Service projects for kids

Just so you know, no pictures in this post..
After reading the book Radical, Troy and I have had our eyes and hearts opened to the importance of serving others. But we are constantly wondering what can we do with all these kids?
In the last few weeks, God has dropped opportunities in our laps.
The preschool decided to do a holiday service project this year, packing boxes for Operation Christmas Child. I was excited to get my boys involved and decided that Reef would also do a box of his own. They were so funny at the store picking out gifts for the child who would receive their box. All 3 were also very good about understanding that the toys were NOT for us. Reef and I packed our box while the brothers were at school. He also wrote his child a note. After we packed the box,I said, "Oh I wanted to include stickers." Reef said, "I have some," and ran off to his room. Now, if you know Reef, you know he has a stash of beloved things on his bookshelf that are not to be touched, moved, or played with. He came back with stickers from that stash! It brought tears to my eyes to see him so willingly give away something that was so important to him.
Another opportunity we had was for the Urban Connection Thanksgiving meal. I signed up to prepare food, and Troy decided to take Reef with him to serve the food. At first, Reef was pretty timid, but after a bit of serving alongside his dad, Reef was off and running. He really enjoyed serving the food, handing out silverware, serving desserts, and picking up trash. It's an experience he is still talking about today.
Other things we have in the works are Christmas gifts for our neighbors, caroling at a nursing home, the Angel Tree at our church, and possibly serving breakfast at Fisher House.

I'd love to hear your ideas on service projects for kids!

Thanksgiving Feast

Thanks to Ms. Linda I was able to go to the preschool Thanksgiving feast this year.  They looked so cute in their Indian and turkey get ups!

Jonas's Indian name was "Roaring Triceratops"

 My cute little turkey, ready to pray so he can get on with the feast.

 I was also in charge of helping with the party.  Reef had a great time assisting Mr. Mike with the turkey game.  He's getting to be such a big boy and loves to help!
I was in the edible craft room.  We went with a gum drop turkey, which turned out to be a little too ambitious on my part!  Lachlan's class decided to forgo putting faces on their turkeys and opted to just eat them instead.

Jonas is 4

Jonas celebrated his 4th birthday on the 8th.  He was so excited and has been counting down for weeks. 

He's had this train cake in mind since his last birthday; he likes to plan ahead.  Troy did a great job making Jonas's dream come true.

He got a Lego police station from us.  He was very excited to put it together; his dad thinks it's pretty cool too.  He also got a Star Wars lego ship from Oma and Opa.

When I talked to Jonas about a party, all he wanted was his BFF Rylan.  So, we planned a pizza dinner with Rylan and his family.  It was all Jonas dreamed it would be.  Pizza, cake, Rylan.  Rylan and Liam also gave Jonas 3 new superhero shirts that he is very excited about.  I am hoping it puts an end to morning get dressed battles.

He refused to smile during "Happy Birthday".

But couldn't hold the happiness in once he dug into the cake!

Rylan was also a fan.  I love the relationship these 2 have!

On his birthday, we talked about some of his favorite things:

Food: "macaroni" pizza

Color: red, black

Book: Trouble at the Dinosaur Cafe

Dessert: My train cake

Friend: Rylan

Movie: Cars 2

Superhero: Superman

Bad guy: Black bad guy

What I want to be when I grow up: Superhero

Place to visit: Australia

Favorite toys: lego, trucks, my bike

Jonas's 4 year check up was rough this year.  He likes Dr. Gulde but not when it's his turn to be "doctored".  We battled through the hearing test and exam.  When I finally got him on the scale he was 29.8lb (10th%) and 42 inches (75th%).  It was hard to really visit with the doctor but developmentally, Jonas is right on track.  We've been struggling with night bedwetting this month, but have found that if Troy wakes him at 10pm to go, then he will wake up dry.  Kind of pain but way easier than changing the sheets.

Jonas continues to be my strong-willed child.  He has his opinions and will not be swayed.  Although this leads to some major clashes, I've read that it can be a good thing later on since his moral convictions will likely be so strong.

When we're not battling clothing, naptime, dinnertime, bathtime, Jonas is such a fun guy.  When he loves you, he loves you fiercely.  And when he is happy, he is very happy.  The rough times have become fewer in the last couple months; as long as he is well-rested and well-fed, I can usually avoid meltdowns.

Jonas, we love you and can't wait to see how you grow this year!

29

I had a great birthday back on the 4th, though I am still in denial that I could possibly be 29.  My boys spoiled me with presents and good behavior.  Poppy did NOT give me good sleep for my birthday, but that's ok.
I knew Troy was getting me a watch for my birthday, but I also woke up to a new Ipad.  I was so surprised and excited!  I actually thought it was going to be a box of chocolate.
My dad was here for my birthday this year, and my mom and Mr. Don came to visit the next weekend.  I am thankful that I got to celebrate with them all too.
I can't wait to see what this year brings!

Family Retreat 2011

The annual Northside family retreat was back in mid-October.  After some debate, Troy and I decided to brave it with all our gang.  We also convinced the Craftons to join us and share a cabin, so it was 4 adults and 8 kids in the cabin! 

We were all a little nervous about the sleeping arrangements, but the kids really surprised us. Poppy was our biggest worry since she'd been on a major crying spree the nights before, but she did great, only waking to eat in the night.  The biggest complaint was about Troy's snoring!

I was awful at taking pictures this year, but we had a great time.  The boys, especially Reef, enjoyed being with their friends all day for 2 days straight.  They ran, biked, and canoed all day long.

On the way there, we had to stop at a convenience store since Poppy was screaming.  This peacock came over to check us out.

Reef's memory amazed me.  He remember driving through the river long before we got there.  He also remembered exact details about the activities and the cabin we had stayed in the last 3 years.  He also remembered the other people cooked the food.

Lachlan loved throwing rocks in the river.  He made me nervous.

Poppy spent a lot of time with Mommy but did enjoy a nice talk with Daddy under the tree.

Reef was excited to go canoeing with Ethan.

Jonas also insisted on going canoeing with Ethan.  Lachlan got tired of waiting, so he didn't go this year.

Due to my poor picture-taking abilities, Stacia snapped a few of my people.  Isn't he cute?  This picture makes me sad that we cut those curls off last week.

 Lachlan liked playing with Gibson; he calls him Gibbins.  They're stomping Apple Jacks cereal here.  They may have eaten them off ground too.

 Love this one!

 Family photo.

 Kristin snapped this one of the 3 kindergarteners.  I love that they are such good friends even though they all go to different schools!

It was challenging at times to keep up with all 4 kids (and they hated waiting in line for food; "not the LINE", said Jonas), but we really enjoyed being away from the busy-ness of everyday life.  I love the opportunity for my guys to get away from all their junk, I mean toys, and be in nature.  It was also a great time of unrushed fellowship with our church family.  Can't wait until next year!

Poppy 4 and 5 months

I totally missed the boat on Poppy's 4 month post, so this will be about the last 2 months.  I say it every month, but I really can't believe she is almost half a year old.  I love seeing her personality develop each day but still miss those snuggly newborn days.  We would definitely have tons of kids (just call me Michelle Duggar) if Troy was on board with it.  Luckily, our friends are still having babies so I can get my baby fix there.

Poppy went to the doctor at 4 months and these were her stats: 15lb 5oz (75-90th); 24.5 in (75th). 

We've had a rough couple of months in the sleeping department.  At 3 months, she was going 7:30-4:30 pretty consistently.  I think I had a major milk supply drop, which led to more night wakings.  She also seems to have forgotten how to self soothe, so I'm usually up several times in the night.  It has been very frustrating and tiring.  I wish she took a pacifier.  She has also figured out how to get out of her miracle blanket swaddle.  The last few nights, we've tried the Woombie swaddle again with some success.  She's gone 10-11 hours without eating the last 3 nights.  Last night, she was up constantly from 1-5 because she kept rolling over and getting stuck.  She never rolls during the day!  I am sad to say that the swaddling days may be over, but I am afraid of that transition.  Crying it out may also be in our near future.

We've been working a lot on getting her to take a bottle, with limited success.  Troy and I are headed on a cruise in December, and she was not invited.  I really think once I'm gone and she gets hungry enough, the bottle won't be an issue. 

Poppy is really loving her solids.  So far we've tried oatmeal, peas, sweet potato, carrots, green beans, and prunes.  We started with dinner only and have added lunch the last 2 days.

Overall, she's a pretty easy baby during the day.  She has about an hour and a half of waketime between naps.  Her morning naps are short but the afternoon nap is 2-3 hours.  Some days she also takes a short evening nap.  Bedtime is betwen 6:45 and 7:30.

Here are a few cute pictures of the last couple of months.
Hanging out with Reef.  He checks on her pretty frequently when she's playing on the floor by herself.

She has definitely found her hands in the last couple of months.  She loves to hold them up in the air and watch them.  She likes to put them in her mouth, too, but doesn't really suck on any one finger.

Troy wanted to try solids right at 4 months but I forgot to get cereal at the store.  We stuck a banana in the mesh feeder thingy.  She didn't love it.

I got cereal at the store the next day, and that was more successful.

Loves those fingers.  She is also learning to turn herself in the jumper to see all around.

Crazy hair.  Her hair has really started falling out and is growing in a little lighter.  Not sure she will be as blonde as the others, though.

Picture with Reef.  Obviously I was really liking that elephant onesie this month.

One of my favorites.

Can't wait to see what happens next month!

Pumpkin Patch 2011

We did manage a quick trip to the pumpkin patch after all.

They really didn't want to go but enjoyed it once we got there.

 I tried a family photo.  It was hard work with the wind and no Troy to help.  There's always next year...

Halloween 2011 Festivities

As usual, Halloween week was crazy busy around here.  We had lots of fun but are still recovering from all that fun, I think!

We kicked things off with our annual playgroup Halloween party. 

Lachlan was IN LOVE with his costume.  We didn't think he'd wear the hat, but he knew his outfit wasn't complete without it.  He says that he will be Flash again next year too.

 The whole gang.  It's a lot smaller than last year since so many kiddos went to kinder this year.  But it's still hard to believe we started with just 5 babies (who couldn't even move yet) and 5 mommies.
In the back: Peyton (angel), Liam (spiderman), Avery (pirate), Reef (black spiderman), Lachlan (Flash), Isaiah (Buzz Lightyear), Jonas (Batman)
In the front: Colton, Jacob, Poppy (Wonderwoman), Gavin (Bevo), Andy (zebra)

 Poppy found herself an older man.  And, just so I remember, Lachlan called her costume Woman Man.  So cute!

 Lachlan and I picked up a pumpkin at HEB since I wasn't sure we'd make it to the pumpkin patch.  He was so excited to show his brothers and carve it with Troy.
Reef was the only one brave enough to touch the seeds and slime.

 They each had strong opinions about the shapes of certain facial features.  Troy let them all have a turn "carving" to make sure it was perfect.

 The finished product. As you can see, we're very tradiotional with our jack-o-lanterns.

 

 The Friday before Halloween, we went to Trunk or Treat at the church.  It was really cold but they had a great time.  Troy stayed home with Woman Man. 
Of course, we had to meet up with the Zimmers to do most of our car-hopping.

 My superheroes before heading out for trick or treating.

 The whole gang.  Several neighbors commented on how we had the whole Justice League of superheroes.  That's what happens when there are 7 boys and only 1 girl.

 The babies, Jacob and Poppy.  Jacob is 2 months younger than Poppy.  We're okay with her future boyfriend being a little younger...

 And they're off!

Enjoying the first taste of their spoils!