Sunday, December 30, 2007

Guessing gifts

Michelle and Erik sent some fun Christmas stuff from Germany. One thing in particular caught the kids' eye when I put it under the tree because of its funny shape.

They wondered if it was a hat, or possibly a bowl. But of course it was a play thing....we're not quite sure what it is called....so far we call it "the blue thing you sit in."


They all tried it out, but Eliot played with it the longest. It's fun to sit in, and, I would imagine, good for your your abs too. If we get any snow this winter the older boys want to try sledding in it.

Friday, December 28, 2007

Tractor rides, rain and a bit of baking


Here is a shot Marlow yesterday, helping Joseph pack the van....sort of. As usual, it took forever to get everything packed so we could get on the road. But we made it, and are having a great time. I kind of forgot to take many pictures today, but got a few, mostly taken by other people using my new camera.



Eliot with Grandpa's hat on. We went on a tractor ride this morning -- technically we sat on a trailer and were pulled by the tractor, so we went on a "trailer ride." Eliot, especially, loves the tractor and wanted to go on another ride as soon as it was over. Unfortunately for him it rained all afternoon. But maybe tomorrow we'll get another chance.


Bailey wanted to try out my new camera (did I mention I got a camera for my birthday? I really like it a lot...I've just got to train myself to use it more) and took a lovely shot of sweet, happy Gemma.


Marlow and I enjoyed a little cooking in the newly remodeled kitchen. We made egg salad for lunch with some of the eggs from the chickens....they have a LOT of eggs here. And we made one of our favorite desserts that I generally make around Christmas: Rugelach (rug-a-la) from the Enchanted Broccoli Forest. It is a really yummy pastry with a sweet filling, and it is really easy to make -- try it.

So, I have a goal of posting a little something everyday... we have a goal... Joseph is going to help out on this one cause we made this resolution together. This should get interesting (actually my fear is that it won't be interesting), and hopefully I will get better at it....most of the time I don't really know what to say, but at least I'll have a picture or two to post. G'nite.

Thursday, December 27, 2007

PJs

All five kids are in this picture....just barely, Gemma snuck in there in the bottom left corner. She has really been getting around with her army crawl. So, this is a shot of the four big kids in their new pjs from my Dad and Robyn (aka Grandpa and Zippy)....Gemma got some too, but the clothes she was wearing were clean and I have a policy about not changing a baby's clothes unless you absolutely have to.....and that is pretty frequent anyway.
Ok, so I am supposed to be packing for our trip tomorrow and it is after 1:00 am, so I better finish up. I just got distracted checking the weather to see exactly what kind of clothes to pack....one thing led to another and here I am posting on our blog....obviously I can get very sidetracked. Thankfully everyone else is asleep so I can pack uninhibited by children and Joseph is getting well rested so he will be able to drive while I sleep in the car -- ok, we are going on a road trip with five kids, maybe I won't actually get much sleep, but at least I won't have to drive.

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Under the Sea

While we were in Georgia visiting the Nichols Grandparents, Aunts and Cousins, there were fish being painted in the kids' room by Aunt Kelly. Joseph's parents painted the room blue a while back, because we wanted to make it look like they were in the ocean. Kelly added the fish as a Christmas gift to the kids. I Love it.

The clown fish by the door. Clown fish have such beautiful color...and are very popular with children thanks to Nemo.


Marlow now has her own space in the room she shares with the boys. We took everything out of their closet and put her bed in there and hung a little shelf for her book and games.


A mermaid peeking in Marlow's little room.


A little blue guy by the towel rack behind the door. I love how he blends so nicely with the blue wall.

Ezra holding his breath "under water" and Asa "swimming" by my personal favorite: a crayon pony fish that is between their beds.

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Merry Christmas


marlow and me

We have had a very nice Christmas. Most of us are still in our pj's and it is almost time for bed again. I am very thankful for my big, fun family today, who has had a great time playing together and other than a few lapses, has been very sweet to each other. We are blessed.

Saturday, July 07, 2007

the aunt farm


The kids that were there that week (l-r): Carson holding Maddie, Ezra with Eliot, Asa holding Gemma, Marlow, Bailey holding Moriah and Marley on the back of the couch.


Marlow and Eliot with Grandma holding Gemma, sitting on her bench under the newly dubbed "snake tree." Earlier that day we watched helpless as a large black snake crawled into the bird house on the pear tree next to the front porch -- you can't see the tree in this picture but they are sitting in the shade of the tree. The little bird house had some newly hatched little birds that were eaten by the snake. A sad lesson in nature. The kids all wanted to kill the snake once it emerged, but we explained that snakes have to survive somehow, and that this wasn't a dangerous snake.


Marley playing ring-around-the-rosies with Marlow, Eliot and Moriah.


Aunt Marley playing with the little ones.


One morning mom and I ambitiously took the kids fishing -- eight kiddos all together on the dock and amazingly nobody got knocked in. The girls are getting so grown-up and were a huge help keeping an eye on Marlow and Eliot. After a while grandpa came down to give canoe rides.


Keith holding Eliot, Bailey and Asa. Asa was bit nervous to be in the front but he really wanted to row. Look at him...such a brave face.


We were so lucky that pops had a few days off work while we were there. In addition to canoeing, the kids got tractor rides too. Every time he came around to give someone a turn Eliot thought it was his turn again and would start to head over for another ride. He loved the tractor.


Although it is kind of hard to tell because he looks so serious here....and he has that pacifier in his mouth.


Marlow eating her typical breakfast of yogurt on the front porch.

We had a lovely week with beautiful weather. The kids played a lot and the adults got in some good visiting time. We got to see Marley in action at one of her softball tournaments. And it was super cool that Michelle and Jeremy stayed out there several nights and I got to hang with Michelle and her girls during the day. Jamie and Luke came over, Grant too and Lica was there for the weekend. We saw Papa and Nana on several occasions too....mostly because they came out to us, but we were in town one night and dined at there house. Good times. Check here for more pictures from our NC visit.

Saturday, May 19, 2007

since May 1st

Here are a few pictures from the past two weeks since Gemma was born. She is a great baby and is growing and changing already. I wish I could keep her in the newborn stage longer then it actually lasts. I am just trying to enjoy it since I know that in no time she will be running around with the other kids and talking my ear off.

Gemma, one week old


Almost 2 weeks old.


Deja vu, eh? I know it looks just like the picture above, but it is what she looks like a lot...and it is so cute. Those pictures were taken on different days and she is wearing different outfits to prove it. Early on she slept quite a bit, but lately she has been spending a more time awake looking around. I'll try to get a shot of her with her eyes open one of these days.


Marlow and her little sister...


Oh, here we have one of Gemma with her eyes open.


When the drywall for the house was delivered two years ago, the truck parked on our front brick sidewalk and left a dip in it....it has always bothered me. So for Mother's Day Joseph and the boys pulled the bricks up (shortly after the boys ran down the street to play with a friend) and Joseph leveled it up and replaced the bricks so we have a nice flat walkway now.


The girls relaxed on the porch while the boys worked on the walkway.


The big kids playing with their new water baseball game. Some thoughtful friends brought it for them when they brought a baby gift for Gemma.


Eliot has seemed a lot bigger lately. He is still super sweet and loves all his siblings tons....he loves to point to Gemma and say, "Baby." He can say everyone's name except for hers, but he'll get it soon.


Marlow playing in the pool.

And finally a parting shot of Gemma and one of her many cousins... I think we are up to nine cousins now, of which five have been born in the past year. Lots of buddies to play with: Max, Ian, Gage, Calliope and Maddie (Plus their older siblings: Mason, Moriah, Zoe and Jack).

Calliope at three months old and Gemma at two weeks old. It seems like a big difference now but in a year they'll be running around together.

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

First few pictures

Here are the first few shots of our newest little one. More to come soon.


The whole family crowds around....


The girls.





It's a girl!

Gemma Claire Nichols was born last night, May 1, at 8:24 p.m. Ezra, Asa, Marlow, and Eliot are excited to have a new little sister. Amy and Gemma are doing great. They are resting. I'm trying to shake Eliot and Marlow off my ankles long enough to get this birth announcement up... Now if I can find the USB cord for the camera, I'll be putting up some pictures shortly...

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Word play

One of our clients whose business is shooting portraits asked me to create a graphic for one of their featured Valentine products. I came up with a clever concept incorporating elements from both photography and Valentine's Day...

But alas! It was passed up in favor of the "safer" version where the message on the heart reads SMILE...

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Mostly Christmas

When I think about it, I seem to remember having a nice relaxing Christmas. We stayed home (until the afternoon of the 25th when we drove down to visit grandparents and aunts, uncles and cousins in Georgia), we didn't have a bunch of extra family here for the main day -- which is fun to do on occasion, but really makes me appreciate the years when it is just our own little (ok, not so little) family. We got the kids some good stuff but didn't go overboard. Joseph's brother Jonathan, my sister Kelly and her husband Micah had Christmas Eve dinner with us which was really nice. If I am going to spend time cooking something a bit special it is nice to have more adults eating, kids just don't appreciate good food, and it was very good. We had Cranberry Chicken with Pears, Sweet Potato Casserole, Warm Spinach Salad, and Bread. Jonathan made some peppermint ice cream and we had a "Happy Birthday Jesus" cake -- strawberry cake with cream cheese frosting.


In case you didn't know, Jesus's favorite color is pink and this year he turned one.


We missed the Christmas Eve service at church, partly because many of us had nasty colds and partly because I can't cook fast and we were either going to get to eat or go to church and I chose eating. So Joseph read the Christmas story from the Bible and the kids dressed up and acted it out.



They had to double up on roles. Asa was Joseph, a shepherd, a wise man and Herod. Ezra was a shepherd and a wise man. Marlow was Mary, an angel and Herod (until Asa took over). And Eliot just wandered around the "set" knocking things over and destroying the make shift manger over and over. The part about the whole Christmas event that makes me think I can't call it "nice and relaxing" is the part where we put off too much till Christmas Eve and stayed up to 5:00 am getting ready for the next day. Ugh.

Christmas morning was a lot of fun. We took it fairly slow for a family with four kids under the age of seven. I told the boys when I put them to bed not to come wake us up. I said, "Eliot will wake us up early enough. If you wake up first, don't go downstairs. Either play quietly in your room or turn on the TV and find a cartoon." So when I got up they were watching A Christmas Story. But they had had a peek downstairs because Ezra announced that Santa had come and hid presents in the tree. Interestingly I have told them that Santa isn't real, that he is a fun story but is make believe. They believe anyway...I guess in our society it is pretty confusing what is real and what isn't....especially when everyone from the cashier at the grocery store to their teachers talk about Santa constantly this time of year.


Ezra and Asa helping Eliot open a gift....he still doesn't really get the whole gift unwrapping thing.



Marlow got some ballet clothes, which she wears pretty much everyday over her regular clothes.



Eliot loves to play with my cell phone so we got him his own toy version...he liked it.


We opened gifts, and then ate a breakfast trifle and the quiche that had been cooking while we were unwrapping things. Finally we did stockings. We hadn't really thought through the stocking content very well and they were full of mostly candy. Of course they wanted to eat it, but it was still morning and we had just eaten breakfast so we didn't want them eating a bunch of candy. They had a little and then I put the rest away....most of it is still stashed in the cupboard. Well, I am kind of going into a lot more detail then I had intended to...mostly I wanted to post pictures for Michelle since she is so far away. So in quick summary, but certainly not the least of our Christmas holiday: we visited with family in Georgia for a few days (the Nichols clan minus Michael who was far away and missed by all) and came home to welcome other family (My parents and three youngest sisters) for a couple days visit. We had a great time with family, got more gifts, played games, watched movies, ate food etc...


At the Nichols: Zoe, Marlow, Max, Asa, Ezra and Eliot



The boys: Max, Asa, Ezra and Eliot



Eliot really liked the Hulk fists that Bailey got for them.



We had a bonfire one night, burning up all the brush Joseph cleared from our backyard that afternoon.



Marlow with her Aunt Marlow staying warm by the fire.



Finally, a shot in front of our tree before the girls left to go home....I'm not very good at keeping up with taking pictures and then hurry to get a few right before they leave town.
l to r: Eliot, Ezra, Asa, Carson, Marley, Marlow and Bailey