Pray for Stellan

A lot of you already follow MckMama's blog, but for those that do not, click on the button that says MckMiracle on the right side of my screen and it will take you there. Baby Stellan and his family are in need of prayer tonight. Please follow the link for the full story and to find out exactly how we need to pray. God has saved this miracle boy several times in his short little life, He can no doubt work again! Thanks guys!

Trim anyone?

Okay, so I learned today that I should NOT get a job as a children's hair dresser. For a few weeks now, Sarah's hair has grown very long and stick straight and stringy. Her mullet was still going strong too. So, I decided that I should just give it a little trim, like 1/4 of an inch at most. She sat in the chair with the drape over her so sweet and still. I made the first cut and it went great. It went well UNTIL(why is there so often an until?) Sam decided to drive his remote control racecar right by us. Lets just say that cut was WAY more than a trim and it happened in a split second. So, the trim turned into a quik fix hair style. I think considering what it looked like before the fix, I did an okay job. I'll wait a couple days and see if I need to take her in to get her fixed by someone who knows what they are doing. What do you think?

Our Great Snow Adventure!!!!!

So, yesterday my wonderful hubby got to be home ALL day long with us! How fun! We decided that we should get out and restock groceries and find a snow shovel for the new snow today. Also boots, only Sam and Michael had them. As we pulled out of our driveway, our neighbor looked at us kinda funny, but we weren't sure why since it was not snowing and was warming up a bit. We figured our drive way was the biggest hurdle, so once we got passed that we were SO excited to be out two days in a row! We went to every Home Improvement and department store within a 15 mile radius. Guess what! NO Snow shovels. That is okay though, our great neighbor said he'd share his regular shovel with us. Next on our list, boots. Let me tell you, parking lots with no lines plus ice are UGLY!!!!!!!! But we made it through generally unscathed! After running all our errands we went to McDonalds so that the kids could play in the playland there. Everybody stuffed the food in themselves so they could play, it was great. UNTIL Sam went a bit too fast and fell on his face. He hit so hard that his lip swelled up and by the time my frantic boy found his way through the maze in tears, I realized his mouth was bleeding. I figured he might have bit his lip, so once I calmed him down and cleaned him up enough to see, I realized he had hit so hard that it ripped his gum open just above his front tooth. The prepared mommy that I am, I got a ziplock baggie from the diaper bag and filled it with ice in hope his lip would go down. In about 2 minutes he was itching to run through the maze again. We are watching his tooth, we'll see if it falls out soon! Then, we decided it was naptime and we needed to head home. So, away we went. UNTIL we got to the hill entering our neighborhood. That is where the going stopped! WE now know why our neighbor looked at us like we were crazy! He's lived here for 20 years and knows that once you're down, you're down! It had warmed up just enough to turn everything into slippery slush and we were stuck with 5 tired babies! We managed to turn around 3 separate times and try again, but to no avail. We pushed, spun, and laughed our heads off, what else can you do?!!!! We decided we either needed to find chains or get a hotel for the night. Well, the search for chains was about as successful as the snow shovel. It took over an hour, but we finally found a tire place 20 minutes after they got a delivery! JACKPOT! We were SO excited that we might be able to make it home after all! Way more appealing than a night away with NOTHING! After some more laughing during the installation of said chains, we headed home again. This time WE MADE IT!!!! In time for dinner! We colored some Santa cookies, which was quite the adventure in itself! Sarah and Abby enjoyed Mint Oreos with Mama while the big boys colored. I'd love to say it was a first, but I can't lie, their Mama has a sweet tooth and they love to share! After baths, the kids all got to open their Christmas jammies and this years Christmas Story book. We all cuddled up and read the new book as we remembered what Christmas is all about. Just before bed they set out Santa's cookies and Diet Coke along with 9 carrots(for each reindeer). Once everyone was in bed, it was time to put things together and get batteries in them. This led to our next adventure(or should I say it led to Marvin's next adventure!). We realized that we needed ONE extra battery. We looked at eachother and laughed. Did we dare go out there again? Remember it took hours to get home earlier in the day. But, what fun is a new Christmas toy that doesn't work? NONE! So, because he is such a wonderful loving father, Marvin headed out again, this time in his car. We had gotten some chains for his car at the same time we got them for the van, so he headed out with the chains in the car just in case. Well, it turned out that the slush froze back up. The problem with that is that the slush froze back up. On the way out of Walmart, he tried to stop at the stop sign, only instead of stopping, he slid. He missed a light pole just barely and ran into the stop sign(better than another car I think!). So, we got batteries and bodywork on Christmas Eve. Thankfully he made it home okay after his big adventure. Hopefully the boys will appreciate that vast love their Abba has for them at some point in time! I'll put pictures in the next post, I promise, it is just getting a bit long and late!

It's not me Monday! time again!!!! I missed last week, but I have some whoppers this week. It is fun, you really should join in! Hop over to MckMama's blog and jump in with your own Not Me Monday! post!

I did not allow my children to stay in their pajamas all day for several days in an attempt to save me laundry. Even if we have been snowed in for days with no hope of driving anywhere, I surely wouldn't encourage pajama parties for 3 whole days! And I certainly did NOT allow my 4 and 6 year olds to play in the snow in their pajamas, even with coats and boots on, that wouldn't be appropriate!

I did not break out a few Christmas presents early in hopes that I could find a few minutes of peace from the chaos that is our house! Good thing I procrastinated on the wrapping!!!!

I did not get dressed in my formal attire for our Christmas party in our van just miles away from the resort in hopes that our children would not slime me on the way out the door! I did not, in this process, snag the knee of my pantyhose on the velcro of the coat laying on the front seat. Darn things! I certainly did not just shrug and wear them anywhere, that wouldn't be very formal!

During our first date night in over 2 months, we did not get the biggest thrills of the night by going up to the second floor to spy on our cuties. I did not wish I could stand in the hallway of the resort all night enjoying our kids from a distance without being pulled, prodded or screamed at! And I certainly did not laugh at the childcare providers when my sweet Abby girl continuously stood up at the formal dining table to play peekaboo with the table behind her! What were they thinking?!

I have not procrastinated our Christmas cards until just days before Christmas, hoping that I can get them out sometime before the New Year. Why would I do that? I'm not busy or anything!

I am not enjoying the sounds of laughter this very minute as my boys make a huge mess of cushions and pillows to do flips from my chair. After all, the joy and laughter so outweighs the mess it follows! Well, at least until someone starts crying.

I feel much better now!

Fun Pictures to Share!

My architects!

Josh wants to give it a go

this is serious business!

It goes right here

Almost got it!

The boys with their masterpiece!

check out those lashes!

Sarah the great hunter

Abby and Granny


I've got more snow pictures coming, but I've got to upload them to Smug Mug first! I'll get them on as soon as I can!

Wow has this last couple of weeks flown by!!!! I can't believe we are less than a week before Christmas!!!! Marvin got home early Thursday afternoon. He had to pry his car door open with an ax that is in his trunk(why does he have an ax in his trunk? Well, doesn't everyone?). He was chipping away the ice from his windshield with the same ax when a kind soul let him borrow a windshield scrapper. He made it home through the ice and snow, 6 inches of it!!! We got all fancy and went to his ship's Christmas party that evening. It was at a casino resort and they had childcare for the kids. So, we piled everyone in the car and away we went. I left my diamond earrings hiding in the RV when we parked it, so we decided to go by there to get them before we hit the party. It would have been a good idea, except that the driveway had not been plowed yet and it had quite a bit of drift in front. Marvin tried to get in and ended up stuck, so he got out in his nice suit and dress shoes and took off on foot in search of the earrings. He came back about five minutes later looking pretty cold, but with earrings in hand. The only problem, we were still stuck. He tried to power through it, but the van was more stubborn than he. So, I got in the driver's seat in my formal attire while he pushed from the back. After a few minutes of lots of laughter and shooting snow, we managed to get out and headed toward the party. We had a really good time. At one point we checked on the kids. They were eating happily...in a fancy dining room. They had beautiful place settings and tablecloth and cloth napkins and fine china! The girls and other babies looked SO funny sitting there, their eyes barely seeing over the table. It was certainly a sight, but they were loving it. We weren't billed for damages, so I guess they pulled off their first ever formal dinner. I'm sure it was quite a shock to the girls who have rarely even seen a plastic plate, the highchair tray is what they most often eat from. It was quite the experience for everyone. Our dinner was delicious and I was able to meet several of the people that work for my hubby and that he works for as well. It was fun to finally be able to put a face with the names! We thought we'd check out the casino to see what it was all about, neither of us had ever been in one before. We were not real impressed and were quickly overcome with the cigarette smoke! YUCK!!!! We could not figure out the draw to this place, different strokes for different folks I guess. We got the kids just before 9 and headed home but with waiting for the ferry, we didn't get home until almost 11pm. The kids were in shock I think, but man did they ever sleep in. I went to the doctor the next morning yet again. So far, still not sure what is going on. All the tests so far have come back normal and yet I am still losing. My doctor has consulted with the other doctors at this hospital about me and they came up with a few more things to test for. I'm starting to know the workers in the lab, pretty sad. So, they took more blood and I peed in yet another plastic cup. We'll see if this bears any answers for me. As it stands right now, I'm to go back during the week after Christmas to do a weight check and go over the newest test results. I'm listening to my boys wrestling with my most wonderful husband right now. They are downstairs and I LOVE that sound of joy and happiness! I sure do love my family, I am so very blessed! Pictures to come later today!!!!!

TEAGAN UPDATE!!!!!!

I am sorry I didn't get this up yesterday, we were out very late at a Christmas party. I wanted to get this up as soon as I could though! Teagan has made it through this extensive surgery!!!!!! They found a considerable amount of damage to his little body, but they were able to repair a lot. They also found that his lungs are in better shape than originally thought. He will spend the next several days sedated as his intestines are outside his body until the swelling of the surgery goes down. Putting them in is the last step of this major procedure. The doctors keep telling his family how he was not supposed to make it. He should have died at birth, he should have died within hours, days at most. He is a true miracle! Please continue to pray for his little body to recover from this surgery and that it can be completed quickly and that they are able to find ways to expand his little lungs. Pray that he can stay free from infection. Please also pray for his Mommy and Daddy. I cannot even begin to imagine what they are going through right now. Seeing their baby suffering and not sure if he will be alive in the next few hours. Seeing him hooked up to machines and monitors after such a huge surgery. Knowing that God can and has worked huge miracles in him is amazing, but I'm sure that any mommy would rather have her precious baby sleeping peacefully in her arms, not quite as aware of the miracle he is. Please pray that God would envelope this whole family with peace unexplained! Thank you, guys, for joining me in praying for little Teagan and his family. God is truly hearing and working in his little body! Keep it up!!!!

NEW TEAGAN UPDATE!!!!!!!!!

So, I hope that my prayer warriors are still checking for updates on little Teagan! I just heard from my mom and he is scheduled for surgery at 8:30am tomorrow morning(Pacific time zone). THIS IS HUGE!!!!!!!!!! The doctors are baffled at how he has survived this long. He has overcome so many odds in the few days of his life. What an amazing little guy. The surgery is not an easy surgery. It will take at least 4 hours and may take more depending on what they find inside. He will need every prayer that we can utter. They have done a pre-surgery procedure today to see if he could handle it and he did great. They are immobilizing him for 4 hours tonight to make sure his body can maintain itself through this major surgery tomorrow. He has been sedated and today they backed off to see how he'd do and he immediately ripped out his ventilator. Of course, they had to put it back in, but it just shows that he is a feisty little fighter. Please pray with me for a miracle for this little guy. The doctors are amazed he is still alive and actually doing well for the conditions he is dealing with. God is getting all glory in this as the medical odds are stacked against him. Thanks guys!

Santa fun!

So, before my parents left, I decided that we needed to see Santa while there was a 3-5 ratio, much better than 1-5!!!! So, we got everyone dressed and headed out to the mall Monday morning. There wasn't much wait(after Santa got back from his break anyway). Sarah was amazed, she circled Santa's sleigh and kept saying "touch?" She wanted to touch EVERYTHING. We have taught the one finger rule and so she was walking with her little pointer finger sticking out as not to miss anything! Too cute! The boys were so excited to see Santa and tell him what presents they wanted. They walked right up and did really good. Abby laughed at him and was fine when we set her down. Then for little Miss Fearless. Sarah was NOT okay with Santa. She took one look at him from his knee and FREAKED out! We were able to distract her with squeaky toys just long enough to get a good picture, but she was NOT happy with the whole situation! She was fine after all was done, she kept going back to catch a glimpse of the bearded stranger. The candy cane helped with her fear I guess.

Keep Praying...Teagan update!!!!

I just got an update on little Teagan and wanted to pass it on to you! Thank you all so much for joining me in praying for this special little guy!!!! Teagan is stable and holding strong. He is scheduled for surgery on Thursday morning, a miracle in itself!. This surgery is a very involved surgery and medically speaking is a huge thing for him to survive through. However, God has been working miracles in his little body since the very beginning. Please also continue to pray for his family to feel God's grace and peace during this time!

Snow Day!!!!

We woke up to SNOW this morning. It was barely sputtering last night so our hopes were not very high. However, this morning we woke up to a couple of inches! The kids are SO excited! We did not have the traditional snow gear, but we layered and made due with what we could find! The boys had a blast with Grandpop inventing ways to sled down the driveway. Not a hill, I did say the driveway. We have yet to figure out why, but our driveway is about the angle of the slide at the playground. Not so great for parking, but wonderful for sledding!!!! Here our some pictures of playing in our first EVER snow! The boys have never seen it up close before and were totally excited to really touch it!
Touching snow for the ver first time!!!!!

Sam is loving it!

walking up the driveway

still walking up the driveway

FINALLY at the top!

Michaelman

Sam

sledding (notice the hand gear, we could only find one glove!)

Sam sledding

Michael's turn!

Sarah wants to try

How fun.....

I think.....

Maybe not so much!

Please pray for Teagan!!!!

I hope that you will join me in praying for a sweet baby boy who is fighting for his life right now. My mom's best friend's sister's daughter had her first baby boy this morning. They were not expecting any problems, but discovered he was breech and went on to do a c section. He was born not breathing and started CPR immediately. After putting him on a ventilator, he stabilized somewhat and they started running tests. They have discovered that he had a hernia during the pregnancy which pushed his intestines into his chest, pushing his heart and other organs into the wrong position. This caused one lung to not develop and the other to be small and weak. He has passed a BM, which is a miracle in and of itself. They are saying the next few days are going to be touch and go, but if he can survive that long they will try to do surgery to correct what they can. Please pray for little Teagan and for his parents, Amber and Jason as well as the rest of the family. This was very unexpected and has hit hard and they need peace that only God can bring. Please pray for a miracle for this special little guy. He has already defied the odds and we all know that God can work a miracle in his little body.

I thought I'd update you on what went on at the doctor. Several tests are being run and I will have some answers next week. The doctor was not overly concerned, so that set my mind at ease some. I really appreciate everyone's prayers, I am definitely more at peace. My parents are here visiting for the week. We spent the day Thursday going to the other side of the water to get our RV so that we could go spend Friday night visiting with my mom's best friend about 3 hours away. It took 7 hours total, between traffic and ferry waits. Then, on Thursday night Abby was awake coughing and wheezing. I had to give her a breathing treatment. So, we decided we'd better not go after all. A sick baby in the camper is not at all fun!!!!! We had to take the RV back to storage. We met my mom's friend for lunch not too far south and then headed back to the RV storage. More traffic, TONS of rain and wind. We finally got it back only to find something is wrong with the van. It can't come out of park!!!!! We figured it out after quite a while, but it did not help with the mood in the car!!!! We kept trying to smile anyway. We got home in time for baths, only thought it odd coming up the street that no one had their Christmas lights on. Turns out during the storm, a tree fell and downed the power lines. So, we got ready for bed by candlelight. Thankfully power was restored by 9pm! Today was much calmer! It snowed a little and we just hung out and relaxed! It was nice. A yucky cold is attacking our house right now, so I think we'll stay home from church tomorrow. Hopefully by Monday they will be healthy enough to visit with Santa Claus. We've waved from afar for a month and the boys say they are ready to get a picture! If it happens, and I mean IF, I'll post the picture here. Christmas is coming and we are all excited about it! I officially started our Christmas shopping, no not finished, I just started. I am so far behind! I hope I'll get our Christmas cards out before the New Year!

Prayers please!!!!

I have debated several times whether to share this or just leave it alone. I've decided that I need the prayer, so I am asking for it tonight. I have been losing a lot of weight since our move, really since the girls were born, but it has gotten really bad in the last month or so. I have lost over 12 pounds in the last 6 weeks. I've been experiencing other strange symptoms as well, but can explain them away each individually. I've noticed it, but have not weighed myself until a few days ago. I was very scared to actually see the number, well below my prebaby weight. I've done a bit of research and think it could be a number of things, some easy to deal with others quite scary. I am asking for your prayers tonight as I get ready to go to the doctor first thing in the morning. Pray that the doctor will have direction and will find answers and that I will have peace with whatever the outcome. I fear the unknown, but I have TOTAL peace with my GOD. I know that no matter the outcome, He is still God and that He holds me in the very palm of His hand, that brings me great peace. I want it to be an easy, quick fix and to find out I'm a healthy, albeit completely stressed out , mommy. If that is not the answer, I need to remember the God whom I serve. My appointment is at 7:40am Pacific time. Please pray with me. I'm not sure when the tests will come back, but I'll keep you all updated!

I'm on my way to bed, but I wanted to post a few pictures that I thought turned out really good of the little people! Michael and Sam are not in this group simply because I could not get them to stand still long enough! I promise I have no favorites, but it is WAY easier to take pictures of a "captive" audience! We were making a "practice" batch of cookies for Santa, you know we didn't want to leave yucky cookies. Thankfully they turned out well, so we are safe there! As you can see, Abby thoroughly enjoyed hers, as she does everything she gets to put into her mouth and chew!
Sarah is trying to convince me she, in fact IS Santa and needs a plate full of cookies!

Contemplating life

Josh in all his cuteness!

Abbygirl

Hello again! I really should not be sitting here, but I need a break! I am SO sick of laundry!!!! I'm debating getting rid of all but 2 outfits each. I mean, should they really be wearing 7 loads of laundry in one weeks time? There might be a lot of them, but they are all pretty small. Man, I thought it would slow down with my new super capacity washing machine, but for some reason, they stepped up production of dirty clothes somehow. It is CRAZY! I'm getting ready for my parents to come visit for a week!!!!! I am so excited. They are truly amazing to me. I love that they love my kids so much that 2 months is too long to not see them! I love that we are loved like that! We will be picking them up from the airport tomorrow afternoon! I'm trying to get the house in order before then, but hey, they love me anyway, so not too much pressure there! I know I promised pictures, but my computer has been acting up and I haven't been able to get them on here. I will keep trying as there are some really good ones! I better go get back to folding laundry and changing sheets! My most favorite thing to do!

Not Me!!!!! Monday

My very first Not me!Monday! Great therapy, I feel better all ready!!! Thanks Mckmama!




I certainly did NOT find a size 4 black dress shoe in my oven drawer amongst the various baking pans that have not been used for anything except a good band practice on the kitchen floor in months! How would it have gotten there even if I had?

Upon discovering that one of my twin girls had a pretty high fever this week, I certainly did NOT accidentally give her dose of baby Motrin to her twin sister(the one without the fever!) and upon realizing my mistake, I did not just shrug my shoulders and proclaim that it will help you sleep better if nothing else. What kind of mother does that?

While doing Christmas crafts with my wonderful little blessings, I did not accidentally paint their hands and feet with the not very washable paint. They are not still walking around with red, green and yellow hands and feet even days later!

While in the local mall children's play place with my 5 little blessings, I absolutely did not watch from afar for 35 minutes as my daughter was stuck in the little play boat. I would not have sat there savoring the fact that at least for a moment I had one less to worry about escaping! And I certainly did NOT contemplate how hard it would be to somehow get said boat into my van and bring it home with us!

I most assuredly did not bribe my children with marshmallows to get them to sit still and look at the camera for Christmas pictures. I could not have taken 59 pictures without a single one of all five kids looking at me, what are the odds of that? Just by pure coincidence you'd think there'd be at least ONE where they were all looking in my vicinity with their eyes open!

I did not look on as my Sarah ate food from the floor under Abby's high chair without stopping her. I would never be even a little thankful that at least it was a little bit less of a mess for me to take care of, you know, since we had to get rid of our dog. I did not, in fact, thank her for "being such a great helper" for doing it!

Our crazy life!

So, this post is gonna be all over the place! Sorry in advance, but that is just our life right now! I figured it would be fun to highlight our last few days for you! So, here it is in a nutshell!

Josh is no longer in underpants. It was just too much for his OCD self right now. And to be honest I'm kinda happy to put a diaper back on his cute little bottom. I cannot begin to count the number of socks I went through "finding" accidents on the floor! My potty philosophy is to wait until they are ready. Michael was 3, Sam was barely 2. I did nothing to potty train them, they just decided it was time and we probably had 3 accidents total. So, when there are more puddles on the floor than flushes of the potty in a day, we take a step back. He is way happier and although he talks about his underpants with great adoration, when I ask if he wants to put them on, his answer is "I don't want them, I want my diaper." Yes, the whole sentence, so a diaper it is!


We got haircuts! The boys love this and Michael is sporting a new spike style. After haircuts, I thought we better tackle Christmas card pictures(I've been avoiding this with a vengeance!), since I got a new camera to do it! Well, I got them all dressed up in their coordinating outfits, did their hair and put them all in front of the tree. The funny thing is that I thought I would get a few to choose from. Of 59 pictures, only 2 were decent, and I wouldn't even call those great! In the end, I'm happy. You can see each of their little selves in the picture and you can hardly tell that I was behind the camera bribing them with marshmallows to sit and smile! So funny.

We are working on our "family" tree this week. The fancy tree upstairs is off limits to little hands(although I've found several toys in the branches thrown from a distance, anything to get around the no touch rule!). Anyway, we have been working hard on homemade ornaments and crafts to hang on our fake tree downstairs, where we really live! It has been a lot of fun, and may I say quite an adventure!

I'm getting ready for my parents' visit. Grandpop has been telling the boys on the phone about a present he is bringing. Of course, that has caused quite the excitement here. This morning Sam was helping me with laundry and this was our conversation:

SAM- "Grandpop said he is brining us a special surprise!"

ME- "Yes, I know, isn't that exciting! What do you think your surprise might be? (I already know, and he is going to flip!)

SAM(after a few quiet moments)- "I think he is gonna chase us, and get us, and wrestle with us!! That would be the best surprise ever!"

ME- "I think that is the best surprise ever!

I am SO glad that in the midst of all the holiday hype going on around them, that they still put time with loved ones at the top and not a toy they saw at Target yesterday! It made my heart sing. Of course, I was brought down just a little when, while in the toy section at Walmart he requested one of these, one of these, and some of those! One battle at a time!

Okay, I have a lot more to write about, it has been a crazy week, but it is time to feed my guys! I'll be back later, and with pictures!

Before I go, if you have been praying for Hazel with us, go check out her blog! She has been healed completely! Thanks God. I am now praying that God will do a miraculous work and show Himself in their family, as they are not believers. I will be praying for that Spiritual healing in their lives as much as the physical one demonstrated by the very hand of God in little Hazel this week!

Please join me in prayer

I have become aware of a very heart breaking story today that I would like to share with each of you. I cannot begin to imagine what this mommy and daddy are going through emotionally, it is much beyond my imagination. However, I will be praying, especially tomorrow as little Hazel is faced with a delicate procedure that may decide her life. I hope you will join me in prayer for the doctors' hands to be guided by the very hand of God Himself, for this precious little girl to have a strength and healing that goes beyond understanding, and that her parents would know a peace during this incredibly scary time. Here is a link to Hazel's blog, please join me in prayer and pass this along to all who will join you.
http://hazelana.blogspot.com/

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

Well, we had a wonderful quiet Thanksgiving at home. I was very thankful to see my hubby! He had all of Thursday and Friday off! It was SO nice to have him home. We just had a relaxing day, enjoying each other. Then on Friday morning, Marvin got up at 5am and headed to Circuit City to get a new tv and sound system. I am so glad we held out, he got such a great deal! He was home before the kids and I woke up. He took care of everything and let me sleep in until....10am!!!!! I don't remember the last time I slept that late, 6 years ago maybe! Once I got my lazy self going, we all headed to Target for a few last minute things and a tv stand. It was crazy, but not nearly as bad as I had thought. Most people get out of our way when they see us coming though, so that helps! After Target, it was time to head home for naps. Marvin put together the tv stand and then when the kids woke up we went to a local "winter wonderland". They have a snow show with fake snow and lights and music and even live reindeer! I tried to get a picture of the kids, but they are all so bundled up, you can hardly see them through hats and coats. We are not used to the cold yet! We picked the perfect Christmas tree and watched Marvin put it on top of the van. After it was all tied down, Marvin put a piece of twine for each of the boys to hold through the door. They really think they held the tree on that roof the whole way home! So funny. We got it up, but after 3 attempts, decided decorating would have to wait(as I cut the lights trying to trim a branch so the star fits on top.). Well, I got it done today and it is very pretty. One last thing. We said good bye to Lulu today. I put an ad on Craig's List about finding her a home. We just don't have a life fitting for a dog. She was getting more and more neglected as the girls get older and need more. So, I found her a wonderful home with 2 sisters that have all the time in the world for her. They can't wait to love her and spoil her the way I wish I could. Hopefully in a year or two we can reexamine our circumstances. I just don't feel quite right without a pup.
A family shot...well, it almost was!

Are we in the North Pole?!?

My very cold cuties!

I was pretty impressed, I got 5 pairs of eyes!

Here it is, the perfect tree!

Hot stuff!

I don't need help! I got this!

Up, up, and over!

Sarah's checking out the twine

UNTIL it stuck to her candy cane hands!

Sam holding the tree on the roof!

Michael and Josh are holding tight too!

Some new pictures!

Joshua all snuggly in his monkey towel

I was sneaky, caught a sweet moment between Josh and Abba

Sweet Abby girl

Sarah thinks the monitor is a telephone

Sam the Man

Abby is looking for her "pretty" (her bow!)


I promise Michael in the next one, he was just NOT cooperating this time around! I got a new camera, so I'm sure you all will get tired of seeing my cuties. They are certainly tiring of being my models!