Rachel's chauffeur service

A few days ago, Nick cleaned out the garage. The kids helped a little and then played. Rachel thought it would be cool to make a little "caravan" and chauffeur Bradley up and down the driveway. We thought it was cute and creative and I think Bradley enjoyed the ride. Rachel got quite a workout, though!

Rachel's Room Pt. 1

a vertical bookshelf goes on this wall, but it's in the garage waiting to be painted white

the dresser will be re-painted, probably white, but I haven't decided for sure.

I'm going to re-paint all of Rachel's furniture and re-do her headboard (which isn't pictured).

We're going to hang a half circle canopy above her bed that will drape down to her headboard. And, Rachel decided she wanted a horse painted on the wall that her bed is up against...we're still trying to dedide and figure out exactly how we're going to do that.)

We've finished part 1 of Rachel's room re-do. She used to have pale green walls when the room was originally the nursery. Then it was Bradley's room, but since we moved him into the bigger room so the boys could be together and re-painted in there, (pictures to come of the boys' room soon) we decided to let Rach decide what color she wanted. She wanted pink walls, and she got 'em. I love it and think it looks adorable and perfect for Rachel. Thankfully, Deborah came over on Tuesday and helped me paint the room...we got it all done in one day! The next step is a horse mural above her bed and a small canopy where her headboard will be. (I'll post more pictures as her room progresses.)

9 months old!

On December 28th, Trent was officially 9 months old! Where is the time going? It's certainly flying by with this precious baby! I took him for his check up yesterday and I'm so thankful that he's in perfect health and growing wonderfully in every direction. Poor baby had to get 2 shots and have his finger pricked, which made him upset, but he did great!

Here's his stats...

21 lbs. 8 oz.

28 in. long

(By the way, he LOVES taking a bath...he crawls into any bathroom if he notices an open door and stands at the tub, grunting as loud as he can because he's so excited about the prospect of getting in! It's hard to turn him down when he does that, even if he doesn't need a bath!)

Children's Museum of Atlanta

"underground"

cleaning George's windows

the cool ball/pulley system

driving a tractor

molding some moon sand

creating a masterpiece

Trenty enjoying his view

(they also had an awesome area designated for 1 and under where babies can crawl through mesh tunnels and play with baby toys...it was so cool! And, they even have a nursing "nook"!)

fishing

Conductor Rachel

Conductor Bradley

Curious George!

a bubble in the fishing area

A few weeks ago, Deborah and I took the kids on a homeschool field trip to the Children's Museum of Atlanta. They actually have "homeschool" days where the adults are free and they have special activities available for the kids as well as the normal exhibits. The museum changes it's main "attraction" every 4 or 6 months, but while we were there, the main character was Curious George. They had an entire section devoted to the show and some of the scenes on the show. The coolest thing about the museum is that it's interactive and the kids can do everything. There is a market where kids shop and put their food in grocery carts, then they can box it up and send it down a conveyor belt. There's also a tractor, some slides, a fishing hole, a moon sand pit, a paintable wall, a dress-up stage with props, an underground exhibit of dirt and animals that live there, and a huge system of pulleys, levers, knobs, etc... that keep balls moving through the air, in tunnels and over water systems. It was just the coolest contraption ever. They also had a great show that was put on by the "imaginators" that was full of songs and a short story. Rachel loved it! We had a great time and it wasn't even crowded. Hopefully we'll get to go back again when they change the exhibit to another cool attraction!

A short but sweet visit with the Lanes

We had yet another great time visiting with the Lanes after Christmas. The girls were ecstatic to see each other and were in a constant state of hyperactivity! Bradley enjoyed hanging with them too, but also loved playing with Alex. Trent just took everything in stride and enjoyed the chaos. I'm always thrilled to get to see my sweet sister and brother in law and niece and nephew...it just doesn't happen often enough!

Happy New Year!

Goodbye 2009...Hello 2010!!

We can't complain too much about 2009...even though it was a horrible year economically, we were blessed by the birth of our precious son, Nick still has a job and we're all in good health. Trent has already brought us so much love and joy in his 9 months!

So, here's a few things I'm thankful for from 2009-

1- 9 years of marriage to a loving, caring, handsome, supportive husband

2- 32 years of life

3- the birth of our 3rd child

4- Nick's life...

5- the privilege of staying home another year with my precious kids

(at the Children's Museum of Atlanta)

6- homeschooling Rachel

7- Joining a church family

(cake walk at MHBC Fall Festival)

8- Best friends having babies

(Amelia Kate Green)

9- Family! (and extended family!!)

10- Deciding to stay in our home...which we love!




It will be great seeing what 2010 brings us...
Much love to all!

Gangsta hat

Gangsta Jimmy

Gangsta Stay-C

Gangsta Ran-D

Gangsta Heatha

Gangsta Doc

Gangsta Little LAM

Big Daddy Gangsta

Gangsta Angie...You don't wanna mess with me!

(I Learned while teaching my 8th graders that you're supposed to make a 'cool' face)

Although this hat may only be funny to our family, we took several pictures the other night of everyone with the hat on. And we laughed our butts off! The hat came from a golf tournament that Nick and Matt Mazzawi played in and neither wanted the hat. Anyway, we think it's particularly "gangsta" so we got a kick out of trying our best to look the part!