thanksgiving 2010

Our thanksgiving this year involved two different days...Thursday and Friday. Thursday we went to my parents and then Keith's brother's. Friday we went to Keith's grandpa's to see some family we didn't get to see Thursday. His cousin Catrisa and her husband John were in town from Baltimore. I always enjoy seeing her! She just got married last month...a trip Addison and Keith went on. It was a great time of visiting and eating...a personal favorite of mine. :)

 Chels...holding little Pay-Pay. :)

 At Mom and Dad's

 Check out the size of the table...that is Dad at the very end! And even this did not hold everyone...can't imagine what it will be like when all the kids start having kids. :)

 Love this picture...four generations of Broady boys.

 Kaden's cuz Jackson...he and Kaden are only 2 months apart...too cute! I tried and tried to get one of them together, but they would not cooperate. Will definitely have to get one at Christmas.

 

 Payton and McKenna...only 6 days apart. :)

 Keith's great aunt Alice

 More of the Broady fam at Keith's grandpa's

Very thankful for our family this year...good to visit and talk with everyone. Family was one of the things we put on the "Thankful Tree" we made. I tried to really explain to Addison this year what it is to be thankful and then we listed those things on our tree. She literally came up with all of them. (except 'freedom'...had to do a little explaining on that one, but I think she got it.)

This is what she said she was thankful for this year and what we wrote on the leaves of our tree: Momma, Daddy, Kaden, Payton, family, school, our house, that we are healthy, Daddy's work, good attitudes(?!?), Chelsey's back (she just had surgery), and food. Not bad for her first lesson in thankfulness. :) 

legacy

There is always talk around the Richmer house of trying to get a family picture, but we are all always exhausted at the thought of this even before it happens. It is so much work to get everyone together and looking decent! I had told Mom the other day that we were getting a family pic of us (will post soon)...and that is when it all started. It got her thinking about trying to capture the whole fam in a photo. I always love looking at it after we take it, but trying to get a good picture of everyone and keeping everyone happy is quite a challenge.

We all went to Mom and Dad's Sunday for dinner. We had to wait for Keith to get off work and come out, but then we all gathered down by the creek and got a group shot. I must say it looks pretty good...to have 20 people smiling or at least pleasant. (aka...my kids!!) And...as I look at it, I can't help but be thankful for the legacy of my parents and what they have passed on to us. There is some rich heritage there. I have the best parents in the world who have literally sacrificed their lives for us kids. I never really realized that until I had children of my own. They have invested so much of themselves into us...and during this Thanksgiving season...I am grateful for their selflessness and the years they have sown for all of us. This is a real 'picture' of what they can now reap...a large family that is now producing more children and pouring into them the same wisdom and principles they poured into us.

This is legacy...

happy birthday to kylie :)

Our church rents out SIGS about once a year for fun and it always is!! We had John Tasch...an amazing children's minister...come in town this past weekend. He did a presentation for all the kids there at SIGS. Soooo...they got a little bit of play and ministry all in the same night.

In addition to all of that happening, it was also my little sister Kylie's birthday. She was turning five!! It still feels wierd to say that she is my sis. :) To know that Addison (my daughter) and Kylie (my sister) play together is hilarious! And...it is also funny to remember that my mom was pregnant with her at my wedding! That always brings a smile. :) Anyway, mom decided to celebrate her bday while we were there and take advantage of all of her friends being together already...great idea! It was quite a fun (and exhausting!) night.

 Kaden normally gets a view of all the fun stuff at SIGS through the glass at Addison's weekly gymnastics class, but that night he got to enjoy it for himself and LOVED it. :)

 

 

 Oh, the cheese pit...Keith couldn't resist.

 

And...the party.

 

 

 Ashley, another one of my sisters, made the cake. :) We have nicknamed her "Betty" these days for Betty Crocker. She is always cooking and baking something and loves to do it. My mom loves that too. :)

 the birthday girl!

 

 

leaf fun

As Daddy was cleaning up the yard today after work, the kiddos got some play time in as well. We had a ton of leaves in our yard and they took advantage of all of them.

 

Lovin' the little rake!

 

 

Kaden was amazed by the blower! They were soooo dirty after their "fun." Daddy took them straight to the tub when they came inside. Early pajamas tonight...even before dinner. :)

awesome {aunt(s)}???

Payton has several aunts...6 of them just in my family with my sisters! Whew! But one of those aunts thinks she is the most awesome one and let the others know that! (Ahem...Chelsey) She even went as far as to buy Payton a shirt and told me to tell the other sisters that it only applies to her. :) Funny!

But I must say that little 'Pay Pay' looked too cute in her little outfit!

And...we won't let anyone know that all of the aunts are claiming this title!!

She looks kind of sad in this pic...but she really wasn't. I guess I just snapped it at an interesting moment. 

just hangin out

That's what we do these days...just hang out as a fam! We are starting to settle in as a family of five now and just roll with it. :) These are some pictures of the kids just hangin out the other night.

 

 

 

 Not the greatest picture of the three of them, but a rare thing to be able to capture all of them at once! :)

sibling love

Addison and Kaden give a lot of attention to their sweet sister. Addison is constantly wanting to hold her, and Kaden...well, we have to watch him around her! He loves her, but needs to work on his "gentle" side. He is under close supervision around her but is also very sweet. He loves to give her kisses on her forehead. :)

 He was very proud of himself here!

 

 

All smiles. :)

payton ~ 1 month

Payton has already been a month old for over a week now and I have had these pictures just sitting on my camera because I have not had the time to download them. But...here they are...pictures of our sweet baby girl at one month old.

 

 

 

 

Some milestones:

• You are very patient while your mommy takes your pictures. :)
• You are by far the best baby that we have had...you have your moments, but you will also sit and just look around for long periods of time...very low maintenance and, for this, we thank you. :)
• You LOVE your swing and the music it plays...you spend a lot of time in there and love watching the little animals that hang down from it.
• You also love fans! We have to block the fan from your view when we are feeding you or you will just stare at it and not eat...makes us laugh.
• You already smile at mommy when she talks to you and you try to "talk" back to her
• You like to be all snuggled up in your blanket and held...and we like it too.
• You love your pacifier. You are actually the first baby that we have given one to. You were not interested in your thumb like your brother and sister.
• You ride well in the car which is great for us...another thing different from your siblings at your age.
• You are quite congested with a little cold right now. :( Mommy is letting you sleep in the swing or the car seat right now to keep you elevated so you can breathe...or hold you upright. (This does not do too well for your mommy's sleeping, but she wants what is best for you!!)
• You are a true "JOY" in our lives...and we are so grateful that God has given us a surprise as special as you sweet girl.

ER visit

It's official...Kaden DEFINITLEY takes after his daddy. Keith is always...I mean constantly...hurting himself. He has torn ligaments, cut his head, cut his finger, and the list goes on and on. My dad is always joking him about how many scars and bruises he has. And--a lot of the time Keith has no idea how he even did it. Funny. :) And, it looks like Kaden is following in daddy's footsteps. The other night Kaden was holding his blanket in one hand and Addison's in the other. He was standing in our family room just twirling with them and tripped and fell. He landed on his arm/wrist...and didn't get up. I wondered why. I picked him up and tried to soothe him, but his cry sounded a little different to me. And...the major clue that something was wrong was that he wouldn't lift his arm to suck his thumb. The more I examined it, I was able to see that it was swelling and getting very red. Keith and I both agreed that we should take him to the ER to have it checked. And a couple hours later this is what he looked like...

poor guy :(

It was definitley broken. Who would have thought that a simple fall could do that?!? Bless his heart. I thought he might try to take the wrap off or the splint, but he has surprisingly left all of it alone. I think it really does hurt him. The doctor from the ER and the orthopedic surgeon Keith took him to today both said it is a hairline fracture and want to keep it wrapped up for a couple weeks...and then see him again. We originally thought he was going to get a hard cast on today (after the swelling went down), but the doctor felt confident that the splint and wrap should be okay for him. Hope so...don't want any more problems for him.
Oh...and the butterfly bandage on his head was not from this incident!! That happened when he hit his head on the cabinet in the kitchen one day last week. It was pretty bad...was gushing blood. I was feeding Payton when it happened and Addison yelled for me from the kitchen. I could tell it was bad. I just had to apply pressure and then bandaged him up.
And...don't have a picture of it, but to this list of medical issues we can now add a black eye as well. He fell and hit the coffee table at mom and dad's last night! He looks pathetic...really. :) A gash in his head, a black eye, broken arm, and you can still see the scar on the side of his head where he burnt it on the piece of charcoal. Very sad.