Wisconsin Weather

We were so glad to get to Wisconsin Wednesday morning after an unexpected stay-over in Iowa. It has been snowing here since early this morning, and we are definitely going to have a white Christmas! :)

Making Cookies with Grandma

Will had fun making cookies with Grandma today.

Chocolate Pretzel Buttons

Rudolph!

Fun with the Cousins

On our way to Wisconsin, we stopped to visit our family in Kansas. Will and Carson, the only boy cousins so far. :)

Abby and Olivia (and cute little Luci their friend.)

Carson, Will and Olivia

They played so well together, and had a great time. Sure wish we lived closer!!

Happy December!!

Today we made a big shopping trip to get the rest of the things to decorate the house, and bought groceries for our ladies Christmas party next week. When we got home, we hung our lights outside, and put up some other outdoor decorations. This is the first year we have decorated outside, and even though we didn't do too much, it makes such a big difference. Our house looks so festive, and the lights we put on the house light up our whole yard. :) I'll post pictures when I get a chance! Before we left to go shopping, Will found this present, and asked if I could "take his picture with it." :) I had wrapped it several weeks ago to use as a prop when we went to take his Christmas picture, but we didn't end up using it. It's pretty sad that the only wrapped present in our whole house is an empty box! I really need to get busy, especially since we leave for Wisconsin in less than 2 weeks. Yeah!

Our Baby Boy!

We were so thankful to get a good report at our second sonogram! The fetal specialist said that everything looked fine. After he was done checking the levels and taking his measurements, he switched the ultrasound to 4D so we could see the baby. Will got very excited to see the picture that the Dr. printed off. He said, "the baby looks so cute!" (He also said he thought the baby looked like a spider. ;) ) Thank you so much for all your prayers, and your continued prayer for a healthy baby and a safe delivery.

Pictures and a Big Announcement!

Our friend caught this huge flounder, and Will wanted to take a picture with the fish. Silly Boy!

Daddy likes going to the Mcdonald's playland too. :)

Yummy Caramel Apples at "Aunt Elaine's"

As you can see, he really enjoyed it.

Just wanted to share some recent (and random) pictures, and some big news . . .

It's a BOY!!! We can't wait to welcome our second baby boy in March.

Muffin Tin Lunch

I have been wanting to try this idea for awhile, but finally got around to it today. I have a lot of respect for all the creative moms that come up with 12 different food items to fill the smaller muffin tins. I guess we are just used to simple lunches around here because 6 was a stretch for us. :)

Wish Book

Did any of you get this fisher price Christmas book? Will has had a blast looking at all the neat toys in it. He even takes it to bed with him. :)

He says, "these are girls toys."

It reminds me of when we used to get the Sears "wish book" before Christmas and circle all the toys we wanted.

Pumpkin Patch

We had a fun time at the pumpkin patch on Saturday.

Will loved the hay ride!

Posing with the cousins.

Happy Fall!!!

Lots of Free Cleaning Supplies

There are some great deals on cleaning supplies at Walgreens this week with the rebate program. If you've never done the rebate program before, it's fairly easy. You don't have to fill out forms or use a stamp anymore; you just enter your receipt number online at walgreens.com and check the box of the offer(s) you are claiming. Your rebate can be sent to you in the form of a check, or a walgreens gift card. I get the gift card because I use it to buy the free rebate offers for the next month, and you also get a 10% bonus.
I spent $25.91 on my gift card, and I will get $28.60 back on my card w/ the 10% bonus.
You can read more about what specific coupons to use here
and here. There is also free toothpaste
and a deal on free lindt chocolate, but we didn't get that coupon in our paper.

Pumpkin Cookies!

The other night while Jason was gone making a church visit, Will and I made pumpkin shaped sugar cookies. They turned out very yummy! We wanted to take a picture of the pumpkin cookies when they were done with the orange frosting, but they didn't last that long! :)

This is a picture of Will last fall, when we were making the same cookies. Will is such a big boy now!

California Trip

Last week, we attended the National Pastor's and
Workers Conference at North Valley Baptist Church
in Santa Clara, Ca. My sister and her husband also attended,
and we had a wonderful time.
The conference was so helpful and encouraging, and
of course, we enjoyed seeing Donnie and Alisa. On
Friday, we did some sightseeing at Pebble Beach
and then in San Francisco.

Too Cute!

2 1/2 Years Old!

Will turned 2 1/2 years old today, and we celebrated by meeting our friends the Brushe's for dinner at Chuck E Cheese.

Yummy!

Will and Chuckie

Silly Faces

Will was having fun making some very silly faces in the bathtub. I love the wet eyelashes. :)

Lady Bug Ladies Meeting

This evening the ladies of our church enjoyed our summer ladies meeting. Several ladies made the fun lady bug decorations and delicious salad meal. Our special speaker Tammie Stowe from Beeville, TX brought us a very encouraging devotion. We also played a fun game where the ladies matched up different lines from familiar hymns with their titles.

The ladies playing the game.
The winning team!
Miss Elaine cutting the cute lady bug cake she made.

Summer Fun!

Buttermilk Cinnamon Bread

Several months back, we started taking homemade bread to all the families that visited our church on Sundays. I can almost make this bread without the recipe now, and wanted to share it. It's super easy, and great to make at the last minute because it has very basic ingredients that most of us keep on hand. :)

Buttermilk Cinnamon Bread
Ingredients:
4 c. all-purpose flour
2 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1/2 c. vegetable oil
2 1/2 c. sugar, divided
2 c. buttermilk (2 T. vinegar and enough regular milk to make 2 c. let sit for 5 minutes)
2 eggs
1 T. ground cinnamon
1 T. finely chopped walnuts
Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a small bowl, combine oil and 1 1/2 c. sugar. Add buttermilk and eggs; mix well. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fill two greased 8x4x2, or five mini loaf pans about 1/3 full. Combine cinnamon and remaining 1 c. sugar; sprinkle half over the batter. Top with remaining batter and cinnamon-sugar. Swirl batter with a knife. Sprinkle with nuts. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

Loads of Fun!

Isn't this cute!?! This is my first purchase, and i'm already addicted to the vinyl lettering craze. :) It only took about 15 minutes to put up, and it turned out even better than i thought it would! Adhering Thoughts was very fast, and included a free seasonal vinyl sample with my order. I'm already trying to decide what to order next! ;)

Good Memories

Jason took all our pictures off our old laptop and put them on a disk. Will and I had so much fun looking at the videos and pictures from when he was a baby. It brought back so many memories!

Tiny Hands

Tiny Feet

So sweet and tiny at 2 days old. Will weighed 6lb. 1 oz, and was almost 3 weeks early.

This is Will with "Bear", a gift from Grandpa and Grandma Hoover. Bear is still a very important part of our family, although several trips through the washing machine have him looking a little different these days. :) Will sleeps with him every night.

This was Will's favorite paci. We didn't leave home without it for the next 18 months.
This looks just like Will. He's 4 months old, and getting a bath at Grandma's house. It didn't take him long to get chubby. ;)

We love you so much sweet boy, and are so proud of the big boy that you are becoming!