It's beginning to look alot like

FALL!

while lance was gone we made this fun guy and he has been decomposing on our porch ever since. ;)

lance's office had trick or treating on friday afternoon. i told the kids it was going to be a dress rehearsal, but allie and caleb decided they wanted to change things up. caleb wore a size 2T batman costume (against his mommy's wishes... what are ya gonna do?), riley was a lion (i love that i sitll have one that i can pick the costume for) and allie decided to go as a ballerina.today, we switched up the costumes for the REAL trick or treat day...

allie was belle this time.

caleb was "boxer man" even though he has been telling everyone that he is going to be a cowboy.

here is the gang just before hittin' the streets

and you would think this is the candy bowl that we used to pass out to other children, but no... this is how much candy you end up with when you have three serious trick or treaters! and can i just say that this is the last thing i need in the house right now! ugh, the bowl of sin!

Guess who's 32??

my handsome husband of eight years!!!

lance was gone on his bday so he got a cake and bday breakfast (sisco tradition) when he got home and we will hopefully have a bday dinner date this week!

(we actually took this picture twice because the kids blew his candles out without him... i think they were ready to dig in)!

thirty two things i love about my guy:
1. his heart for the Lord. 2. his love for family. 3. he is a hard worker. 4. makes me laugh ALOT (although i try not to admit this). 4. he enjoys a home cooked meal. 5. he loves to eat out. 6. he treats me better than he should. 7. he's a great listener. 8. he loves to make a plan. 9. he can be spontaneous. 10. he leads our family well. 11. he loves college ministry. 12. he pays attention to detail. 13. he is relational. 14. his woodworking skills. 15. he is always helping around the house. 16. he isn't afraid to share his feelings. 17. he loves tradition. 18. he's isn't scared of change. 19. he is a visionary. 20. he is a servant leader at home and work. 21. he knows where his hope comes from. 22. he didn't flip out when we found out about Griffin. 23. he has an amazing smile. 24. he enjoys traveling. 25. he is strong in mind and body. 26. he thinks for himself. 27. he is humble. 28. he reads ALOT. 29. he listens to wisdom. 30. he can dress the kids better than me. 31. he makes some amazing guacamole. 32. he presses on no matter how crazy life becomes!

I LOVE YOU BABY! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Pumpkin Time

we squeezed the pumpkin patch in last week. we were suppose to go the week before with friends, but allie got sick. it worked out better b/c this meant daddy got to come!

this is the second year that caleb has run up to the scarecrow on the tractor and asked me to take his picture! so cute!

i tried to get a pic of daddy and the kids.. this was the best one! HA! allie is still sporting that black eye too!

these two really are close... i've been praying that they will make room in their hearts for the other two boys!

BEST PICTURE EVER.... brothers!

riley was thrilled when big brother said he could wear his hat!

i feel like a cheater, but we enjoyed all the perks of the pumpkin patch and then headed home. we bought our pumpkins cheaper at the grocery store! when the holiday falls toward the end of a month you have to use your money very wise or pre-plan (which doesn't happen much these days) HA!

I can NOT believe

that our little girl has learned to tie her shoes!!!

cross your laces... make a tree... the bunny runs around the tree... and into the hole... pull tight!

we are sooo proud of you allie!! ;)

allie's room

sorry to keep you waiting. allie is feeling better and the whirlwind of last week is now over.

here are some highlights of her room...

remember the bedding was from the CCC sale and it inspired all the colors in the room. i let allie pick her four favorite colors to help us accent. she chose berry patch, twist of lime, cool pool, and smokin' orange. she uses her magnetic boards for pictures and special things she makes.

the book rack was a great $8 find at a barn sale. it is an old hymnal holder that i painted.

the shelf above the bed has several little special things. i'm hoping to paint the words "sugar" and "spice" on the two pink buckets soon and the piggy bank is from one of my baby showers. the teddy bear was her first stuffed animal and from her uncle kent.

on this side is a clock, an OSU cheerleader doll from Grammie, and this precious pink, paper flower that my friend, brooke, made for the latest shower we hosted.

next to her bed is a dresser that lance remade and refinished to match the bed. it was from GG's house and a super special addition to the room. click here to see the before. the mirror got a make over and daddy brought her those roses when she was sick! :) i made the girly hooks to hold her accessories. you'll see a third one up close.

on the opposite side of the room is where Griffin will be once he starts sleeping through the night. there is also a desk for allie to do her "school work" on.

here is a closer look of the canvas. i bought and painted it and my mom purchased the letters from uppercase living.

here is the detail of her school table... i have to give credit to lil blue boo. i stole the design from her!
the last little touch is the third hook that hangs by her door. she keeps her ballet things in there so she knows just where it is!

well, that's it... nothing super incredible, but we like how all our little finds have come together to give her a special place. let me know what you think!

BIG DAY

I was so anxious to figure out if we were having a boy or a girl, but even more anxious to check the health of this baby. Fortunately, the doctors saw nothing to be concerned about and we feel like we had the sonograms (yes, more than one) of the century. we saw this kid and the heart from every angle. we know that the LORD holds all of our children in His hands and we are thankful that he has allowed this one to be healthy to this point in its little life! Here are some pictures of the day with short descriptions!

you must know that the doctor had the probe on my belly for ONE SECOND, snatched it away, and said, "oh, do you want to know what you're having?" with a response like that i was certain of what we were having. we laughed and she put the probe back. HE was in position and NOT SHY!

Here is a much more flattering picture of our newest little guy... he's flexing his muscles this time! ;)our appointment wasn't over until five and then we had to drive back to tyler, pick up the kids, and share the good news. we decided to order a cookie cake and here are their responses...


"ohhhh...."

then caleb threw himself back and said, "It IS a boy!"

allie's response was, "uuugghhh, THREE boys???"

she quickly warmed up to the idea when i told her that it just meant that her and mommy would be SUPER close and do EVERYTHING together. she smiled and said, "oh, yeah!" (and, yes, allie has a black eye given to her by Riley... poor thing).


after eating cookie cake at the mall at 8:30 at night we let them each have a ride... lance thought the blue car was poetic!

I guess the only thing that remains to be said is the "little guy's" name!

Griffin Allan Sisco
means
strong in faith and noble.

(and, yes, we anticipate that he will be made fun of for his initials... fun times in jr. high)

remembering

brighter days!!!!
with allie being sick, we are all stir crazy with cabin fever. lance is traveling and we are home, home, home. i thought i would post pics of brighter, happier, healthier days! :)
ENJOY!

riley enjoying caleb's soccer practice... i think he is going to be pretty good with a ball!

we set up a tea party last week because allie was BEGGING to have one. they had a great time!

here is what we served (all junk, HA). and we used the flower plates and some cups from sweet GG.

we got a package in the mail from grammie with some halloween treats. they are hard to see, but the OSU bears were part of that package.... the kids LOVED them and even built chairs for them!

riley was particularly proud and kept calling his a "high chair!"

Our Hearts

I was recently in a church service where the question was posed, "What is the condition of your heart?" It pierced me deeply that day and this question continues to plague me. In just days, we have a sonogram to find out, not only the sex of our baby, but also whether all the wiring in his/her little ticker is right. Heart conditions never crossed my radar until caleb's birth and now they are continually on my mind. However, with this new found question, I think more and more about the spiritual conditions of all of our hearts, rather than the physical.

if i had to answer that question honestly today, i would say that my heart is dry. But it isn't dry from a lack of desiring living water or even for a lack of searching it out. for some unknown reason i feel as though the Lord is being very silent with me. i've experienced times like these in the past and i do know that they will pass, but i must say it is hard.

since i've had kids i can usually find an analogy to my relationship with God and their relationship with me. there have been times that i will not respond or answer my children... it isn't because i don't love them or because i'm enjoying holding out on them. it is almost always because what i have to say they are not ready to receive. do you know what i mean? they are in the middle of a tantrum and they want you to respond their way... it doesn't matter what you say at that point... they wouldn't hear it because they don't want to. or you want to teach your child a truth that you can see they need to know in their life, but it isn't the right teachable moment... you could say the words, but it would be like wind over their sweet, little heads.

well, i think i must be having one of those moments and i'm trying desperately to set my emotions and desires aside and be a listener. but beyond listening... actually be ready to accept what is said. aaagghhh.... this life can be so exhausting! at least i know that i can cling to truth... he may not be speaking, but "he will never leave me or forsake me." - heb 13:5

the boys' room

we are excited to share with everyone how the boys' room turned out. you'll have to wait on allie's room as she has been VERY ill today and is quarantined in there. But here are some of the highlights for room number one...

the bed is not new, but the bedding is now matching with airplane sheets. Grammie got these for the boys and i think they are super fun! I have throw pillows that are waiting to be made... a little project for while lance travels!

The largest addition to the bed is the train table and a supply drawer underneath. they are on casters for easy access. That is BIG thanks to daddy for thinking smart when it comes to storage around here!

these are baseball posters that my dad put onto canvas and framed up beautifully. Riley loves to look at these and yell, "baseball."

old baseball figures and even the holder are from lance's childhood. the empty space is waiting for a trophy of some sort. and the baseball bat from potterybarn kids was a gift to the boys from their poppy.

i've always loved having the kids names in their rooms... after all you take so much time to pick those names, you might as well display them! the black lockers use to be grey and ugly. i found them at a barn sale and spruced them up.

we still have some work ahead of us... like the throw pillows and window treatments, but for now we are pleased! in fact, both boys are asleep in the bunk beds right now! miracles really do happen! :)

BLESSING...

TIMES THREE!

our friends, the hays, had their triplets last night. we were thrilled to find out that they were expecting these cutie boys, but have been anxious to see how it would all unfold for them. The Lord chose yesterday for their birthdays and all is going AMAZINGLY. Here are the stats:

Micah was 4lbs, 7oz
Jeremiah was 4lbs, 1oz
Noah was 4 lbs, 10oz

all three boys are breathing with very little assistance and sabrina is feeling better than yesterday. Please join me in continuing to pray for the development of the boys and healing for mommy!

need a little tease?

we have been working so hard on the kids' rooms this week. i'm not ready to reveal the finished project, but it should not be long now. here are two pics to give you a glimpse of what is to come!

a piece of furniture from the boys room:

colors from allie's room:

i love how they turned out! can't wait to share with you!

Bartlesville

we made a quick trip to b'ville to visit grammy, poppy, and many friends! the first night we were there poppy had to have read ten books to the kids and probably would have read more if i would have let him! they were eating up all that attention!

we also took a whole day to enjoy the tulsa zoo. it was beautiful and cousin, kamdyn got to come too! i love this picture because they are all yelling CHEESE!

the zoo had a train which was, of course, a MUST and caleb's highlight of the day!

we hit the petting zoo just as all the animals were getting fed. the kids loved watching that and it freed up the tree stumps for riley to climb!

here is grammy with the big kids. we were all anxiously waiting for the penguins to get in the water. in six trips to our zoo and now this trip... we have yet to see a penguin IN WATER!

thanks for the fun trip grammy and poppy! we can't wait to spend time with you again soon!!! thanks for the great memories to hold us over until we are together again!

oh, and i would be a bad friend to not remind everyone of my friends, jeff and sabrina hay. they are expecting triplets any day now. we got to visit while i was there and my heart, thoughts, and LOTS of prayers are with them. I know that the Lord has amazing plans for Micah, Jeremiah, and Noah! :) eeeekkkk! can't wait to see them!