melt my heart

Ethan's prayer tonight....

Dear God, thank you for my family. Thank you for my Mom and the sunshine, thank you for presents today, and thank you for sending Jesus to die on the cross for our sins.
Amen

(Seriously, melt my heart! And...in my opinion, a pretty grown up prayer for a 5 year old. I love that boy!)

Christmas picture fun?

So I am sure that anyone with young children has had this same experience of taking group photos of them. I have decided it is virtually impossible to take a good picture of the 3 kids together. (You know, a picture that they are all actually looking at the camera and smiling) This year went much better than last year but it still took many takes to get a decent one. And without further ado, for your viewing pleasure, here are some of my attempts for a group Christmas photo.....

This one would work great if we were just going for goofy.

This one was really not that bad, but wanted better expressions on the boys' faces. They kind of have that deer in the headlights expression going on.

Grace looks like she has been drugged in this one.

"Owen....Look at Mommy."

This one is a real contender....wow this is going better than I expected!





Well, file another one in the goofy file.

Owen is not smiling, but he is looking. SO, AHHHH.....SUCCESS!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Love,

Katie

Friday night is pizza and a movie night!

So last year we started a new tradition at our house. Every Friday night, we have pizza (usually just homemade pizza) and watch a movie (kids' choice)....and their favorite part.....they get to eat their pizza in the family room. This is also the only night of the week that they get pop...which probably comes in a close second to eating their pizza in the family room.

It really is lots of fun...once I got over the inevitable spills on the carpet, hyperactivity at bedtime due to the pop, and the fact that I don't always love what they have chosen to watch, (Strawberry shortcake movies, and All about garbage trucks movies are just not my favorite thing to watch) It is something the kids look forward to, and as you can see...even Owen is having a fun time joining in, even though he doesn't get to share in the pop thing yet.

Note...please disregard the poor photo quality, the fact that I have not a stitch of makeup on, and that I am flashing a huge, cheesy grin. (thanks)

If this photo was a little less blurry you would be able to see that Owen's sweet little face has pizza sauce all over it. Gotta love the mess they make at this age!

Love,

Katie

The outfit.

I have been a total slacker when it comes to blogging. I don't know what my problem is...I just can't seem to find or make the time to update....but, today is the day!

Grace had her drug prevention week at school (in October....yes, I already acknowledged that I was way behind) and part of that was having fun dressing up (kinda like homecoming week...but not homecoming...and for elementary kids, not high schoolers) On Friday she was supposed to wear halloween or fall colors...so we had a little fun with it. Here is her outfit. She absolutely adored the striped tights! And any day that she gets to wear a skirt is a good day for her. (Funny, that is totally the opposite for her Mama!) Well, here she is....

And yes....I am a cheapskate. I sent Ethan to preschool the day before in the same shirt. I didn't get a picture of him though. (They are close enough to the same size that I thought it more economical to buy one gender neutral shirt and have them share.)

Love,

Katie

This one is for my mother

This one is for my mother. From the ages of about 11 to probably 21.....I swore that I would never be like my mother. Well, I hear quite often from my husband that I act like my mother. Today I realized that I had just done something that my mother always does that I SWORE I would never do. I decided to take a picture just to poke fun at myself........

That's right everyone.....my mother for as long as I can remember has rinsed out her plastic baggies, hung them to dry, and then reused them. I have been a loud mouth about this for many years. I thought it was ridiculous.....I mean really how expensive are little plastic baggies???? Seriously.....just throw them away and get new ones, right!!??

Well folks, as you can see from the picture above.....it's official, ridiculous or not......I HAVE TURNED INTO MY MOTHER!

Love,

Katie

P.S. - Love you Mom!

Peek-a-boo or Hide and Seek?

Owen was having a blast the other day trying to shut these cabinet doors on himself and hide. I am not sure if he was trying to play hide-n-seek or peek-a-boo, but either way he had Ethan and I in hysterics. If Grace had been here and not at school, I am sure that she would have joined in the laughter also. What a funny boy!

Of course, it looked like SO MUCH FUN that Ethan had to get in on the action too.

CHEESE!

These 2 silly little boys make my heart swell with joy......love them so much.

Love,

Katie

Pumpkin patch

We took the kids to Williamson's to enjoy their pumpkin patch. We usually try to take them to Carrol's pumpkin farm in Grinnell (which I would recommend if you have never been there...fabulous place), but this year we didn't feel like driving or spending money to get in. The result....we had a fabulous time at Williamson's which is about a 5 minute drive from our house. It was a perfect afternoon. The kids (and parents) had a great time. We enjoyed a hay bale maze, some farm animals, walking through the pumpkin patch, playing several games they had out, playing in corn they had in a small shed, and last but not least....picking out a pumpkin for everyone.

Grace and Ethan are racing to the maze.

Yes, Mom.....I am being SOOOO good!

Grace and Ethan checking out this lovely cow. I believe if this was a video you would here them saying something like.... "MMMOOOOOO, MOOOOO! Owen look at the cow! MOOOOO!"

Owen getting in on the animal watching.

Ethan having a blast playing in the corn.

Grace, posing in the corn.

Brothers.

Owen enjoying a ride in the wagon, through the pumpkin patch.

"Should I pick this one Mom?"

Grace posing again.

Love,

Katie