cookie making...

My friend Kim and her Kids came over to bake cookies and have lunch! It was a blast, we ate pizza and apples. Listened to Christmas music, baked sugar cookies, let the kids cookie cut them and decorate them! The kids were a mess, the kitchen was a mess and yet it was a GREAT day!

cousinly love!

What a blessing for these kids to grow up with their cousin Addison near by, they love him!

thanksgiving 2011

We spent thanksgiving with Kevs family, it was a GREAT day! It is so fun to watch the girls really play with their cousins as they get older, and I love being close enough to family for them to spend time with each other! After we ate and spent time with family we went to Bass Pro to shop a little and let the kids see Santa! Averi loved Santa, Sofie was willing to sit on his lap long anough for a picture since she was promised a candy cane, and Rei just rolls with whatever! It was a great day! We are so thankful for our family and the many blessings God has given us!

Dear Rei Rei,
on November 29th you turned 4 months old! WOW! I can't believe it you are growing up so fast! You continue to remain mellow and sweet, you grin easily at everyone and have the sweetest little giggle! You can roll both from your back to your belly and your belly to your back, you weighed in at a whopping 15.9 lbs and are 25 and a 1/2 inches long, you are quickly coming out of 3 to 6 months clothes and rapidly approaching 6 to 9, lets just say you are a BIG BOY! You love your sisters, you are especially fond of Averi right now, she loves sitting on the floor talking with you and you "talk" right back!
You have just started bouncing in your "johnny jumper" and you LOVE it! You want to be up where you can see whats going on so the jumper is a great solution. You have slept 12 hours a few nights but more typically go an 8 hour stretch then 3 to 4 more after you eat.
I was talking with friends the other day about loving each additional child you add to your family the same way you do your first and I was explaining the feelings I had about you and your sisters from the moment you were born and laid on my chest. Sweet baby boy it is an incredible feeling, to feel you develop and grow in my belly for 9 months and then to labor for hours to finally hold you is a miracle, it is an amazing God given miracle that God has allowed me to experience 3 times (with your sisters then with you)... when I hold each of you I feel like my heart may explode with the love I feel for you all. I pray you and your sisters always know how much I love you and that I show you that daily in both my words and actions because you are a precious gift! I love you sweet baby boy! Happy 4 months!

update:

Life in our house is BUSY BUSY BUSY! So I thought I would give a brief update on us all!
KEVIN...
Kev is still working from home which we love because it allows some flexibility and more family time as he does not have a commute! He graduated seminary last spring and we are praying through what God would have him do with that degree, He is currently serving in our college ministry at church. He helps on Sunday mornings and Tuesday nights and we lead a coed small group on monday nights! Please keep us in prayer as we wait for Gods guidance on Kevin (and our families) next steps in ministry!
Rach (ME!!!) I am still working at Vandy BUT just one night a week! It is a great schedule as the extra money is nice, and I dont have to be away from the kids often! I am loving being home more with our sweet babies and taking care of our home. I know this is where God has called me and I feel like I am filling his plan for me when I am serving my family!
Av is in preschool 2 days a week and LOVES it! Her teachers name is miss Marissa and is the sweetest lady! I went to her fall party last week and loved helping out and watching her with her sweet friends! She is a big time talker and so kind...she literally thinks everyone is her best bud!
Sof well since I just did her 2 yr post theres not much more to say about her except she is WILD! She is funny! And She is SWEET! We plan to start potty training soon and are working on some discipline issues such as biting (so far she only bites her sister but still it is BAD!)...
Rei is a champ! He is always good and easy. He just goes with the flow and as long as we feed him he is a happy fellow! We love making him laugh and are enjoying his rolly polly self!
God has been so good to us the last year. We have found ourselves on our knees deep in prayer over and over the last year and have been in awe of Gods hand working and moving in just the right timing, his timing. We are very blessed!

trick or treat...

What a fun Halloween we had this year! We had our friends Kim and Dave and their sweet kiddos and our friend Carrie and her son over for dinner and then took the whole crew (9 kids under 7) out to get some serious candy! The kids had a blast and us parents talked until 11pm, so you know we had fun too!
This was just Averi's 2nd time going door to door and Sofies 1st but it took neither or them long to catch on! Sofie stayed with the big kids until she got so tired she gave up (more candy wasn't even worth walking anymore!) and climbed into the double stroller with Rei and just watched the big kids! Reiter slept through most of it!
Here are some pics of the kiddos, Rei was a cowboy Sof and Averi are fairies!

Happy 3 months handsome

Seriously what a stud!



Could this boy be any cuter? He is so easy, he smiles easily and has even started laughing! He is HUGE at barely 3 months he easily fills out 3 to 6 month clothing! He is sleeping like a champ going to bed between 8 and 9 and sleeping until 5ish then going back to bed until 8 or 9! He can roll from belly to back! We love having him to call little brother, he is a joy and the perfect addition to our crew!