Welcome to the Circus

Straight from the Big Top - a ferocious lion, a clown, and a tightrope walker/baton twirler/trapeze artist or whatever you want to call Hailey - she just wanted to dress up fancy and have a little makeup.

The lion did cheer up by the way, as you can see from the smiley face.
We "trick or treated" at grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends, and had a fun night together.

She is ferocious...

and this is how she feels about being a lion.

Let's hope the attitude improves throughout the day!

Have a great Halloween:)

A little corny

At the pumpkin patch we went to, they have a corn jump that the kids could have spent all day in. Even Addison loved it and was jumping off the side with wild abandon! Imagine a ball pit, that instead is filled with corn kearnels, then has slides going into it and tall sides to jump from. So much fun.

Better late than never

We finally made it to the pumpkin patch... with only 3 days to spare until Halloween! This worked in our favor because we pretty much had the place to ourselves. We went to Thomasson farm again this year, and it was lots of fun. Due to rain EVERY OTHER DAY, we had to go on Wednesday, which means Daddy didn't get to join us, but Grandma Edwards did! So glad we did it, even if it was last minute.... I LOVE these pictures. No other comments needed, you know the pumpkin patch drill:)







She just kept saying, "Too Heh-bee" which means "Too Heavy", as she tried to pick up all the pumpkins. Some of them knocked her right over!

We have always done the ride in the wheel barrow, but we are just about outgrowing this:(
Of course, I am not as strong as Daddy, so maybe he will able to keep up the tradition next year!

I love today

I love that it's raining really hard and I have NOTHING on the calendar.
I love that no one is sick (right at this moment), after a long week last week.
I love hearing the rain hit the roof.
I love looking out the window and seeing all the trees changing color.

I love doing laundry when there is not an urgent need for it and I don't have a million other things to do.
I love the music playing on the ipod.
I love the cozy fire burning in the living room.

I love playing restaurant with Hailey and Addison, even though Addison continues to throw all the food on the floor and Hailey gets upset.
I love drinking coffee all day.
I love that Addison calls my coffee, "happy", which I couldn't agree with more.

I love today.

Classroom parties

This is my second year being the room parent for Symantha's class, and you would think I would have learned by now. It is almost a guarantee that the week before the party someone in my family will be sick or there will be some sort of craziness going on, and this week was no exception. I was sick for most of it, while trying to coordinate with the teacher and parents, making supply lists, creating sample projects, and so on. The teacher in me loves to get to have control of the class for a while and implement everything, but I could do without all this preparation stuff. I had tons of papers by my computer and phone, trying to keep everything straight - who's bringing what supplies, what's still to be done, etc.
The Harvest party was this afternoon, and all that chaos worked out in the end! I can't help but say I'm happy it is over, even though it turned out to be lots of fun. I planned a craft project, games and snacks to be done in the last hour and a half of the day. We played "Harvest Concentration" with this board I made (thanks to the handy dandy cricut that cut out all the shapes!)
It was a great activity for the class to do while eating their snacks, and they got a prize every time they made a match. Lisa - I saved the board for you to use:)
Our craft projects were these picture frames with magnets on the back so they could stick on the fridge. This was the sample I made using Hailey's picture. They had patterned paper, leaves, flowers, buttons, letter stickers, etc. to decorate their frames. I had pictures of each kid that I had printed out in Sepia, to go with my "Fall" look.
They went down the line choosing their materials and then began creating back at their seats.
The end results were pretty cute and I think the parents will like them - I usually like anything with my kid's picture in it!
I got my idea for snacks from my friend Lisa, who also had to do a second grade party. We did kabobs, where they got to spear all sorts of food onto a stick. Parents brought everything from popcorn to olives to marshmallows to fruit, and the kids loved making their own creations. Of course there were cupcakes and cookies too, but at least they had SOMETHING healthy!
The last game we played was "Harvest pictionary" which turned out to be lots of fun, although VERY loud. I need to find a new way to do that which doesn't involve kids screaming at the top of their lungs what they think the picture is! Hmmm, I might have been a little more sensitive to the noise due to the intense headaches I had been having, but still!

It is a lot of work and coordinating, but Symantha loves that I am the room parent, and it seems worth it when it is all done. I even had a few kids from Symantha's class last year telling me what their favorite parts were of the last party I had done - things I hardly remembered! I love that they know who I am and I know who they are, it is one of my motivations for being involved in the classroom. But boy am I glad this one is over:)

My Pastor Appreciation

Did you know October is Pastor Appreciation month? I don't usually keep track of these things, unless there is some sort of event or the fact that my husband IS a pastor this year! He has received a few nice cards and the church staff had a luncheon (which he wasn't able to go to because of his other job obligations), but I felt he needed a little appreciation on my end.

Now, let it be known, he will not like this blog post. He NEVER likes it to be about him, and isn't one to need a lot of pats on the back. I never understand this, because to be honest, I DO need some appreciation now and then, and he is so good about sending me nice, random texts or encouraging me in other ways. But after years of working with the youth, and almost two years of being the youth pastor, he deserves a few nice words!

Derek has always had a passion for helping, guiding, teaching, hanging out with and being an example for kids. He was going to be a teacher, but decided to take the business route so he could support his family a little easier. I think this was God building all those organizational and planning skills he now has! He manages to succeed at two jobs that require a lot of him. Here he is at the church office, with double computers, double cell phones, blue tooth in his ear and about a thousand things on his mind (I made him stop and look at me for a second, which was not a popular request, but it had to be done).

We made the decision together for him to take on this youth pastor role, and we both knew there would be sacrifices. God had prepared us for this season of life, and I knew it was totally what Derek was being called to do. The amazing thing is how when you are in the center of God's will, he supplies the strength, patience, energy, and everything else we need to get through some seriously crazy times. Some people have felt sorry for me, and I know I may have complained once or twice:), but I am so proud of him and God has blessed me through seeing the fruit of his hard work. Our kids know why he works so hard, and they can't wait to be in youth group one day!

It is true that he gets to have a fair amount of fun in this job - waterskiing, dodgeball, concerts, movies, etc. But he also comes home at times with a heavy heart and issues that he tries not to burden me with. He often has to be a tough guy, and say some very unpopular things to parents and kids. I am so impressed by this - I don't know if I could do it. But those are the kind of people that God has called to be pastors, and I have a whole new appreciation for the love they show to others, the patience they rely on, and the dedication to the God they serve.

Our family appreciates you, Derek, and we think you are pretty great.

Hailey, Hailey, Hailey

All right, the blog has been a little Hailey centered lately. But it's her birthday month and I want to record some things about her at age 5, so I'll catch up with everyone else later! This is part of my goal for blogging, so sorry if it isn't too interesting... I know I will find it interesting in the future! You have been warned, so feel free to skip through this one:)

Hailey really is a low-maintenance, fun kid and although she has her moments, I'd have to say she is our easiest one right now. Someone told me long ago that your most difficult babies turn out to be the easiest kids, and in Hailey's case it is totally true. She is eager to please, thoughtful, funny, quirky, helpful, and adorable.

She loves to surprise us by cleaning different rooms in the house or "organizing" cupboards or shelves of things. Every time we get home from somewhere, she asks how she can help me by bringing things in or putting away groceries. I usually don't even ask her.

She is a great big sister to Addison - very patient and willing to play things that are "too babyish" just for Addi's sake. They do so great together during the day while Symantha is at school.
Hailey loves Nellie, her American Girl doll, and her and Symantha play with them all the time. She sleeps with "Horsey" and a bunch of other stuffed animals every night, usually organized into a nice row next to her.

She loves special nights with Daddy and he took her to see "Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs" for her birthday movie last weekend. Daddy really can't get enough of her and loves all the funny things she says and does.
Hailey has always been sensitive to loud noises, and I have so many pictures of her plugging her ears. This one was at Red Robin, while the people were singing "happy birthday" to her. She also tries not to smile when lots of people are looking at her or she is feeling shy, she bites her cheeks and tries to look serious.
She still loves to dress up and serve us a variety of foods and desserts. She wants to be a "Bakery" when she wakes up, which I just can't bear to correct her and tell her it is a "Baker". Although she has a variety of play food, she also loves to use dirt, rocks, leaves, dominoes, or you name it to be food. She plans parties, picnics and restaurants for us all the time.

Some of her struggles include loving her friends just a little too much. For some reason, my girls are often very "hands on" and love to pick up, hug or squeeze their friends.

She can also drive Symantha crazy and they go through periods of non-stop arguing. I'll listen to Symantha trying to reason with her and Hailey will have none of it. She can be very independent and have her mind set on certain things. Unlike Symantha, Hailey is often fine just playing alone if they start not getting along.

Hailey stopped taking naps a couple of months ago, but still gets really tired. She will fall asleep in the car even on the 7 minute ride to Symantha's school in the afternoon! And when she is tired she gets a wild look in her eyes and can be a little crazy, along with whiny.

I used to journal about the girls every couple of months, and I realized the other day that i stopped doing that about 3 years ago. It makes me a little sick to my stomach, to think of all that I won't remember! I'm pretty sentimental, but I guess I will be thankful for the notes I do have and the blog entries like this one. Plus, I have a pretty ridiculous amount of notes for each girl's first year. The years just keep flying by....

"Fun Party, huh?" (quote by Hailey to her friends)

With Hailey's birthday being in October, I knew that one of these days we would do a party revolving around something "harvesty". Since we are in our temporary housing, this year was the perfect year! And we were so blessed with the nice weather... even if it made Remlinger Farms the CRAZIEST any of us have ever seen it. We almost ended up canceling our plans when we got there and saw how many cars were there, but it ended up being fine and the most we had to wait in line was probably 10 minutes.

This was Hailey's first party that she got to choose 4 special friends to bring along somewhere, instead of inviting friends and family of all ages. She was excited about this, and I was so happy that the ones she chose could all come (and that their moms are all my good friends - Bonus for me!). It was a pretty crazy adventure, and I was SO thankful for the help from my friends. I'm pretty sure we might have lost a kid, if not for them (haha, sort of:).

So here is a bunch of my favorite pics, along with a few favorite quotes and moments...

Kyla, Hailey, Landon, Elissa, Nora, Symantha and Madison

Sara and I love to joke around about what kind of photo slide show we could put together if Landon and Hailey got married one day - we have SO many cute pictures of them and they are great friends.


This was about the only cute thing I made for this party (how far I have come from the elaborate parties of years past!) Hailey chose a Puppy theme and I made these cupcakes for the kids. The only bummer was that they got all melty waiting in the car and did not end up looking cute like this! Good thing the kids don't care.

For the past six months, all Hailey has wanted for her birthday or any event was a veil to play bride. Mommy and Daddy got her this one - I hope she is always this easy to please!

I love how Landon can't resist blowing right along with her in this picture!

Hailey hates loud noises, and is always plugging her ears. Even a few friends singing happy birthday to her was just too much!

Sisters (no Addison at this party, she stayed with Grandma, which was definitely the right decision!)

Kyla and Hailey

Although we were completely exhausted by the end of the day, the kids had a great time and Hailey couldn't stop talking about how each person knew "just what she would love to have" and how thankful she was for such a fun day. Her prayers that night included things like, "And thank you God that Sara knew just how I wanted a special treasure box like that, even though I just don't know how she knew that, but it is so special so thank you for telling her that." So cute!

The thrill of victory and agony of defeat

Hailey began her first season of soccer this year with high hopes. Daddy and Lisa are the coaches, Her friend Nora is on her team, and the team name is the "Stars", which she loves. She was sure she was going to make TONS of goals.

Practices went great, and then the jamboree came - time to show off her stuff.

However, the excitement level lowered, as it appeared she may not make tons of goals and there is a soccer super star on the other team. Look closely at her face here, it is the face she had right before she burst into tears and came to the sideline saying, " I'm just not good and I can't make any goals!"
And then this pose as she sat on the sidelines. This was after I had encouraged her, hugged her, etc. but it took a little while for the shock of not being a "super star" to wear off.
After much discussion and time had passed, the following week's soccer game came, and this time Daddy was there ( he had to be gone for the youth retreat on the jamboree). Things looked much more promising.
She went at it with a little more realistic expectations, and had a blast. The following week's game, she even scored two goals!
And so she begins the ups and downs of playing sports.