What we woke up to this morning....

Around 4am something woke me up and then I heard something else really loud! You'll notice a tree by the mailbox. It came from across the stream and went down into the road. This was after a road crew moved it. And that leaning evergreen? We are praying that when the winds pick up tonight it stays put.

These poor little trees you see along the fence line? Ben planted those last year and we have had to work so hard to keep them alive and going. They were finally thriving and getting so nice and full...and were taller than the fence. Now? You see them laying over.

The main roads are okay now but our cars are covered and our driveway is bad--not to mention the trees hanging over it. But we have to go out to wal-mart in a bit since tomorrow is Wyatt's birthday and we need to pick up his cake. I'd rather go today when Ben is home with the Jeep. Speaking of--he was out around 5 am moving it as far away from the trees as he could :)

Grace and Nolan

I can't wait to squeeze those chubby cheeks at Christmas!

Let it Snow!

We had a few flurries all day on Monday andthe kids were so upset that it wasn't much more. So Wyatt prayed really hard that night, and today we woke up to a winter wonderland! It is so fun to have the tree lit, the Christmas music playing, and snow falling outside!

In the last picture you'll see that Wyatt has no front teeth. We went to the dentist last friday to have a small cavity filled, and when I went back afterward his teeth were gone! We don't yet know what happened, but i'm going back this friday and will hopefully find out. There was a lot of confusion and I was so upset that I left without really finding out why this was done. But of course he thinks it's cool, and the tooth fairy brought him $20!

I was recently asked if I let Natalie go out in public when she's dressed herself (which she insists on doing quite often). And yes, I do! I think it's fun to watch her with the different clothes and shoes, and even sometimes a hat! And yesterday she was getting so angry as we were running errands b/c we weren't going to wal-mart first. She finally told me that she wanted to go to wal-mart so that she could hear the sound her shoes make on their floor!

We had a great Thanksgiving with Ben's family this year at our house! The kids enjoyed visiting and then on Friday we were up early for some shopping!

The kids are completely in Christmas mode now so we got the tree up over the weekend, and now we're looking forward to another trip to MS! We're actually counting down the days now!

Last weekend we visited the pumpkin patch with some friends and it was so much fun! This is definitely our favorite time of year with all of the colors and fun things to do!

Most of you know that the kids and I got to spend 2 weeks in MS recently, but i've been so consumed with settling back in at home that i'm just now adding pictures! These are some of the highlights of our trip!

Grammy suprised the kids with a new 'toy' while we were there. They enjoyed riding around the yard and through the woods on the new Easy-Go. Wyatt even learned to drive it, although I didn't enjoy that part!

We spent a day at Uncle Ed and Aunt Brenda's house and this was lots of fun! Uncle Ed and Wyatt got to visit a hobby shop that had some wonderful trains! And we each got to take a turn riding in the 'cool car' as Wyatt called it!

After our visit we took the kids to the beach for their first time. Unfortunately it was getting dark when we got there, but you can see that Wyatt didn't mind! He had so much fun!

Grammy and Natalie

Grammy also put the kids to work in the yard--but of course they loved it!

And here is one of our 'pets' that we caught while at Grammy's house. The poor lizard was held captive for 3 days before I finally convinced the kids he would enjoy being with his lizard friends more than with us.

Chris worked hard to make a huge brush pile to burn while we were there, but it was too big to roast marshmallows on. So he made the kids a smaller one close to the house.

And of course we had to do a 'photo shoot' of the 3 cousins together. Unfortuantely Natalie was afraid of the bugs and Wyatt was certain he heard a monkey in the woods, so it didn't turn out as well as i'd hoped, but we got some cute ones.

And of course, the highlight of the trip was sweet baby Nolan.

It's A Boy!

Nolan Stafford Kimball

9-26-07 1:04 a.m

7lb 3oz 20.5 inches

Things have been crazy here on the homefront! The kids are doing well with school and we enjoyed a few days of very fall-like weather.

The kids and I are heading out bright and early tomorrow morning (wed) for MS. They are driving me crazy and i've decided that next time i'm not telling them that we're going. I'll just suprise them when it's time to leave!

We are going to miss Ben terribly while we're gone but we know he'll be in good hands!

Since there isn't much else going on, here are a few random pics from recent days. Wyatt and I took a walk on the railroad tracks last Sunday, and the last picture is Natalie and her 'daughters'. She strives every day to be a mommy and these 2 dolls are 2 of her many 'children'.

We took our first homeschool field trip with a group of friends last Friday. We were blessed that this family opened their home and farm to us so that we could learn all about dairy farming! The kids had a blast and I think us moms did, too!

Making butter!

School Days, School Days...

We started school a few weeks ago and the kids are loving it! We finally got our school area done (a corner in my craft room--hence the purple paint!). This is one of the days last week. And yes, one of the advantages of homeschooling is you can do it in your jammies if you like!

I added this dry erase board and it's been so helpful! Excuse the chipped paint-I made a mess hanging things!

It has been unbelievably hot here! We don't have AC (window units upstairs) but thankfully our house is still cool. But outside--it's just crazy! So the kids drug out the kiddie pool on Saturday and enjoyed some cool water!