painful

these pictures don't exactly resemble a celebration of the birth of our Savior...i think we'll be holding off printing the Christmas cards just yet!

------------

picture taking as a family of 5 = pain, misery & torture
------------

i can see why photographers charge so much...they earn every penny!

-----------

shealy might be designing us a card with 3 squares this year...

one for each beautiful, angelic, obedient little face!

::fun on the farm::

we had a fun time with friends on a farm! hayrides, hotdogs and s'mores...a perfect night! and yes, our method of photography is for the adults to just keep smiling at the camera no matter what the kids are doing...it hasn't really worked for us so far, but we'll keep trying!

at least we have all 5 in a picture together!

*Christmas Cards*

if you're in the market for a fabulous Christmas card, my super talented sister is the girl for you! she can do just about anything you can dream of, and who doesn't want a custom-made, one-of-a-kind card to show off your cute family and spread a little holiday cheer? she also does blog headers, birthday and shower invitations, and birth announcements...she did the dunc's and i LOVE it! her email is shealy.mckinnon@gmail.com if you're interested!

::6 cousins on the plains::

the rays came for homecoming and we took all 6 kids to campus before the game. it was wild and crazy, but lots of fun! they love each other so much and it's so neat to have cousins so close in age. 10 of us under one roof means lots of noise and not a lot of sleep! the big 3 sleep together in ford's room, mark, jennie and emma are in the nursery with emma in the closet,

luke stays in his room, and duncan goes in our closet.

for some reason, whenever papa and dede are here with us they opt for a hotel...

i can't imagine why!

ford is four!!!

my big guy is 4! here are some four-year-old ford facts:

loves: superheroes, puzzles, sweets, coloring, painting, writing his letters {total nerd alert}, playing football with daddy, his baby brother, his little brother in moderation, chicken nuggets, pancakes, chick-fil-a, playgrounds, books, his bike, his cousins, school, dinosaurs, his new leapster, the backyardigans, and being outside.

does NOT love: vegetables, naps, anything pink and girl-related, when luke gets into his stuff, when mommy has to work, when daddy leaves in the morning before he can give him a kiss and hug, getting haircuts from mommy, and wearing anything other than jeans!

l

we had a pumpkin patch party with 4 of his friends with fall birthdays back in october and he had the best time ever!

we love you so much, fordman!

you are the biggest blessing to all who know you!