I think this is truly the first time I’ve ever walked in on Anna Kate and Rose interacting with each other.  They both entertain themselves so well that they are usually in their own little worlds.  I loved watching them dance together! 

I found Anna Kate exercising on my desk yesterday just like this!  I just busted out laughing.  She ALWAYS keeps me laughing!!!

 

The Fun Run is Noelle’s school’s biggest fund raiser of the year that helps pay for their amazing field trips and other great programs for the kids.  I was sick the day of the race, but Mike was there to cheer our girl on!  He said she started out strong, and then had fun walking and talking with her friends, lol!

 

Here’s Noelle’s little cheerleader.  Mike said every time she came around the corner, Anna Kate would yell, “It’s Noelle!  There’s Noelle!”  So cute… which reminds me of Anna Kate’s new nickname, “Cutie Kate!”  We seriously can’t stop calling her that (cause it’s so true) and she loves it!

This is about as athletic as our Noelle is going to get!  I told her she probably shouldn’t wear all of the bracelets because it will be hard for her to keep them on when she runs, so this is after we put some back in her drawer, lol!  We let Noelle be Noelle… she’s bold, she’s different, she wears things that no other six year old would, and we embrace that about her!  She’s just being Noelle, whether that’s wearing jewelry to a race or hand nets to the park… that’s who she is, and we love it!

I love this pic Mike took of Anna Kate.  She looks 3D!

 

This is Anna Kate and Noelle after the race, and the next picture is of Noelle and Lesleigh right after Noelle got off the bus.  It’s so crazy to think Noelle will be a freshman when Lesleigh is a senior in high school.  They look so much further apart at this age!

 

Noelle is going to be in the November issue of the Ft. Worth Star Telegram’s Indulge magazine modeling for Ella Bella!  Look for them on newsstands soon!  Yay, Noelle!

*These are just pretty pictures from the park.  She will be wearing the cutest fall outfit that is out right now by Giggle Moon.

I found Rose in Anna Kate’s old toddler bed (that we are saving for Rose, just not yet!!!) before naps today!  She was so proud!  After I let her and Anna Kate have a little fun with the prospect, I took her to her room to the confines of her deep pack n play, where she can’t escape and is super safe… Rose is trying to grow up way too fast, and I’m just not ready for this yet!

 

The big girls went ribbon shopping with me this week, and Noelle wanted to check out the fabrics.  When we got there, each girl found their favorite color section of fabrics and posed with them… they were so giddy!  We weren’t in a hurry and were just having fun!  An older couple stopped to watch them play.  I heard the wife say, “Look, there’s a purple girl too!”  It was cute.

I love my babies!!!

Look at this cute picture I got of “Cutie Kate” pretending to read a chapter book like her big sissy Sunday night at La Madeleine!

This child was covered from head to toe with raspberry jam and as happy as she could be!

Sitting by the fire, with a warm bowl of tomato soup… perfect for a cold fall dinner!

When we got home, we watched TV, played games, and stayed up late!  I love lazy weekends and the changing of seasons… so much to anticipate!  I added some Halloween fun to our table for under $5 thanks to Target’s dollar spot… yeah!

*See what I mean about Rose -always- having shoes on, whether they’re hers or not, lol!?!

This is so interesting to me!  I have made friends with a girl from Iran through this blog over the past year.  She reached out to me after finding our blog doing a random internet search, and we have been sharing pictures and stories with each other for over a year now.  I’ve learned a lot about the people of Iran and how they are more like us than we think, or than I thought.  They do not like their government, and many of them would like their country to be free just like ours.  It’s so sad, and we are so blessed we don’t have anyone telling us what to wear and what to believe.  Imagine having to go to jail, or even be killed for not wearing something over your head when you go outside.  That’s the pressure these Iranian girls are living under.  Today.  21st century.  It breaks my heart, but gives me hope that we are finally able to communicate… to get to know each other, to realize that we are not all that different after all.  We truly are all in this together.

http://www.pagef30.com/2009/04/iran-in-1970s-before-islamic-revolution.html?m=1

Maybe someday they can be free just like us and my friend can celebrate her freedom with me.  I hope this brings light to you that the people of Iran do want change.  We just need to pray that somehow they can rise up, challenge their governors, and feel freedom.  Although at times it can be frustrating living in the U.S., we are so free.  We need to feel it, embrace it, and remember it more often.  Or at least I do.

We had a fun movie night with Devon on Saturday.  Every girl on that couch is a huge Katy Perry fan!  They had a blast!  Thanks for bringing the movie over and hanging out with us, Devon! 

Noelle was really into the costume changes, Anna Kate was singing along to every song…

 

And Rose was trying on Devon’s shoes all night!  This girl has a shoe fetish like no other.  She constantly has on shoes, even in the house, no matter, all the time she is wearing shoes.  She loves them!  Thank goodness I have lots of shoes to pass down to her from her big sisters!  Fun night… good times!

My friend Carol and I went to the Shady Oaks Country Club on Saturday to share a wonderful lunch with all of our friends who work at the pregnancy centers with us.  Seven years ago, Carol was our newly weds home group leader with her husband, Marshall.  She encouraged me to work for the pregnancy center, which I have been doing ever since.  The women associated with the centers are amazing, and every time we all get together the room is dynamic!  We’re all there for one reason, to glorify God in our lives and help women and their unborn babies.  It’s so beautiful, and I’m uplifted and honored by each lady that is a part of AMPC! 

After our delicious luncheon, we all headed over to Christmas in Cowtown and shopped ‘til we dropped!  To say thank you for our service, they bought our lunch and our tickets to get into the gift market.  I got lots of Christmas presents for the girls (mostly little charms for necklaces I’m looking forward to making) and some pretty special jewelry for me (story later when the timing is right).  People are so creative, and it was really neat just to walk around and look at what all the vendors had come up with.  When we got back to our car, we saw this little building with a crazy plane on top of the tiny the parking lot.  We couldn’t stop looking at it and wondering what it used to be, and right now, it’s actually for rent.  Anyone looking to start up something with a turquoise plane in the middle of your lot, I’ve got just the spot for you!  We had a silly, thankful, light-hearted and fun day I’ll never forget.  Thanks for being my friend, Caroleena! 

Last Friday night was so exciting for ThePondFam5!  We got to watch the Rangers’ last game from a suite, compliments of Mike’s company, Texas Power, and we had a blast!

 

The girls walked straight out to the patio to take it all in… the ballpark is so beautiful!

Our star pitcher, Yu Darvish, was on the mound tonight for the most important game of the season!

 

We were having a blast… we’ve never watched a game from a suite before… it was amazing for the kids!  They had so much freedom to walk around and eat as much as they pleased… it was so cool!

The stadium was packed out… I loved looking out at the crowd and wondering who all was out there and what were their stories… there are so many of us in the world!  It’s pretty amazing when you get in a big group and get to think about it. (well, I do anyway)

 

Noelle was giving me a quick smile while Anna Kate was having fun opening the door for everyone into the suite.

We heard all about the dessert cart, and it lived up to our expectations!

The girls decided to get little helmets filled with blue bell ice cream, and they got to top it with every possible topping imaginable… it was the first time both of them couldn’t finish their dessert because it was so big!

 

Anna Kate was in heaven with her dessert, and Noelle was having a great time with Rose, always adoring her little sisters.  They’re awesome!

 

Go Rangers!

 

Noelle didn’t feel that great tonight, but she was such a good sport!

Rose had fun going up and down these two steps the entire game!!!

 

And up and down and up and down, until Mike finally convinced her to sit in his lap!

 

You can tell she wants to get out!  Anna Kate was so happy!

 

Rose loved cheering and clapping with the fans!  It was adorable to watch!

Abby and Anna Kate were busy playing farm back in the suite!

 

When Noelle gets sleepy, she loves to read.  She brought her devotional book and was winding down as the game was finishing up.  Someone else was sleepy too, as evidenced by her fingers and her blanky!

We had a great night at the ballpark! Even though the Rangers’ season came to an end tonight, we’ll never forget our first time to watch a pro game from a suite “all as a family” as Noelle would say. Tonight was fun and exciting!  Thanks again, Texas Power!