This pretty much sums it up...

I was going to post a bunch of pictures of life the last week and a half (I'll eventually get to those)... but after taking these of Claire tonight... I figured this pretty much sums up Thanksgiving break for us. :) Can't believe real life starts again tomorrow!

Our Sweet Seniors

Kaylon and Roy... seriously two of the sweetest guys you will ever meet. They had their yearbook pictures taken yesterday. I insisted that they wear nice shirts and ties. :) I'm going to do their "official" senior portraits on Monday... but I couldn't resist a picture of the two of them dressed up!

The Swaddle

I don't think our kids fall under "normal" in the swaddle category. I actually don't really know... I've just not met many people who are still swaddling their kids at 7 months. Yep... you read that right... 7 months. Both Carter and Claire LOVED to be swaddled tight! We would actually swaddle them and then put them inside a sleep sack. Here is Claire last night right before bed... swaddled for the last time (because you know... we document everything with pictures :))!

And here is dinner from a couple weeks ago... also "swaddled"...

I can't tell you how hard I laughed when I opened the fridge and saw what looks like an ENTIRE roll of plastic wrap covering two plates of leftovers. I won't tell you which 18 year old put away dinner that night... but it sure looks like the whole swaddling thing rubbed off on our teenagers. :)

Same vacuum, different brother...

Tuesday night is floors on the chore chart in our house. We really should clean the floors more than once a week... but really we're lucky they get cleaned as much as they do. So... it was Ty're's turn to vacuum this week (the chores rotate each week). He actually ended up sweeping more than vacuuming (so his phone call would not be interrupted :))... it's amazing what these guys can accomplish while talking on the phone. Anyway... as I was watching him (finally) vacuum the carpet in the living room I was reminded of this picture that I took 3 1/2 years ago...

I actually think that's the first picture I ever took of Fred. He would probably laugh if he saw this picture now... because that's not really how 2nd year college students dress! :) And here is Ty're last night...

He gave me a weird look for taking his picture while he was vacuuming (after I gave him a weird look for wearing his backpack) until I told him why. I said... "I have a picture of your brother vacuuming in exactly the same place so I wanted one of you too." He said... "Oh, really?" and gave me a huge smile. I really can't believe we've been here almost 4 years!

When it rains it pours...

I feel like every few months we have days here at Joe's Place where it just it just feels like we're dealing with one hard thing after another. Today was one of those days. One of those days where I actually felt like yelling at people to stop staring at me when I walked through a store with one of our boys. I know we don't look like your "typical" family... but that doesn't mean you need to look at me like I have 3 eyes! Anyway... it was a hard and emotionally draining day. Our sweet Carter just goes with the flow. So... when he spread dirt from some pots across our cabinet in our dining room for his matchbox cars... I just let him go for it. In the grand scheme of things... what's a little dirt in our dining room?

Is it Friday yet?

Can't think of a title for this one...

Dan and I are still trying to come up with an appropriate title for this picture. All I know is... it makes me want to laugh and cry every time I look at it! They are just so darn cute (I know you're not supposed to say that about your own kids :))... and in this picture... really cold! We were trying to do our own Christmas portraits on Saturday before all the leaves were gone... but the temps just kept dropping. We did get a few good ones... but this is my favorite!

He loves to share with his little sister...

And thanks to that sharing... this sweet little girl is battling her first cold. :( It's so sad... but I'm not minding all the extra cuddles. Hopefully we'll be back soon...

The View from Here: Beaver Dam State Park ~ Plainview, IL

I'll never forget the day we picked up our camping trailer in Ohio. One... because we were so excited and two... because we were stuck in it for 5 hours with 2 kids and nothing to do. The trailer was parked in the back of the car lot behind a cement block building. I remember looking out the windows of the trailer at the ugly wall in front of us and thinking about all the beautiful views we'll have as we drive west next summer. I decided then that I should take a picture out our kitchen window at each place we camp. It's going to be fun to be standing at the same sink... but to have so many different views. Our first view at our church retreat last month was not so great... but it will be fun to look back on since it was our first time taking it out. Last weekend's view in Illinois (just northeast of STL) was so much better. I LOVE Fall in this part of the country!

Dinner on the Grill and Dessert in the Fire

First... we heard back from Claire's doctor today... and the results from Friday's x-ray are completely normal! We are so thankful! I was really hoping we would hear back on Friday before our annual camping trip with our good friends... but we didn't. Thankfully we were so relaxed and full from all the amazing food we ate this weekend... that we didn't end up thinking about it too much. :) I think I'm going to end up doing an entire post just on the food we ate! Here is part of Saturday's meal...

Smoked Pork Chops and Cake Filled Oranges

And here is the entire group. We are so thankful for the friends out here that have become our family!

More pictures coming soon!