Carpet Ripping Party!

Here is a rather embarrassing look into my bedroom with the hideous blue-green carpet, unkept bed, piles of stuff, bare walls and ugly window blinds. It has been my desire to rip this ugly carpet out so we aren't breathing all the ground in dirt and who knows what else. So when my good friend Shelly called and said she had a week off and wanted to be my slave for a day i knew exactly what i wanted us to work on. When the day came I called another good friend, Sheri, who had been wanting to rip my carpet out as well, (it really is ugly) and she came over on the spur of the moment.

Here is Shelly and I ripping out staples and nails. Notice our bare feet, yeah, i don't know what we were thinking. Luckily we both have had recent tetanus shots as they probably came in handy. This was all done while Tone' was at work and the funny thing was that he had no idea this was happening until he came home and saw the rolled up carpet in the front yard. (As if our purple house didn't look bad enough) Sorry neighbors!

I didn't get a picture of Sheri working, though she worked like a horse. I did get an adorable picture of her cuddling with a very tired Lukas late the next night.

Nikolas helped us put all the furniture back in. He really wanted to help pull out staples, but mama was able to restrain him. Barely.

Here is our beautiful hardwood floors!!! Why would anyone put carpet on this? Well, actually i understand the temptation as it is really cold in the morning.

We have never put any money into our bedroom, as you can tell. Tone' made two of the dressers, the white one was mine growing up, the bed was Tone's dad's and the quilt was made by my grandmother. We don't have matching sheets and pillowcases, no rugs, no pictures on the walls, no pretty curtains, I don't even have a place for my necklaces and such. I guess we have never thought a place where no one else usually sees and where we usually have our eyes closed in is worth putting money into. I think it is time, though. I am finally ready to have a pretty and comfortable bedroom. Now to find the money to do something about it. If anyone has any great decorating ideas that don't cost much, (Kate?) let me know and if anyone runs across great deals on bedding, let me know that as well.

Huge thanks to Shelly and Sheri for your willingness to work hard and for helping me with a project I couldn't have done alone, but would have hurt myself trying to.

Two Year Old Crushes

Okay, so I don't know if two year olds can have a crush, but if they can then what played out before my camera sure seems to suggest they do. Nikolas is standing next to my future daughter-in-law, Delaney, as she looks at him with her shoulder raised up to her chin all cute like.

Oh, she has his attention and they are laughing about something. Careful Nik, her older and bigger brother is right behind you!

This is what kills me: Nik is walking away from a smiling little girl and he has a look on his face that says, "I talked to the pretty girl, now walk away and pretend like it wasn't a big deal.".

Okay, so I know he is a bit young to be playing matchmaker, but hey, arranged marriages used to be the norm, and why is it that now that we can choose our own mate the divorce rate is higher than ever? Just a thought, I wouldn't seriously want to have had an arranged marriage of my own, but wouldn't high school have been so much less stressful if we hadn't had to worry about whether the opposite sex liked us or not.

Tacoma Trip

Tuesday, Nikolas, Lukas and I went to Tacoma to see Zachary and Alexandra run in their track and cross country meets. Zach(lane one in green) competed in the mile, long jump and both relays. He did great in all of them, with a time of 6:35 in the mile and in his short relay he pulled ahead of the front runners to place his team in the lead. Nikolas was excited to be at a track meet and really wanted to run with the big kids. At one point he escaped my grasp and bolted onto the track right in front of the oncoming hurdlers. He zoomed right under the last hurdle and crossed the finish line before i was able to nab him. Thankfully the competitors were too far behind him to run over him and everyone thought it was cute. I wonder when that will become not cute?
Here he is safely away from the race that was taking place on the other side of the track. He did really well and stayed in his own lane even. Future track athlete in the making.
Then Kellie and the kids and myself went to the conservatory at a local park to check out the beautiful plants and the pumpkin decor and to snap pictures of course.
This pumpkin hat was a hand me down from my niece Morgan who is now 10. I think Lukas looks adorable in it. Tone' doesn't, he thinks it makes them look sissy:( Good thing mama's in charge of dressing them!
We also saw Alex, in the middle in black, run in her District Cross-Country meet. There were over a hundred girls and she placed 37th, just 7 spots shy of making it to Regionals. It was fun to see her compete this season and Nik had fun this year yelling, "GO ALEC!" and "GOOD JOB!" just like the rest of us:) I hadn't thought about it before, but taking him to meets and cheering others on is a great way to teach him to be encouraging. I love it when lessons come out of day to day life:)

9 Months Old & Growing

Friday Lukas turned 9 months old. He's getting so close to one that I just can't believe it. How does time go by so quickly? So I captured him in his 9 month shirt, unfortunately I still can't find the 3 month shirt so these shots don't look nearly as cool as with Nik. Anyway, below is the comparison of Nikolas at the same age.
As you can tell, Lukas has a much larger and rounder cabesa than Nikolas did. Hope he grows into that.... Luke is also longer and heavier, a lot heavier. Luke weighs 21 lbs. and Nik at that age weighed 16 lbs. Which makes sense since Nik now only weighs 25 lbs. and holding.
Lukas in his new hat from Liz Koetje

It is hard for me to tell if they look alike at this age or not. What do you think? I must say, they are both stinkin' cute regardless.

Luke now can crawl pretty good and comes hunting for me when I leave for another room without him. It is hilarious as he crawls with his head down like it is too heavy to lift, either that or he is just concentrating really hard. He ends up running into things like chairs, walls, the sliding glass door..... He couldn't figure out what was going on with that one. Nikolas and I were watching him and Nik was actually laughing at his little brother. Poor baby:( Okay, mama kinda chuckled too. Luke can pull himself into a standing position, but hasn't started to try to walk around things yet and he also hasn't rolled over yet, except for maybe twice, which must have been a fluke. I keep waiting for these to happen as Nikolas was standing up by himself and starting to take little steps at 9 months, but i know i can't compare them as they will grow and learn at their own pace. It sure is hard not to though!

Nikolas learning to skateboard

These two unique little men have been entrusted to Tone' and I and we are so very grateful. In order to be the best parents we are able to be I am constantly reading about parenting and listening to others real life experiences. Yesterday I went to our church's class on parenting and there were some key things that stuck in my head. Well, actually, they stuck on paper as nothing ever sticks in my head, that's why i always carry around my notebook. I would be lost without it. I blame all this on pregnancy and sleeplessness, but really i think i have always been this way. Moving on.....

One of the things that hit me was when God made Adam and Eve he put them in the garden and would frequently take walks with them there. He showed them He cared for them by spending time with them and talking to them. It is a simple yet profound message to us parents that one of the main things our children need from us is our time and attention. It isn't toys or activities or the best clothes, or really anything that costs money and essentially keeps us from them longer in order to earn that money. It's just us. Their parents. Wow.

Looking back on my own childhood it makes sense. Some of my favorite memories are the simplest ones of me running down the sidewalk to the barn where my dad's office was and bursting in to say "hi". Learning to chop wood, drive a tractor and watching him chop chickens heads off were fun because it was time with my dad. Likewise, building a fort in the woods, bike riding and snapping beans were also my favorite memories as they involved just spending time with my mom. We had time to talk while we snapped, weeded, picked apples and plucked chicken feathers. Those memories are much higher on my list of favorites than our trip to Disneyland or Six Flags, and even more important than when i received my first Cabbage Patch Kid.

Now to remember this as the years go by and the boys (and girls?) ask for things. I don't want to never get them anything, so it will just be a balance of knowing what to get when and always keeping our relationships as the main attraction. Too bad we don't have any chickens.

The Pumpkin Patch

On the spur of the moment I decided to go to the pumpkin patch with the boys. The sky was clear, the sun was bright, the air was warm and they just happened to both be wearing orange.
I was so hoping to get a cute picture of the boys together but Nikolas just would not stay still. He knew what he was doing too as he kept running in every direction except towards the camera.
Here he is off looking for pumpkins to jump over, it was sometimes hard to find him as he really did blend in.
He found one and I snapped a picture a split second before he jumped off and ran for another one.
Lukas was picture perfect though as he can't really move fast yet and he pretty much loves to give mama all the attention she wants. He was really into this pumpkin and was sucking on it and beating it with all his might.
We also went on a hay ride around the farm. Nik loved being pulled by a tractor and sitting on haybales and Lukas was pretty excited about all the scenery and the yummy hay he kept chewing on.
Hopefully we can make it to some more pumpkin patches before the rains come and we don't see the light of day until next spring sometime. ( I'm not really a fall or winter person, if you couldn't tell).

Presented to the Lord

Today was a special day for us and for our little Lukas as we dedicated him to our Saviour, Jesus Christ. It isn't a big ceremony or neccesary for his salvation or anything like that. It is simply a public commitment we make in front of our church body stating that we will train him to follow Jesus as best as we can.

So Tone' and I took Nikolas and Lukas to the front of the sanctuary, along with some of our good friends and their babies, and our pastor spoke. Unfortunately, I have no idea what he said, as Tone' and I were late. I know, we are such dorks. We walked into church a good 15 minutes late and everyone was already up front and one family had already dedicated their baby.

Each family is given the opportunity to say something and most people don't say anything, but for some reason I always feel compelled to say something. Always being twice now, once for Nik and once for Luke.

So what I said was something like this:

Isaiah 41:13 says, "For I am the Lord your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you." Having children has helped me to understand God's word so much better, I have read this passage many times before, but it was just recently that I came across this passage again and it suddenly struck me as to what God is trying to tell me. It is like when Nikolas and I are crossing the street and I reach for Nik's had. Usually he doesn't want me to hold his hand as he thinks he is big enough to do it himself. I then tell him, "Nik, you need to hold Mama's hand or you are liable to get squooshed." God is like a parent, who reaches for our hand to lead us as we travel through this dangerous world. He wants to help us because He loves us so much, just as we love our children, but like our children we have to choose to reach up for His hand and follow Him.

As we are raising Nikolas and Lukas we will be doing our best to teach them to reach for God's hand and follow Him, and by following Him they will learn to love God and to love people, the two greatest commandments. Matthew 22:37-39

Away from Home

Nikolas is staying with his Aunt Kellie and Uncle Chad and his cousins, Alexandra and Zachary this week. After we all went up there last week Nikolas stayed behind. It has been sad to go into his room and see his empty bed and he has been a little sad at times while he has been up there, but Aunt Kellie says he is doing really well and sent me some pictures to prove it.
They went outside today and he rode his scooter and then his trike. So incredibly cute.

Of course fudgesicles make missing mama bearable.
He was a tired little boy today after playing hard all day and went to bed early at 7:30. Why can't I ever get him to go to bed that early???

A BIG thank you to Kellie for taking on a two year old and giving me some extra time to accomplish things that otherwise get pushed aside. I think i had a wee bit of an easier time when your kids stayed with me this summer. In fact, they can stay with me anytime; babysitter, playmate, errand helper, assistant cook..... yep, anytime.

And He's Off!

Lukas is now officially a "crawler"! While visiting his Aunt Kellie this past week he suddenly started to move when we would put him down. He was especially motivated by big brothers toys and Aunt Kellies bookends. So now my world suddenly became a little bit more complex as i am actually going to have to pay attention to what is laying around the house and what he can get into. Like my coupon organizer which was all of a sudden upside down with coupons all over the floor.

"Phew, this crawling business is a lot of work!"

A Little Fan

This past week the boys and I went north to Tacoma to visit my sister, Kellie, and her family. The first day there we went to cheer on my nephew, Zachary, at his track meet. When Nik saw Zach he ran straight for him for a big hug as Zach is one of his favorite people.
Zach did really well and sprinted in to the finish line to place 4th in the mile.
A few days later we were cheering at my nieces' cross-country meet. Nik loves to cheer for everyone and will clap and say, "GO!" or "Good Job!" or whatever line he hears someone else say. It's really cute:)
Alexandra did great and came in second in the 5ooo meters. It was a soggy, wet and rainy day but we had fun anyway. Nik especially had fun as he got to watch THREE TRAINS go by where Alex ran and he also got to walk through mud puddles.
Of course, the best part was having Uncle Chad playing with him at the playground while waiting for Alex to run by.
It is so fun for me to see my niece and nephew running in track and cross-country as those were my specialties when i was younger. Much younger, in fact. Like, eleven years ago was my last college race. I ran the 5000 meters in track at the Northwest championships and placed 3rd with a time of 18:35. It is hard for me to believe that i once ran that fast, as I am pretty much a slug now. Instead I inch my way up rock faces, though, once again, not like i used to three years ago. How depressing, will I ever be a stud athlete again? That is, assuming that I was once a stud athlete. It's all relative, really.
Hmm, well, anyway, back to my regularly scheduled life of being a mom; which I love:)

"Little" Lukas

The boys and I are visiting my sister, Kellie, and her family this week in Tacoma, Washington. We all went to my nephews school tonight for an activity and while we were there Kellie introduced me to a teacher. She then pointed to Lukas who was in a carrier on my back and this is the conversation that ensued:

Kellie: and this is her newest little guy, Lukas.

Teacher: Little! There isn't anything little about that guy, he's more like a side of beef!

My First Garden

My first attempt at gardening went better than expected. I am still collecting bounty as you can see. The last of the zucchini, carrots and lots of cherrie tomatoes were recently harvested. I also had some spinach and lettuce. It was so very cool to be able to plan dinner and already have some of the ingredients on hand. I just had to walk outside.
Lessons Learned:
1) bell pepper plants should not be planted between the shed and tomatoe plants as they will get little to no light. Rookie gardener, I know. When i planted them all the tomatoe starts were 6 inches high. I didn't think about them getting 4 feet high! Oops.
2) watering tomatoes from the top down will cause them to mold, or something, i am not really sure what the disgusting ring around them was. bummer.
3) zucchini's will stop producing if overwatered. Apparently they don't like to be watered every single day. And I thought i was being so diligent, but as it turns out i was just wasting water. 'nother bummer.

We do have pumpkins for Fall though! Three bright orange pumpkins and one green one that i am hoping will turn orange soon. I am most excited about these! Who knew that $1.79 in seeds would give you a bunch of pumpkins?! Of course, i still have to go to the pumpkin patch for pictures. Naturally.
Nik helped me harvest throughout the summer. He liked to sample everything, especially the cherrie tomatoes. He called them grapes, then he would bite into one and quickly say, "icky grape". Good boy, Nik, you have inherited my tastebuds. I only planted those vile fruits for Tone's sake. I know, i'm such a good wife. Ahem.

And these are our raspberries which FINALLY decided to produce raspberries last week! Stinking berries. They better figure their seasons out next summer as raspberries are my all time favorite fruit in the world.

So that is the end of my gardening for the year, well, almost. I am still waiting for the pumpkins to get a bit bigger and for my canteloupes. Yes, canteloupes. I planted them and they grew big vines with flowers but nothing else. Do canteloupes grow in Oregon? If not, then why do they sell the seeds here? I'm confused. Not surprisingly.