My handyman's a hottie!

My husband is awesome! He really is great. He is a hard worker, so patient, so thoughtful and caring about us. We moved in to our home a little over a year ago. We have done lots of painting and little projects. Well, I should say Derek has done most of this. It has just been my ideas. Well, Derek completed his biggest project ever just in time for all our family to come for Thanksgiving. He built a deck at our old house and has done various other outdoor work. He is willing to try anything. He built built- in bookcases for our living room and they look great. I did help a little with the staining, but it was mainly all him. He came up with the plan and got all the supplies. So, here are a few pictures. I just wanted to brag on my husband and to say thanks Derek for working hard to make these. I love you!

Barrett's Half birthday

Today is Barrett's 1/2 birthday. He is officially 3 and 1/2. Today we hung around the house, played with Daddy,went to lunch at Chick-fil-A, did stamps, read books, made a sprinkle cake, ate the cake, played the matching game. What a fun day to celebrate B turning 3 and a half. Barrett is such a fun, happy kid. He is full of energy. He loves to play outside. He likes to build things. He is meticulous when he paints one of his projects. He loves to play with his cars and trucks. He gets so excited about things. He loves his friends and wants them to come over and play. He says"awesome" about alot of things. He has not one, but two crushes- Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus and Ms. Marla(his Ladies class teacher). He loves to go to preschool. He loves snacks and treats. He gives the best hugs. We love our little guy! Happy 1/2 birthday!

15 months

Brooklyn turned 15 months old yesterday. Its hard to believe. She is a little girl now, not a baby! Here are 15 things about Miss Brooklyn-

1. She is such a happy girl.

2. Some of her hair is long enough for me to put in a ponytail on the top of her head.

3. She has 7 teeth now!

4. She can say several words: daddy, mama, tee(see), ti(sit), ba(ball), go, wow, no, dog, baby, hi, bye, yes, cow, uh-oh, up, B(for Barrett), Tate, eat, chee(cheese), nose, thank you and me.

5. She loves to play with her dolls and hugs them and rocks them.

6. She is fairly independent and likes to figure things out on her own.

7. She loves to have Derek or I read books to her and loves to look at books on her own.

8. She likes to "wash" her hands.

9. She is a great eater. She'll eat almost anything and eats alot of it.

10. She likes to climb up the stairs all by herself.

11. She likes to do puzzles with Barrett. And really just be wherever Barrett is.

12. She loves Barrett and enjoys playing with him, most of the time.

13. She loves to be held and likes to cuddle.

14. She has the sweetest smile that warms my hear(and her daddy's too)

15. She likes to play outside.

Kitchen for our playroom

Yippee, we got a kitchen!!!
I thought it would be great for the kids to get a kitchen for Christmas and I had been looking around at different ones . When I went to Round Top with my mom and our family friend,Dyane, we found one. It was in really good shape and had been in a preschool for a long time. My mom got it for the kids and we've been storing it in our garage. I cleaned and repainted it. It was fun to do. Derek put it back together. We gave it to the kids yesterday. They were so excited. And we have been playing kitchen all afternoon. We wanted all the kids to have it play with next week at Thanksgiving(my family is coming up). Thanks Nana and Teddy, the kids love it. Can't you tell by their excited faces?

Did I miss something?

Or is it December already? I am getting used to the fact that stores put our Christmas decorations in the summer(though I refuse to buy any that early). But, what is up with the people who are getting their Christmas lights put up and turning them on? I understand getting them put up early(I'd like to have that done as a matter of fact), but really do you need to turn them on before we've even had Thanksgiving? And whats even more annoying is the light up reindeer in the yard! I mean we totally overlook Thanksgiving. It is a time to reflect and recognize all that we have to be thankful for. And, we just jump into the Christmas season on wanting and buying more and more things. And, Barrett thinks that it is time for Christmas since he is seeing all these things in the yards and at the stores. So, that's my venting. Just wanted to get it out there.

Traditions

I have been thinking alot about traditions. I remember getting new pajamas on Christmas eve, sharing what I was thankful for at Thanksgiving, making and decorating cookies with my dad and siblings, driving around and looking at Christmas lights, and lots of other things that made the holiday season special and fun for me. I'd like to do the same for my kids. So, here are some things that I'd like to start or continue some we've been doing.
Thanksgiving:
Write and share on Thanksgiving day 3 things we are thankful for this year.
Playing games with the family.
Buying and taking food to the food bank.
Making art projects: turkey handprints, etc.

Christmas:
Get the kids new pj.s on Christmas eve
Picking out our Christmas tree on the Sunday after Thanksgiving and decorating it together.
Making and decorating cookies with the kids.
Give the kids an ornament symbolizing something about their year.
Going to a live nativity scene.
Adopting an angel tree kid or two.
Reading the birth of Jesus account from the Bible on Christmas.

And, I'd like some other ideas. What do you do or did you do as a kid to make the holidays special? Share your ideas with me.

Menu

Here's my menu. From now on, I will just be posting my recipes on our recipe blog, instead of listing them here. Unless, it is something super spectacular, and then I will share.
Herbed Roasted Chicken, rosemary potatoes, corn
Risotto, veggies,salad,garlic bread
Spaghetti and meatballs, bread, salad, fruit salad, pumpkin cake
Pesto pizza
Stuffed Pasta Shells, green beans, sweet potatoes
Cheesy Enchilada soup

Halloween

Halloween was a really big deal at our house this year. Barrett has been looking forward to Halloween ever since we got his costume. We had a party with out Care Group on Sunday and all the kids got dressed up. Here are a few shots.

Our little kitty

Aaris as ArielTaylor the monkey with his daddyThe whole gang all dressed up
Julie and me and the babies
On Halloween night, the Walker's came over for dinner of spaghetti and meatballs and then we hit the streets to get some goodies. I was excited that Brooklyn would be able to walk to the door and get a few treats . Barrett really understood the concept of trick-or-treating this year. He and Tate tired us out. They didn't want to miss a house and were so excited to go up and get candy. Some of our neighbors really went all out! Once the bags were full, we called it a night. We went back to the house and the boys looked at all their treats. They were so excited and were a little WILD! We had pumpkin cake for dessert and then wrapped up our evening. It was such a fun night for us all. Here are some pictures.

"You mean they just give me this stuff?"

Our awesome firemanArmy Man Tate and Firefighter Barrett ready for some treats

Ryan, Tate and Barrett- good buddies

Doesn't she look like she is having a blast?

WOW, look at all that candy

Biker Baby Grant with a treat

This is so much fun

More treats!!!

We did really good!