it's that time of year!!!

 Buddy the elf has arrived and the kids are finding that fun (mostly Liam, Jericho enjoys being a part of "helping") ... he's doing things a bit different this year!  if you're interested, check out this blog - that's what we're going off of http://www.crayonmarksandtigerstripes.com/!!!

the tree is up and so are lights and inflatables in the front yard!  that's as far as we've gotten so far!!

the other day Zoey happily posed for these pics ... I think the "new" camera (as in, the expensive nice one that she has probably forgotten about - therefore, it's new to her) was acceptable in her eyes, since she's so used to my phone being the camera - lol!!!

and boy is she growing - looking at these pics makes me realize just how big she is getting!  I can't believe she's nearly five!  it makes me sad.  it also makes me miss having a baby or little one around here ... she keeps me plenty busy, as do all of the children, but honestly I've got some baby fever in a big way!  hahaha!!!

anyway, I keep the hope that I will get better about blogging again ... at the current time I just rely on the fact that I still have preserved memories via instagram!!!  it's not the same, though!

more pics to come soon, we've done some fun stuff for the season!