cutout boards, legos, and lots of kissing

OK.  Really there have been some good excuses.  We have been preparing for a possible move that is still to be determined.  I am so thankful that God planted this thought in our head in November, long before necessary.  It is taking this long to get the house in marketable condition!  With every waking moment focused on either school, daily chores, or hours and hours of labor around the house, the blogging has gone by the wayside.  But I will not let go--one day my memory may. :)  I am going to catch up on the last three months over the next week or two, I hope.

The past months of pictures are primarily just from January and March.  February must have been too short to take pictures.  Hah!

There were lots of pictures of the kids behind cutout boards or in stores... pretty much every time the photo was requested by them.

There were lots of pictures of lego creations or David with legos.  There were even a few adorable videos (unbeknownst to me) of David doing a video review of his legos.  Just because all the pictures below are David's creation does not mean that the girls have not spent almost as much time with legos.  They too love building and designing and then playing with their creations.

There somehow seemed to be loads of pictures of kissing these past few months: kids kissing Daddy, Daddy kissing kids, kids kissing each other.  There were also some hugging shots.  Glad we are all an affectionate bunch. Warning: there will be even more when I actually get around to uploading the more formal shots I did of them.

(don't ask)

Speaking of wigs--the kids have continued to love dressing up.

The kids have also taken to all sleeping in one bed (most often unbeknownst to us).  I can't fault them for that when I remember back to my youth where all four of us slept in one double.  Here it is only three kids sharing a queen. There has also been lots of sleeping on the floor.  I think I can count on one hand the number of days that A has slept in her own bed in the past three months!  She always starts out there, but after we leave, she most often pulls her blanket and pillow to the floor next to E.  She also often sleeps in her princess tent that we got her for Christmas.  And now that she is officially potty trained this month (nighttime too!), she is allowed sleep anywhere she likes!  As long as she sleeps...

No more kids in diapers!  Woohoo!  Almost 8 years coming!  Sorry...back to life with the kids.

Abigail may be out of diapers but she still refuses to leave the last vestiges of babyhood behind (after all she is the family baby).  She still sucks her blanket, cries when too tired, takes long naps daily (thankfully!), cries when we drop her off at church (at least half the time), and doesn't want to leave when we pick her up.  The tantrums are becoming fewer, however.  She has a very good memory- remembering people's names, Bible verses, etc...Even better than her siblings much of the time.  She loves to color but still struggles to color in the lines unless she is coloring a vertical line...horizontal is another story.  She still puts her shoes on the wrong foot about 75%+ of the time (in fact, maybe she just thinks they are on the right foot???)  I have heard so often over the past few months, "Mommy, this food really tastes Yum!"  She is cheerful and eager to help most of the time.  She is full of laughter and mischief.  

Elizabeth still calls yogurt "logurt" but she can count to 20 (almost) and competently add small groups.  Her handwriting is quite nice and she can form all her numbers and letters well.  We are miles ahead of child #1 at this point-and not even to Kindergarten!  She loves school and during David's school time amuses herself frequently by either coloring, doing a Kindergarten workbook, or playing with Abigail.  She has matured even further and gotten taller.  She no longer sleeps with a blanket or sucks her fingers.  This little girl is memorizing Scripture and acting quite grown up--most of the time.  She can be my best helper (when she chooses to help).  She is so intuitive.  Sort of like the time she made breakfast for everyone.  ;)  (see pictures below)  She loves to play Mommy and loves dolls and stuffed animals.  She has a contagious, innocent laugh and is full of life!

David has also suddenly gotten older.  We have had many moments of growling pre-teen moments these past few months, but he still has one of the softest hearts I know toward the Lord and others.  (more on that in other posts)  His schooling is trucking along.  While he still struggles with his addition tables, he can handle word problems "no problem" and he reads on a 3rd or 4th grade level.  He can sit and read his "real" Bible to me, even when reading through Exodus!  :)  He faithfully reads his Bible every night on his own.  He still has a super imaginative mind that builds all sorts of cool lego creations (see above).  David loves to dress up and look his handsomest on Sundays.  He arrives downstairs in suit jacket and tie almost every week.  He does help quite a bit around the house, even cleaning up after his sisters frequently; he also helps make messes.  :P  This is one sweet kid--who I happen to love very much!

I love all three bunches!

That might be the brief overview of the last three months, but more posts coming with specifics.