Celebrating Double Digits

Since we are now celebrating double digits, we decided to move away from picking themes, and instead to celebrate with a fun experience. There was still plenty of decorations and presents and fun, but we wanted to mark this birthday a little differently. 

We woke the kids up with the usual excitement and celebration, this year with balloons and birthday shirts/socks. Aunt Lindsay made their shirts, which was extra special! We had breakfast at home, and then got to open gifts from family, which is also when they found out what their adventures for the day would be.

The sweet and thoughtful card from Aiden :)

Eli is still really big into LEGOs, and probably will be for awhile. He has had his eye on more "big kid" LEGO sets, so we have told him that he needed to start saving his money, asking for gift cards for birthdays and Christmas, etc. So we decided to take him back to the LEGO Discovery Center for a fun family morning building LEGOs. And then, of course, he got to pick out a bigger set in the store with some accumulated gift cards and money. The kid was in his happy place, and he was beyond excited to walk out of the LEGO store with a bag full of new LEGOs to build!

Maddie has asked for a few years about pierced ears, but we knew she would need to wait until she was older. We decided it would make the perfect marker for turning 10! We knew she was ready when I asked a few scouting questions to see if she was prepared for the actual piercing and she was totally nonchalant about the pain, citing her own encounters with chipping her tooth, falling on her face, and experiencing shots. She knew she could handle it, and we knew she was ready. Our sweet girl picked out beautiful white flowers, and when it came time for the actual piercing, she didn't even flinch. She was SO brave, and she couldn't stop smiling the rest of the day :)

We had a full day of adventures, but then it was time to head home for birthday cake! I let them each pick out their own cake flavor, and it worked out to make the number "10." For a double digit birthday, who wouldn't want to celebrate with double cake?? :)

The rest of the day was spent LEGO building, coloring, watching a movie, zooming with Granny and Grumpz, and enjoying a yummy French Toast dinner. 

It was such a fun and sweet day, celebrating our brand new 10 year olds!

Eli + Maddie :: 10 Years

Happy 10th Birthday, Eli and Maddie!

Last night we took a walk down memory lane to the day you were born. We talked about waiting for you, and Mommy's labor, and meeting you for the first time. How Eli was an only child for 31 minutes. How Daddy was left alone with 2 babies when all the doctors and nurses left the room and Mommy slept. And I was overwhelmed with the fact that it felt like a lifetime ago AND like it was just yesterday...

Ten. A whole decade. It felt like a lifetime while we were waiting for you, after all of the tears and prayers, and then suddenly, you both burst into our lives, and we were thrust into parenthood, not knowing what day it was, if we would ever sleep again, and so filled with joy, we could hardly stand it. Those first days of learning how to take care of the both of you were a blur, but they were still the BEST days. Or so we thought...because they days just kept getting better as you grew!

You both have filled our lives with so much joy and fun and life, and it is hard to believe that it has already been 10 whole years since we first met you both! You taught me what it means to be a mother; what it means to love and sacrifice and steward and nurture and train and disciple. I have had a front row seat to watch you both grow and it has been the absolute best thing. As I think back over the last 10 years, I am in awe of who you have become. How you have grown from those tiny babies into the mature young man and lady that you now are. It is such a joy to know you, your interests, and joys, and hearts. What a sweet gift to be your mom. Jesus is so kind and good.

I love you both so much, and I still refuse to let you grow up, my loves. But alas, here you are. Still growing. And I wouldn't miss any part of it.

Love, 

Mom

ELIJAH WINN

MADELINE GRACE

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Happy 10th Birthday, my loves! I'll just be over in the corner, wiping my tears, oh so proud of both of you. I love you both so much, and I can't wait for the next 10 years!

Trick or Treat :: Minions!

This was another fun year that Grandma and Papa got to join us for trick or treating. And the impossible happened: my kids agreed to a family costume! Apparently that's the trick...get Mom, Dad, AND Grandma and Papa in on the costume :)

To say that we had a lot of laughs and giggles and overall good fun is an understatement. What a great night of fun memories! I love that my kids were willing to go all in, that Grandma and Papa were too! And that we can just have silly fun together as a family.

Minions...to the moon!

I love that our neighborhood has fun with trick or treating, that they make it a fun night for the kids. They are generous with the candy, welcoming to kids of all ages, and we come across multiple fire pits and block parties where neighbors are out enjoying the festivities with one another. It truly is a great community!

We don't have too many years of trick or treating left, before it's our turn to bless others and pass out candy. So this was a fun one for the memory book :)

{iPhone Rewind} :: October

"Mommy, take my picture!"

Introducing the kids to Monopoly!

Loving these fall days

Science class extended outdoors: Coke and Mentos explosion :)

Maddie found some fun facts about dogs in her library book, and she immediately wanted to write a letter to Grandma about what she had learned :)

Eli has found a series about dragons that he is loving, so we have found him reading often!

If there's a dog or cat around, Maddie is petting it haha

The boys wanted to try Mike's neck massager haha

We have seen lots of fox activity this month: in the cul de sac, in our backyard and even hanging out on our porch! We had several chipmunks, and we were even worried they were burrowing under our foundation. But then the fox{es} showed up, and we plugged up a hole...and well, that kind of took care of the chipmunks haha. 

Aiden enjoyed a mug of hot chocolate for working hard in school!

Getting our work done before Grandma and Papa arrive!

The CBC staff got away for a few days for a retreat. I'm so thankful for all of these faithful men and women who serve our church so faithfully!

And of course, the first night Mike heads out of town...I encounter a mouse! LOL. I headed into the basement to start cleaning before my parents came into town and encountered this little fellow just hanging out in the toilet {gross, I know. Sorry}. So perhaps he {and his friends} are the reason the fox{es} have been hanging around?? We have just had all sorts of critters at Casa McCullough!

Eli earned a trip to Sweet Frog for his hard work in school, and he chose to enjoy his time with Daddy :)  He also has been working SO incredibly hard with his eye patching. We saw his ophthalmologist this same day, and while he is making good progress, it is a slow process. But this sweet boy has the best attitude, and he is determined to persevere and do the work. We're so proud of him!

Maddie Girl has been counting down the days to when Grandma and Papa arrive!

Maddie received a letter back from Grandma, just in time before she came to visit!

She has waited patiently for her crocheted blanket!

Miss Bella came over to read to the kids for a class assignment, and they were more than happy to sit and listen to help her!