Happy 5th Birthday Isaac!!!!!

Here are a couple pictures of Isaac that I took the night before his birthday :-).

Our sweet 4-year-old boy!
Our silly 4-year-old boy!
And our precious 4 -year-old boy! :-).

Ike with his presents!

It's some Playmobil Indians!

A gift from MaryVance, a wheat penny, I think... :-),

A little wooden family,

More Playmobil toys, a King and Queen,

A Bride and Bridegroom (yep, they are Playmobil too!)

I know you can't see this gift very well, but it's a Playmobil wagon and horses :-),

hmmm... let me see...

it's a.... it's a....
a Cowboy Woody!!!!!!!

And last but not least, a Big Red Bean Bag!!!!

(red is Isaac's favorite color!)

Say "Cheese"

And this is Ike's birthday cake (from Wal-Mart)

"Blow out the candles!"
A picture of our Big Five-Year-Old Boy!!!

Happy Birthday Isaac!!! :-).

Back from Vacation, Day One Report

Visit Molly's blog for a full report on Day One of our vacation!

Updated to add Day Two! Check it out!

My New "Toy"

Isn't it pretty?! It's a custom-made rolling pin from http://www.trueharttreasures.com/ They have all kinds of beautiful goodies! Check them out!

Woohoo!

Us

Nehemiah's First Haircut

Really...

It's time... Don't you think?...

Look at that hair... OVER his ears completely!

Doesn't he look pleased?

It was very hard to get the hair at his collar. I've NEVER had to cut the hair of a child who couldn't hold his head up completely by himself.

All Better Now!

Big Boy!

Sewing for Nehemiah

Yep... I've been sewing for Nehemiah. It took about an hour to whip up these four pairs of pants for him. I love sewing!

He has this adorable shirt but no pants to match... that was the beginning of my sewing today. See how cute!!
And these denim ones are my favorite because they have a story. I love a good story. One day I was in Goodwill looking around because it was half-price day :-). I never go on the curtain/bedspread row because, well, I never need things like that. But, for some reason, this particular day I stumbled upon that row. Lo and behold what did I find? Denim Curtains! Whoda thunk? There were actually three sets of floor-length denim curtains, Martha Stewart and Ralph Lauren brands. Do you realize how much fabric is in curtains? -faint- Lots and lots and lots. And they were $7 a pair! Woohooo!!!! So I used the factory hem for the hem of the pants (how easy~peasy is that?!) and for the pockets!

Thanksgiving Day pics

We have a sort of 'family tradition' of sharing our Thanksgivings with friends. We have been blessed through the years to share this special day with many different families. Thanksgiving is a very special holiday for our family! This year we were tickled to have 'Grandma' and 'Grandpa' Nissley here with us. We are so thankful to the Lord for putting special people in our lives... he has really shown us what being a part of the family of God is really all about!

Grandma... doing what Grandmas do best... :-)

Grandpa surrounded by little ones looking at scrapbooks.

"Can't leave Grandma out... let's show her too!"

Our Thanksgiving dinner table... what was on the menu? Well, turkey, of course. This year I prepared it a la Emilie Barnes -- slow roasted. Dressing (my Mama's recipe), green bean casserole, Southern Peach Yam Bake (a new recipe for us and definitely a keeper! Recipe to follow...), mashed potatoes, fresh corn, cranberry sauce, cranberry salad, broccoli salad, carrot apple salad, tea and rolls (Sister Schubert, of course!) Oh and Italian-styled deviled eggs (yummy! The only ones I like!) We had such a feast -giggle- we invited our other 'adopted' family over for a Leftovers Feast on Friday night. Danny, Brandy and their children came over for supper and we had a nice visit with them (as always!) Next year, Lord willing, they will have another plate on their table for Thanksgiving!!

And later, dessert... chocolate cake, pecan pie, chess pie (Tony's request, I've never made it or eaten it before... too bad it's soooo good!), and Miss Alma brought pumpkin pie! YUMMY!

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And now for the recipe I promised.... too bad Molly didn't get a picture of it it all of it's yumminess!!

MOMYS Southern Peach Yam Bake (p 133)
2 29 oz cans sweet potatoes
1 29 oz can peaches
1 c brown sugar
1 c pecans
6 T flour
1 t nutmeg *
2 T butter
2 c mini marshmallows *
Drain sweet potatoes and peaces and place in casserole dish.
Stir together brown sugar, flour and nutmeg.
Cut in butter.
Add pecans and sprinkle mixture over sweet potatoes and peaches.
Bake at 350 for 35 minutes. Sprinkle on marshmallows and broil until toasted.

*I couldn't find nutmeg (where was it hiding?!) so I used allspice! And I omitted the marshmallows this time. It was very yummy!!!

ThanksLiving...

Our pastor mentioned the term "ThanksLiving" in his sermon yesterday and it has stuck in my mind. What does it mean? To me it means to live with a continual attitude of thanks to the Lord for all He has done for us.

I wanted to write a long post about Thanksgiving but I can't quite get my thoughts together enough to share without crying.

I do want to publically thank the Lord once again... this Thanksgiving as we gathered around the table I was profoundly impressed with how different things could have been. I am so grateful that there is no empty spot at our table. The Lord not only saw fit to give Luke back to us, He blessed us with Nehemiah.

The Lord is good. His mercy is everlasting. Thank you Lord. Thank you.

We are all well...

and just in time for Thanksgiving! Pics to follow soon!

Random Pictures...

Molly here, I just wanted you to know that I posted some really cute Random Pictures on our blog.

Here is the link:

http://lewischildren.blogspot.com/2008/11/random-pictures.html

Enjoy!! :-).

...sick, sick, sick...

Day 8 of *the common cold*...

somehow it seems not so common when it's 'times nine'...

It started with Joseph and he's finally on the mend today... Nehemiah is really feeling bad today though. Bless his little heart...

I'm so thankful MaryVance feels better today. Everyone is on the way to better except Nehemiah but hopefully tomorrow he will be over the hump.

So if you've missed us now you know where we were ;-)

Top 10 Reasons to Buy More Fabric

10. The quilt shop gets angry when you steal it.
9. It will go with something I bought last year.
8. Well-known fact: prevents washing machine withdrawal symptoms on light laundry days.
7. Keeps the people who make cardboard inserts in bolts of fabric employed, thus supporting the national economy in yet one more way.
6. Assists the little birdies with their nests when scraps, threads, and little whispies are allowed to blow in the wind.
5. Without fabric I would have nothing to do with my rotary cutter, my mat, my sewing machine, my iron, my thread, my needles, my quilting books. And my time.
4. Step 32 of Master Plan to drive husband crazy.
3. It does not promote tooth decay.
2. It's not immoral, illegal, or fattening.
1. Surgeon General says: "10 yards a day keeps the blues away."

To answer your question...

Q: "How do you homeschool the little ones?"

A: Like this... :-)

Elijah doing a reading lesson.

Isaac working in his preK book.
Joey "taking care" of Nehemiah.

I have the BEST life!!!