Maddox met my best friend, the funnel cake.

the other shoe just fell...

We've gotten pretty settled into the new house. I was completely caught up on laundry, had a cleaning schedule down, and was planning to go through a few random boxes in the basement and organize all the Christmas decorations and already purchased gifts. I went down to the basement to get a chicken out of the freezer, and found the boys' toys floating and bouncing against the walls. Maddox thought we had a big pool down there, not so much.
I called Travis in a complete panic, couldn't get in touch with him, ran to the neighbor's house to see if they had a shop vac, which they didn not have, but found out he is a plumber! SWEET!!!! He came back to the house with me, found the source of the water, dead sump pump, and told me it was an easy fix. All that was great, what made it better, is Travis got my frantic messages and was able to take an extended lunch and come home. I love living 10 minutes from his office!!!! We went to Home Depot and were back home in time for him to go to work and the 2 little kids to go down for naps. The neighbor came back and had the new pump installed and working before the older 2 got home from school. All in all, the crisis was averted! Now I just have to keep using the squeegy to get the water out of the boys' toy area, the freezer area, and the storage area.... Such is the life of a home owner.

The cardboard boxes hold Travis's Cisco books, I think he cried a little bringing those soggy, heavy books upstairs.

Serving and protecting!

I have the best little heroes to protect me while Travis is at work and the older boys are at school. Now, if only I can get these heroes to pick up their toys, play nicely, and take good naps my life would be perfect.

Family room finished!!!!

We have blinds and drapes hung! I have an empty fire place hearth! I'm so excited. Now, we just need fireplace doors, tools, and wood.

Sunday picnic

House (48 photos), by Sheri Ferris

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Holloween Fun

I woke up Saturday morning and couldn't find any of my kids. I did find Bumble Bee, Optimus Prime, Buzz Lightyear, and a Love Bug.

Kids, adorable kids.

The boys cuddling on the couch watching a movie to celebrate no school on Thursday and Friday.
Olivia being her cute self! (runny nose and all)

brace yourself!!!!

This afternoon there are going to be TONS of words and pictures!
House
Trick 0r Treating
Cute kids

All of it!!!

new hairstyle

Olivia is moving up in the hair accessories world. Now, in addition, to the barettes she's had since birth she also has hair ties. I think she makes a very cute "pebbles". Maddox likes having something to pull on when they are on the floor together. Travis likes seeing her hair long and up on a pony-tail.

house progress

We moved everything that wasn't a bed, dresser, or desk this past weekend. Thanks to my laptop and memory, I was able to move all of my cookbooks. Mom, this one's for you! Instead of a bookcase overflowing with cookbooks, I now have a cabinet. It's not even full!!! I guess that means I can get more cookbooks to pour over and find fabulous recipes :)

No fridge is complete without Diet Coke (the coke is in there becasue a dear friend of ours made an emegency trip out to the house Saturday night to repair a pipe and install our dishwasher.) He's a coke purest, so I wanted to make sure he had the right kind of "motivation" to get my water turned back on.

The kids enjoying snacks in the new kitchen while Travis and I got things packed up (AKA organized the many piles and chaos that flowed through-out the house).

Happy Birthday, Maddox Carl!

Three years ago you came into our family and have made us laugh ever since! Thank for being a great little brother to Cooper and Nelson, a fantastic big brother to Olivia, and mind and Daddy's baby man! We love you!!!!!

My new house!!!!!!

The front door (now just imagine it red).

Doesn't it look like the cars just "fit" ? :)

The huge backyard.

This is going to be my favorite part of the house! My own bathroom, no more tripping over toys to get in and out of the shower.

My boys

Cooper and Nelson love to walk home from the grocery store. We can see the back of the building from our front door. The other day, they wanted to walk home, and I said yes because Travis had just pulled into the driveway (no I don't have X-ray vision to see through the neighbors' houses. He was on the phone with me while I was packing the groceries into the van). Maddox wanted to be a "big boy" and go with. I told Cooper he had to hold his hand the entire time, not to let go for anything. Can you believe it!?!?! He did. All. the. way. home.

I broke the baby.

Thankfully it's hard to see, but there is a raspberry on the side of Liv's eye. While transporting boxes to the basement, she decided to follow. Head first. Down every step. Talk about my stomach sinking. I felt awful! This was somewhat expected with the first child, but by number four you would think I would have the whole close the door behind you thing mastered. I thought the door was closed. It was, just not latched all the way. She was able to open it and go headfirst down the steps. :(

Chaos for the next month or so...

We are renters for the first time in over 9 yrs. The good news is, we won't have to be renters after Oct 31!!!! We close on our new house Sept 30, and then take the next month to move out of this house and into our new, wonderful house. So far, we have 2 closets full of bins and boxes that have been packed, and so much more to go!!!! Olivia is loving the empty cabinets, they are new toys to her, I love having empty walls and somewhat empty closets. I'm aslo finding some great "treasures" that I didn't know I had.

Catching up!

The boys have been in school for one week and they love it!
Maddox is slowly adjusting to being the only boy around the house during the day. He's stopped asked every 3 minutes when his "brodders" are going to be home. It's now every 7-8 minutes.
Olivia has embraced 1 with fervor! Temper tantrums are a regular thing around here. Thankfully they are short lived and she moves on rather quickly.
Travis and I celebrated our 10 wedding anniversary last Friday. It was great to go out to an adult dinner (The Melting Pot) and just enjoy each other's company without being interrupted by the kids.
We close on this house this week. We are still looking for our next one, we have seen several, love lots of things about lots of them, but haven't settled on the "perfect" one yet... God knows what we want, He knows what we need, He will show us the perfect house for us, we are confident.
Pictures are coming soon, I promise! I have lots from the first day of school, fun times with Grandma Nelson, and more from Olivia's birthday party.

Happy Birthday, Baby Doll!!!!

Today our baby doll is 1!!! We can't believe how fast this year has flown by. Happy Birthday, Olivia Lynn.

First day of school

The boys had their first day of school. They loved it!!! Cooper loves being in 2nd grade. Nelson loved 1st grade as well. I hope the excitement doesn't wear off too fast.

The crazy week has begun!

1. I survived, without tears, Olivia's birthday party. I can't wait to post the pictures. SHE WAS ADORABLE! Now, I just have to survive Wednesday, the actual birthday.
2. Tomorrow is a HUGE day in this house. By 8AM I will be with 1/2 the children I gave birth to for almost 8 hrs every day. Yep, school starts. Cooper has his "nicest" shorts and polo shirt all laid out, with his backpack and shoes ready to go. Nelson... I had to convince him that shorts with lots of wear holes are not the best choice and will not make the best first impression on the 1st grade class.

Lots of pictures coming tomorrow, lots of pictures. 1st day of school and birthday party fun.