A Thankful Thanksgiving

 We hosted our fourth annual Thanksgiving celebration. This year though, my mom took the reigns of menu planning and prep work knowing how tired and nauseous I have been during the first trimester. It was super helpful and thoughtful of her!

 The littles making fruit jello together.

 Joshua enjoyed helping Grandma with the french bread.

 The next morning Joshua woke up saying that he felt sick. Sure enough, he got sick. Multiple times. Lots of rest and lots of footed pajamas from here on out for the boy. :) Grandpa John was super thoughtful and ran to the store to get our little guy (and then Eric, me, Jackson and Jenni) Gatorade to help our stomachs.

 One of Jenni's favorite things to do is color, so I'm glad she got some special time in coloring with Aunt Andrea and my mom. :)

  Much to Jenni's delight, many rounds of Uno were played. :)

 Sweet Jackson James is walking, walking, walking!

 Beautiful J getting some fresh air! Beautiful weather for Thanksgiving!

  Eric, Joshua, Jackson and I were all taking a nap after being sick and when we woke up we found a sweet note from our girl. We are thankful for her sweetness! After Joshua kept getting sick, I overheard him tell Jenni, "Jenni, you think you can make me a card?" Jenni loves making cards for people for various reasons.

 Baby boy was not sleeping well. At all. We took him out of his crib in his bedroom and put him in a pack 'n' play in our room so that others could sleep in his room. He probably got a total of two hours of sleep over several nights. Now we know better. :)

 The next morning, Joshua Gabriel awoke declaring, "I think I might want some pie." I gave him two pieces. One pumpkin, one peach. It blew his mind.

 My parents surprised Jenni by bringing down Andrea's and my dollhouse from our childhood that our grandfather had built in 1989. Jenni was overjoyed!

 Joshua and Jenni are seldom apart so there were lots of hugs and "I love yous" before they separated. Joshua went on a boy adventure with my dad to an electronics store and then later McDonald's. Jenni, my mom and I (and Jacks) went on a girls date to buy some dollhouse furniture and get frozen yogurt.

 Eric brought down a tub from the attic filled with childhood books. One being a Boy Scout's book that Joshua "read" throughout the day.

 More coloring with Grandma Linda!

 Some more of Eric's books - Wildlife Fact-Files. Pretty cool stuff.

A very sweet picture of Jacks and Grandpa John. Jackson was crying and crying in my arms - from lack of sleep and four teeth working their way through. My dad took him out of my arms and Jackson suddenly calmed down. VERY sweet!

A special shout-out to A, D and G who traveled north for our big family celebration. And a huge shout-out to my parents who sweetly took care of our family (and especially Jenni J) while we all took turns getting sick.

Party of Six

 We are THANKFUL!
There is nothing more exciting than finding out when we are expecting a baby. A new, unique, precious child to add to our family. Each time it makes us more aware and in awe of the beautiful gift of life.

 At our six week appointment we could only see the heartbeat, nothing more nothing less. Just the heart fluttering at a nice, strong rate. Four weeks later, we had our second appointment. We could see the baby's little body, head, spine, arms, and legs. Amazing. We had never had early ultrasounds with our other three children so to see pictures of our newest baby growing was a gift.

We have been praying for this baby for a long time. Jenni has been praying for this baby for a long time. One of the most special gifts a child can receive is the gift of a brother or sister. It is so fun to see the changes in each person that a new baby brings. Extra love, tenderness, patience, kindness, grace. I love seeing relationships formed and bonds made.

 Each child is such a gift and we are so thankful to experience this blessing another time.

Jackson and his sweet baby brother or sister will be 21 months apart. It will be sweet to have siblings close in age. God is so good. We are overjoyed. Baby #4 is expected to be here in June, just in time to celebrate Eric's birthday! :)

Little Brother Fun

If only we could bottle up little baby laughs :)

We've Got a Walker!

 We just love this bundle! There's a little twinkle in his eye that we are so thankful for.

One of my most favorite things about having multiple littles growing up together is how excited they are for every single thing a sibling does. Oh, I just adore it. Jackson learning to walk is the perfect example. Lots of screams, "MOM! YOU'VE GOT TO SEE THIS! JACKSON IS WALKING!!" And sweet Jackson, so unaware of all the attention just continues doing his thing not realizing how the whole house stops to join the excitement of his first steps. Little man is learning and loving his new found freedom. Doesn't seem to phase him a bit.

These two make my heart smile. They are the best of friends. Oh, how they adore each other. I just love the brother/sister combo. They balance each other out so well. We are so thankful for the great leader Jenni is since she has little brothers that look to her for everything. Jenni talks about her baptism at least every other day. Joshua each and every time tells Jenni, "Jenni, me so proud of you!" Such genuineness.

Restful Times

This boy has stolen our hearts. Sweet Joshua Gabriel. I tell this little boy how much I love him daily and he just smiles. I've come to realize that he will indeed grow up but I do hope dearly that he has a little boy who is just like him. I ask him all the time, "Joshua, can you please have a little boy who is just like you when you're a daddy?" And he always agrees but usually adds, "But I'm not going to change his diaper." :) Oh we just love him. Jenni loves hearing stories about Joshua as a baby. He would not cuddle with us. He would nurse and nurse forever but if he wasn't being fed, he did not want to be resting in my arms. Quite different from Jenni who was our cuddle bug. Even coming home from the hospital Joshua would not sleep next to us. Thankfully we found it somewhat amusing but still dreamed of the day that he would desire to cuddle with us. Thankfully as he grew older that has changed and how do we love him even more for it. My favorite is if he wakes up before any one he will come downstairs and as he is climbing into our bed he says, "Mommy, mind me nestle with you for a little bit?" Yes, please. :)

Fall Yard Tour 2013

 Our Front Yard

 

We love fall and we love mums!

Our Backyard

Our backyard is a super fun work-in-progress area. Eric and I began the backyard flower beds in early spring and have enjoyed planting trees, shrubs, bushes, and flowers along the way. Lots more work to do but enjoyable along the way! Gardening will continue in the spring!