Through Our Lens

About A Boy - Part 2

2012-01-18T16:14:00.006-07:00

He was still a difficult (although very loving) child. He didnt start talking till he was 3.5 almost 4 years old, he had a vocabulary of 4 or so words. During that time he had a hard time understanding directions and had a problem with communicating even using sign language. In Idaho they have a program for kids to get free speech and sensory therapy till they turned 3 years old. We jumped on it. We tried going to speech therapy for a week - it was a disaster and did not last long. The program then sent Maureen :) to our house twice a week to work with Eli. He was diagnosed with Sensory Integration Disorder. It is a condition that exists when sensory signals don't get organized into appropriate responses. He was very sensitive to sound and light, certain materials, lots of food (he ate a total of 5 things). There was only one kind of string cheese he would eat. If you had his string cheese and another unwrapped he could tell you which one was his. We sat for an hour trying to get him to take a bite of a hot dog, tears and fits later we gave up.... He would get punished for throwing fits at times, alot of other times we blamed it on his condition - not very smart on our part....Eli's first couple of sessions with Maureen were very difficult. He would throw fits, try to hit her, refuse to participate. After 2 weeks he started obeying her and me. He started understanding what she wanted him to do. When he would rush ahead and get frustrated and upset, she would stop and wait for him to calm down and then explain to him that he has to follow the instructions. He started to get it. It was incredible to watch. I started to get it. I started to use it all day long and it was working. It was amazing. Eli turned 3 and we had to stop the therapy. I continued to work with him and Gabe and I both saw so much progress.
At 3.5 years more and more changes took place.. His attitude was different, the way he responded was better (still a hard one though) and he added alot more words to his vocabulary. At 4 years old the movie Ratatouille came out and we took Eli to see it. He told us in "Eli's language" that he wanted to become a "Cooker". Gabe's parents came out for his birthday and he told Nana he wanted to be a "Cooker". She asked him if he wanted to cook with her and he said yes.. He has never ever wanted to do this before. She told him that all "Cookers" had to try everything they make. They need to know what their food taste likes before they serve it.. He got it. She had green onions chopped up and sour cream out, he grabbed a few onions and plopped them in his mouth. Our jaws dropped........ he loved them. He then took a spoon full of sour cream and love it. From that moment on Eli was a eater. He tried EVERYTHING... He discovered he loved sauteed mushrooms. He loved every type of mean, vegi,, fruit. He loved brussel sprouts. It was amazing. It was something we never thought would happen and felt sorry for his future wife ;)

It was embarrassing when we would go over to someone's house and i would have to bring his food.... We gave in. We created a monster. We could have some what prevented it, if we were wiser, but we weren't. We could have (at a very early age) disciplined him correctly and taught him No and worked on his fits and eating habits, but, we were hooked on his "Disorder" and fed it.

From this moment on he responded with words, his actions were still changing. His reactions were improving. He was getting older and we were able to see more progress.

Gabe's parents came up for his 4th birthday in June and noticed a big change.

Then his mom came back to stay with Eli when i had Cora in September and worked with him while i was in the hospital.
Easter of 08 our church was having baby/kid dedications and we decided to have Eli and Cora dedicated. Lucy came back up for that - even though in a few short weeks we would be visiting California, there was no stopping a Nana on a mission. She saw Eli's progress and was his biggest supporter. They had a very special relationship, a very sweet one.

The night of us finishing up our packing to leave early the next morning for California, we received a phone call from Gabe's eldest brother, Lucy passed away in her sleep. Big John (Gabe's dad) woke up that morning, got ready for work, kissed her and left. By the time he got home she was still in the same position. I was holding Cora when Gabe told me and i nearly dropped her. Both Gabe and I were sobbing. Eli was very aware of our reactions. He stared to loose it, so we had to pull ourselves together for his sake. We put Cora down for bed, put Eli down as well and made plans to fly out the next day instead of drive.

This was 2 weeks before Eli's 5th birthday. Lucy created a Star Wars/Pod Racer birthday party for him at Vasquez Rocks. She made him a Anikin Skywalker pod racer outfit. We bought him 2 pod racers and a bunch of Star Wars figures. Lucy bought cake stuff, she made masks for everyone. It was going to be so much fun. Now we were trying to figure out if it should still happen.

Eli was so excited to go on a plane, he was happy the whole time. We arrived in Cali and it wasent till he saw his Papa that it clicked. He asked were Nana was. Papa cried. We had to explain to him again what was going on. You could see his little mind trying to figure this out. He kept asking were Nana was and we kept telling him. He asked about her owies. She had psoriasis on her hands, we told him they were all better. It was an open casket funeral - he were very scared to let Eli see her. He handled it well. It didnt look like her very much, he pointed that out. There were tears and laughter. Cora was in the nursery so we could "protect" Eli.

A few day's later, we had his Pod Racer party. We pulled it off - probably not as Nana would of done, but it all came together. Aunt Bethie made him his cake and placed his Star Wars guys on it. UJ bought pizza and we had a good time.
Papa's house started to look like a flower shop and Eli would tell us that his house was so pretty. After Nana's passing, Eli's favorite topic of conversation was death. We talked about it all the time. At this time he spoke very well.

Shortly after our California trip Eli started to read. A bit after that he was reading at a higher level then his school work was. His death obsession went on for over a year, which brought alot of other neat topics. We talked alot about the Lord, Heaven, Eternity, Salvation. Eli had a very tender and fragile heart. He ended up crying alot of the times, over loosing Nana, over sin , over hell and worried about where he and Cora would go if something were to happen to me and Gabe. Once we told him that they would be going to live with their cousins and Mimi and Uncle Bret, his worries were gone and excitement took over. It was a bizarre feeling - but i was happy that he no longer needed to worry about that ;)

Although he didnt understand it all very well, it was still an emotional conversation. Then he would get over it and go about his day like nothing ever happened. He was a very silly boy.

12 years is Silk??

2012-01-15T16:24:00.003-07:00

Today (as in Jan 15th) is Mine and Hubby's 12 year wedding anniversary. 12 years..... that's 72 years in dog years ;) Its strange and oh so normal at the same time.... We got married January of 2000. Gabe was 21 and i was 10 days short of turning 21. We never got the "Your to young" speech - we were supported in so many ways. We had the support of our whole church, our parents, friends, siblings and strangers.. We both lived at home and have never lived outside of our parents houses, so moving in together after we were married was a bit strange and took some time to adjust to - but it was also SO VERY FUN!!!! We have lived everywhere it seems like. 2 apartments in our first year. Then a year at my parents house (i know, i know :), then 2.5 years in a guest house next to my in laws. Moved into my sister's house in Idaho when Eli was 10.5 months old. Lived there for 10 months, got another apartment, bought our first house and are now living with my parents and have been for over a year and a half now.... whew......

12 years of marriage, 4 kids (3 here and one in heaven), great family, great friends, so much love and a Lord who matched us up perfectly and who has been our constant light and provider.. The only thing i can ask for is that the Lord will continue to hold us in His arms and guide us. For Eli to grow in his faith and walk beside Jesus. For Cora and Charlie to follow in their brother's footsteps and except Jesus as their Lord and Savior. For my faith to grow and for certain sins to be cast away. For my heart to heal and for mine and Gabe's marriage to become an example for our children.

Thank you Jesus for all that you have done for us and in us. Thank you for giving me a husband who loves you, who loves to know you more and who guides us as a family. Thank you for giving me a man who know's my cares, my joys, my hurts, my worries and who is not afraid to tell me to "calm down" when i am acting crazy. Thank you for your love and for your presence in our lives....

Happy "Silk" Anniversary DUDE!!!!

Christmas Time of Old - The Beginnings

2012-01-11T18:03:00.005-07:00

This was our second Christmas at my parents house.. The kids had fun putting their ornaments up. When i was little my parents started a tradition with us kids. Every Christmas we were aloud to pick out a special ornament. I enjoyed it so much that i started it with our kids. However, when we go to pick out ornaments they need to have something to do with what the kids are either into or something they have done.

This year Eli picked out a purple car. His favorite color is red, not purple, but because of his daddy he has been into cars big time. Cora's was a pretty ballerina to remember her time taking dance class. Charlie spent a while picking her's out and finally decided on a snow man made of ice - which has nothing to do with anything. We tried to get her to pick Elmo (which she is not longer into - whew) then a Kitty, since we stared feeding one (Bella) or a dog, cause who doesn't like dogs?? Nope, she had her mind set on "Icy".

Charlie and Icy

The kids with Gigi and Sammy

Thanks to Mrs Laurie, Eli is hooked on Tin Tin. We have not seen the movie yet, but the books are a huge hit around here...

Yes , yes, yes.... More to come ;)

Fun days of 2011

2012-01-07T18:54:00.007-07:00

The beginning of November we were adopted by a kitty cat. We think she is a she and after much deliberation we settled on Bella for her name. She stays outside for the most part, but after letting her in a few times she now thinks she can enter in whenever she wants... Silly kitty. The kids adore her and she adores them. I think we will keep her around.

On November 12th we celebrated a little friends birthday by going bowling. The birthday boy was born a few weeks after Cora and has become good friends with her and Eli..

November 24th - On Thanksgiving we celebrated with our family. We made a Thanksgiving Tree with our hand prints. On our hand prints we wrote things that we were thankful for.
Mom and Dad invited a friend over to join us and we had the privilege of hearing her play the piano. We sang Worship Hymns and Christmas Songs and it was probably the best Thanksgiving we have had in a long time...

November 26th - Gabe got 5 BSU tickets and we decided to take the kids to their first (and mine ;) football game.. It was freezing, fun and we didnt last to long ;) We left at half time and went to get Five Guys. It was a very fun day.. glad the tickets were free...

November 30th - We spent the afternoon with Eli's piano teacher and my very good friend decorating mini car cakes. It was a sweet afternoon. We adore this lady. Mrs Nae, just had a baby so we are taking a small break from lessons, but i have a little man who can't wait to start back up again.

December 1st - Gabe was out of town so we went and had dinner with our friends.. We love this family - Our kids have become sweet friends and get along very well... These girls get to grow up together and i can't wait to see their friendship blossom....

December 3rd - We started a Heter family (unhealthy) tradition a few months ago.. Every Saturday morning Gabe takes the kids (sometimes all 3, sometimes just 1 or 2) out to get dough nuts. They love it. We have it down to almost the exact change - except on occasion Cora and Charlie pick a different one, which makes the price either go up a tiny bit or down.. Silly Girls.. Anyhow, since we don't eat our dough nuts till around 10:30 or so our lunch is always a bit strange... Why 10:30 you ask?? Cause, our girls (and sometimes boy) do not get up till 10am on Saturdays. Its the strangest thing....
Most of the time our lunch consist of cheese, crackers and fruit - that way we can have a good dinner... We love our Saturdays ♥

December 4th - Eli had his 2nd recital. His Mimi, Uncle, Cousins and Grandparents came to support him. He did a great job - his Uncle told him that he has perfect timing and should someday learn the drums - Thanks Uncle B.. ;) We are so proud of him. We are excited to see him become better and adventure onto to more instruments - even if that means the drums...

More to come ;)

All About A Boy - part 1

2011-12-29T08:57:00.004-07:00

In my last post i briefly talked about our 8 year old son excepting Jesus as his Lord and Savior. This past Summer we let Gigi and Papa take him on my sister's church camping weekend. That weekend my eldest niece received the Lord and then was baptized. Eli thought it was incredible and has talked about it for some time, which then brought up a whole lot of other questions.

It was not till we lost the baby that his heart started to change and he started to see things differently. His questions were deeper, his actions were different. His behavior - although still being an 8 year old boy - seemed to mature and look better. He had a very hard time accepting the fact the a baby could die. A baby that was not even here yet. "A baby (in his words) who never had a chance to meet his/her family and see this world." He knew in his heart that he was not mad at God or at anyone, he was just sad and knew that a "Great God loved us and would heal our hurting hearts."

We spent alot of time explaining God's love and sin. He says - He is not a fan of sin. We told him we weren't either and spent alot of time in prayer.

Before i go on about this joyous moment i would like to go back and tell you about this great kid. Our joy of finding out we were having a boy. Our strengths and weaknesses on being first time parents and so on..

Gabe and i "waited" for 3 years to became pregnant. I got pregnant off of birth control - yes, it totally happens ;) I was 5 months pregnant with him when i developed a blood clot in my left thigh that went to my lungs. I couldnt breath. Gabe worked nights, came home in the morning and rushed me to the hospital. They discovered the blood clot (which was HUGE) admitted me and started me on Heparin - a blood thinner. From 5 months till 5 weeks after i had him my wonderful and patient husband had to inject me twice a day in my growing belly with blood thinner shots... Why??? Cause there was NO WAY i was going to do it ;)....

Anyhow, i spent the rest of my pregnancy gaining a ridiculous amount of weight, being as careful as i could be not to get hurt or cut and in a state of "i don't care anymore" that i am thankful didnt last after i had the baby. We lived next to my in laws, so i had a lot of help there. I stayed some nights at my parents house (in which my mom gave me the shots.... she didnt care to much for that job). I was induced at 9am on the 16th of June with Gabe and my sister by my side. Epideral made me puke, caused me to push for 2 hours, it wasent till they turned the Epideral off that i was able to do what was needed to be done. He arrived and was rushed to receive oxygen and to get checked. All was good. I looked like the stay puff marshmallow mamma, Gabe was exhausted, Kate had to go to Arizona (???) with Bret for work and the Grandma's were as giddy as can be. We stayed in the hospital for 7 days, to have me checked out and Eli - his jaundice levels were very high - he was so yellow with a hint of green. We arrived home and Eli had to "live" in a belly rubin bed. We were only aloud to take him out when feeding him. He was like that for 3 weeks, in which he slept like a log. BEST BABY EVER!!!!!!! yes??? ;)

Nope, once he kicked jaundice in the booty he was awake for a year. He hated sleeping.... We found out alot that year...One, that he had a HUGE head, the doctor was a bit worried and wanted to do a scan. All came back normal. He just had a HUGE head. Two, he had psoriasis on his forehead which would get infected and become gross. Three, in order to get him to sleep at all we had to move our mattress into our "living room/dinning room" - you see to get to our room we had to go through Eli's room and that just would not do... Four, he was very allergic to Motrin - broke out in hives all over his body and Five, we had a huge cuddle bug on our hands..

When Eli was 10 months old "WE" decided to follow my sister, her husband and their little girl to Idaho. Moved in with them for about 10 months. When he turned 1, i stopped rocking him to "sleep" and started letting him cry in bed. It was a rough 2 nights, but then he got it and has slept like a champ ever since...

We moved out after 10 months, moved into an apartment which we didnt have for very long and then bought our first house... happy times ;)

Part 2 is just around the corner ;)

My Strength is Weak

2011-12-21T11:06:00.004-07:00

A few things on my mind.........

Its December 20th, and since the beginning of this month till now 4 babies have been born. I knew this moment would come. I knew these wonderful girls couldnt hold them in forever, i knew i would cry, i knew i would miss "her", i just never ever expected to not be ok with it. To feel sad, heart broken, and at times angry all over again - or it just never left.....

I held the first one at a week old and held it together so well. I was actually very proud of myself - also knowing that the Lord was with me. The moment i was in my car and driving away from their house my heart sank. The whole 20 min drive home - by myself - my heart was in pain. All of that next week i was down, sad and a bit upset. My kids saw it, my husband knew it. That week Gabe and I were taking a meal to the same wonderful family and i forgot to take the meat out of the freezer to defrost it. I became overwhelmed and mad. My mom tried to help and i lost it. I went up stairs, mom followed. She helped me realize that i am still grieving (i am great at fooling myself) and that i try to push it away. I do tell EVERYONE that i am good to go. Most times......... most of the most times ;) i am "good to go". My heart still hurts though. The worst part about it is that my relationship with the Lord is suffering through all of my "hurt"....

My mother leads a woman's bible study which i go to. This is the first bible study that i have loved getting up early for. I am by far the youngest and the majority of the woman are widow's. They are a huge comfort to me. Anyhow, my mom went on a tangent - if you will - and talked about how women like to keep most sufferings and sin to themselves. She kept going and going - sharing her experiences, her sin, scripture - i wish i would have written some down - i did not, i was so consumed with it all. I could have added my name, my sin, my experience in everything she was saying - she's one smart cookie....

I'm in a place of knowing God is here ,being able to speak to Him , praying for help, thanking Him for things along the way, and feeling distance all at the same time. I don't understand. Even now, writing this i have a pain inside that i can't explain. I have tears in my eyes because a part of me feels embarrassed and another part feels confused.

I have a sweet and wonderful friend who i have not called yet, a friend who every time she does call asks how my walk with the Lord is... A question i have not wanted to be asked... not because she would judge me, she loves me - that i know. I just didnt want to verbally admit it. She texted me to tell me that her and her husband have been praying for me/us. I then grew the courage to text her and tell her that i am struggling spiritually. She wrote back with this verse - Psalms 42:5-6 = "Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God."
That mended pieces of my heart back together. I need to call her.

Another friend here who just went through this a few weeks before i did asked me when the last time i read my bible was.... i couldn't remember....

One of the dear girls -who had a baby this month- is a very good friend of mine. One who get's me talking. One who takes care of me when i need it . She covers me with love. She prays for me alot. She makes me pies ;) Anyhow, i just saw her baby last week and held it together for as long as i could. I started crying with her, told her that i felt alone. How in the world could i feel alone??? I have the worlds best parents, sister, husband, kids, friends - near and far. One friend who i love dearly whom i have never even met and a God who love's me unconditionally - even when i am not so easy to love... but, still i felt alone. My sister told me that she was talking to a friend who has lost a baby and she said that she felt alone, cause everyone was able to continue on with their lives and she was still dealing with the emotional pain. Its a lonely place to be in - how much more lonely would this be without the Lord.... You would have to numb to everything i think..... Unbearable.....

I took the kids out to get ornaments a few weeks ago. Eli picked out a car, Cora a ballerina (of course) and Charlie going back and forth between Big Bird, A Dog, and a Cat finally decided on a Snow Man made of ice. As we were getting ready to leave the ornament isle, out of the corner of my eye i spotted the word JOY all in red and white.. One of those old fashion looking ones... and once the kids noticed it they went crazy... Its been a few days since Joy has been mentioned and my heart was sad over that. This excitement over this simple ornament with our dear baby's name on it brought great Joy to my heart.. I thanked the Lord for this sweet piece of plastic - the last one left, the one i want to think i would of picked out of a hundred Joy's.... Thank You Lord..

I decided a few weeks ago that i did not want to do Christmas Cards. I didnt want to bother with taking pictures and putting together a card... I started praying that the reason behind me not wanting to do this be a good one and not a hard hearted one.. Well, turns out it was a hard hearted one - so i dressed the kids up in their Christmas outfits and took them out back by the wood pile, since that was the only place in the yard that had shade and let them play with leaves... It was actually alot of fun. I then found a sweet card on Walmarts website that was red with white snow flakes and had the verse of Nehemiah 12:43 - Rejoice with Great JOY! ( i know this isnt the "real" verse, but it summed it up). How perfect of a card..

One more thing before i wrap this blog post up...... 2 weeks ago this coming Christmas Eve, our wonderful 8 year old son proclaimed Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior... It was amazing to watch and to be apart of. More on that later ;)

Had to add this last picture in as well... My much adored friend whom i love and couldnt imagine my life without. She is a kindred spirit, a girl who i can be honest with, a girl who i laugh with and occasionally cry with ;) gave this little lady? Yea, let's go with lady - gave this little lady to me. I like her.... Thanks Friend...

Our Joy is in Heaven

2011-11-28T16:28:00.003-07:00

On September 5th I took this...

WOO HOO and a wee bit nerve racking... See, we still live with my parents and i wasent sure how this was all going to work out - but we love a wonderful and giving God, so i gave my worries to Him.

I was expecting to get my monthly "not so friendly" and from the get go i felt strange.. I told my mom and i didnt feel right , but thought it was my period i was unfortunately expecting. I went out to lunch with a friend and her kids and told her that i didnt feel right. I told her this period was going to be horrible. I usually get it between the 5th and the 9th... i woke up on the 5th and just felt the need to know - and there they were - the 2 lines ;)... I had a permanent smile on my face all morning long while waiting for my hubby to get home for lunch. Noon finally came, Gabe came home and i directed him upstairs to the bathroom... He came down with a big smile on his face - i proceeded to pull the "How in the world did this happen?" He then proceeded to tell me "Seriously, you have been on a baby kick for months now..." Oh....... ;)

We decided to keep it to ourselves for a few days then take the test again, but if you know me you know that it is impossible for me to keep THIS secret....... so........ when i went to see my favorite little premie in the hospital i spilled the beans to his mama. When my sister and brother in law came by to drop off their dog so they can take the kids for a much needed weekend away, i spilled the beans again. Then to my mom and dad, the to all of Gabe's family, then to all my friends, Church and finally on facebook... all within 2 days of finding out... I know me... there was no way this was going to stay under wraps..

So i called a doctor who went to our church and who several of my friends go and see and love. I knew i would probably be able to get it pretty quickly. OH, and i had no idea how far along i was - not a clue, thus wanting very badly to get into the doctors.. I waited and grew - which was so strange. I no longer had the ability to hold in (that's right ;) my belly. The bump was there and there was nothing i could do about it. I got my maternity clothes back from friends. Got them washed and hanged up. Started having dreams of it being a girl - which is strange, we *all except Cora* agreed that another boy would be wonderful...

Finally my appt came, we had an ultrasound, found out that i was only 6 weeks and 3 days (with a bump) and that there was indeed a little miracle in there. We got *her* first picture. Dr W told us that for the most part we were out of the clear for a miscarriage, so that was good news. We were told that the baby's due date was June 15 or 16th (Eli's birthday is the 16th and he was beyond stoked) We were all excited. The idea of 4 was thrilling... We talked about it with the kids, showed them videos on different stages of the way a baby develops and talked about gender and names... We were getting more excited - even though it was still pretty early.

I started showing so fast. I asked my Dr if this was normal - he said "It's your 4th, so yea". It was becoming so real to me. I have several sweet friends who are due in December and one due in January and i was for sure that i would pass them all up before their wonderful little one's join us.... i have no middle and with my past 3 pregnancies i was all. all. all. belly.. it was insane. Anyways, I was telling everyone at this point and a bit proud of my belly.

On Sunday November 6th i woke up and got ready, woke the kids up and got them ready. We had a special visitor speaking at our Church and we were excited to hear him. About 15 min before we had to leave i noticed something wasnt right. I went up to the bathroom and found blood. I yelled for Gabe. I decided to go to Church and hold it together. Well, if you know me at all ;) you know that THAT didnt happen. I started cramping and decided to sit with the kids through the greeting time. 2 friends came to say hi and to see what's going on with me. I told them and started to tear up. More ladies came and i started to cry. One of them prayed over me and it was so comforting. My doctor was at church and we spoke to him. He was able to get me in the next day. He also was comforting and told me to rest. We went to our Bible Study that night (cause if i am uncomfortable i would rather be uncomfortable and talking to wonderful friends, then being uncomfortable by myself). I received prayer and had some great discussions. Later that night i woke up and bled more then i have ever bled in my life. I was in so much pain and there was so much blood, i sort of knew what was going on. I went back to bed and slept. We woke up and waited to get our appointment time. My nurse called me and we went in at 11am. We were both doing ok, Gabe was making me laugh and i had peace in my heart. We were called back to the ultrasound room. Got ready. The tech came in and started. The moment "I" came up on the screen i knew. I started crying, she was so sweet and kind. She kept saying bless your heart. My heart was broken and there was No baby heart beat, nothing but a white cloud which was a clot. This is sort of hard to explain, but even though i was sad and my heart felt broken, i still had peace. I felt comforted by the ultrasound tech, my husband ,our Doctor and by the Lord. I knew i had people i loved praying for us. I knew we loved and had faith in a True and Amazing God. We left after receiving sweet words from our Doctor. I cried in the car, i called my sweet sister and received comforting words from her and a sweet reminder of our Lords love and the knowledge that this little one is with Nana now. We arrived at home, i received comfort from my mom while Gabe went down stairs to tell Eli and Cora. Eli was the one we were concerned about. After Gabe told him, he came up to me and hugged and told me he was sorry and that he loved me. He has such an amazing and compassionate heart. Cora hugged me and told me she was sorry, but in her very Cora way - very blunt and right to the point. I do love that about her.

I received very sweet and loving messages from dear friends and found out alot of friends have already gone through this.. I received encouraging words, prayer, hugs, tears, meals and coffee ;)... I felt loved and special. That week was strange. I was up and down. I was sad, there were tears but my heart was good. We took three weeks off of school so my body could heal. In those three weeks i felt healing. I was never mad - i did have moments of frustration - for example, i was looking through my closet and noticed all of my maternity clothes hanging up. I had a moment and ripped all of them off the hangers and threw them to the floor. I pulled myself together, prayed and then looked on the floor at all the clothes and started crying cause now i have a huge mess and no where to put them.. Silly things like that would happen, then i would get over it. My sister asked me "Isnt it good to know that you didnt do anything to cause this? That God knew this little one would be his when He created the world." YES!!! Yes, it does. I have pondered and held this thought so close to my heart. I love this thought. Knowing this makes my heart smile. Knowing that this little one is with the Lord of Lord's and with Nana ;)....

I tell people when they ask me how i am doing that i am doing well... i really am doing well. I have 3 kids who Gabe and I have been completely blessed with, who are healthy and sweet (most of the time ;).... We have so much to be thankful for. We on a whole are doing well. I have a friend who just - JUST - went through this a couple of weeks before i did, who i get to talk to and be sappy with ;). Most of all I get to have a relationship with a God who loves me more than i can ever understand. A God who forgives me unconditionally. A God who know's every tear I shed and gathers it. A God who is merciful and who is patient, kind and understanding.
The week of loosing our little one, a dear friend sent a song to us - an Indonesian song translated into English.
Here is it:

"Joy from Heaven"
Joy from heaven
it's the strength for my spirit,
I can feel His love
in the midst of the storm that's raging.

Hallelujah,
Because You Lord are in my heart,
my spirit is not broken,
my strength is not loss.
Hallelujah,
I want shout to the Lord
because the real joy from heaven fills and completes me.

This song brought great comfort to me and my kids. We don't know the melody to it so Eli and Cora made their own up. All of a sudden Eli asked if we could name the baby Joy and sing "Our Baby Joy is in Heaven". I thought about it, asked some friends who have gone through this if they put a name to their little one - and most of them have. So.... we now have a baby Joy who we get to meet when we arrive in Heaven, a little one who is in the arms of our Lord. Its a sweet thought - it makes the baby real to our kids. Cora constantly asks me to explain to her what happened. I tell her the same story over and over again - she tells me she doesnt understand - i tell her, neither do we.
Eli has a pen pal in California who he has been writing to for over a month now. She wrote to him and asked if he was an only child. He wrote to her and told her about his sisters and about the baby. She wrote back interested in the baby. He received that letter after we lost the baby. He then wrote and told her what happened and that he was sad. He told her we named the baby Joy, but if it were a boy - he likes the name Isaiah. He wrote that even though he was sad, God will make him happy - or something like that ;) he sent it off before i could copy it down. It was a sweet letter though.
This is all for now... I have been writing this for a week now and need to get it posted... I do thank you all for you prayers, words and love towards us.

Happy Havest/Reformation Day

2011-11-01T12:07:00.004-06:00

We started a thing last year where we let the kids dress up and we go out to dinner. This year we decided to do the same. Our kids got their first store bought costumes and they were able to pick (with our approval that is ;) their own. Eli choose Bumblebee from Transformers, even though he has never even seen it. My mom and dad gave him a bumblebee transformer for his birthday this year and he has liked him ever since. Cora, got to pick her's out first. On her last day of dance class they were aloud to dress up - so she got first dibs. She picked an all pink Super Girl costume. Her boots are the best part about. Charlie totally scored on hers. We were not going to make her get one - last year she didnt like dressing up so much, so this year we were just going to see what she wanted to do. We went to a kids consignment store and she saw a monkey costume. It was pretty worn and kind of gross, but she loved it. My friend who was with me said that they have them at Old Navy and they were half off. So that night after dinner we drove over, she saw the monkey, got very excited and once we saw that it was 75% off, we shared in her excitement. She put it on once we got home and called it her "Monka Suit". It was seriously the cutest thing ever.

This year we picked Wingers to go to and invited our friends the D Fam. Mr D had to work so Mrs D and the little deeders came. We had alot of fun with them. After we ate we went to Mr Tom's house and visited with him and Mr Donny. I think they enjoyed having us there. We got a picture but its on Gabe's phone.
Then we took our kids to Winco (lots of W's last night ;) to pick out a candy from the "bulk" bins. They had a great time trying to decide which one they wanted. We then went home, they got to pick a few pieces and then it was jammie, teeth brush and bed time.

the only bummer part is that Eli caught the dreaded stomach bug that has been going around. He's doing well know, just a bit worn out.... ;)

Pumpkin Patch 2011

2011-10-31T09:09:00.004-06:00

We took our kids to the same pumpkin patch that we went to last year - except they raised their prices :(. We did have alot of fun, but may not be going back. We also got alot of fun pictures and made some great memories with our dear friends...

Red Robin Hood

2011-10-24T18:00:00.003-06:00

For Cora's Family birthday get together she wanted to eat at "Red Robin Hood". 2 years ago we started letting them pick what or where they would like to eat for their birthdays. 2 years ago she picked (yes, she picked) Mexican food - so we went to Cancun ;). Last year she got all dressed up and picked Chinese - so we went to Great Wall. This year she wanted "Idaho" food - so we went to Red Robin..... She's hilarious....

Here is her Birthday outfit

She got Charlie hooked on wearing jewelry whenever we go out..
(eli seriously needs a brother ;)
Cora and Gigi , they have a very special relationship
One of Cora's favorite things to get are homemade cards., Her cousins are wonderful at them."Red Robin Hood" people came up and started singing their Happy Birthday song. She was not a fan.

My beautiful Georgie Girl
This girl brightens up my day every time i see her
Gigi and Papa - we ♥ themCora Girl, you have blessed us with your craziness, with your personality, with your imagination. You are so wonderful and so loving. You are wise beyond your years and you know it ;). You are the perfect middle child, you can be the victim and friend to Eli and a hero and sort of bossy to Charlie. You are beautiful, funny, bizarre, and smart. We pray that the Lord will guide you to Him. That you will love Him from a young age and that you spend your whole life telling everyone you see who He is... We are so thankful for you, our Crazy Cora.. Happy 4th Birthday little lady.

On Sep 25th.....

2011-10-24T16:43:00.003-06:00

We officially had a 4 year old living with us.... Cora turned 4 and let the whole world know about it... We started a tradition with our kids a few years back that we would take them and let them pick out their gift from us. On the 24th we took them to Toys R Us and she looked and looked and looked and changed her mind, and changed her mind again............................. this went on for two more times then i told her I was done.. She finally choose dance stuff - go figure ;) and with her $5 from her Great Uncle Buster and Great Aunt Shawnee she bought her first (not that their's going to be more in her future) pair of pink fuzzy leg warmers....

A special box came in the mail a week before her birthday from her Uncle UJ and Auntie.. She looked at it everyday and tried very hard not to "Cora handle" it.... FINALLY Sunday came and right after church we made it home and she got to open her box. It was an American Girl doll - a look a like and she named her Jewel. She loves Jewel and takes very good care of her...

Thanks UJ and Auntie for making our 4 year old smile ;)

Lazy Day Sunday

2011-10-24T16:39:00.002-06:00

Daddy went away for the weekend to our Church's Mens Retreat. That Sunday my parents when to church with my sister and the kids and i decided to stay home and stay in our jammies all day... It was sweet, pleasant and a very lazy day...

Cora's first dance "Training"

2011-10-24T16:25:00.002-06:00

cause its "Training" if it something you want to be good at ;) That is Cora's definition..... Anyhow, she had the best time. Dance class lasted 6 weeks for their first session. That's all we were able to afford. It created great memories for her - and for me ;)

Labor Day Weekend

2011-10-24T16:20:00.000-06:00

Just a Dad and his girls...

In One Day

2011-10-20T08:06:00.002-06:00

we took the two older ones to Roaring Springs water park and then went to pick up the littlest and met our D friends dt to eat pizza and watch hot air balloons fill up and glow ;) it was a busy and very memorable day..

Cora's Swim "Training"

2011-10-20T07:28:00.003-06:00

Uncle Bret gave Cora's swimming "training" (as she calls it) this summer. We had one condition - that if she freaked out of him, he was aloud to stop..... She did amazing. She did try to talk her way out of doing something once or twice ;) but over all she loved it and still loved Uncle Bret..... After training was all done - she was able to jump in and find her way to the side.. She still has more to learn, but that will come next summer along with a brush up of this summer......

the famous K family row rows

with the infamous kick kicks
along with the "all to easy at first for this girl" grabbing the side. her hair didnt even get wet.there we go....

down to the "keep your face down and get the stairs" technique... she was very proud of her self, we were proud of her - but mostly for keeping her cool...

OH Boy - Its already mid Oct.....?

2011-09-26T20:53:00.010-06:00

and this post is from August ;) oh well.....
The kids favorite part of the summer is the county fair. It comes right after Charlie's birthday - so both Eli and Cora have a pretty good idea of when it is.. We decided to leave Charlie at home again - we will see how she is next year - and took the 2 other one's. We had a great time with them.. They are at such a fun age and we discovered that Cora has a bit of a daring side to her...

We decided to eat right away and where we sat down we saw one of the big rides that Eli has always sworn he would NEVER go on... I give him till Cora's tall enough - then he won't have a choice ;)..

Cora's first bigger ride - she loved it and wanted to ride over and over again..
see - LOVE!they talked us into one of the fun houses - more like boring houses... what a waste.

our tribute to Charlie ;) she ♥'s Elmo
They both got to milk cows... they were both like "eh, it was ok".....

then it was Farris wheel time - Cora's first time and she loved that to..
We ended the night with some game playing. Eli scored a Angry Bird and Cora won 2 dog's - they were more of the door prize, but she was pretty excited and gave one to her sister...Thank you fair for making our day alot of fun and for stealing our money ;)

Guess Who Turned 2......

2011-09-21T17:05:00.006-06:00

In August ;) ??? This beautiful blue eyed, blonde hair, white skinned big smile little lady. Who informs me now that she is no longer mamas baby girl, she is now "Mama's big princess girl".... I think her big sissy's fascination for all things princess and pretty is rubbing off on her...

This little lady is so much fun. She is a wonderful sleeper, but before sings her self to sleep and is 80% of the time a happy morning girl. She loves her funny bunny still and has excepted that fact that she is now 2 so she no longer needs to bring her everywhere.... sort of.... She is funny and tries to joke with us - even though we can't understand half the words she says. She just started taking her jammies off and most of the time when i get her out of her bed she is pulling an Al Bundy. Yup, she sticks her left hand in her diapie with her thumb out. Its hilarious, i am trying to get her to stop - but laughing at her just seems to back fire on me. During worship time at church she tries to sing as loud as she can. Gabe and I just look at each other and smile and then let her continue on (her Nana would be proud) She loves cheese, beans and corn dogs. She squeals when she gets excited, she is quick to say "Yes Mama!" when she sees that i mean business. She hits her sister and then right away apologizes and gives her a hug.. She sits through church now like a big girl. She is a mama's girl through and through and i love it - most of the time ;) Now for some pics of her special day...

The morning this little lady turned 2, jammies off and all ;)

trying to show us how old she is while eating

We went to the zoo so she can see her favorite things - butterflies or boofry bugs

3 pretty girls. The other little one turned 2 three weeks later

That evening Mimi, Uncle Bret and the cousins came over for a NELMO party

Daddy's first time seeing his 2 year old

She wanted spaghetti for dinner - i couldn't for the life of me tell you how she says it.

2 cousins and 2 friends
all the girls helping out with the gift opening

My Baby Patience
She was NOT a fan of the Birthday Song, like mother like daughter..
She was however a big fan of the cupCAKEs....Happy Birthday our sweet, wonderful, stubborn, silly 2 year old.. We love you, pray for you to become a daughter of the Lord's and to have a desire to worship and serve Him..

PICTURES, PICTURES, PICTURES......

2011-09-21T16:33:00.004-06:00

actually only 2 pictures - but there GREAT ONE'S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is me, my sis and my brother. I am blessed by the Lord to be put in a family with these two... I love and adore them with all my heart.

and the cousins.... oh the cousins.... love the cousins.....

So its September and............................

2011-09-21T16:10:00.002-06:00

I still have posts to go up from August... A bit of why i am behind.... Water... Yup, lots and lots of water, lots and lots of kids in all different rooms - including one in our room :/, a week away from our house, 4.5 weeks of having to leave our house during the day because of worker people. Mom and Dad's basement *which is also our TV room/computer room, guest/eli's bathroom , laundry room and Eli / toy room and Charlie's room* was totally and completely flooded... It was all a hoot... because of this i am a bit behind... So on with our regular post ;)
************************************************************************************

In August my brother came for a very short visit. It was sweet and nice having him here. All of his nieces and nephews (except for Charlie) love him. We took him to the birds of prey - if you have never been - its kind of neat. Here are some pics of our day with Uncle Bill.

Gigi with her 2 three year olds, who love her so very much

Eli measuring himself up against a California Condor - In Idaho........ ;)
Two sweet and kind cousins/friends
Uncle Bill with him crew - minus PatienceWe had a great time with him and miss him very much.

Birds of Prey with Uncle BIll

2011-08-23T11:41:00.004-06:00

Uncle Bill came to visit for 2 days and we had a great time with him. We took him to the Birds of Prey his last day here along with Gigi, Mimi and the cousins.. It was a fun day...

MAF Tour

2011-08-19T14:17:00.006-06:00

2 years ago a man from our church got up in front one Sunday morning and showed a slide show of his time as a Missionary Pilot for MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship). Eli was mesmerized by Mr. Shepson speaking. He remembered almost every word that he said and the pictures that he showed. He was in awe. He had it in his mind that this is what he was going to do when he grew up - except his words were " I am going to be a Missionary Pilot and BOMB countries with food". He was totally serious which made it even more awesome. Every time since then when Eli would see Mr. Shepson he would get very excited and every time Mr. Shepson would get up front on Sunday and speak about his latest adventure Eli would be mesmerized all over again.

Mr Shepson went to Haiti after the earthquake and Eli couldnt wait to hear about his trip when he got back. He knew a bit about what happened - earthquake, people died, people are now with out homes and food and that the people needed Jesus - that's as far as we went. Mr Shepson came and told what he saw and it became real to Eli. I think that was the first time that Eli realized that horrible things/events were happening around our world and God needed people to help. The Lord needed his followers to spread the Gospel and to make sure people were "looked after" *his words*...

MAF is about 15 - 20 min away from us and for the longest time Eli has asked if we could go and see it. For some reason i have put it off and put it off, until one Sunday when Mr. Shepson was standing right next to us at church and i was able to ask him. He told me he would love to give us a tour. We invited some friends and went that next week. We had the best time. It was one of the best field trips we have ever had.

Mr. Shepson told Eli that after he was saved the Lord put it upon his heart to become a Missionary Pilot. He was 7 years old. When he was telling this story to Eli, Eli's eyes were wide open and he responded with "MR SHEPSON!!!! I AM 8, and I WANT TO BE A MISSIONARY PILOT!!!!!!" My eyes started to tear up a bit and i had goose bumps all over my arms. Mr. Shepson told him to keep praying that God makes his desire stronger, so every night when we pray he finishes with "Jesus, Grow my heart, keep my desire strong and save me"..... Again with the tears - every. single. time.....

Now on with the pics ;)

Eli got to sit in the cock pit of one of the airplanes Mr. Shepson flies.

Mr Shepson also turned on some of the switches so Eli could move the wings and the tail.

is it me - or does he look older here????

Eli with his Hero
He showed us a plane that was being worked on - it was pretty cool and way to much info for this mama's brain to hold on to ;)
These are the.................... things that go under the plane so it can land on water...
yup.. to much info.
This machine was cool. Mr Shepson took a thin piece of aluminum *like a soda can* and gave it to Eli to bend and twist. Then let Eli put it in this machine and let him pull it down. When the aluminum came out it was bent and as tough as nails. You couldn't bend it or twist it. This is what the planes are made out of. Eli said he will never look at a soda can the same again and will never throw one away - from now on we recycle - or try to.. ;)
Mr Shepson then took us to a little room where we got to "play" with the flight simulator.. it was A.W.E.S.O.M.E!!
Eli dreaming...
This poster was in Mr Shepson's office - we all thought it was rather funny...Again, BEST TIME EVER!! Can't wait to go back and take more friends...

I Love You S'More Much!!!!

2011-08-13T19:24:00.002-06:00

While our friends were here we had a SHMOE night.. It was both Wendy and Milo's first time making Sh'moe's. We went to the store and bought all the ingredients one would need to make these wonderful and delicious treats. We found gram's chocolate and HUGE, ENORMOUS, MONSTROUS MALLO'S. They were at least 3 times bigger then normal mallo's and 3 times more the mess... It was not the best of idea's to get these ones, they were still yummy but were not very easy to handle...

Our kids being very patient in their comfy jammies

Eli showing Milo the ropes to proper mallo roasting

Cora thoroughly enjoyed her shmoe

Milo - not so much... he enjoyed his gram's

Eli was a pro
and all Charlie wanted was the HUGE Mallo's...

Daddy seemed to enjoy his as well..
The fire really liked his to ;)

These two were so fun together..
They played with each other the whole week.
One day Milo asked Cora what she wanted to play -
she responded with...

"Let's play Husband and Wife - Now sit down and don't get up till i tell you to..."

He did just that... No idea where she got that from.. Sorry Milo ;)
My parents back yard that they work very hard on

They do enjoy each other though... Milo is a pretty mello guy and Cora does like that in her friends - i think it gives her a chance to move in slowly and take control over situations...
no idea where that came from ;)
After Gabe put out the fire - Eli thought it would be fun to "dance in the ash"....
and that's just what he did ;)

Penguins and Butterflies with Milo

2011-08-10T10:16:00.006-06:00

While Milo and Wendy were visiting us we went on a picnic and then visited the zoo. Charlie's new favorite thing at the zoo is the fake penguins. I couldn't pull her away from them...

3 little munchkins.
My kids have decided to "Adoc" *adopt* Milo as their own. It was pretty sweet.

Now 4 little munchkins

and of course we saw the butterflies again ;) eli has waited and waited very patiently for one to land on him - this was his lucky day..

These two tried to be patient and decided it was big time over rated - so they thought that if they could hold very still with their fingers next to the butterfly it would mosey on up to their little fingers.

Alas, they *as in the butterflies* caught on to their plan and spread the word - not one butterfly landed on either one of them...

Snake River Stamped Time!!!!!

2011-08-09T10:57:00.003-06:00

Every summer for the past 4 years Eli then Cora and now all 3 of them do our Library's summer reading program. They get alot of fun tickets, books and food vouchers. They always get tickets to the Snake River Stamped and this year Gabe's work gave us to adult tickets as well for the same night. It was a hassle getting into the rodeo, line change after line change in order to transfer the library vouchers into tickets. It was H O T and Charlie was trying to run a muck. We finally got in just in time for the mutton busting - which is a favorite for ours and made it half way through the show when Charlie started to loose her cool - good thing the tickets were all free.... It was still a fun evening.

yes, even funny bunny got to go... i think she enjoyed her self more then Charlie did ;)

Cruise Night

2011-08-06T12:59:00.003-06:00

This year we went to Emmet's Annual Cruse Night. We have always heard about it - one of our sweet friends dad puts it on and we finally had a reason to go ;) GABES OBSESSION WITH CARS!!!!! Gabe and I took Charlie to the morning car looky loo (thats not what its really called, but i like it) and then drove back to rest and then bring all 3 kids back to the cruise night. We ate at our friends family drive in - which was yuuuummmmyyyy, bought a shirt to show our support ;), watched the kids get their groove on to some rad 50's music ,sat and watched while they closed down the main st and had it only open to the COOL cars ordered and devoured shakes and last but not least got poured on by some wicked black clouds... It was a great night - one that we will most definitely be repeating in the years to come..

these two are so so funny. this little man is the happiest of all baby's in the whole world. so loving and so smiley... charlie has a love/not so like relationship going on with him. she talks about him all the time and will sometimes hug him and give him smiles here and there - but on a whole she is not very nice to him....

in this picture, he came to sit by her. she's not to impressed.
she starts to complain, we just stand there and laugh
finally she is big time serious that he is invading her personal space.
what you don't see, is the big smile he had on his face after she pulled this... it was pretty awesome. i don't know about these two...

The REAL 4th of July

2011-08-06T12:12:00.002-06:00

We started the afternoon - yes afternoon, we slept in a bit from our AWESOME 3rd of July fireworks - with lunch and slushies from Sonics..

Then after much needed later naps we went to a park that was near the "BIG" fireworks and ate snacks and ooed and awed over the "BIG" fireworks....

It was perfect.... Just Us!

4th of JULY in ID!!!!!!

2011-07-12T18:21:00.006-06:00

or in our case the 3rd of July ;) Hands down Ala Casa Gray has the BEST back yard fireworks show EVER in the history of back yard fireworks shows..... Enjoy ;)

♥Me and my little peanut of a niece ♥

there she is again... so smiley, so sweet and oh so beautiful....

the boys getting ready to start the show
Cora figuring out how to pop the poppers

there they are... seeing how they can top themselves from last year

Eli battling Miss J - she is one of his favorite people
the loot - before the illegals showed up *fireworks, illegal fireworks*
the kids show alot of interest in the loot
my eldest and youngest of beautiful nieces
dear friends who joined us this year - this was a first for both of them - sparklers, fireworks... I think we got them hooked.
our precious little girls
Yup, the BEST SHOW EVER!!!!
until next year of course ;)

White Trash 30th B Day Party

2011-07-12T18:08:00.003-06:00

We celebrated one of our dear friends 30th birthday by dressing up as your typical WT family.. It was alot of fun getting ready for it and even more fun seeing what the others were dressed like.

"we done took the pitcher for our Christmas card. what d'all think?"

"sup?"

i guess i didnt try very hard with her - cause she still looks cute ;)
*not to say that WT kids can't be cute, cause they totally can*first the beverage station

which then turns into a comfy eating area ;)

then you have our kid who aloud us to shave his hair into a Mohawk ONLY if we cut it when we got home since church was the next day.... silly boy.

Alison Krauss for Hubby's Bday

2011-07-12T18:04:00.001-06:00

Gabe's favorite bad of ALL TIME is Alison Krauss. He has "loved" her since she started her singing career in 1987.When we heard she was coming to Idaho we jumped right in with both feet and bought tickets. It was a wonderful, breezy, relaxing, perfect evening with NO annoying people... Seriously - there was none. It was lovely. We had it pointed out to us that we were probably one of the youngest couples amongst the hundreds of people that were there (i am sure that we were not - but we were pretty out aged by more than half of them) It will definably go down in history of being one of the most memorable nights we have had....

The guy singing in the white shirt was the guy who wrote and sang "I am a man of constant sorrows" from the movie O brother where art thou. He was singing it in this picture..

Perfect ♥

Popsicles on a very HOT summer Day

2011-07-12T18:02:00.001-06:00

A 3 Part Post.....

2011-07-12T17:52:00.003-06:00

We went to the id rec fest with some friends a bit ago. we had alot of fun and who would of thought a man in a really bad Clifford costume would be the highlight ;)

we have a new favorite park with a HUGE fountain..... so we *the kids* got wet ;)

and last but not least - Fathers Day.... The kids (eli and cora) made their daddy a card and then wrote special notes to him...

Lovin us some Patience

2011-07-08T17:44:00.002-06:00

Its not a trip to Mimi's house without given Baby Patience some special kisses and hugs.... My girls (especially Charlie) love Patience... Its pretty much the cutest thing E V E R!!!! :) ♥

Time with the Cousins

2011-07-07T09:20:00.003-06:00

We LOVE LOVE spending time at the cousins house. My kids imaginations are....................... well, let's just say they lack in the imagination department a wee bit ;) So when we go over to the cousins house they are forced to step into a world of creativeness and pretend *mostly brought on by my eldest niece*
and what's an imagination without fun costumes to go with it??

Eli's final day of celebrating number 8

2011-07-02T11:37:00.006-06:00

The day after his birthday we took our dear friends the D fam to Donnie Mak's Trailer Park Cuisine for some Trailer Trash Food ;)

Eli had his usual

The D Fam gave him this A W E S O M E plane
Very Good Friends
Sweet Girls
A Trio of Sweet Girls
Our Fam, relaxing at the restaurant
Then we went to the park to fly kites - Eli had the best time
So did Cora
So did Charlie

So did Gabe ;)
After kite flying, there was some girl twirling with Cora's favorite person in the whole entire world!!!!!!! (those are her words)Overall i think Eli had the best 8 year old birthday one could ever ask for ;) We are truly blessed by this little man. His heart if big, his emotions are great, his ideas are fun, his hugs are strong, his love is sweet, his smile is kind and we pray all the time for his relationship with the Lord to be powerful.... We love you Eli and feel honored that God chose us to be your family... Excited to see what the next year has in store for you....

Day 2 of Eli's 8th year of being ALIVE

2011-07-01T16:16:00.002-06:00

The continuation of Eli's 2nd day of his 8th bday. Uncle Bret, Mimi and the cousins came over to have hamburgers, salad and bbq chips (upon his request) - oh not to mention the cupcakes (also upon his requests).....

A cool book series from Uj and Auntie - he is loving these books...
A "SWEET" backpack from his AWESOME Mama and Dad ;)
Fun books from the cousins...
and a wonderful b day banner from the cousins....

it was a very fun evening

Part 1 of Eli turning 8 years old.......

2011-06-25T17:12:00.004-06:00

When Eli turned 5 he asked the question " What can i do when i'm 5?" For mothers day that year we went and watched some cliff jumpers/parachute guys and Eli thought for a moment (that actually lasted a long time) that could be something he could do. So the conversation turned into "When i'm 5 can i jump off of a cliff? When i'm 5 can i jump out of an airplane?" and so on.... Our answer of course was always "NO WAY!!!!!" and then the conversation was dropped for a bit.

When Eli turned 6 he asked "What can i do when i'm 6?" (this would make for a better post if i could remember how the story went...... oh well) "When i turn 6 can i ride a motorcycle?" "When i turn 6 can i jump out of a plane on a motorcycle?" To which we responded with a big fat "NO!"

When Eli turned 7 he asked "What can i do when i'm 7?" We took him and Cora to their (and my first) air show with some dear friends (our AIR BUDDIES ;) which was after his birthday. "What can i do NOW that i'm 7?" "Can i fly with the Blue Angles?" We answered with someday..

This year when he turned 8 he asked "Now that i'm 8 can i shoot off the fireworks this year?" Nice try little man... At least he thinks big ;)

The week of his 8th birthday he had the "time of my life"..... 2 days before his birthday some wonderful friends of ours came over with gifts, pizza and a sprinkler that hooks up to the hose. He had a great time.

On his actual birthday was the day of our bible study's brunch to end a good year. The ladies had a cake with his name on it and he thought it was the neatest thing ever.

more to come...

Our Daddy Zoo Day

2011-06-25T16:57:00.003-06:00

Since Daddy has a job now he doesnt get to go to the zoo with us anymore. We know Saturday's at the zoo are crazy, but decided to go anyways.. To our surprise, not to crazy.. We had a good day. Charlie was a week into her illness, but she arose to the occasion when we got in.

Still not herself :(

TOTALLY HERSELF!!!!
Crazy Cora
Our Elephant ;)
Can you guess what Ozzy the Ocelot is eating???
Our butterfly exhibit was open as well - it was so lovely, sitting there and watching the butterfly's fly all around you.... Some even landed on us.

It was a good day.

A date with a Camaro

2011-06-06T11:45:00.005-06:00

or a few ;) Gabe took us to a Camaro show and despite now knowing a whole lot about cars...... we all had a fun time.

this little beauty was my favorite

May Birthdays and some pretty cute girls

2011-06-04T10:16:00.004-06:00

In May we celebrate my mom's birthday and my sister's birthday (we celebrate Aunt Bethie's b-day's as well, even though we don't live near her ;) On Mom's b-day she wanted to go to her favorite restaurant down town after church. We were a little hesitant at first bring our kids (esp the little one) to a nice place, but to our pleasant surprise they all did fabulous... We all ordered something very different - Eli was all grown up and ordered roasted chicken with vegi's - he's a strange one ;) while the girls shared a grilled cheese and fries. After lunch i mentioned that it was mom's b-day and she was brought a very yummy berry dessert.

Charlie giving her Gigi some b-day lovins

Gigi getting it from 2 of her grands

They YUMMY B-day Dessert
to which Charlie drove right into
Yup, she enjoyed it ;) It was a fun day celebrating the amazing person my mom is.
Then later on that week we had my sis and her fam (including in laws) over and had a dual b-day celebration for her and mom - which is what we usually do. This was also my first time ever making a carrot cake.... me, not being a fan of carrot cake was told that it was yummy ;)
THEN!!!! IT WAS PATIENCE TIME!!!!!
Seriously - could she be ANY CUTER???
Nope, not possible....
Cora showing her cousin some love
Sissy's - perfect...
Uncle Gabe getting some girl time..Happy Birthday Mom and Sis. I love you and cherish both of you so much. God knew perfectly what He was doing putting our family together. I could not imagine life without you both in mine...

"Painting the roses red......"

2011-06-01T07:22:00.003-06:00

We're painting the roses red
We dare not stop
Or waste a drop
So let the paint be spread
We're painting the roses red
We're painting the roses red

Oh, painting the roses red
And many a tear we shed
Because we know
They'll cease to grow
In fact, they'll soon be dead
And yet we go ahead
Painting the roses red

The Queen she likes 'em red
If she saw white instead
She'd raise a fuss
And each of us
Would quickly lose his head
[Alice:Goodness!]
Since this is the part we dread
We're painting the roses red

Painting the roses red
We're painting the roses red
Don't tell the Queen what you have seen
Or say that's what we said
But we're painting the roses red
Yes, painting the roses red
Not pink
Not green
Not aquamarine
We're painting the roses red!

Mothers Day, Minus the Mothers ;)

2011-06-01T07:14:00.002-06:00

We had a sweet Mothers Day with my family. Never did get a picture of me with my kids, nor did i get a picture of my sis with her family - i did however get these precious memories........

Uncle Gabe with his youngest Niecy

The 3 eldest girls - its funny to think of the 3 year olds as being apart of the "eldest kid" group....

Gabe with his 2nd favorite little 3 year old - she adores him and it melts his heart...
Our sweet and wonderful Nephew and his beautiful and darling little sister

LOTS O FUN!!!!!

2011-05-28T16:12:00.005-06:00

First stop the Zoo ;) which is a weekly thing for us and has been for many years now - hey, its free (unless you get drinks or make a short visit to the gift shop, which does not happen all that often) and its small and there are slides and...... we never have to see all of it cause we will be back the next week ;).....

Sweet Friends

You will always find Cora holding, sitting or sliding with one of the boys ;)

Next stop the park......
Say hello to my little friend
Mr A. showing Charlie how to slide...
YEA CHARLIE!!
Our first Goose family encounter this year...
Third stop....
The Nature Center and Walk.
Look who we saw...
So beautiful when they are out in the wild, or in this case the parking lot ;)
They were so close to us and never became scared.The End

Part 5 of our California Trip......

2011-05-28T15:53:00.003-06:00

and the last part at that ;) We had a sweet time on our last "real" night in Cali. We went and spent the evening with my cousin and her family. My hubby was very good friends with her and hubby, so it was fun getting them back together. Cora and a FANTASTIC time with these 3 beautiful and sweet little ladies. Eli was expecting my other cousins little boy to be there, but sadly they were sick - so he had to make due playing with his girl cousins......... which he indeed had a blast doing. While the girls were dressing up like princesses, i was playing with the youngest of the group - sweet baby Cadence (who i do not have a picture of :(. My cousin's mother in law joined us which was a sweet treat as always :) *We ♥ Lolo* :) The kids laughed and Lolo led them in a simon says game which they thought was the "COOLEST GAME E.V.E.R!!!!"

4 beautiful girls: Cora, Lily, Maddy and my girl Izzy ;)

This is how princesses curtsy

Simon Says
Charlie tried to get in on this fun....
No idea ;)
Cora did not want to leave. She was so sad and still talks about them today. We do love this family.Thank you all so much for being so sweet and loving. For feeding us and for supplying the princess stuff ;)

Part 4 "SEA WORLD" Woot Woot

2011-05-23T17:57:00.004-06:00

We wanted to make our trip to Cali this year more like a vacation then a visit. So we decided to take the kids to Sea World and dragged ;) our Wendy and Milo along with us. We had a great time minus the sun burns that we all got cause i only remembered to put sun tan lotion (100 :) on Charlie and not the rest of us - and my camera battery dying... Awful place to have that happen - oh well. I did get some pics and some video of this trip that we most likely will not be taking again....... The weather was nice which made the water rides nice and Eli rode his first roller coaster which he loved and continues to talk about today.

Daddy and Cora admiring the very loud penguins

Our Wendy and Milo also enjoying the same loud penguins
Not the same loud penguins, but penguins non the less (oh and a puffin here and there)
Then it was off to the sea lion and otter show. This was Charlet's FAVORITE.. She laughed and pointed and nodded her head to the music. This was also the first show we went to so she was calm. The others, she was not so patient.The dolphin and (people hanging from wires and such) show. This one was our favorite - ours meaning all of us besides Charlie.

Yes, she is a supposed to be a bird - still cool.
The S H A R K tube..... I have to admit, alot more intimidating when your younger... kind of boring when your big. And a picture without the flash so you could see the tube and possibly sharks, not. so. in. focus. and no sharks.... huh....
Awesome....

and last but not least the o so boring shamu show..... we sat in the "soak zone" and the only people who got wet were the one's sitting in the middle of the..... stadium? arena? whatever, totally disappointing. They hardly showed the whales, didnt do a whole lot with them ( i know, i know..... someone died while being in the water - its a price people... wanna a cool Shamu show, get in the water and test your fate ;)
the kids had fun - that's all that really matters - right????One more - just one more........ :)

Part 3 of our much shorter CALI TRIP!!!!

2011-05-23T17:44:00.002-06:00

After our FABULOUS lunch we had an Easter Egg Hunt with the 3 eldest kiddo's.
We started the hunt out with Aunt Bethie and Eli showing off their ears.

The kids standing with Papa and Grandma P waiting very patiently for the hunt.Lady Katie not interested in the hunt of eggs, but the hunt of Garfield (G.Grandma's Kitty)

What happens when you loose some eggs under Uj's truck? You get your "Mega Strong" Uncle's to lend a hand.
The 2 and their loot

Part 2 of our NOW shorter Cali Adventure ;)

2011-05-18T15:14:00.005-06:00

I now realize that if i keep this (part...) up of this one extra long post, i will never be done. So, this is my attempt at shorting it up a bit - or a lot.....

The day before Easter the 3 older kids colored eggs as our center piece for Easter Day. They had a great time coloring them, dying them and then putting stickers on them.

Easter morning we went to Great Grandma's church and then took lots of family pictures. We try to do this every time we are together. Here is Gabe with his siblings at Dad. Our Family

Great Grandma with 5 out of.....19 Great Grand Kids (give or take ;)
Our Clan - Yea, we are a cool bunch
Aunt Brennie with 2 of her NiecesCora showing some lovin's to her Granny (this name is fairly new, i like it ;)

Part 1 of our CALI ADVENTURE!!!!

2011-05-02T17:54:00.001-06:00

yup, part 1.... in other words get ready for lots and lots of pics ;) we arrived in California - Ridgecrest California to be exact on the evening of the 21st of April. Papa Heter took us out to dinner (oh, very important info - it only - ONLY - took us 14 hours to get there - yea.... that's it. moving on) and then we made it over to Great Grandma's house to sleep. We left our house at 4:30 and all the 14 hours the two eldest kid's never - NEVER slept. They handled exhaustion rather well and were out like lights when their cute little heads hit there pillows - in Cora's case Dog. The next day we ate and then had to feed and visit with Grandma's two tortoises (who still after 30 years do not have names) and visit Garfield the cat.

Sometime in the late morning we left Grandma's house and went to see Papa. He had a project for Daddy so i to0k the kids and got lunch. We ate at Papa's house and then waited patiently for Aunt Bethie and cousins Emma and Katie to arrive.

YEAH THEY ARE HERE!!!!!

We all then went back to Grandma's house and ate and visited. The next morning we did the same routine. Ate, fed un-named tortoises, and waited patiently ;) for Auntie to arrive with GOODIES!!!

Auntie helped with the bubbles and then followed Cora around and collected flowers/weeds just so she can bury them in the dirt. This girl see's dirt and it silently calls her name.

Aunt Bethie and her two little ladies.....more to come soon.....

Bugs - Yummy!!

2011-04-06T14:16:00.002-06:00

The other day as i was driving my 3 kiddos to the library a conversation of eating yucky animal parts came up. I was asked if people eat eye balls, which i replied with a yes and received a great big "GROSS!!!!!!" I was asked if some people eat brains, ears, tongs, toes (i don't think so, but you never know) blood (black blood from England (i think England)) and then bugs. Which i replied all with a "yup, some do". After totally grossing my 2 older kids out we dropped the subject and went into the library for our every two week video and book check outs.

By the time we got home it was lunch time, then the two girls took a nap. Eli was reading one of his new books on the couch and i was upstairs working on something, or maybe just laying down and being a bum can't remember ;) . About an hour or so after, Eli came up to my room knocked on the door, opened the door with a HUGE grin on his face. Here is how the conversation went:

Me: What's up bubba?
Eli: Mom (still with a huge grin) you will never ever guess what i just ate?
Me: (totally forgetting about the earlier conversation and thinking, he never get's food unless he asks me first) What?
Eli: I ate my very first bug
Me: WHAT?
Eli: Yea, it taste like chicken with salt on it. I didnt even freak out. Cool huh?
Me: No, not cool. Gross, very gross
Eli: But you said people eat bugs. I wanted to try it.
Me: (totally kicking myself right now) Yes, some people do - WE DON'T!!! EVER!!!!
Eli: Oh. Can i play WII now?

While Mamma's trying to work

2011-04-01T16:03:00.002-06:00

I have been helping out my mom with taking pictures of some of the houses she has up for sale. I do have to bring the kids with me. The two older one's are pretty good but Charlie thinks she has full range of whatever house we go into. She is such a goof and while i was trying to finish up taking pictures she decided she was going to be a ham. I could not resist taking this picture.. Such a silly girl.

"SUPERHEROES......

2011-04-01T15:56:00.005-06:00

flying around no need to worry your safe and sound,
battling evil fighting for good,
i'm a superhero in your neighborhood.
Is it a bird? Na UH.
Is it a plane? No Way.
Who could it be?
its US!!!

Zoo Time Again

2011-04-01T15:50:00.003-06:00

This a super special zoo day. It was Charlie's first day at the zoo walking on her own. She did an awesome job. She listened and kept her balance (which is huge for her). She did get a bit tired 1/2 way through, but loved the freedom that her older siblings get to have. She also got to see the penguins (her favorite exsibit) on a whole new level - literally ;)

To continue on her Independent path she also decided to go down the HUGE giraffe slide all by herself. It was a complete success.

BSU B BALL

2011-03-09T11:09:00.003-07:00

Last week we took the kids to their first BSU basketball game. We had a great time with some great friend. We have been here for 7 years and our lack of BSU attire is very sad. Eli wore his BSU football jersey from a few Easter's ago. Cora had to borrow her jersey from a friend. I to had to borrow my sweatshirt from a dear friend. Gabe wore his t shirt that he had to buy for his work BSU day. We played the Bakersfield Roadrunners and ran them into the ground 95 to 59. We are buying family season passes for next season and we can't wait for all the fun.

Go! Orange! Go! big! Blue!

Fight! Fight! B-S-U!

Charlie and Sammy

2011-02-22T11:59:00.002-07:00

Ever since we moved into my parents house Charlie and Sammy have been good friends. There are times when Sammy does not want to participate in Charlies games, but for the most part he tolerates her. Perfect example of him being a good boy and tolerating Charlie down below.

"HI OG!" ;)

She is obsessed with noses, now that she knows she had one ;)
"Og No?"

Time for Sammy to look purdyBIG HUGS FOR SAMMY

More of Sweet Baby Patience

2011-02-18T20:11:00.002-07:00

She is now (as of yesterday when these were taken) back up to her birth weight - 6lbs 6oz, possibly 7oz. She is so "content" as her biggest sister would say. She is well loved and well taken care of. She is still so tiny, her sweet pinky skin is starting to peel and one itsy bitsy little baby acne is starting to reveal itself. Her eye's are blue - not like her big sissy or like her cousin, but still blue and hair as black as can be. I am addicted to her - i feel like i can't get enough of her.

My love runeth over....

2011-02-18T16:21:00.002-07:00

A sweet new photography friend of mine took these pictures of my girls while we were enjoying a afternoon at the park. She is the one who did our Christmas photos, not only is she talented beyond but she is also very lovely. We ♥ her ;)

The newest addition to our growing family

2011-02-07T14:04:00.006-07:00

Meet sweet baby Patience Abigail. She was born on the 6th - so yesterday and i had the privilege of being apart of my sister's day and waiting and watching as this beautiful 6lbs 6 oz and 19inch long dark haired angel came into this world. My sister is a champ, she delivered Patience as home *this was her first home birth*. She did a remarkable job. She was calm the whole time and once a contraction would pass she would talk some and smile. She was great. This was my first experience as well and the whole time I couldn't help but thank the Lord every time a smile would come to Kate's face. I found my self praying a lot, thanking Him for this great amazing thing that was about to happen. I was also nervous as well. Kate and Bret decided not to find out the gender of the baby. They wanted it to be a surprise since she was going to have a home birth - something more to look forward to. The moment she came out you knew from just looking at her face that she was girl. Not to mention she looked alot like her eldest sister. I told Gabe yesterday that i feel like a kid who just received this awesome new toy and can't stop talking about it. Its totally different then having your own. This was an experience i will never forget and will more then likely be that Auntie who constantly reminds my precious niece that i was there when she arrived....

Now for some PATIENCE PICS!!!

almost right after she arrived... she was perfect looking. all pink and girly..

she loves, loves her hands. she found her thumb instantly and always had her hands by her face. if she had a hat on she was grabbing it...

in the arms of her daddy
BABY FEET!!!

cuddling up with her mamma
being weighed by her daddy
MORE BABY FEET!!!
All of Kate's baby's are bald, so imagine our total surprise when sweet baby patience came out with a full head of black hair....
Eli and Cora both said hi to their new little cousin, but Charlie wanted to grab her and run. She wanted to poke her and grab her. She was so curious about this new baby... And after that she instantly decided she was no longer the baby and stared walking.... Pics of that to follow ;)Happy Birthday Sweet Baby Patience. We love you and are thankful for you and for the Lord to pick our family to place you in...

3 cute kids eating.......

2011-01-31T10:55:00.001-07:00

cause i can i guess ;) and they will make a great page for our book.......

Sledding with the D Fam

2011-01-26T15:54:00.003-07:00

I don't have any pics "as of yet" of the actual sledding right now...." ehm T"....... but i do have pics of after sledding and of DUTCH BROS... so enjoy ;)

New Years Eve

2011-01-26T11:29:00.005-07:00

For the past few New Years Eves' we have spent it with my sister and her family. We pretty much deep fry food till we die. Our first year we did twinkies, snickers, chicken wings, cheese and some other's. The next year we ditched the twinkies and snickers and tried pickles. The year after that till this last one we choose the more safe route and stuck with wings, dough nuts *this year was by far the best though* shrimp and for a dare in our adventure we went with deep fried bacon. It was a HUGE hit. Gabe made corn succotash and we had that under our deep fried bacon... It was heavenly. Never had it??? Have it... Unless your not a fan of the bacon, but if you are - DO IT!!!!!

Ok, well, being as my sis is about to pop with sweet baby number 4 we called it an early night. We watched the New York ball drop on the computer. The kids shook their home made noise makers and we rapped it all up. We had a lot of fun with them and being as it was only 10pm we decided to surprise our friends by showing up at their house around 10:45pm just in time for me to beat everyone at WII bowling and winning the grand prize - 2 movie tickets... YEA BABY!!!! We met some new people, tried to eat yummy food, played some fun games and wore out our welcome around 3am.... It was a great night.....

Now for some pictures:

Kate and I played Guestures with the kids while the dad's fried stuff.

Our beautiful little ladies

First up DOUGH NUTS
then HOT WINGS
Corn Succotash and FRIED BACON
Their hand made noise makers
2 sweet and adorable cousins
WOO HOO!!! Happy New Year New York ;)
This is the next morning. We all slept in till 11:30. Daddy got us Cinnamon rolls and we watched Narnia. It was a very fun and memorable New Years Eve.

The Finale of our Christmas EXTRAV......

2011-01-17T09:37:00.002-07:00

Bear with me on how long this post is.. I just had to put the rest of the pictures on here so i can move on - since it is ALREADY January 19th... Gee Whiz.... Anyhow, i already started my 2010 book and needed to finish the year out... So here we go ;)

2 sweet cousins and friends on Christmas morning in their oh so cute matching jammies

Our very organized chaos - actually is was very calm and sweet and those wonderful kids had a great time opening up their gifts together.
this was great - take a look at these next few pictures... notice Cora's face and then Eli's face... This is hilarious....

Cora.. Calm, Appreciative at the dress that Mimi made for, well it was supposed to be for Sally but Kayla stole it -and sweet
AHHHH UTTER CRAZINESS!!!!! and oh so thankful for this little mario pez thingy from me ;)
again with the thankful heart at her new bag of lego's that she has wanted forever
Nope - no excitement here at the greatest gift EVER from Auntie and Uj.Even here - They are so funny... Both very grateful and excited, but totally in their own special way... Gotta love it.

Moving on to more sledding
Charlie was all bundled up like Randy in the Christmas Story - she seriously had a hard time putting her arms down, but loved every minute of it.

See, brave girl with her daddy
Kenna and Cora teaming up = way to keep your feet up girls.

And its on - Gabe with his 2 team members . In the middle is Short Stack Charlie and up front we have The Kid with mad driving skills.
Up against UB and Crazy Face Sethie.

I think Gabe and his team won and the prize was being pulled back up by dad

Gigi even had F U N!!!
So did Papa - at least i think that's Papa, look a bit like a seal to me ;) LOL!!
*sorry dad*

then it was time to come in for 2 little laddies - one had to eat ;)
the other needed to princess it up a bit.

We ended the evening with food and sleep and then the next morning we headed for home - not without eating at the Pancake house of course ;)

Christmas Eve Ice Skating Time

2011-01-09T14:27:00.007-07:00

On Christmas Eve day we took the kids ice skating. It was my kids first time and they both enjoyed themselves. Cora especially loved it - she had her daddy skate her almost the whole time we were there - she did give turns to her cousins who also wanted to skate with Uncle Gabe. Then we went back - had a much needed nap time ;) Had our delicious dinner and the kids opened up the gift their Great Aunt Pam send to them. We received 2 games from her and Uncle Jim. One for our family and the other for the cousins. After we lost the attention of most of the kids we decided it was dessert time and then CHRISTMAS JAMMY TIME!!!

Our Christmas Tree this year ;) Pretty Cute HUH???

SLEDDING TIME

2011-01-03T20:44:00.002-07:00

My family rented out a cabin in the mountains for 3 nights and 2 days for Christmas. It was such a wonderful idea and we had a marvelous time. The cousins thought it was so great to wake up to each other and to be able to celebrate Christmas together.

Our cabin was enormous. It had 3 levels. We had the bottom level which was a whole "apartment" type room all to ourselves. The middle level was the dinning room and huge kitchen. The top level was the living room, 2 bed rooms, 2 bathrooms and the other bottom level (on the other side of the top level) was the master bed room/bathroom. We all fit perfectly. We had wonderful meals and fellowship, games and singing. We sledded, went ice skating, laughed, opened gifts from each other and then played with those gifts. We created sweet memories and hopefully we will be able to do it again in a few years.

The below pictures are of our first day.

The first morning and the first time the cousins saw each other. They are so sweet.

The dad's and Papa bundled them selves up to take the kids out for the "first" day of sledding. The "pecking" order if you will.

The road outside of the cabin was pretty big and made for great sledding. We didnt even have to go any where. Once they were done, they came it. It was perfect.
Cora received the Princess treatment. She would ride down with her daddy and he would pull her back up.

Georgie decided she needed in on some Uncle Gabe sledding action.
Our 2 little snow bunnies

See.... FUN!
Papa even had some great runs in.... he was so fun to watch.
2 great friends. more.... alot more to come ;)

Christmas Card Pictures

2010-12-23T14:06:00.005-07:00

We made a new friend in Alena. She is the one who took these pictures and i simply adore her. She is friendly, kind, patient, sweet and flexible ;) Wonderful qualities a photographer must possess. Thanks Alena ;)

These were taken in my parents backyard. The snow was deep and breath taking. It did start to snow on us and my hair was hating it big time..

This was taken through the back of the ENORMOUS black berry bush. Lovely...

The kids are sitting on the Nana bench (Gabe's mom gave it to Eli when he was Charlie's age) Charlie was not having it though.. That thing was so cold.
Our handsome 7 yr old
Our Beautiful 3 yr old
Our Angelic Blue Eyed 17 month old

I think this is the best picture i have ever had of these two. Wish Charlie was in it, but 2 out of 3 isnt bad.Merry Christmas!

Happy Birthday Georgie Girl

2010-12-19T22:49:00.003-07:00

Happy Birthday to the sweetest blond ringlet blue eyed girl out there... We love you and are incredibly blessed to have you in our lives... You are so sweet, and funny and caring and loving.. We love how you love us and how you show us every time we see you.. We pray for Gods' richest blessing on your precious life...

kris kross will make you JUMP JUMP!!!!

2010-12-19T14:35:00.005-07:00

At the jump house for Asher's b-day in no particular order..... The kids (and us) had a BLAST!!!!!

Let it "BIG TIME" Snow...

2010-12-19T14:25:00.001-07:00

This was our house at Thanksgiving time.. it was INCREDIBLE!!!!!!! Truly Incredible......... White everywhere... seriously........ no joke....... white as the eye can see... ok, ok - i can do this for a while, so here are some pictures.

O "OUR" Christmas Tree

2010-12-19T14:03:00.003-07:00

This is our first Christmas living at my parents house.. We went a bought a tree with Gigi and Papa, brought it home and a few days later decorated it with their ornaments and ours... We have a very decorated tree this year ;)

Why yes i do let my kids play on the dirty floor of Lowes while playing with toys we have no intention on buying.

Cora hanging up ornament... We had to rearrange them after she went to bed, but at least she had fun.

see ;)

Charlie holding one of my ornaments when i was little...

One of Cora's many looks.

My sweet sweet baby face girl

Tried to get a really good picture of all 3 of them.. This is what we ended up with.
HI CHARLIE FACE!!!!

THANKSgiving

2010-11-30T13:08:00.003-07:00

My sister hosted Thanksgiving this year and we realized this is our first Thanksgiving as a fam *me,gabe,kids - sis, bil,kids - mom and dad* we have had since living in Idaho.... I know, its strange.... Anyhow, we had a white Thankgiving this year *first time for that to i think* and it was sweet and peaceful. Mom and I went over to Kate's house on Wed to prepare all of the food and we were able to have some girl time. We then went over to my sister's house in the afternoon, ate, sang some hymns and Christmas songs, heard a story and a poem *read by Kenna*, watched a very fun movie performed by all kids, had some very yummy pie and then called it a perfect night.

Now on to some pictures...

OK, Seriously you have a Brother In Law carving turkey while wearing a pretty apple apron and you except me not to go running for my camera........ Yea Right!!! SMILE BRET!!!!

*this pic is taken by the all to adorable Sethie*
Look how stunning my sister is... The camera likes her alot.

And what is a family get together with out self portraits of me with my wonderful nieces and nephew.....
This one being the oldest and the biggest blessing to our family

Said Niece is learning how to be the "photographer" in her family, she's on her way - no?? ;)

There we go - this is better.. Way to go Ken
This is my precious Georgie... I ♥ her

Eli took this one - it was supposed to be of me and the nieces and nephew - Cora felt otherwise...

Hope your Thanksgiving was as blessed and sweet as ours was.....

Our FIRST Official Snow Day Of The YEAR!

2010-11-30T13:05:00.002-07:00

*must turn your head to see - sorry*

Pics that just needed to go up so i can remember

2010-11-30T13:02:00.002-07:00

This was taken right before we spent a 1/2 hour getting them bundled up to go and play in the snow..

see... totally bundled up from beautiful head to perfect toes

Then its onto silly pictures with Crazy Cora and we finish with a WONDERFUL picture of a daddy and his 3 monkeys

We ♥ these 3

2010-11-17T16:18:00.001-07:00

What happens when......

2010-11-17T16:15:00.001-07:00

you leave a cute 3 year old alone in her brother's room for an hour......?

She takes all of his clothes out of his drawers

She puts as much on as possible and makes a hole in one of his socks even bigger then it was in order to fit on her arm
that's what....

CRAZY CORA STRIKES AGAIN!!!!

Field Trip to one of the best places on EARTH!!

2010-11-17T16:11:00.003-07:00

A few weeks ago the kids and I went on a mini field trip with some wonderful friends. We went to Great Harvest - THE BEST SANDWICHES EVER!!! Anyhow, we had a great time. They took us in the back and showed us all of their very fun machines - mixer *GIANT mixer*, oven *GIANT oven*, their HUGE counter where they roll all of their dough.. and, their ENORMOUS display of tasty, tasty treats..... T and I decided that we could not work there - #1. They would go out of business cause we would eat everything we made and #2. We would eat everything that was made therefore not being able to ever leave because of our GARGANTUAN size ;).....

Moving on....

If i would of wrote this post that day or even a few days later i would be able to tell you all of the very cool facts we learned... but, since it has been weeks - the only bit of info i was able to recall was mine and T's said conversation... SO....... enjoy the pics anyhow and we will see how much returns to my brain ;)

Here is their HUGE mill - they grind their wheat at 5am in the morning - every morning - and have to wait all day for it to cool in order to use it the next day.

Here is their very very pretty and titanic mixer. I am in love....Colossal Bowl for Titanic Mixer

To the left of kids - their oversize counter top

The humongous and lovely oven

(enter homer simpson's drooling noise with tongue hanging out here)

more yummies and very pretty bottles to the right of the picture... I could totally be at home in this kitchen and i don't even bake that much...

Thanks T and kids for inviting us.....

Our Version of Halloween

2010-11-10T13:49:00.001-07:00

We dont' go trick or treating for no other reason then we just don't... We usually spend Halloween with my family but we celebrate Reformation Day instead. This year we decided to do something a bit different. We let the kids dress up and we let them pick a restaurant and invited Gigi and Papa to go with us. After our plan was to take the kids to the store so they can pick out (AS MUCH CANDY AS THEY WANTED) that was from Gabe, but while at the restaurant Charlie threw up (not the flu, just bad cold) then on the way to the store she threw up again. So Gabe dropped us off at home and he took Eli and Cora to the store and they did come back with AS MUCH CANDY AS THEY WANTED... Gabe's sort of a sucker ;) that way...

We did have a lot of fun (except Charlie) My kids share my love for eating out so they were all into that and you can't go wrong with picking out AS MUCH CANDY AS YOU WANT....

Coco was a Princess/Damsel in Distress
beautiful dress made by this incredibly talented friend

Eli was a Knight/Ninja - so i guess he would be a Ninja Knight.... Anyhow, hence the Damsel in Distress idea

It rained all morning and afternoon so we got to marvel at one of God's promises..

Choice of restaurant.... Chili's..... We all agreed that Chili's is not the same and more than likely we will not be returning :(

yes, that is salt in her hand.. salt now goes on everything and she wanted it in the picture...

My Ninja Knight with his Gigi and Papa

Charlie wore a bear suit.. She was not a fan of the hood at Chili's.

Our attempt at a family picture

Now she's happy...

Our 3 kiddo's - this was taken seconds before Charlie threw up... Good Times.