Alex surprised us this evening!

I know my blogging habits are terrible.  It's been almost a year, yet again, since I've posted.  Alex will be 5 in less than a week, Anna is 3 1/2, Natalie is 21 months, and baby #4 should arrive in approximately 2 months!  Life doesn't slow down here in the Enns' home.  We're busy enjoying: running our own business, going to different parks in the area, riding bikes (Anna rides now), Bible study just picked up again for the fall, MOPS just started, homeschooling, play-dates, and much, much more.

Tonight we made our weekly run to Costco, and after, as we sat in the van waiting for our gas to fill up, Alex said something like, "That Stop Sign has an "S" and a "T" and an "O" and a "P"!  We praised him, and then I asked him to sound out the letters to see what it says... and... he read the word "stop"!!  Nate and I were both so proud of our Big Alex:).  He really wasn't interested in learning his letters until recently, but now that he's interested, he's learning so fast!

Heart Melting Event Of The Day!

I was reading Alex this fun little story from his coloring book, and got to the second to last page which read, "You are sweeter than any present ever placed beneath a tree, you may be small, but beat them al...l, you mean the world to me!" Then the last page says, "Draw a picture of the person that "means the world to you"...

Me: Alex, who is your favorite person?

Alex: (pause) God!

Me: I was gonna say the same thing! But what does God look like?

Alex: Um, I don't know?

Me: Well, we could draw baby Jesus?

Alex: Oh Yeah! Jesus is God!

Alex: Mom, we need to draw a big cross too, 'cause Jesus died on the cross.

Me: Yes, you're right, when Jesus grew up he died on the cross.

Alex: (once we had a big empty cross) Now we need a big Jesus.

Me: OK

Alex: (once we had a big Jesus- with a beard per Alex's request) But now we need Jesus on the cross.
Me: Well, since Jesus rose from the dead, how 'bout we leave the cross empty?

Alex: But I want Jesus on the cross first:)...

Picking Out Pumpkins 2011

My Photo Book -December 2010

Click here to view this photo book larger

Natalie Joy Enns ...In all her glory! :)...Bath time!

I know I've been a terrible blogger... so I'm just gonna jump right back in with TODAY:

Ya gotta love those naked bath pictures! And here is a little video... (She LOVES water:)...

We are a Family of FIVE!

For those of you who use to read our blog faithfully... I'm sorry it has been so long since I've written! I'm hoping to make this a regular thing again! I have much to catch up on, but for now, the most important news I need to share is.......

We are a family of FIVE! Just in time for Christmas, Natalie Joy Enns was born on Tuesday, December 21st, 2010. She was 8 lbs 1oz and she entered our world healthy. She is truly a joy. She is 6 months now (I can hardly believe that!) and: rolling, smiling, laughing, eating rice cereal (going to try squash tomorrow), has 2 teeth, says "badada", has eyes for Daddy, loves big brother and sister, sleeps 12 hours at night, and is very happy and content most of the time. We thank God for the wonderful blessing she is.

Pumpkin Carving 2010

Half Moon Bay

Last week Nate did a job in Half Moon Bay... which would have probably been about a 3 hour commute each way in traffic... So, we spent the first half of the week at his parents' house in Castro Valley (to lessen the commute), and then the second half of the week in Half Moon Bay at a hotel! It was sort-of considered a family vacation. Half Moon Bay is one of our favorite places to visit too! We like to go to the Ritz Carlton and walk around their beautiful property, as well as the beach down below. (This is where Nate proposed to me 5 years ago!) So we enjoyed the beauty of the ocean, our nice warm pool and spa at the hotel, waffle breakfast every morning, and fun evenings out down town. Unfortunately... we forgot to take pictures!!!! Here is the only picture we got, and it was only taken because Anna and I were matching:)...

Summer has flown by!

I cannot believe that summer is almost over already!! We have been so busy! I'm apologize for my lack of posting. I hope this post finds you well. In case I don't ever get around to posting all about our summer, I figured I better at least post a couple of things about this week!

This week we've been enjoying our backyard. Tuesday night we BBQ'd hot dogs and hamburgers.

Mmm... BBQ goodness:)...

OREO's!!!

Wednesday evening we had our friends: Sara, Raeleah and Kylah over for Shishkabobs! (Sara needed a little break from being home alone with the kiddos as her husband was out of town:)

Happy Birthday, Auntie Katie R!

Last weekend we made a quick trip down south to celebrate my sister-in-law's birthday! I was singing in Ripon on Saturday, so we left straight from there at 4:30pm... Arrived at Chris and Katie's apartment in Riverside at 11:15pm! Sunday morning we got up bright and early to celebrate Katie's birthday at DISNEYLAND!!! We drove through McDonald's for breakfast on the way there, and we were off! Stopped at the front entrance to get a nice family photo before the day got crazy and we'd forget!

Already enjoying Disneyland, before we even entered the park!

Not quite sure what Nate and Chris were looking at? :)

My little banana Anna... waiting for Auntie Stine to get us in FREE:)!

This one is a little blurry, but it's Alex and Daddy entering the waters of Pirates of the Caribbean for the first of 2 times today!

Unfortunately, partway through the morning Alex started complaining that his tummy was hurting... and just after we got off of Autopia, he asked me to pick him up... and all of a sudden... he threw up! (Thankfully I must have felt it coming and turned him out- away from me!) Thankfully, also, Alex is potty-trained but I still carry around extra clothes, just in case!

We weren't quite sure what to think of it... He seemed fine otherwise. The one thing we thought of was that Alex had been holding Nate's coffee mug in the car on the way there, and at some point we realized that he had actually been drinking some! (That was on an empty stomach too.)

So we decided to wait it out and see how he did.

After lunch, while Chris, Katie, and Nate went on Splash Mountain, I took Alex and Anna to see some Characters.

Alex was ready to give hugs; Anna was not!

Tigger and Alex:)

Tigger trying to give Anna "5".

Then... we all got in line for Winnie the Pooh... and while in line... Alex asked me to pick him up again... and yup... you guessed it... He threw up again!!! Once again, I was so thankful that I did not get it on me! Unfortunately, it got all over Alex's blanket! With him not feeling well, we definitely needed him to have something to snuggle with. So... I went looking for a blanket! I found one, but it was a big one for $35! No, we weren't willing to spend that much... but I found a tigger doll for $12, so we brought Alex into the store to see if he liked it... He LOVED it! So we laid him down in the stroller and got him snuggled in with tigger. It wasn't long before he was sleeping. Off we went to California Adventure!

Here is a pic of Anna peaking in on brother (after she stole tigger:)... thankfully he was out!

Daddy and Anna

Auntie Katie and Anna... look at those beautiful smiles!

And that's all I got as far as pictures at Disneyland! I wish I had more, but I just totally forgot about the camera! What you need to know is that: Alex woke up a happy camper, didn't throw up anymore, enjoyed Monster's Inc. twice, Buzz again, Pirates again, some fireworks, and Peter Pan! We all actually had a WONDERFUL day! It was so relaxed and fun! And best of all, it was with Uncle Chris and Auntie Katie! And we even ended up getting to be with Auntie Christine when she got off work in the evening!

The next day we all slept-in until 10:30 or something! Chris and Katie made an awesome breakfast! I felt so pampered!!! I got to just lay around while they slaved in the kitchen! It was soooo yummy too!

After breakfast, Uncle Chris had to head to school for a group project, so we said our goodbyes to him. Then the rest of us got suited up for the swimming pool! Chris and Katie have a beautiful pool, that they actually had never been in!

After swimming we got cleaned up, packed up, and said our very sad good-byes to Auntie Katie. It was a very special trip. Happy Birthday, Auntie Katie! We love you!

"My Private Seat"

This is a funny little story that I just couldn't pass up! So yesterday we were over visiting my parents... Grandma Joyce had gone upstairs to get something, Grandpa Fred headed up the stairs to go "potty", and Alex decided that he'd like to go upstairs too. So he asked, "Grandma, can I come up too?" With the O.K. from Grandma, Alex headed up the stairs. Once up there, he proceeded to the bathroom to find Grandpa Fred! Grandma quickly said, "No, Alex, don't go into the bathroom. Grandpa needs his privacy." Alex, the little copy-cat that he is, said, "Ya, Grandpa needs his private seat." :) That was cute in and of itself, but then a little later, Alex needed to use the bathroom himself... And when Nate took him, once he was on the potty, Alex said, "Please leave Daddy, I need my private seat." Ah! What a kick!

Alexander

I was looking through my most recent posts, (which I realize have been few and far between) and noticed that Anna has gotten much more attention than Alex lately... thus, here is a "must read" about our Alexander Tate:

Last Sunday after church got out, Alex's Sunday School teacher from first hour came running to find me! She said that Alex has grown so much and she was totally amazed by him that day! For one thing, he's talking SOOO much now:). She said that he just went on and on through the whole class:). Then, she said that right after they prayed for snack, Alex began talking about how Daddy told him he doesn't have to be afraid. He said very confidently, "I don't have to be afraid because God is with me all the time! God is with me (and he patted his chest) wherever I go."

Ah! If that doesn't make your heart sing, I don't know what will!

After that conversation was over, he began telling the story of Beauty and the Beast... so not as neat, but totally impressive! He's only seen it a few times, and he was able to tell the storyline! The teacher said that they were just cracking up.

Then he started telling them how I was sad, and so he gave me his blanket. He said that I got a scratch... that part is true, and he OFTEN will give anyone his blanket if he thinks they are sad:). He's too funny. Then he told them that he pushed me while we were gardening outside... and he kept showing them, over and over again, how I fell down and knocked my head! I have no idea where he came up with this, but they sure got a kick out of it! :)

And last but not least, she told me how he loves to help others. While sitting playing with bubbles, Alex turned to Eliana (a slightly younger little girl), got some bubbles on his wand, put it up to her face and said "now blow", and when she did, Alex exclaimed, "Oh, wow! Good job!" So he got some more bubbles on his wand and did it again... he praised her and did it again and again.

Wow, what a blessing. It sure was good to hear what a sweet boy my Alex can be, and especially that he is growing in the knowledge of God!

Curlers!

I decided to have some "girl" fun with Anna:)...

A fun little flip!