Little Football Player and Cheese!

Our family was in a picture taking kind of mood tonight! Here's little Caleb looking tough in his football shirt!



This is how Ethan smiles when he is in a picture taking mood and agreeable to smile!




And this is Ethan's photography skills shining through! Pretty good, huh?

Much Happier

I went tonight to get my hair re-cut by my regular hair stylist. (She wasn't too mad at me that I had strayed to an unknown stylist :-) She was able to cut some layers so it lays closer to my head, which I like a lot better. It is definitely going to take some time to grow out, but at least I won't feel like I'm 5 years old in the process! Here are some pics of the new, new haircut!

Decorating the Christmas Tree

We took some time tonight to decorate the Christmas tree. Ethan and Caleb had fun pulling ornaments out of the boxes and looking at them all. Ethan did a great job putting them on the tree, and even Caleb took to putting some on by himself! (We are definitely going to have to watch that Caleb doesn't pull them off though now . . . I think he thinks they are toys to take on and off). Here are a few pictures of our decorating night.

Thanksgiving Turkey Cookies

Ethan made some fun turkey cookies with Mama Bailey on Thanksgiving morning. He was so proud of them and happy to share them with everyone at Thanksgiving lunch.

Dealing with my new haircut

So, we were supposed to get a family Christmas picture made at Sears yesterday, but I decided to reschedule. Why you may ask? Well, I made the mistake of going to the mall to someone I didn't know to get my hair "trimmed" - and you guessed it, it ended up being A LOT shorter than I wanted it. Let's just say everyone is calling me the Dutch Paint Boy! :-( I am reminded that I look like my youngest sister, Megan, when she was about 5 (sorry, Megan!) Anyway, I had asked for about 1/2 in to 1 in to be trimmed off . . . just to look polished for our pictures. I think she took off about 3 inches instead! So, I've already mourned about this for several days now. And yesterday I finally decided to take action . . . I called my regular hair stylist, who isn't working until Monday, and I scheduled an appointment with her. I know she can't put back length on it, but I am hoping that she can trim it and shape it better around my face than it is. I think it is just too one dimensional, if that makes any sense. OK, well enough talking about the dreaded "do" - here are some pictures to mark the event. We rescheduled our family pic for next Saturday, and hopefully I'll feel more satisfied with the cut at that point, even though it will still be extremely short! Thank goodness my hair grows pretty fast!

Carl Sandburg Home and Fall Leaves

Last weekend, our family went with Grandma and Grandpa Bailey to the Carl Sandburg home, which is about 45 minutes from where we live. It was a chance for us to get out and see the beautiful changing fall leaves before they fall off the trees for good! And Ethan and Caleb had a fun time visiting with the goats at the goat farm. Apparently Mrs. Sandburg raised championship goats! Here are some pictures from our trip.

Not in the mood to blog

For some reason, I have not been in the mood to blog lately. I actually have a good amount of pictures on my camera that I've been trying to make myself download now all week, and still haven't done it. I think some weeks are just like that. I am finally feeling better after having a second round of antibiotics for my strep throat. Although I think my body and mind are still pretty worn out from all the sickness the past several weeks in the family. I really hope we are all better for a while now! I have also started trying to work more hours at work during the week now to help our family budget. It's amazing how things just add up over the course of the month! And with our only main form of "extravagant" spending being eating out once or twice a week. Sometimes I wish it were easier, but I know we have it easier than most, and I need to remember that. I hope for a more positive post the next time! Maybe I'll finally get to download those recent pictures this weekend!

Halloween and More Sickness

Well, Halloween this year came with some more sickness . . . unfortunately, Ethan and I both were diagnosed with Strep Throat yesterday. I feel bad, but Ethan hasn't been affected much. His was only a "slight positive" whereas mine kept me up all night before I went to the doctor yesterday morning. Luckily we're both on antibiotics and starting to feel better. Just pray Scott doesn't get it and Caleb doesn't re-get it! We went to our church's fall festival last night, and tonight we just let the boys dress up again and we went out to dinner to escape the madhouse that ensues in our neighborhood on Halloween night! Here is a picture of the boys in their costumes! You can also check out more recently added pictures at www.famof4brisk.shutterfly.com