While Mom's Away, The Boys Will Play

Hello All, It's me Matt (Beth's personal assistant) and I have been asked to post something new to the blog, and I am happy to do this. Let's see where to start, I have so much to say. First let me post this picture of Abram James. He was trying to help me wash the dishes, and I think he wanted to see how good our dish washer worked, as you see he was getting up and going inside. Looks like Dad is going to have to have a talk to the boy, and inform if he wants to take a bath or shower you have to do this in the Tub:)

Well let's see Beth is gone for the weekend, so it's just AJ&me this weekend. We just went shopping for X-mas, we got a gift for Eden. There are some really good deals right now, I think retailers are feeling the pinch, and desperate for business. But I would recommend you wait if you can until after X-mas, when you will find the SUPER deals.

If I had to guess, I would think AJ will be walking in the next 2 weeks. He is getting very comfortable standing on his own, but is still not comfident enough to walk anymore than 2-3 steps on his own. I am in no hurry, but it is fun to walk him grow. Beth is also enjoying this process, but she would say "Abram is growing up to fast".

Finally, I am looking for work, I am looking for my calling or next career. In the mean time I am finding work, mostly painting for my brothers, and some other guys I know that own painting companies. If I were just after the $$ I would start my own painting business, as I see these guys can make some real $$, but I am after something that will keep me content for years to come. I am not getting any younger, so I holding out until I find something better. Wish me luck, and keep me in your prayers, along with those others whom are down on there luck.

I wish you all a great weekend, and GOD's GRACE to you all.

HAPPY THANKS GIVING, The Gissibl's!!!!

Well one month has gone by and we are doing pretty good. Matt is keeping busy networking and paints for his brothers business when Abe isn't keeping him busy. Abram is growing so fast! He is getting closer each day to walking. He now can consistently take about 4 steps on his own, walking from one person to another (it is our family's favorite thing to do in the evening). Abram especially loves walking to Eden. I find it so hard to believe that Abram is already 9 1/2 months old! They grow up so fast!!!!

I'm off for a weekend of scrapbooking with my good friends Kim and Anna. I'll post some updated pics when I get home.

:) Beth

Change

Change...Friday marked a day of change for us in the Gissibl household. As I was updating our blog and working on uploading our photos from this past year to the Walgreens website, Matt comes home from work. I asked him why he was home, as it was only 10am. That was when I found out he had gotten laid off from his job.

Change...so now he is back on the job market and I'll be increasing my hours to full time at the hospital. We will be making cutbacks in our lives, but at least we have been living within our means and have been preparing our emergency fund for such a day as this. (I'm so glad we didn't listen to me and use part of our fund to pay off a part of Matt's car loan...).

Change....we know we will be alright and that God is watching over us. Everything happens for a reason and God will never give you more than you can handle. Maybe this change happened to help us grow closer as a family or maybe it's to help us re-prioritize our priorities? Only time will tell.

Fall photos

burrr...we love when the weather gets crisp....bundling up in cozy jamies is always fun!

Eden and Abram in their footie pajamas!

"I'm such a big boy"

Kodi and Matt posing for a photo opp before Kodi's soccer game...sorry I forgot to bring my camera to the game...

More family photos...

The head table at Kim's wedding

Sorry the picture is sort of blurry...

Anna, Eden, and Alison at Kim and Jeremy's wedding

Kodi looking handsome at Kim's wedding on October 3!

Abe with his lovely

"Get me outta here!" :)

Like father, like son

August camping on our land

Back in August, we spent a night at our land in Ithaca, WI. We borrowed Matt's brother's camper and cooked out over a fire. We all had a blast! This was Abram's second camping trip and our first family overnight on our land! We all had so much fun. We waded in our creek - Abram loved swimming and Kodi and Eden both enjoyed the wading also! So many wonderful family memories!
Eden appreciating the beautiful view from our neighbor's hill

Mommy and Abe relaxing in the morning.

An early morning view...isn't the fog beautiful!

Yummy...nothing beats grilling outdoors!

A view of our land from up on our neighbors hill - you can see our pole shed and barn in the photo. We own everything up to the road.

Here is a pic of the kids sitting on our fence as the sun was setting

I love fall!

Eden and Lilly sang at churh last Sunday with the new creation choir

We were in Madison last weekend for a wedding and Abram was completely mesmerized by this street performer!

Nice job on the hedges Kodi and Nicholas

Say "cheese" Eden and Alex

Abram helping with the pumpkin lights

There is something so beautiful about fall. I actually love all the season changes as each season has a special meaning to me. When I think of fall, I think of cuddling down with my family, bundling up in jeans and sweaters and playing in the leaves, bonfires, carving pumpkins, decorating the house for Halloween, and of course helping the kids get dressed up for Halloween!

This year we are having another block party with pizza and a bonfire. We did this for the first time last year and it was a hit for everyone. It is fun to pull chairs out front and put a bunch of pizzas on tables and just hang out before trick or treating. This weekend, Kodi, Eden, and I are going to make a skull pinata. Last week, the kids and their friends decorated the front of our house with plastic spiders and spider webs and we hung our pumpkin lights up. I love spending that time with the kids outside as they get a kick out of decorating the house. It is so much fun!

This weekend we are hoping to squeeze in a little time at a pumpkin patch to pick out our carving pumpkins (we will most likely do this on Saturday). Both Kodi and Eden have soccer games on Saturday and Sunday (they both are enjoying the fall season of soccer, two more weeks then they will be done until spring with soccer). Tonight we will be heading down to Lakefront Brewery in Milwaukee for a fish fry and a fun night of polka dancing. The kids are all super excited! I am hoping it won't be too loud for Abram.

Abram is now 8 1/4 months old and is keeping us super busy! He has officially started cruising! He cruised along the couch and futon this morning!! I can't believe how fast my baby has grown! Time sure does fly...

That's all for now...take some time to cuddle with someone you love and go for a walk and appreciate all the beauty God has filled our glorious Earth with...take in the beautiful fall colors and the crunching of the leaves below your feet!