Big sister and little brother

Elizabeth loves to include her little brother when she's playing (that is only if he's not crying!). Ever since she was one, Elizabeth has loved to "talk on the phone." This day I found her with our PDA having a very animated conversation on the phone. What cracked me up is how she was multi-tasking: reading and writing on Andrew's notes, sweeping, and burping her doll! So sad, my daughter has learned way too young how to multi-task...

I had to include the picture of Elizabeth with chopsticks. Andrew gives her chopsticks every time we eat an Asian meal. This night, she actually started to figure out how to use them! I was super impressed. She spent half our meal practicing the new skill before she gave up and grabbed up her fork.

Rochester, MN

Andrew had a weekend that wasn't surrounded with tests so we decided to leave town. We traveled to Rochester to visit a good friend of ours, Nick. (Again, wasn't good at getting pictures, sorry!) Our plan was to head to the cities on Saturday to visit the Como Zoo and stay in a hotel. But... the weather decided our actual plans. We stayed in Rochester for the entire weekend instead of braving the snow storm. Saturday was very relaxing - we made cookies and chili (rather I made cookies and chili :)) and we were able to visit and watch a couple movies. It was so wonderful to see Nick again and we really appreciated time away from our busy lives in Vermillion! We had Nick take a few family pictures for us...

Thanksgiving in Wall

Over Thanksgiving I did a horrible job of taking pictures so this is all ya get! We spent Thanksgiving with Andrew's family in Wall at Sharon & Mike's. On Black Friday, Sharon and I got up at 2 (yes AM!) and headed in to Rapid to attack the good deals! Shirley met us mid-morning with our little ones and then we headed to Olive Garden for some R&R. We spent a few more hours shopping before we decided we were spent! I spent the evening with my family in Rapid and then headed back to Wall. I was tired once we got home but keep reminding myself that these are memories that I will cherish!

Pottery Painting

One of the biggest blessings to me this year (besides a new baby :)) has been my small group. A group of about 8-10 women meet at my house once a week for prayer and study. I try to arrange activities for us every couple months and we recently painted pottery at a studio in Sioux Falls. Here are a few pictures of us painting - definitely a fun group of women!

My how they grow!

Road Trip

Andrew made plans with his friends from school to go mountain biking in Omaha for a weekend. That same weekend, I decided to head back to Rapid to visit family. Mike and Sam came a few days after me and then road home with me. I was able to visit Courtney and Toby in Union (the picture with two kids on the floor) where I got to see their house being remodeled. Then I met up with Sharon and the boys at Hope Church on Sunday. (The three car seats: Talon (Sharon's boy), Alexander, and Robert (Allyson's boy). Elizabeth had fun meeting Sarah and Lee's new dog, Sam. The weekend was so relaxing and refreshing!

Trick-or-treat!

Elizabeth dressed up the day before Halloween for story time at the library. Here's a picture of her and her friend Bryn (who was the cutest pig I've ever seen!). Then, on Halloween night, both kids dressed up and we went through the college dorms where students handed out candy. Elizabeth couldn't get down "trick-or-treat" but she did say "thank-you" to everyone (proud mom moment!). Alexander was a rodeo clown/farmer/hobo - you pick. Either way, both kids were super cute.

How many pumpkins CAN we carve?!

Mike and Sam joined me at the table surrounded by pumpkins and knives and we went at it! (Yes, that's Alexander strapped on for the party...) After we'd all carved one each (okay, Mike helped me because I picked a super hard design!) Sam and I decided we wanted to carve more so she ran to the store while I cooked pumpkin seeds and we went at it again. When all was said and done, I was pretty impressed with the pumpkins that we turned out!

Surprise Visitors

One random weekend, my parents and my grandma decided to make the trek across the state to visit us! We were thrilled to see them! The short and sweet trip included pumpkin carving which was hilarious because Elizabeth was completely grossed out at the thought of touching the pumpkins! She immediately clung to my mom and refused to let her leave. The weekend was wonderful!

Always busy

Elizabeth is hilarious right now! Every moment is filled with something - she's always busy. One day I find her with our hiking carrier on her back getting ready for a hike with her doll and the next filling her purse with keys and putting on her coat, shoes, hat, and gloves to go "bye-bye mom." She definitely wants to be a mini-adult.

First Smile!

It might be a little lop-sided but we love it anyway!

Baby Shower

Our church has had four baby boys born in the past two months! To celebrate, the church threw us all a combined baby shower. Rachel did a great job of decorating, Faith had some fun (but challenging!) games, Chris gave a wonderful devotion, and Martha cooked two amazing cakes! I was so thankful Sharon was able to join us at the shower. What a great thing we do in our culture - celebrate the wonderful children God made!