(Almost) Eight-year-old Pictures

Last week my friend, Melanie, (who also took Juliana's pictures) had a much easier subject to photograph--Emily!  Emily will be turning EIGHT on December 1st and, as a part of our faith, getting baptized!  It's a very big deal as we believe she will have reached the age of accountability and will have taken a big step in the process of growing up!

To celebrate this milestone, I wanted to get some pictures taken of our growing girl.  Normally, I would've waited until she was officially eight.  But, December in Nebraska can be unpredictable!  So, we did them now, when the weather is still our friend!  Here are a few of our beautiful big girl!

 For these pictures we had two different dresses.  The first (in the above pictures) is a new one we found that really fits Emily's personality and the occasion.  The second dress (in the last few pictures below) is the dress I wore to my own baptism.  Back in those days there were no digital cameras, only film.  Well, after my baptism, my mom went to get the film developed and discovered that there was no.film.in.the.camera.  She was devestated.  So, there are no pictures of my baptism or of this dress.  It was only natural, then, for my mom and I to want to get a couple of pictures of Emily in my old dress.  She wasn't thrilled (it's an old-fashioned dress with "too much lace," according to Emily), but, she agreed to take a couple of pictures to make us happy.  And we're so glad she did!  The dress looked just beautiful on her and the pictures turned out so pretty.

 

She wanted to make a silly face--true Emily style!

Beautiful pictures of a beautiful young lady!  Can it really be possible that she's turning eight??!



Living the Dream

It was a typical evening in the Lindseth household.  Kids had been bathed, teeth brushed (twice:  once before the evening snacks of toast and muffins and once again afterward).  We were in the midst of what we do every night:  try and get these crazy kids to BED!  Surprisingly, it was a calm sort of chaos that was prevailing.  I know that sounds contradictory, but it really isn't.  As you can see from a few of the pictures I snapped in honor of this very ordinary evening!

 Daddy was being a horsey and Kari, lifting her cowboy-penguin hat in the air shouts, "Giddy-up, Horsey!"

 Emily plays the role of big(gest) sister ever-so-sweetly and patiently by reading her brother the book he'd picked out.

 Baby Juliana was having a little "free time" (sans diaper) and enjoying every minute of it! (Her cute little bottom is not pictured b/c I don't want to embarass her too badly when she reads this post as a teenager!)

 The kids then decided they wanted to be the photographers, so Kari got one of Mommy and Daddy...

 Christian got one of Emily giggling while her hair attacks Daddy...

 And Emily snapped one of all of us.

I then decided that it was as good as time as any for a family shot!  (Funny how our most successful family picture is one of everyone in their jammies!)

This post was prompted by a visit to my dentist yesterday.  While I was getting my teeth cleaned (a process that as I age I'm disliking more and more!), the hygenist asked about my children.  She was shocked to learn that I have FOUR and that I was 32 yrs old!  (Yes, this made my day as she thought I was between 22-25--HA!)  She went on to comment that having kids must keep me young and that between having a wonderful husband and four great children that I must be living the dream!  I thanked her for her kindness and said it was refreshing to hear someone say such positive things about having children.  (Most people say, "Ugh!  Four kids?!  That must be so much work!")  And, they're right too.  It is a lot of work.  However, I love it.  (Most days, at least!)  My children are sweet, smart, CRAZY, and a lot of fun.  Cubby and I have both agreed that life would be pretty boring without them!  And while there are things in our lives that are less-than-ideal, from at least one hygenist's point of view, we are living the dream.

Balancing Act

Rice Cereal 101

Last week I gave Juliana her first taste of rice cereal!  True, it was more breastmilk than rice, and it was more of an intro to the spoon than the food on the spoon, but hey, we've got to start somewhere!

The verdict:  she didn't NOT like it!  She was extremely interested in the spoon, the basket of napkins on the table, and, really, the table itself.  Cubby is going to get the high chair out of storage tomorrow so we can try again, hopefully with more interest in the cereal itself :-).

Of the other three children, Christian was the only one who liked the cereal somewhat.  I have high hopes for Miss J though!  It's hard to believe that she's already big enough (5 months this Monday!) to be moving toward solid foods--oh boy!

Bend it like Christian

Christian's first soccer game was last weekend.  It was a beautiful morning and he was VERY excited.  Originally, he was going to be on the same team as his best bud, Henry.  But, another team needed a coach and they asked Henry's dad to be said coach.  So, the boys ended up on different teams...playing one another in their first game.  Did this cause a problem?  No way!  Christian and Henry were both thrilled to be playing against each other!

 Through both the warm ups and the game itself, Christian ran full-out, with a HUGE smile on his face.  The.whole.time.  It was so cute.  He was just having so much fun!


Here is he his, getting ready for a "corner" kick

 

 The first half of the game he played forward...with the rest of the team.  (They're learning about different positions, but they're 5 yr olds and still play "bunch ball.")  However, the second half of the game, when he saw the other team scoring too, he decided he wanted to play defender and had a couple of really great saves!  Again, smiling the whole time!

They don't keep score, so honestly, I'm not sure who won.  And, by the look on Christian and Henry's faces, I don't think they know either!  Go team(s)!

Slice of Heaven 2012

Last Friday night we went to the Flynn's orchard for our annual apple-picking!  A couple other of our friends' families came along to check out for themselves why we call this place a little "slice of heaven." 

 The weather couldn't have been better.  I mean, we're talking one of the top 10 evenings of the year.  Perfect for picking!

 This was also Juliana's first trip to the orchard!  She did great!

 Here are the obligitory kids-having-a-ball-in-the-orchard pictures.  Big smiles, big time fun.

 Kari-belle.

 (She was the only one of our kids to actually eat an apple.  Yes, my kids are weird.)

 Emily

 Here is Kari and her best friend, Alexa (or, "Lexi" as she calls her).

 Emily and Miss Brooklynn.

 Here is our little family!

 Almost all of the kiddos from the evening (Em's friend, Ella, came late from a volleyball practice).

 How many kids does it take to fill a gator?  (I'll let you figure it out.)

And, here is my sweet baby and me! 

What a beautiful night.  What a wonderful blessing it is that we get to go make such great memories with our children and friends each year.  We are truly thankful to the Flynns for always being so generous in opening up their orchards and sharing so much with so many.

Gold Medal Performances

This summer brought the 2012 London Olympics!  The kids really enjoyed watching the various sports and on more than one occasion, re-enacted what they had seen.  (And I got a front row seat!  For FREE!)  Yup, I definitely got the deal of the century. 

Now, in this picture, each had given a gold medal routine (the individual sports that they were representing are alluding me at the moment...gymnastics and diving??).  They then held relay races around "the loop" of our living/dining/kitchen areas.  Yeah, we were waiting for Daddy to get home from a trip and it had gotten a little late.  Kids got crazy :-). 

 The REAL gold-medal performance, however, was the following night when Emily sat down and read to her younger brother and sister.  So.very.sweet.

In my book, my kiddos are all winners.  Not only for their killer couch-diving skills, but also for the little ways they are learning to love and serve one another.