Posting pictures that have been on my phone for too long

Sunday, March 15: first week of church-at-home.  We used orange juice and saltines for communion because that was the closest we could get!

March 14: Happy 8th birthday, Isaac!

March 10: Happy 11th birthday, Ethan!

February 15: Daddy-Daughter dance!

Some of us are almost teenagers

Some of us are just plain cute!

It was a chilly night for a carriage ride

Dad and his two dates

February 22: throwing and/or skipping rocks at Wildcat Creek

January 4: Ethan and Isaac helping Dad finish up a plumbing job by painting the wall.

2018 soccer, Game 1

First soccer game of the season: Abbey, Ethan and Isaac are all playing this year.  They all played hard and did well, especially for the first game!

Isaac is in light blue (Carolina Blue) with sky-blue socks.  Abbey and Ethan are in pink (Heliconia) with yellow socks for Abbey and orange socks for Ethan, specially chosen to be distinct on the camera. :)

Abbey had her gymnastics recital last Sunday.  We are really proud of how much she learned!



Backstage:

Happy birthday Abbey!

Eight year old (!), and her first real birthday party with guests not named Grandma or Grandpa.  We had a breakfast party with pancakes and casserole, invited all the little girls from the homeschool co-op, and enlisted the help of Abbey's oldest cousin and aunt.  I think she had a great time.

Fall Harvest Party

Our homeschool co-op had a fall party, and Abbey was brave enough to try out bobbing for apples.  She got one, too!

We got a family photo too, all except Luke, who was asleep.

Yesterday we were honored to watch Nathan and Brooke get married.  They had a beautiful flower girl!

All the kids had a blast on the dance floor!

Abbey's escort was Zack, who incidentally was the ring-bearer at our wedding ten years ago.

Zack at our wedding; the flower girls are the two taller girls in the dancing video above.

Play Ball!

We signed Ethan up for T-ball last summer, and Abbey enjoyed watching him so much that she asked to play this year, so they both got to play in the coach-pitch league.  Eight games in one month, plus a playoff, although they each missed two games for illness and another two for a poorly-scheduled vacation.  They enjoyed it, but neither seem very enthusiastic about playing again next year.  We'll see how they feel next summer.

Isaac always had the option to stay home, but he chose to come to every single practice and every single game.  Maybe he just wanted to stay with his playmates, but I think we'll see about getting him into T-ball next year.

Homeschool!

Thursday morning was the last day of homeschool co-op.  The session included a chemistry lecture (dry ice, fire, and slime!), a piñata, and a video about Mexico, followed by a Mexican potluck.  At 9 months pregnant, Debbie didn't think she could handle taking the kids, so I took the morning off and took Abbey and Ethan (Isaac had been sidelined by an illness that involved a lot of diapers and bad smells).

Ethan absolutely declined his chance, but here is Abbey swinging valiantly at the piñata.  It's surprisingly hard to take action photos.

After all the candy was out, they had the kids line up on the blacktop, with the little kids in front.

Then released them!

There was enough that everyone got a fair amount.  

Dressed Up

Just rediscovered these, taken back in January.  Isaac is finally big enough to wear the suit that we bought for Ethan when we attended a black-tie wedding in 2011.  We got some very good pictures of Ethan, so I wanted to get some with Isaac, too. 

I have been richly blessed with handsome kids and a beautiful wife.

Soon There Will be Two (more)

The twins are due in mid-May, which isn't very far away.  Poor Mommy is getting very big, so she solicited help from her daughter with painting her toes!

Spring Ballet Recital

Abbey had her ballet recital a few weeks ago, and I was, as always, very impressed with her focus and complete lack of nerves.  This kid seems made for the public stage!

Happy birthday Abigail!

Seven years ago we started our family when Abigail Irene was born.  Happy birthday Abbey!

She received generous cash gifts from her grandparents and from several other friends, so on the 21st I took her to Toys R Us (it only occurred to me after I'd already promised that Toys R Us on the Sunday before Christmas was a bad idea!).  She chose two dolls and a hobby horse---and we advised a nice set of grandparents on Disney princesses for their granddaughter.

Fall 2014 Ballet Recital

Abbey has been working very hard all fall on her ballet practice.  Today she and her friends put on a show for their parents.  I was really impressed: they all did a great job!