Jingle Bells

Here's our sweet Gracey May singing Jingle Bells.  Once I pulled out the video camera, everyone was a star.  I just love their sweet voices. :)

Starfish

Claire was sprawled out on the floor like this the other night...perfectly still.  When Ken asked her what she was doing, the answer was simple.  "I'm being a starfish."  Well, of course.  This little girl has the most amazing imagination.  Notice the leotard on inside out...she dresses herself too.  :)

ABCs

Here's little Jake, singing as usual.  His favorite song at the moment is  "Adelvise?" (from the Sound of Music...I have NO idea how to spell that).  But since I haven't caught that one on tape, here's a rendition of the ABCs....for the grandparents, of course.  :)

Warning: Belly pictures

My apologies to all that are offended by belly photos, but at the request of a few this is what big mama looks like at 30 weeks.  By the 6th pregnancy my body seems to know what to do and is getting bigger by the minute.

Only 9 weeks to go before we welcome the next and newest McNeill into our clan.  We are thankful that he seems to be doing well.  Actually, according to my MD he seems to be doing a little too well.  At our last ultrasound he was measuring in the 97th percentile.  He looks to be another big boy and if he continues at this pace, we may have another early induction.  We're continuing to pray for a healthy baby and can't wait to meet him.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!  We finally have our camera fixed, so I feel like I can dive back into family updates.  It's just not the same to post without pictures.  We had a  wonderfully relaxing Christmas.  We stayed home and just spent the day as a family.  After a record breaking bad holiday for us last year, it was so nice to redeem to the season!  For those of you who weren't with us last year, Christmas involved a house full of the stomach flu and losing our 5th baby.  This year was much more joyful and made us so thankful for all of God's provisions for us over the past year.  

On Christmas Eve, we spent the day baking fudge and Christmas cookies.  Everyone decorated a cookie especially for Santa.  We sang Christmas carols and read Christmas stories.  One good book that we read this year is , "Santa, Are You For Real?" by Harold Myra.  It does a great job of explaining who Saint Nicholas was and why we still do "Santa".  The kids especially enjoyed the Advent season this year with the candles and candy. :)

Here's Jake enjoying one of his favorite toys while wearing his cool new firefighter outfit.

A word about Moonsand: just don't do it.  It was something our kids have wanted for quite a while and loved.  However...this is the messiest stuff EVER.  It is a very cool toy, however it would be a great toy for the spring when it can be played with outside.  For every 5 minutes of fun at the kitchen table, plan for 10 minutes of cleanup.  If your up for that, then, by all means, go for it.  But don't say I didn't warn you.

           

Jake loved all his new hot wheels and race track and the girls favorites were ponies, pet shops and a great doll house from Bumpa and Grandma.  Thanks, too, to Nana and Pa for all the goodies...the Tinkerbell make-up was the favorite for Claire by far.     

Fall fun

Here are the kids as they were heading out for a fun filled night of trick or treating.  Hannah was an angel, Grace was a cat, Claire was a butterfly princess and Jake was superman.  They all had so much fun running around the neighborhood and then finishing out the night with a party with our neighbors.  Jacob, being 2 now, especially enjoyed getting into the festivities this year for the first time.  All the girls would quietly walk up to the door and say, very politely, "trick or treat".  Then Jake would run up, stick out his chubby little hand and yell, "CANDY!!!"  A man who says what he means and means what he says.

Here's the little man driving the tractor at the pumpkin patch.  He loves anything with wheels, so the tractors and the hayride were highlights of the trip for sure.
Before we bagged up all the leaves in our front yard we let the kids have a few days to play in them.  They had a blast running and jumping...ahh, the joys of childhood.  :)
Hannah and Claire on the sidelines cheering on Gracey at her soccer game.

It's a.....

It's been a while since we've posted.  Our computer died about a month ago and it's taken us this long to get another computer and get things up and running again.  On the recommendation of many family and friends, we've gone with a Mac this time.   It is so different than a PC and it is taking me quite a while to learn how to use it.  All things considered, I've really enjoyed it so far. I haven't quite got the hang of all of how to post photos and such but in the mean time I wanted to let everyone know our latest news. 

We had our 20 week ultrasound a couple of weeks ago and....drum roll please....we are having another boy!  Needless to say, we were all very excited.  At the moment, Jake is out numbered 3 to 1 by his sisters, so I'm sure he'll be happy to have another little man on his side.  The baby, as is usual with our babies, is measuring very big...enough so that I'm having extra testing and may have extra doctor visits in the coming weeks.  You can pray with us that this baby tops out at 10lbs or under by delivery and is healthy and happy in the process.  :)  

In other news, my parents were here for a visit last weekend.  We had a great time and the kids all enjoyed some much anticipated Nana and Pa time.  We did some fishing, cheered Gracey on at her soccer game and spent some time down by a creek near our house.  Above is a family photo they snapped for us while they were here.

Funny song...

This song make me laugh. :)

Keeping cool...

Very close to our house we have a great park that has a sprinkler area for the kids to run and play in the summer. It's a great way for everyone to cool off without the stress of keeping everyone afloat in a pool. Ken's sister and her family were all here last weekend and we enjoyed some great family time a spent a couple of afternoons at this park. It's beginning to feel a bit like fall here already this week so here's a few photos of our kiddos enjoying the last few days of summer weather with their cousins.

Walk for Life

This past weekend we participated in the local Walk for Life to raise money for the Life Centers of Indianapolis. These centers provide emotional, spiritual and practical support for women facing unplanned pregnancies. Through these centers many, many women have heard the gospel of Christ and found hope that has enabled them to choose life for their babies. I can't imagine the heartache these women must face while struggling with such a decision, but having this support there must help in amazing ways. Through many of our friends giving online, our family "Team McNeill" has raised $360 so far. Thanks so much for everyone who contributed financially and especially to those who keep these women in your prayers! Here's a few pictures of our "team" during the walk.