Pumpkin Patch

 Claire, Luke and I supported Sean at his field trip to the Pumpkin Patch. I love the above picture! Sean was supposed to be paying attention for his class group picture but only had eyes for his mommy!
                                          Picking out baby pumpkins!

 It was a long two hours keeping track of my three crazy kids in a pumpkin patch but this little guy is totally worth it!

Pumpkins

 The Cook family came over to eat pizza, carve pumpkins and decorate sugar cookies. We love the Cook family and had a lot of fun together.

                                                    Lukey is just crazy!

 Mark gave Sean three options for his pumpkin and he picked the one he liked. He was pretty excited!

 Claire was very proud of the face that she drew on her pumpkin for Mark to carve.

                                                    It's a crazy life!

Field Trip

 I attended the big Kindergarten field trip to Hee Haw Farms. It was super fun spending time with Claire and watching her interact with her little friends. She was also quick to make sure everyone followed the rules. She is our sweet, responsible little girl! Here are Claire and her three friends in our group.

 They loved the slide and didn't seem to mind that they sacks were muddy.

                                                      The Hay ride

             Picking out pumpkins in the pumpkin patch.

                    Claire was excited to tell Sean that she got to ride in a bus.

Night at the Aquarium

The Living Planet Aquarium sponsored a free autism night for children with autism and their families. The event was after closing time so it wasn't too crowded for these special kids. Our Daddy was brave enough to touch a shark! We arrived early before it got too crowded and loved that we didn't have to pay to get in. This proved to be a very successful activity for our family. We are excited to attend the next time.

Fall Zoo Trip

 We made it to the zoo! We were excited about the newly completed areas but disappointed to learn that the train and playground area are now closed. Fortunately our kids didn't care! This was the first year that they were enamoured by the animals. They were excited to sit and watch the animals. We really enjoyed the baby giraffe.

                                         Watching the otters swim.

 Mark and I like the tigers. They scare us which makes them more exciting to watch.

Grow boxes and helpers

 Mark and his brother Lee spent a whole day building our garden grow boxes. They turned out perfect and we are excited to try our hand at gardening next Spring.

                                  Daddy had two special helpers!

#4

We are pleased to announce that baby Hamblin #4 will be joining us in April. I am around 12 weeks and excited to be finishing up the first trimester. I was not sick at all with my first two pregnancies and somehow I have managed to be nauseous and sick full time with this one. I am sleeping well at night and am not too tired during the day so hopefully that lasts for a while. It's fun to share this pregnancy with three bigger kids. Claire would give anything for a baby sister. She will often begin conversations with these phrases: "Mom, I really want a sister." "Mom, I never had a sister." "Mom, I hope the baby is a sister." Yikes! I hope this is a girl because I don't know how I can break her heart with a third baby brother! As much as I was hoping that sweet Sean would be able to comprehend the pregnancy, he doesn't. My sister-in-law told me that he will certainly get it when the baby comes! When I tell Sean that I have a baby in my tummy he says, "I have baby in tummy too!!" He tells us that he wants a baby brother. Luke points to my stomach and says, "woah!" I'm pretty sure he understands it more than Sean. Luke will tell us that he wants a sister. Mark is an amazing father. I have felt his kindness and sensitivity with me especially as he has picked up the slack around the house. It's nice to have quiet afternoons with Luke while the big kids are at school so I can relax and close my eyes if I need to. Mark and I are pretty good at crazy by now. We are thrilled to be able to add another child to our family and aren't too concerned with adding a little more crazy. We can't help but feel that having a pregnancy the old fashion way is a bit conventional for us after our adoption experience. Experiencing pregnancy again only reinforces how special and unique Luke's story is and how much love and respect I have for Kara and for how she sacrificed for my son. Thanks for celebrating this new life with us!