Pretty Pumpkins

Here are some cute pictures of the kids in front of the house decorated with pumpkins and mums. Jason and Anne-Marie went and picked out the fall decor. Anne-Marie has really gotten into watering the mums for Karen. Denise (family friend) came over one night to watch the kids and they carved the pumpkin. Only Caroline liked digging the "guts" of the pumpkin out - surprise, surprise! Of course, it is nearly impossible to get a picture good of all five kids at one time, so here are a few of the best taken.

Fall Fun at the Farm

On Saturday members of our Sunday School class all meet at Huber's Farm for a fun day of play and food. The kids had a great time! Of course, like always, we overdosed on fried rolls and apple butter in the restaurant. Alden picked up two, one for each hand, and enjoyed every bite alternating left and right hands for mouthful bites of yummy bread. William absolutely loves the barn. He and another boy got into a "hay throwing" competition. We had to strip him down in the garage because of all the hay inside his clothing. Caroline and Anne-Marie's highlight of the trip was the pony ride. It really wasn't something that special, but to them it was wonderful. The trips to Blackacre have really helped the kids warm up to the animals, especially the goats.

First Smiles

Each time one of the newborns give their first smiles it is always exciting. Elizabeth, now 3 months old, is regularly giving sweet grins and happy smiles to everyone that looks at her. She is an absolute delight. All the kids love taking care of her and holding her. These pictures were taken a couple of weeks ago.

The Puzzle-Maker

Caroline certainly has probably "changed" the most of all our kids. Preschool has been so good for her. Apparently she loves to make all the kids laugh. When dropping her off, you can hear the kids' little voices whisper, "Caroline is here." Followed by Caroline opening up her long arms and responding, "I'm hear every body." We have had a few episodes of discipline. Mom was shocked one afternoon to learn she spent the afternoon in the Principal's office. We think she has a good understanding now of what is expected of her. One of the funniest things about Caroline is her "sense of style." She models her fashion after Punky Brewster. I don't know where she learned to "roll" her knee socks, but she loves it. Karen will drop her off for school with the socks tall at the knee and pick her up with them rolled down to the ankle bone. Karen has made her promise she will never do it again. Caroline could possibly be our tallest child. She has almost caught up in height with Anne-Marie and wears a size 1 shoe (remember she is only 4). She continues to be the source of laughter in the household. Her newest title is "puzzle-maker." It really is amazing how quickly she can put together a 200 piece puzzle all by herself. She has matured so much and is excited about life, liberty, and the pursuit of laughter.

No, Not Yet...

No, the little guy still isn't walking. He really doesn't have any desire. He now is 14 months old and can cruise the house at about 7 mph. He is pretty much on all table food even with only having his front teeth and seems to have no trouble at all. Unfortunately, he is still attached to the stinky yellow blanket. I swear, he is Linus from Peanuts. The blanket gets washed pretty much every day, but he crams as much of it as possible in his mouth to sleep thus it smells like the inside of his mouth. Two blankets have been bought. One blanket was purchased off Ebay and is the exact blanket, but he still won't have anything to do with either of them. We are doomed if the blanket is ever lost. He is learning sign-language. Surprise, surprise, his favorite sign is "more."

Watch Out World - Here Comes William

Karen feels as though she is always leaning something new when it comes to rearing boys. William doesn't cut her much slack either. Coming from all girls, Karen didn't grow up with critters, wrestling, and heaven forbid dirty clothes. William definitely keeps mom and his older sisters on their toes. Karen has learned a few lessons from this little one. The first and foremost lesson is when cleaning his clothes ALWAYS feel the pockets of his shorts from the OUTSIDE before sticking the hand inside the pocket. [I will save the readers with weak stomachs all that has been pulled out.] One of his biggest delights is going to preschool. He absolutely loves playing with other boys. The teacher doesn't bother filling out an accident report anymore. I think she has learned that is going to be an everyday experience with him. He usually has at least 2 band aids on his body at one time during each day. Since school takes in at 7:45 am, mom usually lays out every one's clothes the night before to make the mornings run as smoothly as possible. We are so blessed to get "hand-me downs" from the cousins in Alabama. William has a favorite outfit: camouflage shorts with an orange football t-shirt (you will see it in previous blog pictures if you look). Usually some time after mom and dad go to bed, William sneaks out of bed and exchanges the clothes his mom picked out for his favorite outfit. Surprisingly, he even puts up the outfit his mom desired for him to wear back in his drawers. Usually, he is understanding when he doesn't get to wear it, but it is still a laugh in the early morning hours. I commented that we probably got our last big picture of Anne-Marie with her baby teeth. We are very glad William still has his teeth! (Though we have swollen mouths and had to made dentist calls).

Our Little Reader

Anne-Marie is so enjoying school. Our little kindergartner is learning to read. Every night she is working out loud with her "blends." She is having a great time now reading the "Easy Reader" books to her parents and siblings. I think she was waiting on her mother to get the stomach flu where she could run the house by herself. Sunday she stayed home from church and mom got sick after everyone was gone. She was a wonderful little nurse. She even made everyone a sandwich for lunch. Her newest thing is to pack her lunchbox all by herself. Faithfully, every night she makes her sandwich! She continues to love Sparks (AWANA), Sunday school, and even a little boy at church has gotten her attention. Of course, she is and probably will always be daddy' s little girl. Every evening she awaits the arrival of her father from work. Even some mornings she rises will it is still dark and can be found in the basement with her father while he studies. Her pictures turned out good. I don't know how many more pictures we will have with all her "baby" teeth. She is growing up into such a little lady. We will soon celebrate 6 years since her arrival. We praise God for this sweet blessing in our lives.

Elizabeth is Better, Everyone Else is Not

Thank you for every one's prayers regarding Elizabeth's tummy trouble. Our pediatrician gave us two weeks before we had to put her in the hospital and we were down to the last day before we saw improvement. We are so glad she did not have to be hospitalized. She is doing much better. The Prevacid and Mylanta seem to be working good. She has kept all her bottles down since Sunday afternoon which is nothing short of a miracle.

Unfortunately, the rest of the clan hasn't been so fortunate in their wellness. On Friday, I decided to take all the kids to get our "yearly" pictures. A friend met me in the mall to lend an extra set of hands. Of course, the girls at Picture People earned their pay trying to get 5 kids to remotely look in the same direction without crying. To help the time pass when waiting to view our proofs I bought all the kids vanilla milkshakes. What a huge mistake, not knowing that the stomach flu would be working its way throughout all the children in the next 24 hours. Caroline was the first to fall victim as soon as we got home. In the middle of the night I heard William screaming. I jumped out of bed, opened his door and had a great idea, "I won't turn on the light where I don't wake Alden." I was in the pitch dark room when William (on the top bunk bed) puked all over my head. I couldn't even see out of my glasses. I called for Jason (to put it nicely). He came in the room, turned on the light and looked at me with my glasses covered with vomit. I will confess, I have had a lot or "mom experiences" over the last 6 years, but this one took the cake. Alden, on the bottom bunk bed catching his brother's vomit like a rainfall, was the next to get sick. Saturday afternoon Anne-Marie was the last kid to get sick. Yes, mom did get Sunday, followed by relapses of Anne-Marie, Caroline, and even William today (some 6 days later). This was the toughest bug our house has ever seen. However, in the darkest moments, we still have praise to God. Elizabeth still hasn't gotten the stomach flu. This really is a miracle after the parting of the Red Sea. I have tried my best to quarantine her, the kids just can't keep their hands off her. I will try to post some pictures of each child and a brief update. Again, thanks for your prayers for the baby. They have been very effective!