Nathan Quotes

Today when Elbert walked in the door from work:

Nathan: "Daddy, Mommy made bread today!"

Elbert: "I know, I can smell it."

Nathan: "Are you like a dog?"

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Monday morning when Nathan and I were cuddling in my bed before getting up for the day:

Nathan: "I just don't want to smell your breath, that's why I'm turning my head."

There's nothing like a good dose of reality in the morning!

Flashback Friday and Advice from a 4 Year Old

Yesterday afternoon, we lost power for over 2 hours. Consequently, the heat wasn't running. I told Nathan that I was getting cold. He replied, "You should move around more, Mom."

That's why he can wear a t-shirt, have bare feet, and still be hot...he is moving ALL the time.

I could never have imagined how much he would have changed in 4 years! This is one of my favorite pictures of Nathan from October 2004.

Nathan's Marathon

On Saturday, Nathan finished a marathon. Really...he did. He participated in the Grand Rapids Children's Marathon. In the 2 months leading up to the race, the kids had to run or walk 1-mile 25 times. On Saturday, the kids ran the last 1.2 miles at the race. He LOVED it. Here are a few pictures.

The cheering section...

Almost to the finish line...
Nathan caught up to his friend, Jillian, and they finished together.
Almost done...


Each participant got a t-shirt, a bag of goodies, and a medal.
The tired runners...

A Weekend Away

As many of you know, I went away last weekend for a national Women's Conference called True Woman 08. It was Thursday through Saturday in Chicago. A group of 10 women from our church traveled down and stayed at my parents' house. It was an amazing weekend. God taught me a lot, and I'm still processing through all that I learned.

Elbert stayed home with the kids, and they all had a great time. When I called from the conference, Andrew informed me that they were having a "Boys Conference". He said, "If you come and knock on the door, we will not let you in because we are having a boys conference." When I came home, they did let me in. It was fun to be away, but it was also fun coming home to so many hugs and kisses. Here's what greeted me in the garage. The question mark is courtesy of Nathan.

Eliot James

Here are some pictures of my new nephew, Eliot James. He was born Wednesday, Oct. 15th at 12:03 am. He was 8 lbs 6 oz and 20 inches long.

Acorns

I was taking a walk with the three boys on Sunday afternoon. Nathan asked me if we could find some acorns. I told him that we needed to find an acorn tree first. He said, "Actually, it's called an oak. I remember that from the book we read at the cottage called The Oak and the Acorn." I stand corrected!

Kid's Club

Nathan has been attending the Kid's Club at our church. It meets every other Wednesday night for an hour. Our pastor leads the kids in songs, games, crafts, and a Bible lesson. Nathan is the youngest one there, and he LOVES it. He comes home all excited about what he learned and did.

Last night was Kid's Club. This morning, one of the first things out of his mouth was, "Kid's Club last night was nice and refreshing!"

Andrew's Birthday

The rest of Andrew's birthday went really well. We had his chosen birthday dinner of pork chops, couscous, and broccoli. He was so excited to eat his cake and ice cream. I was really pleased with how the cake turned out!

The proud cake baker


Andrew ready to blow out his candles...Note the firetruck next to his cake. He made it at Lowe's this past Saturday.


Evan enjoyed the cake, too


Opening presents


Andrew's new Lightening McQueen backpack