Sometimes being a mom is hard

Nevermind...I need an ear I can trust to understand where I'm coming from...unfortunately, my blog isn't the place for that right now.

My Word for 2009

At the beginning of 2008, I decided to join in with those who were choosing a word for the year. I chose the word "focus" for 2008 and things went really well until about the last six weeks of the year when I seemed to lose focus on everything!  I'm not sure if it was having sick kids or what - but I felt like the bottom was dropping out on a daily basis and I lost focus of everything.  Hopefully the end of 2009 won't prove to be anything like 2008 has been.

So, for 2009 I have chosen the word gentle and specifically, I'm wanting my gentleness to be reflected in my speech.  I'm sure if you've read my recent posts about wanting to be more kind, gentle, tender and merciful toward my children then this doesn't surprise you.   I've highlighted the Merriam-Webster definition of "gentle" that I'll be using...
gen·tle 
Pronunciation:\ˈjen-t^əl\
Function:  adjective
2 a: tractable , docile b: free from harshness, sternness, or violence

And the passage of Scripture that I plan on posting all through my house is Proverbs 15:1 (NASB)

"A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger."

I also want to make certain that my speech gives grace to those who hear it (Ephesians 4:29) so, I'm sure I'll be seeing that around the house as well.

I wish you all a happy, healthy 2009.  And if you choose a word for the year, please share it with me! 

She's three!

Bitsy is three - and has been for a week. For three more days, I have a 3 year-old, a 4 year-old and a 5 year-old.
Here they are on Annie's birthday. She didn't get to have a birthday party because Katherine had strep throat. :( Nin woke from a nap on 12/20, walked into the kitchen and got sick. I started making phone calls to pull Harrison out of Parent-Baby Dedication (again - had to pull him out of the first one because of my section recovery issues) and cancel Annie's birthday party. :( Poor Bits!! Thankfully she is still small enough that she won't be telling Nin "You ruined my third birthday!!!" tee-hee. Her favorite birthday gifts were Dora DVDs (she got four of them!) and a Splash-Around Dora and Boots for the tub.

Here she is showing off one of her birthday gifts from Bippie. This photo wonderfully captures her personality. Bippie got her several great outfits plus the Tinkerbell DVD. Another popular gift.


I can't believe she's three. She's so little! Her sweet personality is really beginning to shine. She is friendly, though a bit shy at first. She is so loving. And oh, this child is SILLY!! She's also our little lap bug - if you're sitting, she wants to be in your lap. Hey, that's fine with me!


She is also our snuggle bug. If she wakes in the middle of the night, she comes into our room, climbs into bed with us and snuggles. She used to go to Brad's side of the bed but now she gets in on my side - and pushes me off my pillow because she likes my pillow better. I can't even give her my "second" pillow. No. She wants the down pillow. The turkey!


We have definitely been blessed with this little bug! We love her madly.

Christmas Eve

People didn't believe me when I said we left salsa & Dr. Pepper for Santa.  And how cute are these little ones laughing (Brad was messing up my hair to get Harrison to laugh - the girls thought it hilarious, too, as you can see from the second photo) .  Speaking of hair - we've all recently gotten haircuts.  Well, all the girls have.  Nin's is finally starting to even up after her DIY cut in early July.

 

The Snowglobe

I posted a photo in a slideshow last year that showed a picture of the snowglobe my mom bought Elizabeth for her 4th birthday. It's a big, inflatable Christmas snowglobe. Brad did *not* want to put it up Christmas 2007 and I finally told him that he HAD to do it. Well, once he got it set up he decided it was "pretty cute" - so this year, I didn't have to bug him. He set it up the weekend after Thanksgiving.

Here it is with flash. You can see the "snow" falling inside. It has a blower that blows the "snow" (those Styrofoam balls that are inside most bean bag chairs). Cute. Cute.

And here it is without the flash - Santa, the star and the reindeer are lighted. Someone driving down the road can see inside the globe a little better than the camera shows.

Harrison had fun watching it.

And here are Elizabeth and Katherine standing beside it. Annie went inside saying she was too cold to have her picture taken.

Boop got a great birthday gift for Elizabeth when she bought this (and yes, E's birthday is right after the first of the year, so Boop scored this puppy at 90% off, which is even better!)

December happenings

We have an advent calendar that my mother-in-law gave the girls a couple of years ago. It's a really nice wooden box, about 12" x 12" square and about 2.5" deep - each door covers a box that is about 2" x 2" x 2" (photo at left). Isn't it cute? And look at those BABIES!!!  Oh my gracious!  Anyway...the first year, Grammie filled all the boxes - since then, it's been a team effort - Grammie, Boop and I each buy advent calendar stuff. 

Some things won't fit in the little 2 x 2 x 2 boxes - like...oh....the shirts at left.  :)   The girls love the days that they open the box and have a little note saying, "Bag 5" [or some other number].   These shirts, from Boop, were in Bag 5 - on December 5 (the bags are numbered to equal the day to help their crazy mom).  Cute little shirts, aren't they?

Boop came over one Thursday evening and did a gingerbread house with us.  Well, she and I watched while the girls did the gingerbread house.  We have another one that we'll do on Christmas Eve.

While she was here we tried on Christmas dresses to make certain everyone's dresses, tights and shoes fit.

And here's Katherine.  By the way, all the girls have had haircuts since these were taken.

Here is Bitsy in her dress, showing off her little purse.  She's so cute!

And soooooo silly! 

I Got a VIP Pass!

Recently in the mail I received a piece of mail from the hospital where I had each of the kids.  It was hand-addressed and I had no clue what it could have been.  Perhaps some information I'd requested on the endowed chair they're trying to create for my OB?  No.  It was a nifty little card - a VIP Pass for the OB department at the hospital.  "Please present this card when receiving treatment in the labor and delivery department."  It is the card they give you so that the L&D staff know you've been through the pre-admission process and they don't send you down to admitting if you show up in labor.  I emailed my OB - "Do you know something I don't? Or is someone trying to tell me something?"  His reply, "It's to encourage a volume discount for our best customers."   That is sooooooo not funny!  Actually, I think it is the card I was supposed to get before Harrison was born, like I did with each of the girls.

I think it was a little late.

Gentleness

I was reading another blog today and the writer quoted something from Jerry Bridges' book The Practice of Godliness regarding gentleness.  Do you ever read something and you literally feel cut to the core?  I mean, I seriously felt it in my chest when I read this quote...especially after the morning I had today.  Bridges said:

Gentleness will also avoid blunt speech and an abrupt manner, instead seeking to answer everyone with sensitivity and respect, ready to show consideration toward all. The gentle Christian does not feel he has the liberty to “say what I think and let the chips fall where they may.” Instead he is sensitive to the reactions of others to his words, and considerate of how others may feel about what he says. When he finds it necessary to wound with his words, he also seeks to bind up those wounds with words of consolation and encouragement.

Avoid blunt speech and an abrupt manner.  Answer with sensitivy and respect. Ready to show consideration toward all.  The very things that need to happen in my life (and in my speech) when dealing with my children.  I've shared before that I need to develop a more tender heart toward my children.  I have two who really push my buttons and I find myself speaking harshly or raising my voice - neither of which should be happening for any reason.  (well, okay - raising my voice if my child is about to run out in the street or otherwise put herself into danger - but that's not what I'm talking about here).  I've spent this evening, since I read that, praying about putting on gentleness, kindness, mercy and tenderness. I'll be meditating more on how a soft answer turns away wrath and how as a parent I'm not to provoke my children to anger (yes, that specific verse addresses fathers, but I think it applies to mothers as well).  I'll be praying that God will guard my tongue from harsh words, guard my heart from unkindness - that I will show my children gentleness, grace and mercy.  How else will they learn about the love of God if they don't see me living it out?   I'm so bad about trying to do it all under my own strength. Wood, hay, and stubble...that mess is going to burn in the end.  I don't want to stand before God with my parenting in ashes...

Elf Yourself, Dudes!

These are so funny, I couldn't decide which I wanted to post...so you're getting them all.

First, the Charleston:

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

And then we have the Disco version:

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

And last, but not least, we have the Country Version:

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Merry Christmas to all...and to all a good night!

Christmas Stockings

In decorating for Christmas I've come to the conclusion that our family needs family stockings.  I want us to have something that "goes together."  Once upon a time I'd started Mary Beale's Sampler Stockings (I have the patterns for 1-5); however, I wasn't wild about the colors and the linen I'd started Brad's on was too small - making the stocking too small to be used. And now, the idea of stitching stockings...well, it's just laughable.

However, I'd still love to have stitched stockings and I'm going to see if I can't convince my husband to do it.  These stockings are stitched on 18-count linen over two threads and with Perle Cotton 5 - Brad could do these in his sleep!  They are all designed by Shepherd's Bush. I realize that I've put seven stockings below - but they just released Anna's Stocking (photo #3) and I was thinking it would be perfect for Annie. 

I've also been looking at the needlepoint stockings available at places like LandsEnd, LLBean, JCPenney and Lillian Vernon.  Any of those would be cheaper than the SB Stockings (linen + floss + charms & buttons -- just the charms & buttons are about $20 a pack...yikes) but wouldn't be as personal. 

So...your family and stockings...what do yours look like?  Stories behind them?  Even better...pictures?

Uh-oh, it's another holiday thing...

Okay, so we've already covered (twice) that we trick-or-treat on October 31.  We dress up, we beg my sister's neighbors for candy. ;)   So, now let's just get it all out there -  We. Do. "The Santa Thing" (as if it's the spawn of Satan..."Oh, we don't do the Santa thing")  Three children have already shared with my almost-six-year-old that there's no such thing as Santa.  Thanks for reigning in your kids.  Thanks for telling your children that "While we don't do the Santa thing there are some people who do and so you don't need to tell other children."  But nooooo - we want to instill this "we are above that" thing in our children that drives me up. the. wall.  This would be exactly why I don't talk about holidays with certain people.  The legalism about how one celebrates any given holiday is so incredibly intense, I just can't stand it.  There are some things that in the grand scheme of things really don't matter! This would be one of them. 


We've never made Santa "omnipresent" or "omniscient" - and when relatives would say "Santa is watching you" I was always quick to say to my children, "No, Santa isn't watching; God is watching and that's much more important."  The whole "Santa is watching" thing does get under my skin.  Santa is just a guy for whom we leave cookies and Dr. Pepper on Christmas Eve (milk?  Blech!), hang a special key on our front door for him to use to get into the house and who fills our stockings.  Not a huge ordeal and certainly not the big ordeal that some people make the Santa thing out to be (as if Santa is the end-all-be-all of Christmas).  My children know that the most important thing about Christmas is that is when we celebrate the birth of our Savior.  They know that we give each other gifts because God gave the First Gift. 

So, last week I got to have The Santa Talk with my two oldest, thanks to something said to one of my children.  My four-year-old asked out-right, "Is Santa real?"  That's a yes or no question.  I'm not going to lie to my children.  So I didn't.  I sat down and talked with them (the older two) about Santa, why we chose to make it a part of our Christmas celebration, who the original St. Nicholas was and the stories that were told about him. I also threatened them within an inch of their lives if they said ANYTHING to anyone else about what they'd been told. 

And yeah, we do Easter baskets, too - but we don't get them from the Easter Bunny.  I'm a rebel. 

Comments are turned off for this post.  If I've said something you wish to discuss with me - feel free to drop me an email.

Christmas 2008 Letter

Here it is - the Christmas Letter for 2008. If you're on my card list, cover your eyes and pretend to not see this!

WOW, what a year 2008 has been for the Egg family! I know I say it every year – and I truly mean it every year, too. Just when I think “we can’t top that” we do!

First of all, allow me to introduce you to the new man in our lives: Thomas Harrison Egg (we call him Harrison). He was born via repeat c-section at 10:02a.m. on February 15 and he has spent this year growing like a weed! He is crawling everywhere, cruising, and trying to stand on his own. His favorite place to be is in Mommy’s arms with his second favorite place being his sisters’ room. He thinks his Daddy is pretty cool, he adores his sisters but ultimately, he’s all about Mommy. He is such a sweet baby guy – we all love him dearly and think he is THE perfect addition to our family. (get it? THE perfect addition…his initials are T.H.E….bwhahahaha…we are so silly)

Elizabeth Jane is very much the firstborn big sister. She loves being a helper; frequently during Harrison’s early months she would hold him while I prepared everyone’s lunches. He would snuggle his face into her neck and sleep very soundly. She loved that! At the beginning of this year, we celebrated E’s fifth birthday with a turtle-themed party. As we entered 2008, Brad and I knew we needed to make a decision about school. As we evaluated everything and prayed about it, we became convinced that homeschooling was the correct choice for our family. Elizabeth now attends “Egg Academy” (a friend of mine calls it Egghead Academy). She is learning to read and doing wonderfully; though she’d rather do math (math lessons are a reward for completing reading – how funny is that?!). She also loves her handwriting lessons. We go to the library several days a week while Katherine is at preschool – Elizabeth loves to check out books, especially books about sea turtles. She is in Sparks in AWANA at church and is learning many verses! She is a Daisy Scout and enjoys that, too. If she’s outside, her Volleyball Lite is either in her arms or in the air because she’s just hit it. She is our thoughtful, servant-hearted child and is a great joy to us!

Katherine Martin (NinNin) is the one who makes us giggle and is our entertainer. Harrison’s first laugh was reserved for Katherine – and let me tell you, she made him cackle! She also loves to “read” to him and her favorite ones to “read” are her Fancy Nancy books. She chose a sunshine theme for her fourth birthday party – perfect for her. Nin is in preschool again this year and just like last, she loves it. She’s learning so much. She is such a smart cookie and has already learned addition and subtraction facts thanks to “auditing” Elizabeth’s math lessons. She is in four-year-old Cubbies in AWANA and doing wonderfully there as well. Nin is the one you’ll hear singing songs from any one of the three HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL movies, usually at the top of her lungs – full of gusto. She never does anything half-hearted. One of my favorite Nin stories of this year was when she saw a “Hello, Kitty” shirt hanging in my bedroom. She said, “This is my favorite shirt in the history of shirts!” In the history of shirts, hmmm? “Yes, Mommy, in the whole history of shirts. It’s very Hello,Kitty-ish.” You don’t say… Ah, NinNin – our lives would be so incredibly boring without her! She is such a fun little girl - our ray of sunshine - and we are blessed to be her parents!

Anne Lancaster (Annie) is about to turn three and her adorable personality is truly beginning to shine. She is full of energy and she is so cute! She greets the Wal-Mart greeter…and every customer in the store. I’m not sure she’s ever met a stranger. She always has a smile on her face and a hug ready to give. Her vocabulary has exploded; she’s fully potty-trained (Hallelujah! Only one child in diapers!!!) and she moved into her sisters’ room this year. She is such a big girl! Just ask her. She’s precious with Harrison. She’s usually the one who greets him each morning with “Good morning, Baby Guuu-uuuy!” then they hug and kiss one another, giggling all the while. Annie thinks she needs to do everything Elizabeth does AND everything Katherine does. This keeps her rather busy, as you can imagine. She loves to be the one to “pick a movie” at night. As a result of our “movie calendar,” she has learned to recognize her name and each of her sisters’ names. Dora, Peter Pan and Ariel (The Little Mermaid) movies are her favorites and she’s asked for an Ariel-Tinkerbell-Dora birthday party this year. She is the one who will bestow a beaming smile on me, throw her arms around me and say, “I love you, Mommy Tinkerbell!” Speaking of Tink, Annie was an adorable Tink when we went trick-or-treating this year. She is our sweet little sprite who blossoms more and more every day and we love watching her grow.

Brad continues to work for [where he works]. He’s also in his 24th year with UALR Basketball – which meant that in March of this year he got to work “The Big Dance.” The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament held rounds one and two in North Little Rock at ALLTEL Arena and UALR was the host school. Brad was the official scorer for all the games – he sat courtside, center-court wearing black and white stripes. He was the envy of several friends and family members – especially since ALLTEL had #1 ranked (and #1 seed) Memphis along with #2 seed, Texas. I really think this was THE highlight of his year. Yes, I know he also had a son this year but…hey…this was THE BIG DANCE!

Gina – where do I start? I have four kids, I homeschool, I have gone back to work full-time (most of it from home, which is a blessing), and I’m usually asleep before my head hits the pillow. Life couldn’t be better. Sure, it could be a little less insane sometimes, but it certainly couldn’t be better.

Yes, 2008 was an exciting and eventful year – to say the least! We hope that 2009 will find you happy and healthy.

And when we give each other Christmas gifts in His name, let us remember that He has given us the sun and the moon and the stars, and the earth with its forests and mountains and oceans – and all that lives and moves upon them. He has given us all green things and everything that blossoms and bears fruit, and all that we quarrel about and all that we have misused – and to save us from our own foolishness, from all our sins, He came down to earth and gave us Himself.

~~Sigrid Undset

Photo: Elizabeth Jane as Hannah Montana; Harrison as Squirt (from Finding Nemo); Annie as Tinkerbell and Katherine as Fancy Nancy (from the books by the same name) – October 31, 2008

Opportunity to win a portable hard drive

Linette is giving away another Seagate FreeAgent Go portable hard drive like the one I won. I *love* mine! I now have ALL of my digital photos since 2003 on it, my iTunes music is backed-up on it, all my clip art is on it, a full back-up of my laptop is on it...and I still have room! I love, love, love it. Especially since three days after I ran a backup my laptop crashed and I had to reset it back to factory-out-of-the-box set-up. Ugh! I was so glad to attach my FreeAgent Go - and there was all my stuff!!!

So - you have an opportunity to win one - and Seagate is allowing the winner to choose the color. All you have to do is make a comment on Linette's post HERE by midnight (I'm assuming EST) December 7, 2008.

I need to learn to knit

How cute are these?! I want to make some!!

Harrison Baby Book Entry

As of today Harrison has seven teeth (four on top, three on bottom), he is crawling everywhere, pulling up and standing for a few seconds on his own, clapping, eating everything that's not nailed down (yogurt is a big favorite), cruising, climbing on the fireplace hearth and attempting to climb on the sofa. He's a busy little boy!

He naps twice a day - late mornings and late afternoons. He goes to bed around 7:30 or 8:00 and sleeps until about 4:30 or 5:00. He will nurse and then go back to sleep - if he's finished nursing by the time Brad leaves for the office, Brad takes him back to his crib. If we don't have to take Nin to preschool he might actually sleep until 8:30 or 9:00 then.

He is Mommy's Boy! Chances are, if he's awake, he wants me to hold him. If I'm not holding him then he's likely wrapped around my ankles, wailing. But, he's so sweet - and so stinkin' cute!!! I love this boy.

Thanksgiving Pictures

Photobucket has been weird, so let's see if it'll let me post these pictures...

Here's the entire family on Bippie's front porch.  BCLR members you'll see this photo (minus the watermarks) on December 21 for Parent-Baby Dedication:

 

And here's Annie being a silly little thing.  She cracks me up!  Her personality is really blossoming - she's sweet, and so funny!

 

 

Harrison made a new friend.  This is Ranger.  He belongs to Michael (my cousin) and Abbigail (his girlfriend).  He is such a sweet dog, and so smart.  Harrison didn't mind sharing his turkey and rolls at all!

And, after lunch the girls went outside to play while Brad and Uncle Tim cleaned up the leaves (Brad did it to work off dinner, tee-hee!).  Uncle Tim raked a big pile specifically for the girls to jump in while Brad used the leaf-vac to actually get the leaves up in the rest of the yard.  And here's Bitsy, being silly again! 

Healthcare information privacy

So, apparently six people have been fired from St. Vincent Infirmary Medical Center (henceforth known as SVI) for inappropriately accessing Anne Pressly's medical record. (notice I had to link to an out of town paper since you have to be a subscriber to our local paper to see their articles online). Anyway, SVI states they were doing a "routine audit." Um, okay. I think they did the audit solely because it was Anne Pressly. I used to work in the IT department. I know a person in that department who would review the census every day and if she knew someone who had been in the ER or was admitted, she looked them up to see why. She never got so much as a slap on the wrist. Ever. Not even when she accessed my hospital records when I was admitted. Neither did my boss when he accessed my MRI results... Granted these were the days before HIPAA - but still.... When it came time for me to choose an obstetrician, one of the appealing facts about Paul Wendel was that he worked in a facility where no one knew me (at the time, that changed soon after my first was born). People who knew me, or who felt like they knew me, wouldn't be looking up my information - and I liked the idea of being just another patient in the hospital having a baby.

Did SVI do the review solely because this was Anne Pressly? I think so. Did they fire these employees solely because it was Anne Pressly? Again, I think so. If it had been me would they have fired them? My money is on "no" for that one. Private medical information is none of your darn business unless you are directly involved in the patient's care or billing of charges, regardless of who the patient is, so I do NOT feel sorry for those who got caught and fired. Not one iota. Oh, and by the way, people who got fired...HIPAA...it's a federal law...look it up...read it. Gone are the days of paper charts (well, at least in most hospitals) - there is no sneaking in to read it, shove it back on the shelf and scamper out of medical records before you get caught. It's on a computer. You have a login. You login to the computer, anything you access will now show your name along with a time and date stamp. All right there in binary code for the Privacy Officer to see. At least they did the right thing in this case. I can only hope they do so in all cases.

Catching up - mid November

Yes, I'm neglecting my blog - but life is demanding it right now.  Harrison is teething and if he's awake, chances are very high that he's in my arms.  Occasionally he'll be happy enough to let me put him on the floor to play with his sisters, but those moments are few and far between right now (and they don't last long). And, if you've been reading my blog for a year or more (or if you know us personally) you know that November brings basketball season which means that Brad is gone three to four nights a week.  Despite the facts that the Stephens Center is 15 minutes from our house, he gets off work by 3:30 most days and he doesn't have to be at the game site until 6:00 - he still doesn't come home from work; he goes straight to the university and we see him after the game (9:30 or 10:00).  So, that's where I've been. Not whining - just stating the facts.  Well, okay - a little bit of whining.  :)

We took a trip over to Brad's parents at the beginning of the month. Your eyes can begin glazing over...now...it's time for pictures.

It was absolutely beautiful, the trees were a riot of colors - bright red, orange, gold, bright yellow, purple, dark red and a hint of evergreen.  This is in one of the city parks.  The bridge is a pedestrian bridge and they frequently have events on it (like a Beer and Wine Festival back during the spring). 

The park has huge open spaces for running, playing or just lounging on a big blanket.  It's also a great spot for photographs - we always see at least one family or group having portraits taken while we're there. Of course, we took photos of the girls at the fountain.

 

  

  

Harrison still isn't quite big enough to sit on the carousel animals - so I just took one of his Daddy holding him...

 

We also went to one of the Riverwalk parks and took the traditional picture of the kids sitting on the brick fish.  Nin wanted to stand on the fish's head and decided she'd show-out when we wouldn't let her. I told her that was fine, I'd include her pouty self in the photos...and I did.

 

In order to prove our point about how standing on the fish's head wasn't a good idea, we allowed her to do just that.  Once she got up there, she wanted down...now! Mmm-hmmm, see? We told you so! And she was much happier to sit with her siblings...

I love these shots of Nin and Annie running across the open space...

 

  

And here's a picture of me and the girls on one of the lions at the fountain...

And probably one of my favorite photos from the trip...Brad's Dad has Primary Lateral Sclerosis and we are starting to see its progression more significantly now. Since Harrison is stronger and able to sit on his own now, we were able to put Harrison in Tom's lap...which Tom loved.  We snapped this photo on the morning we left to come home.

 

I just love how happy Harrison and his PawPaw look in this.

Okay, I think that's all - well, other than the rest of the stuff I won arrived this week.  I got the 320GB blue Free Agent Go portable hard drive...it is sweet!  And the cream-colored Dolce Gusto - which I'm giving to my sister and her family for Christmas (her request - actually, she almost begged - "please, please, please give it to us! We would love it!").  

Harrison now has six chompers, which he uses on me and everything else! And he's clapping (which is adorable!!!)  And cruising. And trying to stand on his own, but he doesn't quite have the balance thing down yet. And yes, he's still all about Mommy!

Um, bring on the lottery?

Not going to comment on the whole election thing - be it on the national or state level even if my title does allude to the recently passed Amendment 3 which will allow a lottery in the state of Arkansas.  However, that's not really what I'm talking about here because some how I'm thinking that commenting on blogs isn't going to win me the PowerBall or MegaMillions. 

It all started at the end of October when I left a comment on a blog and received an email from the writer - my comment was selected as the winner of some Jan Marini skincare products. I've been using everything for a little over a week now and have enjoyed them.  I'm hopeful that the moisturizer I received will do wonders for the pigmentation issues on my jaw line -- thanks to pregnancy. :) It's supposed to even out those skintone issues. We'll see!

Then I got two emails over the weekend while visiting my in-laws:  I won a contest where I had to submit a photo of my kids in their Halloween costumes (the winner was randomly drawn from all contestants, she didn't choose based on cutest costume or anything like that).  I won the Seagate FreeAgent Go - a portable hard drive - and check out how sweet this thing looks:  (don't know what color I'm getting - didn't ask, not important...an extra hard drive! Do you know how many photos I have on my hard drive now?  Do you know how much room this is going to free up for me?! Do you hear me squealing??? You should).

And then on Sunday I got an email about a contest I'd blogged about here.  I won the NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto™ machine from She Knows Parties! I have no idea if I will get the black, cream or red one - but again, who cares!  It reminds me of one of the bugs on Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends (hey, we actually had Noggin the entire time we were gone...what can I say?)

Trick-or-Treat

Two years ago I discussed the fact that our family celebrates Halloween in a limited capacity (no gore, no monsters, nothing scary), we trick-or-treat, we have dinner with my sister and her family and a lot of their neighbors, we have a blast. (by the way, the John MacArthur article in that blog entry is now found here)

Now, with that out of the way I can get to the business of CUTENESS. Extreme cuteness coming up; but first, I have to tell you about the road to cuteness. We all went over to Bippie's after Boop (my mom) got off work where we proceeded to get everyone ready for the night. Brad helped Elizabeth, Mom helped Annie, Bippie helped Nin and I dressed Harrison. It was insane!!!! But, all the hard work paid off I think they look pretty cute...and Kathie, I'm seriously thinking about making this our Christmas card if I don't get a better one while we're at my in-law's house. I just wish E's eyes weren't cut to the side quite so much.

You can see Elizabeth ditched the Hannah Montana wig and Annie didn't walk around the neighborhood in her sweet Tinkerbell slippers.