Merry Christmas!

We're celebrating Christmas at my parents house this year. It's nice to be "home". There's lots of snow, tons of yummy food (thanks, mom!) and fun times with family.

On Tuesday we went to see the Terra Cotta Warriors. It was very interesting to see and read about. I wish that we had a little more time there, but tired, worn out kids were ready for their beds by the time we got half way through the exhibit. If you have the chance to see it you should. It was worth it!


Earlier that day we walked through the foot of snow on the DC streets to see the National Christmas tree. When we got there we found out that it was closed while they snow blowed off the sidewalks to see it. Hmm... Oh well. It's not that pretty anyway (actually it's quite ugly). At least we got a picture with it.


Luke, April and my mom made a gingerbread house this week too. Luke thought it was so much fun eating the candies. Some actually made it on the house though.


Then today we opened presents, ate a huge lunch, visited with my Grandmother and Uncle and are now relaxing and watching JD and my brother, Tim, play with an electric race track. I'm sure you're thinking that this race track is one of Luke's Christmas presents, but nope! It's my brother's 20+ year old one that we used to play with when we were kids. It's amazing that it still works. I remember the hours of fun we had with it. I'm sure Luke will be so excited to play with it when he wakes up. (Yes, the adults are playing while the children are sleeping. :) )




I hope each of you has a Merry Christmas this year! Enjoy the time with your families!!!

Need to update, huh?

Yeah, I need to get those gross pictures off of the top of my blog, huh? It's been a busy month here, so updating this has dropped to the bottom of my priority list. Sorry, friends! How about I at least post some new pics of the kiddos?
Here they are enjoying their ball pit:


I promise to be back soon with more pics of Christmas things, Evie's first birthday and my crafting creations. Soon!

I'm alive!

Yes, don't I look fantastic? This was taken a couple hours after my surgery. Luckily all of that is now off of my face and I can wear my glasses again too. YAY! Thank you everyone for all of your prayers and kind words! I just got the last of the packing out of my nose today and also the stints have been removed. All I can say is *OUCH*!!! The doctor told me that it didn't hurt, but he was sadly mistaken. It took all of my energy and might to not cry when he pulled the first one out. He asked if I wanted to take a break before he pulled out the second one. I said, "No. I don't want you to pull it out at all". He wasn't sure how to respond to that one. Now, don't get me wrong. I do have a pretty high pain tolerance. I was prescribed the "good" pain killers for after the surgery, but stuck with good ol' Tylenol. It wasn't that bad! The same doctor told me that he gives me the gold star award because no one in his practice has ever not taken the good drugs. Wish I had had them today though... :) Now hopefully my face will be back to normal in the next couple of days. I'm excited to get back to holding my kiddos and kissing their faces. I miss that!

This was taken last night before everything else was taken out. Pretty, huh?

Twick or Tweet

That's what Luke said A LOT tonight. We went to the annual Trunk or Treat at a local church and had a great time. We went on a hayride and got LOTS of yummy candy and even a doughnut and cider. Mind you it was pretty cold outside tonight. We had on lots of layers to keep warm, but we forgot the gloves. I guess I need to dig them out of storage, huh?
This is the first year that Luke actually knew what was going on and could have fun with it. It was so neat to watch him go up to each trunk and say "Twick or Tweet" to each of the people. I guess there's no shyness when candy is involved! Evie just smiled at the people and looked around. Her time of candy will come soon enough. It was a nice night.
Here are some pics from our adventure. I'm hoping to get nice fall pics with their costumes on in the leaves soon. If it will only stop raining...

Luke was a Bee and Evie was a flower if you can't tell.
Smile for Mama!

A lady on the hayride took this picture.

Luke, what sound does a bee make? "Bzzzz!"

I just love my "Dadadada".

Look who's 11 months old today!

Just 11 months ago little Evelyn Jane came into this world. (Please just look at her and not me in this pic. You try having a baby and looking great minutes afterward! :) ) Can you even believe that? I can't. These 11 months have just flown by so fast. I'm amazed! But I'm also so thankful for having her in my life. She's a pure joy to have as a daughter. She's so funny, sweet and adorable all wrapped up in a cute little package! Don't get me wrong though. She's got spunk. She can yell with the best of them for sure. She knows what she wants and what she doesn't. And she will let you know when somethings wrong. I love that about her though. I can't wait to see what she does with it when she's older and wiser. Happy 11 month birthday, Little One! I look forward to the next 11!

Pumpkin Patch

We went to the pumpkin patch today and had a great time. It was freezing cold there, but it was worth it! Luke got to pet some animals while Evie looked on. We searched for the perfect pumpkin and then ate donuts in the car. It was way too cold to stay outside any longer. We haven't found our gloves and winter coats yet. I really need to get on that!

I took a few cute pics of the kiddos, but my computer is needing CPR right now and I don't have a card reader for this computer so you'll just have to wait for pics. Sorry!

While we were at the pumpkin patch we ran into JD cousin and her family. How fun to see them again! It's been too long!

The rest of the day was filled with projects (JD was doing house projects while I was learning how to spin and dye wool. Hmm... sounds even, right?), playing and dinner at McDonalds. We let Luke decide dinner tonight! It was a nice day!

Big Little Girl and her Pop Pop

I took Evie to the doctor's today to get a couple of things checked out (nothing serious at all) and was so excited to see how much she weighed. Most of you know how hard we've worked lately to get her to gain some weight. She had only gained 11 oz in 5 months and desperately needed to put on some pounds. The nurse weighed her today and she is up to 16 lbs 2 oz! YAY! That's a 2 lb 3 oz gain in 5 weeks! Double YAY! We are so excited that she's finally gaining weight.

I wanted to post a pic of her for this post, but she wasn't in the mood today so I pulled up this awesome one from 2 weekends ago. Remember how I said that she inherited the picture curse from her Pop pop? Well, they've proved me wrong by taking this picture on the first try. I love it!

A Sad Weekend.

This weekend JD, the kids and I took a long road trip down to MD to be with my mom. It's been such a hard couple of months for her. As soon as I got the call that my Aunt had unexpectedly passed away I began making plans to go there. I just wanted to give my mom a hug and let her know that I was here for her. I'm so glad that we went! We got to see my grandma, my aunt and cousin and my other cousin and his family. It was a busy weekend with LOTS of car time, but it was worth every mile!

Here are some pics that we took right before we jumped back in the car to come home:

My Grandmother and Evie:


4 generations:


A family picture:

The picture curse.

Yes, Evie has it. Poor little girl. There's just something that keeps getting passed down in my family that will not break. My dad has it. My sister has it. (Sorry!) And now my sweet little Evie Jane has it too.

What is it, you ask? Well, let me tell you. No matter how hard I try (or anyone else) it is next to impossible for her to take a good picture. She either has her eyes closed or she's scowling. It's SO HARD to capture a smile, but I promise she does do it.

So yesterday Evie and I set out with high goals. My goal was to take at least one good picture of her. Her goal was to eat as much grass as she could possibly get in her mouth before I pulled it back out.

Here are the results:



Yes, there is your smile, Little One!

I'm still not 100% satisfied, but at least I captured a smile, huh? I'll try again as soon as the sun comes out again. I am on a mission!

Under a rock.

Yes, that's where I've been lately. I was reminded just yesterday that it's been a LONG time since I've posted on here. Sorry!
So, let's catch up! Here are some things that are going on in the *G* household:

JD's back in school full swing now. He has about 20 projects that he's trying to get done around the house too. It really never ends!

Luke is about 70% potty trained. Not as close as we all want, but he's getting there and we're thankful for that. He's learning his colors right now too. This has been an interesting process, but he's finally getting it. YAY! We were beginning to worry that he was color blind. Nope! He just didn't understand yet. He loves playing hide and seek and jumping on "Nanny and Pop-pop's bed" AKA the guest bed.

Evie is getting her 7th tooth right now. She LOVES chasing her brother up and down the hallway with her little push walker. She thinks she's big stuff. She's gaining lots of weight too. We're so thankful for that!

And I've been busy trying to keep up with it all. I've been knitting and sewing too. I LOVE crafts! I've started going to my mom's and toddlers group every week again and love it. I'm also teaching the Preschool class at church this month so that has kept me busy. I'm so glad to be back in the classroom though. I've missed it SO much!

So, that's the short version of what we're up to. I will post some pics of the kiddos soon. (I know that's what you're really looking for.) :)

Enjoying the pool.

We only have a few short weeks left of warmer weather, so we're using the pool as much as the weather will allow. I thought it was time to post a few pics of us enjoying it. I did get in the pool this day too though there are no pics to prove it. (on purpose).



Luke is a little fish in the water. He swims all the way across the pool by himself with his little water wings on. It's so cute to watch. He has no fear when it comes to water.

A Hot Mess

I have a friend with a little girl who I always thought was the messiest eater in the world (yes, G, I'm talking about your little one). She would always get all of her food EVERYWHERE. She'd have it in her hair, up her nose, etc. You get the point. Well, then along comes my little Evie Jane...


Can you tell that she loves mealtime? I took these pictures one day after lunch. I was feeding her with a spoon too! All I can say is thank goodness for washclothes and baths.


(I posted this just to show off her little teeth. She has 6 now.)

Ah, ha!

So, I'm sitting at the computer while JD and Luke are outside getting ready to jump in the pool. I hear Luke coming in the door and look over and this is what I see.

I couldn't help but laugh. He was so proud of his goggles and water wings. Seriously though. How funny?

8 Months Old and Growing Up Fast

That's right. Our little girl is 8 months old today. It seems like just yesterday that she was brought into our lives, but alas it is true. I'm so thankful for her though. She is an AMAZING little girl. She's quite tiny (or petite as some would say), but she's anything but fragile. She's got her mama's spunk and her daddy's passion. And somehow mixed in there is a little bit of shyness. How amazing is God to make a little girl like our Evie Jane?

Here are some pictures of her that I took lately. She has learned how to pull herself up to her knees. She's so proud of herself too! She has 5 teeth and a few more on the way. She army crawls around the whole house now. She's eating several different vegetables and LOVES to eat Puffs. She's even starting to sign 'more' when the food has stopped coming. I wish I could make time stand still for a little bit longer so that I could enjoy her babyhood, but I know that's not possible and that I will enjoy the next phase as much as this one. Thank you, Lord, for giving us Evelyn! She is such a blessing!

(You can see a little bit of our house in this picture.)

Score!

We're about to redo our tub/shower in our bathroom. It really needs it! We've been looking around for tile for a while now. We just couldn't find anything that we love and can afford. Well, the other day JD and Luke went to our local resale store (Encore) and found some tile there. Today we all went back so that I could see it too. It wasn't exactly what I was thinking, but since it was cheap we were contemplating it. While we were standing there a worker man comes up to us and says that there's a lot more tile in the back and would we like to see it. "Yes, please." We went back there and were amazed how many different tiles they actually had. The man told us that a local store had gone out of business and had donated them all. JD and I started looking through them. Luckily they had stacked them by type/style so we could see how many boxes they had of each kind. Well, lo and behold we found tiles for our bathroom that we both really liked. We asked the man how much it would be and he said "$3 a box". WHAT! We just couldn't believe it! Some of the tiles were out of the boxes so the man just rounded the amount so that we got all of this:


for only $36! Can you believe that? And they're really nice tiles too. God has just amazed us today. Oh and we woke up this morning to a crystal clear swimming pool too. It was still a little cloudy up until this morning. YAY!

Splish, Splash

Well, it finally looks like our pool is very close to being finished. Shew! It's been a very long, expensive process of cleaning, dumping chemicals and cleaning again and again and again. I thought I'd post some pics so you can actually see how much we've done with it.

Here we go:

This is when we first moved in and the pool was still frozen with lots of "fun" treats in it.


This is when we decided to drain it, but had to stop mid draining because I read that you're not supposed to drain a pool that has a liner. Who knew?


These next 2 are the beginning of the cleaning out process. We filled the pool back up and started the wonderful process of scooping out the "stuff". We had a LOT of days doing just that. Nothing like getting dead animal sludge on you! Notice how the pole is bending from the weight?

The actual color:


And now...

What our pool looks like today!


JD took one for the team and went in first. It took him a few minutes to build up the nerve, but when he finally did it...

...we were all there to celebrate. We then all got in and had a great first swim! YAY! It really did make it all worth it!

busy, busy, busy!

Life is so full right now, but I wanted to post just so that you all know we're alive and well. Just busy! This is what I was just working on today:


That's right! 20 jars of homemade strawberry jam. ~YUM~ It is delicious too.

In a few days I'll be sharing some pool pics. You won't believe your eyes. I promise! It's amazing how far it's come. And then hopefully pics of our house now. I know lots of you have been asking me for this. Sorry it's taken me so long. Life just continues to run on full speed ahead. We are running to catch up! Be back soon!

6 months

Evelyn Jane turned 6 months old today. It's amazing that this sweet little girl has already been in our family for 6 whole months! Time is just flying by! I wanted to make sure I posted to remember this day and the things that she's already doing.

Evie can:
*roll over super fast
*scoot around the floor
*escape the Bumbo seat
*smile at the drop of a hat
*scream with the most passion I've ever seen
*stick her whole fist in her mouth
*laugh whenever her brother makes a face or talks to her
*stand with only a little of our support
*grab glasses right off of your face in a split second
*put any object in her mouth no matter the size
*snuggle sweetly for 2 seconds at a time

She is such a joy to parent. We can already tell that she likes to know what's going on, is super strong and has passion about what she wants. I cannot wait to see what God has in store for this little one. I'm looking forward to what the next 6 months will bring for her and for us. Thank you, God for giving us this precious gift!

More Pics!

Luke "helping" with the dishes. Oh, if he could really do them... *sigh*


Evie playing on the floor. She's already scooting around.

-more to come.

Evie's First Tooth

Not even 6 months old and she already has her first tooth. Wow, she's growing up fast! Here is Evelyn sporting her first little baby tooth:

Getting Settled.

So many people have asked for some updated pics of our house. I'm sorry to say that I'm still not posting them. I really want to take "final" pictures and the house just isn't there yet. I will post some newer ones soon though. In the mean time I thought I would share some pics of us from last night and 2 days ago. It's finally spring like outside, so we were able to fly a kite and play baseball with the kids (well, really just with Luke while Evie watched from her seat.) It was a wonderful night though! We cannot begin to tell you how thankful we are to have this incredible house- projects and all. God has truly blessed us!


The family.


Luke and Evie acting like siblings.


"Luke, who do you have?" "RRR DDD Puppy" (Rome dog puppy). He LOVES this little white dog!


"Hey, Evie, what cha doing?"


"Trying to eat the grass, mom"


Luke loves giving me flowers. I don't care if they're technically weeds. It melts my heart every time he hands one to me. It really is the thought that counts even if they are half blown off "weeds". I love them just the same!


JD flying a kite. We are so thankful to have a yard big enough to fly it in. What a fun evening!


Yes, she still has those crazy eyes, Uncle T.