Four 0h!

So, I covered Mark's 40th (see July), so it's only fair that I fess up that I celebrated my over-the-hill day on November 12. It came and went fairly gently, leaving virtually no emotional wreckage in it's wake. Mark treated me like a queen (aside from the 40 jabs) and I was very aware of the blessings of my life. I truly have more peace and joy in my life than I ever have and my husband and children are all I've ever really wanted in this life. I had run the 5k (see below) and in doing so, proved to myself that I'm in the best physical condition that I've ever been. Along with going to the gym, lifting weights, biking and swimming, and overall trying to live more healthy, the 5k helped me to feel young. Having an infant makes me feel young, too, actually, but I digress.

A special gift from my sister. We both love pottery and so she sends me stuff from her trips around the world. This one is from Poland.


When Jacob and Hannah came for the weekend I got another party. Mark made me a cake. Yes, MADE ME A CAKE. I was blown away.

Joel's Creations

Cub Scout's Soap Box Derby races. R2D2 is riding in the white car (he made 2).



REFLECTIONS art gallery. This is a PTA sponsored art contest. The theme was "Wow." Joel' s interpretation was a spider on a web. You can't see it, but he lined the web with white glue (that dries mostly clear) so that it looks like there is dew on the web. His spider has sparkles, too. Wowed me.

5k Run!

You marathon runners may not be impressed, but this November brought a great personal victory for me when I was able to run the 5K (less than a year after birthing Isabella) AND shave 10 minutes off my time from the last one I ran 4 years ago! One of my desires was to hit my 40th birthday in better physical condition than I've ever been and this is how I marked that goal. The bonus was the influence that this has had on Joel. He has seen me working toward this and wanted to run, too. So, we put him in the "Kid K" (1/2 K). He did great, but informed me that it was too easy and wants to do mommy's "big run" next time. So we're in training together. I'll be in his dust soon.
Here we are showing off our medals.

Halloween!

It's not often that we get Jacob and Hannah for Halloween and when we do, we just love it!!! Hannah was the Queen of Hearts and she really loved her dress. It was actually a dress for a vampiress, but we modified it to be a more suitable costume. Jacobwas the gorilla and Joel was taking a walk on the dark side as Darth Vader. Mark, being the theatre buff that he is, loves the dress up and character acting that comes with Halloween. He did have a DJ gig and wasn't able to join us for trick-or treating, but was able to see the kids dressed up and Isabella on her first Halloween ever.

It amazed me how difficult it was to find a princess outfit for an infant. Bumblebees, fairies, ballerinas, even devils (like I want to dress my baby as satan) abound, but no princesses. A friend offered to lend us a Belle costume, which we thought was fitting, because she's our princess Bella. But when we put it on, it didn't quite have the poof factor I had hoped for. One of her party dresses worked better.

Me getting kisses from my little princess.

The kids made bank on the candy. We had a late night and we all ate way to much sugar. That's what you're supposed to do, right?

New Hairdo!

My fall colors.

Pumpkin Patch - AGAIN!

We went back to the pumpkin patch with Joel and Daddy this time. Jacob and Hannah were at Susan's so we had to go without them. Joel is lookin' like such a big boy. That's him above acting cool on the haystacks. He IS a very cool kid. You can see my new hair color below, but this is still the work in progress. It's been a tradition since Joel was a baby that he and I take a special photo together a the pumpkin patch. This year he REALLY wanted Isabella to be in the shot with us.

Mark has a special relationship with each of his kids. Truly. It's very sweet to watch him with Isabella. They really have a soft spot for each other.

Our little sunflower was much more rested for this trip and generous with the smiles. Look at those huge teeth!

Crazy Hair Day!

Our church has a mid-week discipleship kids program called Kids Quest. This is a shot of Joel on crazy hair night. Pretty whack, huh?