Brooke - Oct 31

Brooke dressed up as a little lamb (thanks for the costume, Julie!) and went around the neighborhood with her three big sisters on Oct 31. She seemed to enjoy it almost as much as they did!

Cowgirl Ellie

Ellie was the cutest cowgirl in California on Oct 31!

myFaves

I don't have T-Mobile, but these are my Favorite Five taking a moment out from our Pumpkin Patch excursion last week for a quick photo. Pictured left to right are Chloe, Janelle, Brooke, Grace (making a break for it!), and Ellie. An October trip to the Pumpkin Patch at PCH & Hawthorne is growing into a bit of a tradition for us, and one we'll miss when we move (yet again) out of the area. The girls really enjoyed feeding the sheep & goats and going on a pony ride. We thought Grace would be afraid of the ponies, but seeing her 2 big sisters ready to ride them, she refused to be left out. We had to laugh when she, the smallest kid in the line-up, ended up on the biggest pony. She loved every moment of it!

Pumpkin Time!

All the girls seemed to enjoy our fall activities last week. Grace dug digging into our pumpkin as we prepared to carve it for Oct 31. With the girls' help, I went with an oceanic theme for these year's pumpkin, hastily carving a dolphin jumping in the waves. Sounds exotic, huh?! After seeing my work of art completed, I feared no one would have a clue what it was! Maybe it's just that we live close to the beach so people were able to imagine it a bit better, but several folks actually complimented us on the carving. Amazing!

The Fabulous Four

Do we have our hands full with four girls ages 5 and under? You bet! Janelle is Super Mom, to be sure, just for keeping up with these four little balls of energy! But as challenging as it can be sometimes, it is also a LOT of fun, as the above photo shows. We feel very blessed by these four precious ones that God has entrusted to us!

Brooke - Our Happy 4-Month-Old

Brooke turned 4 months old on November 1 and continues to be a very delightful addition to our family! Two things always seem to surprise folks when they see her -- first, that she's so happy, and secondly, that she's only 4 months old (everyone guesses she's much older). We love having her out with us because of the joy she brings to others with her beaming smiles and cute giggles. Happy 4-month birthday, Brooke!

Ellie - Student of the Month!

Ellie was chosen as one of Fern Elementary School's Students of the Month a couple weeks ago and honored with the other recipients at the school's weekly assembly last week. She was quite proud of herself, as you can imagine (and as the above photo shows!), and this was a wonderful encouragement to her. We continue to be amazed by her academic progress. She's reading at nearly a 2nd grade level now, as a kindergartner, which shouldn't surprise us considering the bookworm that she's been since a baby! I guess those times when she would get up at 2:30am to "read" when she was 3 years old are beginning to pay off! We're very proud of Ellie Bear!!

Happy Birthday Chloe!

Chloe celebrated her 4th birthday on Saturday with friends & family at Walteria Park. She had a great time, and the Hello Kitty pinata was hit with everyone (I sure would have enjoyed hitting it!). Thanks to those of you who came out to help Chloe celebrate. She felt very blessed!

Ellie's 1st Day of School

We loaded the car up this morning and all headed down the street to Fern Elementary for Ellie's very first day of Kindergarten. She tested well so was placed in a combination Kindergarten/1st Grade class, which we think Ellie will enjoy and benefit from. She arrived home very excited about her day. "I wish that my first day of Kindergarten could last FOREVER!" No stopping her now...!

Chloe with her new doll Elizabeth

Chloe was very excited to get her first-ever American Girl doll for her birthday (thanks Grandma & Grandpa!). The doll's name is Elizabeth, which is Chloe's middle name and her grandma's first name, so that makes her doll all the more special. When she's not walking around with Elizbath, she's got her fancy new Hello Kitty purse, which she's excited to take with her to pre-school next week (thanks Nana & Papa!).

Happy Birthday, Chloe!

Chloe turned 4 yesterday, and the smile above shows how happy she was (and is) to have reached this milestone. We had a small family celebration on her actual birthday, but will have a full-blown party at the park for her this weekend. Chloe is fun, rambunctious, sweet, ambitious, and more! We are excited to see what the Lord has in store for her in the year ahead!

Cousin Kate is a favorite of our older girls. Brooke, who just turned 2 months old on Sept 1, seems to share their love for Kate! Seeing this picture reminds us of how grateful (and blessed!) we are to be living so close to much of our extended family during this season.

Family Birthdays

Today we celebrated Vernon's birthday and paused to also acknowledge Chloe's upcoming 4th birthday (Sept 5). We thank God for an incredible father (Papa to our girls) and a beautiful daughter! More pics of sweet Chloe coming next weekend...!

Front Tooth

Brooke - 4 Weeks Old

Brooke is 4 weeks old now and growing like a weed! We snapped this picture of her on her way out the door to a baby shower in her honor.

Brooke - 2 Weeks Old

Brooke turned 2 weeks old this past Sunday and has finally lost that "I've just emerged from a 9-month bath" look :-) Our friends in Uzbekistan would be telling us that she's a xerox copy of Chloe & Grace.

Big Sisters

As you can imagine (and see from the photo!), Ellie (center), Chloe (right) and Grace (left) LOVE playing the role of big sister for Brooke.

Late afternoon is often referred to as "the golden hour" by photographers because of the wonderful light it casts on people. Shot at nearby Walteria Park, I really love the color in this shot, and how Grace's stand out.

Happy Birthday, Brad!

Guess I can't leave myself out since we've been on the birthday theme. I celebrated #41 on June 20. Janelle, as usual, made a spectacular cake (she really ought to go into the cake decorating business!).

Happy Birthday, Grace!

Grace turned 2 on June 24. Here she is enjoying her birthday cupcake!

With her birthday now a couple weeks behind us, we are already noticing signs of her being an official 2-year-old! But beyond the mischeivousness and tantrums, we see a really wonderful little girl. One of her most noticeable characteristics is her incredible love of serving. With pep in her step, she is always running around to bring the rest of us our shoes or the telephone (when it's ringing) or whatever she thinks we might need. She brings us a LOT of joy, and we look forward to the day when she knows the One who created her and gave her that special servant's heart.

Ellie - celebrating Grace's 2nd birthday

A couple weeks before Brooke's arrival, we were pleased to celebrate Grace's 2nd birthday (her first in America, having been born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan) at her Nana & Papa's home. Janelle's mom (Nana) made awesome cupcakes. Ellie is pictured here about to dive into one. I loved the color symmetry between the birthday hat and the candies on the cupcake.

July 4th Cuties

This was the first (many more to come, I'm sure) picture of all the Stoops girls together. Taken on July 4th if you couldn't tell from their colorful clothes.

Exuberance

We had a wonderful 4th of July celebration at Janelle's parents' home with lots of extended family in town. A highlight for the kids was playing in the water, thanks to a sprinkler toy that brother Dave brought. Grace and Chloe, in particular, reveled in the water play! Seeing a picture like this just makes life better, doesn't it?!

Brooke - 4 Days Old

Brad, Janelle and Brooke