Homemade presents!!!

BJ and I are trying to be creative this Christmas! We know our girls are/will be too young to really understand what they are getting, so we don't want to go overboard. Olivia has a lovey (thanks to aunt lyndsey) that she is obsessed with and she also loves "blanchets" (blankets)! So we decided it would be sweet to make Olivia and Sophie their own blankets! And yes...I am barefoot, pregnant, in the kitchen, and sewing!!! After much frustration and wanting to quit (not pictured!)...here are the finished products! Olivia's is the light pink and Sophie's is the dark pink.
Of course, there has to be tags on it. The first thing Olivia does when we hand her lovey to her is find the tag and put it in her mouth...so there has to be tags. It just so happened that I had this tag from Olivia's "Olivia the pig" doll, so I used that one. Sophie's has a tag too, but it just says Jumper. Anyways, I am very proud that I actually followed through with this and finished it. I think it will be something that the girls will love for a long time! Merry Christmas!

Everyone's Napping...

So, last night Olivia decided to remind us what it was like to have a baby... yep, that's right. She cried and cried from about midnight till 1:30. What in the world?! Sophie isn't here yet! We are not supposed to be up in the night... gyahhh! So, that was a big wake up call. Except, everyone knows that baby no. 2 is always the perfect baby... or wait, aren't they the really awful ones? I can't remember...

Well, everyone is napping today, except me. I am doing phonetics homework... pronouncing beet, bit, bait, bet, bat... fun stuff!

Also, I think this is the first "holiday" that we are spending at "home" ... in other words, we are not driving anywhere this weekend! Crazy. So, I guess that's it for now... I am on my way to work in the tech center!

Could we be Mennonite?!

Probably not. The fact that we are in a car, says we are probably not Amish or Mennonite! But it was fun getting to experience their way of living for a day!
Our ELINK group (just a group of staff and students our school put us in for mentorship and fellowship) went 20 miles down the road to a Mennonite community! It was incredible! To see people 20 miles away, living with no electricity and driving horse and buggies to the store...Very eye opening!Olivia looking in on the Mennonite world...although she had red hair, like many of them there, she still appeared to be an outsider from the beginning! After we went to the gift store, dutch bakery, and quilt store, we headed off to the auctions! If you have never been to an auction before, you should try it out! They really do talk as fast as movies portray them! It almost sounded like the guy was singing! We were able to see them auctioning off produce mainly, but if you were lucky, you could score a wagon wheel for a good price!
This is a picture of a little girl who came up to Olivia and was pretty much petting her! I think she thought Olivia looked strange because she was not dressed like all of her friends. "What is this crazy hat that you are wearing?!" Olivia can make friends anywhere!

The last place we went was to the Mennonite store! This place had amazing prices! We were able to get spices, pasta, coffee, etc. at an incredible rate! I think Olivia was starting to really enjoy the whole "Mennonite experience" towards the end of the day! Although she looked cute, we did not let her buy it!

We had a great time getting to experience how the Mennonite live. They are so friendly and welcoming! Like we learned in our Love and Respect class....just because people live differently from us...it's not bad, it's just different!!

Last of the traveling

Well we finished our traveling with a bang! The last weekend of October was the last weekend I can travel until Sophie Jo arrives! We decided to take a crazy trip and meet some friends in the middle (of Roach and Waukesha)! We had a great time seeing and encouraging each other again!!

The three are back together again!!

Our friends, the Crabrtrees...so cool!
Me and BJ! One of the only pictures we've taken without Olivia!

The Hambrices...our long-lost friends! Good to see you Baby Paisley! We got to go to Springfield, IL's last farmers market! They had a Halloween costume parade for children and dogs! We didn't go to the parade, but we still wanted Olivia to have a chance to wear her costume!
And what a cute, little pumpkin she was!!! Is anyone else surprised at how many teeth she has?!We had to get one of all the babies in their pj's! So sweet! And then...things started to get a little crazy! "Nora, let's pick on the new kid!!"

We had such a great time with our friends (Sorry you couldn't make it Richards)! Hurry up January and get here. Mandy and Jeremy will be joining us at New Tribes Mission Training!!