Birthday Season...

The countdown has started. Elyssia can hardly wait for it to be Kiersten's Birthday. Only 4 more days, but the suspense is killing her:). I went out this morning to get some of the things I needed for decorating cakes and to see what I could find for presents. We're keeping it small and trying not to add too many more "things" in the house, while making it memorable. Part of that is in decorating the cake. Thus far I've made the cupcakes they've requested or we've gotten ice cream cakes from Dairy Queen. Kiersten is into dollies and stuffies, which she has plenty of. At the last parade the kids seemed the most excited over balloons. These are included for days of enjoyment, or maybe an hour once Kiersten gets ahold of one:))). She's quite good at popping them, to the great consternation of her siblings. I think we'll have a little tea party and make little sandwiches and finger foods, maybe even a picnic, if the weather is nice. Things that little girls like and with lots of pictures we can look at to remind us of it later. I bought a "new to her" sleeper today. When Kiersten saw it she grabbed it up and giggled every time she looked at it. We'd say, "do you like it?" which seemed to make her giggle all the more. It's pink with Piglet on it and I wish our camera's sound still worked with the video. She's at such a giggly stage and it makes everyone laugh. Loving each little stage and thanking the Lord that we haven't had to deal with a stubborn streak with her yet. Elyssia's started to sow at about 11 months. Garrison not so much, but he's very quick to cry or get worked up about things. Caleb was quiet until close to 2, now he's probably the most strong-willed of the bunch. So, for now we enjoy each day of Kiersten's sweetness and pray that the Lord helps us to guide the others to use their stubborn streaks for good.

Elyssia turns 7 next month and seems to be more growing up faster than ever. She still has a lot of little girl in her, but it's neat to see her growing into a helpful young lady. She's been a big blessing and help with Kiersten. She's helping more with baking and loves most cleaning jobs that involve water:). We've found that making things into a race gets most chores done super fast. Whatever works:).

Garrison turns 5 on November 7th and I think we've seen the biggest physical growth in him over the past year. He's about an inch shy of being as tall as Elyssia. He delights in showing us how strong he is bringing in the groceries or taking out the trash. He's quick to see if Dad needs help with a job and is overjoyed each time he gets to "go to work" with him. Last night we were taking pictures after they got haircuts. They all had a bath and as I was combing Garrison's hair I remarked that he looked like "Grandpa Prisk" had at that age. There are some differences, but some strong resemblance as well. Here are a couple:

Caleb is quite disappointed that he has to wait until March for his next Birthday, but I think that there will be plenty of cake and games to make him forget:).

Is it just me, or does Caleb resemble Scott's cousin Brock in this second picture? Asking the Holloways that read this:).



So, it's been a good year overall. So many blessings and things accomplished. It's hard to believe that it's going to be October soon. We thought our trip to Georgia would be hard to wait for. Now it's come and gone. We've made lots of new missionary friends this year. This pregnancy has gone by quite a bit faster than the others and we're enjoying Elyssia's second year of homeschooling. So much to thank the Lord for and so much to continue to look forward to...