Filling Our Quiver

Estella's 11th Month

2012-02-14T02:42:00.000-08:00

Our little girl is growing up! She is getting the funniest little personality and showing us that she has a mind and ideas of her own. She doesn't sit still for long now. Anytime the doors are left open to let the sun in I find her out the door and making her escape down the driveway! So now I either have to keep the doors shut or assign a big brother to keep tabs on her.

Her big brothers still absolutely adore her, even now that she is getting into everything of theirs.

Legos, chocolate, markers, coins and more all go in her little mouth. Luckily, both boys are very observant and watchful of their little sister and start screaming bloody murder when she starts shoving things into her mouth, so we haven't had any choking episodes.

Do you see the mischief in those eyes?

She loves her walker as it has given her newfound freedom to cruise all over the place....

and straight into the fireplace.

The face: I can't handle it.

New discoveries: puzzles and animals

I made her a sensory bag of colored water, glitter and plastic bugs to keep her busy while I work in the kitchen. It bought me 15 minutes of time, I'll take it!

With her Grandpa Gibson

Estella's New Kicks

2012-02-14T02:31:00.000-08:00

I know I say this every post, but

I can't handle how cute this little girl is.

Then my sister has to go and get her the cutest little shoes

on top of all that cuteness.

Here they are!

Kellie found them at a craft fair in the Seattle area, (or something like that, I can't remember exactly now) and they are made of felted wool. They are uber soft and I wish I had some!

Christmas 2011

2012-02-14T01:53:00.000-08:00

Making her Daddy proud.

John was giving Morgan a little "HiYa" with Estie's little foot.

Estie was laughing hysterically.

I love hearing her little laugh, so cute.

The boys received Nerf swords from Grandpa and Grandma Gibson and they immediately had to give us a demonstration of their ninja skills. I have a tip about these swords; they hurt!

Estella received a really fun walker that has all the bells and whistles from Grandpa and Grandma Gibson. She studied it for quite awhile before we opened it up.

Two of my beautiful nieces:)
Alex and Abby

Zach opening stockings with Lukas

Estella was getting some Uncle time and trying out someones new socks that make great leg warmers for her:)

Dad was playing hide and seek behind all the gifts.

Nik and Zach received the same t-shirt from me:

army men doing a kick flip

Alex spotting her littlest cousin while Estie is standing all by herself:)

Decorating Gingerbread Houses

2012-02-14T01:38:00.000-08:00

Yes, I'm still posting Christmas photos, but I can't let them languish in my pictures file or they would never be seen from again! So here's a taste of some of the fun things the boys and I did during the Christmas season. Gingerbread houses! They actually did all the decorating while I built it and frosted it.

The side of the roof you are looking at is Lukes side. Its rather smooched, because he had to flatten each piece into the frosting as far as it could go. I wish I had a picture of Nik's side as it was very orderly with alternating colors. First born.

And now, to eat it.

Fancy Pants

2012-02-14T01:04:00.000-08:00

Though these pictures are from Christmas I thought it was fitting that I post them on Valentines Day since the colors are right. Estella is sporting her fancy little ruffle bum under her adorable red dress. She is pretty much, well, adorable.

"What is this thing on my head?"

"Not a chance, Mama!"

"It looks way cuter on Uncle John:) "

She pretty much captures the heart of everyone she is around.

See, it was a fitting Valentine's post!

Estella at 10 Months

2012-01-29T01:24:00.000-08:00

Gone are the days when I can lay Estie on a blanket and she stays put. Now she is a blur, being set down in a safe spot one moment, look away, and then she is sitting in the fireplace soot the next. The boys are on red alert with all their little treasures and those apparently delicious Nerf bullets.

So many teeth!

Estella has four teeth at 10 months. Everytime a new tooth comes in she is pretty grumpy for a couple days, then she is back to her happy little self. She does have such a sweet little personality, except when she is upset with her big brothers. She lets them know it too! My dreams of having a quiet little girl are quickly fading.

There's a hint of mischief in those eyes.

She is doing really well at walking around things, just building up those little leg muscles and figuring out the whole balance thing and soon she'll be off and running!

The Christmas Tree Hunt

2012-01-29T00:27:00.000-08:00

Our little family of five.

Every year at Christmas time our family goes to a Christmas tree farm to cut our own tree down. I will have none of this, "tree lot in Oregon" nonsense. No way, I've been to Oklahoma way too many times to not take advantage of having a freshly cut Christmas tree. I love making a day of it and spending time outdoors hunting down the perfect tree. Okay, so really what happens is that I wander all over looking for the perfect tree with children and husband in tow, then every so often I'll say, "Oooo, I like this one, what do you think, Tone'?" He promptly replies, "perfect, shall I cut it down?". Then I always reply, "NOOOO! We have to see all of them first." Then I zigzag through all the trees sizing them all up and finally, I come back to one of my first choices and give Tone' the green light. The kids and I have a great time just being outside, while Tone' grumbles and groans at my slow decision making. (I think he secretly likes watching me hunt for the perfect one, the groaning is just part of the whole experience now)

Lukas hitching a ride with Daddy

The boys were so proud to take turns holding the saw. Now if only I could get Lukas to smile normal.....

I never did get a picture of our tree decorated. You'll just have to trust me that it was beautiful. Beautiful and fragrant too, another reason a fresh cut tree is better. Don't even get me started on fake trees.

Someday They Will Meet

2011-12-03T01:25:00.000-08:00

To my precious daughter:
I want to tell you about your name. Your beautiful, old fashioned name. Estella Erlene was your grandmothers name, my mother. She was.....perfect.
I wish she were here to see you. She would have loved you baby girl.
She died just before I found out I was having your big brother, Nikolas.
My heart broke that day. Time has patched it back together, but....it's still missing a piece.
Actually, it's a rather large piece, but there is One comfort.
Your grandma loved Jesus, and I pray that you will too.
Then, one day, hopefully well after I am gone from this world, you will meet us both in heaven and I will introduce you to your namesake. I'm sure she would love that you are named after her. In fact, I know she would have been flattered.
Cherish your name my sweet Estella, for it is a heritage passed down from your grandmother and your great great grandmother. Women who have loved the Lord, "with all their heart, with all their soul, with all their mind and with all their strength." Mk 12:30

I can't believe mom has been gone over six years now. Today she would have turned 71. That sounds old as I write it, but really isn't considering my mom's mom just turned 91 and is still doing quite well. I can't imagine what my life would be like now if my mom were still alive. We had really just begun to start doing things together as friends not too long before she passed away. I feel robbed of my friendship with her as an adult. Perhaps that is the hardest part of her death. That, and, of course, that she never saw my children. I know I'll see her again, which does bring me comfort, but.....I miss her now.
I'm so glad I had the many years of memories with her to think of. I often tell the kids about their grandma in heaven. It is a little hard for me to know that they aren't going to miss her. Why would they, they never knew her? Hmm, still hard. I think of Job, losing all his children and still saying, "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised." Then, at the very end of all his suffering, he has even more children.
The Lord gave, the Lord took away, then the Lord gave to him again. In the same way, God gave me a wonderful mother, she was taken from me, but now, God has given me Sue, a wonderful grandma to my children, and also, a friend to me.

The Newest Skater on the Block

2011-12-01T01:35:00.000-08:00

Nikolas has been practicing skateboarding recently and seems to be picking it up pretty quickly. He can skate down our driveway now and has just started to learn to do a trick. I think it is a kick flip, or maybe an ollie....I really have no idea what the difference between skating tricks are, but I did hear those words come out of the 9 year old neighbors mouth when he was teaching Nik. It is pretty humbling to have my 5 year old son starting to be better than me at something. This, I am sure, is just the beginning.

Trick or Treat!

2011-12-01T00:16:00.000-08:00

Every year since Nikolas was born we have gone trick or treating with three other families. The first year we went only six of these children were born, now, there are thirteen!

The boys.

We couldn't have planned our boys any better than this. The oldest three boys are nearly the same age, the middle three boys are within 3 months of each other and the younger two boys are within a couple months, or so. They all love each other and I'm so thankful my boys have best buddies. We all have decided we really can't ever move away or stop wanting to get together because our kids friendships are too perfect. Little Estella doesn't have anyone her age, but she does have all the doting big kids, so I don't think she will feel left out.

The girls.
See what I mean about the doting big kids?

Onto trick or treating! Lukas was Optimus Prime, and since his outfit is a 2T it just accentuated his tiny little body, especially his buns! We all had a hard time not laughing. He's too cute, and THEN he talks in his tiny little muppet voice!

This was too funny; every time they went to a house they ended up lining up nearly tallest to shortest. Nikolas, by the way, was Luke Skywalker, (though his outfit is Anakin).

They had a great time, in spite of the cold, and brought in quite a haul of candy, which, of course, is the best part. :)

Estella's 9 Months!

2011-11-30T21:30:00.000-08:00

Okay, I know, I'm almost a month behind, again! I did, however, take these pictures with her sticker just a few days after her 9 month birthday. So the idea of recording her size difference between each month is still in tact. Phew!

Estella's little monkey is getting smaller now. I can't believe we are approaching a year old! Crazy! She is now 16 whole pounds and is 26 inches tall. Somewhat on the small side, not that that is surprising considering her midget parents.Our baby girl is now holding onto things and standing with confidence. She is even starting to let go and try to stand up by herself for a moment. I wouldn't be surprised if she were to start walking before the end of the year, which would be really cute considering how tiny she is:) Her big brother, Nikolas, started walking at the end of his ninth month, so she is just trying to keep up!
I just love this face:) She has so many expressions and can go through them all in under a minute.

The Sweetest Baby Ever.

Everywhere we go people say, "Is she always this happy and content?" To which we say, "Usually!". She doesn't complain too much, even when her toes are frozen and her belly is empty. She does, however, complain quite loudly when an older brother takes something away from her.

Grandpa and Granddaughter
Watching Nik's soccer game on a chilly fall evening.

Bathtime: one of her favorite activites.

Kisses from Daddy: "Not the fuzzy face!"

The Great Pumpkin(s)

2011-10-31T00:50:00.000-07:00

We have been fortunate this year to get to know a couple from church who have a farm with animals, gardens, orchards and so much more. Early this past spring the wife told me she was planting pumpkins for each of our children and that she would scratch their names in them as well. As you can see, those pumpkins turned out so fun!!!

I tried to get a picture with all three of the kids and their pumpkins, but to no avail. Lukas simply would not cooperate. He's usually the one who sees a camera and says, "cheese!".

Not today. Grrrr.

Etella, however, happily posed for me. Not that she could go anywhere as this was before she started crawling. Oh, and her pumpkin weighed almost 4 times what she weighed. Sure glad I don't have to lug that around!

Nikolas decided, after seeing Lukas raising such a stink, that he would be a stinker too and pretend to be put out with the picture taking. What, do I have a junior higher already?!

Then, just as magically, Nikolas jumped onto Luke's pumpkin and gave me the sweetest smile. Nik was trying to play some reverse psychology on Lukas, unfortunately, it didn't work. It's frame worthy though, too bad HE'S ON THE WRONG PUMPKIN! Grrrr, again.

Maybe I could photoshop it...

What a handsome little man I have:)

Estella is 8 Months Old!

2011-10-26T23:48:00.001-07:00

Nuts! Now she is almost 9 months old and I'm just posting this. Next month I'll be more on top of things. I hope.

Our sweet baby girl is eight months old. I can't believe it. She has changed so much just in the past month. She is now 17 pounds with some healthy chunky rolls around her legs. People see them and have to squish them. I do about 5 times a day. Squish, squish.

She now has her first two teeth! They are the cutest little chompers, but be wary about your fingers getting too near. She'll bite them!

She started pulling herself up on things, like her crib, and can stand for long periods of time now. It looks like she also is about to start moving while holding on to something, which only means one thing. She'll be walking soon!

I had to throw this picture in. Her expression and double chin made Tone' and I laugh:)

And how could I leave out the sleeping baby picture? She is conked out on her bunny blanket from her Great Great Aunt Fae who lives in Oklahoma. Aunt Fae is the most amazing seamstress and upholsterer. (I might have made that last word up) Plus, she's super fun and I wish she lived here. You can live with me Aunt Fae!

Pretty little girl

We went to some friends little orchard and Estie found these beautiful red balls called "apples".
She had to test every one to see if they tasted good.

Hello 1970's girl!

This little outfit was mine when I was a baby. I know I've seen a picture of me in it somewhere, but, of course, I can't find it now.

Look at those little toesies!

Big brother Lukas helping his little sister try out walking.

Lukas loves Estie so much. A little too much actually. I am constantly telling him to get off her, stop squeezing her and MOVE BACK. The other day he wanted to pick her up without my knowing. I walked around the corner just in time to see him holding her a foot off the ground and then, let go. Smack! on the hard floor went her tiny little face:( Poor girl. It's a good thing babies don't remember their babyhood, or Lukey would need to watch his back.

Little White Riding Hood:)

Estie's Great Great Aunt Linda made her this beautiful little sweater. I am always amazed that people can make jackets. How do you get the sleeves so symmetrical??? Estella sure is blessed to have such talented Great Great Aunts who love her enough to handmake such wonderful things for her.

Crawling!!!

She started inching her way forward three weeks ago and now is all over the place. I am on hyper alert now for little objects in her path that she would love to stick in her mouth. The boys are not helping my cause what with their obsession of finding and saving "treasures and collections". It is still fun to have her crawling, though. Wherever I go in the house I have a little bug crawling after me. She isn't very fast, but she's determined. She puts her head down, sucks on her lip and starts after me. She usually doesn't make it very far before I'm back and swooping her up into my arms. Then she rewards me with a huge smile and excitement in her eyes.

Sweet Baby.

I love this tiny little person.

Road Trip Part II: Colorado

2011-10-04T00:58:00.000-07:00

Upon leaving my cousins, (actually my moms cousin, thereby making Ronda and I first cousins once removed), we headed east to another cousins (actually Ronda's son thereby making him and I second cousins) home on a hundred plus acres of beautiful country.

Matthew took us on a 4 wheeler trip around his land. This particular 4 wheeler is supposed to fit two people. We had six. Granted, one of those was a tiny baby, two were small children and two more were small adults, but still, we thought it was rather funny. Alex and I sandwiched Estie inbetween us and put the boys on both sides and HELD ON!

They had the time of their lives.

To say the least.

Some of the hills we went on were so steep I decided to walk.

I know, even I get a little cautious at times.

Nikolas at the top enjoying the view.

How would you like to wake up to this everyday?

Yes, please!

Lukas, in true American form, collecting all the bullet shells from target practice.

It just happened that he was wearing patriotic colors:)

Then we were,

ON THE ROAD AGAIN....

It sure was nice to have another driver along,

and Alex had just obtained her drivers license only a couple

months before, but had already gone on a road trip before ours.

She only almost killed us once, but then again, so did I.

A little glimpse into how Lukas passed the time:

unraveling Fruit By the Foot and seeing how long it would last while wrapping it around various body parts.

showing us what he could do with a leftover snack bag....

He was quite entertaining at least.

Estella is 7 Months Old!

2011-09-30T23:49:00.000-07:00

Okay, she is actually getting closer to 8 months old now, but I can't skip a month!
I've been gone too much this summer and have a backlog of pictures and blogging to do of our on the go summer. She sure is a well traveled baby already!

Those eyes!

There is just not much to say other than:

"She is adorable."

She also never stops smiling, except when she's hungry or tired.

Typical baby......and adult for that matter.

Estella has started sitting up this past month. She loves her new view, and I love that her hair has grown back so she doesn't have a little bald spot. You wouldn't believe how many people asked me if I shaved her head in the back!
Sometimes her head gets a little top heavy and then she just bends in half and does a little face plant on the floor. Babies never cease to amaze me with their limberness.

For every adorable smile she gives away, is an hilarious one.

Lipsucker

She was intently watching a calf nurse on a goat.

Wonder what was going through her little brain?

Estella is such a sweet and easy baby. She lights up when a person looks at her, especially mama:)

and she is content to just play by herself. I suppose the third baby gets used to waiting, but I'm also thinking her personality does play into it some as well.

She has started saying, "Mama" though I'm still not sure if she means me or if it is just an easy word to say. Hmmmm, I'll go with ME:)

She was sleeping through the night, but then two weeks on the road ruined that. Nuts, back to the drawing board. I'm confident she will pick it up again soon as she is already going down while still awake. She really is the perfect baby.

Road Trip Part 1: Colorado

2011-09-30T10:17:00.000-07:00

For the second year in a row the boys and I, along with niece, Alex, and baby Estie, loaded ourselves into my trusty minivan and headed on a 4ooo mile journey. Our final destination would be Oklahoma for a family reunion on my moms side with a couple stops in Colorado to visit more family.Road trips, to me, always sound like an adventure waiting to happen. Then we get about 500 miles into it and I start banging my head on the steering wheel telling myself, "Next time; we're flying.".

We do end up having some pretty fun adventures, however, which makes me thankful that I have road trip driving amnesia the next time I think about another one. This trip was tops on my boys list of pretty cool adventures. After camping near Boise, Idaho, we then drove all day and made it to my moms cousins home in Colorado around midnight. The next day the boys lived every boys dream. Their first adventure was riding on the 4 wheeler with cousin Ronda. Nikolas knew we were on a farm so he had his lasso at the ready. You never know when you might find something to lasso.

Like a rooster!

We then headed over to my Great Aunt Betty's 100 year old home, which is just a stone's throw (albeit a rather long throw) from Ronda's. There, the boys climbed all over the three different tractors she still has and I'm sure they were wishing with all their might that they could drive one.

Boys don't get to have all the fun!

Estella met her Great Great Aunt Betty.

Ronda's farm is right next to her mom's and her brother. So she drives the 4 wheeler all over the place. The boys LOVED it. Nikolas kept telling people: "I rode on the 4 wheeler without a seatbelt or a helmet!". Most of the states we drove through don't have helmet laws so they weren't too sure what all the fuss was.

Okay, this was for cute baby pictures only.

I didn't actually put her in this while they were driving around!

But really, how cute is she?!

The rest of our time there the boys enjoyed farm life.

They chased chickens.

Helped feed all the animals.

Gathered the eggs.

And had an absolutely wonderful and memorable time.

Cove Palisades

2011-09-14T05:50:00.000-07:00

During the hot days (day?) of August we joined good friends at Cove Palisades. The weather was hot, the water was cool and the mamas had shade in the grass. Perfect combination.

The boys had a ton of fun on the SeaDoo. Everytime Nikolas rides on anything in which he doesn't have either a car seat and/or a helmet he thinks he is Mr. Daredevil. SeaDoo, train, city bus, four wheeler,........hay ride.

We just barely coaxed Lukas onto the SeaDoo. He gets really excited about doing daring activities, until it comes down to the wire. Then he's OUT! But he overcame his fears and joined his buddy's daddy and Logan.

This was the main attraction for most of the boys.

Logan and Lukas are two peas in a pod. They absolutely love each other and play really well together. Though sometimes I think it's because neither of them really know what is going on outside of their own little brains. They will be playing together but playing two totally seperate games. They make me laugh every time I watch them together. I hope they're friends forever:)

Another couple of best buddies.

And of course, what would camping be without a bunch of boys getting filthy dirty?

Cabin on a Mudflat

2011-09-14T04:39:00.000-07:00

The first week of August the kids and I joined my dad and Sue for the last night on the lake before they drained it. We arrived a little late in the evening so I didn't have a chance to get out in the kayak one last time. I thought we might have time in the morning before it started going down, but when we awoke the next morning; the lake was no more!

It was very surreal. No more lake? Ever? How sad.

Now what?

Remember my fear of things that lurk in the deep?

Justified.

These little eels were found everywhere on the lake floor. They apparently had been there living in the mud and we didn't even know it! Shudder.

The boys took no time in heading out into the mud. They were, after all, following their grandfathers footsteps. In which he almost lost his boot. They took their shoes off, but, um, remember the eels? No thanks. Have fun boys, I'll be here on rocky shore.

He's tromping.

And then they discovered the more you jump in one spot the more squishy it becomes.

So of course belly flops were in order.
Until an eel rose to the surface of the mud,

EEEeeeewwwwww!!!!

But that didn't stop them.

I kept thinking of "The Neverending Story".
Remember?!
"ATRAYOOOOOO!!!"

At least there is a creek still which is actually better for young boys anyway.

We had to hose them off before they were allowed back in the cabin. It reminded my dad of when John, Kellie and I used to come back from playing in the mud near our little dam at the farm when we were young. Mom used to hose us off too. All kids have ever really needed for entertainment: mud and someone to play in it with. In spite of all our 21st century technology, kids really just need to get outside and be allowed to get dirty. In fact, it apparently never gets old as the Warrior Dashes Kellie has been doing lately are extremely popular all over the country! Kellie, you could save money and just join my boys in the mudflats!

Except there is still the issue of the eels......

Estella is 6 Months Old!

2011-08-20T01:54:00.000-07:00

Half a year old! It's such a mixture of emotions when your baby grows older. I love seeing them discovering and learning new things. I love that they are gaining more and more independence and are needing me a little less. I love sleeping more:)
At the same time, however, I don't want her to get any bigger. I love my little baby girl and how she gives everyone the biggest smiles ever with her bright blue eyes shining. I love how she nuzzles into my neck when she is tired. I love how many naps she takes:)

With every month, though, I feel like it couldn't get any better. Yet, it does! So keep growing baby Estie! I'm so thankful I'm the one who was blessed to be your mama!

Adoring brother looking on:)

Where did those gorgeous eyes come from?!

Yes, she is in a tutu.
I can't help myself, I actually have the urge to dress her in girly clothes.
Perhaps I'm making up for my own lack of girlyness?

Boy did she enjoy this!

Awwww, what a cutie...

or not.

Yay! A good picture of mama and baby!

Another good one!

I need to hang out with other women with cameras more often.

I end up being in the pictures!

So this is what is going on back there....

what a hilarious look!

speaking of hilarious looks!

Have I mentioned how much I adore this little girl?!

Final Farewell to the Lake

2011-08-17T01:38:00.000-07:00

The last weekend of July I headed up to the cabin for the last time with water in the lake. The power company was supposed to be draining the lake starting the first of August in preperation of the dam being blown up in October.
That being the case, and with the weather being spectacular, Kellie, who had been there all week, invited various friends to come out so we all had a great time playing on the water. In fact, I would say that weekend was the most activity that cabin and dock has ever seen!

We had every water craft imaginable out on the water. Kayak, raft, two paddle boards, air mattress, little red dinghy and the rowboat were all out there. We made some memories that I won't forget anytime soon. First off, Kellie rowed Alex, Nik, Luke, Morgan, two other small children and myself out to the rope swing where Kellie and I both jumped in. Brrrrr!!!! I came up screaming, though, I won't say whether it was from the cold or...................................................

the monsters in the deep.

One never knows what lurks below the surface of the waters.

Nik is definitely my water boy, and what is up with his biceps?! He's going to be stronger than me by the time he's eight!

I need to start rock climbing again.

Kellie took Nik out on the paddle board. He loved it and got his sea legs pretty quickly. I'd say he's ready to go surfing!

Then there was the other memory made I won't forget any time soon.
Due to some high winds suddenly flipping an empty raft, the oar ended up sinking to the bottom of the lake. Now, the lake isn't that deep in most parts, and thankfully the oar sunk in about seven feet of water. So one would think that diving down to it would be no big deal. Right?

Maybe for normal people, but my sister and I are slightly irrational when it comes to unknown waters, as you may have figured out by now. So neither one of us wanted to be the one to have to go after that oar. Well, having bad eyesight finally came in handy for Kellie as she had her contacts in and so would have had to dive in with her eyes shut. Which would have made it rather difficult to locate said oar. That being the case, my fate was sealed, and it was up to me. So i dove in, snatched that oar and was up and next to the board trying to get on before Kellie even knew what had happened to me. I'm highly motivated when there is a remote chance of being eaten by who knows what.

Luke and my last trip out on the lake in the kayak :( So sad!!!

Then we were all entertained by these lovely ladies. Alex and Morgan decided it would be fun to get into the little red dinghy and try to sink it.

They did.

They were having so much fun testing the limits of the little red dinghy that they didn't even notice the freezing cold glacior water they were in. We all had fun watching them as well:)

Yep, that's me in the little red dinghy as well. It's fun being a kid every once in a while.

The boys also practiced their slingshot shooting abilities.
They were getting pretty good at.
Nikolas fully thinks he could kill a giant like David did.

Lukas, on the other hand, would just irritate the snot out of him.

Alexandra and one of her many talents:)

Lukas has suddenly become a little tree climber. Hmmm, this bodes well for his climbing mama....

Tire swing!

We're sure going to miss that lake.
Sad.

Created To Work

2011-08-17T01:16:00.000-07:00

Tone' and I are determined to raise hard-working children.

Children who don't mind getting dirty and sweaty and putting forth effort into life. We want to see them serving others, and doing so gladly. This won't come if we don't encourage it, so whenever I see a chance for my boys to work, I jump!

The other day my brother, John, and my dad were out felling trees and cutting them up for firewood. So the kids and I headed over and when they were ready to load the wood into the trailer Karen, Abby, Nikolas and Lukas went out to help. (I had Baby so was rendered useless at the time) It was so great to see my boys joining everyone in hauling wood. They didn't complain and they took their jobs seriously. Nikolas is quite the strong man already and carried some hefty for him logs. Lukas is my natural hard worker, but he mostly carried twigs:) I think he doesn't realize he is a strong little guy, but he is perfectly happy letting Nik be the tough one.

Disclaimer: Nik picked out this outfit

Cowboy hat, explorer vest with no shirt, camo pants

Apparently this is his "hauling logs" outfit.

Some of my favorite memories of growing up on the farm were from work. I enjoyed it and, often, went looking for it. I loved picking berries and fruit from the orchards, mowing the grass, taking care of the chickens, pruning the trees, chopping down blackberries and whatever other job my dad may have had for me. I may have been a little weird, but no one has ever called me lazy. Likewise, I want my boys to want to work. I have found, however, that it's hard to foster hard workers while living in a neighborhood. At least for me. Instead of seeing things that need to be done, like on a farm, I have to create work to be done. I'm not really good at creating...I'm better at maintaining. So while I try to stretch myself by creating projects at home, I am perfectly happy to take my boys to someone elses projects.

Nikolas is so little here, but he is already doing good things by helping his grandpa and uncle. I also love that he was working along side his cousin, Abby, and Aunt Karen.

There is a book I have been meaning to read on this very subject. It is called, "Created For Work" by Bob Schulz. I know I'll like it because the summary is the very thoughts I have regarding boys, and girls!, working.

"Modern culture seems to be addicted to ease and entertainment. It has produced a generation of dishonest, unproductive, and weak-willed men. In Created For Work, Bob Schulz inspires boys to act differently - to get there hands dirty, follow directions, think creatively, and respect authority. It inspires young men, and offers the tools and encouragement they need to embrace God's ways and always give an honest day's work."

Interestingly, I recently took my nieces to a conference called, The Rebelution. It is put on by twin brothers whose message is to "Do hard things" and not succumb to society's low expectations on teens, (and really children of all ages). It was inspiring for all of us and I am more determined to help my kids learn to be hard workers and to love serving others.

Check back in ten years to see how I've done! Eek!

Toe Sucker

2011-08-03T01:17:00.000-07:00

We have a toe sucker in our midst.

Luckily she doesn't walk yet, or even crawl, so it is really cute at this point.

Unlike when the boys show me how they can suck on their toes as well.

Their grimy, black little toes.

Not so cute.

The good thing about toe sucking versus thumb sucking is that eventually her legs will get longer and she won't be as flexible and it will be more difficult to pop those delicious little toes in her mouth. Unless she is like my niece, Alex, who should be in the circus for her incredibly bendable body.
I really wonder what she is thinking..... It looks as though she has taken off her leg and is holding it.

Mmmmm, squeaky clean little toes to suck on!

She is trying to stick her entire foot into her mouth.

Funny baby.

Oh Brother

2011-07-15T01:48:00.000-07:00

Estie: "Will they always be like this?"
Mama: "Yes, I'm afraid so. Even when they are 40. Trust me, I know."

"But the good outweighs the bad. They will be fun to build forts with, play soccer, climb trees with and so much more. Just be sure to hide your favorite dolls. And never, I repeat, NEVER, go outside when they are playing air soft guns with their friends or you might end up being the target. Eventually, however, you will all grow up and chances are you will really enjoy each others company, and you can laugh together about the "good old days", because brothers really are fun. Trust me, I know that from experience as well:) ".

And now a note to my own brother:
Love you John! I'm so thankful you're my brother and I'm so glad we are friends as adults. I always looked up to you (even when you had me in tickle mode) and I still do, and not just in height! Thanks for having us over so often and I especially appreciate how much you and your family love on my boys and now little Estie too. Thank you!!!
Love, your littlest sister

Estella is 5 Months Old!

2011-07-14T00:43:00.000-07:00

How can it be that she is already 5 months old?! That is way too close to half a year old and I haven't even done her little footprints in clay or in her first stepping stone. Nuts!

She is now about 15 pounds and is fitting into her 3-6 months clothes well, most of which have come from my cousin, Chelsea. Thanks so much, Chels!

She has just learned how to roll from her back to her front. Good job Estie!

She needs a little help moving her arm in front of her once she is on her belly, though. Once on her belly, she will keep her head up a little while and then she buries it in the floor and starts pushing on the floor with her little feet which sends her little bottom up into the air. It's pretty funny.

I can't even imagine her crawling as it seems so far into the future, but I know it will happen sooner than I expect. I probably should go throughout the house searching for all the little "treasures" that her big brother, Nikolas, has hidden everywhere. You know, buttons, coins, screws, staples, marbles, legos, tiny pieces he finds on the floor at Target under the shelves.....the kid has an eagle eye for all things little and I'm sure his little sister will too and then vrooomp! into her mouth they'll go.

Estella has some pretty adoring big brothers. They hug her and kiss her and want to hold her and are always cheering her on when she goes to roll over. I'm so thankful for their love for each other:)

First time in a baby swing

I think we'll be seeing some teeth soon!

For the past month Estella has been sleeping from around 8:30 until 5 or 6 in the morning, which, seeing as I go to bed around 1:30 to 2AM gives me a whole 3 or 4 hours of sleep in a row.

Hmmm, that could be why my brain doesn't work anymore.....but when else am I supposed to blog??!!!! and balance my checkbook, clean the kitchen, sort my coupons, plan my menus. I can't imagine how late I'd be up if I watched TV or did Facebook!

At any rate, Estella is a perfect baby. I remember saying that Lukas was a perfect baby, and he was quite easy and wonderful, but I think Estie is just a bit easier. She really does not make a fuss hardly ever when I put her down. Whether it is for a nap, bedtime or when I need my hands free she just goes with the flow and hangs out sucking on her lower lip. (Yes, her lower lip. No thumb suckers or binky addicts in my household, they just suck on their lower lips!)
Now, this will probably all change since I am posting about it. Especially since she'll be getting teeth soon. I'll enjoy it while I can, though I should probably start getting some sleep soon.

........I keep saying that.

Estella's First 4th of July!

2011-07-13T23:54:00.000-07:00

Our little American girl. Really, she couldn't be any cuter. Of course, I think that every month, and then every month she gets cuter:)

My friend, Lorri, gave this darling little sailor dress to Estie for the 4th of July. It is from the Cracker Barrell! (My favorite restaurant, too bad the closest one is over 7 hours away!) Thank you Lorri!!!!!

We had dinner at our friends, Dave and Kate's house before going over to Happy Valley to watch the fireworks. I took a mango quinoa salad (delicious), a regular salad, watermelon, cherries and a bunch of condiments and such for the burgers and salad. Kate, however, did the hard part of the dinner and made burgers, rocket dogs, a superb potato chive salad, star sugar cookies and the most cool looking and yummy red velvet cake plus cupcakes. We were, to say the least, happily stuffed.

Isn't that the coolest looking cake?

Before dinner, seeing as it was in the 80's, we spent the afternoon at some friends house swimming in there pool. AAAhhhhhhh, it was so nice. Nikolas is getting braver about putting his face under water. Lukas is too, but only if he is attached at the hip to me. Not fun.

Estella went into to a pool for the very first time!

She hated it.

Isn't she darling in her little strawberry suit??!!! My good friend, Melinda, gave it to her.
The suit is cute. Estie is cute. The two combined are too much for words. I just can't handle all this cuteness, not to mention all the pink!

TIMBERRRRRR!!!!

2011-07-01T02:33:00.000-07:00

Okay, that was totally corny, but I had to do it.

Tone' and I went to a Portland Timbers soccer game a couple weeks ago compliments of my sister, Kellie. (Okay, Chad actually earned the money, but Kellie ordered us the tickets:) )
(((Oh wait, I ordered the tickets and Kellie sent me the check....))) Anyway, moving on...

We left the boys with Grandpa and Grandma Graham and took little Estie with us. We rode the MAX to the game which makes this her third train trip since she has been born. Pretty impressive for a five month old.

I just realized that Tone' was wearing a Blazers hat at a soccer game. Is that legal?

Estie did amazingly wonderful. She didn't make a peep the whole time, even though we were sitting directly above the Timbers band and everyone was chanting and yelling the ENTIRE TIME. At one point Tone' left to get me water and while he was gone these two very drunk guys looked up from a couple seats down, saw Estie and said, "Look at that baby! She's beautiful! I want to hold that baby!" To which I replied; "Uh, NO." They kept persisting and I kept saying no and then one of them wanted to know if I was Irish.
Drunk people are very random.
And, by the way, I am part Irish. And Scottish, Dutch, German, English and Native American. Now Estie is all those plus Italian, French-Canadian and Russian.

America: the land of Mutts. :) (You know, mutts are a very hardy breed, just ask a veterinarian)

Back to the game:
Since we arrived just after kickoff the only available seats were here:

Behind this pole.

At least we could see one of the goal posts:)

It was a pretty good game and we had fun, though I don't actually know what the score ended up being as we left 15 minutes early. Oh well, it was nice to get out by ourselves.... sort of by ourselves that is. Thanks Chad and Kellie for a fun birthday present to us both!

Meeting Thomas the Tank Engine

2011-06-28T00:04:00.000-07:00

Ever since Nikolas was two and became a Thomas the Tank Engine fanatic I have been wanting to take him to the Thomas Day Out in Hood River. I have been putting it off each year, though, because the tickets are a bit steep. Now that Nik is five I decided this was the year to do it as his excitement for Thomas is starting to diminish.

This looked like the real deal to me, but apparently I'm an amateur Thomas connoisseur as Nik and Luke both said, "That's not the REAL Thomas."
Say WHAT??!! How could he be any more real?
Oh well, what do they know. They're three and five.

They still enjoyed themselves on the train and Nik was pretty proud of his Jr. Engineer certificate.
Nikolas thought he was pretty cool getting to meet Sir Topham Hat.

While the boys had fun and it wasn't too terribly painful for Tone' and I, I will give a disclaimer to all those thinking of going someday in the future. Here it is: the train was so packed that Tone' didn't even get a seat and if we had been with friends we would not have been able to sit together. The train ride, in my parent opinion, stunk. Half the windows were so full of condensation that we couldn't even see out of them!
You have now been warned.

It was, however, memorable.

Taking Care Of His Wheels

2011-06-18T00:41:00.000-07:00

Nikolas rode his bike through some mud puddles the last time it rained and so his bike was good and dirty. He isn't too keen on dirt on his new "Shark" bike so he turned his cap backwards, grabbed a rag and started cleaning his set of wheels.

Five is an interesting age. He seems so grown up sometimes, like when he takes care of cleaning his own toys and when he opens the door for me because he sees I am carrying Estie and multiple other things. He is able to help me out in many ways now and we are also giving him a little more freedom. Then, when I begin to think he has become a rational little person, something will not go his way and he erupts into a sobbing little boy. Part toddler/part big kid. Hmmm, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde come to mind....

I wouldn't trade this time with Nikolas for anything, though. He's my little right hand man and even though there are still tantrums at times I know this phase of his life is quickly fading. I'm going to miss his little boyhood as he grows into a bigger elementary kid. With him being the oldest every stage he enters is still new to me and Tone', so I'm not quite sure what is in store for us every year. What if next year he doesn't need his special "kiki" (blanket) anymore, or what if he loses interest in Thomas the Tank Engine, or what if he doesn't want me to "just sit by me, mama" anymore?

I'm sure I'll enjoy the next stage in many ways as well, but this summer, I'm going to cherish every minute with my little five year old boy.

Decent Family Picture!

2011-06-16T00:53:00.000-07:00

Somehow; everyone was looking and smiling at exactly the right time. Now that, is amazing.

4 Months Old!

2011-06-15T23:55:00.000-07:00

Our baby girl keeps getting cuter with each month! Little Estie is 4 months old now, but I feel like she's been in our lives a lot longer. Which, actually, she has been in my life exactly 9 months longer...

Estella is now 13 1/2 pounds and 23 inches long. Almost two feet! She is actually smaller than her brothers both were at this age. That is normally a good thing, but my boys are already short for their ages. Hopefully she's going to be over five feet!
You laugh, but I'm only 5'2" and Tone's mom was only 4'11"!!! Oh well, it's fun being short. We can squeeze into small spaces and almost never hit our heads on low hanging lamps.

Comparison of her at 2 months.

This little girl makes me want to have another baby sooner rather than later. She is so easy going and gives out the most beautiful smiles to anyone who will look at her. She is definitely a third child as she has to share me with her two needy big brothers, which means, she has learned to wait. I try not to take advantage of that too much though. Besides, who could resist cuddling with this beautiful baby girl???

Those blue eyes are still there!

She is getting stronger and holding her head up real high. This past week she has been making every effort to roll over! Oh no! Now I won't be able to leave her just anywhere! I can't believe next month she will be getting close to sitting up on her own. It's crazy how fast infants develop.

Baby smooches from a smitten daddy:)

How incredibly blessed I am to be the mother of these amazing children.

"Hush Little Baby" Lukey Version

2011-06-02T23:49:00.000-07:00

Every night for a couple months at least I had been singing "Hush Little Baby" to the boys after the lights were out. It's a different version than the original, and the message is so much better.

Have you ever noticed with the original version it's all about buying the child something to help him/her to stop crying? A mockingbird, diamond ring, looking glass, billy goat, bull and cart, dog named Rover, a horse and another cart are all given to this crying child. I have noticed that when we have given a child something to get him to stop crying it has only resulted in a child who expects a gift each time he cries. They're smart little cookies; crying equals gift. More crying equals more gifts.

Not happenin' in this household!

So I was happy to find a version that focused more on the things we already have around us and often take for granted.
It goes like this:

Hush little baby don't say a word,
Mama's gonna show you a hummingbird,
And if that hummingbird should fly,
Mama's gonna show you the evening sky,
and when the nighttime shadows fall,
Mama's gonna hear for a crickets call,
and when their song drifts from afar,
Mama's gonna look for a shooting star,
and when that star drifts out of view,
Mama's gonna read a book to you,
and when that story has been read,
Mama's gonna bring you your warm bedspread,
and when that quilt begins to wear,
Mama's gonna bring you your teddy bear,
and if that teddy bear won't hug
Mama's gonna show you a lightning bug,
and if that lightning bug won't glow,
Mama's gonna bring out her old banjo,
and if that banjo's out of tune,
Mama's gonna show you the harvest moon,
and when that moon drifts through the sky,
Mama's gonna sing you a lullaby.

Much better.
Now on to the funny part:

I had sang the song so often that Lukas had started singing the last word of each phrase. I wanted to see how much he could remember on his own so one night I started singing and left off the last word and waited. He immediately caught on and yelled out the missing word.
I continued singing and continued stopping right before the last word so he could say it. It was very cute, made cuter by his little tiny voice.

The song progressed and went like this:

Mama: "and when that quilt begins to"

Lukas: "WEAR!"

Mama: "Mama's gonna bring you a teddy"

Lukas: "BEAR!"

Mama: "and if that teddy bear won't"

Lukas: "HUG!"

Mama: "Mama's gonna show you a lightning"

Lukas: "McQUEEN!"

McQueen???!!!

OOOHHHHH.....Lightning McQueen! From CARS, of course!

Gotta love those three year olds!

Weekend At The Cabin

2011-05-20T00:59:00.000-07:00

Tone' and I have just made a pact this year that we are going to start taking advantage of the generosity of my dad. He has had a cabin in the woods on a lake up in White Salmon, Washington for the last eight? or more years now and we haven't really used it much. Now that we have two boys who love to throw sticks and rocks in the water we realized that the cabin is the perfect place for a mini vacation. We have committed to going once a month now and so far we're two for two and planning our June trip.

Truly, it is such a peaceful retreat from this fast paced world we live in. There is no phone, which means no internet. I know! Can you imagine?! Our cell phones don't even work there. We go up there and have no idea what is going on the world. It's really quite funny.

The moment we arrived the boys started collecting rocks and sticks. Who needs toys?!

The best part, of course, is throwing them in the lake to hear "bloop, bloop".

Next up Nikolas took the little red dingy out for a row. We were a little worried about him tipping and falling in, but decided the experience would be memorable, even if it ended in a soggy mess. You could say that's my parenting style: as long as they won't be seriously maimed or worse, then let them explore and get dirty...or wet.

While Nik was rowing in circles Lukas was pouting on the dock. Poor kid, it's tough to be three.

He's not quite big enough to be out by himself on a little boat, yet is old enough to know he's missing out on an adventure.

Just before dinner time our friends, Ed, Emily and their two kids Elly and Evan arrived. They are outdoor enthusiasts as well, so we knew they would enjoy the cabin with us. Elly jumped right into the action and started helping Lukas row the dock. They just may have thought they were going somewhere. You never know with three year olds.

Lukas is only 6 months older than Elly and they are in the same class for Sunday School, but it took this weekend to realize they are both the "same age". I think it's because a six month old is so much further ahead then a newborn and it continues like that for a few months so I had forgotten how close they are in age. This weekend was a hilarious eye opener. They were so cute together and have the same tiny little voices and thought processes. Plus, Elly is the same height as Lukas, which is unusual for his little buddies.

A bonus feature to Ed and Emily coming was that they brought Emily's parents new kayaks!

Combined with Tone's kayak we have at the cabin it made for some fun outings on the lake together.

The guys were generous enough to let us ladies take the first trip out. AAAhhhhh, it was so quiet and peaceful......

Elly having some little Estie time

Lukas had to get in on the cuddling as well

The next morning Ed and Emily took the kayaks out. It was a beautiful, quiet morning and from the smiles on their faces I think they had fun:)

Then Tone', Ed and I took the big kids in our kayaks while Emily stayed with the sleeping babies. It was really fun to be able to go out as an almost complete family as we've never done that having only one kayak. It almost makes me want Tone' to build another one, except that I would not see him for 8 months while he's holed up in the garage.

Last on our list of weekend fun was a hike to the point overlooking the dam.

Three out of five looking isn't too bad!

Now Here's A New One

2011-05-16T00:45:00.000-07:00

The moment I was born I began aquiring freckles. I'm pretty sure my face was covered by the time I was eight, so whenever someone points them out to me I am always taken off guard since I don't notice I have them unless I'm really examing my face in the mirror. Those who know me well know that I don't often examine my face in the mirror (I'm a brush my teeth, comb my hair and fly out the door kind of gal), so I really don't think about my skin color(s) too much. Leave it to a three year old, however, to remind me.

Lukas: "Mama, why you have giraffes on your face?"

Mama: "Giraffes?.....OHHHH, you mean freckles!"

Well, it does make sense really. Especially to a three year old.

Three Months Old!

2011-05-10T23:40:00.000-07:00

Estella is three months old now!

Her little personality is beginning to emerge and I am loving getting to know this new little person. She loves to be talked to and will begin to coo and make sweet little noises as long as your attention is on her. Look away and she's done "talking" to you. Her eyes are still bright blue, which would be fun and different from the rest of us. She sure is growing tons and is ready for 3-6 months clothse now, but, somehow, I don't have any clothes in that size. (I need to come see you Chelsea!)

Just for comparison, here she is at two months.

The classic "0" mouth.

So cute!

Big brother Nikolas with his little sister.

Nikolas adores his little sis. He will stop whatever he is doing when she starts to cry and sing to her. I love listening to him sing to her. It's the sweetest thing and even if she is screaming and it isn't helping he won't give up or leave her until I come. He is already practicing protecting her.

"I'm THIS BIG"

Girl Clothes!

2011-05-05T00:52:00.000-07:00

Let's just get this out in the open. I'm not into clothes. In case you haven't noticed. Which, I'm sure you have as my wardrobe hasn't had a makeover since over five years ago. Before then my clothing was split into two categories: professional bank attire and rock climbing. The former consisted of multiple expensive suits from Petite Sophisticate while the latter was a mixture of Prana, North Face and Nike in the form of tank tops, shorts and puffy jackets. My "mom" wardrobe doesn't exactly fit in with my former shopping style, and so I have pretty much been reduced to wearing hand me downs and the occasional Old Navy special as I now don't have the disposable income to go shopping, but more importantly I don't have the excess time it takes for me to pick out clothes.
So it is quite amazing to me that my little girl seems to have quite an extensive wardrobe, and a fashionable one at that! Of course, most of her clothes are hand me downs from my generous and stylish cousin, Chelsea. Thanks Chelsea! (And also a thanks to Chelsea's mom, Debbie, who did a lot of the shopping for her granddaughters as well:)) ((By the way, Debbie is my first cousin once removed, making Chelsea my second cousin...and our children third cousins...just in case anyone was interested in my geneology:)) Hand me downs from children retain their style much better than adults, as children are in them for such a short amount of time. I have also found that little girls have a much wider and cuter array of choices than boys do. But enough words, just see for yourself:

Estie's Easter outfit

Estie's second Easter outfit after pooping all over her entire first Easter outfit...and Grandma.

Sorry Sue!

(And Chels, I got all the stains out!)

Happy Baby:)

As Kellie once pointed out, there is a lot of pink on my daughter.

I own exactly ONE pink item,

while Estella owns exactly one NON-pink item.

As all of her clothes have come from others generosity, I don't have much say in the matter,

but I must admit, I actually like all the pink! Maybe because it would be hard to know if she was a girl otherwise. I know it's not because I'm becoming more girly. Ha! Perish the thought.

I wouldn't know the first thing about being girly, but if I keep dressing her in pink and putting bows in her hair then eventually my little girl might be teaching me a thing or two about clothes and hair and style. That might be the thing for the hopeless state of fashion affairs I am in.

I'm so blessed to be the Mama of this little girl.

Thank you Lord!

And Baby Makes 7

2011-05-05T00:31:00.000-07:00

Pa Graham holding his seventh little grandchild. She is so little and sweet and comfortable in his arms, and my dad didn't mind a bit having an excuse to sit back and take a nap.

Beautiful Bathing Baby

2011-05-04T23:16:00.000-07:00

Just had to post some pictures of our beautiful baby:)

Lukas loves to help give a bath to his little sister, and she seems to love the attention as well. He is in charge of scrubbing her toes and her belly:)
Lukey is such a devoted big brother. He is always giving her kisses, rubbing her head and trying to get her to play with his horsies. If you ask him what her name is he will say,
"Baby sister". Then ask: "Is her name Estella?" Lukas then responds, "No, just baby sister."
Okay then. Baby sister it is.

Lately, Lukas has been banned from kissing or touching Estie's face. He is very upset about the new arrangements, but that is what happens when one nearly suffocates their sibling.
Oh yes, little Lukey nearly suffocated Estie. I had sat her next to him one day last week and then sat down on the floor next to them and was reading something. The next thing I heard was Estie screaming at the top of her lungs, and boy was she MAD! I picked her up and noticed that the skin around her lips was BLUE!!! He must have either been kissing her a really long time or was actually holding his hand over her mouth and nose (which I have caught him doing). Poor little girl:( Now, when he gets too near her face she starts protesting.
Smart little 3 month old!

Two Months Old!

2011-04-12T23:01:00.000-07:00

Estella is two months old

and growing fast!

I am going to now chronicalize her growth for the next year by doing two things. I bought these adorable owl stickers (ones on her belly) that show what month she is and so each month i'll put a sticker on her and then place her monkey next to her as well. It is going to be fun and sad at the same time to see how big she gets each month. I love this picture! Her eyes are really blue right now, and while I know that all babies eyes start out blue/grey I can't help but wonder if she will keep her bright blue eyes. It is possible, for all those of you who are wondering, as my grandmother had red hair and blue eyes and Tone's dad has blue eyes. So there ya go.

Is this face hilarious or what?!

Happy 5th Birthday Nikolas!

2011-03-28T01:02:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Nik's 5th birthday with the standard Train Party. Why both of my boys can't seem to get out of the train party rut is beyond me. Don't they know there are other themes we could be doing? Mainly I just want to make something other than a train cake, like a rocket ship or something, ANYTHING but another train cake. At any rate, Nikolas was very excited about having a "Rocky" train party. If you don't know your Thomas the Tank Engine trains then let me fill you in. Rocky is a crane train. He can swivel around and pick up derailed trains or move downed trees and is, as are all the trains on Sodor Island, "very useful". (Except that mean ol' Diesel 10, he's always up to no good) Isn't that right Elly? (Another small train aficionado)

Mama's rendering of Rocky.

What can you expect at one in the morning? Thankfully I had just picked up my niece Alex at 10:30 that night so she helped me decorate and prep for the morning, as well as keep me awake while I frosted. Eating a large spoonful of frosting helped too. If you asked Nik what his favorite part of the day was he would answer with, "wrestling with my cousin and my friends". I love how little boys look up to bigger boys and young men so much. I love it even more when those bigger boys and young men will take the time to interact with the little boys, like my nephew Zachary did. He wrestled with them, played ball with them and helped them play video games. It made the little boys feel important. Thanks Zach!

One tired birthday boy snuggling with his daddy.

Estella's First Smiles:)

2011-03-28T00:42:00.000-07:00

Our sweet little girl is smiling now, and it's not just because she has gas! I had hung a toy from her car seat handle and as I was doing something nearby I heard a little giggle. I looked at her and saw her staring at her toy and smiling and laughing. It was so cute!

Little Pink Riding Hood

What?! I'm in a picture!

Tone' and his little "peanut".

Nik's New Ride

2011-03-21T23:14:00.000-07:00

Nikolas' 5th birthday is coming up and he was needing a new bike as his other bike was a 12" with teensy little tires that couldn't keep up with his pedaling. So off to Toys R Us we went and brought home a new "Shark" bike. He is one excited little boy!

Riding off curbs

and a video of him riding off the ramp Tone' made him:

He took to his new 14" bike with ease and is able to ride so much faster.

Tone' is about ready to take him on the bike path, though we're just a little worried about whether he will pay attention to other bikers so he doesn't get run over or end up in the blackberry bushes.

Then there is little brother Lukas.

Who, at 3, still only wants to ride his litte Retro Rocket that he started riding when he was a one year old. Once in a while he'll go out on a limb and ride a tricycle, but only when he's feeling daring. It really is cute though to watch him pushing that thing all over the place, especially since he has no clue that he is always last when he races Nik. They both say, "I won!".

And here is a video showing he does have a little bit of a daring side:

An Honest Answer

2011-03-21T14:03:00.000-07:00

I was reading to Lukas from the Bible about Jonah trying to run away from God and being swallowed by a great fish. When I came to the part where Jonah finally obeyed God, Lukas said with big eyes, "OBEYED?!?!" I said, "Yes, he obeyed. Do you obey?" Lukas responded with,
"No. I don't obey."

Well, at least he's truthful:)

A New Bunk Bed and "The Rules"

2011-03-19T12:39:00.000-07:00

The boys now have a new bunk bed, which happens to have been Kellie and mine, and they are quite ecstatic about it. Nikolas is the most ecstatic as he is the one who gets the top bunk, just like I did:)
They were both playing on the top bunk while I was changing Estie's diaper and I overheard Nikolas giving Lukas the "rules" for being on the top bunk.

Nik: Okay Lukas, rule #1: No jumping on the bed
rule #2: No rolling or you'll fall off
rule #3: no standing by the edge
rule #4: pause.....more silence....
rule #5: no throwing things off the bed
(apparently he couldn't think of anything for rule #4 so he moved on. Makes sense to a 4 year old I suppose)
rule #6: no breaking the bunk bed
rule #7: no using my blanket
rule #8: no scratching the walls with tools
rule #9: no taking my stuff out of my wall pockets
rule #10: no breaking the rules!

I walked over to their room to watch this unfold and saw Lukas' response after the last rule. He rolled, stood up and started jumping. Ha! I had to keep myself from laughing.

Hello Spring

2011-03-09T23:46:00.000-08:00

Would you come out to stay please?

Snow Day!

2011-03-09T22:40:00.000-08:00

Nikolas had so much fun playing in the snow making snow balls and throwing them at Tone'.

I wish we could have gone up to the mountain this winter to play in the snow,

but I was not wanting to risk going into labor up there

and now I don't want to take baby up there.

Next year.

Bombs away!

Lukas did have fun, in spite of his grumpy appearance.

Such joy!

My little snow baby.

Lukas was looking at the flowers trying to poke their heads up through the snow.

I really wish we could just have a couple days of snow. Like, 6 inches would be fun.

Come on Pacific NorthWest.

One Month Old!

2011-03-09T22:25:00.000-08:00

Estella is a month old already!

I found these little owl stickers that have a number for each month up to 12 so we can keep track of her growth. Aren't they adorable?! I need to find a some other object to put her by so her growth is more obvious.

She now weighs 10 pounds and has grown 3/4 ths of an inch making her 20 and 3/4th inches. I couldn't believe she was 10 pounds! She is going to surpass her brothers for sure growing like that. She is in the 75th percentile for her weight. The boys have never been in that percentile so it will be funny to see where she is next time.

I'm loving having a little girl as there are just so many cute things to dress her in and to buy for her. I'm especially having fun decorating her room in owls.

She is sleeping well the first half of the night currently, unfortunately, she doesn't sleep at all the last half. I'm going to go a bit crazy if that doesn't change. She has two months and then it's training time.

No, We Can Not Keep Him

2011-03-09T21:11:00.000-08:00

This little guy jumped out from under the couch at me the other day.

I was reading and holding Estella and saw something move out of the corner of my eye, and there was this cute little frog:) I screached to Tone' who was in the other room, "TONE', COME SEE THIS!" He was on the couch as he was in the midst of the flu and when he heard me he thought something was terribly wrong and jumped out and came running. When he saw it was a frog he said, "In the future, when I am sick, there are only three things you can screach like that for: a dead body, a meteor the size of Texas or a plague of frogs in Biblical proportion." Hmm, I guess I did sound like there was something about to eat me.

It was too bad that the boys were spending the night at John and Karen's, 'cause they missed out on seeing the little froggie. (Well, not really too bad. It was actually really sweet having the night off)

Then, Tone' asked; "Can we keep him?"

"No"

"We could put it in my aquarium!"

"No"

"Just until tomorrow so the boys can see him!"

"No"

So with sagging shoulders Tone' shooed the little guy out the door.

More Estella Pictures

2011-02-28T21:23:00.000-08:00

My camera is still not working so I am borrowing a friends old one so I haven't been as picture happy as I would normally be. I'm so bummed as I know I'm missing Estella's newborn moments that I'll never get again. So sad. Here are a few pictures we have taken though.

Mama and daughter

My midwife and me with little Estella

I am so thankful to have had the same midwife for all three of my children. Even when I am screaming at her, "NO, I don't want to push!", she stays calm, takes it all in stride and encourages me anyway.

Uncle Bill with his first niece

Grandpa Graham with his oldest grandchild and his youngest grandchild.

Made even more special that they are both girls and both born on the exact same day!

Yep, Estie decided she wanted to share Alex's birthday, so they are exactly 19 years apart.

Stay tuned; there will be more of our little Estie coming soon!

Eleven Days New

2011-02-14T21:47:00.000-08:00

Our Beautiful Baby Girl

Our whole household is simply smitten by our sweet little Estie. Lukas loves to kiss "his baby" and talk in a little baby voice to her, (not that that is too much different than his real life voice). Nikolas, surprisingly, has also been caught stroking her head and talking sweet to her. He even held her today!

I find it hard to believe that I am actually dressing my baby in pinks and putting bows in her hair, but I am! She looks so incredibly cute, how could I not?

She's awake, don't blink or you'll miss her eyes!

She is definitely fitting the old saying, "sleep like a baby" as she is awake for about 3 hours a day. Now the nights are a little different. Actually, she does pretty well for a newborn, but waking every 2 hours to nurse seems to come so much quicker at night than during the day.

And lest you all think we are ignoring our boys during this time, here is a picture of Nikolas with his dinosaur egg carton craft we did today. They both were pretty happy with their creations and spent at least 20 minutes roaring and swinging their tails at each other.

Estella Erlene Has Arrived!

2011-02-06T22:31:00.000-08:00

Our baby girl decided to come 2 weeks early!

She was born on February 3rd at 4:49pm. She was not due until February 16th, but my babies seem to like arriving unexpectedly for some reason.

If you have seen my facebook page then you have seen these pictures, and unfortunately, they are the only pictures, with the exception of the last two, that we have of our hospital stay:( My fancy camera, with my new flash from Christmas, went bonkers and wouldn't take any flash pictures at all, so they are all blurry. Thankfully, my friend Melinda brought her new camera and she captured these pictures which turned out perfect. Thanks so much Melinda!!!!!

I can't believe she was inside me just hours earlier, how did she fit?! Now I know why I was feeling her foot in my rib cage at the same time as I felt her head....elsewhere.

"What do I do with a girl?!"

Nice and plump and fresh from the womb. And still gooey.
She weighed 7lbs. 14 oz. and was 20 inches long. She was bigger than both her brothers, taller than Lukas and the same height as Nikolas when they were born. Thankfully, her head was small like Nikolas, and unlike Lukas, so she just popped right out! I have come to realize that it doesn't matter in childbirth how much they weigh so much, it matters how big there noggin is.

My dad and Sue had the boys for the past 4 days while we were going in and out of the hospital and then while we had little Estie. The boys loved being with their Grandma and Grandpa and Tone' and I are so thankful we have them close by to help us in such a big way.
When Dad and Sue brought the boys to meet their new little sister their reaction surprised me. They were both so interested in her and for quite a while as well:) They sat up next to me and proceeded to point out all of her little body parts and ask me all sorts of personal questions like, "Mommy, can I see where she came out of?" "Um, no Nik, you can't."

Some other funny comments were:

Nik: "Can I see her girl parts?"

Lukas: "Why do you still have a baby in your tummy?" (Thanks kid)

Lukas: "Did the baby come out of your bellybutton? " (I wish)

It has been so sweet to watch my boys being gentle with her and interested in her and quite proud to be her big brothers. Today at church we walked into their Sunday School room and Lukey immediately ran up to a little buddy and pulled his arm toward Estella saying, "Come see my new baby!!!" They both love to point out her arrival to everyone and have been wearing their new Big Brother shirts proudly, which, of course, I have no pictures of yet.

Baby Estie is now 3 days old and is doing wonderfully. I am recovering quite quickly as this labor went so much smoother than the last two. I could have a few more at this rate:)

Hopefully I'll get my camera figured out soon so I can get some close up shots of our little girl. She looked especially sweet today dressed up for church. I can't believe I have a girl!

A Quick Glance At Christmas

2011-01-20T11:02:00.000-08:00

This is a bit late to be posting about our Christmas crafts we did the last half of December, but I wanted to have a record for next year so I don't have to reinvent the wheel for myself.

We managed to do a craft or activity nearly everyday of December and it was great! Lukas loved it especially and now is constantly asking to do "crafts, Mama!". So now I need to get busy and come up with monthly sets of crafts to do, oh boy. My brain hurts thinking about it. With a new baby coming, though, I can see the benefit of having some preplanned crafts ready to go for those jealous moments when I'll be taking care of baby sister.

Marble Painted Tree

Lukas thought this was pretty cool. You just put a cutout of something on a cardboard lid with a dollop of paint or three and then give them a marble to roll around and it decorates the cutout beautifully. And doesn't require a major clean-up like when typically using paint!

My little helper.

We made sugar cookies and then frosted them, or should I say, they frosted one each and then I frosted the rest. I don't really know why I keep making sugar cookies as neither of my boys like the cookie part, just the icing. Really, then, it's because I discovered the absolute best sugar cookie recipe in the history of the world from my friend, Emily. The cookies turn out perfect every time and are the perfect amount of crunch on the edges and soft and moist on the inside. YUM!!!

Of course, we had to have some play fighting with homemade crowns and swords. Not sure if that fit in with Christmas, though it was the correct form of weapons for the time of Jesus. So that counts, right? Hmmm, maybe the Roman soldiers and Peter when he was defending Jesus?

One night we loaded the boys into the car and tried finding the Christmas ships. We missed them on the Willamette, so tried to catch them on the Columbia, but apparently the Columbia is a lot longer and the boats are not in any hurry as we never saw them. So instead, we went to Peacock Lane, which was much closer and probably more fun for the boys. Live and learn.

I'd reccommend parking a few blocks away and then walking there, if you were thinking of doing this next year. The traffic to drive through stretches forever and then you have walkers in front of the houses blocking your view. We parked and walked and it was great and Lukas loved it. Nikolas, on the other hand, is in a fun stage of not wanting to participate in ANYTHING right now, so he was miserable the whole time.

Large to Small Tree Building

They were supposed to build their Christmas tree going from large on bottom to small on top. Fun craft and a learning tool as well. Nikolas did great, and actually participated, and Lukas did pretty good for his age.

"Stained Glass" Window Trees

Paper Plate Angels

Obviously, I helped Lukas with the head. Not that it is great, but it would've ended up with scribbles for a head otherwise.

Making a nativity scene with stickers

Christmas Eve at the Grandparents

Yes, Nik is probably picking his nose. It seems to be a requirement for him as soon as a camera is pointed his way. Which is why he isn't included in many posts. He might be thankful for that when he is older.....or bummed.....could go either way really....

8 Months Down, 4 Weeks To Go

2011-01-19T00:01:00.000-08:00

Not a great picture of me, but it is pretty much how I am feeling right now with less than 4 weeks until baby comes. Tired and exhausted are a couple words I could use to describe myself currently. I have even been napping the last few days when I can sneak it in, which is entirely out of character for me. I am not one to sit for more than 5 minutes at a time without getting up to do something, but now my body is forcing me to sit more and nap more. It has been helping me to stay somewhat on track with my latest committment to read the Bible in 90 days, though!
I am pretty close to being ready for this little girl to appear as I have been madly clearing out the baby room, getting things organized in the garage, washing all the baby paraphanelia, setting up the co-sleeper and crib, and making a pile to take to the hospital with us. I have also been making a few freezer meals and have plans to make more, hopefully! My latest project has been decorating the baby's room. My good friend, Sheri, came over last Saturday and painted the cutest tree with swirl branches on the wall over the crib. It looks so good! She is coming back to paint a swirlly branch out of the window and then we are going to add some owls to the branches of both. It has been so much fun to think about decorating a little girls room:) When it is all done I'll post pictures, for sure!

I'll keep you all posted should we have an early arrival!

Hunting For The Christmas Tree

2010-12-14T20:00:00.000-08:00

Christmas Crack

Nikolas bearing the firstborn responsibility of carrying the saw.
He was quite proud of himself:)

Where's Lukas?!

Nikolas claimed this tree,
too bad it was too short for mommy's standards.

Talk about a happy boy!

The farm we went to has a little barn with two "reindeer", a llama and some other creature I can't remember right now. Nik liked them, but Lukas, our little horse fan, wouldn't even go inside the barn.

Nikolas helping to decorate the tree.

and Lukas as well,
though he would have nothing to do with the lower half of the tree.

The finished product!

Why is it that a tree can look perfect at the farm
but once inside the imperfections become glaringly obvious?

I'm going to just admit here that this was a bit hard for me to relinquish control of the tree decorating. I was given the task of decorating the Christmas tree when I was 15 and no longer had a brother or sister at home to help. (Not that I remember John ever decorating the tree...but maybe), so then when I married I happily took over decorating the tree to my own liking. After 8 years of marriage before children I had a system and a certain way I wanted the tree to look. Now that the boys are a little older and actually want to help I want to encourage that attitude of helpfulness, but it makes me cringe a little as they are reaching for the breakable ornaments or the ones of sentimental value. I know I don't have to let them hang the breakable ones, and I do steer them towards the paper and plastic versions, but I also don't want to be overbearing and make decorating the tree a stressful time. So I just repeat, "My boys are more important than things" over and over again......as the violin ornament my mom gave me when I played the violin gets dropped and bent.

My boys are more important than things.
My boys are more important than things.
My boys are more important than things.

My Christmas Craft Resolution

2010-12-12T11:59:00.000-08:00

I started New Years early this year and made a resolution at the end of November that I would do a Christmas activity or craft everyday of December. I am happy to report that I have actually been keeping this resolution so far!

Here are some of our crafts we have done so far:

Tissue Paper Snowman

I just cut out the circles and attached the contact paper. They did the rest! (Though I did point to where Lukas should stick his carrot and hat) I think tissue paper crafts like this are my all time favorite craft. I always have the material on hand, they don't take much prep work and once I get the shape cut out and backed with contact paper I can move on to other things while they work on their creations for at least 15-20 minutes.

Cottonball Snowmen

Notice how the goofy looking one with the eye on its lower body and the hat upside down was created by the 4 year old. That is what the snowman would have looked like had Lukas not had me pointing to where things should go, but I figured that Nikolas would know where eyes belong and which way a hat goes. Apparently not. I like it, though, and next craft we do I'm leaving Lukas to his own devices:)

Hand Print Christmas Trees

I cut a tree shape out of paper bags and then had them paint their trees green. Then, while we waited for the paint to dry I traced their hands onto construction paper and then cut them out. They were in charge of gluing their hands to the tree.
I love how these turned out and they look really cute taped to our window. I'll be keeping these in their keepsake boxes for sure!

Reindeer Ornaments

This one is a pretty well known craft. They colored their sticks and then I put the hot glue on and they stuck everything together.

Hand and Foot Print Reindeers

This one is another keeper! I love their little handprints for the antlers:) Next time I would paste the hands behind the feet prints as then I could see their little toes as well.

We also did some easy Foamies crafts and have gone to look at some pretty fantastic Christmas lights as well as getting our tree the other day and decorating. I have a list of other crafts and activities I want to do in the coming days, and it's a good thing as Lukas has started asking for crafts now. He says, "We do crafts now, Mommy?" and then runs to my craft bins looking for things.
I really hope to stay motivated with this December resolution so if you have any cute and simple ideas for me to try let me know!

I found many of the craft ideas from various homeschooling blogs found here and here.

And In Everything, Give Thanks

2010-12-07T23:21:00.000-08:00

Tone' has been praying with the boys before bed since he has been home and I just have to share what is being prayed for as it is just too cute:)

Tone' starts out by asking the boys what they are thankful for and that they can thank Jesus for these things. They both come up with different things like family, friends and their toys. So then Tone' starts praying and it goes something like this (I listened in recently):

Tone': "Dear Jesus, thank you for mommy and all the things she does for us, and thank you...."

Now here is where, every single night without fail, Lukas urgently interjects with, " that mommy gives us M&M's!". So Tone' has to thank Jesus for mommy giving them M&M's before going on, and once he does he begins again with, "and thank you...."

Then, Lukas interjects again with, "that mommy gives us chocolate chips!".

So, apparently, the way to Lukas heart is with chocolate.

Which isn't too far off the way to his mama's heart. I do prefer Dark chocolate, however....
hint, hint.

Introducing:

2010-12-05T23:55:00.000-08:00

our baby girl:
Estella Erlene

An old fashioned name, for sure, but with significant meaning. Unknown to many, Estella Erlene was my mothers full name, though she went by her middle name, Erlene. My middle name is Erlene as well, a fact I was always embarrassed about growing up, but am quite proud to bear now. Estella was also my Great Great Grandmothers name (or was it just one Great?) and so there is alot of family history behind this name.

Our Little Girls Namesake:
My sweet mother who I miss terribly, especially now that I am having a little girl.
This picture was taken the last Christmas we all spent together in 2004.
She would have turned 70 last Friday, the 3rd of December.

Tone' and I have different nicknames for our little Estella. Tone' plans on calling her "Stella" which is actually quite popular nowadays, it's in the top 150. Apparently there is some movie I have never seen where the character yells, "STELLA!!!!!". So Tone' is down with that name.
I have a different name in mind and it happens to be after my friend, Estie. The same Estie who is just one week ahead of me in pregnancy. How coincidental!
All these names, Estella, Estie and Stella derive from the name of Esther, which means "star".

We don't know yet what Lukas plans on calling his little sister, but Nikolas has an entirely different name picked out. He is adamant on calling her, "Celeste".

Yes, that's right, Celeste. After Babar the elephants wife! The quite hilarious thing is that Celeste means, "heavenly", which is right in line with the "star" meaning of Estella.

Needless to say this little girl is going to be a little confused as to what her actual name is. She'll figure it out soon enough though as I will be telling her all about the wonderful grandmother she is named after, who was also named after her grandmother. And that is how it should be, generation after generation passing on the family history and keeping memories alive.

Two And A Half Months Till Baby!

2010-12-03T00:17:00.000-08:00

I don't know how I haven't posted anything about me being pregnant yet, but somehow 6 1/2 months have gone by already. This is also only the second picture of me with child, which is in stark contrast to my other two. With each of them I took monthly pictures wearing the same outfit and standing in the same spot. Hmmmm, hope this doesn't foretell the attention this baby will be getting. Though, being a girl, I'm pretty sure she won't be neglected:)

Two of my friends and I planned a little girls getaway recently and left all our children with the husbands for two whole nights! It was marvelous. Uninterrupted meals, showers, conversations, SLEEP....to name a few. Well, actually, the sleep was interrupted for both my friend, Estie and I, as she is also pregnant and so we were taking turns getting up throughout the night as there just isn't enough room in our bodies to hold out all night. BUT, we weren't interrupted by any other children!

My friend, Rachael, joined us as well. We spent the weekend at my dads cabin in White Salmon, Washington. It's on a little lake, for now, as the dam is soon to be blown up within the next couple years. Then the cabin will be on a bog pit. Lovely. Thanks salmon lovers.

(notice how my belly covers most of Rachael?)

Rachael enjoyed taking the kayak out on the lake.

It is quite peaceful and glides smoothly through the water, unlike the rowboat that Estie and I were in. Peaceful and smooth would be the opposite words for that thing. Tone' actually built this kayak, which amazes me. If only he had made another one, but I really don't want to be a kayak widow for the 8 months it takes to build one.

Estie took a spin in it as well, and by the time we made it back to the dock it was dark.

We decided we're making this an annual or even a bi-annual event. Though next year there will be two tiny babies in tow. But since Estie and I are both having girls, it will still be a girls weekend!

A Book I Should Have

2010-11-27T22:58:00.000-08:00

I just saw this book recently and thought it was one I could use often.

It is described as a book that "tells you what to do when any kind of food or drink is.....
overcooked, undercooked, stale, burned, lumpy, salty, bland, too spicy, mushy, too dry, too wet, flat, tough, too thick, too thin, wilted, collapsed, curdled or stuck together." In other words, things that go wrong in my kitchen on a regular basis.

I am the first to admit that I am not a natural born cook.

I really only began cooking (and by "cooking" I mean that I make most of the meal from scratch which doesn't include Bisquick, instant anything or those convenient boxed pasta mixes) after I had Nikolas. Before that it was a lot of eating out, stir-fry and yes, the boxed pasta mixes with chicken tenderloins. Somehow my sister learned enough cooking from our mom before she left home at 18 and was able to cook whole meals from scratch. She once told me that she didn't even realize buying chicken frozen and in parts was an option till she was older. She always started with a whole chicken. I, however, had no idea how to cook a chicken whole and thought everyone, except my mom, bought frozen chicken breast. The funny part about that is that we raised our own chickens and every so often my dad would introduce a chicken or three to his newly sharpened axe. Then, after chasing the headless chickens around the yard for a while, I would sit at the picnic table with my mom and sister plucking feathers. I suppose I then went off to play in the woods or splash in the creek while Kellie and mom went in to finish the chicken cleaning and cooking, because I have no memories of what went on with those chickens once we defeathered them.

My lack of kitchen appearances didn't stop with just chickens either. I never learned to make cookies or bread or sauces or how to brown ground beef. I might have boiled noodles....maybe... ....once. Apparently I spent most of my time outside while growing up and left being quite proficient at swinging a machette at those pesky blackberry bushes. Machette swinging doesn't carry over into daily life very well, though. If only reality shows like Survivor had been around back then!

Now that I've been a stay-at-home mom for nearly five years I think I have graduated into the realm of cooking to say that I actually can cook. I now know how to make a rue, how to fake buttermilk using regular milk and apple cider vinegar, how to make my own cream of mushroom soup, and yes, I even know how to make cookies! I do, however, still have cooking and baking mishaps. It is then that I rely on three friends for advice: Kate, Sheri and my sister Kellie. In fact, just tonight I called my sister for tips on how to make a coconut cream pie for my brothers 40th birthday. (How can he be 40?! Even though he is 5 1/2 years older than me, him turning 40 means it is that much closer for me! Yikes!) I've never eaten a coconut cream pie let alone made one, so I looked up some recipes and then called Kellie for any other words of wisdom. I went to work on making the pie and everything was going well until I dumped all the coconut into the mixture and then immediately realized that I hadn't toasted the coconut yet. Nuts. Start over or spoon as much of the coconut out and then toast it? Hmmmm.... this is where the book would have come in handy.

Well, I ended up spooning it out and toasting, 2 different batches as I burned the first one, and then added it back in. It's cooling now, so we'll see how it all turns out. I'm sure glad there are going to be other desserts at John's party!

Summer Recap: Beach Trip!

2010-11-11T23:48:00.000-08:00

My life is now slowing down long enough to finally post some of the summer fun we had. That, and Tone' is sort of back in town. Sort of meaning; he still has to travel to Seattle area during the week, but at least it's only 2 or 3 days now instead of the whole week! That seems so much more doable than him being gone Sunday afternoon through late Friday night.
So here are the pictures from a week in August when the boys and I stayed near Depot Bay with my good friend Sheri. The blue sky is just about killing me right now amidst all this RAIN we are so fortunate to experience here in the beautiful Pacific NW. If I could move with all my family, friends and church to southern Utah, I WOULD! Sun, rock climbing....sun, rock climbing...okay, that's about all that I need apart from family, friends and my church family.

Moving on from the dream.....here is the beach:

Nikolas is athletic in every way....
except catching a ball.

He can throw pretty well though:)

Sheri enjoying the sun, sand and magazine reading.

This picture hardly looks like Lukas,
especially now as his hair is buzzed.
He's a cutie, I must say.

We stayed in a little cabin just a couple blocks from the beach.
The boys spent the evenings playing trains, reading books and jumping off the bunk bed.

They also rode their bikes in the evenings.
Nikolas was in rare form pushing his little brother around.

Auntie Shewi, as the boys call her:)

I love the little Lukey pouty face

I love the smiling Lukas even more!

Our little private beach.
Or so it seemed as we were always the only ones on it.

Nikolas Earns "The Big Brother Award"

2010-11-10T23:38:00.000-08:00

On the way to drop off the boys at a friends so I could go to a meeting Lukas started crying in the car about the impending separation. Here's how Nikolas stepped in:

Luke: Mommy, if you leave me at the Davis' house, I cry.

Nikolas: Luke, it's okay. I'll take care of you.

Luke: Okay. You have to kiss me though.

It was a "melt my heart" kind of moment. I love those boys.

Trick or Treating

2010-11-09T23:33:00.000-08:00

The gang.
This is the fifth year we have been trick or treating with this group of kiddos.
Well, obviously not all the kiddos.

Actually only half of them were around when Nikolas first joined as a little
six month old bat. Now we have doubled the numbers! That is wayyyyy more than the average U.S. population growth. Just doing our part to help out the social security system.

If it's still around by the time these guys are all working....

The little boys
(just don't let them hear you say "little"!)

These cute boys are within 4 months of each other in age, yet, by looking at the size difference between Lukas and the other two you would think there was much more. Sorry Luke, I'm afraid there isn't much hope for you....

The big boys
They took this superhero business serious!
Absolutely hilarious.

All the boys, including the littlest little boys.

Eight boys five years old and under. You could say it gets a little loud and rambunctious when we are all together. In fact, you could ask Kate, mother of the little chicken boy, who has two older girls and was just recently introduced one evening to what it is like to have boys. All six of the bigger boys stripped down to their unders and had a wrestling match in the living room after dinner. It was crazy. It was loud. There were tears, but they all had fun and would have kept wrestling had I not put an end to it finally. That's boys!

Cookie Monster!

I went down to Cannon Beach and picked up my niece Alexandra from college so she could spend the weekend with us. She always comes up with the most unique costumes and this year was no different.

Willy and Nikolas, aka. Batman and Batman, are plotting against the girls here.

Run Audrey Bee, run!!!

Counting the loot.
Nikolas did well and was not ready to stop.

Lukas did well too, considering he missed half the houses due to being
the slooowwwest child ever to go trick or treating.

The best part of the night?

Drinking pumpkin spice lattes my friend Angela made in the Crockpot!
MMMmmmmmm!!!!

Manitou Cliff Dwellings

2010-10-19T22:52:00.000-07:00

On our return trip from Oklahoma we stopped at the Manitou Indian Cliff Dwellings in Colorado Springs, Colorado. This was a really cool history lesson about the Anasazi people and all the magnificent cliff dwellings they built. It was also really beautiful, both the dwellings and the scenery.

These cliff dwellings are actually reconstructions of the original, though they did use the original stone and built them in the same dimensions and layouts as the original which were located in Mesa Verde. This was done because of the looting and destruction going on. The nice thing about this being a reconstruction is that the stones were put back together with concrete mortar instead of the mud/clay mortar used by the Anasazi. Now people can walk and climb through the dwellings and not worry about the stones coming crashing down on top of anyone. That is nice.

Nikolas and Lukas had fun exploring this place and we didn't hear Nik say he was bored even once! Except for maybe in the gift shop.....

Hello Alex!

The boys loved being able to climb through all the openings and up the ladders.
This is a great place to teach the more hands-on learners some history.

This was a great reminder to me that there are so many places within a couple days of driving that will be fun and wonderful history lessons for my children. Not to mention for me!

Bishop's Castle, Colorado

2010-10-12T20:28:00.001-07:00

One of our stops in Colorado was this huge castle built by ONE MAN. Yes, a single man has been building this by himself since 1969, block by block. His sons help with things like cutting stone and and such but the actual building is done by this one man; Jim Bishop. It happens to be just 6 miles from my cousins ranch in the Rocky Mountains and is located at over 9000 feet. Pretty amazing.

It's massive.

Kellie and I, along with Zach and Alex, came here about 7 years ago and it was cool to see how much it had progressed.

The main floor where they hold weddings at.

It's Big!

The boys thought it was pretty cool. It was a LOT disconcerting having them, especially Lukas, climbing through this castle as it is definitely not up to code on safety, and this coming from the mama who takes her 2 year olds rock climbing and let's them climb up high in trees and such. When Mr. Bishop gets done building for the day he just picks up his tools and heads down without so much as leaving any tape or barrier across the path that suddenly falls off into oblivion. Seriously, it's worse than it sounds. So the whole time Kellie, Alex and I were grabbing Luke's shirt collar so he wouldn't plummet off the side.

Spiral Staircases everywhere!

Kellie

As you can tell the staircases were super steep and pretty much all the railings were so wide apart that Lukas could easily fit through. Did I mention it was unsafe? Though the actual structure of the building is sound. I think.

The boys favorite part!

The GeoDome Tower

See how high I am? I'm in the tallest tower at 160 feet. And very short railings! Good thing I'm not afraid of heights, but I must confess: it is way scarier to be on a narrow ledge at 160 feet than it is to be at 1600 feet on the side of a cliff in Yosemite. It's amazing how much confidence I place in those climbing ropes!
Notice how there are only about 7 stone railings around the dome? You can still walk out there and around on that skinny balcony though! Hope a strong wind doesn't come by! Kellie went up into the very top of the dome, which feels somewhat wobbly, but I refrained as Alex and I had death grips on Nik and Luke.

Sitting very still so I could take a picture.
No glass in those openings!

Beautiful stained glass windows

The boys and I in the "Giant's Chair"

Cousins Alex and Lukas

Even though it is tall and scary if you have little children, it is definitely worth the visit if you are ever anywhere near Colorado Springs or Pueblo, Colorado.

Arches National Park

2010-10-08T23:18:00.000-07:00

Our first fun tourist stop on the loooonnngg drive to Oklahoma was Arches National Park!
I have always wanted to go there and since we were driving "right by it" we decided to make it one of our stops.

Even with my poor picture taking skills some of the pictures turned out great as the colors of the rock against the blue sky made a beautiful shot.

Lukas with his cousin, Alexandra and Aunt Kellie
getting ready to hike to some arches.

Lukas was our enthusiastic hiker and with how much he was running and jumping along the way I'm sure he logged more miles than the rest of us.

North and South Window Arches

Thankfully Lukey lets me put a hat on him as he has inherited Mama's skin. Not burning easily, but freckling easily. He already has a tiny little patch growing on his nose and cheeks while Nikolas, who is twice as old, has not a single freckle to be found. Nik definitely has his daddy's skin.

Turret Arch

The only way I could get a picture with Nikolas was to hold him as he was Mr. Grumpy Pants the whole entire hike. We thought the boys would be ecstatic to get out of the car and run, but apparently this place didn't meet Nik's specifications for fun. He grudgingly hiked the whole thing while repeating, "This is boring, I don't want to be here. This is boring."

Children are simply unpredictable.

Lukas had enough enthusiasm for all of us!

It was beautiful, to say the least. One of these years I'm going to drag my family all over Utah to see all the beautiful national parks they have. We will, of course, be taking climbing gear on that trip:)

Oooooklahoma Trip

2010-10-07T20:17:00.000-07:00

My grandmother turned 90 years old this year! In honor of her birthday and the occasion, we headed off to Oklahoma to join in the festivities.

Me, Grandma & my Great Aunt Fae (who's 12 years younger)

My sister, Kellie, my niece, Alexandra, myself, Nikolas and Lukas drove to Oklahoma, which isn't anything too unbearable for Kellie, Alex and myself as we are all seasoned road trippers. The 2 and 4 year old, however, weren't terribly keen on driving long hours for 4 days straight each way. Considering, they did pretty well.

The long stretch of the panhandle,
"will it ever end?"
I kept thinking of "The Nothingness" from the "Neverending Story".

Good Morning!

Weirdo Child

Saw a lot of these

Grandma's neighbor's birthday present was giving her a ride home from her party on his motorcycle! Obviously, my grandmother is no ordinary ninety year old!

At least she wore a helmet,
unlike all the other crazy people in Oklahoma.

She did make it home safe, unfortunately, there wasn't anyone at her house to help her off like they helped her on so as the neighbor was holding the bike up she started to get off and FELL OFF! Just what a 90 year old needs. The neighbor then dropped his bike to help Grandma so then the bike fell, luckily in the other direction. No broken anything, amazingly!

That was just one of many events to help her remember her 90th as on her actual birthday a couple days before she was locked out of her house at 10:30pm in the pouring rain! Thankfully, the same neighbor with the motorcycle was able to get a window open and crawl in. She really does have crazy and funny things happen to her often and we are all just amazed that she is still in perfect health. She only just recently stopped driving and is finally considering moving into a retirement community. Until then, we'll continue to hear about her falling off ladders, getting stuck in the bathtub, slipping off the silk sheets and becoming wedged between her bed and the wall and various other disastrous events to most elderly but not to this one.

After just four days visiting Grandma, we packed our van and took off for home. We had a few cool stops that I will post pictures of next, but these three were of the actual driving part.

Nik and Aunt Kellie cleaning the windows as we could barely see after each day from all the moths, bugs, bees and butterflies splatting against our windshield.

Oh, and did I mention: Birds!

Whoever heard of a bird getting stuck in one's headlight?!

I'll admit. I was the one driving this round. We were watching this swarm of birds flying towards us and they all veered over the car, but not this little one. We were yelling, "Pull Up, Pull Up!", but apparently he didn't hear us. We did impress the gas station attendant, and I would think they have seen everything. We also drove the next 1000 miles home with little birdie as our head ornament. Kellie let Chad deal with the extraction:)

I think that is the last 4000 plus mile trip I'll be taking with the boys for at least another couple years. It would be nice if one of them could read!

I'm A Big Boy!

2010-09-01T23:32:00.000-07:00

It's official.
Lukas is potty trained!

Luke has been so close to being officially potty trained that I have wanted to post this for over a month, but there were those random accidents that held me back. Like three weeks ago, at Ikea, in the middle of the frame department.

I think it is safe to say we are good to go now. In the potty that is. When I do put a diaper on him, like at night time or if we are going to be in the car for a few hours and it will run into nap time, there is loud protesting. He does not want to wear diapers anymore! He says, "No diaper! AirWear!" At least, that is what it sounds like.....

Good Job, Lukey!

"Jesus Loves Me", By Lukas

2010-08-23T00:09:00.000-07:00

Lukas loves to sing, and his favorite songs are "Jesus Loves Me", Jesus Loves the Little Children" and "I'm In the Lord's Army". He was singing away in the car while we were stopped at the gas station and I happened to have my newish Flip Video, so I gleefully whipped it out and captured his cute, tiny, little voice singing about Jesus.

You can't miss this one, plus it's my first video blog, so it's an exciting moment.

Sheri, I don't know how you are going to scrapbook this one....

Goodbye Purple House!

2010-07-30T00:08:00.000-07:00

No, we aren't moving. We are finally painting over the hideous purple paint that has made our house the landmark eyesore of the neighborhood. Unfortunately, now it isn't as easy to tell people how to find us. No more, "It's the purple house, you can't miss it.". I think I can live with that.

The boys were willing helpers.

I'm not sure how this will compute later with Lukas when he gets it it his mind that he can now draw on the walls.

Nikolas was actually a great worker, in fact, I would say this project gave me hope that he may be a good helper as he grows. Up to this point, he has been less than interested in doing any chore of any kind. Laziness is not an option in this household, but for him to work with a cheerful heart is what I really am striving for. Since painting week he has actually continued to help me in bigger ways, and willingly! We have progress!

The beginning of the project started in large part because of my dad. He brought his ladder over two full days and scraped and scraped and scraped. Even while I was in and out of the house with the boys, he just kept scraping. Thanks Dad!

Tone' spent one of his weekends home spraying. He had a fine brown coating over his entire body afterward. Fun for him:)

Nikolas felt UBER important climbing the ladder to hand Tone' a tool. He kept finding things Daddy "needed". You can be sure we put the ladder away every night as I'm sure we would have heard little feet on the roof otherwise.

TaDa!!!

Okay, so not perfect yet. We still need to take the storm windows off and then paint the trim and the doors. I did get up on the roof and sweep the paint off, though.

We opted for "Caramel" otherwise known as tan. It seemed the most neutral color we could paint, and boring and neutral was what I was going for after all those years of it being PURPLE!

Our Little Rock Climber

2010-06-27T23:41:00.000-07:00

Nikolas, Lukas and I just came back from a week long rock climbing trip to Utah. It was great! It was the week were it rained every day in Portland, but it was blue skies and beautiful where we were:) So sorry.

Nikolas finally fits into his rock climbing shoes perfectly this year, so he was cruising up the routes. Well, okay, he could have been cruising up the routes, but he kept letting go, swinging on the rope and asking me multiple times,

"Now where, Mommy?"

"UP"

I kept telling him.

He finally started making some progress, with a little help from the belayer, and by the end of the route he was climbing with purpose.

Nik really does have zero fear.
Well, when it comes to athletics, that is.
He's still working on the whole,
"seperation from mommy is the end of all things as he knows them" fear.
It's a slow process.
But climbing up vertical rock faces?
No problem.

He made it!

Of course, this is a dream come true for me, as most of you know.

More to come!

Bat Mitzva Party

2010-06-11T00:01:00.000-07:00

My cousins daughter, so my 1st cousin once removed, turned 13 recently and seeing as she is Jewish, she had a Bat Mitzva in which she participated in the services at her Synagogue. She did absolutely wonderful and I discovered that she has a most beautiful voice, much like my cousins. I was thoroughly impressed that she has learned Hebrew so well and learned to sing from the Torah better than most of the adults. Way to go Elizabeth!
I was also impressed that Nikolas and Lukas sat in the Synagogue with Tone' and I for an hour and a half so quietly that many people came up to us afterward and complimented us on their behavior. It was amazing. Though, I suppose they may have been entranced with the Torah reading and singing as even though it was nearly all in Hebrew, I enjoyed listening to the beauty of it all.
If any of you have ever been to a Bar or Bat Mitzva then you know this: Jewish people know how to through parties! We were served a delicious lunch with desserts after the service, then there was a few hours break until we all met again at the Canby fairgrounds where the party really started! The theme was "Cowboy" or "girl" rather, as my cousin is a girl. There was food, drinks, a make-your-own ice cream sundae buffet, a professional photographer who took everyone's picture and then framed it, a candy buffet (oh yes, that's right, a buffet filled with all sorts of candy for the taking!), toys for the kids, a deejay, a line dance teacher and sooooo much more. It was quite fun, to say the least. And here are some of the pictures of the day:

My little cowboys

Rebecca and her Italian Stallion
nice hat:)

Yeehaw!!!

Could Luke be any cuter with the hat and the shiny little boots?!

Oh how they wanted to climb into this wagon

Lukas and cousin Morgan

There were tables set up to color your own horse bandana. Nikolas joined Aunt Karen, Abby and Morgan as they colored away.

Uncle John and Lukas looking like tough cowboys

We all went for a walk to check out the animals at the fairgrounds.
I just love this picture.
I can totally imagine Nikolas living on a farm wearing a cowboy hat and boots everywhere.

Then we went back inside for some dancing and rocking out!
Nikolas was hilarious as he started copying the older kids and soon he
was on spinning on the floor on his back while jamming on his guitar.

Now it's time for some Uncle Chad love.
The boys were so pumped full of sugar and fun that by the time we made it home at 10:00 at night they were STILL... not asleep.

Rainy Day Crafts

2010-06-10T01:35:00.000-07:00

I wish I could say that I have rainy day crafts for the boys every day the rain keeps us inside for the majority of the day, but I can't. I'm just not that creative with little kid crafts, although, I think I am beginning to be better at it since I have been teaching 1st grade Sunday School for the last 9 months. Needless to say, I was pretty happy with myself for pulling out the poster board, scissors and markers and making fun hats for the boys. Hats and cats that is. I don't know how that came about but they both ended up wanting to be cats as well.

Lukas wanted a crown which he colored nice and bright.

Nikolas is a Train Conductor and he colored his hat black.
I added the pink stars. I can't handle no color.

Simple Fun

2010-06-10T00:44:00.000-07:00

The best kind of fun is almost always simple and free.

I knew this as a kid as I spent most of my childhood roaming through the woods behind our house and barn just enjoying the adventure of being out in the "wild". The only "toy" I usually had with me was my trusty machete to hack away at those pesky blackberry bushes.

It's amazing I made it to adulthood.

It is with these memories in my head that I make sure the boys roam outside every day, even through all this drenching rain that continues to continue....

or at least right after the drenching rain

Sticks

plus a large puddle

plus splashing and jumping

equals tons of Free Fun!

I love these lips:)

(free pinecones!)

Freshly Shorn

2010-06-09T21:05:00.000-07:00

The boys were looking a lot scruffy, so Aunt Karen buzzed most of their hair off! I think Nikolas looks younger, but it seems that little Lukey is suddenly older:(
Tone' and I bought the boys these little tank tops when we were in Hawaii for our 10 year anniversary. Lukas was just a 5 month old pre-born. The sizes are 6 month and 24 month and yet they still fit the boys at the ages of 2 1/2 and 4 years! I will need to take a duplicate picture of this pose at the end of summer to see how dark these quarter Italian little boys are:)

Daddy's Boys

2010-05-26T03:25:00.000-07:00

Just an uber cute picture of Tone' with his little fans. Hope this puts a smile on your face Babe!

Woodard Bay Hike

2010-05-20T00:07:00.000-07:00

The boys and I spent the weekend in Tacoma to celebrate Kellie's birthday. Tone' came down to their home and hung out with the boys, Chad and Zach while Kellie and I went kayaking in Gig Harbor. It was absolutely wonderful just kayaking around looking at all the sea creatures, critiquing the houses and checking out all the boats, plus a little seal decided to pop his head up at us and see what we were up to. Unfortunately, neither of us thought to take our cameras:( Sad. I did, however, bring it with us on our hike at Woodard Bay in Olympia on the way back home.

Nikolas actually hiked the whole way without asking to be carried, amazing! Lukey did great on the hike in, but suddenly went to whining, grumpy child the second we headed back.
On the way in.
Apparently he must have tired himself out with all the running.

We came at low tide, so it was just a great expanse of muck.

Mud plus yuck = Muck

Uncle Chad pointing out all the cool little creatures hiding under the rocks.

Aunt Kellie even caught a little tiny crab so Nik could hold it!
I'm sure her "cool aunt" status soared with Nik:)

Hmmm, not sure what was going on here, but sometimes this is just how one has to deal with a finicky two year old. I can only imagine he wanted to see some creatures, but didn't want to be set down, but didn't want Chad to squat cause then he would be too close to the creatures.......and so on. He really is a crazy kid.

Quite content in Uncle Chad's arms.

All along the path there were slugs and snails. The boys were very excited to hunt for them and point out the next "BIG ONE!". Lukas thought this little guy was sleeping, so henceforth, all snails are now called, "sleeping snails".

The best part: they both passed out in the car soon after leaving Olympia, giving me a peaceful two hour drive home.

Batman And His Batmobile

2010-05-19T23:50:00.000-07:00

Before I had children, I used to hear funny stories about them and the bizarro things they do.

Before I had children, I didn't think I would have such weirdos of my own. I thought, "Other people have weird children, but certainly not me."

I take it all back.

Hello, my name is Rebecca, aka. Mommy, and I have weirdo children.

Nikolas randomly decides some days that he is going to be Batman, even though this particular Batman outfit is for a 12 month old. Hence the reason they are shorts, quarter sleeves and not snapped around his legs. Doesn't matter to him, though, and why would it? Have you seen the cape? Really, that's all that matters.
Of course, what good is a cape unless it flows behind you? Hence the Batmobile, aka. "FireBike", due to the flames on the sides.

Alright Batman, fly away, just be sure to look both ways before crossing the street.

It's National Train Day!

2010-05-19T23:29:00.000-07:00

These are the "holidays" that suddenly become really exciting for a mom of little train enthusiasts. I hadn't even known that there was a "national train day", but there is, and we went to it. How could I not?!

I called up my Dad and asked him if he wanted to go with us and he said, "yes"! I shouldn't have been surprised, but I forget that he used to ride the "vintage" trains that we were allowed to tour. Does that make him "vintage" as well? I won't answer that question.....I want to keep my name in the will.

This here was an old engine....and that's about all the knowledge of that train that I have for you. My Dad, however, could tell you plenty of information about it. He was telling me all sorts of interesting details about the trains and what it was like to ride them. I was listening, really, I just don't have any memory left in my brain since I had children. At least I like to use that excuse....

Hey, it's a picture of me and the boys! That is rare. Thanks Dad!

You are never too old or young
for some train fun!

I know, it rhymed, I couldn't help myself.

There were animals?

2010-05-09T22:01:00.000-07:00

The boys and I took our first zoo trip of the year last Wednesday with my good friend, Estie and her little girl. It started out sunny and was nice enough, but we were dodging rain showers here and there.

Perched atop an eagles nest! The background looks pretty realistic in the picture.... We went early to the zoo and so all the animals were out and about, roaming around looking for something.

One cutie patootie!

Well, Hello Bear! I didn't have my lens zoomed in at all, he was really this close!
Lukas was not interested in hanging around him AT ALL.

He did, however, like the ducks.
That we could have seen at the park for free!

The boys weren't really interested in the animals actually.
Machinery and statues, on the other hand, they loved.

Someday, Nik, we'll own our own tractor!

A Friend In Need of Prayer

2010-05-03T23:29:00.000-07:00

A tragic event has happened today to a couple close friends of Tone' and mine. Their 10 year old girl, Joy, was hit by a car and was life flighted to Doernbecher's Childrens hospital with brain injuries along with other injuries. For the many friends and family of mine who believe in the God of miracles, please take a moment to pray fervently for this young girl.

I Miss You Mom

2010-04-28T22:55:00.000-07:00

It has been five years, as of the 24th of April, since my mom left this earth and entered the presence of the Lord. One would think that five years would be enough time to heal from someones death......but I have found that not to be true. I feel like my wound is still a gaping hole of raw flesh. Like when I am walking barefoot and have no cuts on my feet then little irritations like rocks, sticks and dirt don't bother me, but with this gash across my foot each little speck of dirt creates pain that otherwise would have gone unnoticed.
I realize how much I confided in my mom and was able to talk to her about anything and everything. There are times that I am going through my day and I feel like I am supposed to call someone and I realize it is that I just really want to call my mom. I just want to call her randomly to tell her, "Hey Mom, you should have seen Nik on his bike today! He was skidding his back tire and showing off at the park, it was really funny!" and "Hi Mom, so I'm making some tea but it never turns out like when you always made it, what am I doing wrong?" and "Hi Mom, I just bought tickets to the play at DCS and I'm taking Morgan, do you want to go with us?". Those were just things from this week alone, and it's like this every day, every week, every month and I'm sure every year for the rest of my life. Those are the little irritations in my flesh wound.
Then there are the really painful moments when I step on a piece of glass and that glass becomes embedded in my foot and creates a lasting scar. That would be like when I found out I was pregnant for the first time just 4 months after mom died. Then having Nikolas and not having her there for it all; the first couple months when a new mom just needs someone to take care of her as she is taking care of a newborn. Then being pregnant again and wishing she was there to meet little Lukie. Now I am in another painful moment of my life with Tone' out of town for 8 months, yet again, and I think of how wonderful it would have been to be able to call my mom at any given moment and say, "Mom, I'm going crazy, will you come over and help me?" and "Mom, I have a meeting at church, will you watch the boys for a couple hours?" and "Mom, I just need a break, can the boys and I come over for a while?" Through all of these major life changes, I have been very blessed to have my sister who has stayed a week each time after my boys were born, among many other acts of motherhood she has done for me. I am also blessed to have great friends who will watch my boys when I need someone, and especially Angela and Sheri, who go above and beyond friendship duties. I also am thankful for Dad's wonderful wife, Sue, who has won my boys hearts. (Luke calls her "Eema" :) There are many others who have been a part of the village it takes to raise children and I am so grateful that I am so blessed to have people filling in those holes left open by my mothers absence.
Yet, in spite of all the help I do receive, it will never be close to the help a girl gets from her mother. A girl can call her mother at any moment and never feel like she is a burden. Even if others don't actually think of it as burdensome, I can't help but think I am, whereas with my mom, well, that is what a mom is for, right? To be there for her kids through it all. I realize that not all women had a relationship with their mother like I did, or perhaps they did but their mom was too far away to do anything. I guess because I had such a wonderful mother I just know what I am missing, and it's a lot.
I simply ache for my mother. I want her back. Sometimes I can't believe she actually died, like, no, that couldn't have really happened to her and to me and to my family. I still cry for her, think of her every day, imagine the fun my boys would have had with her. I think of all the mother/daughter times we are missing out on now that I am a stay at home mom. There was so much that she had to teach me about homemaking that I am now having to learn on my own or from others.
On top of the heartache I have for the loss of my mom, I think it compounded even more because Tone's mom died just 6 months before mine. Both of us lost our moms within six months of the other! We could barely believe it then, and we can still barely believe it now. It's so tragic that is is almost comical. Really, sometimes Tone' and I look at each other and half chuckle half sigh, because we simply can't believe our circumstances sometimes.
I don't have a profound way to end this post.....perhaps because it is ongoing. Grief is a process that never ends, and how could it? I recently read a stanza to a song written by Billy Sprague, I think it begins to express my thinking:

"Memory is a country
Where I can go to see your face
But where can I go
When I miss your embrace"

Oh how I long for my mothers embrace, and while I will never feel it again on this earth and in my lifetime, I am confident that one day I too will enter into the presence of the Lord and there I will also find my beloved mother. Smiling like she always was, and yet I imagine she won't look the same as she looked at 64. I'm thinking she'll be young again, looking more beautiful than ever. I can only imagine the fun we will have together, someday, once again.

Conversations From The Backseat

2010-04-24T00:02:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, it is especially difficult to drive while listening to the hilarious conversations coming from the back seat.

This took place while driving home from my brothers house and the boys saw a red truck like Tone's.

Lukas: My daddy

Nikolas: No, Lukie, you're mommy's, I'm daddy's.

Oh Nikolas, sometimes, those are my sentiments exactly.

Four Fast Years

2010-03-30T23:46:00.000-07:00

Nikolas turned four years old on Saturday!

We had family over to celebrate and naturally we had a train party, for the second year in a row. This particular train party had a little twist to it, however. Sometime last year Nikolas became a fan of a little train called, "Lady". Lady is a girl train....and pink. Didn't matter to this tree climbing, bike riding, tough little boy. Oh no, for the last few months I have been reminded over and over again that he wanted a "Lady party". Not a Thomas party, or a James party or even a Percy party. A Lady party.
Well, I wasn't about to decorate the place in pink, I don't even have a speck of pink in my house. (Except for my Nalgene & Camelback bottles and that is only a ploy so Tone' doesn't steal them:) ((It doesn't work, by the way)) So I decorated in red and blue except for a pink Lady window painting I did on the sliding glass door. I had decorated and baked the cake the day before but I hadn't frosted the cake yet. Normally, if you have followed my blog for the last couple years, you may have noticed I like to create 3D cakes. This year, I wanted to make my friend, Emily's, delicious chocolate cake recipe, which was too moist to create into 3D. So I just made a 9X13 cake and had planned on frosting it in the morning. Nikolas came out in the morning, looked for his cake, didn't see it, came to find me with his little shoulders sagging and his head down and said, "I guess I'm not having a Lady party after all:(" It was so sad! So I got busy frosting and ended up with this:

It was delicious!!! I'll never use boxed cake mix again! (Well, except for cake mix cookies, that is entirely different:)

He had to have the face part of the cake. Right out of the middle.

It was such a perfect day on his birthday that we were able to go outside to play with all his new toys, like the golf clubs! Watch out!

Then he showed us how high he can climb in our neighbors tree.

I think this boy had a wonderful fourth birthday. I can't even believe how fast the last four years have gone. I don't even want to think about another four going that fast as that would make him EIGHT! Oh my. Nope, don't want to think about it.

Over The River And Through The Woods.....

2010-03-30T16:06:00.000-07:00

to Grandmother's (and Grandfather's) cabin we go!
The boys and I went to the cabin for a couple days while my dad and Sue were staying there last week. It was the perfect weather that first day: bright and sunny, warm, with very little wind. From the moment the boys jumped out of the car they wanted to be outside enjoying every minute we had. The biggest draw at the cabin is the dock that jets out into a little cove in the lake. Lukas and Nikolas ran for the dock to check out all the geese who were loitering around waiting for their daily rationing of bread. Those two little boys were loud enough that they scared all those big ol' honking geese away! Scaredy cats! er...geese.

Lukey with Grandma Graham

Lukas found a big pile of rocks and he soon discovered that rocks make a really cool "plop" sound when dropped in the lake. He kept trying to fit all the rocks through this little hole, some fit...some didn't. It didn't matter what the size of the rock was, he had to try it.

If it didn't pass the test, over the side of the dock it went.

In fact, in this lower picture, Lukey is standing in the exact same place that Sue was standing when she decided to take a little jump into the lake, only, she hadn't meant to! (I'm so sorry Sue, but it is too funny not to share!" So as the story goes; Sue was out on the dock in the same place as Luke is in the above picture, only she was facing the opposite direction. She went to lean against the railing, only, their was no railing in that particular spot of the dock. So she just kept going and kersplashed right into the freezing cold water! This water is so cold as it is glacier melt from Mt. Adams. I don't even swim in it in the summer, brrrr! Of course, the cold wasn't the worst part, oh no! The worst part was sinking into the muck and mud at the bottom of the lake as the part she fell in at was only about three feet deep. She came up with mud EVERYWHERE!!! Oh, I can't even imagine:0 We just won't even talk about what else made up that mud:{ Eeeewwwww....

Nikolas spent most of his time outside swinging on this tire swing. I mean, really, what more could a boy want than rocks, water, tire swings and a forest to tromp around in? Well, besides chocolate, naturally.

Grandpa took everyone for a little boat ride as well, and thankfully, no one fell in:) He took us over to the other side of the lake where there is a really fun rope swing. I had to take a few swings on it, which always puts a smile on my face! You climb up a ladder attached to a tree and swing out over the lake and back again. Super fun:) I can't help but scream every time. In fact, I do the same thing when I fall off a rock face....scream like a girl....but I am a girl, so it's okay. I'm looking forward to more cabin visits now that the weather is turning more summer like, that is, it was, certainly not the case this week.

Faster Than A Shooting Star!

2010-03-22T00:14:00.000-07:00

Funny conversation between Nikolas and another little boy while they were riding bikes at the park:

Nik: Is that a fast bike?

Boy: Yeah, it's really fast. It's faster than a shooting star! But I never use that mode.
And I don't ever show anyone either.

HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!! Tone' and I started laughing hysterically when we heard that! How do kids come up with these things?!!! Hooboy, too funny.

My Little "Dirt" Biker

2010-03-21T23:32:00.000-07:00

Nikolas has become quite the proficient bike rider over the last month, being able to stop and start on his own, slow down, make sharp turns and so on. I've been wanting to take him somewhere else to ride his bike other than our little dead end street, so with the weather so nice we headed for Happy Valley Park. I put Lukas in the stroller and Nikolas hopped on his bike and we headed for the board walk. The board walk is a really cool path through trees, marshland and fields and as I found out, not quite wide enough for two full size strollers to pass each other. Nikolas did surprisingly amazing going straight, slowing down for corners and for other people and not getting too far ahead of me. People commented to me as they walked past at how amazing it is that he doesn't have training wheels, to which I usually agree. It is quite amazing, actually. I only know of one other 3 year old who learned to ride a bike at 3 and that is my friend, Shawna's son. So when we were nearly done with our ride and had only one last sharp corner to make before the home stretch to the paved path and grass, I commented to a runner who was passing Nikolas with a worried look, "Don't worry, he's done great the whole time and knows to slow down."

And then time slowed down; yes, now just picture this in your mind:
Tiny little boy riding a tiny little bike on a boardwalk 3 feet wide. Man runs past him causing him to swerve a little, little boy sees he needs to make a sharp turn onto the next path at the same time he sees a walker approaching from said path with a little yappy dog on a leash.
Tiny little boy makes the turn......and forgets? to straighten his front wheel sending him right off the edge of the boardwalk and three feet down causing him to fly over his handlebars and do a face plant into the very squishy, thick and wet mud below. :0

Now picture this:
Mama half screams, half laughs as she starts running/pushing stroller towards screaming mud covered little boy. Mama pulls little boy out of the mud while laughing and trying to calm mud boy down at the same time. Muddy boy has ooey gooey mud dripping off his eyelashes, in his hair and ears, up his nose and all over his favorite soccer shorts. Worst of all, to little boy, is that his very favorite "fire" bike is also covered in thick gooey mud.

Thankfully, the runner who I had made the comment about Nik being quite safe came running back and pulled the bike out of the muck. He looked quite helpless just standing there, like he really wanted to do something more, but eventually saw that I was not as distraught as most mothers probably would have been.

After I wiped the mud off Nik's face as best I could I plopped him on top of the stroller, stuck the bike's front wheel in the stroller basket and headed for the car. Upon gaining composure Nikolas said to me," Mama, that was a very nice man. He pulled my fire bike out of the mud. I need to find that man and tell him, "Thank you." I love that nice man. "

Aaaawwwwwww, I think that was the sweetest thing I have ever heard my boy say:) I sure wish I had seen that man again, cause I bet that comment would have made his day!