Cream-cheese-filled Pumpkin Rolls are a longstanding tradition in our house.  My mother-in-law has made them for the masses every Thanksgiving and Christmas for time immemorial, raising enough funds for Christmas shopping to make Santa look stingy.  I sold a few myself back when all of the kids were little, working far into the wee hours [...]

Filed under: food, little bellas | 7 Comments »

you open your lunch to find…
a homemade personal size pizza and a the last of someone’s personal stash of skittles.
thanks gals you made me smile today.

Filed under: Christian living, Dad's corner, big family, little bellas, sweet lovin', thoughtful stuff | No Comments »

posted by 7 yo Becca.
Yesterday my sister and I found instructions for a big-mouth puppet.
It was  fun and easy.
This video is going to tell you how to make it.
Please leave a comment if your kids try it.

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Filed under: Art/music, Huh? Category?, big family, family, kids stuff, little bellas | 6 Comments »

Our kids love to go to work with their dad, but I sure miss them - especially the younger ones. It feels unnatural to have them gone for so long.  Apparently they miss me too.
They left extra early several days this week, and since they were leaving before most of us woke up, they [...]

Filed under: little bellas | 4 Comments »

Becca turned 7 yesterday, but I am a bad mom.  See?  I even start my daughter’s birthday post by talking about myself.
Why am I bad?  Because I didn’t do a birthday post for my daughter on her birthday.  Don’t be fooled by the date on the post; I cheated and backdated it.  See?  Bad mom [...]

Filed under: humor, little bellas | 13 Comments »

It’s high time I do a post about one of those “old”  kids - the ones we had before little Bethany came along.
What I really want to say is that 8yo Natalie is blossoming into a mature and helpful young lady.  I love to see our girls grow into  young women but I’m always a [...]

Filed under: little bellas, photos | 21 Comments »

The cutest little redhead in the world is 4 now.  There’s something special about that age, isn’t there?  All of my children are strongly imprinted in my mind at that age.  It’s like they’ll always be 4 to me.
Four-year-olds are still so small, yet self-aware and precocious.
I love it.

And I love my sweet little redhead.

Filed under: little bellas | 12 Comments »

For hubby, that is.  After a week of staying home to pamper me (not to be confused with diapering the baby - he didn’t do any of that), today I bade my hunney goodbye as he went back to work.  I always miss him after a weekend at home but it feels downright strange not [...]

Filed under: little bellas | 12 Comments »

Don’t hate me.  I can hardly believe it myself, but this little child has slept at least 7 hours straight for each of the last 3 nights.

I don’t expect it to continue, and there is payback every day when she nurses doubletime to make up for missed feedings, but it’s been a true blessing.  I [...]

Filed under: little bellas, photos | 29 Comments »

You all are great at puzzles!  Many people found the answer, but I’ll make it easy for those like me, who don’t want to place undue strain on an already strained brain.
The two final possibilities for a first name were Hannah and Bethany.
The two final possibilities for a middle name were Grace and Joy, though [...]

Filed under: little bellas, photos | 46 Comments »

Although I was rooting for Patience or Tara as a first name early on, the more we got to know our little girl the less those names seemed to fit.  They both sounded dark-haired and dark-eyed (like so many of our daughters, but not like this one).  I’m glad we didn’t decide ahead of time.
Thank [...]

Filed under: little bellas | 59 Comments »

Filed under: little bellas, photos | 33 Comments »

…almost decided.
We seem to have narrowed the choices to 2 first names and 2 middle names, for a grand total of 4 possibilities.  By God’s good grace, we hope to have the joy of making the announcement tomorrow.
By way of a clue, both possible first names are Hebrew; both prospective middle names are virtue names.

Filed under: little bellas | 12 Comments »

I know I complained a lot about swelling in my ankles this time, but I have to say that our whole household is a little shocked at how skinny they are now.  There are bones in my ankles, for cryin’ out loud!  Apparently they were enormously swollen even when they weren’t, if you know what [...]

Filed under: little bellas, pregnancy/labor | 13 Comments »

Try accidentally deleting your church’s entire website. Two weeks before the annual conference/talent show.  If your husband is the very understanding type, he just might bring home an unprecedented amount of chocolate to soften the blow.  Of course, I still have to finish rebuilding the site.
And I had been joking about giving birth onstage as [...]

Filed under: chocolate, gone awry, little bellas, sweet lovin' | 18 Comments »