Merry Christmas

We decided to simplify things around our house this Christmas Season. (as much as you can) As a result we decided not to do Christmas cards this year and do something after the baby comes. I am very grateful for all of the cards that I have received and I love hearing from so many of you. We still wanted to wish all of you a Very Merry Christmas and let you know that we are thinking of you and your families this time of year. We have had a wonderful year and have so much to be grateful for. One of the things that we are most grateful for is that we have had Manny home for a whole year. He is getting ready to leave in a few days, but we are grateful that he gets to be home for Christmas. We have been very blessed that he has never missed a Christmas with us. Manny's Dad was also able to come visit for a few days before Christmas. (He took this picture for us) More pictures to come after Christmas. We were so happy to have that time with him. We are looking forward to the upcoming birth of the baby in a few short weeks. We are all getting excited to have her in our family.

Merry Christmas from our home to yours!

Sara Emily

Erica

Jacob

David

Enjoying the Holiday Season

The kids had fun helping to make rolls. They made there's into lots of different shapes and sizes. They got to sit on Santa's lap at Manny's Christmas Party at work.

We also had fun decorating the Christmas tree!

The kids decorated cookies for their teachers at school. David wanted to join in so Manny let him decorate his own after they went to school.

Busy Busy Busy

We have been keeping really busy lately. I have been really bad about blogging the last few months, well since I became pregnant. Here's a little bit of catch up on our lives. This pregnancy has wiped me out. Recently I decided to start taking extra iron pills, thinking maybe I was anemic. It really seems to be helping. The boys have been busy being boys. David has decided that he wants to do everything that Jacob is doing. It's cute watching them play together. Jacob loves it that David finally wants to play with him. Jacob is doing really well in Kindergarten. I am so glad that he has such a wonderful teacher who has recognized that he was getting bored with what they were learning. She has made the extra effort to give him extra work and teach him new things so that he isn't bored. Emily and Erica had a concert at school where they sang a very nice variety of Christmas songs. They did a fantastic job! Of course they were on opposite sides, here is a picture of Emily with her class.

Here's Erica with her class.

Sara is learning to play the clarinet in Middle School this year. It was so much fun going to her first Band Concert. They did such a wonderful job after only playing their instruments for a few short months. She is in the very back left corner of the picture. It was super hot in the gym and very crowded, so I was just focusing on not passing out and this is the only picture that I took.

Before her concert we got a Pre-Concert at home. It is so wonderful to watch your children find a joy in music.

Jacob and Sara also participated in soccer this fall. They had a lot of fun.

When the three girls were little I use to think that life could not get any more crazy and busy then we were at that time. I soon found out that just because they were in school didn't mean less crazy. It's just a different kind of crazy and busy. But, we have so much joy watching our children grow, develop talents, and learn new things. Now we are getting ready for Christmas, for Manny to deploy in a few days, and for the baby. One thing is for sure... we are never bored and we are thankful for that!

Halloween at the Beach-part 1

The kids had the Friday before Halloween off of school. My friend Vinessa and her two kids went to Myrtle Beach with us. We had a wonderful time! The kids got to do a lot and keep busy, but it was actually very relaxing as well. Everything went very smoothly and it ended up being a very stress-free weekend. The family that we went with are our military family and the kids have pretty much grown up together. We have all known each other for almost 7 years now.

We have to get a goofy picture.

The very scary boys!

Freaky Girls!

Vinessa and Deon

We loved staying on the beach and sitting out on the balcony and having the ocean right there.

Daniel, Vinessa, and Olivia

Halloween at the Beach-part 2

We spent Friday afternoon at Ripley's Aquarium. The kids have so much fun here.

The kids had fun taking pictures. Here are just a few.

Petting the sting rays.

David LOVED petting the sting rays. Sara ended up having to put one hand on his back because he kept getting a little too close to the water. He was soaked.

Halloween at the Beach-part 3

We were so excited that it was actually warm enough to play at the beach on Halloween day. The weather was perfect and we had great waves to play in. The kids had so much fun!

Sara and David watching the waves.

I love the colors in this picture. We had such a fun weekend!