Emily and Ryan are having a...

GIRL!!

We were so excited to share in their Gender Reveal tonight via Facetime on our Ipad. They invited the Jablonski and Moss families to their house and opened the envelope containing the special news with us all. Since we are not in a place where we can travel right now, we were able to experience the fun thanks to technology!

Getting ready to find out the news...

Ryan just announced the news - you can see his HUGE smile in the background!

Here's what the Ipad looked like most of the night.
Rebekah and Caitlyn enjoyed watching themselves on the screen and we were able to enjoy it too.

It's a GIRL!

DeJa Vu - After Emily shared the news that they were expecting, she shared with me that she had visited Pei Wei a few days after she found out. Her fortune looked IDENTICAL to one I got in Feburary. She had to save hers just in case it was deja vu and our fortunes turned out to both be correct. Turns out they were!!  CRAZY!!!!

Photo from Wesley...

Happy Halloween

In sticking with tradition, last night, the Bender house was full of Trick-Or-Treaters, candy, the Hazlewoods and croissant dogs!

We enjoyed a cold but wonderful Halloween at home with a Golden Power Ranger, (Jackson) Spiderman (Philip), Hulk Smash (Jack) and Ironman (Sam)!

We don't know why Philip opted for his VBS beanie hat instead of his Spiderman mask, but we didn't ask questions since he was so happy!!!

Jackson helped Wesley with the pumpkin carving and design this year,
His choice - the sign of the Red Power Ranger!

I attempted a group shot the minute IronMan and Hulk arrived but Philip was too caught up in showing Jack his Spiderman hand sign and Jack was too occupied with smashing everything with his Hulk hands. 

Two of my favorite superheroes -
IronMan and the Golden Power Ranger

Spiderman and Hulk
(Again, still obsessed with showing off his Spiderman spiderweb sign!)

The Hazlewoods arrived around 5:30 and we thought the Trick-Or-Treaters would start arriving then too. Instead, we had about an hour for the kids to run around in the back yard, eat dinner, and then at 6:30 the first Trick-Or-Treater arrived. As soon as the kids saw them, they were ready to go!

I got the group picture as we headed out to Trick-Or-Treat!

Kate and I offered to make the first rounds of the neighborhood so we bundled up and took off.

All four of the kids made it to the first three houses but then, Philip saw a dad dressed up in a Banana costume and he was DONE! I mean, scared to death! He kept looking over his shoulder at this man and finally said "I want to go home!"

We had to go by the banana man to get home and being a nice guy, the banana man came towards us and started being funny. I had to tell him to nicely to "back off" or we were going to have a complete Halloween meltdown!

I dropped Philip off with Wesley and Ben and then headed back to the group. Once there, I heard Jackson say, "That banana better stay away or I am going to take a bite out of him!" I think he was trying to be funny but it may have been his way of trying to protect Philip!

We hit up one more street and then made our way to "THE" house. The house diagonal from us gives out the best Halloween treats - the best! There was a line to get in the house so Sam and Jackson got in line and emerged a few minutes later with a bag of candy, stickers and a matchbox car! Jackson had two - one for him and one for Philip who was still at home.

After that house, the boys were done. They wanted to hang out with Wesley and Ben who were hadning out candy to the multitude of kids coming through our neighborhood!!! Kate and I were happy to move our party indoors to the heat.

It was a fun filled night and we commented that next year will be even better with a little girl running around as well!

Couch Day!!

Two weeks ago, Wesley came downstairs singing "Today I don't feel like doing anything. I just want to stay here in bed." I looked at him and said, "Why don't we do that one day!" So...couch day was born!

We looked at our calendars and found the next Tuesday/Thursday that we didn't have anything scheduled between  9 -1. Then we set "Couch Day!"

This morning, Wesley dropped the boys off at school and I made breakfast. We then plopped down on the couch with our breakfast and coffee and a huge blanket! We cuddled up and watched a movie ("The Campaign" with Will Ferrell) and a few extra funny episodes of the Office. Around 11:30, I got up to make us lunch but then retreated back to the couch until we had to pick up the boys at 1:00.

It was such a relaxing morning and so much fun to not have to worry about doing anything! Usually, we feel guilty for not getting tasks accomplished but we had carved these four hours away for us weeks ago and there was no guilt here! We just enjoyed ourselves and the quite time together!!

Looking forward to Couch Day 2013 already!!!

Tongue Twisters

Every now and then, Jackson will throw a new word into his vocabulary. Here are a few recent ones I caught:

Mom, can I get some ice POUCHES in my drink? (cubes)

Are we going to VETE today? (vote)

Oh, Mommy, I forgot to SCALE myself today! (weigh)


Wesley reminded me of one of Philip's favorite phrases:

Daddy, where is my basketball GOAL? (said every time he is looking for his basketball)

Fall Family Fun Day!

Today was the Fall Family Fun Day at our church. The main purpose of the day is to pamper 50 local families with food boxes, coats, a warm meal and a fun, festive atmosphere for their kids. In the process, the Grace Chapel kids will hopefully have a blast as well!

For the past several years, I have gone over and volunteered for the Day and Wesley has come by later with the kids for Trunk or Treat. This year, we reversed the role. Wesley went over before lunch to be the Clown and make balloon animals for the kids (he made over 200 balloons in less than 2 hours!!!). Jackson, Philip and I arrived around 12:30 so the kids could play and then take part in Trunk or Treat.

I didn't get a chance to glimpse into the building to see the coat drive, food boxes, or lunch, but the kids' area was awesome! Kate was in charge of setting this all up and it turned out to be a great success.

The weather wasn't perfect, but I liked the break in the 80 degree heat we have been having! It was 55 degrees, windy, and drizzly - perfect for a Fall Fest!

Here are some pictures of the kids enjoying the day:

Waiting for a chance to play the tennis ball/pumpkin game!

He is concentrating so hard!!!!
Thanks to Brent, Bryce's Dad, for lending a helping hand since I "had" to take pictures and Wesley was busy with the balloons!

He was all about this game - or was it the candy prize at the end he most enjoyed?!

What a crew!
Lucas, Philip, Jackson and Bryce!

Once Wesley's shift was over, he came down to enjoy the festivities

It wasn't long after Wesley came down, that I had to go get ready for Trunk or Treat. I didn't decorate my car. Maybe I will do that next year...No... Wait...Who am I kidding?! I won't decorate it next year! I know the kids don't care what the car looks like as long as I have good candy!

I had my candy and Kate's candy to hand out so I was a popular car. Here I am passing out to my two favorite Trick or Treaters - Spiderman and the golden Power Ranger! 

I figured since I couldn't hid my bump, why not show her off!  

Fall Fest 2012!

Katey, Kate and Leanne

Trying to find More Candy!

Hulk Smash and Iron Man!

After the candy was all handed out, we attempted a group shot with the kids. This one turned out great and was captured right before...

We lost one! 

Hulk took a dive behind the other super heroes!  

The Power Ranger costume came off rather quickly which is interesting considering Jackson has worn it almost every day since we bought it in early September!

Once we arrived home,  it took nearly no time for our Super Heroes to cash out! I guess that is a sign of a really good day! 

Date Night

Wesley and I were able to go out tonight (thank you YMCA Parents' Night Out!) and enjoy a nice, quiet dinner at Carrabba's, the newest restaurant in Cumming! One of our last dates before Jackson and Philip was at an Italian restaurant so we thought this splurge was appropriate.

The food was good and the conversation was wonderful! I am so blessed that after 10 years and (almost) 3 kids, we can still go out and have a fun time just being together!