it's all good.

yes.  life is good.
and, i have 2 moments for ya.

my happy feeling started at pta...
can you see Anna?  Second row, flower in her hair.

As I watched her sing I just felt what a good girl she is, and how blessed I am to be a mother.
To be HER mother.  She is a joy.  All my kids are. 
Really, I like them.  I'd pick them out of a crowd and want them in my family. 
It brought tears to my eyes...  I am so blessed to have these great kids.
And, it changed me.  I popped out of my "it's hard" place and I'm back in my "it's a blessing" place.
this is where i love to be.

and then today, i had playgroup at my house. 
my house was REGULAR.
my mom is moving in with us tonight, and so my bedrooms are all half-moved and not perfect.
yes, i straightened.  but i don't have the desire or the energy to really clean like i normally would for a house full of guests.
i just straightened and let it be real life.
and, it was so fun.
i LOVE these women (and their cute kids)
i love them.  and, i need them. 
it's not too hard to be social... 
and, who knew that i really do like people even when i'm pregnant.
see... i'm still in here.
look how cute these kids are.

life is good.
and, i held a cute little baby and just about died...
i can't wait for a baby...  oh, the joy a baby brings to a family.
i rocked this baby to sleep and just held her while she slept.
lily came out and was so cute... "baby, baby!"  she kept saying.
then she went and got a baby stroller for me to put the baby in...
she kept petting the baby's head, which made the baby wake up a little.
i said, "Shh, the baby's sleeping."
but, when lily saw the baby's eyes open a little bit she yelled, "WAKE!!!  See mom, baby WAKE!!!"
i smiled... oh yes, I know just what is in store for me when my baby is born... 
LOTS of baby lovers in my family.
i can't wait.

let's skip halloween.

because... i don't have pictures and it's killin' me.

i still have a basket of my kids' halloween costumes so i can dress them up for a picture... but, it's painful for me to think about.
almost as painful to have one whole year with no costumes.

halloween this year was OK.
actually, i kinda hated halloween this year.
and i kinda loved it.
i was without husband.
and, i didn't want all the candy in my house.
we went to fall festival at the school... i forced myself to go...
no, i wasn't excited even though i love my school and pta plans fall festival.
still... too many kids/people and candy and organized chaos.
i'd rather be home.
but, my kids love it...
this year they had a lot of games, you had to work hard for your candy...
which takes time...
so, my kids only got a sandwich bag full of candy...
it was PERFECT.

the little girls had a play group party where they dressed up again, and jakob got invited to a party on Friday night... he wore his costume, but discovered when he got there, that he was the only one dressed up.  :)

when it was time for our church trunk r treat,
i was alone, and jakob had a band concert that we all needed to go to from 5:30-7:30pm,
i gave my kids a choice of what we would do afterwards...
trunk r treating, $2 cash, or ice cream at Cup of Yo. 
they choose Cup of Yo!!!!! 
Horray!!
No costumes, NO CANDY, just $15 of frozen yogurt after the band concert and they went to bed with all their teeth in tact.

we didn't trick r treat on Sunday,
so, ALL the candy and trick r treating they got was at our school Fall Festival.
isn't that amazing??!!
i did kinda miss the candy sorting piles...
that is my favorite part of halloween.
but, i don't miss the sugar.

and-
I'm so ready for THANKSGIVING!!!
and Christmas.
i put a turkey on my window yesterday...
We had our fun Harvest Feast on halloween night... i'll have to post pictures.
We also watched CREEPY CREATURES a National Geographic special... that was fun.
When that was over we watched a documentary on the World's deadliest drug... Meth.
My kids were entranced and freaked out... in a real scary way.
And, we played Werewolves... spooky.
My mom and my aunt came to visit.
We got THREE trick r treaters.  THREE.
i think it's because there are a lot of Christians in Lubbock who don't trick r treat on Sunday or maybe they just go to their own church parties and not around the neighborhood.
At least my kids weren't crying at the door while their friends filled up on candy.

Overall, i loved this holiday.
(yes, i'm still going to make them dress up again for a picture...)
even if i did it a little shabbily.
sorry halloween...  i kinda missed you this year.

prayer time.

i am a sucker for babies at prayer time.
i teach them to fold their arms, close their eyes, and bow their head...
and then i giggle through the whole prayer.
seriously.
the professor sends me disapproving vibes, but i can't help it.
how can you resist this adorable face?

this is why i have 6 kids.
this is my post about leah's funny prayer face.