Sammy Turns 4

I cannot believe that Samuel is four years old!  My, oh, my where has the time gone!?

Our sweet little boy requested a Darth Vader party for his fourth birthday.  I thought, 'This should be easy enough, Star Wars is a classic!'  And for the most part it was fairly easy.  The decorations, plates, cups, etc. were found at Party City.  The cake, on the other hand, was impossible.  No one around here makes Star Wars cakes.  Specialty bakeries had them but they were super expensive.  We ended up just buying a regular sheet cake and Bobby found a Darth Vader candle at Party City as well as a Storm Trooper figure at Walmart.  As for food we kept it simple and I came up with creative names for the dishes.

The party was super fun.  We had more girls than boys but Sammy didn't mind at all.  He loved all of the food, his cake and was thrilled with all of his presents.  We are so thankful for all of our family and friends who joined us in celebrating. 

...The Food...

...The Presents...

...The Cake...

Today I Love...

• Mr. Clark - He works hard to finiancially support our family.  Then he comes home and works hard around the house and with the kids.  I love this man!

• Hannah - She is hands down the cutest little girl in the world.  She's so smart and witty.  There is never a dull moment with her around...she talks from the moment she wakes up to the moment she goes to bed.  She's probably still talking when she goes to sleep.   She is very excited about getting a new brother/sister.  Until we had our ultrasound she was convinced we were having twins.

• Samuel - This kid is a hoot!  And he's all boy.  Everything with Sam is about poots/poop.  Reminds me of a few big boys I know :-)  He is so very helpful around the house and willingly helps me with chores.  For the longest time he was content to let Hannah speak for him.  Now he has found a voice of his own and makes his opinions/demands known!  He's also very cuddly, especially in the morning and at night before bed.

• Clark #3 - Bobby & I have seen this sweet baby during our ultrasound and it was so beautiful!  He/She was so squirmy that the tech had a hard time getting a picture.  Yesterday I had an appointment and we heard the heartbeat again.  It was in the high 170's.  Even Dr. Hood joked that it's going to be a girl.  What do you think?

• Winter Weather, finally! - If you know me, you know that I love the winter.  I'm thrilled that the cold weather has finally blown into town.  I love sweaters, fuzzy socks, hot chocolate, fires and snuggling with Mr. Clark.  Now I'm just waiting for the snow!

These pictures are in no way relevant to this post.  Well, maybe they are.  My kids are so dang cute!  Even in their sleep...

Hannah's 6th Birthday

On January 1st our sweet baby girl turned 6 years old.  My goodness where have the years gone?!

We threw Hannah a Smurf party at our house on the big day (everyone is off of work and out of school so it's a perfect day for a party.)  Hannah was blessed with many friends and family who came to celebrate with her.

I didn't plan any games this time.  We just let all of the kids get in the chicken coop for about 45 minutes.  It was hilarious watching them chasing the chickens and holding them.

 

Happy Birthday to the most beautiful little girl in the world!!  You are such a blessing to our family Miss. Hannah Banana!!!

More Wedding Pictures...

Bobby's cousin, Lori, emailed me some of the pictures her professional photographer took at the wedding reception back in May (can you remember that far back?)  Tracy Cavallari did an excellent job.  To bad she doesn't live around here or I'd get her to take some family photos.

Here are my three favorites:

That would be chocolate on Hannah's face.  There was a candy bar within easy reach of little fingers.

Do I not have the cutest son in the world?!

In other news, I've decided to start an A-Z Reading Challenge.  I've seen this on several blogs and it looks interesting... and challenging.  Basically you read a book for each letter of the alphabet.  With 'X' in can be a letter anywhere in the title instead of the first letter of the title.

Here's my list...
A - Atlas Shrugged
B - The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
C - The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
D -
E - Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer (Thanks Claudia!)
F - Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
G -
H - The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
I - The Iliad by Homer
J -
K -
L - Lord of the Flies by William Golding
M - A Monk Swimming by Malachy McCourt (I loved his brother Frank McCourt so I'm giving him a try.)
N -
O - Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
P -
Q -
R -
S - Silas Marner by George Eliot
T - Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
U - Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
V -
X -
Y -
Z -

Italic books are books I've read forever ago and can't remember exactly how they end.  Clearly I have some gaps in my list...do you have any recommendations?  I don't like any self-help or Christian books (unless it's Corrie ten Boom, etc.)  And other than Of Mice and Men I don't like Steinbeck or Faulkner.  Otherwise I'm open for suggestions!

By the way, if you have a list I highly recommend Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns.

An Important Announcement!

My husband brings it to my attention on a daily basis (just about) that I have been a slacker with my blog.  Grudgingly I admit that he's right.

So I'll catch you up on what's been going on in the Clark household...

On November 21st we found out that we would be adding a new little baby to our family!!  The official due date is July 12, 2012 but that's subject to change when the dating ultrasound takes place.  And the actual delivery date will be about two weeks prior to my due date since I will have a scheduled c-section.  We'll be returning to St. Francis Women's with the same OB/GYN group that delivered Hannah & Samuel. 
Hannah & Sam are very excited about the idea of a new baby brother/sister.  Sammy wants a brother while Hannah wants a "healthy baby."  Secretly she wants a sister.  We were looking at baby stuff in Toys R Us and she oohed and aahhhed over the girl bibs, blankets and towels. 

So far I've been feeling okay, other than staying exhausted.  I often find myself hungry but can't think of a single thing I want to eat.  That's rather frustrating.  My ob/gyn recommended 150mg of Zantac twice a day to help with morning sickness and it certainly has worked.  For some reason your body produces extra acid when you're pregnant and the Zantac helps to neutralize it.  Though it certainly doesn't help with sights/smells that make me queasy I feel less nauseated and have been able to eat more.

So, that's the biggest and best news that we have to share!  In other areas:  Hannah's home school is going great, Bobby is still enjoying his job & classes at Clemson , and our household is still running smoothly.

I'll leave you with pictures of the kids taken at the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, SC (Columbia's only redeeming quality if you ask me.  It's hard for true blue Clemson fans to visit Columbia but Bobby had work there so the kids and I tagged along to keep him company.)

Halloween '11

Halloween this year was spent with Darth Vader and Princess Peach from Mario.  Hannah really wanted to be Smurfette but even though Mr. Clark searched every possible store, we couldn't find one in her size (and the costumes online were way too expensive.) 

We went to Trunk or Treat at Wal Mart, the local library, my Granny James' house, the Walhalla Depot and then finished at Rob & Cindy Lou's.  Let me just say that I will be heading to the depot every year now, they gave both kids two big hand fulls of the good candy (Milky Way's, Kit Kats, Twix, etc.)  

Once at the Padgett's, Hannah seated herself on the top porch step with Olivia so they could hand out candy.  I think she would have rather done that than go Trick or Treating herself!

What is up with Hannah's facial expressions lately?!

Sphinx Run Fest '11

This year my darling Mr. Clark only ran the half marathon at the Sphinx Run Fest.  I say only but really, I'm unbelievably impressed.  It takes me the better part of an hour to run a 5K so I can't imagine running 13 + miles in a little over an hour.  

At 8:30am the kids and I were stationed in the stands at Fluor Field, anxiously waiting for Bobby.  It had rained the night before so everything was wet and it was freezing cold.  We didn't care though.  The kids made the cutest signs for him and were determined to support him, even if it meant getting up ridiculously early and getting frostbite to do so.  I am so incredibly proud as Bobby ran toward the finish line and the kids started jumping up and down, holding up their signs (Hannah had hers upside down) and yelling encouragement for him.  This is my beautiful family!

Official finish time:  1:38:43

Pace:  7:32

Finish:  76th out of 1269 runners (not too shabby babe!)

I would probably look a whole lot worse if I just ran 13.2 miles.  I probably wouldn't even be breathing :-)