Yellow Belts and Dobaks

Troy and Sam have been taking a "Daddy and Me" Tae Kwon Do class this fall. It has been alot of fun for them. Last Tuesday was the class test night, which lasts a surprisingly long time when you are holding a sleeping baby :-) Troy tested for his yellow belt and Sam was presented with his Dobak (The little white outfit) and his white belt. I'm very proud of how much they have learned! Troy actually had to break a board to get his belt since he is over the age of 16- let's just say it was one of the funniest things I've ever seen! His teacher had taught him to break with his hand, but the guy who was testing him told him to break with a flying front kick- which Troy had never done. I will just post the video so you all can laugh too....

What you can't really see in the video is that the board hit Troy's instructor in the face and bloodied his lip really bad. Anyway Troy got his belt since he broke the board. I guess it doesn't have to be pretty in Tae Kwon do! I'm glad Troy and Sam are having fun with it and are getting to spend lots of time together on Tuesday nights.

Megan's Dedication

On November 21st we had Megan dedicated at church. We are so Thankful for our little girl!

Baby Talk

Megan has found her voice! It's so nice to ear these little coos!

Silly Sam

Sam is Silly. He says things all the time that make us bust out laughing. He has learned to use this tool in some negative ways which we are working on, but usually he is just good for a laugh. Today I'm going to share a few of his recent funny quotes.

Since we are getting some pictures taken soon, I have been waiting on Troy to take Sam in to get his hair cut. Sam's hair is always super short which is how he likes it. On Sunday he came downstairs after waking up and his hair had had a little visit from the hair fairy while he was sleeping. He looked at me and said "Mom can you please just put this hair into a ponytail!"



We filled some shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child a program our church supports to get Christmas presents and the Gospel to children in other countries. The kids had alot of fun picking gifts and taking them to the church. When we left them at the church Sam asked

"What are the kids we send those boxes to going to send us back?"

Me: "They aren't going to send us anything. They don't have toys. We are very privileged to live in America where we have lots of things so that is why we share some of the things God has given us with children who don't have as much as we do."

Sam: "Mimi and Papa must live in America because they have so much cool stuff."



When I nurse Megan in front of Maddie and Sam I always use a nursing cover. Sam came into my room this week wearing my nursing cover -which in itself was funny- and then said "I'll nurse Megan for you next time Mom...don't worry I'll keep her head hid under here!"



The kids are really getting ready for Christmas. Sam is especially looking forward to seeing all his boy cousins and getting in some 'guy time'. They have been asking lots of questions about why we don't live in Indiana. I have been trying to explain that we live in Florida and that is where Daddy's job is, our church, good friends ect....The last time I was talking to Sam about it he said "I have a great idea! We could move Florida to Indiana!"



And the last quote for the day Sam: "Mommy I'm never getting married because I'm never leaving you and Daddy! And I'm not going to have any kids unless they are just like Megan!"

Ballet

Last week was Maddie's parent observation day at Ballet. Her class is in the early afternoon, but Daddy took a little time off work and was able to come this year too! Her teacher was very complimentary of her improvements this year. (this is actually a very long and hilarious story that you should ask me about next time I see you :-) ) She still loves going every week and continues to prefer the ballet over the tap. My camera battery died so I didn't get any of her tap on camera, but we did video tape it. Troy and I were laughing about the entire class because it is just really cute to see about 8 little tiny ballerinas try and do everything the teacher was asking them to do. She also let them do a few minutes of free dance, which was especially cute! We are all, with the exception of Sam, looking forward to her recital this year ;-)

Our Hero

A tribute to Troy's Service to our country.

Basic Training 1998.La Maddalena, Italy Security Forces 1999-2001.Panama City, FL Dive School 2001-2002

Troy with his Grandpa Schwamberger and Uncle Johnny at dive school graduation.Being pinned by Momma.

Bahrain in the Middle East 2002-2003.Dive Instructor Panama City, FL 2003-2007.Navy Ball 2005 with the love of his life ;-)Getting to wear some sort of special dive rig that I'm sure I should know the name of...MK-5? Presenting the Colors at the change of Command 2005

Presenting the Colors in Indiana July 2006. Happy Veterans Day to our Daddy....

Our Hero! We love you!

Army Field Band

We got to go see the Army Field Band this weekend. It was awesome! The kids loved it and the musicians were excellent. They came to a local high school and some of the students actually got to participate during one of the songs. I forgot my camera, but got this picture off their website. All of their concerts are free to the public and definitely worth your time. Check out their website http://www.armyfieldband.com/?gclid=CKzltcCkkaUCFcNe7AodWFcGOw to see if they are going to be in your area!

3 Months

Megan is three months old already! I really can't believe how fast she is growing. She is a very sweet little girl. She sleeps through the night and takes three naps a day. She is easily entertained by her older siblings which makes things easy for Momma. She is smiling a cooing alot now and has been enjoying some tummy time too! I included this picture to show how much hair she has! I'm pretty sure Madaline had this much hair when she turned one so I'm pretty excited that Megan's seems to be coming in a little faster. Her eyes remind me of Sam her nose reminds me of Maddie and she has the most kissable cheeks!
We are so thankful for our little girl!

Dippin Apples

The kids had some fun on Saturday making caramel apples. The longest part was unwrapping all the caramels!All ready to dip.
Sam wanted his to be 'very' decorated. You can tell from his smile he had sampled a few of the dipping ingredients. Maddie just wanted hers plain.

A close up of Sam's.

Of course the kids ate all the topping and caramel off, ate one bite of the apple and them threw them away. Oh well at least we had fun making them and no one was burnt. That to me is a successful day!