Baby Cody #4 Baby Shower

Our amazing church family recently threw us a baby shower to get ready for baby boy. It was so much more than I could have ever imagined or asked for. We continue to be blessed by this church each and every day and know this new little one will be very loved. (And now we are ready for him to come any day!)

For a Tuesday night, there was a surprising turn-out. Don't really know how many, but there must have been at least 40 people. Mom & Dad were even able to be there, as they were still here from their mission trip to help at Fair & Field Days. So glad we were able to plan it so they could come! We had a potluck dinner and there was tons of food! The big kids' friends were there so they played happily on their own.

The hostess, Sandie, put a lot of time & effort into the fireman-themed decorations. These little baskets were on some of the tables. They are actually diapers wrapped in a washcloth with a sock hat. Cute AND practical!

Oh man, was this cake so delicious! It was 3-layers-- two of Oreo cheesecake and one of regular chocolate cake. It was so huge to cut into but so cute!

Cutting it with Brett was fun. Just like our wedding! (Only at 34 weeks pregnant.)

Andrew and Abigail both loved the little stuffed dogs that decorated the place. We gave a lot of them away but still ended up with quite a few stuffed animals at our house.

The stroller & car seat were quite an unexpected surprise gift! The ladies' Bible study group pitched in for that, and it's one I probably would have picked out myself. Our old infant car seat has expired, so it was definitely needed.

Some of the other gifts included lots of clothes, blankets, money, a baby book, and lots of other miscellaneous items. I also got a gift certificate for a really nice baby wrap (in which to wear the baby hands-free).

While I didn't really get many packs of diapers, I did get this adorable diaper cake that took the better part of a day to take apart-- there must have been at least 100 diapers in there. Not to mention little baby toys, nail clippers & other first aid items, soaps and lotions. It was definitely the hit of the party and everyone loved looking at it.

Having the shower was a good excuse for me to get the rest of the baby things ready to go. The very next day, after putting away the gifts, we got his bassinet set up & washed, got out the blankets and burp cloths (I already hung up a bunch of his clothes awhile back when I was sorting through my storage room), and I even got a diaper bag packed & ready for the hospital. Eventually, after he is sleeping through the night, he will move into Andrew's room, but for now we haven't set up the crib yet-- so different from the others when I was so eager to have all the pretty bedding all ready to go with their name above their crib. Still, he has a place to sleep, he has clothes to wear, and a seat to come home in. So we are ready for the little guy make his appearance!

Fair & Field Days

Ever since we went last year, we have looked forward to going again to the County Fair & Field Days. The kids loved seeing the animals, riding the rides, and of course eating the food. Our church sets up a booth each year for the purpose of evangelism and outreach. While I don't really sit at the booth, Brett does, but he's able to come spend time with us walking around the Fair. This year we went 3 days. My mom & dad were even able to come spend time with us, as they brought a mission team from their church to help with our booth!

The Children's Barnyard is always one of our first stops. There are always cute baby animals to pet. My country kids are not at all afraid to go up to a goat and feed it. Or a cow.

And another one of our mandatory stops is the Maple Tent. We always have to get a Maple Creeme. And this year we even tasted Maple Icees (basically syrup on crushed ice) and a Maple Milkshake. This must be NC's equivalent of the "Fried" phenomenon at their Fair.

Andrew fell in love with the horse races. And he wanted to stay and watch the whole thing. While Daddy stayed with him, I walked around a little with the girls. They wanted to get balloon animals and play in the corn box. Abi talked about the clowns that made her balloon for days. I thought they were creepy.

We usually run into lots of people we know. Abi had a fun moment "talking" to one of her friends from church beneath this big milk cow. :-) 

We watched Racing Pigs and ducks. Andrew got picked out of the crowd to "bet" on a duck. His duck won! He got a medal and a little duck keychain. Required no effort on his part, but he felt so special.

Friday was Ride Day and the kids were SO excited. They remember last year getting to go on everything they saw. They were even more adventurous this year. They started out with this small Ferris Wheel (with Daddy on their side).

At first, Abigail was not at all thrilled about riding rides. She seemed like she was going to want to do everything her brother and sister did. She talked about the rides and told us all morning how she was big and liked the rides. Then she realized Mommy & Daddy couldn't go with her on most of them. And she cried. We took her off before it even went around.

Later, though, Brett got himself a ride pass so he could go on some things with her. She went on the big slide with him.

And they went on the train (Andrew's personal fave).

And the carousel.

And by the time it was time to leave, she was fearless. She wanted to go on these helicopters. By herself. The first time she went with Leah and Andrew. Then she couldn't get enough of it. (The fingers in her mouth don't necessarily mean she's scared. Quiet usually means she likes it. If she doesn't like it, she'll let you know.)

Leah's friend Joselyn wanted her to ride the big Ferris Wheel with her. And even though she's never ridden anything like before, she went, and she wasn't afraid at all. I can't believe how grown up she looks on that all by herself!

And Leah & Joselyn went together on the Carousel.

Leah decided to give the big curly slide a try by herself. And then went again. And again.

And Daddy went with them on the Roller Coaster that tosses you around.  

And sometimes Abi was too small to ride the rides, even with Daddy. So Grandma got her cotton candy, and she was happy.

Daddy got silly pictures of Leah & Andrew while they were on the Ferris Wheel. Andrew was a little nervous at first about the height of it, but loved it once he got off!

The last day we took our international college student, Maria. We introduced her to American foods like the Bloomin' Onion and corn dogs. That day we got to watch the huge Clydsedale horses being hitched, and we learned a little about sheep and the process of making wool. Leah also got to be a part of a magic show. We've seen this guy's show more than once, so she was confident up there on that stage in front of a whole bunch of kids.

And the last day we discovered $1 kids ice cream cones. And after a second day in a row with no nap and lots of sugar in her, Abi was just plain silly.

The Fair left us all hot and exhausted (especially the one of us that is 34 weeks pregnant), but we wouldn't miss it for the world and already can't wait for next year. The Fair being over almost means there's only about 6 weeks left until it starts getting cold again in Vermont! But we won't think about that now.

Kids' Camp/ VBS 2015

We had so much fun this year at our church's Vacation Bible School! A mission team from NC came up to help us all week and basically ran the camp. All we had to do was walk the kids from station to station- and of course disciple them when the team left. The team was really great and helped us all to keep up the energy through the LONG week to make it so fun for the kids.

I think the first day we had maybe 24 kids but the rest of the days it was more like 32 or so-- a REALLY good number for our small rural church. Maybe only half of them are regular attenders of our church.

This was the first day's Opening Assembly. As you can see, the leader, Bartley, always wore a crazy hat, and he really knew how to engage the kids and get them excited about the night.

I didn't want Abigail to have to stay in the nursery the whole time but wasn't sure how she'd do in a group without me there, so decided to just put her in my group. Besides one other two year old the first two nights, she ended up being the only one in my group. This gave us the flexibility to skip out on activities if she got restless or cranky; however, it also made her a little "entitled"-- she felt like she could get away with more. She LOVED any parts with songs and would always go out in the aisle and dance.

Andrew was in a completely separate group from me and I rarely saw him each night. The groups were not split by age-- there was a variety in each group. So Andrew had 2 other boys in his group and thrived that way. For once he was not in his sister's shadow and didn't have only girls to hang out with. He had so much fun with the other little boys and did so well on his own.

Another fun part of the Opening Ceremony was the Penny War, between boys and girls to see who could collect the most money for missions. The girls won in the end, but each night it was always a mystery and it was a huge deal that the kids really got into!

The theme was "Weird Animals" so each night featured a unique and different type of animal from around the world. The basic idea was that even though we are different (or afraid, or whatever), Jesus still loves us. Instead of crafts, there was a science-type experiment each night and the kids took home a small "toy" that reminded them of the night's animal.

Another unique feature of this VBS was the Kid Vid-- a short movie clip about a real-life kid in a difficult or unique situation and how God is still being glorified in their lives. This was the little group I walked around with-- a wide variety of kids. They loved the part where they wrote on little Post-Its what "God sightings" they'd had during the day.

There was of course Bible story time, as well, and Saul visited us one night.

Of course the kids' favorite part was games, and the bounce house that went with that! My two little two-year-olds had a blast in it by themselves the first night it was up. I put them in before the big kids got there, and I have never heard so much giggling in my life. Abi cried when they had to deflate the bounce house.

Abi enjoyed the ice cream for dessert!

The "Tail End" or closing time each night was also pretty funny and got the kids excited about coming back the next day. One night Bartley didn't want to make a cake the usual way-- instead he decided to use this giant bucket and make it with chips, salsa, candy, and a variety of other items. The last night, he held a bag of water over Brett's head and poked pencils through it. Miraculously, he didn't get wet (until someone threw the opened bag onto him later).

The team from NC already plans to come back next year and I think everyone is excited. The adults were all exhausted but so thankful that 3 kids came to know Christ during the week. That alone made all the time and energy worth it!