Cute Wreath

One windy day I had to take the wreath off the front door. Evan had a great idea...

Evan doesn't always smile like this for photos. I love this one.

Diaper Hat

A few days ago Esther came up with a unique way to stay warm.

First she puts on her mittens. 

 She doesn't mind that the "mittens" do not match. She consistently uses these same socks.

She also has one diaper that she has fashioned into a hat.

 From what I've seen, one side is always fastened while the other remains opened.
The Darth Vader slippers are just a bonus to the outfit.

I think she's all set...

It's Coming...

We're more than a week into December.  And we're feeling it.

We hosted Thanksgiving just a bit ago for Derek's family. This past weekend we had overnight company. In between, I baked ten pies to give to the teachers at school. Since I don't have a lot of energy to begin with, that means I was backed up on laundry for a long time. (Okay, I'm still backed up, but I'm no longer eight loads behind.) 

I think my Christmas shopping is just about finished. Derek and I had some time away on Friday...just the two of us. I've shopped in town and online. 

Our Christmas tree and decorations are up. We did that this weekend. Earlier we began the tradition of the advent mini books and the book a day. Each day the children also get a piece of yarn to represent the straw to place in the tiny manger to prepare it for Jesus.

Yet, I am not quite up to writing the Christmas letter yet. It's something I usually enjoy, so when I'm feeling eager for it, I'll do it. If not, it will wait for another time.

Happy Thanksgiving!

...from the Whipples and Joneses

Outtakes and Personalities

The children had a half day of school yesterday, so I took advantage of afternoon light and took some picture of the children. (It was a warm day, but much too windy for outdoor pictures.)

I didn't edit any of these...as you can tell.

I'm saving the best picture of all three for Christmas!

Evan is SIX!

Birthday Week concludes with Evan's birthday. A neighbor friend came over to celebrate with the family. Evan asked to have pizza for dinner followed by apple pie for dessert.

Evan was in a state of awe as he opened gifts. 

 Derek set Meghan straight that these are not dolls. Action figures. Totally different, right? Definitely fun for a boy like Evan!

Looking forward to seeing my boy grow!

Three Years of Esther

Esther was born THREE years ago. 

That pretty much means it's been that long since we had a week of good sleep. Still.

 On her birthday she was eager for presents since she watched Meghan open gifts on her birthday just days before. While everyone was at work or school, I decided to bring up two wooden games/puzzles that had been waiting for Esther to turn three. She was content "opening" the gift bag with them in it, and then we had a blast playing for a bit before nap time.

Don't let her lower lip fool you. She was joking with me since I had the camera.

 Esther isn't fond of homemade baked goods. She usually skips those desserts. When we realized that, we decided to give Esther her favorite food on her birthday. Lollipops.

 Each of the children had a giant lollipop.

 Esther enjoyed showing off her blue tongue.

 She also had fun with her new puzzles, coloring books, and new Bible. (The new Bible replaced the one she vomited on a while back. She's thrilled.)

Early in the morning of her birthday she pretty much denied that she was three and didn't want to talk about it. By mid-day, she was proud to say she was three.

How Can It Be? Meghan Is EIGHT!

It's been EIGHT years since our baby was born just a week late. Since then she has become quite a big girl. It's hard to believe it though.

Saturday morning began with football. Here she is in her cheer uniform.

Later in the afternoon we went to pick up her friend, K. They painted some ceramic figures. They each chose three: one to keep and two to give away. I think they had fun.

Meghan had written "Girls rule Boys drool" a while back on the cardboard.

Meghan requested a cookie cake for her birthday. She made a fruit pizza with a cookie during the summer.

Blow!

Each person topped their piece of the cake with Cool Whip and candy. My plan was to buy strawberries and blueberries, but the grocery store didn't have them.

It was a big hit with the birthday girl.

She received American Girl books from her friend.

She was also given some money that came in the mail.

She had a great birthday. It's just hard to believe she's eight years old.

Evan's EEG

Last week Evan had an overnight EEG.

 I picked him up from school at 11:30. He ate lunch in the van on the way to the hospital. I wonder if our Garmin took me the best route...it was all back roads to the city. Evan actually recognized a familiar area before I did. That's my observant boy.

 I had a bag of things for entertainment, including a new big LEGO set. I was told we (both of us) would not be allowed to leave the room. I was not aware he would not be allowed to leave the bed other than for the bathroom.

While he was hooked up to the leads (with awful smelling glue) and wrapped up, he watched a movie. Later, he spent a long time with the LEGOs. When he asked to watch another movie, I couldn't say no. He had been such a good sport.

 The leads' wires were wrapped in gauze. Evan called it the elephant trunk.

 This is why he had to stay on the bed. While the EEG took place, they recorded video. If he had any seizure activity (not the same as a seizure), they will know what triggered it.

 After not quite enough sleep, in the morning they removed the leads.

 He could have been to school by 11 or so, but the glue in his hair was bad.

 It was worse than this photo shows. It took four shampooings to get MOST of the glue out of his hair. After that, he had a haircut.

 We could see the bell tower from the room. So pretty.

We don't actually have results yet of the EEG. We should learn more this week.