Here we go, here we go.

It is mid-October and I am a day away from giving birth to our fifth child...a girl.  Don't ask what her name will be because we're not going to tell you.  We're just fun like that.  The other day while preparing dinner Mr. Handsome asked the kids, "Are you excited for little Suzy Q to come?"  The girls about died.  "Is that what you're going to name her?" they responded.  Even though we assured them he was teasing,  Addie asked later before bed if we were really going to name her Suzy Q.  Apparently, we tease too much and it has become difficult for the children to decipher between our facts and fictions.   I, personally, still love Dashle's choice...Pickle. 


In lieu of my impending labor and delivery this post is a random dose of pictures and adventures to do a final catch up to present day before the babe comes. 

 Mr. Handsome and I took a weekend getaway to Pittsburgh for our 11th Anniversary in August.  We are very blessed to be surrounded by such fantastic friends who are willing to watch the kiddos so we can have time together. Of course, it is in the best interest of everyone involved to split our crew into twos lest someone takes all four and decides not to have any more children after a weekend with the DeMill kids. 

 This kids were quite relieved when we returned from Pittsburgh.  Each was very emotional. I guess two days of our absence was sufficient to make their hearts grow fonder.  The following morning (Sunday) they felt impressed to try on my boots/shoes.  They just laughed and laughed.  They thought it was the funniest thing in the world to wear their mom's lady shoes. What is ironic is that I remember doing the same thing with my mom's boots when I was a little girl.  Perhaps it is a rite of passage. 

 At the end of July our besties were on the move from Massachusetts to Washington.  I don't think one can go more end to end across the country than this.  It had been a year since we were last together and the children could not contain themselves.  Each morning I was awakened by excited chatter which echoed through our home.  The kids had a year's worth of things to say  and only two days to say it.  We loved the few days we were given with them.  The girls even got up with us the morning of  the besties' departure (at 5am) to see them off.  They were sad to see them go, but our besties' oldest, Isaac, simply said, "It's okay, we'll see you at the next reunion."  Thanks to our siblings getting hitched we are basically family and we wouldn't want it any other way. 

Yep, two pregos in one picture. We are twins from different mothers. We have the same name, our husbands hold the same occupation, same number of kids who are the same ages, and the last three of our pregnancies/births have been within days of each other.   This time around we were both carrying girls.  The only regret is that it becomes very difficult to help and take care of the other because we are both in postpartum at the same time.  The husbands think we plot and plan our pregnancies to coincide, but we stand firm that it just sort of happens that way and they should stop acting shocked. 

 For FHE one night in August we hit up a Columbus Clippers baseball game.  We went with some great friends from the Ortho program as it was Ohio Health Night.

 One Sunday after church Coy saw a home video from his first birthday where he got into a box of Crisp Rice and sat helping himself to fistfuls. Of course, it was his birthday the last time it happened so I didn't mind.  Luckily, I was napping when he decided to reenact the event.  It's a good thing he has a great dad who has the patience and peace of mind to go get the camera. 

Here's the D-man on his first day of Preschool. He was very excited, which is comforting to any parent. He is attending a Peer Model preschool. He is one of 3 or 4 kids in his class who show other children with IEPs , by example, how to interact socially with classmates and teachers. 

The best thing about the elementary open house (before school starts) has to be the slushies the PTA passes out after a meet and greet with the teachers. I love this picture.  What does it say to you?  It tells me that our kids know how to have fun and at the same time they like each other.

 First day of school for the girlies at the end of August. Our cute 4th and 2nd graders. They love school and that makes us happy. 

Hundreds upon hundreds of flags were placed in honor of 9/11/01 at one of our city parks.  We have dedicated a special Family Home Evening (the Monday that falls around this anniversary) for the last couple of years to telling our children about what happened on 9/11.  The kids played at the park and Mr. Handsome took 20+ pictures of flags. He makes me laugh.  I guess that is the perk of cameras these days...you just delete the ones you don't want.

 While Grandma DeMill was visiting over a weekend in September we decided to do the zoo.  The Columbus Zoo is actually a pretty impressive place.  It is Jack Hanna's zoo, you know.  If you don't know Jack Hanna, Google him.  The cowboy above is not Jack Hanna.

 We had a great visit with Grandma DeMill.  We're glad she came!  We hadn't seen her since last January.  She is a great grandma to our kids, which is a bonus because then they are anxious for her to come back again.  She teaches them, and plays with them, sings to them, and reads countless books with them.  She does everything a grandma should do.