Christmas Morning!
They aren't the greatest photos ever, but you have to take what you can get on Christmas!
Check out the one of Ethan and Justin I took with my new fish eye lens...

We went to a Christmas party on Saturday night. We had a great time and there was an extra special guest there....





Astrid made it clear that, in her opinion, no one in their right mind would even make eye contact with a guy in that get-up...much less sit on his lap. so, she just colored and acted like he wasn't there...

Ethan and Asa had their first wrestling match of the season on Friday night. Unfortunately, I missed Asa's so I didn't get any photos. But, Justin tells me that all he did was laugh the whole time anyway. Here are some photos of Ethan's match. He did a great job. He kept the guy on his back almost the entire time and Ethan's back never even touched the mat! Every match, the coaches tell the boys that if they are seen using a particular move (a different one each match) then they'll get a milkshake as a reward. For the first time, Ethan remembered to do the "Milkshake Move" and was so thrilled after he was finished that he was doing cartwheels!

Baby!

I recently updated my photography website. Take a look and tell me what you think:

www.emilyallenphotography.com

Oh, and here's a photo of all 4 kids....otherwise known as a miracle.....

No...WAIT! There's no need to check the web address....this really is my blog and I really am updating it. It's almost surreal isn't it........

Things around here have gotten so busy lately with the photography business, homeschooling, and expecting baby #5. So, there hasn't been much time to write. Here's a little about what the kids are up to...

Ethan will be 7 in less than 2 weeks! He's doing first grade and he likes it a lot. He loves science passionately and has become a good writer. This is his creative writing short story he did this week (Each story is just 3 sentences right now):
Snow and Wind
The snow sparkles like shiny diamonds falling from the sky.
The trees feel a breeze as the wind blows by.
I run with the wind and I stomp in the snow.

For the past week or so Ethan has seemed to really turn a corner in his maturity. He's been incredibly helpful and polite (two words we wouldn't normally use to describe our little mischief maker). He lost his 5th tooth yesterday and the tooth fairy brought him $2. This afternoon he gave one of his dollars to Julia and the other to Asa, telling them that he just wanted to share what he has with them. I was amazed. Yesterday, I told him that I was so proud of the way he was behaving lately and that he was being such a good example for Julia, Asa, and Astrid. He looked at me with wide, excited eyes and said, "Really?! I am?! I always wanted to be that!" He suggested the idea that maybe I could consider getting him a prize for his outstanding behavior. I told him that might be a possibility and after a short pause he said, "You know, Mommy, I'm not just being a good boy for a prize, I'm doing it because I know it makes God happy with me". Wow....maybe we aren't doing everything wrong after all.


Julia is really growing up a lot lately. She is so sweet and generous. She shares with anyone who asks anything of her. There's such a sense of goodness about her. She doing kindergarten right now, even though she's not yet 4 and a half. She can sit for hours and work if I can make it that long! She still loves everything girly. We let the kids go through a catalog a few weeks ago and circle the things they were interested in for Christmas. When I went back through after them I saw that she had circled anything pink, no matter what it was! She even circled a Kitchen Aid mixer, just because it was pink! One great thing about Julia, though, is that she can be as feminine as they come, but also holds her own quite well with the boys. She can keep up with all the wrestling, running, sword fighting, and chaos that goes on in our house every day.

Asa. Asa, Asa, Asa. He's really like no other kid I have ever met. Incredibly intelligent, unbearably funny, super friendly, and so stinkin' cute. You really have to spend time with him to understand just how unique he is. Along with his precociousness, though, come some behaviors we could live without. Asa seems to think that's he's exempt from any rules imposed upon the other kids. Everything is a joke to Asa. Discipline doesn't go very smoothly when the kid can't even make it through a well planned Mommy-lecture without giggling. Having an opinion about EVERYTHING doesn't work too well when you're trying to get him ready for church and nothing you choose for him to wear is quite right. Now, if he had great fashion sense it might not be a big deal, but I don't know how many more times I can leave the house with Asa decked out in a knight costume, cowboy boots, and a crumpled fedora.

Astrid is a character, following in her brother Asa's footsteps. They even sound alike when they talk, laugh, or cry. She just turned 20 months and she has sure packed a lot of personality into 23 pounds of chunky toddler! Astrid thinks that the answer to any questions beginning with "Who wants to" is an emphatic and gleeful "MEEEEEE!"
"Who wants to have breakfast?"
"MEEEEEEE!"
"Who wants to get in the car?"
"MEEEEEEE!"
"Who wants to eat spinach soup with whipped cream on top?"
"MEEEEEEE!"
Her brothers and sister love her like crazy. She thinks Ethan hung the moon, likes to pretend to be a big girl with Julia, and tolerates Asa...most of the time.


Our new addition is due in April and is already making him/herself known with lots of kicks and turns in my belly. We won't be finding out what we're having this time so look for the announcement in April (which could very well be the next time I get around to updating)!

Julia is 4! What a fun birthday she had...I took her and one of her friends out to get their nails done, go to dinner, and shop. Julia is such a girly girly so she looked forward to her night out for weeks and relished every minute of it.

Yep, that's our boy! Do you even recognize him?!? Ethan got glasses (he's nearsighted and only has to wear them when watching TV or at Sunday School when looking at the board) and he lost his two front teeth!

Our first family photo since Astrid joined us!

Can you believe it? I am posting something new!

For some reason I have not been able to get into my blog for a long time. When blogger changed over and started making us sign in with a Google account everything got all messed up....so I have been MIA for awhile.

Everything is going great here at our house. Our first year of homeschooling is over and Ethan did wonderfully! He reads like a champ and loves science. He starts football in the fall and will do wrestling again after that.

Julia went to a week of dance camp last month and loved it. She plans to start weekly dance classes in September. She will be 4 in August and she's looking forward to a day out with the girls when we will get our nails done, have a nice lunch, and go get her a new outfit. She gets giddy every time we talk about it!

Asa played soccer this year and really liked it. He's still just as silly and crazy as ever. There's never a dull moment with Asa around!

Astrid is 15 months today. She is such a sweetie but is turning into a true toddler with opinions that she is not afraid to express!

Justin and Ethan just got back from a week long mission trip in Lynch, Kentucky. They worked on a construction crew fixing up the home of a lady in Lynch. They had a great time together. Ethan did a lot of painting and even got to use the power drill! But he says his favorite part was finding a praying mantis. He told me that he learned that God wants us to help other people and he said he really enjoyed helping Mrs. Jones by working on her house. I'm sure at 6 years old that a lot of the message and purpose of the week was lost on him, but I know that even if his heart was turned just a little bit to God and His will for his life, then the week was a success. Here are a few photos:

And we can't forget the three other cuties!

Astrid's birthday party was on the 20th and she had a great time. The cake was messy and she was covered in it, as she should be! These are some photos of her on party day, and a few extras.

Happy Birthday Astrid!

my beautiful baby