Snow Party

Our wonderful and amazing library hosted a "snow party" for the children today.  Joel took Spring, Sammy, Mary, and Joshie to this while I took Thomas (and Gideon) to a special piano lesson with a world renowned pianist.  I will have to post more about his lesson later.  The kids had a wonderful time.  They began by playing snow bingo and then went outside to have fun in the snow.  They were given squirt bottles with colored water to paint the snow.  They made a big snowman (more like a mountain snowman) and then a snowball fight erupted.  At dinner tonight Spring said her favorite part of the day was when "Daddy threw me in the snow and then put snow on her face."  It was a great time had by all!

Some Videos

This morning Thomas was playing with Gideon and I heard Gideon just laughing away.  Of course, when I pulled out the camera we just couldn't get him to laugh as much but I still loved watching the interaction between our oldest and youngest!  Then, this evening Spring was having fun with Gideon as well.  I love watching our older ones entertain and have fun with him.  And, finally, a video I discovered on the camera when I was uploading the other videos.  Spring had some fun with the camera tonight!  Joel and I got a good laugh from it and thought you might enjoy it as well! 

3 Months Old

Here's our Gideon at 3 months! He is really beginning to laugh a lot for us. His laugh is a very calm and quiet laugh with his eyes "smiling" at the same time. His laugh matches his calm and peaceful personality quite well. We love this little man!

Just Because...

...I'm in love with this little guy. I wish I had more time in the day to just snuggle him.

What was the best part of your day?

This is the question we ask each of the kids during dinner. We go around the table sharing our favorite or best part of our day. It is a fun way to hear about each person's day and often starts other conversations. The kids now know what Joel's response will be every night and they think it is fun to answer for him. His response (during the week) to his favorite part of the day is always, "Coming home from work!" How wonderful it is for the children to hear each day that their dad loves to come home from work so he can be with them. I hope they learn to truly appreciate the blessing their dad is in their life. Just for the record, I love it when he comes home too!

Some of our Boys

Sammy was so proud that I asked him to feed Gideon a bottle one evening. Sammy and I were about to head out for an evening with just the two of us and I was trying to get the kitchen cleaned up before we left. Gideon had been nursing all afternoon and was still hungry so I asked Sammy to feed him a bottle because I had nothing left for him. Sammy's reaction was priceless as he excitedly said (in a way only Sammy can say it), "You mean I get to hold Gideon and feed him all by myself!" I think he looks so cute in his big coat but no shoes or socks on yet and feeding his littlest brother. What a great boy our Sammy is becoming.

If I Listen with my Heart

This is the song for the month in Primary. Mary wants to sing it to us every night when we turn the music on for her to go to bed. She wanted to sing it today without the music. She combined parts of 2 verses but is still just so sweet singing to us. I hope and pray she will always find joy and comfort in the hymns and songs she learns in primary.

Thomas' Sledding Party

Thomas was so excited to have a sledding party with his friends for his birthday this year. Joel took Thomas, 2 of his friends (Kaiden and Cole), Spring and her friend (Brady), and Sammy on Saturday to the sledding hill in town. They had a great time sledding and then came home for homemade pizza rolls and brownie sundaes. He said it was the best party ever. I loved the simplicity of it all.

Gideon's Smile & Other Cuteness

Our sweet boy has really been smiling a lot lately. It is quite easy to get a smile on his face and it just makes my day to see him smiling. He starts smiling whenever I come to him and start to pick him up. We love the coos he gives us as if he is really trying to tell us all about life. His eyes follow all the action around him and he doesn't like to be left alone in a quiet room. I guess it is good that he enjoys the noise that surrounds him constantly! So, here are some smiles just for each of you from Gideon!