Ready for a new year!

We have been having a rough month of December. We had a great Christmas with our family, but we've been having a lot of sickness and injuries in between. 3 weeks ago Lauren and Drew had colds and Lauren ended up with an ear infection. Then the week before Christmas she fell and hit her head on the coffee table. She ended up with a huge goose egg and a black eye. Two days before Christmas, Reagan got a stomach virus and as of yesterday, we're finally all over it (I hope!!). I'm the only one who didn't end up catching it, so I'm crossing my fingers that I'm in the clear now. The grand finale was Lauren falling off her booster chair on Tuesday and breaking her clavicle. She's now in a sling for the next 2-3 weeks. She is not a fan of it and I don't blame her. It's hard to play with toys one-handed and it's hindering her hair twirling ability.:) Thank goodness it's almost 2011. Here's to a healthy and injury-free New Year!

Cookies and Christmas Fun

We've been busy baking and preparing for Christmas. The kids love to help me with the baking, but it sometimes gets to be a little much when they're all around the island. I put them to work unwrapping all the kisses for the Peanut Blossoms the other day instead. Surprisingly, not one of them ate a single one. I couldn't believe it! I did reward them each one for their hard work.:) We also made our cut out cookies today. They won't win any awards for beauty, but they taste really good! It's one of my favorite traditions, because I remember doing it with my mom every Christmas and I'm sure my kids will do the same with their kids one day. We've been busy with our advent calendars, nightly Christmas books, and even went to Jolly Holiday Lights this year, which the kids got a kick out of. We've already celebrated Christmas with the entire extended Noteboom family and Ryan's parents and are looking forward to celebrating in Pella on Christmas day. I love the whole month of December, so I'm actually a little sad that the fun is getting close to coming to an end for another year! I signed the big kids up for softball and baseball this morning though, so I guess now we'll start looking forward to spring.:)

The kids got new pajamas and toys from their Great-Grandma Marge and Great-Grandpa Orville.

Even the animals praised him!

Luke and Reagan participated in our children's Christmas program last Sunday at church. It was about Christmas through the eyes of the animals. They all did a great job and it was worth the trip on the not so nice streets to see all the children praising God and celebrating the birth of Jesus!

The first snow of winter!

The kids have been waiting and waiting for it to finally snow. It did last weekend, but then it was too cold to play out in it! On Monday it reached 12 degrees, so I decided to let them venture out for awhile. They had a great time and enjoyed some well deserved hot cocoa when they came back in.

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Happy Birthday Dear Reagan

Wow! Yet another one of our children has hit the big milestone of "5". I'm not sure what it is about that age, but it seems significant to me. Maybe it's because she's now old enough to go to Kindergarten or they just seem to start branching out a little on their own at this age. It makes me a little teary-eyed to think about it, especially as I look back on pictures from the past 5 years. It really makes me stop and realize how quickly the years are flying by and the growing up she's done. Reagan at this age loves to learn. She is becoming very good at printing and letter sounds. She is excited to learn to read and is very curious about everything around her. She remembers pretty much everything she hears and learns. She loves babies! She would love for us to have many more, but she is content to hold her new baby cousins whenever she gets the chance.:) She is such a great big sister to Drew & Lauren (she even changed Lauren's diaper the other day just because she wanted to) and is loving towards her big brother (even on days he doesn't deserve it!). She is a sweet little girl with a mind of her own at times, but that's why we love her all the more. We are proud of the little girl she is and excited about the years ahead. Happy Birthday, sweet Reagan! We love you.

Practice make perfect

Since Reagan did such a marvelous job of being a flower girl in September, she got to try out her skills again! Ryan's cousin Abby was married this past Saturday, and Reagan was honored to be the flower girl for them. Unfortunately, our camera batteries were dead and I didn't realize it until we were at the church, so I didn't get very many pictures. Here a couple of cute ones though. Congratulations, again, Abby and Sam!

The crunch of fall

The last of our leaves finally fell from the trees and and thus began the huge undertaking of raking them all up! Ryan took the afternoon off work and we finished right before the sun went down. I think he ended up with at least 10 large piles for the kids to jump in. We have a good system down though. He rakes...and I watch.:) Not really. I hold the large piece of plastic and then we haul them into the corner of the yard where we dump them into a fenced off area. We're too dutch to pay someone to haul them away.:) The kids had a great time jumping in all the piles, although a few of them (namely Drew) almost got raked up themselves a few times!

I think she was momentarily distracted by a plane overhead.

Is it more effiecient to rake as you sit in the pile?:)

Trick or Treat

What do you get when you cross Spaghetti & Meatballs, a lion, a Care Bear, Darth Vader, Bob the Builder, Super Jacen, and Spiderman? If it's any night other than Halloween, lots of strange looks, but on this particular night, lots of smiles and candy!
This was Drew & Lauren's first time Trick or Treating and the quickly caught on!

We ended up trick or treating in Orange City this year. It was a last minute decision and the costumes added to our luggage load, but it was well worth it. The kids had a blast and it was a beautiful evening. There were lots of family members who were excited to see the kids in their costumes. We even got to take a picture with some of Ryan's cousin's kids (see pic above). Reagan's costume was pretty much falling apart by the end of the night from taking it on and off so much to get in the van, but most people knew what she was and were impressed.:) They're loving all the candy..and so am I (ha!)

Just horsing around

We've got to spend time in Mike & Renee's new house for our past few visits and one of the highlights is Dewey the horse. He belongs to their neighbors, but he practically lives in their backyard. He provided hours of entertainment for the kids. They were frequently watching out the back door for him and the big two got some fun rides on him. Grandpa Mike couldn't wait to get them out there and walk them around. They've only each been on a horse one other time, so this was a treat for them. Drew & Lauren didn't ride him this time, but maybe next summer I'll trust them a little more.:)

Drew took some time to relax in the busyness of the weekend. He propped a pillow behind him and put his feet up. Ahhh...the good life!

Our little cowgirl

Luke's turn

They even rode together...with no fighting!

Opa Tom

"Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the rock eternal."

This has been Luke's memory verse this week and we were talking last night about how this verse would have been one that Opa Tom would have lived by. Ryan's Grandpa Tom passed away this morning. He was truly the head of his family and was admired by his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. I am so glad that he was able to meet all of our children and that Luke and Reagan will be able to remember some fun times with their Opa. Ryan learned a lot from him over the years and was able to go up and spend a little more time with him this week. We will miss him a lot, but are so happy that he is now healthy and celebrating in heaven.

Sunday morning photo shoot

Ryan's parents were in town recently, so on Sunday morning they went out and took some cute pictures with the littles. Luke, Reagan, and I were already at church for Sunday School so we missed out.:( I love photos in the fall!

Lauren looks taller than Drew in this picture, but I think it must just be the slope of the driveway.:)

This is probably his ornery face after he drove our riding toy off the front stoop.
Lauren and Grandma Renee

Grandpa and Grandma Noteboom with Drew & Lauren

Drewie with Grandpa Mike

Daddy & Lauren

Daddy with his sweetie pies

Reagan's first field trip!

Reagan recently got to go on her very first field trip. They went to Howell Tree Farm which is a pumpkin patch nearby. Ryan took the day off and went with her, which was a huge added bonus! One of the most exciting parts for her was riding the school bus. I take them to school everyday, so that's not something they get to do otherwise. She picked out a pumpkin that was just right for her and had a great time with her class.