Gotta love bowling...

We took the kids to a small, but fun bowling alley last week to ward off the winter blues, and to celebrate the last day of a very long winter break. It was tons of fun, and we were in awe that they can basically do everything on their own now, and we can just enjoy ourselves and bowl also! (We did leave Quinn with someone.)

Ethan definitely had the most pizazz, style, and maybe even skill. Although he and Aidan ended up tying. :)

Get-Away

We visited an indoor waterpark 2 summers ago in the Chicago area, and had such a blast we knew we had to do it again. When we couldn't quite squeeze it in last summer, we realized it would be much more appreciated in the winter anyways.
Especially after Daddy was gone for 4 days at SnowBlast. And extra-especially since the school district determined the students needed a 4 week Christmas Break this year. (I understand their reasoning, and applaud their thinking outside-the-box to save money (cutting major heating costs this way), but c'mon, 4 weeks is a long time to be holed up in the dead of winter with 5 little boys...)

So last weekend we headed up to the Starved Rock area and tried out Grizzly Jack's Grand Bear Resort. The one night hotel stay included our admission to their indoor waterpark (which we did on Friday afternoon), and their indoor amusement park, which we did on Saturday after driving around Starved Rock a bit looking at Bald Eagles (awesome). It was a very fun trip... aside from the all day vomiting from the twins on Saturday. But we pushed through it and still had a good time.
There is something so exciting about the anticipation of a trip like this for the boys, and the sense of adventure that bonds them and us together during it. I absolutely love it. Of course, we would have absolutely loved it more if 5 little boys were easy to get to sleep while sharing a hotel room.







































And what is cuter than this, really?

Budding Photographer

Caleb very much wanted a digital camera for his last birthday, and when he didn't get one, he promptly decided to use all his birthday money towards it. He's had a lot of fun with it, when he remembers.

Sadly though, I recently transferred his pics onto the computer... for the first time. Slacker mom, I know.

Here are a few that made me snicker. And don't worry, we deleted the one of his brother's bare hindquarters. (after a serious talk, mind you)






Boys. Seriously. They have just recently gotten into the whole "burps are funny, gas is hilarious, and any other potty humor is to be celebrated" stage. And I know it's only the beginning of a lifetime of their "boyness". Gulp. I should be thankful I was spared for this long.

This one I actually thought was pretty cool.

New Year's Eve

Weston was away with the High Schoolers at Snowblast. So the boys and I decided to repeat the tradition we started last year of a "Mock New Year's Eve Party".

We played a new family game, decorated gingerbread houses (we never seemed to find time to fit that in December, so we've started buying a kit on clearance afterwards), and watched the ball drop on You Tube (so it was from last year, they don't know the difference).







We had hats, noisemakers, and a toast. Not a bad way to welcome in 2011.

And he thinks he is sneaky...

Whenever Weston is out of town, I try to buy a few special snacks, easy dinners, etc., to make things easier on me and a little more fun for the boys who are missing their daddy.

So, we had these donuts one morning when Weston was away at Snowblast. There were 3 left, so they were just sitting on the counter, most likely waiting to be eaten by me later :). I walked through the kitchen that evening, and, look what I found?



I thought it was pretty funny, how just a little had been taken from each, and then they'd been placed carefully back. Like maybe I wouldn't notice.

The food snatcher had even thought to wipe his mouth off (and I was so sure the white powder around the mouth would be a dead give-away). Luckily, when I gathered the boys to confront them with the evidence, the culprit was quick to sheepishly confess. It was not who I would have guessed to be stealthily sneaking goodies. However,when I talked to Weston later, he guessed right away who it was because of how carefully this child put the donuts back.

Snow Very Fun

Merry Christmas!

Caleb's Baptism

There is nothing quite like watching your child be baptized, especially when it's his daddy that has the privlege of baptizing him.




Not sure what y'all feel about when a child is sincerely old enough to make a real decision to accept what Jesus has done for him...
Weston and I have always prayed that God would lead each of our boys to a saving faith at an early age.

For more on that read this.


Caleb has always seemed to have an especially sensitive heart for the gospel. Though he's still very much a 6 year old, there are moments when the theological concepts he sometimes grapples with could put many adults to shame. He has always been full of great questions, and his childlike understanding of some deeper things always inspire us.

We cannot even offer up an exact date, or time, of his 'transformation'. Sure he raised his hand in Sunday School, and probably at VBS a few times, but with him it seemed more of a process. Around the age of 5, we became fully convinced that he 'got it' and truly had accepted what Jesus did on the cross for him as his only means to salvation. We rejoiced that God allowed us to be part of this process.









Since then Caleb had been begging to get baptized. At Bethel, kids are asked to go through a membership/baptism class first, to make sure they are ready. So we waited a bit, and had him attend when we thought he was old enough. Then we made sure to ask his teachers for feedback to make sure they thought he fully understood everything. That the heart problem, the spiritual problem, that he has, that we all have, is made right not by "trying harder" or "being better" but by fully embracing that Christ sacrificed Himself, doing for us what we couldn't do for ourselves. And that baptism in no way played a part in this, but was merely a public declaration of what had happened in his heart. And they were confident that he did. So we shared with him that we would be getting baptized in December.

Caleb was SO excited. It was on his mind almost constantly since we told him about it. He was beaming all weekend leading up to it, and boy did his sweet little face reflect the joy of the Lord when he entered the baptismal, as much as the coming up out of the water reflects Christ's resurrection for us.
What a moment.

The next day (Monday) I was walking down the hallway of his school, and a 2nd grade teacher with whom I am briefly acquainted stopped me and congratulated me on Caleb's baptism. I guess he had been joyfully sharing about it all morning at school. :


If you want to read a great post on child baptism, try this.

Favorite December Moments 2010

My awesome Care Circle for Mom 2 Mom took our preschoolers to a local nursing home to sing some Christmas Carols. They had their little bells and shook them as they sang their heart out to Jingle Bells. Well, maybe it was the mommas who sang their hearts out trying to get these small children to perform on command. Anyway, it was pretty cute. But the absolute best part? A memory I will treasure forever? I told my boys that it would be very nice to go up the the 10 or so seniors in the audience (most in wheelchairs), and wish them a merry Christmas. K and E wanted nothing to do with it. But Aidan? Not only did he go to each and every senior with a sweet smile and a cheerful holiday wish, but he also hugged each and every one of them. On his own accord, just loving on some grammas and grampas. Oh, sweet child of mine.










One evening, while snuggling with me on the couch, Ethan lovingly looks up at me in the magical light of the Christmas Tree, and he whispers to me, "Mommy, you look like Mary."




















Caleb brought home a book about Christmas that he made at school. And it did this momma's heart good to read all his responses to the prompts about Christmas. There was nothing in there about receiving presents, but all about giving, and most importantly all about celebrating the birth of our Savior. Not bad for a 6 year old.








And Kellan... sweet, stubborn, shy Kellan. I loved how exuberantly yet seriously he sang with all his heart each night during our Advent family time as we practiced "Away in the Manger" for their preschool performance. And he did so great that night! A few months prior, I would've never imagined he would even go up on stage with the ornery streak that had been plaguing him.



















And Quinn. Just kissing his sweet chubby cheeks every day was delicious.

One of my favorite...

Christmas pictures! :)