Getting ready for Christmas!

Christmas cookies!

The boys have a friend over

Micah performs an original composition

Reenacting the Christmas story

our tree

kitty enjoys her treat

Rogue chills with the boys

Ho ho ho!

making holiday projects

It's been awhile since I've posted because we've had a lot going on! Dan has finished the semester, turning in all of his grades, the college students have gone home and we are finally focusing on Christmas and our upcoming trip to visit Pop Pop and Grammy in Delaware! Last week we had some ice, which caused school to be cancelled for the day. We had a surprise visit from one of the boys' friends and they had a fun time playing and decorating Christmas cookies!

Last week we also said goodbye to Rogue, our kitty of 13 years. It was a tough day, but we tried to have some special time with her the week before and even allowed her a normally off-limits treat of ice cream (her tummy couldn't handle "people" food anymore). We will miss her.

Micah's school held a special Christmas celebration on Saturday where children could meet Santa, have breakfast, and make special holiday projects out of paper, glue and other supplies.We also had a potluck celebration at church on Sunday and several other parties in the mix.

I am sure we will have a bunch of photos after our visit up north. Hopefully we won't have any flat tires or things like that, like we did last year! I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and New Year's and we'll see you in 2014!

Happy Thanksgiving 2013!

Micah beating everyone at Monopoly Empire

Jacob's first (maybe) ice cream cone!

The first of many for Micah this week!

Papa Roger dishes out the goodness

The Inouye guys get into the Christmas spirit

Jacob sees this year's tree for the first time

Leaf blower in training

Micah's ahead, again!

Our attempt at a family picture

Me and mine

Mama and the baby of the family

Gramma Lynn and Micah at the Garven Garden lights

Everyone gathers in the gingerbread house

We were blessed to have company for Thanksgiving this year--Gramma Lynn and Papa Roger! We had a great visit with them and it was nice to have 5 days off in a row from work. We got to attend a special Christmas concert at OBU, celebrate Thanksgiving, shop for gifts, see a spectacular lights show at Garvan Gardens in Hot Springs, and put up the Christmas decorations! That's a lot for two little kids (not to mention their parents and grandparents) and we enjoyed it all. Micah was really into the board games this year and we played almost everyday: Monopoly Empire, Trouble, Connect 4, Candyland, Survive, Life and PayDay. And he won a lot of those games too! On Thanksgiving we cooked up a big meal, watched the parade on TV and took a long walk to work off all of that turkey. It was  a beautiful day weather-wise. The boys worked with Gramma to make some special ornaments for the Christmas tree out of craft supplies. Jacob still can't leave them on the tree, but at least they are child-safe for the most part :-) Jacob and Micah did pretty well sharing a room for the week. Micah even said last night that he missed having Jacob in his room and I told him that we could still do "sleepovers" once in awhile.  Hope you enjoy these photos and videos of the week, and hope you all had a wonderful and relaxing holiday and family and friends. Although it is good to be thankful everyday, I think it's fitting in our busy life to have at least one day set aside specifically for this focus.

On a sad note, we also decided that it is time to let Rogue kitty pass on. She's got multiple health issues, and we understand that this is the time. She has been telling us for awhile, being extra lovey and wanting to sit in our laps every time we sit down for even a moment. We've been spending time at the vet's office frequently for the last few months, but even a special diet and medication doesn't seem to be helping her anymore. She is over 14 years old now. I think she will glad there will be no more poking and prodding and pills. But I am sad to let her go.

Brothers and Friends

Micah and Jacob get along well, for the most part. Every now and then there's a scuffle over who got more Goldfish or who's turn it is to choose the game we play. But it is fun to watch them play together. Micah's a big help with the little guy, showing him how to put his dirty clothes in the hamper, teaching him the "three-point stance" at the potty and of course, helping him play games on Daddy's phone :-) I hope they get along just as well while sharing a room next week!

This kids are excited about Grammy and Papa's upcoming visit this weekend. Micah already has a list of things he wants to do with them and projects he wants to make for them. In fact, there are already a whole bag of projects sitting over in the corner where the Christmas tree usually is, just waiting for the grandparents to open them up :-) We don't get a lot of time with our families since we live far away from everyone, but we sure are glad for these visits, and for Skype in between. We might not be seeing all of our family this holiday season, but we think about you all the time and we try to show pictures of everyone to the kids to keep it fresh in their minds, too.

Happy 6th Birthday, Micah!

Halloween surprise!

bein' sweet

"Nobody messes with my pirate tattoo"

opening gifts

little bro wants to help

"Awesome!"

"Cool!"

Daddy doles out the cake!

"And now for my birthday happy dance..."

Our little "bean" has turned 6! Micah's birthday was this Saturday. We celebrated by taking him to lunch at McDonald's (his favorite place) and then a movie--Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2. We had fun and enjoyed having that special time with our oldest. When we got home Jacob helped Micah open his gifts (thanks, gramma/y and pop pop/papa!) and then we had cake together. Micah spent the rest of the weekend playing with his new things--a Lego set which he has almost completed put together, a bed tent that he's been sleeping in every night and a CD player for his room and some relaxing music to listen to before bed. We discovered two Halloween cards earlier in the week, that Gramma had sent, but we had forgotten to give the boys on the 31st. They always love surprises, and this was no exception. That first picture is Micah and Jacob opening their cards and discovering the money inside!

Micah has grown up so much this year. Since it is his birthday, I will take this chance to share some of the things he is doing now. He is starting to read things around the house. The other night at dinner, he read the label on his favorite BBQ sauce--"it is the Boss!" and he has been asking us to spell things out for him. Usually we do math on the way to school. "Mom, 2+2+3 is 7!" We have graduated to reading chapter books from the library with him, since he enjoys a more developed story now. In his latest progress report from the teacher, he was right on target for all of the areas they track progress and was even "advanced" in art and music--that's our boy! He has made some new friends at school this year and it has been fun to see him grow socially. Last night, he earned his first wings and red jewel at AWANA. He is fiercely protective of his little brother, and I love hearing their giggling voices when they run into Micah's room to play in the closet, make a tent or chase each other around the house. He does get frustrated when Jacob tried to steal his snacks or mess around with something he's working on, but if Jacob gets upset, Micah's right there comforting him.

I still remember the day that Dan left the hospital room to get lunch for himself and left me alone with this new baby for the first time. He started to cry and I worried that I would not know what to do to help him. Well, we've navigated those waters time and again now. But it always seems like we are facing new kinds of challenges with him each day. He's been so many "firsts" for us. I'm so thankful for his quick laughter and resiliency that forgives our clumsiness at times and shows us the kind of admiration we don't deserve. We are proud of him and hope we can always appreciate him for who he is, expectations aside.

Happy Halloween!

The doctor is in

"You have an acute case of Daddy-itis"

Jacob helps himself to thirds :-)

Ready to trick-or-treat!

Add caption

Trying on brother's mask

"Love you, little bro!"

Our little Spider-Man

"I'm Blue, from Blue's Clues!"

Taking candy from a princess

Little brother doesn't want to be left out

The trick-or-treat gang

Surveying the loot

"Are you sure all this is for me?"

"I couldn't decide which one I wanted first..."

sorting and counting

Hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween! Let's face it. One of the best things about this holiday (for the parents anyway) is getting to see your kids dressed up in cute costumes for pictures. It was like pulling teeth to get them to sit still before we went out for candy, but I managed to snap a few before they got too antsy. I decided to put them all on here because they are just so adorable.

I started this post with a few pics of Jacob from this week. Unfortunately he had some kind of viral infection that gave him a sore mouth/tongue so he had to stay home for a day. We got out the doctor kit so he could give us checkups. Too bad I couldn't get a photo of him with the scrubs on too :-) As you can see he is feeling much better now, good enough for seconds and thirds on the cornbread Micah and I made. We had left the kitchen and I came back in several minutes later to find him raiding the dish for leftover crumbs!

Both boys had parties at school yesterday and were already loaded with sugar, but we trekked over to the girls' dorms at OBU and trick-or-treated there. We ran into several friends from around town and ended up going around the halls with them. By the time we were done, both baskets were filled to the brim. We hit one more house on the walk home and called it a night. Of course, Micah wanted to sort his candy right away, choosing his favorites to eat. Jacob pretty much just tried to get as much candy in as fast as he could! This represents the difference in their personalities to a "T"! After a few minutes of the Curious George Halloween special on TV, they were both ready for bed.