Christmas

Ok since I am so not technical I can't quickly figure out how to rearrange photos and text so here is this random out of order post. Our favorite family gift: Rock Band for the Wii. It is hilarious to watch the girls. Hailey makes up her own words: "We are the Hoefer Family Band...And I am six." Lots of fun. It was my surprise for Scott and he is thrilled! Santa always brings the girls their stuff Christmas Eve while they are hiding in a room. (We thought of that because they were so terrified of him coming into the house while they slept. Makes sense....big strange man coming in during the night....I can see why they are scared.) So the girls hid with Rach and Rojallio and waited to hear the bell. When they heard it they ran upstairs and found their gifts. Polly Pockets, games, and American Girl stuff of course. Santa didn't do so well with Karis since she changes her mind about what she wants several times a day. She looked a little dissapointed with what we I mean Santa picked out for her but Gamma came to the rescue and discovered another gift on the porch that he left. Bitty baby bath tub. Thanks Gamma...I mean Santa. Hailey was thrilled with the salon chair for her doll since she has wanted it since last summer. And Avery just had fun opening but did enjoy playing her new clown game with Mike.

Considering I have around 50 plus people coming to our home in a couple of hours to ring in the New Year I am not sure why I am blogging right now but just had to get it done. Crazy. So none of these photos are edited but at least it will be done. I am just going to put the photo on and explain briefly. OK Christmas Eve we usually spend here in the Berg but decided to go to Yak since it started snowing and we got worried about not making it there the next day. So we went up and decorated cookies with Mike, Rach, and her new friend- Rojallio. I am sure that is not how you spell his name but anyway he is great!! They are definitely smitten with each other! He is so nice and the girls absolutely adored him. In fact I hope he didn't get worn out playing with them!

I have almost no pictures from Christmas day when the girls and us opened our gifts from my parents. We all got everything we wanted and more. In fact I saw a perfect shirt for our girls that says: What Santa doesn't bring me Grandma will. Very true. We had a great day with almost all the family except poor little Roc who had the flu and Kevin who stayed home with him. It was really fun, the girls all played and we even played some games of Skipbo and of course had great food. OK that sums it up I really must get this place ready for the New Years Eve Party. (We are celebrating Eastern time. I will hopefully get some photos taken.)

Birthday Party For Jesus

So today we celebrated Jesus' Birthday. The girls had their cousins come and it was really fun. We had a special story about the meaning of Christmas, we played: "Wrap the baby in swaddling clothes", "Pass the star", and "Drop the gifts" where they dropped 3 gifts into the "manger". Then we decorated trees and stars. Last, each child got a cupcake with a candle and we sang to Jesus. I like to do something each year to remind the girls that Christmas is about more than presents so singing Happy Birthday to Jesus has become a fun tradition!

Spring Rolls and Snow

The only thing these two things have to do with each other is they were both a part of our weekend! Saturday night I thought it would be fun to make Spring Rolls because I found some Rice paper at Cash/n/Carry last time I was there. (And I knew at least Hannah and Monica and Crissy would be impressed at how well I was incorporating vegetables into the girls culinary experiences. We don't just bake cookies around here.) So anyway the girls had a blast putting the veggies in, soaking the paper, and wrapping the rolls. They couldn't wait to eat them for dinner. "That's It!" I thought to myself, "Kids really will eat healthy if you let them help make the food". (I knew I had read that somewhere.) Well- once again the book was wrong. The girls took one bite and that was it. Not so into the spring rolls. Actually either were we...much too healthy for us. However tonight I made Thai peanut chicken and they were delicious with that. And the girls loved the chicken!

And the snow....oh the snow. The good thing about living somewhere like here is that snow doesn't stop us. Not one school delay this week, not one day off, nothing cancelled, nothing. Everything went on as normal in the 6 degree weather. The girls had a great time today playing in the snow. Sorry about the Avery pic...way too bright but her face looked so cute I had to post it. I pulled her around on a sled and she giggled so hard. All was well until we heard a loud sound which Scott discovered was a broken pipe that had froze under our house!! Thankfully he is such a handy man that he was able to fix it. What a guy!!

And one more thing....as Avery was walking around today with a glass nativity set in a purse she had put it in the thought crossed my mind that there are two types of parents out there. Those who let their kids touch the Christmas tree and those who don't. Bet you can't guess what ones we are. (This is actually the worst year we have had with broken ornaments. Our philosophy has always been the tree is for all of us so let the girls enjoy it. We put the good ornaments up high and the kid ones below. Karis however...I don't know...she has managed to break several. But today as she was standing on a stool trying to reach a little nativity scene and I was about to tell her to get down she said, "I just want to play with Jesus Mom." How could I say no to that?)

Angels In Our Midst

So last year I posted this story. This will only make sense if you read it so stop and read it first. OK fast forward one year. We have not talked about this story really at all since last December. Last Sunday Hailey came home from Sunday School talking and talking about a story her teacher told her about an angel. This of course launched a whole series of questions from the girls about the reality of angels, what they look like, if they are scary etc. etc. Hailey and Avery both seemed really nervous about angels and we kept reassuring them that things of God are not freaky or scary but peaceful. And then Karis says, "Like when the angel came to help me when my dresser fell. Why did the angel leave as soon as you walked in Mom?" Scott and I stopped and looked at each other and then at Karis. Then she laughed and said, "I said I saw Baby Jesus and Mary and Joseph too." I said, "Did you see them?" "Nooo." She says laughing. I said, "Did you see an angel though?" "Yes...and why did it leave when you came?" So anyway....apparently out little spiritual one has faith greater than her parents. This story gives me chills every time I think about it. Oh to have faith like a child....
(The reason we believe she did see an angel is this was when she was barely 3 years old, we haven't talked about this, we don't talk about angels all the time or ever really, yet she remembers seeing one so I don't think she could have fabricated this in her mind.) Her Auntie Deb says, "Of course she saw an angel!!"
On a funny note all week long Avery has said, "No angels coming, No angels coming, they are scaaarrryyy."

Alex

We got our December update of Alex and we are finally in IBESR. Praise God. We just need to pray we get through quickly and on to the next step. This waiting is not fun. Avery now looks at his picture and goes, "There's my Alex. He's my brudder. Where is my brudder?" It brings tears to my eyes. I never knew this would be so difficult. And they shaved his head. I am so sad about that but we can grow his hair out when he gets home. Not out like long but I want some fuzzy hair- he looks so cute with it. I do understand with 100 babies shaved heads are much easier!! Thanks everyone who prays for him and for us!!

My New Look

OK so this isn't really my new look- although the hair is- for the first time in 15 years I have bangs!! I like them I think. Anyway I went to Bunko last night and we had a theme. Can you guess what it was? And no the tat is not real! And yes the shirt does belong to Hailey- our 5 year old! And no the cigarette is not real either. I hesitated to post this or not as it is a bit mortifying so it may be coming off but for now it is posted!

What A Difference A Year Makes

So last year taking Christmas photos of the girls was not easy.....If you don't remember click on the two links to see how hard I tried. Well this year I got these in about 5 minutes!! I love the top one and can't believe I have three smiling girls looking at the camera. Never thought I'd see the day! Then we had to have one with their new fancy coats from Gamma. It was 9 degrees outside which is why they look quite frigid!

American Girl Doll Party

So my friend Christy and I thought it would be fun to get our girls together once a month to do a little American Girl Doll Club. Since she has an 8 year old - Bailey- she let her invite a friend her age also. So we had our first official meeting on Friday. We had a Christmas theme at our house. Each girl wore a Christmas dress and dressed her doll up too. We had "portraits by Abby" since I am quite the professional. Just kidding...but I was surprisingly happy with the photos. I have been shooting in manual lately which is a big step for me and often they look awful! Anyway then we made little ornaments to put the photos in, made a little cup for the dolls, and made miniature cards for their dolls. I had saved some bags from when we went to the store last summer so those were fun to put their goodies in. Then we decorated mini cookies for their dolls. Then we had a tea party- with hot chocolate. They had so much fun mixing their own cocoa and milk and water. Then we ate mini- cupcakes. All thing miniature at the doll party! It was so much fun. A highlight in my mothering career. Have I mentioned I LOVE having girls?!

A Perfect Kind of Day

The weather was so nice today....got up to 59 and sunny the whole time. I went and worked in Hailey's room which I always enjoy and then the little girls and I went to Super One for lunch. They love the pizza and free clown ride. Then we walked around our quaint little town. Went to the pet store and a new clothing store- Flirt- with really cute clothes!! Can't wait to go back on my own and try some stuff on. Then when we were driving around we saw Santa! He comes every year and drives around town in a red convertible with lights all over loaded with gifts! So the girls got out of the car and he gave them each a gift. They were so thrilled. They each got a little stuffed animal. They talked about it all day. Karis would say, "I was brave and said Merry Christmas." and Avery would say, "I was a little nervous". Yep...that's true....Then we came home and the girls drove their new little car around (their old one broke but we got it replaced with this one), then the girls played outside on the swing set. Who would have thought we'd be swinging in December? Anyway it was a great day!OH and I have a new friend blogging...the Coopers so check them out on Moondanceranch on my bloglist!

Hailey's Christmas Program

So Hailey had her first school Christmas program and it was adorable. She was so excited about it and couldn't tell us what any of the songs were because it was a surprise. Too cute. At the end as a surprise to the parents they all put a little Rudolph nose on. It was so sweet because they thought it was such a HUGE surprise to us and they were just laughing and laughing. Afterwards we went into her class and had treats with the teacher. It was such a neat time. We love Hailey's school and her teacher. We loved that the songs were about Christmas and even an African folk song about Jesus. Isn't the picture of her with her friends adorable? She has some great friends at school and we are so glad!

Amazing Safeway Deals

OK I thought these were only for today but then I heard all week. So here you go:

Go to Safeway and buy 5 of Jiffy muffin mixes. (Even if you don't like them you can use them for pancake batter, a great Rachael Ray Barbecue Chicken Pizza recipe, and the girl's favorite- the easy-bake oven...way cheaper than the easy bake mixes and they turn out just as gross!) I also plan on donating some to a food bank.

They are on sale for 39 cents. Every time you buy 5 you get $5 dollars back. Just make sure and buy other items too so you get the most out of this. I bought 55 boxes and I also bought 5 of the Jif PB on the sale which ended up costing $1.50 each. I also got produce, 20 yogurts, lunch meat, and other items all for $12.40!! I saved over $100! I went through the line 3 times while Scott patiently waited in the car with the girls. He looked a little mortified until he saw a whole cart of groceries! One of the times through I only had to pay 40 cents! The receipt said I saved 99% of my purchases! The cashiers were amazed. In fact as I was leaving the guy said, "I bet you won't make it through those doors...you'll have to come back and do it again." So anyway run to your nearest Safeway!!

I actually went up to Cle Elum and did it there too- got $108 worth of groceries for FREE. The girl said, "I don't know how this happened but it did". But the next day I went back to the E-burg Safeway and tried to buy them all and it didn't work. I was mortified standing up there with hundreds of Jiffy mixes and other groceries. The manager came over and said it was a mistake and he wasn't going to give me free groceries. (Which I don't think it was because the sign clearly says it as well as the ad and there is no limit.) He then said, "What did you do? Clear our shelves?" By then the girls were whining and crying and I couldn't get out of there fast enought. I said that was fine but I felt bad they had to put them all back. Anyway....try it where you live and see what happens! At least I got a lot of free stuff on Sunday....and saved over a couple hundred of dollars!

I Think I've Ruined Her Dating Potential

Hailey told me that a little boy: "M" kissed her at school. She said, "He kissed me on the lips but I didn't kiss back and then he kissed me here" and she pointed to her chest. I about died. I said, "Hailey- there is to be no kissing until you are married or at least almost married." She said, "I know." So when we got to school today I saw "M". So I took the opportunity to say, "M- there is to be no more kissing Hailey. Her daddy will be very upset if you do it again." "M" who is usually quite silly looked up at me with big eyes and said very seriously, "OK". The other 2 little boys with him looked at me too. Probably thinking they will never come near Hailey. Hopefully in middle school they will still remember this! (The teacher was quite pleased I did that since she has actually had to send "M" to the principal for kissing girls. She said hopefully hearing it from me will make an impact.)

Thanksgiving Highlights

- Hanging out with all of my siblings.

-8 Kids 5 and under tearing up the house

-Great, delicious food

- Crafts by Hannah

- Prizes by Mom

- Girls all gathered around Papa's computer looking at animals

- Hailey reading her Thanksgiving story to Grandma Ruby, Gamma, and Papa

-Shopping the next day

- Hannah and Rachael confused how I could deliberate over socks that cost $2 but manage to buy many other expensive items because they were such a "good deal"

- Oh and last but not least at church the night before. The girls wouldn't share what they were thankful for but Avery did...."I'm thankful for my poopy"- thankfully no one heard her- I knew it was coming and fled the sanctuary.....Love the potty talk stage we are in here.....apparently its normal but my goodness......

Happy Birthday Mikey!!

So my famous little brother Mike pointed out that he wasn't featured enough on my blog. (Even though I did a whole post about his famous youtube video- please see the bottom of this post regarding that though.) Anyway I can see why he is upset because where cute girls are Mike usually is...and there are a lot of cute girls on this blog!! So here you go Mike! Happy Birthday!! We love you!! You are a great uncle!! You are a valuable member of our family! You bring lots of laughter!! You have lots of well researched opinions!! We believe everything you say!! As you can see we all adore him but especially Avery. She spent much of Thanksgiving on his lap fascinated with him. She even learned to stick out her tongue. She actually reminds my mom of Mike at that age.....so no wonder they have such a bond!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ONE OF MY FAVORITE LITTLE BROTHERS! I LOVE YOU!

Apology from the editor of this blog:

Apparently I was lied to when I posted the youtube video and Mikey had nothing to do with the production of it. I'll have you know I wasn't the only one deceived by this although I should have known better. The management of this blog promises to better investigate 3rd party additions from now on.

Gingerbread People

We used Paula Dean's recipe and made Gingerbread People today. This is a tradition for us. Usually when they are baking I manage to distract the girls and then hide some of the cookies. It is rather hilarious because it makes them so nervous but they love it. Well today all day they asked if the gingerbread would run away. Hailey declared she was going to watch the oven the whole time. I was frantically trying to think of a way to distract her and get hot cookies out and hidden around the house in the course of 20 seconds. I got down Halloween candy and told her to sit on the floor behind the bar and pick out some for Avery. It worked. After I hid a couple I put one on the counter next to me and yelled, "Get back here Young Lady!" The girls jumped up, saw that one and the missing ones and started running through the house. While they were looking I hid some more. It was so cute and so fun. Then we decorated. Usually I make the frosting but now I am highly recommending the cake-mate tubes. So much easier and so much less mess and work!! And the girls spent a loooong time frosting so it was great entertainment for them.

Now Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!! We are going to church tonight for a Thanksgiving Service and both girls have declared they are sharing during the open microphone time about what they are thankful for. We shall see......

A Long And Random Post

It's been pointed out that I am not blogging as much and I have 3 good reasons for that. Not only that I have had a lot of extra kids here lately. Some are just terrible and out of control and I hope their mothers never ask me to watch them again. (Just kidding!) Actually having extra kids is great because the girls love it but it does keep me busier. Plus Hailey has had half days for the last 2 weeks so I have been spending time with her in the afternoon. Anyway I have several things to post about: First I took these pics of the girls today. Not only does Karis wear a ballet suit everywhere.....Avery has started too. It's quite fun walking into H's school to get her in 30 degree weather with 2 little girls in sleeveless ballet outfits. They refuse to wear coats so people probably think, "What an irresponsible mother." Oh well..... Also I thought this was funny. Karis happy as can be and Avery yelling at her. Typical.

We got Alex's update. He is as cute as ever. It was a bedtime theme this time including an actual picture of him sleeping. Is it just me or does the crib look a little hazardous? We noticed he sucks his tongue just like Hailey did when she was a baby. Also some pictures at his Birthday party.

Also we had Hailey's first parent teacher conference. It was so fun to be on the other end of conferences. She is doing great. Her teacher said she is a kind friend and an eager learner! We are so proud of her. We told her all we expect at school is 3 things: Listen to the teacher, Be kind to the children, and Work hard. She is doing all 3 so we went out for ice-cream to celebrate.

Also thought this conversation was funny:

On the way home from the Thanksgiving feast:

Hailey: "Mom when I grow up will I be an Indian?"

Me: "No."

Hailey: "Well why is Auntie Rach and Indian?"

Me: "She's not."

Hailey: "Well she looks like one."

Karis: "And when I grow up will I have yellow hair like Cinderella?"

And I overheard this:

Hailey: "Karis- lets play a game. Throw these balloons in the air and if you drop one you have to sit on the couch for 5 hours."

Karis: (In her ever-enthusiastic Karis voice.) OK!

And One more- maybe I am the only one so amused by our girls but anyway:

The girls were teasing Gracie and she was growling.

Me: "If you keep teasing her she could bite you and it could hurt and then we'd have to get rid of her."

Hailey: "We'd give Karis away if Gracie bit her?"

Also we are sooo excited about the Beavers. If they beat the Ducks on Saturday they are going to the Rose Bowl and Scott and I are going to go!! It is probably a once in a lifetime chance so we must go!! PLEASE PRAY THE BEAVERS BEAT THE DUCKS!!

Oh and one more thing: I have noticed not nearly as many have responded to the teeth poll. I am noticing people tend to vote more on the more interesting ones so I will try to think of a better one soon.

A Very Busy Weekend

So Friday night we hosted dinner club and I realized it is much easier to attend Dinner Club than to host it! The theme was Thai food- I made Chicken Curry, Peanut Sauce, and Salad rolls. It all turned out really good. I tried to take some photos but as you can tell I need a lot of work on taking photos at night. And we had our sitter come and watch the girls- it was so great and so much more relaxing. She kept them upstairs and they did great. Then she came and got some food and went back up. She put them to bed and then left. That's the way to do a dinner party!

Saturday we went to Nature at Night and then the Children's Museum, then to some friends for dinner. Of course we also watched the Beaver Game and we are so thrilled.....I just know they are going to the Rose Bowl....only 1 game to go and it is against the Ducks...how could they not win! :)

Today I took pictures of our wonderful neighbors. They wanted some to celebrate their anniversary. I hope I did OK. I tried to tell her I am not a professional and have so much to learn but she wanted me to so here is a couple of them.

And then Avery's new shoes. My mom got these for her. As if Karis wearing whatever she wants isn't bad enough...now Avery insists on her sparkle shoes every single day.

I am leaving in an hour for girl's night so looking forward to that!

Also the olives are on sale at Super 1 for 58 cents a can. The cheapest they have been in a year. There is a limit of two so I have been having to go through the line multiple times and send the girls and Scott. Poor Scott is mortified but we are up to 40 cans. My goal is 52.

That's our weekend......

Another Parenting Regret

As the years go by I have more and more of these.....
So we took the girls to the dentist on Monday. All three did great- Avery even got her teeth cleaned for the first time and loved it! But.....Karis has 4 cavities!! I was horrified. They are between her molars- apparently we were supposed to be flossing their teeth!! We had no idea!! Not only am I sad she has cavities, I am worried she won' t let them fill them and the pain it involves but the biggest worry for me right now is the huge cost-we don't have dental insurance! Well- we have preventative care which basically only pays for cleanings. So the cavities are going to cost $800!! And that's if they can do it awake, if they have to put her out it will be another $900! So all that to say we now have dental insurance! Thankfully it is open season for getting insurance so we are buying it and it starts in January. The dentist thought it would be fine to wait until then. It will cover 50% of cavities so still expensive...plus the insurance but with 3 kids and another coming we figured it will be worth it. So people- get out the dental floss! We now have a new nightly ritual. Scott reads the Bible Story and the girls all lay on their back while I floss them. (It is easier to get to all the teeth if they are on their back.)

Thanksgiving Feast

Hailey's school had a Thanksgiving feast today that the parents/siblings were invited to. She made a pilgrim hat and the boys made Indian ones. They all wore theirs for the feast. (I packed our own food because I knew our girls would refuse to eat turkey gravy/mashed potatoes- actually I noticed lots of people brought in their own food- I guess cafeteria food just doesn't have that much appeal. Of course Hailey then saw the food and promised she would eat it but the line was too long. I seriously would have been surprised if she actually ate it but you never know I guess.) Anyway after the feast they read a darling book they had made. It was lots of fun. Hailey still loves school and I am so glad!!

Alex's Birthday

So I wasn't going to post this because today is a hard day. Alex turns 2 today and I didn't realize it would be so sad for me not to be with him. So in honor of Alex turning 2 would you all stop and pray right now that the adoption process would speed up and that he could come home soon? Thank you. We love you Baby and next year when you turn 3 we will have the biggest party in the land!

It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time...

When Hailey came home from school yesterday and had the idea to paint a t-shirt, I thought, "Why not?" Well the dog can tell you why not, the counter can tell you why not, the bath tub with floating pieces of fabric paint can tell you why not, the stained clothes can tell you why not, and Scott who came home to see the mess can tell you why not. But we did and the results are here. Hailey did a great job on hers....even writing, "Hailey loves everybody" on hers. Karis and Avery decorated a shirt together. Yes, Avery is on the counter while she was decorating. Totally supervised and safe. The little girls used a ton of paint and had to go straight to the tub. If you enlarge the picture you will see how the bath water looked. Oh well...it was lots of fun and kept them entertained for quite awhile. And they are very proud of their shirts!

And we did manage to get the paint off of Gracie. However shortly after she got in an altercation with a skunk.....and lost. I have never smelled such strong skunk smell in my life. Thankfully the neighbor had some tomato juice that we bathed her in but she still had to spend the night in the garage!!

New Blog

OK my friend Julia and her sister in law have started a blog called Hush. It is on my blog list. Be sure and check it out and maybe leave them a comment to encourage the blogging. They are quite the talented/crafty girls so it is sure to be interesting!!
And I have a new poll up. You can still vote in the candy one and I must say I am quite relieved not to be the only mom who lets her kids eat whatever they want on Halloween night!!

Haircut Girl

Hailey decided she wanted to get her hair cut much to Scott and my relief. It is so much more manageable short. I thought the top picture was really cute until I realized her nails are filthy!! Anyway I took these pictures after school so it is a little messy but you can still get the idea. And she came home today and told me that she and her friend Stephanie chased the boys at recess and the boys liked it. Great......

Also a cute Averyism: She walks around the house saying, "I was just kidding." I just think it's cute since she has no idea what that means but she has obviously heard it quite a bit.

The Election

So I haven't ever posted on my blog about politics mostly because it is so controversial and because I know that my convictions are different than many (well about 50% of you). But I ran into Karen a woman from my church today and we were talking about the election and she made a post on her blog. I really liked her perspective and she brought up some stuff I hadn't thought about. She writes much more eloquently than me-she is a professor after all so I thought I would link to it here. Chris and Karen actually left E-burg for a year- gave up their jobs and security to help with the Hurricane Katrina relief and to literally be the hands and feet of Jesus. Anyway I just thought it was a good perspective.....

A Turn Around

So those of you who see me a lot know that as hard as I try not to I end up venting about Avery quite a bit. She is by far our most independent/spirited/plain old naughty child so far. And I say that with total love in my heart. BUT the last week we have seen a huge turn around. Way less screaming and fits. I am so happy. It makes her so much more enjoyable. My love for her is always the same but my enjoyment level has increased so much. She is so endearing right now...really into playing dress-up with the girls and following Karis around. Anyway I can't give out any wonderful advice or reason for the behavior change as far as the human parenting goes but I will say God is faithful to the prayers of her Mom and Dad!

Harvest Party/Karis' Family Party

So on Saturday we had our annual Harvest party and celebrated Cinderella's (AKA Karis') Birthday with my family and some of Scott's. Deb and Farrell brought Bella and Grandpa so that was fun. We had a great day! We roasted marshmallows, went on a tractor ride, decorated cookies, did some pumpkin crafts, had a pinata, and even played drop the candy in the jar and I won!! Not that my family is competitive or anything but I actually beat Josh and Becky which I was thrilled about! Karis loved all her presents and we all had such a fun time. Thanks everyone for coming!!

Halloween!

This was by far our best Halloween yet! The weather was great, I made the girls all wear normal shoes which meant they could actually walk and not be carried, and they didn't whine the whole time that they were tired. We ended up trick-or-treating for 3 hours!! We started off going downtown to all the shops. The girls got a ton of candy and we ran into lots of friends. Then we went and had dinner with the Whites and then went trick-or-treating in their neighborhood. Let me tell you it was busy. One of the ladies said she stops giving out candy at 400 kids....but kids keep coming! After that we stopped by Nala's house and then made our annual stop at our neighbors. Avery was our best 2 year old trick-or-treater! She walked almost the whole time, managed to burrow her way in through the crowds of kids and grabbed her candy. She ate so much candy. I will answer my poll here....we let them go crazy Halloween night. We figure just let them get it out of their system and eat as much as they want. The older girls always have stopped at a reasonable amount. However our little 23 pounder didn't! We actually had to stop her she was eating so much and then she sobbed like you wouldn't believe. She got over it quickly though. So now we have tons of candy hidden in the house- we will give out a few pieces a day and donate the rest to send to the troops.

Oh and I can't believe I forgot to get a picture just of Hailey. And all 3 girls had matching ballerina outfits but Karis changed her mind and decided to be Cinderella. Since she looks just like her......

Bud's 80th Birthday Party

Scott's Dad- the girl's Grandpa celebrated his 80th Birthday last weekend. We had a great time going up to Prosser and hanging out with the family. There are always lots of kids around...aren't they all adorable by the way? Those Hoefer genes....good ones! Anyway it was fun because we can really see some resemblances with our girls and their 2nd cousins. Amazing. And also we heard from several that Avery looks just like Audi did at that age. Can't wait to see a photo of her. And we also hear that Karis looks like Emily who isn't pictured but her older sister Gabby is. Anyway it was a great time celebrating a wonderful Dad/Grandpa/Great Grandpa. I think he has over 60 grandchildren and great grandchildren!! Now that is a legacy!! We know Grandma was looking down on us and smiling at all her wonderful children and grandchildren.

Our Little Guy!

Seriously could he be any cuter? We got our October update and Alex is doing great. Scott was thrilled to hear he loves to play catch with balls! He is also very friendly and hugs everyone. We are still in pre-ISBER which is very disappointing. Basically we aren't even to the first long step. We know God is in control and that Alex will come home. It is just a really long wait. Please keep praying that things would speed up. Hailey said, "He looks different". I said sadly, "It's because he's growing up." (Sad that he's growing up without us.) But we are so glad he is happy and well!!

Karis!

I took these on her Birthday but want to redo them because they didn't turn out like I wanted. The bottom corner photo was her idea of how she wanted to pose. Lovely.

Gamma gave her a very special gift. Bitty Twins. She named them Alex-Josiah and Hailey!

At the last minute she kept saying she wanted Wyatt at the party. (Before she only wanted girls). So Crissy being the great friend she is brought him over for awhile. Karis was thrilled because he is her "husband". Yes...she has already chosen him...don't know how he feels about it but he did give her a little blue heart with her name on it!

Weight: 38 pounds (75%)

Height: 40 inches (55%)

Karis had a great Birthday day. We are having her big family party Saturday. We got Hailey out of school early and met Gamma and Grandma Ruby at Mcdonalds for Happy Meals. Then we came home and had her Cinderella party. (She was supposed to dress up like Cinderella but changed her mind.) For the party we played: Sweep, Sweep (all the girls had feathers to dust with and I was the wicked stepmother and "yelled" at them to clean), pass the Cinderella doll, decorated pumpkins to turn them into the fancy coach, and made princess necklaces. Then we all danced! That was really cute.

4Years Old!

Karis 4 today!! I wanted to post her birth story the day of and then do pics of her and her party later. Her story is by far the most dramatic but I need to keep it short here as the little girls are running free and I have a party this afternoon and such. So here goes:
I was 10 days late with her (20 days longer than when I was pregnant with Hailey so it felt like an eternity). Brent and Hannah came for the weekend just for fun and to hopefully see the baby but she hadn't been born. I was craving a Cobb salad so they took us to Red Robin. I got my Cobb Salad and on the way home started having contractions. I had them for awhile so Scott took me to the hospital. I was in a lot of pain and they did not believe me!! They hooked me to the monitor and told me it was just "uterine irritability" and that I needed to go back home. I asked them to call the dr. on call (not my dr.) and they did but he said I had to go home too. I burst into tears and we went home. For the next 2 hours I was in agony. Moaning, rocking back and forth, pacing around but thinking I was going crazy from being pregnant so long and obviously not in labor. Finally I got on the toilet thinking I was having diarrhea and started pushing. Then I started to throw up and almost passed out. (Apparently this is called transition.)
Scott insisted we go to the hospital. I refused thinking they would send me home. I said we should just go to the emergency room instead because my appendix must have burst. Well we went to the hospital anyway. When I walked into labor and delivery the nurse actually looked at me with a smirk because I think she thought I was just being dramatic. Well she had me go in a room and she checked me and her face fell and she said, "I can't believe the work you've done. You are at a 7." At that point according to Scott I started yelling, "Why did you send me home? I told you I was in labor. I want an epidural. I can not do this without an epidural." The nurse left the room and sent another in who started undressing me. Then she checked me again and said, "You are at 9- we must get the dr. here, the bag of water has broken." I was in a panic then. Then the nurses kept saying, "QUIT PUSHING- or your baby will be born in the hall." Still no dr. And they wouldn't give me any drugs!! They wheeled me into a room since they still hadn't checked me in. I started pushing and the dr. came (all harried looking and said he'd gone through 3 red lights to get there) and she was born! 20 minutes after arriving at the hospital! The thing is she was posterior (sunny-side up) and the nurse said, "It's a good thing otherwise she would have been born in the car!" When the baby is posterior you have to spread farther (think even more painful) and it takes longer to deliver. So all in all it was a rather traumatic time for me. She weighed 9 pounds 4 ounces! And this wasn't at some little hospital either...it was at the biggest birthing center in Oregon!! I actually had a hard time dealing with it for awhile. When she was born the cord was wrapped around her neck 3 times which normally isn't a big deal but had she been born in the car it would have been devastating. God really had His hands on Karis in so many ways.
1. Brent and Hannah were there so we didn't have to wait for someone to come watch Hailey.
2. It was the middle of the night so the 30 minute car ride really was only 30 minutes- it would have been over an hour in traffic.
3. She was posterior- so she took longer and wasn't born in the car.
We are so thankful it all turned out OK and obviously she is just fine and dandy!!

We love Karis Rachael so much and can't imagine life without her!!! Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!!

My Famous Brother!

So my brother Mike who goes to the UW made this amazing youtube video and it has had over 1,657,000 views! I don't actually get most of what it is talking about and this is not a political endorsement but isn't my little brother amazing?!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RZVw3no2A4&feature=iv&annotation_id=event_597487

I Also Got Tagged

OK - I think for this tag I am supposed to list 6 random things about me.

1. I don't eat processed meat. I can't stand lunch meat or those pressed chicken breasts or frozen chicken strips. Yucky. I only eat meat if I saw how it was prepared or know it is real meat.

2. I am really into Avery's nap. I plan my life including our vacations around it. I could never let her go 2 days in a row without a good nap.

3. I still cry over Hailey being at school all day but at this point wouldn't even consider home-schooling her.

4. I almost get sick over spending more money on food than I planned. Like if I forgot my coupons at home or something. Yet I don't bat an eye spending money on certain brands of clothes.

5. I rarely if ever do yard work. I hate it and I am terrible at it.

6. I worry excessively that something bad will happen to Scott or the girls or someone I love. I am getting better at this but I still do it.

OK I tag the locals: Cori, Steph, Crissy, Gemma, Kelly, and Nala's Mom

Avery Got Tagged!

Name/Meaning: Avery Kendall-not sure what it means...sorry Sweetie..but we love it!
Age: 2 years
Nicknames: Lu-lu (We always hear she looks like Cindy lu-who from The Grinch.)
Favorite Activity (ies): Being held or rocked, swinging, stickers/playdough/paint, screaming
Favorite Food: Fruit roll-ups
Least favorite food: Most healthy non-processed food
Favorite Music: Anything her Daddy is dancing to
Favorite toys: Her babies
Favorite books: Pinkalicious- loves it!
What makes her happy: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Being held by Mommy!
What makes her sad: Mommy sitting her down. Mommy leaving. When she talks and we can't understand her.
Tag: Emmett and Roc

It's My Blogiversary!

I can't believe it's been a whole year since I started blogging. I have noticed I have slowed down a bit on some months but not others. This is such a fun hobby. Thanks to all my faithful readers. And to those of you who I run into and you say, "I read your blog" or "I saw that on your blog" I must say I am always surprised and a bit mortified. So thanks for making this a fun year of blogging and for all the comments. They make my day and inspire me to blog another post!

And I know the photo has nothing to do with the post but I had to post it because thanks to my mom it is now one of Karis' favorite "dresses". Don't look too closely because if you do you will notice it is actually a slip. We went to Seattle on Saturday to shop (Well the girls and my Mom did while Scott went with my Dad and brothers to the UW/OSU game....Go BEAVS!! Rose Bowl here we come I hope because if they do make it we are going!!!). Anyway my mom let Karis pick out a dress and this is what she picked out! And my mom thought it was hysterical and bought it! So she wore it to church and everywhere else in town this week. Nice....

Oh and a funny mall story....the mall is always an adventure and this time was the same. The girls got "special drinks" at the e-bar and managed to spill them 3 times. One right after she got it, one all over the bench at Macy's where my mom was going through the clearance rack, and one somewhere else. Then while I was looking through a rack Avery crawled to the bottom of the double stroller somehow and got stuck! I was in a panic, my mom was getting claustrophobic just looking at her plus we were laughing hysterically because it was so funny. She just sat there looking up with her big blue eyes at us. Well we ended up having to dismantle the bottom of the stroller and having her crawl through the foot rest to get out. I almost pulled a Rachael over that one. But all ended up fine and it was a successful shopping day with almost no crying or fits. Well only a few at least. My mom did point out to me that a lot of people look at me at the mall but frankly I've never noticed. Probably because I am too busy chasing children and cleaning up drinks. Avery did run away at Nordstrom and hide from me also at one point. I was truly panicked then but we had a little conversation about that and I don't think she will try that again!