Christmas 2007

Caleb got a drumset for Christmas, and is pretty awesome at them already!


He accidentally hit the cymbal with his finger this time.


The family, opening presents...


And more presents...a fun Christmas at the Portage Rumley's.

Pictures!

"Miss Lindsey" from church shares a birthday with Grace, and this year it landed on a Wednesday. So, Lindsey (the sweet girl that she is) bought matching skirts for herself and Grace to wear on their birthday. Aren't they cute?



A smile from sweet Ava...Unless she's hungry, poopy, or sleepy, she has the sweetest disposition. We're thankful to be on the receiving end of lots of smiles and coos these days.



These are the homemade thin mints I made for Christmas time. Simple and yummy!



And this is Luke hiding from me while he eats some of the thin mints!



Much to Luke's chagrin, Caleb found Mommy's makeup. Even worse, he knew where to put the mascara (even though he doesn't apply it too well)!

That's all for now. Merry Christmas everyone!

The state of the Rumleys

Again, it's been forever since I've posted, and this time I won't even bother with excuses!

I always think that once we're back in High-speed Internet Land (i.e. the city), I'll blog all the time. With the way my life is right now, I'm not sure that's true! I feel like my days are passing me by before I have a chance to get everything done that I need to get done! Who has time for the Internet? (Obviously, I'm on the Internet right now, but the kids are all in bed, and Luke's not home from his deacons' meeting yet.)

So, here are the bullet points of our lives right now:

• Grace turned three on November 14. She's pretty much adorable. For her birthday dinner, she requested ham, Teddy Grahams, and blue mashed potatoes. Oh, yes, blue potatoes. It was pretty bizarre to eat those. They looked like frosting but tasted like potatoes, so it was very tricky to my senses. I have pictures that I'll post someday (maybe).
  
• Caleb is saying lots more words now...Please, thank you, Buddy, church...There are more, but I can't really think of them right now.
  
• Ava is 9 weeks old now. She's a great sleeper. She just had her 2-month check-up, and she weighs 12lb 15oz (95th percentile) and is 24-1/4 inches tall (off the charts). She's doing great!
  
• I don't have my Christmas shopping done. I don't have time to shop. I don't even want to shop with the three kids with me. When is Christmas? 13 days? I hope I get done!
  
• I want to contribute to our family income, but I'm not sure how that would work. One of Luke's cousins teaches piano lessons in her home, and another one sells things that she makes (like baby blankets). I'm not good at selling things to people. I don't have any marketable skills like piano-playing. I thought it would be fun to write children's books, but I can't imagine the slim chances of ever getting published anyway. I actually found a children's book I wrote and illustrated for my Children's Lit class in college. It's really cute. I must've been creative back when my brain still worked!
  
• Luke has a big meeting coming up next week with his 2 managers to discuss a possible promotion. He's amazing!
  
• Luke's sister Erin is getting married this coming February. Grace and Caleb are going to be the flower girl and ring bearer. They're going to be so adorable! (Not a biased opinion or anything!) Just don't tell them about it yet, because I'll have to hear unrelenting questions about it for the next 2-1/2 months!
  
• Our fourth anniversary is coming up. It's been a wonderful four years!
  

I'm getting tired and can't think of much more to say. I have some adorable pictures of the kids to post but don't have the energy to try to do it on dial-up tonight. Someday!

Good night everybody!