operation christmas child shoeboxes

Well, I am finally getting over being sick! It has been a pretty exhausting week but I am glad that I am on the upswing.

The other day we officially began the Christmas season with our tradition of the kids putting together shoeboxes for operation christmas child. The girls enjoyed picking out small toys from the store to add to their boxes. They both made a picture to put in their shoebox and packed them all by themselves. We love this tradition as it helps to open their eyes to the needs of others and that it is so much more rewarding to give to others than to receive.

Here they are with all their prizes laid out and ready to pack.And here they are with their packed boxes. They are looking forward to taking them to church on Sunday.

Tomorrow morning Grace will have her first soccer game of the season!!! We are so excited to see her play and Erik is thrilled to be the coach (though Grace keeps insisting that I should be the coach instead- sorry Erik, I thought you had a few more years before you became embarrassing).

This evening was one of the moments that I love being a parent. After an especially trying day we put the girls to bed. The house was quiet and then these are the precious whispered words I hear coming out of the girls' bedroom:

Grace: "Lena! Lena!"

Lena: "What?"

Grace: "I love you!"

Lena: "I love you too!"

This definitely put a smile on my face and brought joy to my heart!

Well, hopefully you all have a great weekend! I am looking forward to a soccer game in the morning!!!

Baby dedication

Last week proved to be a busy but enjoyable one for us. On Thursday Erik was able to take Lena to do a diaper study in Cincinnati- the best part is that they paid him $75 to kroger!!!

Friday night we enjoyed going out to dinner at Larosa's with our friends the Wells. It was nice to get out and spend time with good friends!

I thought this picture was so funny. All the kids were playing together!

Sunday was a very exciting day for us as it was baby dedication at our church. We were so blessed to have my family there to support us as we dedicated Micah to God. It is such an amazing responsibility and privilege to raise our children to Love God and to desire to follow Him in everything we do.

Here's a picture of us on stage while Pastor Rob was offering us words of encouragement. I was SO relieved that the girls were well behaved on stage!!!

After service we all went to lunch and then came back to our house for Pinapple Upside Down Cheesecake!! It was so good! I guess there are a few perks to working where I do! :)

So, I think this picture actually turned out pretty good! The funny part is that I took this picture using the timer on my camera!

Grace absolutely loves her baby brother! We tried to get a picture with all 3 kids but Lena would have nothing to do with it!

Sunday night we went with my fam to a corn maze. The girls thought it was fun for about half an hour and then I took them to play on the playground. We enjoyed a great day spending time together with my fam and celebrating Micah being dedicated.

This morning Grace is at school and Lena is enjoying some extra attention. I am battling a bad cold, so hopefully I will be over it soon!

Fall Fun

Not much has happened since the last time I posted. Erik is still looking for a job, and I am still trying to work as much as I can.

Here is a picture of the kids when we went to Young's Dairy a couple weeks ago.

My soccer season ended and now we are excited because Grace starts her indoor season this weekend! She is so excited to play soccer again, and I have to admit that it thrills me to see her play!

Micah is getting bigger everyday. He truly is a sweet natured little boy. I absolutely love that when I come to get him in the morning that he gives me the biggest smile and is so excited for me to pick him up!

Lena is becoming more and more grown up. She is talking so much now and is becoming very independent.

As always we seem to be constantly busy. Last week we had a blast at several Harvest parties and then trick-or-treating on Saturday. This year Lena was Alice in Wonderland, Grace was Jessie from toy Story2 and Micah wore a teddy bear snowsuit that my brother David wore as a baby.

Grace loved her Jessie costume, you can't tell from this pic, but she even had red hair!

Lena looked like a doll in her costume. She told everyone she was princess alice. So cute!

Here's me and the kids on Halloween. The girls had a blast walking around with daddy while Micah and I handed out candy.

Saturday night after trick-or-treat we went with my Dad and Josiah to Chipotle to score free burritos for dressing like a burrito. It was hilarious! My mom found emergency blankets that we wrapped ourselves up in. Though we did look ridiculous we had fun and it definitely made the free burritos taste that much better. :)

Mot much else is going on here. I have been blessed to find some great grocery deals lately. The other day at kroger my bill went from $90 down to $15!! The bagger kept watching the price drop as the lady scanned my coupons and he was so impressed that he said, "this is like watching the ball drop on New Years Eve!" It cracked me up!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures of my precious kids