1 More Week

Yep, 7 more days until my due date. The doctor says that if I don't go into labor this week that we will induce on Thursday or Friday of next week. Next time I blog I will be a mom to 4 kids. Wow!!

Pumpkin Carving Fun

I must say that I love fall. The leaves are changing, temps are cooling off, football is in full swing, the kids are back in school, soup is on, and even the idea of carving pumpkins. Yeah, I only like the idea of carving pumpkins. I hate the smell of them and I won't touch the guts. Brandon and my kids know that I am only the picture taker on these days and the rest is up to them.

I was so thankful this year when our friends invited our home group over to have a day of pumpkin carving because this meant that I would not be finding pumpkin guts all over my house for the next couple of months. It never fails. No matter how much I try to get the kids to be careful with the guts I always find them all over the house.

It was a beautiful day in the country and the perfect setting for our fall pumpkin carving fun.

My pics are not coming up in the order that I would like and I am having trouble rearranging them so we are starting with the finished products.

Zach did a Great Job on his pumpkin this year and did most of it by himself.

Our friend Jeff having fun with the guts:)

Sidney, looking cute as always, carving away:)

This was Nicola's first time carving pumpkins. I think she enjoyed the experience but not the guts under her fingernails.
Getting a little help from Dad so that the top doesn't fall in when it's done.

It was such a beautiful day that we were able to kick the older kids outside to carve their pumpkins. They all think they are too cool to have the parents around anyways.

Fall

My husband and I went on a fall walk down by the South Platte river the other day. I was really hoping to get some great fall pics but the last 2 days we were blessed with 60 mph winds and they aren't good for the fall foliage. It was a great day for a walk and I got a couple pics but can't help but think that a few days before there might have been prettier pictures to be had. I must say that fall in Nebraska is not near as picturesque as fall in the rocky mountains of Colorado.

Surprise!!

I don't know if I titled this Surprise because Surprise I am blogging again or to tell you about the wonderful surprise baby shower that was thrown for me. Probably it's a little of both. I am now 37 weeks along. I am done with work. WooHoo!! I am going to be a stay at home mama for a while. I have been feeling pretty good but can't wait to meet our little man. To top it all off I have finally figured out what is wrong with my camera/computer communication problem so I can post pictures again. I am excited to start taking pics again.

37 Weeks

My mother-in-law, 2 daughters, and who know who else have been planning a surprise baby shower for me for quite some time now. I wasn't planning on having one because it is my 4th child but people kept telling me(reminding me) that it has been 9 years since I have had a baby. I did get rid of everything so I was more than thankful for it.

What made this all the more surprising was that they had it at MY house and I still didn't have any idea. I have some wonderful girlfriends that got me out of the house for a pedicure(they didn't have to try to hard) and the rest of the team went to town cleaning and decorating for the big surprise. I was blown away when I walked in and saw everyone and everything. I was truly blessed by the event.

My mother-in-law went all out with the decorations. She is an extremely talented lady. She should have her own party planning business. I wish I had some more pictures to show everyone all of the things she did. If I get more I will post them later.

Invisible Children

Today my girls are having a day of silence to make people more aware of the Invisible Children in Africa. Kids that are kidnapped and forced into military at a young age sometimes being forced to kill their own family members. You can go to the website to learn more about the project. It is a sad story that people don't know enough about.I know that I had no idea it was going on. I am proud that my girls are working for this cause and I hope that many others will get involved as well.

Monster Eggs

The kids had fun decorating Easter eggs again this year. It was Nicola's first time ever decorating eggs. I think they had fun because we got the monster kit and they were able to give them monster faces and hair after they were dyed.

Earth Day

I know that it is Earth day but my kids keep walking around the house shutting lights off on me. I get it but I am not cleaning my house in the dark. I will find them something earth friendly to do if they don't back off and I'm will make sure they don't like it.

BIG News In A Little Package

Oh yes! Surprise, Surprise, Surprise! Baby #4 is due at the end of October. The 27th to be exact. My little bean is 12 weeks in this pic, 2'' long, and about the size of a small lime(so my phone ap tells me). We don't know the sex yet. I don't want to know because I feel like I wouldn't spend as much money on stuff for the baby if I didn't know what I was having. My husband, kids, and Mother-in-law act as if not finding out would be equal to the world ending so we will find out at the next ultrasound appt if baby is cooperative. (I think it would be funny if it kept its legs crossed) Being old and pregnant is way different that being young and pregnant like I was before. This old body just isn't taking things as well. I would stay in my bed and sleep all day if I could(with cereal breaks of course). My youngest is going to be 9 years old when the new one comes along and my other two will be 13 and 12. This will definitely be a change for us all. Brooklyn will be graduating when the new one starts kindergarten. Don't get me wrong, I am excited but I can't help but think about how much life will change for us. This baby is coming for a reason it will just take time to find out what that is. All babies are a gift from God. Once I start feeling better I am sure that things will look up.

An Aussie in the House

We went to the airport and picked up Nicola on Saturday. She is such a joy! She really clicks with our family. I was kind of worried because sometimes I think that we are a little bit loud and weird some times but so far so good. It is really fun to learn about the differences in our cultures. She has never seen snow so this week she is definitely going to get enough snow to last her for a while. School has even been canceled tomorrow because of the white stuff. I think a day of scooping and snowball fights is in order.

We Are Having A Girl!!

It has been a whirlwind of a week. We were asked on Tuesday if we would be interested in hosting an exchange student, filled out the paperwork that night, and were pre-approved on Wednesday. We have found out that we will be adding to the family next month when we have a foreign exchange student come stay with us for a year. Nicola is from Australia and she will be coming to America to experience our culture. I wonder what she will think about our little rural town. It will be a great opportunity for her and for us. The girls are very excited to have her. Zach isn't so happy. He wanted it to be a boy since he already has 2 sisters but I'm sure he will get over it. Brandon and I will have to quickly learn how to handle a teenager. Are we ready for this? I don't know. We will take it one day at a time.

Heaven is for Real

Just finished reading the book Heaven is For Real. It is written by Todd Burpo about his sons brush with death and his time in Heaven. It is a true story that takes place here in Nebraska. The story is amazing and the way a child can be so matter-of-fact makes you think about Heaven all over again. I don't seem to ever think about heaven is just is. I always think of it as beyond comprehension so why even try. This little boy just tells it like he saw it. Thank you Colton for the little glimpse.

It was a quick read. It only took me a few hours but worth it. I have a tendency to drowned myself in a book that I find interesting. I need some new books to read so leave me a comment and let me know of any good books that you have read lately.

GOOO BIIIIG REEED!!!

He is off. Brandon is heading down to Texas for the Big 12 Championship game. A bunch of men (no women at all) in a couple of RV's, tailgating, stadium food, and football is going to equal.....trouble, alot of gas, no sleep, and a bunch of good fun memories. That is my husband's Christmas present so he had better enjoy it.

Merry Christmas to Them

My friend came to my house tonight and told me that they won over $50,000 in the Nebraska lottery today. WOW!!! Merry Christmas to them! I am sooo happy for them. She was beyond excited which I would have been too.

Funny thing...Brandon and I have talked many times about what we are going to do when we win the lottery. What makes that funny you ask.....we don't ever buy lottery tickets. We keep hoping that out parents will win and just give us some:) It is ever so fun to dream though.

What's The Code

My kids can't wait for me to get the presents under the tree. They can't wait to figure out the code. Each year, to keep the kids from messing with the gifts too much, in stead of putting there names on the gifts I use a code so that they aren't sure who gets which present. They have so much fun with this. As the kids get older we have to get more tricky. In years past we have used these codes....
3 different colored wrapping papers
different ribbons
numbers (one child had 1, 11, 31, 13, etc. another 2, 24, 42, etc. and 5, 56, 65, etc.)
numbers divisible by other numbers
This year we are using animals. I can't let you know the code in case my kids read the blog but I will after Christmas. It really gets there brains thinking and keeps them from messing with the presents because they aren't sure if it is there gift or not.

Where Has The Time Gone?

I can't believe that it has been almost 1 year since I posted. Where has the time gone? Maybe I need to go shopping at 3 am more often to get the motivation. That probably won't be happening because I did that this morning and it was not fun at all :( That made me kind of sad because I always look forward to it. I don't know if it was because some stores changed up their hours or what but the crowds were ridiculous. I didn't even come home with anything exciting because it was all to overwhelming.

Oh Well!! I have gotten a lot of Christmas shopping done. The lights are up outside and I am ready for some holiday fun. Hopefully the tree will go up tomorrow. Pics to come (if it looks good).

So True

******************

I am positive

that very few things

in my life

are as soothing

as vacuum lines

in my carpet.

*******************

Good Reads

I have been doing some great reading in the last couple of months. I go in spurts where I don't read for a long time then I go crazy and read everything that I can get my hands on. Right now I'm in the hands on mode. All of these books are great especially the Donald Miller book and Crazy Love. I got so much wonderful ideas from those books. I highly recommend them. My Lobotomy is a different sort of book but I got it from a co-worker and decided to give it a try. It is very interesting book about a man who got a lobotomy when he was 12. Not quite in the same category as the other two but sometimes you need something different.
I am almost done with my last book and so I will need to find another to read quickly so I don't loose my mojo. I like reading so I don't want to stop again. If you have any suggestions let me know.

Electronics Free Day

Do you ever look around at your family and get totally disgusted because someone is on the computer, playing the Wii, playing on the DS, Playing on their IPod, and the TV is on? No one is talking to each other or even acknowledging any ones presence. I am one of those people. I am not blaming anyone because I am usually the one on the computer but I had enough. After talking with Brandon we decided that Sunday would be NO ELECTRONICS DAY at the Brinker house. No TV, No Computer, No DS, No Wii, No Playstation, No IPod, and so on. You would have thought that it was the end of the world for the kids(especially Zach). We have now had 2 Sundays electronic free and it has been kind of fun. We have played games, read books, went on adventures at the lake, and just spend some good old quality time together. I think that it is going to be a good thing for our family. It is too easy to get sucked into the STUFF we have around and forget about the really important things around us. I am afraid that I am going to wake up one day and wonder way all the time went. I want my kids to have fun memories and great life stories. You can't make a great life story staring at the TV. So we are working on a better life story for our family.

Proud Mom Moment

Do you ever have one of those moments where you are just soooo proud of your kids that you have to share the story? I am having that moment today. Brooklyn has been saving, for almost a year, for an ipod touch. She is about $60 shy of having enough. Her and a friend from church have been talking and decided that they want to start a girls bible study. Brooklyn has a friend that she takes to youth group but isn't sure about her salvation and she wants her to be part of the study. She has talked to this girl and talked her into joining the study but that isn't even the great part. Today she took a good chunk of her money that she has been saving and went to the bible supply store and bought her friend a teen girls study bible with her name on it. I couldn't be more proud but more importantly I know that God is so very proud of her. I am just beaming today because she is turning into such a wonderful little lady with a heart of gold.