"N"

My cousin Amanda gave me the letter "N" to post 10 things that I like/favourite etc. N has been a TOUGH letter!! None of my absolute favs. start with N - no kids, no hubby- so it has taken A LOT of thought. So here it goes - in no particular order - oh, I only have 8 so far but I will keep thinking until I get all ten!

1. Nativity - I love the nativity and all that it represents. Christmas is such a fun time of year - love the family time, love the decorations, food, presents but my desire for my kids (and for me) is that they truly understand Christmas and the Nativity, of course, is the true meaning. I saw a clip from the movie "the nativity" and it was so moving as they showed Mary giving birth and baby Jesus - moving b/c I'm a mom and couldn't imagine having a baby that would one day carry the weight of the world - all of its sin on His shoulders - moving b/c it reinforced the humanness of Jesus and of Mary and of Joseph. Just as God used Mary and Joseph He can use us!

2. Nuts - gotta love nuts - especially almonds. Last year when I lost a lot of weight nuts were a great snack to stave off hunger and to fill me up!! I still eat them every day. I also love peanut butter, especially with chocolate! Also love them in salads and stir fries.

3. Nuptials - I love being married. Rich and I have been married for almost nine years (okay three more months) and it's been pretty great. As a little girl I always wanted to be married - it's not like the movies but in many ways it's even better. I couldn't imagine my life without Rich in it.

4. Naps - I couldn't get thru the days without my kids having naps. The baby naps 2-3 times a day, Christian naps a few times a week and Aiden naps the odd time too. They are the time I can either rush around like a crazy lady and get loads done without feeling like I"m neglecting my kids or they're a time I can laze around on the computer reading blogs etc. Usually it's a combination of both.

5. Nighttime - I love the evening when Rich and I are finally by ourselves. I love relaxing. I've always been a night owl - though now that I have kids that have to get up for school I have to get to bed at a pretty decent time. I also love sleeping - nothing better than my head hitting the pillow after a long day - usually it only takes me a second or two to drift off to lala land.

6. Nation - I love our nation of Canada - I love the freedom to worship God, to express our opinions - to work, shop, live how we want to. I love the beauty of the mountains, the smell of the ocean, the sun, the snow (for a day). I love that we are free to travel - to come and go as we want - that we are welcome in other countries (generally).

7. Nations- I also love other countries. Missions is so important to me. When looking for a church that had to be its focus. So many people need God - hey so many people in our own country need God too I know but there is just something about foreign countries. I've been to Estonia, Russia, New York and Uganda doing missions stuff and would love to continue to do things in the future with our family. I love hearing about other countries and whats going on. One day Rich and I want to take our kids to Africa on a combo missions/travel trip before that we would love to do more local things like the food bank or things in Vancouver. We think it would change all of us! We've always been open if we felt God calling - who knows!?!

8. Nissi- as in Jehovah Nissi - The Lord is My Banner! God is the most important person in my life. He is my all in all. God has many names and this one is used in Exodus 17:8-16 with Moses. He had just one a battle and he called God Jehovah Nissi - the Lord was his Banner, God was victorious. Just as God was victorious in many battles in the Bible He can be victorious in every situation in our own lives. God is my strength, my peace - when life seems crazy, when I don't know what is going on I just have to remember that HE is in control and it brings life into perspective and gives me a sense of peace.

9. ????? It'll come. It has come. NEW YEAR! Not necessarily New Years Eve but the start of a new year. For me this comes twice a year - once in September when the school year starts and then of course in January. I love both b/c it gives me a chance to organize our lives, to start new things and to have a beginning date to start different things such as goals to lose weight (ha), do better on devotions, be better mom, spouse etc. I'm not big into resolutions but sometimes when you know you have to improve on something having a September or Jan. helps you to begin that improvement.
10.?????? This one will show up too.

So there you have it 8 out of 10 n words that mean something to me!

8 Months and going strong

I do have other things than my baby girl to blog about however, life has been busy and my other thoughts can wait - if I don't blog her monthly update I'll forget what's new. So, Callia is 8 months! She is weighing in at 14lbs. She LOVES her food. So far Callia will eat anything, except the fish I made for her - don't blame her it stinks. I have to make new stuff. Callia is sitting all the time, she sleeps on her belly for naps. She naps usually twice, sometimes three times a day. She is eating all her veggies, fruit, meat, cereal and yogurt. She loves Cheerios - though most still end up on the floor. Callia will not be a pacifist. She gets so excited when she watches her brothers wrestles. Her little legs start going a mile a minute. She can be very vocal - not so much with specific sounds but kind of yelling. The boys get irratated with her when she is noisy and they are trying to watch TV. Callia loves to give hugs and grabs our faces to give nice open mouthed kisses. Callia loves music - her legs and arms go nuts when she hears it. Love you little girl!!

Babies in Disneyland

Before we left for Disney I tried to find info on taking a baby to Disneyland but couldn't find out everything I wanted in one spot so here is my opinion about taking them.

Taking Callia was a great experience. She wasn't just dragged along, she truly enjoyed watching the shows and parades and she was enthralled with the rides she could go on. Callia was 6 1/2 months old but even though she is small for her age she did great on the rides.

Babies can go on all the rides in Fantasyland except for the Matterhorn and maybe Dumbo.

In Tomorrowland they can go on Astro Blaster, Nemo and Honey I Shrunk the Kids.

In Frontierland she could go on the paddle wheel.

In New Orleans they can go on Pirates of the Caribbean, and the Haunted House.

In Critter Country they can go on Winnie the Pooh.

In Toon town there were no rides - Roger Rabbit is (in my opinion)much too rough for babies.

In Adventureland she could go on the jungle cruise, up the tree house and in the Tikki Room.

In California Adventure there wasn't much that she could go on - she could go on the train ride in Bugsland, the 3D show in Bugs Life and the Take out ride in Bugs land. Oh - babies can also go on the carousel, Toy Story Mania (though it would be hard to shoot holding a baby) and Monsters Inc.

Apparently they have baby change areas but I found just as easy to change her in the stroller and to find a bench or the ground to nurse her. She is a quick nurser and I wanted to stay in the area the kids were in so I didn't go looking for the stations.

Remember to take hats, sunscreen, and light blankets to cover them up from the sun. If you go in the fall/winter you will need something warmer for them in the evenings as it can become quite cool. Take a rain cover for your stroller (yeah, ours never left the hotel). Some hotels have cribs you can use. We took down everything she would need food and diaper wise.

So there you have it. My biggest search was for what rides a baby could go on.

My heart breaks...

Our little guy Aiden needs glasses, or so the optometrist says. We're not sure if he does or not b/c he doesn't show any signs of needing them - has never complained about not seeing, we just took the boys in for a regular check up and came out with a surprise. We just picked up his glasses this week and he has been wearing them for about two hours a day (when we remember). The frustrating thing is that he can't seem to tell us if they help him or not. And we're confused b/c at the eye docs. he told me the glasses were for close up but at Costco we were told they were for distance and THEN one day Aiden tells me they help him see better close up and the next day he said they help for distance. AHHHHHH! But my heart breaks b/c last night he was in tears for at least a half hour about having to wear them to school. He said he'll be embarrassed, didn't even know he knew what that meant. There is a little girl in his class that wears them but that's not much comfort to him. I know glasses aren't a huge deal but as a parent you don't want your child to go thru anything uncomfortable. I think we're going to get a second opinion since Aiden seems so confused. I'd love to take this from him but then I probably wouldn't be able to see at all if I added his eye problems to my own! It's sad his baby blues are a little covered but he does look cute in them - I'll post a pic. once I take it.

What have I created?

At the beginning of September I decided that I was going to do breakfast different this year. Aiden was eating not eating enough when he chose cold cereal so he would go to school with a full tummy I had to come up with a plan. I got my idea from a friend and didn't know if I could do it but I have and it's going well - maybe too well. You see I decided that I would make pancakes one morning, which would do for two breakfasts, have eggs and sausage one morning and then on the other two mornings they can choose b/w toast, hot cereal or cold cereal. My little 3 year old doesn't remember life pre pancakes in the morning. B/f this idea took hold of our life, pancakes were reserved for an easy dinner but now they're for breakfast and Christian figures they should be for breakfast every day (or almost). This pic. was taken a couple of days ago after I told him no I can't make pancakes (wasn't quite in the groove after our trip) and you would've thought I had just told him that trains don't exist! He asks almost every morning for pancakes -he usually takes no okay as long as we've had them within the last couple of days!! Man, what have I created?

7months

Here's another update of our Princess;

-sits by herself (only topples over every once in a while, we still put pillows around)

-weighs in at 12lbs 11 oz (yeah you gained a pound finally)

-been on an airplane

-eating a variety of veggies and starting on fruit

-love mummums and stars

-still nap 2-3 times a day

-still love your brothers

-love to touch all of our faces, hair

-don't play strange

That's about it. You make me smile every day and melt my heart. Every once in a while it hits me "wow, we have a girl". I love seeing you eating new things and being able to do new things!

A Lesson Learned

The forbidden ride.

"Ah - it feels so good to confess to the genie"

Rich and I learned a big lesson while away. Christian is almost 40", the magic number at Disney, so sometimes we had a few tears when he wasn't able to go on those rides. There is one ride we figured he would love to go on, Thunder Mountain Railway but there was the 40" rule. We came up with a brilliant (or not ) idea of folding up a couple of maps and sticking them into his shoes to see if we could get him up to the magic number - and we did. However, we miscalculated the repercussion of our decision. Christian was fine - he survived the ride, he liked it - don't think loved it b/c it is pretty intense, however, Ethan was not so fine. He was soooo upset - he couldn't believe that we would stick something in Christian's shoe to get him on the ride - he couldn't believe that we would lie. At first Rich was trying to reason with him - oh Christian really would like the ride etc, etc but I just said look it, we weren't honest there's not excuse for it. We can't make excuses or we're teaching Ethan that if you really want something it's okay to cheat a little. As adults we rationalize little "white" lies, it something doesn't quite suite us we can sometimes bend the rules but to a 7 year old who clearly sees life as black and white there is NO excuse for little "white" lies. We both felt horrible for letting him down. I know how he feels b/c I'm a very black and white person, however over the years I've come to realize that not every views right and wrong the same as me, even Christians (can you believe that;0) and so I've come to see other people's point of views (don't necessarily agree with them but can see their point). Parents out there, our kids are looking up to us and we need to make sure we're living a life that exemplifies how we want them to live. I'm glad he called us on our lie b/c in a few years I don't want him to be able to say "But mom I really wanted to do that so I thought it was okay to...lie, steal b/c remember Christian really wanted to go on that ride and you lied to get him on. I know that's a bit extreme but really we have to model the behaviour and lifestyle we want for our kids.

Ethan held on to this for a couple of days. We apologized, Christian was not allowed to go back on that ride and we told him we would never stick maps in Christian's shoes again.

There was a funny part to the story. The next day when he went up to get Aladdin and Jasmines' autographs they asked the kids what their fav. rides were and Christian said Choo Choos. So they asked which one and that's all it took to prompt Ethan to explain that Christian went on Thunder mountain b/c his mom and dad put maps in his shoes. Aladdin's answer - What a trick! We were all slowing walking away b/f the Disney police could come and capture us.

oops

Just realized I wrote about Ethan twice. Oh well! Kind of funny that they both say almost the exact same thing!

7 years ago....

some of the can good he collected

star wars dudes on his cupcakes

we welcomed Ethan James into our lives. Sometimes I really feel like the poor kid is our guinea pig - he's the one that we are trying out all of our parenting skills (or lack of) on and sometimes I worry that we're screwing him up. Hopefully, God is hearing our prayers and doing His own work on Ethan to compensate for our mistakes! Ethan is a great little boy. He can SO frustrating at times and then at other times he is SO amazing. He can drive his sibs insane and then he can be so kind and gentle with them that I can't believe he's the same kid. He has a memory for everything (sometimes a good thing and sometimes not so much). We are learning that he has a very strong sense of what is right and what is wrong (tell ya more in another post). He loves star wars, lego, soccer, hockey - basically anything his daddy is into he is into. He has lots of friends - he loves to play football and recess and give me loads of grass stained clothes and stinky socks. He loves his sister so much as well as his brothers. Ethan always willing goes and gets things for me when I need help with Callia - he never argues about it. I love him so much and love to still get in the hugs and kisses when I can b/c even though he is growing up quickly he is still only 7!

For his bday party we went to a pool. They spent an hour in the pool and then some time at the poolside eating and then went in again. He wanted to invite the max. number the pool allowed - 11 - I said okay but gave him a suggestion. I suggested that instead of receiving 11 presents (no space for that) why don't we ask for 5 bucks and a canned good that we would take to the foodbank. He agreed. So on his birthday the kids all came with canned goods and Ethan collected 19 items!! We didn't have time to go to the food bank b/c of our vacation but now we will. The kids all counted the items as I pulled them out of the bag and they seemed pretty impressed with themselves. When we got home Ethan opened up the cards and was so excited b/c he was so BLESSED. Many of the people didn't just gave 5 dollars - some gave 10 or 15 or even 20. So instead of receiving 40 dollars (some couldn't come and one had already bought a present) he received 80! Not that you give to get but it's not every 7 year old who will willingly give up getting a bunch of toys so that he can buy probably just one and then give to those who need food. Anyways, it turned out to be a great day for him. We look forward to another year with our eldest - hoping that God's influence on him surpasses ours!:)

Legoland

standing in front of New York - the models moved - were lit up - played music - some were interactive

Giddy up bad boy!

Ethan went on this ride four or five times. The kids drove the cars themselves -no track and were suppose to follow signs and lights.

the smaller version for kids 5 and under.

We decided to also go to Legoland since we had heard that it is good for kids 10 and under. We had a fun day - the lego creations were amazing - the kids LOVED looking at them all and we must have spent a good hour or more looking at them all. I'm not sure that we'll go there again - the rides were not that great (well in comparison to Disney) but the kids didn't seem to notice or care (which is what's important). When the park closed we went into the store and Ethan and Aiden were able to pick out their bday presents. The both picked special edition sets and were so excited. Thankfully the next day was going to be a relaxing back at the hotel day and so Rich spent most of the day assembling their sets. They had lots of fun playing with them when they had a moment or two. I'm glad we went b/c the boys all really enjoy Lego and they were a great age for that park.

Couldn't have done it without ya!

For our trip we had both sets of parents come with us. When we thought of going we sent out an email to both b/c we couldn't invite one set without the other and they both let us know that they would love to come. We are so glad they did. At first I was a little nervous wondering how it would be with two sets of grandparents - how would we "share" the kids, how would we stick together but it worked out awesome. We all shared the kids at diff. times - we took turns staying off the rides with Callia and Christian (especially the moms). THANK-YOU! The kids loved having different people going on with them for the diff. rides. Callia was spoiled with being held and rocked when a little fussy. She was so good on the trip but I think part of that was due to the fact that we could phone up a grandparent in the morning to take her while we were getting ready or that they would hold her in the evening when she really wanted to be sleeping or just had had enough of the stroller. Rich and I got to go shopping one evening by ourselves (which was so nice) and one other evening we were able to stay later with the older two and the grandparents took the youngest home to bed - that was so much fun to be out with just Aiden and Ethan . At home our kids see their grandparents on a regular basis but by no means everyday so this in itself was a special treat for them. It was great seeing them build memories with their Poppa, Grandma, Nana and Grandad. It was also fun to see the parents interact - we are blessed that they get along. Some people are a little surprised when we say we went with both but we wouldn't change what we did for anything. Thanks for making it an awesome trip - without you it would have been pretty stressful taking four small kids to Disney.

Disneyland

So we just got back from Disneyland. Rich and I went there 8 1/2 years ago for our honeymoon and talked back then about going back with our kids one day. Well, one day arrived and we took off along with our parents. Our trip was fantastic, maybe not as cosy as it was with just the two of us but it was just as fun.

This picture was taken as we were leaving the park on the last night. Just b/f we had been on the train - the ride Christian was waiting to go on ALL day and he had been wide awake for that - within five -10 minutes of getting of the train he was asleep. He did so good going all day long every day. He only had two naps the entire time. Oh - he also really hurt his foot in the Seattle airport - at first we were afraid it was something really serious as he sobbed (unlike him) but thankfully we had a stroller for him so he rode in that and by the end of the week he was skipping around (with a limp).

We had such a great time with each of the kids. Aiden loved all of the rides too. He went on every ride he was big enough for. I think his fav. was Splash Mountain. He would cuddle in too on rides he was a little bit scared in. Christian was scared of a lot of the rides to begin with (pirate, haunted house, Nemo) but he would always go on again and those rides ended up being his favourite. He thought all of the 3D movies were scary and did refuse to go into those ones again.

On the last morning we went to have a character breakfast in Goofy's Kitchen. We hummed and hahhed about doing this but we are so glad we did. The food was so good and it was fun to have the characters come around and spend time at our table. We saw - Goofy, Pluto, Chip and Dale, Captian Hook, Princess Jasmine and Sleeping Beauty. They did fun things with the kids too like a band and the macarina. If you go to Disney dig deep into the old wallet and do a character meal.

As we were walking into Fantasyland I saw all of the Princess stuff. I couldn't resist putting this on Callia's head and when I did she lit up. SO CUTE!! I felt a little emotional when I saw all the girly stuff b/c I thought YEAH - I have a little girl to buy this princessy stuff for. We are so blessed to be able to do both the boys stuff and the girls stuff - that was only a dream a year ago and now it's a reality!:)

Ethan loved to go on any rides he could by himself (wasn't many). We had our highs and lows with this guy. Ethan was SO excited he couldn't contain himself on the first day - in fact he didn't even eat breakfast. Lack of food led to a rather irksome first morning as he complained about a lot of things. I thought GOOD GRIEF we're in Disney - who complains here? It was not turning out how I thought it would. HOwever, after he ate lunch he did a complete turn around and was pretty happy. Of course we had our moments, even in Disney no one is perfect. One minute Ethan would tell us it was the best vacation ever and then when something didn't go his way it was suddenly the worst. The best thing with Ethan and Disney was seeing his face light up during and after a great ride. His fav. was the big roller coaster at California Adventure. I also loved it when he was scared and would suddenly grab hold of my hand or cuddle up!

The boys loved to pose with any characters they saw and got all of their autographs. In fact we had to find Buzz light year for them since when we saw him the first time they were "anti" character.

Callia responded in a way I didn't expect. I thought we would just be dragging the poor girl along but we weren't - she thoroughly enjoyed herself. When she was able to go on rides her little head was going back and forth, constantly taking everything in and then (as in this pic) she was enthralled with the parades. Of course she won't remember it but for the moment she was taken by everything she saw.

Christian was our first kid to get an autograph. At first Ethan and Aiden were not going to have anything to do with the characters.

The first thing the boys wanted to do was Jedi Training so we did. We were so happy b/c both boys were picked to do the training. We also did it the last day but only Ethan was picked. Sad for Aiden but he was a trooper and didn't let it bother him too much. This was a fabulous show.

Disney was so great. I can't wait to go back there again with the kids. WE've said we will go back when Callia is 40" - that's the height for many of the bigger rides and they're very strict with it -but Idon't know if we can wait that long!! It won't be too long if she ends up being tall!:)

Pumpkin Carving

Tonight we gutted the pumpkins and carved them. well, we all gutted them, the boys drew their designs on them and then rich carved them. Christian and Aiden went to Aldor acres on field trips but Ethan didn't get to go as our month was too crazy to go as a family. Ethan was okay with it after I promised to buy him a big one. I bought him one and it came to 7 bucks - I thought that was okay until I went to save on foods later and saw one for 2 or 3 bucks and it was the same size! I'm a bit disappointed I didn't get a pic. of Callia at a pumpkin patch for her first fall. Oh well, life goes on and the field trips were much better sans baby. The boys were so pleased with their lit pumpkins.

Fine China and Candlelight

Nope - not talking about an anniversary or my bday or Valentine's Day but Ethan's birthday. We let the kids choose their birthday dinner - it can be home made or a restaurant and Ethan chose to have ribs (so YUMMY!) and wanted the china and candles too. If you had told me 7 years ago when I had my first baby boy that he would request china and candles I would have laughed!!

I can't believe Ethan is 7. This time 7 years ago he had not been born for even an hour. I love Ethan so much - though he has a way to drive me completely insane. Ethan loves his siblings (even though he sometimes declares life would be better with out them) - he will help with Callia, he will hold her and play with her. Him and Aiden play together and he can be kind to Christian and play trains with him. Ethan is a smart kid (if I do say so myself) and so sometimes his mouth gets him into A LOT of trouble (maybe it would even if he wasn't so bright) but at the same time he can come up with the sweetest comments to his siblings or to me. He has an incredible memory and it is often so cool to hear what he has to say about things we've done in the past. Life is always interesting when Ethan is around - one never knows what is going to come out of his mouth next! I do pray that as he grows that God will continue to work on his heart and that what comes out of his mouth will glorify God and will lead others to HIM. Love you Ethan!!

Gone are the days....

Gone are the days of stuffing a poopy diaper in my diaper bag or taking a three point shot from our bed to the garbage can. Callia has been eating her cereal like a real trooper over the past week and a half and we are now experiencing stinky, sticky new poop! Oh, for the sweet smelling breast feeding poop -oh well, there's no turning back now. At first she would not touch the cereal and we thought oh no!! We were a little worried since she has now rejected the bottle and formula (we keep trying ) however, we found the right consistency and she loves the stuff. Now to begin the introduction of veggies - I kind of want to wait until we get back from our Disney trip but by then she'll almost be 7 months. So good bye sweet smelling pool (relatively speaking) and hello diaper genie.

Five years!

My Aiden turned five this month. WOW! For months he had been asking for a Star Wars bday party but about two weeks b/f we were going to have it he changed his mind to a Hot Wheels party. I was kind of glad - I have nothing against Star Wars but Hot Wheels just seems more age appropriate - more innocent. Aiden had six kids to his party and I think everyone had a great time. We raced cars, played hot car potato, raced plasma cars outside, drew race car tracks and made goody bags. Now Christian wants a hot wheels party too.

Aiden is such a sweet boy. He is very full of emotion - which can be very frustrating at times but I think it'll end up being a good thing. I was worried at the beginning of the year that he would have a hard time making friends b/c of his speech but he is having no problems. In fact he invited three friends from school to come to his party where as Ethan had no friends yet that he wanted to invite when he was in kindergarten and we thought Ethan was the out going one. It so made me smile inside when I took him to soccer a few weeks ago and we were a bit late but when we arrived a bunch of the boys yelled out "Aiden" "Hi, Aiden" - obviously he is well liked. I'm not writing this to brag more like to let out a PRAISE that God has heard us and answered our prayer with regards to Aiden making friends despite the difficulty they may have understanding him.

Aiden loves to play with Ethan and though he won't admit it him and Christian play well together too. Aiden loves hot wheels, star wars, transformers, playmobil and building things. Aiden also doesn't stop talking at home - sometimes I tell him to be quiet. I feel kinda bad about it but for one thing sometimes I need quiet for another thing it can be tiring listening to him since you really have to listen sometimes to get what he is saying. Anyways, we love Aiden so much and hope that he has an amazing year!!

1/2 a year!

Miss Callia is 6 months old! Not sure where half a year went - but it's gone. Let's see what's different with our princess:
-loves to sit in her exersaucer
-eats cereal by the gallon now (only for a bout a week)
-can balance for a few seconds while sitting on her own
-moves all over the place in her bed
-naps two times a day for sure for 1 1/2 hours to 3 hours and needs a third nap but doesn't always take it
-stares at us when eating (very intense - I wouldn't be surprised if the food flew off the spoon and into her mouth with how hard she stares at it!)
-puts everything in her mouth - including toes
-loves the big bath - splashes lots
-makes a coughing sound for fun and will mimic you when you do it (at first we thought she was choking)
-weighs in at 11lbs 12 oz (might get her checked out but Christian stalled at about this age too)
-down to four feeds during the day and then I still get her up at 10:30 (don't know if I need to or not but I tell myself I have to or my milk will deplete - really I know if I give up that feed it's a sign she's really growing up big!)
-easily laughs
-played strange with people for a bit but I think she's over it for now - unless she's really tired
-goes to the church nursery (sometimes) with no problem

I think that's about it. I love her smiles and giggles and how she lights up when she sees ME (makes a mommy feel great - maybe not so great for others). We all love her to bits!

Silly faces

Callia has moved up to the big bath. It only took me over five months to do it. She enjoys her bath time - she is beginning to really splash now that she's not all scrunched up in a baby tub.

Pumpkin Pie

One again we had two delicious meals for Thanksgiving. Little Miss Callia tried a miniscule amount of mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie! She's right there with her brothers and loved them both.

A Baxter Moment

I've just finished reading a series involving a family called the Baxters - it is a mom and dad with five adult children and it's fantastic. They aren't perfect but they have lots of fun traditions and do things all together with their kids. I know it's fiction and families aren't like that all of the time but on Sat. I would say we had a "Baxter" Moment. We went with friends down to the river near us and roasted hot dogs and marshmellows - which was so much fun but what was even more fun was the game of football keep away we all played. I'm not sure what made it so much fun - no rules, parents and kids working together, laughing, running, spontaneity but it was. The kids had so much fun and want to do it next week. I hope that as our family grows we can create traditions that they remember and love to do even when they grow up and have their own families. Right now I think that traditions are fantastic for families but need to be flexible (especially as kids grow up) and I hope that I remember that and don't get "stuck". I hope that one day our kids will want to be a part of each others lives - praying together, raising their kids together, laughing and crying together, having big family dinners together on a regular basis etc. etc.