Well now that I have a new phone and don't NEED to phone dump as often these will probably be quarterly as I do my best to get the photos off my phone and scrapbooked.
One of the things we've been working hard on is turning the tv off and coming up with other ways to entertain ourselves. This has been a good change for all of us, but it can prove tough to keep them entertained at all times and not fighting!
Another fun addition this fall was the sweet Caesar joining the family up at Peter's parents house as they saved the day for their granddaughter. He makes an appearance in a lot of these pictures as we love to have him come play in those rare moments when we don't have another foster.
Peter pulled a big surprise on the kids when instead of sending them to bed we told them to get their shoes and coats on because Daddy was taking them to a movie! You can see how happy they were!
And Mom and little miss had some time to ourselves too!
The return of Awana has brought us a date night or two along the way, even if we do have one tagalong.
The soccer cheer squad out in the cold
Sometimes they are sweet to each other (this was before Ipads were taken away)
Malachi somehow turned 7 and a half. I don't know about you but he looks so darn old now! His request for his night was a yummy burger, fries, and apple pie. He's embraced American food culture!
Sabrina loved helping make the whipped cream
We had Mr Indy for his Birthday too!
Malachi returned the favor by making Miss Bina treats 2 days later for her half birthday
5 1/2
We all love this pup!
Something new we've started is going out on dates when we meet financial goals. A TRUE date night is so rare that we decided to at least prioritize them when goals are met. This goal came at the perfect time too, as a local church was hosting a free date night babysitting for adoptive parents!
Daddy let the kids have some fun, even though I knew it could be cleaned up easy, I had to walk away
While cleaning out the garage we came across a bunch of my old toys, the kids loved old school littlest pet shop
Someone is slowly learning the piano, I hope to have more time to sit down and work with him in the new year!
Daddy is always a huge help, but he's really stepped in to help me work with the kids when they need extra help on things with school.
So fun that they are all in different phases of learning to read
We are in the baby stage!
My two April goofballs
Who knew stomping down the leaves was so fun
The kids wanted an indoor campout, their daddy made it happen
Shoe tying has been high priority
These two never snuggle and she even snuggled and fell asleep with him, so I had to capture the sweet moment
Pumpkin pancakes were a necessity on the weekends this fall. Another thing my husband is good at!
Eli became obsessed with watching Daddy's fantasy football team this year, he was a little worried here.
Our princess finally got her wish to take gymnastics classes and is loving it!
For Uncle Eddie's Gotcha Day the kids got to join him for some fun
Sabrina backed out at the last second but all the guys still had fun!
The kids went through a cute phase of making me breakfasts and lunches. This was one of those breakfasts, a bunch of pumpkin shaped toast and a cute little card delivered in bed.
Sabrina decided to cut her own hair with super short mullet bangs. I finally remembered who she reminded me of though.
LB's first trip to the movies
The Barbie phase has begun
After a rough few weeks, candy in bed with my giggly girls was just what we needed!
Ah leaves, a necessary evil in the fall, fortunately I have lots of helpers
We've had a string of really fun date boxes lately and this one was really great. The keepsake book has been a lot of fun for us to fill out.
The kids decorated rocks and then hid them in our little community
Going places
No tv, has increased the size of the messes around the house but mama is trying to embrace the chaos.
Mal made yummy Christmas cookies
lots of hot cocoa was consumed in December
Peter hand crafted his own unique and perfect decoration for our home
We tried to soak up as much of the season as we could with our little gifts
There's one in every family.....
The kids ended the year at the dentist, so funny to see them spread throughout the whole office all getting their teeth cleaned together. This little cutie was really brave this time!
Another fun date night
Lots more reading going on in the house with the tv off and I am loving it
When a poor kiddo came down with a fever last minute, changing some fun Christmas plans Daddy improvised bringing home pizza and our own gingerbread house to decorate
Another fun tradition we have is to make the kids think it is time for bed, but instead we are making them hot chocolate while they put jammies on so they can hop in the car to go look at lights. A quick cookie stop at Grandma's too!
Lots of cookies were baked
No, seriously, lots of cookies were baked
And it is almost comical how often kids scam getting to sleep in our room. We're going to miss this someday right?
