Emma Mae is 6!

I always feel like Emma gets ripped off a little because her birthday is only two days after Christmas. 

The wonderful thing about Emma is that she never feels that way.

She is just happy to have a day devoted just to her, and she doesn't care when it is!

This year was pretty funny, in fact.

Early on in December there were some rough days.  Our elf, Marvin, actually went away for an entire week because it was so bad.  We weren't sure if he was coming back, or if he'd even tell Santa to bring any presents to the kids. 

When we were discussing it one evening, Andrew and Sarah got really worried about not getting any presents.  But, Emma wasn't worried at all.  She happily proclaimed, "That's okay!  My birthday is right after Christmas, so I'll get presents anyway!" 

Smart girl.

Christmas Candy

We've been making Christmas candy like crazy the last few days.

Almond Joys, Cherry Cordials, Dollar Mints, Orange Creams, Buckeyes, and lots of chocolate covered pretzels.

The kids all helped us dip some pretzels tonight.

There may have been a little taste-testing going on in the kitchen!

Snow Fun

We got our first snowstorm of the season this week! 

The forecasters were really hyping it up, and it did not disappoint.

Once it started, it didn't stop for about 20 hours.

The kids were able to have two snow days away from school right before they were supposed to break for Christmas, so it was a fun little surprise.

Daddy decided to take the afternoon off after it stopped snowing to enjoy a little family time.

Snow and Ice + Daddy = Attex

Say Cheese

We've been practicing for our family pictures.

The goal was for the kids to get so used to smiling on cue that they would do it wonderfully when family picture time came.

Who was I kidding? 

They'll do it at home, but it is a whole other story when you're all dressed nicely and paying for the pictures!

At least we tried, right?

Grace Anne Hunger

The weekend was a busy one.
We celebrated Thanksgiving in Cedar Rapids with the entire Hunger clan.
Then, on Friday we headed down to Nauvoo to stay the night because...
On Saturday, Dennis's youngest sister (31 yrs. old) was married in the Nauvoo temple.
Just as it started to look like we were going to get some sleep after a big family-filled weekend, my water broke.
It was about 3:00 on Sunday afternoon and Dennis had just gotten home from his meetings at church.
I wasn't having any contractions different than what I'd had for the past two weeks - some here and there.  Some days it was 10 contractions, other days I'd have 20 or so.
I was so worried about going to the hospital and having them give me pitocin.
Jared's birth had gone so well when I was able to get to the hospital at 8cm, and do it without an epidural, and I wanted to duplicate that as much as possible.
So, I decided to walk a little on the treadmill.
I did about 1.25 miles.
Still nothing.
We had a youth fireside that evening. 
With Dennis as the Branch President and me as the Young Women's President, we were both supposed to attend, but I decided to sit it out and sent Dennis anyway.
Finally, at about 6:00 (just minutes after I sent Dennis off) I started to feel uncomfortable with the contractions.
I knew I just needed to tough it out until he got home around 7:30.
So, I did.
I got the kids ready for bed and tucked them in for the night. 
Dennis got home, Grandpa Ned came to watch the kids, and we hurried to the hospital.

I was admitted around 8:00 and dilated to 6cm.
The doctor came an hour later at 9:00 and I was 8 cm.  He then told me he was going to run home for his computer and he'd be back in a little while.
I cautioned him how fast my babies liked to come, and he smiled and left.
He must live around the corner from the hospital because he made it back in time.
Grace was born at 9:23 pm.
No problems, no epidural, just a healthy baby girl.

That night, Dennis's sister from Utah was still in town (for about 5 more hours) so she and her son came to meet Grace with Grandma Mary. 

Early the next morning, Grandpa brought Grace's adoring older brothers and sisters to meet her.  Everyone except Jared fell in love at first sight.  Jared needed a day or two more than the rest. 

We were able to go home the very next day, which I loved!
I cannot say it was without pain, but she was worth it!

Autumn Leaves

All it once it seemed like the leaves had fallen. 

Our huge yard covered.  It soon became hard to see the grass.

Dennis thought it was time we do something about it...

But, neither of us thought raking the leaves sounded feasible.

Enter the leaf blower.

Hooray for modern conveniences!

We had a great time cleaning up our yard.

And, it still took days to complete the task!

Silly Train

Sunday afternoons...

They can be pretty long when church gets over at 12:00.

Plus, as branch president Daddy leaves at 7:00 am doesn't get home until after 3:00 or 4:00 pm.

So, Sunday evening are spent playing games and having fun together as a family.

Trust me... these kids have earned it!

I can't believe he is 2!

Jared Lee is two!  How did that happen? 

This little guy is so fun to have around.  We absolutely love having him in our family.

He is pretty easy-going, goes to bed great, and plays on his own really well.

His cake was a hit.  He wanted to play with the trucks all day and all night too!

We love this sweet guy.

Happy Birthday Jared. 

Back To School

This year Sarah, Emma, and Andrew will go full-days to school. 

Emma is in kindergarten, so it is full day and our school also started offering a full-day preschool program 4 days a week for 4-year-olds.  It was something we thought over a lot, but it just seems right for Andrew to go full-days.  He gets to stay home with Mommy and Jared on Wednesdays, so that is always a special day for us.

Happy Back-to-School!!

#1 FHE

We had the best Family Home Evening last night.

A couple in our branch have a little piece of land and some animals.  They've done rodeo in the past, but now all their kids are grown, so they just have the animals for fun.

Dennis asked them if we could come over for FHE, and they were so sweet to teach our kids about work, let them ride the horses, and then reward them with a yummy dinner.