Jack's Seven!

Jackson turned 7 years old on December 17th. We celebrated with family the weekend before his birthday and his friend party the day before his birthday.

Future golfer or snowmobiler, not sure which yet....

That's one big birthday sundae!!!

I'm not sure why I agreed to go to Chuck E. Cheese with five boys, but it didn't turn out as bad as I thought it was going to be. They all had a lot of fun and the place was practically empty while we were there. They went through all their tokens way before we were done, but they managed to entertain themselves. On his actual birthday he lost another tooth. There was a lot of whining until it came out and then he completely focused on the tooth fairy coming that night - kind of a cool way to celebrate.

All his friends- Drew, Jeremiah, Jase and Clayton

Family Pictures

We had our family pictures taken for the Orchard Hill Church directory. The end result turned out much better than I had expected. It will be our last picture before we add another block baby. The kids did relatively well considering the difficulty that we always face in getting all the kids to smile at the same time.  I can't imagine what it will be like the next time we do this!

Christmas Cards and Christmas Trees

I tried to get a good picture of the kids for the annual Christmas card and as usual, it proved to be next to impossible. The kids were a mixture of laughing, talking and smiling. It's an authentic Block picture to be sure. The end result was the first picture, coupled with a smaller picture of Brad and I on our cruise. Brad said it's his favorite card so far.

You can see the baby bump now

We went to get a tree from Kris Kringle's Christmas Tree Farm the Sunday after Thanksgiving. We always try to go that weekend and I am glad we did, it wasn't near as cold as it is now. The first tree we were about ready to cut down (that I liked the best) had another tree growing up right next to the stump and it had a nest in the branches, so we got the second best one we could find.

Flip House Update #1

While we were on our cruise, we had someone come in and finish the drywall, mud, tape and texture the walls and ceiling. It was so nice to come home and have that done. We then primed and painted all the walls and have since completed almost all of the trim, installed the wood floors, installed all bathroom fixtures, tiled the bathroom floor,installed all the lighting, assembled kitchen cabinets etc. These pictures show some of the progress. We do have it listed by owner right now and have had some bites on it.  Keeping our fingers crossed that the right person will come along and it will work for them. By the end of the weekend, we should have the bathroom completly done, all the trim with final painting done, the cabinets all hung in the kitchen and possibly have the carpet installed. Again, keeping fingers crossed for that too...

Not too exciting to see fresh concrete, but this was a major step of progress in getting the house ready. We paved the garage and the sidewalk, we will gravel the driveway prior to selling.

Another major step was getting all the lighting in, this is the kitchen and dining room area. Our mascot, Buz, taking it easy on the blanket.

Brad starting on the kitchen floor. We found the best flooring (I am totally taking credit for it) and it looks great!

The after picture, it needs to be cleaned, but you get the idea.

We used the same flooring in the entryway and the hallway out to the garage, the living room and other hallway will be carpeted.

The before and after for the bathroom flooring. It has a whirlpool tub which I would like to try out at least once...

Random picture of the work table in the living room, soon this will all be put away.

I had the task of assembling all the kitchen cabinets. Truthfully, I was glad to be able to help in a significant way. It seems like 99% of this house stuff has fallen on Brad's shoulders. It's very hard for me to find time to get over to help at the house with all the kids and their schedules to manage. So, when I volunteered to do the cabinets, it wasn't such a bad thing. It did take me all day, but it's not like it's something I have to do everyday. The kids did wonderful with not getting into all the pieces. As soon as we have them hung, I will post a pic of the finished product. And although I was happy to help, I don't think I want to go into a career in cabinet assembly.

The Rest of Fall

Once again proving my inability to maintain my blog, I have to lump everything together in one post to get back on track. I really think if I could lose my addiction to Bejeweled, I would have time to work on this blog? (I guess that's just the competitive nature in me, wanting to be at the top of the "leader board".)  So, here we are, with my last post in mid-October and it's already into December with snow on the ground. You might think we just had nothing going on, but indeed we did, so maybe I can use that as an excuse that I was just soooo busy, but then we are back to the bejeweled thing... a vicious circle!

We celebrated a Halloween party with the Miller's and got all dressed up, it was in a way the dress rehearsal for Halloween which Brad and I missed. Glad we got to do it though and get some pictures of the kids.

Brad and I went on a cruise to the Eastern Caribbean at the end of October. We left on the 30th and returned a week later. Flying into Miami, we stayed there for a night and then took off on our cruise Saturday, October 31st. We had a great time and slept a lot. I think we were both so tired from everything that has happened in the last 18 months that we were worn out. Brad had a little motion sickness, but I was fine. Everyone kept asking how I was feeling, thinking I would have issues being pregnant, but it didn't bother me at all. Our favorite stop was in Grand Turks. The water was gorgeous, the weather was beautiful and we had the most fun on our Catamaran Sailing and Snorkeling expedition. I wish we would have stopped there first, but then the rest might have been a disappointment? At any rate, it was nice to get away and get rested. I figure it's the first time since we have had children that we have spent that much time together alone. I think next time we do something, we will pick a resort and just stay in one place, but now I can say I have been on a cruise.

The first day on the ship, Carnival Liberty

We rented a scooter when we arrived in the Bahamas. It was a Sunday and most of the shops were closed in the morning. We were able to drive all around the island and even went to Atlantis. It was a lot of fun and turned out to be the best place to rent one.

A view of the ship from a lookout in St. Thomas

On the catamaran in Grand Turks. My first time snorkeling and it was a little difficult to get used to. Once I got the hang of it though, it was pretty spectacular. The area we were at was next to a drop of over 8000 feet in the ocean floor. Brad managed to dive down and get a shell for me, no idea what it's called, but it's the one genuine souvenier I have from our trip that I liked the most.

A few days after we returned, we had our ultrasound to find out we were having a baby GIRL! Honestly, Brad or I did not mind either way. As you might imagine, the girls wanted a girl and the boys wanted a boy. We had all the kids with us in the room when we found out. That was a handful, they all wanted to watch the screen at the same time, but it worked out okay. As I was laying on the table, Anderson looked at me and said, "Mom, you doing okay?" It was so funny and sweet. I remember they all were pretty freaked out last time they saw me in the hospital after my back surgery, but they did well at this appointment. Now we need to think of names. I am welcome to any suggestions, but I have a few requirements, no common names, no names that start with "B", no names that are food, plants, or seasons, no unisex names - that sounds easy enough, right?