Illuminaton Festival 2012

This year, our Hippie wanted to see Toby Mac in concert.  We have listened to his music since the girls were 2 and 3.  We were not going to go because it was fairly expensive.  But we found out as part of the Illumination tour...he was going to be 10 minutes away.  Not only that but TWO days before her 8th birthday. My husband and I discussed it and decided in lieu of physical gifts we'd take her to see him.  We videoed her reaction.  It was priceless!

The girls all dressed, binoculars handy and ready to go!

We stopped and ate at McDonald's on the way there.

When we got there her jaw about dropped!  We were a little surprised at her reaction but then she told us "I thought this would be on a school stage with folding chairs!"  So being at a stadium was a huge shock!  First stop....we had promised her a Toby Mac shirt and cd.

Boom. Boom-Boom.  We got to hear City Harmonic and they performed one of our favorite songs!

It was hard to catch the Hippie without her binoculars!

The Genius had fun too.  Her favorite was Jamie Grace.  Once Jamie Grace left the stage it was time for Toby Mac!

And the perfect end to a perfect night...ice cream on the way home at 11 p.m.  Sometimes it is nice to just spend a night saying "yes" to your kids.  I am pretty sure the memories we created will last her a lifetime.  I don't think she will ever forget her 8th birthday.   It was all worth it for our sweet girl.

Glimpses of the Professor

He gets around! He loves his family, loves being outside and hates wearing clothes.
Have a great weekend!

The Follow Up Ultrasound

Today was my follow up ultrasound.  The reason for this was because at the last one the doctor suspected a small hole in our son's heart.  I got a sitter for the Genius and the Professor and took the Hippie with me on a date (of sorts).  I was not a bit nervous for this appointment until I woke up today.  Then I was...nervous.  Very nervous.  It seems like we have never really had a calm during this pregnancy.  The nurse spent a LOT of time measuring his heart, listening to his heart, taking pictures of his heart.  I think it was about 30 minutes of nothing but heart footage.  I was starting for feel pretty icky.  Eventually she had all she needed and she spent about 10 minutes showing of the baby to the Hippie and I as well as measuring fluid levels etc...  She scored some amazing profile pictures of our baby boy!

In the second pic, he actually has 1 finger pointing.  He was SO cute! We saw him moving and grooving all over the place.  We saw him swallow fluid and turn his head.  We saw his arm bones, leg bones, finger bones.  It is miraculous!  At the end of the appointment the doctor came back in and said that the baby is breech, but that he has plenty of time left to flip himself.  He does still have the hole in his heart but they do believe it is a small hole (thank you God).  At some point, the hole should simply heal itself and close up on its own.  At their practice though they practice with caution.  So I coming back every month for a follow up ultrasound.  I also have to go to a Children's Hospital for a pediatric cardiologist to do an ultrasound of his heart.  I am actually thankful for their caution.  Especially since none of these are invasive procedures.  Plus it means we get to keep seeing our baby boy. 
Thanks to everyone who has been praying for our son!  What I experienced today just reinforces that we have chosen the right name for him.  No one but my husband and I will hear the name until he is born.  It is a privilege we give the older siblings.  At his birth they will get to be the first ones in and the first ones to share his name with everyone. 
3 months and 11 days until his official due date.  We cannot wait to meet you Buddy!!!!

Back to School

Today we had a Back to School picnic

The Professor treed a squirrel or "fwirl".  

He then tried to bribe it down with a nut. "Here fwirl. Nut. Bite. Eat."

When that did not work he recruited the Hippie.  No "fwirl" in the park was safe from these two hunters.  They treed countless squirrels and left piles of nuts all over the park.

The we had our co-op orientation.  Legos galore!

And coloring too!

But the best part was the Fire Truck and Ambulance.  The Professor bawled his eyes out when we had to leave them.

What Our School Looks Like

A glimpse of what our schooling looks like this year.....

11 Years!

It is hard to believe that my husband and I have been married over 11 years now.  We upheld our annual tradition and went away for two night together!  His sister, mom and aunt came down to stay here with the kids.  It was so nice knowing our kids were well taken care of and at our house.  That meant I only had to pack for 2 of us instead of loading up all that extra kid gear.  This year we went to Muncie, IN and stayed at a Bed and Breakfast.

At night you gave the hosts your breakfast order and let them know what time you wanted to come eat.  This is what we woke up to.

Someone made ME a hot breakfast and I left all the dishes right there on the table.  That is priceless!
While we were gone we did more than our fair share of....eating.  We enjoyed a very leisurely lunch

This was delicious!  We took in books and I believe we spent over an hour eating s.l.o.w.l.y and reading and talking.  No interruptions and I got to eat while everything was piping hot and I got to eat SLOWLY.  It was such a wonderful meal.
We took in a movie, did some shopping and even toured a free art museum.  After all that....time to again!

The Bed and Breakfast had a private sitting area for us with Dish TV and comfy couches.

We rented a Red Box movie and curled on together and watched the movie, had some snacks (of course) and loved knowing that no kids would come tromping in to use the bathroom.  We soaked up every minute of our together time and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!
So thankful God brought us together 11+ years ago.  It just gets better and better!