The Plague

My blog silence is due to the fact that the stomach flu hit our family last Wednesday and is still rearing its ugly head. I will post all the details of our sad Christmas when it's over with. We have had some good times between the rottenness (Christmas afternoon was good), but it's been a bummer of a Christmas break. I am the last one standing--for now. :)

Gingerbread

The kids did an excellent job on their houses this year, and I did a better job with my royal icing. The candies stayed put this time and didn't go sliding down the walls. We strategically worked on them while Grant napped. The kids were so proud of their work. I enjoyed doing it with them. It made all the prep work worth it to see them having so much fun. The kids loved wearing their snowman aprons from Great Grandma Arnold, too. We're carrying on your tradition from afar, Grandma!

Caution: LOTS of pink ahead

Kari Lynn turned 8 years old this last Saturday. Here she is with her first dozen roses (short-stemmed since she's still relatively short), a beautiful gift from Grandpa Arnold when he came to pick her up for her birthday breakfast.



She had been looking forward to her special breakfast date with Grandpa and thoroughly enjoyed herself. He said later, "She ate cocoa and 4 sausages. Chocolate chip pancakes didn't make the cut." And she still wanted to go to The Dollar Tree afterwards, evidence that she's still young. :)


















Kari actually started celebrating her birthday a week early. We hosted our first girls' slumber party... and survived it!



It really was fun and did seem to go very well. We just didn't get a whole lot of sleep. I think the house was finally quiet at 1am. Two of the girls came into our room at 12:45am saying they needed to call their parents because they couldn't sleep. Greg convinced them that was not necessary, and 15 minutes later, everyone was snoozing.

As you can see, the theme was "pink"--any and everything PINK. It was Kari's idea, and I took it and ran with it, with help from Pinterest. Kari invited four girls from school, and we kept them all busy doing crafts, decorating cupcakes, and watching a movie.

Greg was in awe of how much noise 5 little girls could make and just how silly and girly they were together. His puzzlement made a lot more sense when he reminded me the next morning that he grew up in a house full of boys with no sisters. This was his first girl slumber party, too! :) He said,"We're good til next year now, right?" We'll see...


The pink decor stayed up for the next week because we planned her family party for the night of her real birthday which wasn't until the next weekend. Kari requested shredded barbecue chicken on homemade buns, so that's what we had. I made three batches of buns...the things we do for our children. :) The kids played a pink version of Twister, and we all had a nice evening together. Kari was thrilled with all her presents. It was strange to not see a toy among them.  Now it's crafts, itunes, books, and clothes. She's growing up!

(You'll have to double-click on the collage to get a closer look at Grandpa M's shirt)

Crazy December

Every year, once Thanksgiving has come and gone, it feels like a race to get everything done for Kari's birthday and Christmas at the same time. (That's what we get for having a mid December baby.) We're in the middle of that race right now. One pink party down, one to go. I decided to take a break and post a couple recent photos.

Greg did an "Elf Yourself" music video (the kids' faces on elf bodies, singing and dancing) which made for some great after dinner entertainment one night last week. They all had so much fun watching themselves. Grant found it especially funny.














Here are some messy baby photos, since we haven't had any for a while. Grant has suddenly become a very picky eater, and we're struggling to find things that he will eat. He ate nutella and pretzels with his peanut butter sandwich for lunch on this particular day. Not the best, most nutritious meal, but at least I got some protein in him that wasn't just milk. This kid loves his milk! He does a happy dance when he sees it coming.

Grant's Dedication Letter

We've had the special privilege of dedicating each of our babies to God in front of our church body. Here is the letter we wrote and read to Grant two weeks ago for his dedication.

Dear Grant,
When you joined our family, you threw us into a state of chaos that lasted a lot longer than we expected. We were so happy to have you, and your siblings were so very excited to hold you, take care of you, and dote on you, but life was just crazy during your first year of life. You definitely made your presence known with your colicky fussiness and your refusal to sleep. Your sister beat you in the fussy department, though, so we knew we could outlast you on that one, but the sleep deprivation you brought us was a real challenge. While your siblings all slept through the night at least once by three months of age, you chose to wait until after a year and still don’t seem to enjoy sleep as much as we do. You have continually reminded us in these 15 months that you are your own unique little person, that no matter how many children we’ve had, we haven’t had you yet, and things are going to be different with you. We dedicate you to God today, knowing that He knows you better than we do and trusting that He will guide us and give us wisdom as we train and raise you.
You are a cheerful, fun-loving, and passionate little guy. You have a quick smile that lights up your whole face, and a quick temper, too, which we’re seeing more and more of these days as you enter toddlerhood. You are going to keep life exciting, for sure. Never a dull moment in the Moffat house!
We are so thankful for you and the excitement and joy you’ve brought our family. We pray that you will come to know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior at an early age, that you will use that passionate spirit and intensity to serve God wholeheartedly. We pray that you will keep your way pure, as it says in Psalm 119:9&10, by living according to God’s word, and that you will seek Him with all your heart and faithfully walk with Him all your life.
We love you, little Grant-man.


Mom and Dad

Tree Fetching '11

Went back to the same $10 tree farm we went to last year. We deliberated quite a while, trying to find just the right tree.
















Joel laughing and saying, "How 'bout this one?"

In front of our chosen tree
It's a BIG tree and pretty much fills the front room and window, which is exactly what I wanted. :) We don't have any furniture in there, so we have plenty of room!

Father/daughter bonding

Aubrey sat on Greg's lap, watching football and eating popcorn with him for a long time Sunday evening. She was watching very intently. It was too cute.

95th Birthday Celebration

My great-grandma (my mom's grandma) turned 95 years old on November 23rd, and a bunch of family gathered at my parents' newly finished house to celebrate with her. It's amazing to think of what she's seen in her lifetime--95 years. Wow. She moved to an apartment at a retirement home here in Gresham last spring, and it's been so nice to have her close-by. The kids and I like to stop by and visit. She ends up with more artwork than she knows what to do with sometimes, I think. :)
She is one special lady. I admire, love, and respect her so much, and I'm so glad my kids have gotten to know her.

Opening her presents and cards











I like this one of Mom and Grandma











Grandma and just some of her great-great grandchildren (plus baby-holders).
Grant played with my great uncle, Gene, and Joan for quite a while.












Everyone who was able to make it that night.

Thankful

We have so much to be thankful for. God has blessed us with so much. This morning I am particularly thankful for rest. All the kids slept all night until 6am, and that hasn't happened for many weeks.

Joel brought this home from school this week. His teacher wrote whatever the kids told her they were thankful for. This warmed my heart.
























And then I saw this on Kari's desk a couple days ago. It, too, warmed my heart, especially since Kari isn't one to express her feelings very often. It was like seeing through a window into her heart. I think writing is going to be helpful to her in the years to come. I know it is for me.
























Happy Thanksgiving!

Fifteen months

My baby has turned into a toddler. It's true. He runs, jabbers with a few recognizable words, finally says "mama" as well as "dada," throws tantrums (that are still funny), looks at books (Hop on Pop is the current favorite), flies backwards down the stairs on his tummy, does and says things to make us and his siblings laugh, and just acts like a little tiny person with his own distinctive personality. He has become a pickier eater and refuses to eat meat. He loves his milk, though, and I mean really loves it. He also seems to have acquired some soccer skills at a very early age. We've been trying to capture them on video, but every time we got out the camera, he would stop. We finally succeeded, and you can see for yourself.

toddler soccer player and "yes" man from Andrea Moffat on Vimeo.

Isn't he funny? We love the little running kick he does. And since this video won't be a part of my blog book, I have to document the fact that he says "yes" very clearly. In fact, he has yet to say the word "no." He's the only one of our kids to say "yes" before "no." He's very good at showing his displeasure when things don't go his way, though, so I'm sure it won't be long before "no" is a part of his vocabulary.

End of the season

We are finding we have a little more time now that soccer is over. It was a good season for both kids, a little crazy schedule-wise but still good. Here are the team photos from the very beginning of the season back when it was 90 degrees on the field.






















Joel with "Coach Greg." This is cheesy, but I like the father/son photo





















The last couple games were a far cry from the 90 degree heat. The end of the season was cold, wet, and windy. We really didn't have a lot of rainy soccer games this year, for which we were ever so grateful, but those last two Saturdays were really cold! Grant could hardly move with all his cold weather gear and couldn't get up whenever he fell down, which was often since he was so bundled up and off balance, but he was warm! I love Grant's smile in this picture and that you can see Kari chasing the ball in the background.
          














Aubrey was a pretty good sport this season. She watched a lot of soccer and helped keep track of her wild little brother who was constantly trying to run onto the field. As long as I brought plenty of snacks for those long mornings, we were ok. She might get to play next year.

Joel became quite the soccer player this year. Last year he hardly touched the ball, but this year he was a major player out on that field. He truly enjoyed playing and liked that he got to score lots of goals.

 
This one was a goal!




Kari loved playing again this year. She was a go-getter, and she was FAST. She was on a team with a great group of girls and had a really nice, encouraging coach. Kari seems to have some soccer talent and got better and better throughout the season. We'll see if it's something she continues to enjoy. I hope so because I like watching her play.




Enjoying the treats after the last game with her good friend, Ellie.