Enjoying the moments...

These little girls sure do love each other. They certainly can fight and bicker, but underneath all of that, they are great friends most days. I love to watch them imagine and play together. They were outside enjoying beautiful weather and having a tea party when I had the sudden realization that these magical moments of childhood will one day be left behind. There are only so many more little girl tea parties to be had in our backyard--so I grabbed the camera and they obliged me with a picture. I'm excited to see who my children become as they grow and mature, but I'm sure there will be a part of me that misses these simple evenings playing together as the sun sets.

Jan. 29

We've been enjoying family movie nights this year too.  We all snuggle on the couch after dinner, eat popcorn, and have fun being together.

Jan. 31

MLK Day and more

We got to start MLK Day on Jan. 19 with a quick grocery swap. Our little group has expanded a lot since our first days of swapping our oldest 2 kids--now we've doubled to 8 when the big girls are home from school! We just love the T family and are so glad they are our friends.

After our swap, we headed up to The Woodlands to visit my childhood friend Kat and her boys.  It was a bright, warm day and the kids had fun playing.  Kat and I had fun catching up on each other's lives and families.  I'm so glad we live close enough to get together from time to time--she's one of my favorites :).

Most of the kids:  Megan (7), Kaden (7), Brooke (5), Candy (3) (not pictured are Jack and Logan, both 1)

Dan getting some snuggles from his girls after church on Jan. 25

Candy and her little friend Eva were just too cute dressed up and playing tea party--I had to snap a few pictures on Jan. 27.

Candy was killing me with her big blue eyes in the afternoon on Jan. 27.  Her serious face cracks me up since we see it so rarely in real life.  It's been so fun this year to have Candy as my big helper during the day.  She has a lot of spunk in that little body and she keeps me on my toes.  She is so sweet to Jack and just loves to be with any of her siblings.  She is such a light in our home.

Chores, Jumping, and Friends

Few things warm my heart like watching my children do manual labor.  I'm only half kidding.  Candy is learning to do the dishes and she's actually pretty good at it!   (Jan. 14)

After Candy finished the dishes, we got to go to playgroup at a local jumping place.  Jack and Mal were pretty funny crawling around.

And even though it took some coaxing, Candy finally tried the tallest slide--and loved it!

That evening Megan and Brooke got to attend a free gymnastics class offered to all the elementary school kids.  It was hard to get good pics, but they LOVED it.  It's a little pricey for us to do all the time, but I'm glad they got to give it a try.  (Jan. 14)

Candy was a little jealous but I reminded her that she got to go to the jumping place and they didn't.  After that she relaxed a little and had fun watching them.

That week was our week for babysit swap.  After a messy lunch, Jack and Candy helped me with the pizza.  (Jan. 16)

Cuties...

After making the pizza Jack retreated to his office in the corner cupboard...

I have 3 wonderful friends who have helped me by giving Megan rides home from school this year.  So on Fridays, if we can, we have friends stay after drop-offs to play while their Mom runs to pick up their brother from his school.  The girls have so much fun :)

Jack really loves "looking" at books lately.  As in he picks it up, opens it, slams it closed, and doesn't let you read him any of it.  But he sure has fun doing it. (Jan. 17)

Back to routines

Almost.  After the fun and excitement of the holidays, I was looking forward to returning to our regular routines.  But I forgot that the kids got ONE MORE DAY off of school.  So I got to take all four kiddos with me on my weekly grocery trip.  I usually swap kids with my friend Ashley while I go to the store, but they were busy that morning.  It was actually pretty fun to bring them all with me since it's not a regular occurrence.  And they were so happy when the bakery gave them free cookies.  It kept them occupied for a while! (Jan. 5)

 

My cabinets were in sad shape, so I did some purging and re-organizing.  It felt so good!

Before:

After (Jan. 8)

Lest you think my cabinets are always in good shape, Jack keeps me grounded.  This is before family night on Jan. 12.

We made popsicles from bananas and orange juice--Brooke's turn for treat.  She was so excited to share them.

New Year 2015!

Here we are in the wee hours of the new year.  That makes 2 years in a row of staying up til midnight.  I guess having good friends to party with gives us energy :).

My sister Jamie and her family were in town for a few days, so we spent the day with them and Dad and Sally on New Year's Day.  And Grandpa and Giagia were so kind to share their stash of noisemakers with us--they made the girls SO happy.  Unfortunately, they "disappeared" within a few days of bringing them home with us (wink, wink). 

I love the New Year.  I just like the feeling of having a fresh slate and setting goals.  This new year also marked the return of 9 am church--YAY!! I really love 9 am church, especially with kids (and being in nursery).

Our cute Jack on his 14 month birthday, Jan. 4.  He is still a crawler for the most part these days.  And I LOVE him all dressed up in his shirt and tie. 

3 cutie girls.  They are growing up fast and it is exciting to see who they are becoming.

Megan (7), Brooke (5), and Candy (3) on Jan. 4 before church