a huge can of Ravioli...Nate's all time favorite lunch. We now have enough for a week long lunchfest.

The council and their Padawons...ready for a 3-D experience...

The birthday boy...8yrs old Waiting to blow out the candles... Light Saber training...

Who can be the one to break open Darth Vaders mask...a pinata Light Saber agility training...keep the droid in the air...

Good job...young ones... Blaster training... shoot the Storm Troopers, the Death Star, and the Tie Fighters...(water guns) Have I mentioned that I love,love, love to have parties? I love to create, plan, and give fun-filled parties. My favorite parties have to be birthday parties for my kiddos. I love planning for that special day and making them "prince" or "princess" for the day. It used to be that I would plan and give a party for every year; however, as our family has grown, we have had to revise the plan. We have had to alternate parties, so every other year our children can have a "large" party and invite friends. This was Nate's year, and he chose a "Star Wars" party. The fun thing about this party was that everyone in the family got excited about planning it. Mom researched and found ideas,planned the details with Dad, and then Daddy and the boys went to work. They designed a "Jedi Training" headquarters, planned the "training"(game ideas), decorated, and ran the party games. Mom put together the food including "Wampa" hot dogs, chips, cake and "Yoda" punch(green sherbert,frozen limeaide, and lemon/lime soda). Training took place outside in the Jedi headquarters, and they came to the Cantina for food. Dad and the big boys ran all the activities, and kept everyone busy. Aside from getting the food ready, mom had little to do but watch and enjoy. It seemed like their was lots of excitement,joy and fun for all.