Baby 4 is a GIRL

I asked Leighton what we should post on our blog to inform the readers that the Lord has blessed us with a girl. He said, "I love you new baby girl!"

I asked McCabe what he thought we should post. He said, "Happy Birthday!"

I asked Luke what he thought we should post about our news. He said, "Tell them that our new baby girl will have to be the most beautiful lady in the whole word because her mom is so beautiful." Actually he didn't say that! But I'm quite certain that he feels that way! ;)

We are all very excited to prepare our lives for the arrival of a girl into our home. I simply love the opportunity to see the baby at the ultrasound, marveling at each defined bone in her 10 ounce precious little body. I would like to add here that the ultrasound tech said that she has the most beautiful hands she has ever seen in her 3 years of doing her job. In fact she said that when she saw the first hand and then when the second one came on the screen, she made a point to really exaggerate her statement. She seemed quite amazed at how defined her bones were.

How remarkable ultrasounds are! Calling her Baby #4, or defining her as a girl, doesn't quite do justice to someone that is made in the image of God; But to know that she is a GIRL has quickly fine-tuned our prayers for her life and has made us feel like we are more intimately acquanted with her. It is a precious way to start getting to know her more deeply before her birthday arrives. And their aren't many expereinces that are greater than getting to know your children more.

Muddy but Marvelous

We enjoyed a muddy and marvelous day outside yesterday. Des Moines broke the old temperature record for January 30th. It ended up being well over 60 degrees and we loved every minute of it!

Coffee Shop with the Boys

We took the boys to a coffee shop today. Luke and I enjoyed coffee and the kiddos enjoyed a large cookie! We played Dominos and spent time doing some activity books! It was such a fun family day.

Enjoying the Snow!

We all suited up and went into your backyard to enjoy the snow. Brooks fell over several times. Each time he failed to figure out how to stand back up with his puffy pants, jacket and clumsy boots on. Daddy had to come to his rescue several times to help him stand up again. And when Brooks wasn't falling over on accident, he was was tiping over on purpose. He enjoyed sticking his head in the snow. He was like this for at least a minutes, allowing me time to grab the camera, snap a shot, and then force him back upright so his head didn't get too cold.

And there was more falling and getting stuck each time he climbed into the sandbox or out of the sandbox.

And a few more falls in the mud pit. At this point, the poor guy was frustrated, without a mitten, and with an uncontrallable runny nose, so he got sent inside with mommy.

McCabe, on the other hand was running everywhere, kicking balls, throwing sticks, and ...

... you guessed it eating snow. It is amazing that you don't even have to teach kids that that is an option, he just picked up a handful and shoved it in his mouth.

And Leighton enjoyed being a "do-er". This helper, moved snow, helped daddy fix the holes in the fence that has allowed not only rancoons and cats to get through, but also our neighbors small children!

And of course, he enjoyed some recreation too. The slide is extra fun with ice at the top and bottom.

Grocery Store Helpers

My Kids LOVE grocery shoping They like Hyvee the best because they can push their very own cart. For this same reason, Hyvee is my least favorite! They tend to take corners too shart, knocking Lemons off the display, or run out of the end of an isle, running into people. But every once and I while it is fun to go and let them benfit from the lessons of learning how to be a good helper. Today they even got offered cheese from the deli man, which is going to mean that they will love Hyvee even more.

They did a great job shoping today. They didn't run into anything and nothing extra made it into the cart! What makes the following picture even better is that while they had the cheese in their mouth, they were also saying cheese so that I could get a good picture. So I let them ride on the horse since I recently learned that it was free!

And my little helpers drive the cart all the way to the car. I am so thankful that I get to shop with my little guys!

Brooks' 15 Month Check Up

Brooks had his 15 month check-up. I rejoice that he is not only healthy and happy but also growing quite well:

Weight: 23 lbs 13 oz (38%)
Height: 31.5 in (58%)
Head Circumfrance: 49 cm (91%)

One of my favorite parts about dr appointments is watching my little ones run around in just their diapers as they wait for the dr to come in. Another favorite part is spending one on one time with the little man who has the particular checkup. I am so glad we had another great check up today!

Luke at Josh McDowells Conference

Luke spent a week at John McDowell's Young Communicators Conference in Orlando, Florida. Luke said he had a wonderful time and learned a lot. I have no pictures to share from his trip, but I do have pictures to share that show what the rest of us did in his absence.

We spent a night at a friends house eating pizza and watching the moive, Dolphin Tail, in her theater.

Daddy brought home some Astronaut Ice Cream, which is freeze dried food. The boys didn't exactly enjoy eating it; Who would when the real thing is in 10 steps away in the feezer? But they loved that daddy thought of them and bought them a gift, and they really really loved that he was back home.

57 in January

We had another beautiful day in mid-January.

We had a wonderful lunch outside on the picnic table. I even enjoyed a summer inspired salad with Rasberry vinegrette dressing and a lot of craisins.

Lunch was followed by biking ...

... Swinging ...

... Roaming ...

... and Dog Watching ...

The day did come with a few tears. Leighton ran full speed ahead into the slide and has a black eye and Brooks got knocked over by wild swinging brothers 4 or 5 times.

McCabe Eating a Corn Dog

McCabe has not been eating well for about a month.

Tonight, McCabe had no problems eating 2 corn dogs and a lot of rasberries.

He had quite the technique!

Daddys Boots

Kids in their daddy's shoes is always cute.
Kids in bowboy boots is always cute.

But McCabe, without pants, in his daddy's cowboy boots is absolutely precious.

That's MY SON!

No Girls Allowed

After we took the Chrsitmas tree down, and before we put the living room back together, we left this open corned for a few days so the boys could play in what they call, "the fence." I might also add that this was a "no-girls-allowed fence."