Moved In

Well, we have finally found, rented, and moved into our new place here in Louisiana.  We moved to the little town of Deridder about 30 minutes away from Heath's work.  We really like the area - it is much more family friendly and the schools seem to be a little better.  So, hopefully I will unpack the camera's cord soon and I can start posting some pictures. 

My favorite thing about Louisiana so far is the winter weather - about 70 degrees each day and my least favorite thing has to be the FIRE ants and the fact that we discovered this danger as they bit poor little Noah all over his legs - lots and lots of times!  I'll post pictures soon!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Here's a picture of the Valentine's Day cake we make.  Each child and myself got a section to decorate.  I had to help Noah but it was fun.  Sydney and Logan each had fun and they really enjoyed eating their own part for dessert.

We Made It!

We've made it to Louisiana and are starting to settle in a little bit.  We have been here a little over a week and the weather is really awesome!  It is in the 50s and 60s most days and just so pleasant outside.  However, I hear that in just a month or two that nice, pleasant weather turns to scorching heat and skyrocketing humidity.  I don't normally like heat so we shall see how that goes.  I bet we have the highest power bills this summer! 

We are just in a temporary two bedroom apartment which is a little crowded but is working OK for now.  We have looked at a few rentals but so far we haven't found the right one.  Most of our stuff is in storage, including the cord for downloading pictures so no pictures for now. 

We love and miss all of our family and are excited to start making new friends here in Louisiana. 

Family Pictures 2010

  

Back in October we had my sister-in-law take some family photos for us.  We figured it was time.  Of course, Heath and I dislike any pictures that we are in but that is nothing new.  The children look super cute, that is, they look super cute when they are looking at the camera.  Anyways, here are a few of my favorites. 

Thanks Amanda!

Do You Hear What I Hear?

You might, but Noah didn't. 

Noah has had numerous ear infections over the past year plus lots of fluid in his ears pretty much all the time.  So, after meeting with and ENT we decided to have him get ear tubes.  Hopefully this will cure his problems or at least make any future infections easier to treat.  The only problem was that we are in a serious time crunch and the earliest appointment the ENT's scheduler offered me was the Friday before we moved.  I explained our situation to her and she promised to talk with the doctor.  Bless that man, because he agreed to switch time slots with another doctor and come into the surgery center when he wasn't scheduled to put in Noah's tubes for us.  So nice!  So, Noah got ear tubes on the 17th and seemed to do really well.  The next day he had some stomach trouble (I think from the drainage in his ears) and sadly missed out on an early Christmas celebration with my extended family.  He seems to be doing great now and I am so amazed at how many new words he has learned in the past week and a half! 

Charter Christmas 2010

We spent Christmas Eve at home with just us (and Pa & Grammy) and had a fun time preparing for Christmas Day.  We wrapped presents, made cookies, made reindeer food, watched Christmas movies, drank hot chocolate, ate lots of treats, opened new pj's, and of course read the Christmas story out of the Bible.  I don't think that Sydney took a normal step all day.  She bounced or danced her way all around for all of Christmas Eve.  I thought she might have a hard time sleeping but to my surprise she went right to sleep.  Logan, on the other hand, had a hard time settling down and just couldn't lay still enough to fall asleep.  He was just too excited!  In the morning we woke to see that Santa had found his way to our house.  Sydney was so excited, she was especially excited about getting a pillow pet!  Logan was just plain excited, he loved everything he saw, even Noah's stuff.  Noah, he was excited because the other two children were. 

Full Stockings:

Eaten cookies and drunk milk:

Must mean that Santa came!

Opening, Playing and Enjoying:

 

Noah got a box of Kleenex from Santa that we let him pull each tissue out of.  He loved it!

Christmas night we had lots of visitors!  All of my siblings and their children arrived and we ate, and talked, and ate, and open presents, and played, and then ate some more.  It was a great day and it made me a little sad to think that in a few short weeks we will be far away from all of our family.  I am so glad we were able to spend this Christmas here with some of our family before we move.

A Whole Hand

Sydney turned five today and as she will tell you that is a whole hand!  Being five is pretty much awesome mainly because it means that she is old enough to go to school this coming Fall. She can hardly wait!  Since we had already had a birthday party for her friends we just had cake and presents at home with our family.  It was a great way to end our Sunday!  Sydney we love you and are so grateful you are part of our little family!

Make a wish!

Opening presents...I love all of her faces and the hint of excitement in each.

  

Her present from Grammy.  Mommy animals each with their own baby.  She was in heaven!

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

Much to my children's joy we got a few inches of snow here in Virginia.  First thing in the morning we all bundled up and went outside to play.  This was Noah's first time in the snow and he was a little unsure about it.  He liked it at first but after a few minutes he just wanted me to hold him the whole time.  Logan like snow but not nearly as much as Sydney does.  She could and would stay outside all day if you let her.  It is nice to get a little snow in before we leave.  I doubt we will be getting too much in Louisiana.

Burger King Party

We had a joint birthday party for Logan and Sydney with their friends this year at Burger King.  We decided to have it two weeks after Logan's birthday and two weeks before Sydney's birthday.  It was a big success and I must say having it at Burger King was way easier and way cheaper than doing it pretty much anywhere else.  The play set was the entertainment and a kids meal with an added cupcake were the refreshments.  I didn't have to clean the house before or after the party, so that was awesome!  Lots of little friends showed up and the children were spoiled with plenty of fun gifts.  Here are the only pictures I managed to take.  Just one shot of each of my children.

We had a fun time and now we are ready for Christmas!

Far Far Away....

Not quite all the way to Judea's plains but all the way to Louisiana!!!! That is right we are moving...again. Heath was offered a job for the Government in Fort Polk, Louisiana and after much deliberation we have decided to take it. This means a cross country move for our little family into the HOT unknown. I am super sad and super excited all at the same time. We will be leaving somewhere around the 10th of January. I will keep everyone posted on the details as I get them!