Family time.

We want to be a family who has fun together.

We want our kids to look back on their childhoods and remember the laughter and fun. Of course we have tough times and struggles, but we hope that we'll create enough fun memories as a family that they'll cancel out those bad times. It takes effort though. We're working at it.

This weekend we played Uno while we ate cookies, we flew a kite together, watched the animated Jim Elliot Story on dvd while we ate popcorn, had family dinners together, went to DJ's soccer game, and we went to church together. We did all of these things together. So often either Tom or I will sneak away to have some down time while the other one is with the boys. This weekend we made a point to stick together as a family. I'm so glad we did.

We read together.

We laughed together.

We played together.

We went to DJ's soccer game.

We had our sad moments too.

Noah waited for dad to discipline him for not obeying.

Can someone please change my diaper and put some clothes on me?

We did laundry together.

Lincoln watched dad mow the grass.

Lincoln spent time holding his baby brother. He can't get enough of him!

Learning to share is tough.

Oops, Tom let go of the kite and the wind carried it off.

We actually got in the car to try to get it. Not my idea. I guess it's a guy thing.

The kite got stuck on some wires in a nearby field, but we weren't able to rescue it. Oh well. I think they had more fun just trying to save it than they did flying it.

I love my family of boys.

DJ had fun riding Tom's bike.

Noah did a great job riding without training wheels.

This is what the boys do every night before bed.

The weekend is over now. I think we made some fun memories.

Just a little too perfect.

Those pictures in the previous post are just a little too perfect for our family of four boys.

This is much better.

Lincoln was here.

Bringing home a memory.

Since we moved here, we've been talking about buying something that we'll keep for a long time. Something that will help us to look back and remember our time in Italy. We've gone back and forth trying to decide what to get. We wanted to be intentional about it. We're on a budget (envelop system), and we are really trying to stick with it.

Several of the towns in Sicily are known for their pottery. The town of Patti has an outlet called Italia Caleca. They sell their pottery to places like Williams-Sonoma, and Pottery Barn. They also give military discounts, and if you go directly to the outlet you can get the pottery that isn't perfect for a much lower cost. Discount + discount = our big purchase from Italy.

We went with solid colors instead of a pattern.

Apple Green

and Lemon Yellow.

I imagine our family of six, sitting around the dining room table when the kids are much older, eating one of my famous made from scratch 5 ingredients or less dinners, and talking about our memories from Italy.

Now all we need is a new dining room table to put our new dishes and to fit our family of six. Unfortunately, there isn't enough money in our envelops for that.

Sorry again, mom.

It was an accident.

Of course it was, Noah.

How did I get so lucky?

It has been one of those days . . .

I could hear Noah from the bathroom saying "sorry mom."

Noah turns FOUR.

Happy 4th Birthday, Noah!!

Our little boy is growing up! Noah turned 4 years old on September 11th. We had ice cream cone cupcakes, pizza, a visit by Grandma Diane, and a trip to Funny Island. Not very original, I know. This is Noah's second birthday in Italy, and both were celebrated at Funny Island. Maybe next year we'll think of something more creative and unique. After all, we're in Italy! Can't we think of something better than an Italian Chuck E. Cheese?

A little bit about Noah. Where do I begin? Noah wakes up every morning wanting to know the plan for the day. His first words out of his mouth are "mom, what day is it?" followed by "what is today for?" EVERY MORNING I hear those same two phrases. He is not content to just hang out around the house. Even though he loves to keep busy, we'll often find him sitting on the couch flipping through books or magazines. I love watching him study the pictures. I'll also find him sitting at the kids' craft table doing some writing or drawing. Noah has a creative side. I've been really surprised by some of his drawings.

Noah has recently started to have more fun hanging out with his 21 month old brother, Lincoln, but overall, he just likes squeezing Lincoln's cheeks until he cries or wrestling him to the ground until he cries or hugging him tightly until he cries. See a pattern? Noah also loves to play Legos, especially when he gets to play with his big brother DJ (8 1/2). They will play for hours. Noah is sweet with Max (7 weeks old), but honestly hasn't shown a lot of interest in him. Lincoln is the magnet to Max, but Noah will come over and kiss Max every once and a while.

Noah loves his dad! They have a special bond, as does Tom with all the boys. Tom taught Noah to ride his bike without training wheels just a few days before his 4th birthday. Tom was proud!

Having fun with friends.