more random pictures

Noah and Lyda practice their balance.
Micah looks like he's ready to preach his first sermon.
Isaac, just before a recent violin concert.
Micah's first haircut (just a few weeks after Lydia's first haircut).
Lydia is now just tall enough to help out with the silverware.
We, somewhat spontaneously, went to the 49er Days parade to celebrate "Friendly Fridley."

action shots

A few recent pictures to share.
We'll call the first one: "You've got to really watch Micah these days, he'll try to eat anything."Lydia had her first haircut just the other day. It was kinda spontaneous, while daddy was at work, so Isaac took some pictures.
Noah just turned 4!
And finally, "You might think they've had a little to much Mario Kart Wii, when all they can do outside is laps around the patio while pretending to be Mario characters. I think this is supposed to be King Boo."

a couple new videos

I haven't posted videos in a while. Here's a couple things that went on in our house while homeschooling the last few days.

Isaac and Noah have been working on memorizing the books of the Bible. One day, to our surprise, when Isaac got a little stuck on one, Lydia jumped in with the next book. Since then, we've all been working on them together. Here's how far we've gone...




And, here's the obligatory rocket balloon experiment going through the middle of our living room...

Road Trip

We took a family road trip last week. Three stops in WI and IL, totaling about 1,100 miles. I won't bother going into detail, but here's some pics. A good time was had by all. :)

The kid's rooms

Time for a couple more 'before & after' pictures. Here's the kid's rooms. Yes, those butterflies in the top left picture are pretty cute, but there was no way we'd be able to fit three boys in the other bedroom. So, after much thought and prayer the butterflies were replaced with stars. The very brown smaller bedroom received some new butterfiles to make up for it, along with some dragonflies and ladybugs.

How do they keep their rooms so clean? Well, all their clothes are kept in the dressers and closet in the laundry room downstairs, all their toys are kept in the playroom and basement, that just leaves beds and a few books. We spent just a few minutes picking up books and making beds before these pictures were taken. Have I mentioned?... We love our new house.

Micah's 1!

dress-up

Biblical costumes - for everyone!

It must be a sign.

Baby Gabriel

December 31, 2008 we said hello and goodbye to a 14 week, 1.4 oz., 5 1/4 in. baby boy. Our hopes and dreams for a 5th baby next June came to a screeching halt as we experienced a miscarriage. No one is exactly sure why it happened, but God is good and we look forward to meeting him in heaven. And, if you care to click on the image and look really close, you'll see, to our amazement, a tiny version of his mom's very special hands.

Update
After a couple trips to the perinatologists and numerous blood tests, a likely cause of the miscarriage has been determined. Deb tested positive for Factor V Leiden, a blood clot disorder that has been known to cause miscarriages at this stage.

Christmas Pose