The Lone Ranger

I was flipping through the channels & a picture icon comes up for the show for that channel.  Noah saw the one for the Lone Ranger & said, "Cowboy Batman?!?"

P.S. Yes I know it's been almost 2 months since I promised pictures...here are some to hold you over until I get more downloaded to my computer...

I know! 6 months already!! No way!

In a nutshell...

Here's what we've been busy with the last 3 months...

Noah turned 5 and "dropped out" of preschool for now.  Long story short, he needs more time to adjust, a usual occurrence for him, from the day he was born.  Remember, I prayed for patience...

Band concerts in December (each of the older kids in their own classes.  Big classes!)

Bella grew...a lot!  Pictures to follow...

Basketball, basketball, basketball, a couple wrestling matches, more basketball

Laney started a blog for her drawings....very cool, but she doesn't like when I talk about it

Catholic School here turned 130 years, so I was busy putting together a slideshow that would do justice & wouldn't show that I have no history here.  

Ian turned 8 and we finally had a day free, so we took the kids to the Science Museum, went out for sushi at the Mall of America & of course, had to let them hit the candy store (with Father Jeremy - thanks for saving me from going in there) and then ride the roller coasters.  Noah just watched & as kids rode by screaming, he would say, "They don't wike it."

All in all, we are busy (and who isn't with 6 kids), but we are enjoying life, adjusting well, and thankful for all that God has done for us.  We are looking forward to a "slower" sports season and weather that makes Noah excited to be outside, but for now, we just take it day to day & enjoy our blessings.

3 weeks!

Bella is 3 weeks old today already!  Wow, the time has flown by!  Even though she has only been in our outside world for 3 weeks, we feel so close to her and it's hard to imagine how life was without her.  She has been such a good baby, (as most babies are in their first weeks), but our lives have not drastically changed since her arrival.  She gets plenty of attention when needed, and is perfectly content to also sit alone in her baby chair...at least for now.  Here are some pics of her first weeks.

 Day 1

 First car ride

 Neysa's first visit with Bella (our neighbor)

 Noah loves being a big brother!

 Big sister dressing up little sister...

...and snuggling

 We had 2 Grandmas here!  What a blessing!

Watch me grow!

 Baptism day!

 Fr. George

 Godparents - Janice & Richie

"It's the same dress my sisters wore!"

Who says the youngest never has pictures?!  Not when you're THIS cute!

It's a GIRL!!!

 Beautiful baby Bella Grace was born on October 19th at 3:32pm and weighed 6 pounds, 13 ounces and was 20 inches long.  Her delivery was the easiest of the 6...the hardest part was the waiting!  She is growing wonderfully and gets a ton of hugs and kisses!  We thank God for the blessing of her in our family and that she is healthy and spending time in our arms.  Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers!

Time with G'ma

Grandma Johnson came to spend time with our family & to be here when the baby arrived.  We spent that time going to the kids' games, shopping, playing games, more shopping, pumpkin patch, and not to mention the immense help around the house!  Here are some pictures that we got during her time here.

 We are so thankful for our quality time we got to spend with her & the memories we will cherish.  My entryway will probably never look this good again, so I have to share and give all the credit to her and her generosity of making our house look like a home.  It's a good thing for Grandmas...otherwise our kids would miss out on lots of experiences because Mom is "just too tired (or lazy)" to do it if it were just for her own enjoyment.  I'm still learning...  Thanks Mom, for continuing to teach me what it is that my kids need to experience, even when I struggle to find the time and energy to do so.  It's just the simple things sometimes!

New current family picture!

We took the kids to the local apple orchard where they have a giant corn maze.  

It was a beautiful day and they enjoyed venturing through the course that took them well over an hour.  

This pregnant lady stayed out of the 6 miles of trails that make this Great Horned Owl.

They had a blast going through the maze and looking for the 10 questions within it that pertained to this bird.

Next weekend, the Raptor Center will be visiting, so we might have to go back to see them in person,
that is, if baby hasn't arrived yet.

Mis-fortune

We took the kids out for Chinese for lunch yesterday and at the end of the meal, Ian spotted the container of fortune cookies.  He knew we were all pretty much done gorging ourselves at the buffet, so he grabbed enough for all of us.  I told him the waitress would bring them over, but since we were the only ones there, I didn't make much of a fuss about it.

We all enjoyed breaking open our cookies and finding the "clue" inside, (at least that was what Ian called them.)  The waitress then came over with our bill and brought more cookies, and I told her that we already got ours, but she didn't seem to mind and set them all down for us.  The kids eagerly grabbed another cookie, but I think it's the fortune they were most excited to find.

Amidst all of the talking and wrapper noises, I missed Ian mentioning that his 2nd cookie didn't have a fortune in it.  Shortly after, I saw him pull something out of his mouth and plop it on a napkin as he said, "Oh, I guess that one DID have a clue."  I broke out laughing (and snorting, as Laney pointed out, because I was laughing so hard).  I don't know what was funnier, knowing that he ate the "clue" or asking him about how it happened.  We were all so into our own fortune cookies, that we totally missed that he didn't have one and even so, continued to put the whole half of the cookie in his mouth that actually contained the fortune and then realized it shortly after when his cookie had a little extra taste and texture to it.

We all had a great laugh and I had tears in my eyes as I giggled so hard replaying it in my head.  (On another note, it kind of hurts to laugh that hard at 37 weeks pregnant, and one is also very aware of how full one's internal organs are when every muscle in one's belly is flexing and after eating at a buffet.)