Over a week ago, Ryan’s brother and his wife and two boys flew in from California. We hadn’t seen them since Easter, so it was awesome to get to see them again. We have seen them off and on for the past two weeks, and we will be spending this coming weekend with them as well before they fly back home. We really didn’t do much of anything. Usually when we get together, we do a lot of game playing (Settlers of Catan, anyone??). But this time around, we mostly sat around talking and eating. Oh and I guess the guys did get one board game in if Axis and Allies.
We did take all 6 kids to take a group Christmas picture. Grandma always buys the kids coordinating outfits for them to wear for the picture, and then the picture is used for their Christmas cards they send out every year. Our family consists of two 3 year olds, a 22 month old, a 12 month old, an 8 month old, and a 4 month old. Can you imagine the chaos? Oh, and the 1 year old has major separation anxiety. He kept crying and crawling away trying to get to mom and dad. The two oldest and the two youngest did amazing!! The two oldest were so cooperative and helpful with the little ones. And Orin and Tucker (4 months) just hammed it up for the camera. They were all so stinkin cute in their outfits! I’m hoping to get a few pictures this weekend of them all in their gear. We’ll see how that goes! But we did end up with two pictures that we liked enough to order. Are they perfect? No. But with those ages, there is no such thing as a perfect picture!
This past weekend was gorgeous!! We took several walks around the neighborhood, which Orin just loved. And I have to say that we did too. It just felt perfect to be out enjoying the beautiful weather as a family.
Sunday, we had our church’s harvest supper. It is the equivalent of a Thanksgiving meal with all the fixings. We started with a time of fellowship and worship music, ate the delicious meal, and then ended with sharing time on what God has done in people’s lives over the last year. I have no other words than to say that the whole evening was AMAZING!! I realized that Ryan and I have been to at least 6 churches together during our dating and married years, and I have never ever been a part of a church that just feels right to us. When we moved back to our college town, we did a lot of praying and some church shopping to try to find the right fit for us. The church we go to is a Bible teaching and living the word kind of church, and we love it! We are getting fed through church and life groups, and we actually look forward to going to worship with other believers. God has done and continues to do great things through our church, and I’m excited to be a part of it all as we raise up our family in this church. Huge blessing and praise!
I subbed today in preschool. I am not a preschool teacher. Heck, I’m not a first grade teacher. I love little kids, but to teach them at that age?? Not for me! It was only for 4 hours, so it was very doable. But I only brought home around $20 after paying daycare and taxes and IPERS come out. I have come to the conclusion that it isn’t really worth the stress of getting myself and Orin ready and out the door on time to only work 4 hours and bring home hardly anything. Plus, I’d rather be home reading my own child books, doing laundry, singing silly songs, and washing dishes. Regular sub days are different and pay better so I will continue on with those. I have to do what is best for my family, and I really don’t think $20 is worth being away from my son. But I do have 12 days of long-term subbing in the middle school coming up in December. It will be crazy, but I’m actually looking forward to it. I think it will be a lot of fun, and I know we will appreciate the extra money around the holiday season.
I did another photo shoot this past weekend. I’m still in the editing process, but I will be sure to post a few pictures once I am finished. It has been so fun to learn and practice, learn and practice, learn and practice. I love it!
I will leave you with little man playing in the tub. He loves his baths, even without toys. This was the first time I gave him his one and only set of bath toys. When he was little, he had an infant bath he laid/sat in. And then we moved him to laying on a sponge once he got too big for the bath. And now, he just sits in the tub on the sponge or a twel, which is why he could finally have toys to play with. He loved them! He really kicks and splashes now!
1 comment:
Orin is just TOO TOO cute!!!
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