A stop by the bay

Since the kids had to be at the church at different times on Sunday we had a little time to kill. After taking Sam to Target to finish up his Christmas shopping, we took the kids down to the bay to watch the dolphins jump, the boats come in and the sunset. 

I will never get tired of looking at the ocean.

Christmas Events

This past weekend the kids participated in a few Christmas events.

 Maddie had her Christmas piano recital. She played "Away in a Manger" and had to give a speech before her performance. She did very well! This is her and her music teacher Miss Emily.

 Sam's children's choir at church performed two songs in the evening service. (He is on the top riser 3rd from the right) He loves to sing and it was a pretty hilarious performance with a few wanderers and a shoving fight that had to be broken up! You never know what is going to happen with 3-5 year olds :-)

Maddie had a speaking part in the church Christmas play "A Rockin Royal Christmas" this year. (She is the one at the microphone) All the kids worked really hard and the play was very cute. It was a busy weekend, but that frees up the rest of our weekends until Christmas!

Trimming the Tree

The day after Thanksgiving we got our tree and set it up.

 The kids picked out this beauty.

 Maddie and Sam were lots of help getting things put up.

 After a few ornaments were broken we let Meg have more of a supervisory position.

 The kids got new Hallmark ornaments to hang on the tree. Megan got a Princess crown, Sam got Star Wars and Maddie got Rapunzel to remind us of our Disney trip.

I love making these memories with them :-)

Disney

The week before Thanksgiving we took a little trip to Orlando to use up some Disney tickets we had from the beginning of the year. We all had a great time. The crowds were small and we just took it easy and let the kids pick which parks to go to. Sam chose Hollywood Studios and Maddie chose Animal Kingdom.

The Lego store is a must for any 6 year old boy. This Hulk was huge and built entirely of Legos.

 Megan loves Minnie Mouse and had warmed up to the idea of huge live characters trying to touch you by the time we saw her. After this picture we were leaving and she ran back to give her one more hug. 

 The kids had a little souvenir money and Maddie chose to have her face painted like a kitty princess.

 Sam chose a pirate sword...arg!

 Megan just took everything in....

I was glad to get to go somewhere before #4 arrives and so were the kids. It's funny that when you take kids to a place like Disney all they want to do is swim in the heated pools and crash in the hotel room with the Disney channel. Since the parks closed early we were able to do this and just enjoy being together :-) 

Holly Fair

Maddie had her first piano performance this past Saturday at our local "Holly Fair".

 Before the performance she was pretty nervous. 

 She played "Go Tell it on the Mountain". She did very well and even smiled a little bit during the song.

 At the end they have to curtsy or bow. I think this may have been her favorite part.

Sam and Megan were troupers during all of the performances, but after 1 1/2 hours Sam admitted that he was "tired of being patient." We looked around some at the craft fair which Troy called "every man's nightmare" and then we left. Daddy treated us all to an Olive Garden lunch and we were glad to be able to spend a Saturday together.

Fall Festival

The last weekend in October our church hosted a fall festival. The kids look forward to it each year and it is always lots of fun. I was pretty excited about the prospect of having some yummy cotton candy! 

This year we took a Beautiful Snow White,

 A Handsome Florida Gator Baseball player,

 And a little tiny Florida Gator Cheerleader who was in love with her pom-poms!

 I was pretty excited about the prospect of not taking a stroller this year. We set out without one but about half way through I was carrying 3 bags of candy, 3 jackets and various other prizes so Troy went back and got it to tote all of our stuff around! After 7 years of using a stroller I do think I may be stroller dependent!

We enjoyed seeing lots of friends, playing lots of games and some beautiful weather.

Good News!

We are very excited that we got good news from the Internal Fetal Medicine Dr this week! On Wednesday we had a level II Ultrasound and saw the specialist and he told us that our baby girl looks "perfect"! We are on no restrictions and they don't feel like we will need a c-section or that the baby will be taken early. We are praising the Lord for this great change of events and are still a little bit in shock :-) Troy's company was also sold this month (so he is no longer facing a lay off) and we found out that as long as we have the baby after the sale (Dec. 1st) we will receive 2 weeks paid paternity leave after we deliver. They also told him that they are extending his current insurance to cover the delivery and we will enroll in the new insurance at the beginning of 2013. Thank you all for all your prayers about his job situation and for our precious baby girl! (I wish they had given us a picture of Marla to post, but we didn't get any. Troy saw the Ultrasound and thought she looked a lot like Maddie's profile....time will tell!) 

Carving 'em up!

This weekend we carved our pumpkins! The temperatures actually dropped a little so they may survive a few days!!

 Daddy was there to help with the knife work.

 Sam did good at scooping his out....

 Maddie on the other hand wouldn't touch the insides! She said "If I put my hand in there I'm going to throw up!" So Daddy scooped hers out as well.

 Sam wanted a Jack-O-Lantern face and did alot of his carving.

 Maddie wanted a rainbow in the clouds so hers required quite a bit of help.

That night we put them on the porch and lit them up. The kids thought they were amazing, and so did I!

The Pumpkin Patch

We have been enjoying some cooler temperatures here and had a beautiful Saturday last weekend to take in our local "pumpkin patch". We had originally planned on taking the kids up to Dothan, AL where they actually have a pumpkin patch, but the kids wanted to go to the one here so we saved our self the 2 hour drive and still got a pumpkin :-)

 When we got there the pumpkins that were large enough to carve were running around $20 a piece so we opted to look around take some photos and then drive to the grocery store where we paid $5 a piece for the pumpkins. We put them on our porch and plan on carving them next Saturday and roasting the seeds! Once carved they will last approximately 24 hours in the FL sun and have to be thrown out. 

 Maddie and I have been enjoying cooking up some fall treats so when we got home we made a batch of homemade caramel corn while the boys watch college football. Maddie can read recipes now and knows how to measure most things. She is pretty handy to have around the kitchen. She has roasted pumpkin seeds and caramel apples on the menu for next Saturday!

 Sam is very interested in the carving of the pumpkin and wants to enter it into our church's fall festival pumpkin carving contest. I'll keep you posted on that event!

Megan loved her little pumpkin and is continually grabbing it and carrying it around...it's too small to carve and looks a little rough from being dropped, but I'm sure it feels loved!

We are loosing our teeth!

In the past three days Sam has lost his first 2 teeth! 

He was very excited to get them out and spend his tooth fairy loot!

Dolphin's Soccer

Maddie's first season of soccer is over. She loved to play and was sad that Saturday was her last game. Her team learned so much this year! We were proud of how they all played as a team by the end of the season. She got a medal at the end of year party on Saturday morning. She is really going to miss her friends! She has already asked for me to sign her up in the spring.

 At this age they rotate the girls into every position during every game. Maddie's favorite position was actually goalie. This is her reaction when her team scored a goal! They don't actually keep score in her age division, but the girls sure do! 

 I'm sure there will be many soccer seasons in our future. 

Sam's Baptism

This past Sunday night Sam was baptized at our Church. He had accepted Christ at the beginning of this year, but needed to wait until he turned 6 to be baptized.  

 After his birthday a few weeks ago he was ready!

 Such a sweet time for our family!

28 week Baby update

Troy and I went to the OB Dr. on Friday for another Ultrasound. They determined that we would need to go out to the specialist in Pensacola. The kidney issue has not resolved and now my fluid levels are too high. My placenta is also in a questionable place so they need to do some further testing. We appreciate all of your prayers!

Nesting

I think I'm officially "nesting". And so is the rest of the family :-) We have been scrubbing things inside and out, going through clothes, donating toys, touch-up painting the house and just making sure the house is ready for baby Marla. 

 I'm thankful for my big helpers who cut my work load down. I even have a "nesting list" for Troy that he has been helping me on. 

 Megan on the other hand, is more help when she is snuggling on the couch with her baby! This week she sprayed my laminate floors with dusting wax (this makes them almost impossible to walk on!). She also got a baby wipe and soaked her clothes and the floor "helping" Sam wash the cabinets and trim. I love her enthusiasm and find that it is easier to clean up her messes knowing that this will pass and one day she will be able to help!

Celebrating like a Super Hero

This past week Sam turned 6! We celebrated two weekends in a row and he had a great birthday. 

 Papa Don and Miss Mary threw him a swim party the weekend before his birthday because they were leaving for South Florida right before his birthday for their fall camping trip. He had a great time swimming, eating, opening gifts and eating cake and ice cream. We finished the party up watching the Gators play some football.

 Another birthday highlight around here is getting mail from back home. 

 I think he got packages for three days in a row...one lucky boy indeed!

 The Saturday after his Birthday we had a Super Hero party for some of his friends. They all had a great time. We made home made capes and masks that the kids got to decorate. They loved making up their own super heroes and were pretty creative with it.

 There was some Pinata fun...which thankfully resulted in no injuries.

 We also had a Super Hero Top Shot competition where Troy had set up different stations where the kids competed against each other testing their super hero skills. Some of the dad's even got in on this! 

 We ended the party with an "Avenger" cake and some ice cream. Everyone was hyped up on sugar and filthy when they left so I think it's safe to say they had a great time.

I can't believe my Baby Boy is six already!