Highlights from the weekend--
*Addie met Santa
*Kids went sledding on our amazing sledding hill in our backyard-- you all should try it!
*Drove around to look at Christmas lights with Nana
*Finished almost all our Christmas shopping :)

Thanksgiving weekend = success! Celebrated with both sides of the family, had two Thanksgiving dinners, shopped into the night on Black Friday, and decorated the house for Christmas. Love the holidays!!!

Busy busy busy. I'm tired of being busy. I know life will slow down, or at least be a different kind of busy when this baby girl comes, and I'm sure I'll miss this hustle and bustle...
Coaching is crazy right now, but fun. Trying to finish and perfect our dances in preparation for our first competition on December 10th.
I was able to get away this last weekend on my first-ever scrapping retreat. It was a blast! Very relaxing and a great time with friends. My hubby was my hero, though. Eli had the flu all weekend, so Brandt spent the first night not sleeping, cleaning up throw up every 30 minutes and trying to keep up with laundry throughout the night. I of course then came home to a sick hubby :( I'm usually aware of my strengths and weaknesses as a parent and wife. I am strong when it comes to parenting a sick child- patient, loving, forgiving, calm... but when it's a sick hubby, I am far from any of these things. It stresses me out! This is definitely an area I need to work on, grow in, and do better with. After all, "...in sickness and in health." I love you, Brandtis. :) Now get yourself better!!! ;)

Yes, today I turned 30 -- no biggie... no emotional breakdowns over my age... ;)
I had a terrific weekend, celebrating with friends and family. But today we had to say goodbye to these beautiful and amazing friends. These dear friends of ours, along with their boys, are headed to Spain on Tuesday for missions. Their plan is to be there for four years. This day has been a long time coming, but now that it's here, it was really hard for me to say goodbye. I admire them for what they are doing. I know I would have trouble stepping out in faith like they have. We love this family dearly and look forward to hearing how God uses them in incredible ways.
(We also bought their mini-van... so yes, my hubby who said he would NEVER own a van, now is the proud owner of one. Gotta love it!)

Our last week, in a nutshell... Brandt ran the 1/2 marathon Monster Dash last Saturday, dressed as a Ghostbuster... Our trick-or-treat crew from tonight... Brandt and I eating the kids' candy after they went to bed... Addie's dance class and Halloween party. Busy but fun week! Gotta love Halloween :)

These pics got a little out of order-- stinkin' Windows computer... Anyway, we've had a fun, fast October! Brandt and I went to Lutsen with our friends, Billy and Heidi. It was a relaxing, refreshing 3 days. We loved every minute of it :) Took the kids to the MN Zoo last week on the most beautiful day ever! They could've stared at that dolphin all day, I think. Amazing! We switched Eli over to a toddler bed this last weekend. He has made the transition perfectly (knock on wood), and actually sleeps longer now than he did in his crib.
I start coaching tomorrow, so busy season finally begins!! Looking forward to it and thankful for family that are taking care of the kiddos each afternoon. The next four months are gonna fly... then baby girl... yikes!

Here's our little princes!! She looked very healthy on the ultrasound :) Yes, that's my placenta she's 'sleeping on' in the bottom pic. Strange, but still SO COOL!! Addie looked at the pics and ran away yelling, "Gross!" We are excited to add another girl to the family. Now on to brainstorming names and painting/decorating the room. The name Addie came up with today was "Lel"--- we said no ;)

I don't normally post something I've read or heard, but I heard this at a women's seminar last week and found it hilarious and worth posting.

It's titled, "Steps to Take to Find Out if You're Ready for Parenthood"

**Disclaimer to Phil & Kylee, Jeff & Erika, Tricia & Nate... Don't read! You are ALL ready for parenthood and you SHOULD have babies right now ;)

1. Women: to prepare for maternity, put on a dressing gown and stick a beanbag down the front. Leave it there for 9 months. After 9 months, take out 10% of the beans.

2. To discover how the nights will feel, walk around the living room from 5pm to 10pm carrying a wet bag weighing approximately 8-12 lbs. At 10pm put the bag down, set the alarm for midnight, and go to sleep. Get up at 12 and walk around the living room again, with the bag, till 1am. Put the alarm on for 3am. As you can't get back to sleep get up at 2am and make yourself something to drink. Go to bed at 2.45am. Get up again at 3am when the alarm goes off. Sing songs in the dark until 4am. Put the alarm on for 5am. Get up. Make breakfast. Keep this up for 5 years. Look cheerful.

3. Can you stand the mess children make? To find out, smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains. Hide a fish finger behind the stereo and leave it there all summer. Stick your fingers in the flowerbeds then rub them on the clean walls. Cover the stains with crayons. How does that look?

4. Dressing small children is not as easy as it seems: first buy an octopus and a string bag. Attempt to put the octopus into the string bag so that none of the arms hang out. Time allowed for this - all morning.

5. Take an egg carton. Using a pair of scissors and a pot of paint turn it into an alligator. Now take a toilet tube. Using only scotch tape and a piece of foil, turn it into a Christmas cracker. Last, take a milk container, a ping pong ball, and an empty packet of Coco Pops and make an exact replica of the Eiffel Tower. Congratulations. You have just qualified for a place on the playgroup committee.

6. Forget the MX5 and buy a Barbi Cruiser. And don't think you can leave it out in the driveway spotless and shining. Family cars don't look like that. Get a quarter. Stick it in the cassette player. Take a family-size packet of chocolate cookies. Mash them down the back seats. Run a garden rake along both sides of the car. There. Perfect.

7. Get ready to go out. Wait outside the toilet for half an hour. Go out the front door. Come in again. Go out. Come back in. Go out again. Walk down the front path. Walk back up it. Walk down it again. Walk very slowly down the road for 5 minutes. Stop to inspect minutely every piece of used chewing gum, dirty tissue and dead insect along the way. Retrace your steps. Scream that you've had as much as you can stand, until the neighbors come out and stare at you. Give up and go back into the house. You are now just about ready to try taking a small child for a walk.

8. Always repeat everything you say at least five times.

9. Go to your local supermarket. Take with you the nearest thing you can find to a pre-school child - a fully grown goat is excellent. If you intend to have more than one child, take more than one goat. Buy your week's groceries without letting the goats out of your sight. Pay for everything the goats eat or destroy.

10. Hollow out a melon. Make a small hole in the side. Suspend it from the ceiling and swing it from side to side. Now get a bowl of soggy cereal and attempt to spoon it into the swaying melon by pretending to be an airplane. Continue until half the cereal is gone. Tip the rest into your lap, making sure that a lot of it falls on the floor. You are now ready to feed a 12-month-old baby.

Love it :)

My Addie learned to ride a two-wheel bike this weekend! She just asked me on Friday if she could try it without training wheels and I told her "Sure," thinking we'd for sure be putting them within a matter of minutes. But nope! She totally got it! And by today, she was riding the entire length of our street by herself! She still needs help to start on her own and make turns, but that will come. So proud of her :) And she's really proud of herself, which is exciting to see. That was the Sorbel weekend highlight!!

Kinda corny... kinda looks like a Christmas card... but still fun :) We've built a fire a couple nights in a row now, not because it's really cold out, but because we can! Just something we love about this house. The kids LOVE watching the fire, sitting by the fire, and cuddling by the fire. So, yes, we had to get a pic in front of the fire :)
Updates:
Brandt started school again. Not sure he's loving it, but he's doing it. Fantasy Football is in full swing again, so conversations on Sundays are hard to come by ;)
I am just beginning dance season here-- slow at the beginning and then busy starting the end of October. This will be my last year coaching, so of course I'll be throwing my heart and soul into this season. I love my girls, but I am also ready to be done with that chapter of my life.
Addie started preschool last week. She goes 3 mornings a week now and has been loving every second of it. This Wed. she gets to be the 'Star Student' of the day, which means show and tell, snack, line leader, ringing a bell for clean-up, and erasing the white board. She is ecstatic to do all these things! It's adorable.
Eli is talking up a storm. We can understand his sentences most of the time ;) I'm trying to make my 3 mornings alone with him really count. There are days when errands need to be run, but I'm trying to make an effort to really spend time just being with him during these mornings because those times are precious and won't happen for very long!
That's life in the Sorbel household right now :) Happy Monday!

We spent last weekend at Trout Lake Camp for our first ever family camp!! The kids were great and we had a wonderful time with the fam! These are a few of my favorite pics from the weekend. We'll definitely be making this a tradition. Tons of terrific memories :)

August 2009

August 2010- 1 year old!

August 2011- 2 years old!!

Happy Birthday, Elias James! We adore you more than anything in the world!! You have the most amazing personality and sweet spirit. We love watching the little man you're becoming! Love you to pieces, Bubba :)

Our caterpillar turned into a beautiful butterfly this morning! We were able to let him go and watch him fly away. It's one of my favorite things to do with these kids- watch the cycle of a monarch. So fun!!

Addie's surgery last week went terrific! And her recovery has been better than I expected. She's eating a lot of ice cream, yogurt, and noodles. I think one day she had 3 ice cream bars :) She's definitely exhausted still and not acting like herself yet, but getting there! Today she's been singing all day long again, so that's a great sign. Her voice must sound funny to her (they told me she'd sound different), because now she's talking in a high baby voice and it's obnoxious! I asked her why she's talking that way and she said, "Mom, this is just how my voice sounds now." AHHH!! I hope not!

Thanks for your prayers-- we definitely have felt them this past week!!

Just a couple updated pictures :) Loving being home and being a mama. We've crammed-packed this week on purpose to keep us busy and keep our minds off Addie's surgery this Friday- tonsils, adenoids, and draining ears. She's doing great and has a good attitude about it. I am a little bit on the anxious side about it all. So prayers this Friday would be greatly appreciated! You never want your child to have to go under, and that's what I'm worried about most- not the surgery or recovery, but just the going under and coming back out part. Not much else--I'm about 11 weeks along now and feeling much better. Just very hungry still and craving milk, bread, and anything salty. Very healthy, I know!! I'll let you know how the surgery goes this weekend.

Not sure if anyone reads blogs anymore... and the ones that do probably already know the news... But here it is anyway... We are having another one, folks!! As Brandt says, "We make awesome babies, so why not make another!?" ;) I'm just on week 10 this week, but saw the heartbeat today, so things are looking good. Due date is March 1st. Been pretty sick and crazy hungry this time around (thought there was two in there-- so thankful there's only one!)... but hopefully that will pass soon. Addie is really excited. We talk about what size the baby is each week. This week it's the size of a large grape :) We will not find out the gender this time (crazy, I know!), since we have one of each. Not sure if I'll be able to make it without wanting to know, but it'll be fun to have a surprise. That's all the news! Prayers appreciated for continued health and growth of the babe.

Brandt and I had a fabulous 5 days in Florida. We laugh because every day was spent laying by the pool, reading books, and basking in the silence! Yes, we enjoyed being with each other, but it was so refreshing to just do nothing and not have someone saying, "Mama! Dada!" all day long. I love my kids and I was so ready to see them today, but it was so wonderful to have a break. I feel relaxed, rejuvenated, and ready to be a mom once again! ALL parents should get away. It's so important! I highly recommend it :)
We definitely ate too much, slept longer each night than we ever will again, played cards which we haven't done in years, and just loved hanging out with no schedule, no work, and no place to be.
I'm so thankful for family that juggled our kids around the past five days. As excited as Addie was to see us tonight, she still went to bed saying, "I'm sad I won't be sleeping at Grammy's again for a long time."
We didn't take too many pics- cause it's more fun to take pictures of our kids than of ourselves, but here are a few :)

This is my Addie blog post...
I am so proud of this girl and the person she is becoming! We have been attending New Hope Church and after only 4 weeks of being there, I threw her into her first year of VBS. She walked in like a champ, knowing no one, but excited beyond belief! She loved every day of Bible School and was bummed she didn't get to go back this week. Eli and I had some good quality time together each morning-- kinda gave me a taste of what Kindergarten will be like :)
Addie is also in swimming lessons. Our last swimming lessons was a parent/child class and it was a horrible experience. We didn't even finish all the sessions because she would scream through the class and not let go of my neck. She's in a class without me now, along with 5 other little girls, and she LOVES it! She's doing everything they ask with excitement and energy! I just sit in the bleachers beaming the entire time because I am so proud of her :) Growing up so fast!!
Brandt and I leave for Florida this Saturday-- 5 days by ourselves!! I couldn't be more ready and more excited for a vacation. Looking forward to some relaxing, good eating, and lots of movie dates. I'm so thankful for our family, willing to take our kids and love on them for a few days. They will be in great hands :)

What have we been up to lately!?

Addie and I have been scrapping-- yes, we spent an afternoon at Archiver's together and she made those two pages all by herself! Best mother/daughter date ever :)

We have gone to the beach!

We have been lovin' on our dad :)

We've sent a few emails :)

We have been enjoying our month of July!