Happy 10 months to sweet Lou Lou!!

Yes, "Lou Lou" is miss Olivia's latest nickname. It started off as Livie, then Livie lou, now just plain lou lou! This little girl is precious, let me tell ya! She smiles ALL DAY LONG and is so content with crawling around to play with her big sisters. God truly blessed us the day HE made her a part of our family! I can't believe in just 2 short months she'll be 1!!!!! Where does the time go?

Blessings,
Ali

Joy of Love...Days 9-15

I thought I'd just lump them all together in one post......I'm a bit behind, and as you may have noticed, I never did days 6 and 7, but at this point I'm just going to call them a loss. =)

Day 9: Passions and Hobbies. Aren't animals totally worthless? Well, mine sure are! Here are the "brothers" Max and Sebastian, spooning up on one another and napping.....one of their favorite hobbies!


Day 10: Space/Where they are comfortable. Miss O is very comfy on her tummy, just hangin' out!

Day 11: Dreams. I don't know if she'll dream to be a photographer like me, but I look forward to encouraging her along the way!

Day 12: Eyes. I could gaze into all of my babies eyes at any given moment, but when I looked at this one of miss Kayla, it took my breath away. They are the windows to her soul!



Day 13: Routines. Miss Olivia's routine is mostly play, play, play!

Day 14: Jewelry. Ten tiny toes, one BIG promise!

Day 15: Kiss. Slobbery kiss from Max filled with lots of love for his baby "sister!"

The Joy of Love (Day 8) "Gift from the Heart"

The greatest gift I get from my husband is his evident love, not only for me, but more importantly, for Christ, our Savior! Without that love, we would indeed be lost!!

The Joy of Love (Day 5) "Love to Hate"

I love this man, but I hate the "scruff mcGruff" look he likes to do every so often (in particularly in the winter time) He claims it's because it keeps him warm, but I think it's just laziness. =)

The Joy of Love (Day 4) "What they wear"

My little "old lady" Anna wears her glasses every day.....and I think she is the CUTEST!!!

The Joy of Love (Day 3) "Then and Now"

How has 6 years passed me by so quickly!? Here is my sweet Kayla Grace at age 6 months, and now, just 3 weeks shy of 6 years old!!!

Joy of Love (Day 2) "How they look"

I couldn't decide between these pictures....so I put them all up! Which is your favorite?

The Joy of Love (Day 1) "What they Do"

I have signed up for a e-class on FB with:

willette {classic children's portraiture}

Day 1's assignment was to capture someone (spouse, children, loved one) doing what they do. I decided to use this picture I snapped of my two big girls taking a bubble bath. Boy, do they LOVE their bath time!

It was taken with my Nikon D5000 on Auto mode, F 5.6, ISO800, 55mm.

Christmas cheer

I can't believe another year has come and gone! We had such an amazing Christmas season this year! We had a couple of "firsts." One was getting to meet Santa Cow! What a cool piece of beef he was! Also,this Christmas was our first to do the whole "Santa" bit. The girls really loved it, and I must admit, so did mommy and daddy! I was given a website that you could go to and create a very personal email message from the big guy, complete with pictures and him calling your child by name! The girls thought it was the COOLEST thing ever! In addition, on Christmas morning, they saw the half eaten cookies and all 9 little nibbles out of our big carrot we left for the reindeer. It was magical! And, just as he promised in the email, he made good on leaving them just what they had asked for.....PILLOW PETS!

Now, it's a new year. I can't believe how incredibly blessed this family is, and continues to be. We are all looking forward to what this year holds for us!

In HIS Grace and Love,

Ali

Happy 6 months sweet girl!

Wow....how has it been 6 months already? Olivia Joy is such an amazing addition to our family! She is talking up a storm these days, eating all sorts of new foods, sitting up, and really enjoys playtime with her sisters. She weighs 16.10 lbs and is 25 inches. (another shorty in the family) She brings our family dynamic to a whole new level, and is ALWAYS smiling! My life is so rich and blessed! Here's a few recent shots of my sweet baby girl....

Blessings in Christ,

Ali

School days

As of September 8, we are officially a homeschool-in family! Things have been good, and I think we're starting to get in a good groove. Kayla can spell/sound out words and write them down, she knows all of her oceans and continents. She can name all the bones in her body. We have also been very blessed to have found and plugged into a great homeschool community/group here locally. On Thursdays, we have co-op classes with the group at a nearby church. This has been really great for the girls as well. Here are a few pics of school at home and Anna in one of her co-op classes. Enjoy!

Blessings!

Ali

Sweet sisters

Just a couple cute sister shots. These 3 little girls are such an amazing blessing in my life, and never cease to keep me on my toes!

Blessings,

Ali

A zoo-rific time!

Last month, we headed to Waco for a fun zoo day! The weather was absolutely PERFECT! I had never been to the zoo in Waco, and we hadn't had a zoo trip at all in at least 2 years. A fun time was had by ALL! Here's a few pics from the day....

Blessings!

Ali

4 months have FLOWN by!

Ok, keeping up with 3 kids, teaching 2 of them, trying to maintain my home in some kind of order, being involved in church activities, etc, etc have really put this blog on the back burner! I can't believe my sweet baby girl is already almost 4.5 months! Here's a quick pic I snapped of her on Oct 22 (her 4 month day)

I will be posting more updates later....I promise!

Blessings!

Ali

Proud big sisters

It was just like Christmas morning when I brought their new baby sister home....no, scratch that. WAY better than Christmas morning! They are such helpers to mommy, and the BEST big sisters anyone could ask for!

Olivia Joy Haefs is HERE!

Making her grand entrace on June 22, 2010, and weighing in at 8 lbs 7 ozs, here she is! She is 3 weeks old as of today, and such a good baby. Hardly ever cries, and is sweet and pink as can be. We just love having her in our family!

This picture is of miss Olivia just a couple hours after she was born....already a little fashion diva!

Mother's Day and 7 years of wedded bliss

This year I had the pleasure of celebrating Mother's day AND my sweet anniversary all in the same day! I could go on and on about how increadibly blessed I feel everyday. I have healthy happy children and a husband who loves me, but more importantly loves the Lord, and leads our household in HIS ways. Here's to many more years of God's great blessings!

San Antonio fun

Our trip to San Antonio, although it was 3 months ago, still stands out in my mind. The weather didn't cooperate the entire time, but we did make the most of it, and you know what....we had fun playing in the rain! With two different children's museums, a trip to the Alamo, several stops at some beautiful missions and churchs, a fun IMAX movie and a yummy meal at Rainforest Cafe, we had a blast! Here's a few pictures from our fun weekend!