Sweet Siblings

When we went to Shreveport to see the Imagination Movers (see that post here), we went to the Carter's outlet after the show. I found these cute big brother, big sister, and little sister shirts, and I just had to get them!

I wanted to get a good picture of the kids wearing them. I took 17 pictures all together...and this is what I got.

At first they didn't want to cooperate...

Especially Marley...

But then they decided they would show me their pretty smiles!

Then Marley decided she was DONE! Enough already, Mommy!

Parental Care Ministries

I don't think I've mentioned this on my blog yet, but I have a new "job." I'm working for Parental Care Ministries and our friends Mark and Monica Barret.

They started this ministry about 3 years ago because of a Christmas card their youngest daughter gave them for Christmas. You can read that story here. (Scroll down to the section titled 'History.')

Justin and I prayed several months ago for a ministry we could be involved in together. You would think that the student ministry would be that for us, but with our three kiddos, I'm just not able to be very involved. The students' schedules are very different than my kids' schedules!

God answered our prayer almost immediately. The Barrets were at our house for dinner, and Mark asked if I knew how to do something on Excel. The next thing I knew, Justin was volunteering me to do their administrative work for them. I am so glad he did! The ministry and the work I do for it have really been such a blessing to our family. I love staying home and raising my children, but I have also realized how much I love being connected with the outside world through this ministry! Justin is also very involved and we have loved this new part of our life. The Barrets have become very dear friends of ours over the last year. (And you know it's a bonus to be good friends with your pediatrician!)

The last few days have been pretty busy getting everything ready, because the Barrets (Mark and Monica and their two girls) flew out this morning on their way to Uganda. I would love for you to check out the Parental Care website and read even more of what this ministry is all about. I mentioned this in another post, but we sponsor a boy named Bosco. Here is a picture of him from July:

Monica thinks he looks like one of our kids...what do you think? :-) I think he's so handsome.

What I love about our sponsorship is that it is so personal. We mail letters directly to Bosco, and he mails letters directly to us. No translators or middle men. Also, the Barrets know him! Last time they came back with a video of him talking to us...he actually said our names and knows us from the pictures and letters we send him. Parental Care and Pastor Emmy are committed to giving these children an education, and more importantly, leading them to a saving relationship with Jesus.

The ministry also supports a network of pastors by providing money and training for them. It helps build churches and buildings at the Parental Care school and...anyway, I could go on and on and on and on...but I'll stop there. :-) If you're interested in more information or sponsoring a child, please check out the website or e-mail me or leave me a comment. Also let me know if you would like to get an e-mail telling you when the Parental Care Ministry blog is updated, and I'll add you to the e-mail list. Once the Barrets make it to Uganda in the next couple days, I expect to have new blog updates up almost every day until they come home. Reading the blog will give you a great understanding of what Parental Care Ministries is all about!

Thanks for taking time to read about this new blessing in my life!

My Life

You know what my favorite part of my life is? The fun people I get to spend every day with. You know who they are...but here are a few recent pictures of them.

2 Gingerbread Houses

While we were grocery shopping on Wednesday morning, the kids saw a gingerbread house kit and wanted to buy it. I had already been thinking it would be a fun thing to do this year, so we bought it. Although the kids wanted to do it as soon as we got home from the store, I told them we had to pick a night when everyone was home so Daddy could help too. So Thursday night was the big night!

Daddy and Carter putting the pieces together

London decorating the window

Carter creating the perfect tree

Mommy doing the messy icing

London showing that she was eating as much as she was decorating!

Here we are with our creation

the finished product

As Justin said, "It looks just like the box!" :-) We asked the kids if they thought it looked just like the box, and they said no. So I asked them which one was better--ours or the one on the box--and they said ours!

If you noticed the title of this post is "2 Gingerbread Houses" and you're wondering where the second one is--this is 2 in 1! The FIRST and the LAST gingerbread house that we'll ever make! Unless of course the kids see one in the store next year...

2 Weeks in Review

I have friends who do a Week in Review every week, but I'm lucky to post once a month these days! So here is my "2 Weeks in Review." :-)

Justin and I celebrated our 9 year anniversary on November 18. We had a great lunch date that day (we couldn't go out that evening because it was a Wednesday!). Unfortunately we didn't take a picture together that day.

London's 3rd birthday was November 20. That day we went to Build-A-Bear, Chuck E. Cheese, and McDonald's! What a day!

The next day she had a princess party. She dressed as a princess of course.

the princess cake

blowing out the candles

Marley has just started having rice cereal and a little baby food recently, but at the party she decided she wanted to upgrade to Coke. We didn't let her of course. :) Notice her tutu--she and Hannah had to dress as princesses too!

the three baby cousins--Marley, Grayson, and Hannah

Daddy and his princess

On November 22 (my 32nd birthday) we had our parent commitment service at church with Marley. This is a picture that my mom took of the screen. We got a really good family picture but I'm not posting it because I might save it for our Christmas cards!

If you get my mom's Christmas card, you'll probably see this picture or one like it on her card this year! Sweet kiddos! (Those are London's feet in front of Marley.) :-)

Big Week at Our House!

This weekend we worked in the yard. I planted some pansies and Justin picked up all of the pine needles that had fallen so far. With the rain and the wind yesterday, there are already a lot more on the driveway and in the yard. Poor Justin! While I planted some of the pansies, Carter and London made a "garden" with the rest of the flowers and some of their stuffed animals. Then Carter asked us to take a picture for me to put on my blog! So here it is.

Marley had her first taste of real food this week, if you want to call very-watered-down rice cereal "food." We've thickened it up a little more the last few times, and she seems to be enjoying it.

London will be turning 3 years old on Friday, so we have been warning her that it's time to put her pacifiers up. (Way past time, but you know what I mean.) Anyway, last week we told her that she just had a few more days with it. So Thursday night was her last night to sleep with it. Here is a picture of her with it before she went to sleep that last time with it.

On Friday morning, she put it in a baggie with Marley's name on it and we put the baggie at the top of Marley's closet. She wanted it back for nap time that day, but we didn't give it to her, and she went to sleep without it. She's been paci-free ever since! She hasn't even mentioned it except to say that she doesn't use it anymore. She's very proud of herself (as she should be!). Tonight she decided she wanted to put her duck up in the closet too. For those of you who know about her duck, this was a huge declaration. I told her she didn't need to do that, and that big girls can still sleep with ducks. But she wanted to, so we put it in a baggie too and put it up there with the pacis. We were all sad except for her. But not to worry--the duck is back where it belongs in bed with her! She only made it ten minutes in her bed without it. :-)

And a few more pictures of my sweet girls (not sure where Carter was for all of these pictures!):

That brown thing in London's hand in the picture below is her duck!

Halloween Celebration--Part 2

After we left the pumpkin patch (see that post below), we headed home so the girls could take naps and we could eat lunch. Then we all headed to Boo at the Zoo! You're supposed to wear your costume, but the horse costumes would have been too cumbersome to have on while they walked all over the zoo. So we improvised! London wore this pretty princess costume that my mom just bought her to wear for her birthday.

Carter wore this Superman costume that Shelly got him for Christmas last year. This is his best friend, Caitlynn. I didn't notice when I took the picture, but they're holding hands! How sweet! They have big plans to get married one day. Caitlynn said that London can be the flower girl. What do you think London would think about being a twenty year old flower girl?! :-)

After Boo at the Zoo, it was time to go trick-or-treating! The kids decided they just wanted to stay in the same costumes they were in, which was fine with us. We stopped by the Barrets' and the Winegearts' houses, and then we headed over to Sissy and Wesley's. Shelly had cooked a big meal for us. I told her I didn't know there was such a thing as "Halloween dinner," but now I was going to expect it every year!

Marley was a ladybug. We put her on this chair, and she was slipping and sliding all over it. We were laughing so hard! We barely got a picture of her--this is the best we could do.

sweet little Hannah

We tried to get one of the babies together, but Marley just couldn't stay sitting up in her costume. She was kicking Hannah in this picture, and Hannah doesn't look too happy about it!

The Hayes clan

We don't normally do so much to celebrate Halloween, but there were just so many fun opportunities! Hope you had a great time with your family too.