8 EIGHT 8

She's 8.  My oh my, where did the time go?

Yesterday, our Noelle turned 8 and we celebrated with both sets of grandparents.

She chose black beans and rice for her birthday meal and brownies instead of cake!

Her oldest brother tolerate the rice and beans, but it isn't something he really enjoys.  However, her younger brother had to continually be reminded that this was the meal his sister chose for her birthday and he needs to be kind and eat it without complaining.  He ate a few more bites and stopped.

A few minutes later, he walked up to me, with those big brown eyes, and so sincerely stated, "Mom.  I will eat the brownies for Elle, because I know she wants me to."

Wow, what a sacrifice!  haha

The grandparents went together on a gift and we added a little more to it.

Here she is peeking inside the bag!  I think she's excited!

YAY!  A sewing machine!  Mommy has an apprentice now!

From big brother!

Gifts from brothers! I've never told the kids they had to give something to their siblings, but each time, they just find things in their rooms, that they've seen the other admire, and they wrap it and give it with such joy and pleasure.

Here, she's opening a drawing set from big brother.  She said she had always wanted it and that he had never drawn in it.  In his driest voice, big brother corrected, "Yes, I did."  She was still thrilled!

When the kids turn 8, we go into the local Christian bookstore and pick a picture with a verse for their rooms.  (Here's the one from when Q turned 8)

Making her wish!

It goes so quickly!

I believe her wish may have had something to do with a certain someone coming Tuesday evening.  It has been 4 months since we've said goodbye to K and tomorrow night, we get to bring her home for 4 weeks!  Christmas in America!

You may have noticed some ornaments on the tree - the kids made them out of Le.gos.  We are waiting for K to arrive to hang the rest of the ornaments on the tree!

My baby turned 6!

Yeah, I can still refer to him as my baby, because when I started this blog almost 6 years ago, this picture was the first one I ever posted of my kids.

And now, that little baby in the cradle, is 6!

Last night, we had our parents over for a get together to celebrate his big day!  Thankfully, the stomach bug that hit poor C on Thursday, disappeared and he was healthy and ready to go on Friday!

His siblings were as excited, if not more, for C's big day.  This is partly because Big Brother was hoping Little Brother would get Le.gos or a game that they could play together.  And Sister is just excited for a party and loves organizing!

Could this be the gift we've been waiting for?  (Sorry for the blurry pictures - there was too much bouncing and I couldn't get my settings changed in time! LOL)

I think it is!

WOOHOO!!

Time for cake!

Yum!

She is Christmas! Happy Birthday, Noelle!

Noelle - Christmas. She was due Dec 23rd, but we had to deliver c/section so she was born 12/16 instead.  

[In case you wanted to know: Colin was due 12/14 and we opted for a c/s to have an earlier date and so their birthdays wouldn't be 2 days apart, LOL! 9 days is close enough!]

We always loved the name Noelle, and thought it was perfect - with the nickname Elle (rhymes with belly).

For her birthday meal, she chose our usual Christmas meal: Ham, gourmet potatoes and corn.

And instead of birthday cake (because she doesn't like icing...which I totally don't get), she chose Christmas cookies - Chocolate Crinkles!  (My favorite Christmas cookies, too!)

She is full of JOY, she is LOVE, she is a GIVER.  She is an example of Christmas.  And we love her to pieces!  She prefers "Elle" 11 months out of the year and likes to be called "Noelle" during December!  She's kind of quirky, like her momma!

We have T's company Christmas banquet tonight, so we celebrated with the grandparents last night.  She and her daddy danced to their favorite songs, "Baby Girl" by Sugarland and "Cowgirls Don't Cry" by Brooks and Dunn.

Wishing...

Happy 7th Birthday, Noelle.

She's Six!

We celebrated Elle's 6th birthday last night!  Wow, she's 6!?!?!?!  And, she is getting more grown-up and wants to be called by her proper name, Noelle!  But I think it will wear off after Christmas, like the other years! ;)
She was very specific about her cake!  I love her spunk!  I found the little sleeping bag and suitcase for her groo.vy girl on eb.ay, but they didn't both fit on the cake as well as I had, um planned - but we improvised, and she loved it!!

She requested homemade pizza for dinner.  While she was away from the kitchen, the boys (well, mostly Quintin because Colin was busy snatching the cheese and mini pepperonis off the pizza) helped me make the pizza extra special!

See that smile?

Her first Amer.ican Girl doll, Kit.  Just this week, she was telling me she hoped she'd get Kit and a sleeping bag!  I hadn't remembered about the sleeping bag!  So I searched online and found a free pattern!  I had all the materials on hand and had it sewn together in under an hour!  I think it is so adorable and Kit seems to be enjoying it!

I just checked in on her, in bed, a few minutes ago and she's sound asleep!  We had a wonderful day celebrating our Christmas Noelle!

Not a baby anymore!

When I started this blog, Colin was a month old! 

Tuesday, we celebrated his 4th birthday!  :)

Weekend Recap and a Winner!

After a long day of having intermittent internet service (GRRRR!!!) I can finally post!

We had a really wet great weekend.

Thursday evening, with both vehicles packed, we headed about 35 minutes north to our favorite campground.  T helped me get the tent set up and all other necessities set as he was heading back home to work on Friday.  It would just be me and the kids until he returned 19 hours later.

Thankfully, the bee sting I got while setting up the tent didn't set the tone for the weekend. ;-D

It was H-O-T Thursday evening but the kiddos were tired from excitement and we drifted off to sleep rather quickly calmed by the sound of the fan in our tent.

On Friday, the kids and I spent the day playing at the playground, visiting with a few other families that had arrived early, went swimming, fishing, boating and painting.

Early Friday - before the other campers arrive. 

We were excited when Daddy arrived later in the day and we spent the rest of the evening visiting.  We went to bed, noticing 2 small stars in the sky - now, we wonder if it was our imagination.

We awoke after midnight (the kids slept through EVERYTHING) to rain.  The Lord was watching over us because through the rain, there was no wind with the storm and very little thunder and lightning.  We remained dry - others did not fare so well. :(

I pressed the light on my birthday present to see the time and was happily surprised when I found a cute little graphic on it for me!

It was still raining as we crawled out of the tent, so we decided to go out for breakfast, since we didn't have a tent over our food and making pancakes on the griddle in the rain didn't sound fun to anyone!  T's parents are on the site right next to ours, so they joined us for breakfast at the nearby truck stop!  My hubby treated, telling me it was my birthday treat... sigh!!! ;-D 



It rained on and off for a good bit of the day.  We decided to try fishing in the afternoon, and as we walked there, T said, "Watch it start pouring again as soon as we get to the pond."  And guess what??





The skies cleared and the sun came out in the afternoon, just before supper.  Some good friends invited us down to their campsite to have my second birthday meal of the day - Thanks Anne - I was so glad the truck stop breakfast wasn't my only "treat" of the day! ;-)

Sunday morning was cooler and things began to dry out.  And we could make pancakes!!

Flipping the tent to help the bottom dry!

I didn't grow up camping, but it has been something I now look forward to every summer.  And heading up the extra night was totally worth it - we hope to do that again next year!  Lots of fun memories made with some great friends!!!

And now, for our winner!!!

I numbered the "valid" comments in order and then went to random.org.  The number it selected was:

#8 - GINGER!!! 

She posted on her blog and on facebook and brought 8 more people here - putting her name in a total of 9 times!  LOL!!!  I'll be sure to get your info to CSN and have that $60 prize on its way to you!!! 

Thanks to each and everyone of you that celebrated with me!  It was a wonderful birthday!  And thanks to CSN Stores!

Celebrate with me!

Someone's having a birthday!!

I'll turn 35 on Saturday and the fine people at CSN Stores want to help me celebrate.  I get to choose one lucky commenter (on this post) to receive a $60 *SIXTY DOLLAR* gift certificate to use at any of their over 200 online stores - where you can find everything from cookware to cribs or even your most specific needs such as a bathroom vanity or a bird cage!


I'll be choosing a winner Monday, July 12.  So no entries after 11:59pm, on Sunday, July 11.  Only one comment per person will be entered into the drawing (sorry JM and G!) 


BUT, if you blog about it, tweet it, or facebook it and someone comments telling me that you sent them here, you'll receive an additional entry for each person!!!


So, what am I doing for my birthday?  Well, we have some plans to spend a lot of time outdoors this weekend.  While we desperately need rain  -  I'm hoping the predicted storms don't make too much of a dent in our plans.


So, I'm off to enjoy some wonderful time with my church friends and family!  All you need to do is enjoy the A/C for me and leave a comment below - and then go blog, tweet or facebook it! :-D