After a long trip in the car (which went very well)...we found our way to Deckerville and we are so happy to be here. The kids were so excited to see their cousins and lots of snow.Here are my brothers and sisters - definitely a full house, but we do have loads of fun.

And of course you can't leave out the grandkids. On Christmas eve, the kids opened one present (the boys got pjs and the girls got dolls). Again, they were so excited to be in Michigan. After the kids went to bed, we (the adults) opened our presents. Then on Christmas morning, we let the kids open presents. They all got so many new and fun toys. But the biggest present to everyone was the new pool.Here is Caleb and Chloe enjoying the new indoor pool that my parents put in this fall. I will be sending more pictures and movies of them enjoying the pool. I just wanted to send some pictures of us having fun in Michigan. I hope to send some pictures of opening presents with the Lunn family as well as the McGregor family when I get home. Have a happy new year!!!

Making cookies

Our advent calendar today was to make cookies. So after dinner we made cookies, the kids had a lot of fun rolling out the dough and choosing the cookies that they wanted to cut out. We played Christmas music and just enjoyed each other tremendously.It started to "snow" in the evening and the kids were supposed to be going to bed, but we couldn't help but let them go outside and play, as tired as they were, they had a blast.

On Tuesday, school was cancelled because of the icy roads, so we stayed in and decorated the cookies that we made on Monday. Chloe was very particular with her cookies. She also was very sneaky and ate a lot more than I wanted her to. I should have figured it out when she was being so quiet....
Caleb decorates his spiderman gingerbread man.....I am not sure that one will ever be eaten......

Grandma Lunn came over to decorate her cookies with the kids as well. We were pretty tired of decorating after almost 2 hours of it.....but boy did we have fun. Can't wait for next year!!!

December fun.....

Well, I can't believe it is almost Christmas...it came up so quickly this year. We have had a pretty good December so far. The kids have enjoyed the advent calendar that we are doing. Each day we have a piece of candy and on some days we have a family activity we are doing . For example on Monday we are going to get ice cream and drive around and look at Christmas lights, Tuesday we are going to make Christmas cookies and take them to some friends, Wednesday we are having a mini Christmas with our cousins Tanner and Tessa, Thursday we are going to the nursing home to visit our adopted resident, Friday is movie night and Saturday Santa is coming. Lots of fun activities that we are doing and the kids get so excited when there is a yellow activity paper in the advent calendar drawer.

Chloe has started potty training a little bit. She is so independent that she doesn't want me to help her at all. One day, she comes running out of the bathroom (no diaper on ) yelling, "I went poop in the toilet!" She was very proud of herself as were we. However, she hasn't pooped since, but peeing has been going pretty well. She is probably going to teach herself and that will be nice and easy for me. I took her picture, but Josh decided that we shouldn't post it...

I ran my half marathon today - no pictures - it was a very windy day, pretty gusty. I am not sure if I am making excuses, but the race was not a great one. I have never ran a race that I just felt yucky the whole race. I can't pinpoint what felt yucky, but it was just not a great race for me. I finished under 2 hours which was my ultimate goal, but I wanted to finish farther under 2 hours than I did. If you are a runner, you know what it is like to have a bad run. I just usually have bad runs at home, not in a race. Oh well, next time.....
We are heading up to Michigan on the 23rd, so we are excited about that. A long road trip is never fun, but we are excited to see my family and hopefully play in the snow.

Here are a couple of pictures just because I know it is more fun to see the pictures than to actually read the posts :)

Thanksgiving, Texas style

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at Grandma Lunn's house. The kids all ate at the table with Grandma and Grandpa Lunn, that was a nice break for the moms and dads. We had turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, fruit, corn, green bean casserole, cranberry salad, rolls, and I am sure I am missing something....but needless to say, we had plenty to eat. My two kids, didn't like the turkey....they prefer ham.

Chloe and her Grandpa play on the floor. Chloe loves her Grandpa Lunn.

It isn't Texas if the weather is exactly the opposite of what it should be. You know, Thanksgiving should be cold and make you pull out your favorite sweaters...well, not in Texas. This year, thankfully, it was a beautiful day so we were able to get out of the house and go for a walk. We ended up at the park and the kids loved being able to play and run around (which they weren't allowed to do in the house). I had to leave early b/c of a diaper issue, but the kids had fun.

Finally after almost 8 months, I got a picture of Keira with Grandpa and Grandma Lunn...don't they look great???
All tired out after an exhausting day of being held and loved on....

Happy Thanksgiving...enjoy the holidays this year!

Caleb had a Thanksgiving feast that we were able to go to. He dressed up as an Indian who was named "Climb the Mountain" (he gave himself that name).

We had a play group with some of Caleb's friends on Monday and decorated gingerbread cookies. Everyone ate their cookie (Chloe only licked the frosting and candy off) except for Caleb

Proud of his cookie

Decorating the tree in the kitchen was loads of fun. Here, Chloe adds yet another red bulb to the same branch....they had fun.


The finished product!

Caleb go to put the star on top of the tree. He thought that was pretty cool.

Keira is crawling

My baby is getting so big. She finally figured out that she can move much easier by using her hands. Now the fun really begins....shutting doors, keeping all small objects out of reach, etc...Enjoy the video.

What a weekend...

This weekend we went to some dear friends' lake house. We had so much fun. The kids were able to play outside in the leaves (lots of them), practice fishing (which they loved - Grandpa Lunn would be proud of the way they can cast their lines), and just playing with Halie. The weekened was really relaxing and cool. We enjoyed a nice warm campfire and lots of hot coffee. Josh and Paul played Bocci ball and Sarah and I scrapbooked. It was so nice to get away from the busy weekends and enjoy just hanging out and spending time with friends.
This is Halie - she is three and the kids play so well all together. We hardly had to entertain them :)

Soccer Party

Caleb's soccer team came over to our house for and ice cream party after their last game. It was hot, but they had fun and the ice cream was yummy. Keegan is missing, but the rest of the kids were able to come (Caden, CJ, Reese, Caleb, and Ben). They all were so excited to get their trophys......

Caleb sporting his trophy. Love that smile!!

Halloween

Happy Halloween! The kids had a blast this year. We went to the church for their festival and I think they could have stayed all night. They had these huge slides and jump houses that the kids loved, and they also had games indoors that they enjoyed as well. Keira just came along for the ride and she hardly made a peep. She was great. Chloe had a wide variety of costume choices (tinkerbell, carebear, supergirl, skunk, and peter pan). I think she made a good choice, green is definitely her color. Caleb, as you can well imagine, enjoyed being spiderman and seeing all the other villians and super heroes out trick or treating. After we went to the church, we went to Grandma Lunn's neighborhood and did some trick or treating. All in all, we ended up with lots of candy - go figure. The candy fairy is coming to trade most of the candy for a special prize. We hope you had a great halloween as well!

My Little Witch

While Caleb and Chloe were having quiet time, Keira decided that she wanted some mommy time. So, I took her outside in her halloween outfit (not her costume) and had a photo shoot, these are some of the pictures I got. She wasn't sure of the grass, but soon enough she was trying to eat it. We had fun, and I think these pictures are cute...

A Bad Case of Bed Head

So, Keira woke up with this mohawk looking hairdo...had to take pictures....I don't know how her baby fine hair got stuck like that, but I thought it was pretty funny. Of course, Chloe needed to be in the picture sporting her beautiful morning hair as well. Thank goodness I had to take the picture....otherwise, there would be three Lunn ladies with bad bed heads....

Keria is 6 months!

My baby girl is 6 months old. She is so sweet and wonderful. She is eating solid foods and loving them. She is not quite crawling, but scooting around pretty easily. She can sit up all by herself now. I still put a pillow behind her for those infrequent falls. She loves mom....of course because I have the goods :) She smiles at everyone and is quite the talker. She has a very loud voice, but I think she has realized that she has to speak up to be heard in this family (both sides). She is very flexible and amazingly enough, all three of my kids have quiet/nap time at the same time everyday. What a lucky mom I am .

Kids say the darndest things......

I wanted to share a little story with you about Caleb. He started pre-school in September and he loves it. He has learned so much that surprises me. I am sure you all have had one of those moments when your child says or does something amazing and you didn't teach it to them. Kindof sad, but very cool. The other night over at Grandma's house for dinner, we asked Caleb to pray like he always does (normal prayer - "thank you Jesus for this day thank you for the food, amen"). He said "sure", and proceded by folding his hands and gets real serious, "Our father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name (okay so I am cracking up, never heard him say this before) thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread (I am impressed now and so is everyone else)" Well, I assume he is learning the rest of it at school. I just thought it was so sweet and impressive.

Chloe is talking all the time now. She talks in complete sentences and does say some pretty funny things. When she thinks, she rolls her eyes and says "ummmmm" you have to see it to realize how cute and funny it is. And when I tell her no more, she says "just one more mommy?". She isn't allowed to get on the top bunk, but she will ask, "just for one minute?" how can you refuse her sweet smile and innocence????

Pumpkin patch

We went to the pumpkin patch today and the kids had a really great time. Chloe fed the goats and loved that. The weather was perfect in the shade. It got a little warm in the sun, but overall, it was beautiful. I would have liked more shade for better pictures, but oh well, it is what it is. Keira loved her first hayride on which she decided to spit up which she conveniently does when I don't have my burp cloth with me. Thank goodness for her sock, which she didn't need anyway as it was warm enough without them. We met some friends there and that was fun. On a side note, we are thinking about selling our house to get out of the neighborhood. So, we are busy trying to paint and fix some of the odds and ends that have been needing to get done. We absolutely love the neighbors here, but we don't want Caleb or the girls going to the school right next door. A lot of things have changed since we moved here and the school isn't what it used to be. Since education is pretty important to us, we decided that we should move somewhere that we feel comfortable with sending our kids to the neighborhood school.

Caleb's first goal

Okay, so the first two games for Caleb were not the best. I was beginning to wonder if he would ever play. He would stand in the middle of the field and either cry or fold his arms and be mad.

I attribute it to the fact that his first two games were at 2:00 and it was hot and during his normal quiet time AND they were getting creamed by bigger and I believe older kids..... The third game was at 8 am and he loved it. He played and ran and kicked the ball. Last night was a makeup game and he scored a goal. He was pretty excited. He and his teammates had fun and enjoyed the game amidst the soccer was lots of web shooting, playing with his shadow, and playing with his friends. Luckily, that is all allowed in the game.....I remember when I was in sports how loud my mom was and I vowed that I would never be that loud or embarras my kid like that....well, hate to say it, but I am that mom....Josh made me be quiet last night....I just couldn't though, I was so excited and had to yell. Oh well, sorry kids, you are just going to have to put up with a proud mom. And yes, I am very proud of all my kids!

Caleb does the monkey bars

Caleb did the monkey bars all by himself tonight....so exciting. I bribed him with an idog that looks like spiderman.....I originally told him he could have it when he learned how to ride his bike (with training wheels of course), so when I told him that he could have it tonight, I really didn't think he would want to do the monkey bars - he has kindof been afraid of them - and he did it without any problems, so that is what I get for not thinking my son can do something with a little motivation. I am excited that he can do it and hope that he continues to want to do it. Sorry the video is a little dark, I hope you can see it. I may have to take another one during the day....Enjoy!

Caleb's first day of school

Caleb started school last week and loves it. He was excited to go and really didn't mind that I wasn't staying. He said goodbye and went on his way. Chloe had to be a part of the action, so I took her picture also. He is really starting to grow up and be more independant....not by his own will, but we have started making him do stuff for himself. He now can buckle his seat belt, which I think he could always have done, but I always did it. I told him if he did it all by himself we could get lunch at McDonalds....that was all it took. He also has been getting on the computer and has learned how to use the mouse quite well....time to beef up the security on the computer. He is wiping his own bottom now which is HUGE for me :). There are just so many things he can do now that I always had to do for him. It is really nice that he can do all those things, but also sad because I know that he doesn't need me as much as he used to.
Keira tried rice cereal this week and seemed to know what she was doing. She liked it pretty good. I am not sure we will keep giving it to her as she seems to prefer milk instead, so I may take a break and add another feeding, that seems to be working better. I thought we were down to 4 meals a day, but she is sleeping better with 5, so I am going to stay with that. Anyway, thought you would like to see her trying....