These Days

The girls take turns getting to ride home with Bert after church.  I snapped a picture of Abby and Bert walking across the parking lot one morning on their way to his truck.  They think it is the biggest treat to get to ride with Daddy and get so excited about their short little drive home! 

School was canceled one day due to weather so we spent the day playing with Play-Doh, painting nails and watching a movie!  We had a fun school-free day!  

Abby wasn't feeling well one day and got lots of extra Mommy snuggles.  Emily took this picture of me holding Abby while she watched a show and I read.  

We had a one night women's retreat, which was wonderful!!  Melissa did such a great job with it...already looking forward to next years!  

Photo booth at the retreat!  

The plan was to have our carpet cleaned and to not replace it since it was still in such great shape, but after a couple weeks in our house (and after the carpet cleaning had worn off I guess) the smell of dog came back, and we both knew we were going to have to replace it all.  My dad and two of his guys came up the day before the carpet was to be put down and took all of our old carpet up for us and painted the floors with a couple coats of Kilz just to make sure there was no remaining smell at all.  It was a job to get everything moved out of the living room (including our huge piano) and both of the girls rooms upstairs so that they could put the carpet down, but definitely worth the effort.  

We love the new carpet and our house has no smell at all, which is wonderful!!  

We also put carpet in both of the bedrooms upstairs but I didn't get a picture of those rooms.  

Hannah had a career day at school and she dressed up as a teacher because that is what she wants to be when she grows up!  

Paris Elementary had a skate night where all the kids got to wear their costumes to the skating rink!  I considered not letting Abby skate but she really wanted to so we let her.  She did great and didn't even want to hold my hand, but I usually made her.  

It was a fun night of skating and connecting with other families at our school!

The same day that Hannah had career day and dressed up a teacher, Claire dressed up for Fancy Nancy Day at school.  When the teachers were putting her in the car that afternoon they said Claire had the best costume!:)  While Claire and Hannah were dressing up for fun days at school Emily was getting ready for just another day and she declared that "3rd grade was boring!"  

I love our kitchen island.  It really is the best.  In the picture below the girls were all doing some work together, but this is also how they sit every afternoon when they get home from school.  They pull up two chairs from the other counter so that they can all sit together and eat their snack.  This is also our breakfast and lunch spot (we eat dinner in the dining room so that we can all sit together).  I feel like islands are so great for conversations and I'm thankful to have ours.  

I snapped Claire's picture in the carline one morning while we were waiting to drop her off.  She loves school and also loves sitting in the front seat when we are in the carline! 

We have two small groups at our church and we had a get together for both groups at a park near our church.  It was a fun night of fellowship with a bunch of cute kids!  

Abby still sleeps in a crib because she hasn't figured out how to climb out, but she did ask to have a pillow and blanket one night and she's slept with one every night since.  Sweet baby!  

I loved this picture of these three being silly.  And Abby in a fancy dress of course....she loves to wear dresses.  

I was at the store and Bert sent this picture to me and said the little three had been sitting at the island like this for an hour just coloring together.  They don't always play without arguing, but when they do it's the sweetest!  

Claire and Abby have become best buddies and love playing together while their sisters are at school!  They have so much fun together and play SO well together!  Here are a few pictures of them eating/playing/shopping with me during October!  

These days we're getting settled in our house and decorating for Christmas (I'm late working on the October blogposts!).  The busy, but wonderful Christmas season has begun and we are so thankful for these days!