what we've been up to

It's December... hooray! We've been having a great time decorating for Christmas, having my mom visit for a long weekend, watching classic Christmas movies, and counting down the days. Every year gets more and more fun with the kids getting older and understanding more about what's happening.

I always love decorating the tree as a family... it is so
festive
chaotic
magical
and
lovely

What good is a John Deere tractor ornament if it doesn't get some good play time?
(I bet no one else can claim to having at least 10 tractors on their tree)

And who knew that Joseph from our "Little People" nativity drives his own tractor?
(Andrew knew it, I guess).

My mom helped us make mini gingerbread houses this year.
Sarah did so great making marshmallow snow.
Andrew wanted to pick all the candy off.

And Emma licked to her hearts content.

This past weekend, Dennis was in charge of a fund-raising chili dinner for the local Rotary club. He started out by bringing home:
50 lbs. of hamburger
3 huge bags of onions
and more tomato sauce and diced tomatoes than I've ever seen.
I couldn't resist snapping a picture of him with the 6 gallon bucket of chili.
This wasn't even half of it!
P.S. That's a man-sized bite if I've ever seen one.

Other than helping here and there with the chili, my job was to make 10 dozen chocolate chip cookies. I had a very cute "helper" taste-testing the 5 lb. bag of chocolate chips. It was a thankless job, but Andrew was happy to do it.

The more we get together, together...

Dennis and I have NEVER had Thanksgiving at our own house. Since we got married, we have taken turns on which family to spend the holiday with, but this year we decided to stay home. We thought we would eat with some friends, but luckily Dennis's brother and his family came to visit us. Everyone had a good time... eating lots of food, going on a double date with Russ & Melanie, making homemade pizzas, playing at the park while "the Mommies" had some time alone, making bread, and playing games. It made a great long weekend!

I always do something yummy for my part for Thanksgiving, whether it is rolls, veggies, or pies (lots of pies). But, having dinner at our house made it my job to do it all. I was excited and a little nervous to tell the truth. I planned it all out, wrote down every detail of when and how long everything needed to be cooked. I am happy to report that it all turned out scrumptious, if I do say so myself - turkey, gravy, stuffing, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, rolls, and 3 pies (chocolate cream, pecan, and pumpkin). Can we have Thanksgiving again this week?

Emma & Sammie

Sarah & Caleb

Andrew loved his sweet potatoes and roll. Don't pay attention to his purple Dora cup - what do you expect with 2 older sisters?

She is her mother's daughter - we both think the rolls are the best part of the meal!

These kids have so much fun together...
Aren't they cute waiting for the prayer before breakfast?

Everyone got to "decorate" their own personal pizza. This is always a hit on those days when everyone has played hard and is ready to eat!

Silly Andrew... here he is being a goof before he biffed it again and got 2 more bruises on his forehead.

The whole crew:
Corey (2), Sammie (4 1/2), Sarah (4 1/2), Emma (almost 3), Caleb (3 1/2), and Andrew (20 months)

Thanks for visiting Hunger family!

tough as nails

I've said it before and I'll say it again... that boy of ours is tough!

Yesterday afternoon, Andrew was trying to get onto Sarah's bike that was lying down on its side in the yard. He tripped once and hit his face. He cried a little bit and then got up and tried it all over again... with the same results. He was crying a little and holding his mouth, so I asked Sarah to help him come to me and give me a hug. That's when the neighbor boy yelled, "He's bleeding all over!" I ran, scooped him up, and took him into the kitchen to clean up the blood and find the source. By that time Andrew had already stopped crying. He had two cuts on the outside of his bottom lip, and one on the inside.

I wasn't sure if he needed stitches, but I wanted it looked at. The kids and I all piled into the car and headed to the hospital to meet Dennis and find a doctor. An hour and a half later, and much past closing time at the clinic (thank you sweet doctor that works with Dennis!), Andrew was as good as new. The doc opted to glue the two outside cuts and leave the inside one alone. We sure do love those "liquid stitches!" They are much less traumatic than conventional stitches.


The funny thing about this whole ordeal is that Andrew was so calm and happy. When it was time to hold him down and fix his lip, the nurse asked me first if I was going to be able to handle seeing my baby held down while he cried. I laughed a little... "Yep, he's our third!" It took about 5 minutes to hold Andrew still, get the glue in place, and let it dry. Andrew had 4 of us standing around him, holding him down, and working on him. You'd think he'd thrash around and kick and scream like he does when I try to change his diaper, right? Well, that cute little guy just laid there, looking from Dennis to the doctor the whole time. Just when it was about over, he reached out one hand to let us know he wanted to be held.

Oh! I am so grateful that Andrew is tough. In his Daddy's words, "He took it like a man."

Hits the Spot

I believe that a good chocolate chip cookie can solve the world's problems.

Let's all sit down and enjoy a warm piece of heaven!

If it doesn't get all over the place...

it doesn't belong in your face!

Zoo-rific!

Last week, we had my parents come visit us for a few days. It was a quick trip, but we jam-packed it with activities and fun. We had gorgeous weather for November... 70 degrees sounds nice, right... so a day trip to the zoo was the perfect treat.

All in and ready to go... I love my dad's "Indiana Jones" hat.

The 3 amigos and Mommy.
Emma is such a funny girl lately. She has got quite a look she gives when she's grumpy, but then if we smile at her, it quickly fades away and she grins like crazy saying "I love you!"

There's the happy girl!

This goose statue was a hit. All the kids liked sliding down the back of it.

Everyone needs to get a picture on it, right?

Andrew is looking so big lately. He will be 20 months old this week.

Emma loves to cuddle - even rhinos.

Sarah with some more fake animals. What a second... did we see any real ones?

Heading home...

We're off to see the Wizard...

the wonderful Wizard of Oz!

First we have Glinda the Good Witch - such a delight in her silvery shoes and crown... she just sparkles!

Then, the never-forgotten Dorothy in her famous ruby red slippers.

And... our own Cuddly Lion. (There is nothing cowardly about this lion cub)!
Happy Halloween 2009!