it comes down to the art of living on

here are the slaughters, about to check out their new house for the first time!










kristen is trying to figure out how to work that fireplace into her elaborate decorating plan.










the kids were very excited, but henry still wants to know when we're going to virginia.










carrie headed right for the stairs.










big caleb came over too, to give kristen some advice about coordinating kitchen colors.











kristen had those poor kids cleaning as soon as the truck was unloaded.











happy to have a new house!

how many roads have i traveled....

well, here are the promised pictures of our trip to virginia.

the kids colored and watched dvds, and carrie read books like a good little baby.































we were very happy to get out and stretch our legs every three hours.










and when we got back in the car, the kids fell asleep. see how cute they are?




















one time, kris and i got very bored. i decided to be dangerous and reach over and take our picture while we were going 75 mph through mountain highways. we like to be dangerous.











after three long days of driving, everyone was very happy to finally make it to annie's house in virginia!






















stay tuned for pictures of the slaughter's new house!

Hair today, gone tomorrow...

A lot of us around here feel like we're coming apart at the seams...


~~Granny

cookies!

today was cookie day! every year we get together to make and decorate a ton of cookies. lucky for you, we took lots of pictures!

cj dragged beth out of bed very early in the morning to roll out, cut out, and bake the cookies.


the kids get to frost and decorate them with tons and tons of sprinkles.


the moms have to monitor the children closely to make sure that they don't dump 93 red hots onto one cookie.


they really aren't allowed to lick their fingers, but we caught a few of them disobeying.


after frosting about 6 cookies each, the kids decide that jumping on the trampoline is more fun, and the taller people are left to frost the rest.


there was some dispute over whether this cookie said "go irish go" or "go trish go". we're still not sure.


after several hours, every cookie was frosted, and every tongue was stained with food coloring.

mele kalikimaka

well, last night the we had our traditional "tree night". everyone was here (except dave... :( ), so it was tons of fun, but also tons of chaos! the story goes like this:
first, the moms and dads give all their children a new ornament. it doesn't look like we have any pictures of that part. so the next part goes like this:
we all decorate the tree!



you've all seen pictures of the red bonnet we always put on the top of our tree. traditionally, mom has the honors of topping the tree, but this year, dad cut down a tree that was just too tall for mom.


so, nate had to help her.


the next part is where we eat donuts and drink hot chocolate! (the kids LOVE this part for some reason...)



and then the BEST part: we all sit in the living room and listen as mom and dad take turns telling us about each christmas they've shared together since they've been married. we get to hear about everything that happened that year: the births and deaths, the snow storms and big presents, the company and christmas musicals. it's fun to watch each kid's face light up when we finally get to the first year that they remember!


all in all, a fun night of family, food, and memories.

baby's got blue eyes, like a deep blue sea

Carrie's turn! This is the Warren family "tree topper", the red bonnet that every girl in the Warren tribe wears, and graces the Warren Christmas tree every year. Each girl has looked so sweet wearing this, and it is such a precious tradition to us. Carrie now gracefully passes the honor on to Erin, currently our last baby girl in the family. Stay tuned for her picture...

--Kristen

Every girl's crazy 'bout a well-dressed man

Maybe I was tired of Shelley's Macarena but I also wanted to show off 4/5 of our handsome men. Courtesy of their wonderful Russell grandparents, they all have a suit this year and are very proud. Is it just me or do they look just like their pastor dad?

hey! macarena!

hi everyone...this is a picture of us on the way up to Waxahachie doing the macarena a 10:00 at night in the mcdonalds parking lot. fun stuff. btw...we won 2nd place in competition!!! haha go us! but yeah the whole trip was a blast!
layta
Susanna

The Weltys have arrived!

In some respects this will be a difficult Thanksgiving as we continue to await God's answers about CJ's illness and her future. But He's also given us so many reasons to thank Him, and three of those reasons arrived in Texas via Southwest Airlines today! Here's the youngest of the reasons, obviously startled by the hordes of new people who act like they know her (or maybe startled by the appearance of her Granny LOL). Welcome, Erin! (And welcome to your travel companions, Caleb and Annie!)
~~the Matriarch

If you've come looking for CJ. . .

....she's around :-) Yesterday she was able to deliver, in person, a LEAKSTRONG bracelet to her neurologist, who really got a kick out of it and wanted to know where in the world we got them....so another thanks to Dirk and Aubrey for heading this up and handling the details. It's been a nice distraction. And any distraction right now is a gift!

The short version of yesterday's appointment: some changes in medicines for sleep, pain, and nausea; a TB test (go figure); an order for another leak study, this time a myelogram; and a discussion of next steps and referrals if this last study is inconclusive. We were very glad to find out that her doctor will be very willing to refer her to another specialist and that our insurance will cover this.

All of us appreciate the prayers and the care and the arms of love that have surrounded CJ and the entire family during these weeks. You guys are the best!

~~The Matriarch

10 years come and gone so fast, I might as well be dreamin'

Well, here he is, with and without the Darth Vadar mask. Our first born, helper extrodinare, maker of muffins, reader to all siblings, and blessing to his parents and grandparents, our Jonathan, turned 10 yesterday and Dirk and I still cannot believe it. Was is really that long ago we were living in a tiny apartment in Chicago, timing contractions while watching the Bull's season opener? Oh where does the time go...Jay (his prefered name) is 10, we have 5 other little ones and are now Spurs fans. Amazing. As he told me when discussing birthday plans: " Mom, Im a DECADE now! Its a big deal!"

We've just come back from Darkest Peru...

...where we ate marmalade ALL day long. Paddington Bear is Erin's favorite book right now (thank you to Granny for sending it!!) and I'm sure that when she starts eating toast, she'll take it just like her Papa does - with LOTS of marmalade :-)

Tonight. . .

the collective family prayers are with Dave as he begins work tomorrow and looks for God's fingerprints on the Slaughter future. We pray that the seeds of hope are watered and will soon give evidence that they are growing God's answers. . .

~~the Matriarch

me with my feet on the ground, you in midair

So last night, CJ went to the circus. I know this might come as a shock to those of you who have been following her leaking progress and know the pain she's been in for a month now. But she wanted to go to the circus. Of course, no one would go with her, which upset her greatly. And then when she got there, she discovered that the elephants were in wrong tent, there was no rabbit in a hat, and it wasn't as fun as she had imagined it might be. It was sad and funny at the same time, to see her so emotional about a circus. To clue you in now, she was on drugs. She had taken an Ambien for her sleeplessness and evidently had an interesting reaction (shut up Dirk) that caused sleep talking, walking and some excitability. Nate, Beth and I had a good laugh for a while. Beth and I weren't laughing anymore when we had to keep getting out of bed to put CJ back in her bed so she wouldn't hurt herself in her stupor. When CJ finally did calm down, she was out like a light until 9 am. Surprise, surprise. Beth and I need drugs now.

--Kristen

I asked for the truth, every time

Sorry, with all the silliness that has been posted recently, I thought I'd infuse a bit of intellectually stimulating content back into our blog, since we are all very intellectual people. I've had this nagging question bugging me for years, and can't seem to land on the Scripturally correct answer, so can someone help me out? I just want to know...did it rain before the Flood????

aMAIZEing!!!!!!!!!

Ok, so last saturday night we went to the Corn Maize w/ the drama group and it was sooooooo much fun!!!!!!!!!! first we did Phase 1 while it was light, then we did stuff like the hayride, wheelbarrow races, and the barrel train until it got dark and then we did phase 2 in the dark.....but while we did the barrel train we got really mad at our friend P.T. who works there because when we were in line he said that he wasn't driving the train...so we're all packed in the barrels like sardines, and all of the sudden the girl who was supposed to drive it races back and P.T. jumps on the tractor and takes us out! it was so not cool. but the hayride was really fun...there was a guy on it w/ a guitar and he played Lean on Me just for us! and Matt Orth and I won the wheelbarrow races:-) and then Beth, my friend Amber, and I dragged P.T. into phase 2 with us because he knows it like the back of his hand, it was really funny.
I don't know if this picture is counted as contraband(sp?) but I'm trying to make a point. We all need to take a family field trip and go to the maize!!!!! who agrees with me?
ok this is a long post so I'll stop now.
Layta.
~~Shelley~~

how does it feel...

so this is a terrible picture of me, but hey! i'm leaking! i'll worry about taking good pictures later. theses are some furry pajamas that lyric sent me. they're nice and warm and made especially for leakers like me. so, in case i die in the hospital tomorrow, here's one last picture of me for you to look at. happy.

On Wildfire we're gonna ride, gonna leave sodbustin' behind...

I got to see my Papa this weekend - it was great! He fed me sweet potatoes at Outback and let me chew on the table too. We didn't have time to get a blizzard from Dairy Queen, but I'm still holding out for one when I go see him for Thanksgiving. I love you Papa!