time

I can't believe how fast time goes but yet some days seem to never end. I realized recently that we really only have 4 summers left after this one to have our son at home with us....he may come home for the summers but it won't be the same. How can it be possible that this boy will be entering high school in a September??? It seems like he was a little toddler not that long ago!

Summer has always been my favorite time with my kids....no schedules, lots of sand, bubbles, sidewalk chalk, games, friends, trips, parks, saltwater sandals & evening fires. It has always been a time that I have savored & cherished. It always seems to go too fast while the school year can drag on so miserably at times. For some reason this summer feels like a little pressure. Pressure to make lasting memories, have fun, get everything in. Maybe it is because we are entering a new phase and this summer may the last of its kind for our family. Maybe it is because I am feeling a little older now that I am almost the mother of a high school student. Whatever the reason, I do not want to let the pressure ruin my summer. I want to still savor and cherish. I want to enjoy the sounds of my kids engaging together, playing, laughing, and even fighting. I want to play intentionally and accomplish special memories but also do nothing together! Thank you Lord for THIS summer!

goodbye 2009

I decided that since I really haven't posted much of 2009 I would give a quick recap of some highlights from the summer, fall & winter.

The summer of 2009 I said goodbye to something that has been part of my life since we married 19 years ago. Miss Sadie finally had to be put to sleep. She was 19 years old. Even though she drove us all nuts with her strange ways....we do miss having her around. She was a very loyal (and demanding) cat that put up with a lot of moves, changes & additional pets over they years. Good bye dear Sadie girl.

Both the kids were gone to summer camp for the first time. Several of us made the 4 hour trek up on the last day of camp to baptize our precious Emma. It was such an honor and a special day for all of us!

My brother brought home a wonderful addition to our family this last summer. He met his soon-to-be wife while serving as a missionary this last year in Laos. We had a fun shower for Melissa right after we met her. We were so excited for both of them!!
We enjoyed several days in August up north to see my brother marry this fabulous girl. We couldn't be more pleased with his choice of a mate and look forward to more opportunities to get to spend time with them. They will be leaving for Laos this next summer and we will really miss them. The wedding was beautiful.

The fall of 2009 my kiddos started 6th and 8th grade. I cannot believe how quickly time has gone and how next year I will have a high school freshman! I really still feel like I am only 25 so I don't how my kids can be this old!! I really do enjoy them at this age though - it is so fun to see them having more independence.

Emma participated in CYT after school got underway. She auditioned for Les Miserables and had a great time performing. She was a wedding dancer, beggar & revolutionary. She got to participate with her good friend Aimee and made many new friends during those two months.

In November Curtis and Cody helped with several building projects over in Harrah, Washington. Harrah is one of the poorest communities in our state. They worked very hard for 4 long days and got a LOT accomplished.

I got to attend several field trips this year but my favorite is always the 6th grade trip to the Ape Caves. I went to the Ape Caves several times as a kid and love attending this one. My group of girls and I had a great time heading into the darkness for an hour or so. We had a lot of fun hiding and jumping out to scare other groups!

In the fall we also had a great day in the mud at the pumpkin patch. My children humored me and let me get a photo of them on these "little" kid tractors.

We had a lovely fall and our Christmas season was nice and quiet this year. Our Emma ended up with a sprained ankle and so we had a lot of forced down time. We did get to do quite a few fun things but also had a lot of time to rest. We also did started some new traditions on Christmas eve which was really fun!Tucker and I enjoyed watching Cody cut down the tree.

We even got to have a great day of snow play during Christmas vacation. We made a fun snow man, made snow angels and did some sledding on our little hill. While 2009 brought many difficult things our way....many challenges, heartbreaks and disappointments we still were able to find joy in the midst. It was a year of much character building and overcoming. I look forward to 2010 with a little apprehension honestly but am trusting a big God who already knows the details of this year. He has proven Himself faithful and will again.

art lovers

My hubby is taking an art class this semester and he was required to take a free field trip to the Portland Art Museum. Since my kids go to a school where they are home schooled in their art credits, we decided to tag along. Did you know it is free for kids under 18? We had such a great time exploring, studying and laughing at some of the pieces....especially some on the modern floor. Boy....it is amazing what some people call art. We were thinking we could probably paint a canvas solid orange and sell it for a lot of money! They wouldn't allow any photos inside the buildings so we took some out in the courtyard before the sun set at closing.

Emma of course wanted a picture with the horse, since she has wanted her own horse since she was born!

We laughed about how many times we had seen naked bodies.....naked bodies (men & women) everywhere! One could really get an education there! My hubby and I talked about how much we love our kids ages right now. They are so fun to hang out with and spend time doing "grown up" things with.Afterwards we went to happy hour at our favorite....PF Chang's. My kids were goofing off with the camera and this was my favorite one!

simple things

It really is the simple things in life that can put a smile on my face. This bowl is one of them. Our family owned a beach house at Rockaway for several generations and had to sell it several years back. This bowl is from the kitchen of that beach house. It has been filled with many a meal and many that I remember as a kid. My grandmother served a lot of sliced peaches for breakfast with a spoonful or two of sugar sprinkled over them - they were always delicious. We would pile way too many people into a very small cabin and around a fairly small table (a table I have here in my house - maybe I will show you that later).

This bowl is now cracked and chipped - but holds many memories of fun times in a fun place!
I am glad I have it and will treasure it always! I will enjoy the simple treasure that it is!

love day

Yesterday was Love day. We used to have a lot of fun with holidays but for the last two years has been a bit of a challenge. We had all of our stuff in storage and we lived in a 700 square foot apartment. There wasn't much room for non-essentials. But now that we have moved into the downstairs house and unpacked everything it has become much easier to play again.

For many years we got the Papa Murphy's heart shaped pizza for valentines dinner with the kids and then after they were in bed we would have the yummy grown up dinner. But now that they are older we all get to eat a great dinner together!
We had steak, garlic mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus for dinner. Then for dessert we had pound cake with strawberries and whipped cream. It was fabulous!!
Our kids spent a couple hours on Saturday making us some great cards. Emma made a card that opened into a flower - so fun!
Cody made a cool box that had two sides for me and two for Dad. It was filled inside with candy and notes. Our kids are pretty creative - they get it from their Dad!

After dinner we took some time for dancing to my favorite - Frank Sinatra. We had a lot of fun laughing at each other and goofing off.

I love this picture of my kids - even though they have their fighting moments it is so fun to watch the way that they love each other. I had to tear up a bit watching them dance - it was so sweet.

Then Emma got a whole song with her daddy. What is it about little girls and their daddy? She was wrapped around him the whole song. All I have to say....she better not dance that way with her boyfriend?!?! I know she probably won't...her daddy will make sure of that!

It was a great day. My hubby made me a bunch of little paper hearts with love notes and taped them all over the place yesterday morning. Some on the microwave, my computer monitor, the bathroom mirror, the washing machine and then one on my pillow last night.

I love celebrating my love for my family!

this boy is becoming a man

13 years ago we had a pretty great New Year's Eve Party! We spent the day in the hospital delivering our first child, Dakota (Cody). Our 8 pound gift from heaven arrived at 8:34 that night and life was never the same!

Cody was such a fun & giggling toddler-preschooler. He spent a lot of time riding on his horse, whom he lovingly named "bob".

Cody had a strong love affair with all heavy equipment. It was the main thing he talked about - forklifts, excavators, backhoes, dump trucks. He had shirts, books, movies, birthday parties all about construction equipment. Every time we were in the car he would point out any piece of equipment we would come across and he knew them all by name.

From the day she was born Cody has been a great big brother. He was so excited for us to have a baby and he even picked out the name Emma when I was pregnant. I love this picture because it shows how gentle and patient he has always been with his little sister. Lots of little kids love Cody and I look forward to seeing him with his own kids some day.

From the time Cody was a little boy he has been on a lot of job sites. He got his own work gloves and tool bag with real tools when he was 3. He knows more about building a building than most adults. He can tell you about trusses, perlins, girts, foundations, roofing, etc. and he has gotten to do a lot of work himself. I love that he knows how to paint, lay tile, install hardwood, use lots of different kinds of power tools, etc. Cody is a very hard worker and was even voted "hardest worker" when he went on a recent youth group mission trip. I love that he doesn't mind getting dirty and figuring stuff out.
Speaking of building....Cody has spent more hours building Lego's than you can imagine. He builds them the way they are supposed to go but he also loves to make his own creations. If you could earn money building Lego's, Cody would be a millionaire. Maybe he will be an architect when he grows up.
One of the coolest things about my son is that while he may seem reserved in public, he can be such a crazy man at home. He loves to have fun and he has one of the greatest laughs I have ever heard.

Cody is an incredible student and loves to learn. A couple of years ago he got to dissect a squid - he dove right in and loved all the learning that went right with it!

Cody spends hours reading - he can read a novel in about 5 days. It is a weird thing to have to tell your child to stop reading because he reads too much but we do have to do that sometimes.

He did his 6Th grade science project on bridges. He built 6 types of bridges out of Popsicle sticks. It is a perfect example of how hard he works at school. He goes to an accelerated program and even gets straight A's. We are so proud of him and how hard he works!
He is a very loyal friend. The friends that God has given him are all great boys - the kind you want your daughter to marry. Cody chooses friends very carefully and he commits to them. When I was looking back at all of his birthday party pictures, it is so many of the same boys year after year.
I look forward to the teenage years with this wise, brave, strong, determined man. The things he thinks about and ponders are deep (sometimes deeper than my mind goes). God has a hold of him and I know He will not let him go. I am so proud to be his mom and to have the opportunity to be a part of his life. Happy birthday Cody - may this be a year of new experiences, continued faith building, blessings in relationships and fun along the way! Thanks for being the best son I could dream of! I love you!

things we have been doing

We had a quiet Thanksgiving this year. My brother moved away to Laos this year and wasn't going to be here visiting for the first time in many years. We also started moving out of our apartment on Wednesday and were moving the entire weekend so we took a break and spent a few hours at my parent's house on Thanksgiving day. This is a picture of me and my amazing son who has said several times lately that we do not have enough pictures of just the two of us together - so we thought we had better capture the moment.
These are my incredible parents who bless us constantly. They are such great examples of serving others - they both volunteer at too many places to count and are always ministering to those around them - especially us.

For dessert, my family is not really into pie. I know this is a sin - no pumpkin, no pecan, no pie period! So my mother decided to do something that they would all like instead. She created an ice cream sundae contest. Whoever had the most creative invention would receive a major prize - and it wasn't going to be a lamp in the shape of a leg!

Emma created an ice cream mountain with a chocolate slide on one side - she called it an avalanche - a very innovative idea!

Not sure what my normally very creative husband made - I think he was in a bit of hurry to eat all of that ice cream before it melted.

Cody made a blob head thing out of his - another formidable entry!

However, my creation won - I received a wonderful Starbucks gift card. It was a candy land forest with gummy bears on a chocolate/caramel trail. I thought it was pretty imaginative!
I guess there was evidence that the food was good - the table was beautiful but I forgot to take a picture of it before we ate everything. So here is the evidence of a great Thanksgiving dinner! Thank you Mr. or Mrs. Turkey for giving your life for our feast!

My adorable daughter, Emma (the one on the right) danced with her performing group friends the day after Thanksgiving at the festival of the trees. They were fantastic and amazing as always. I love watching her dance - she comes alive & is so in her element. I love that and honestly, am a little jealous of it at times. God has given her a special talent and she uses it with all of her heart. I am so proud of her!
On Sunday we went bowling with my hubby's family instead of going to church - shhhh...don't tell anyone! We then went to his sister's house for a great dinner.

Last night we took our kids out to dinner with a gift certificate we got for a gift - it was so fun to talk over dinner about heaven and our thoughts about God. We also went to see the tree in downtown Portland but for some mysterious reason it wasn't lit up last night - what the heck?!?! We had a beautiful time anyway, wandering through the relatively quiet city, hanging out with two of our favorite people.

Today my family and I visited with Mrs. Tappan for a half hour or so. Her husband who was 77 died in a tractor accident on May 11th. They had been married for 53 years and they had 5 or 6 kids. They own about 50 acres or so across the field from us and all of their children have homes on the land. The Tappan family believes in God and they will see each other again in heaven. What a great but bittersweet story she shared with us. He would consider himself lucky having died on his tractor - that was how he would have wanted it. What a beautiful testimony of what is really important in life. Thank you Mrs. Tappan for sharing your story with us and thank you God for the simple reminder today of what this life is really about.

Never Too Old I Guess

The other day my kids brought back some old memories of when they were little and loved playing together all the time. It is true that kids can be entertained for hours with a box and never even see the toy inside of it!

They decided to walk around the house in it together - the step was quite a challenge! Not to mention all the cords - don't they know this is still a construction site???They finally ended up in the living room where they made it into a cool fort - it is still there 5 days later! It was so fun for us parents to watch them laughing so hard and acting like little kids again - I sometimes miss those days!
Especially on days like today when I had to take them shopping for pants at the mall - oh, the days when I got to just pick out their clothes myself. Didn't have to discuss why those ones won't work because they are too expensive or not appropriate or not the right size.

As I was having a pity party for myself while waiting outside the dressing room - I saw a young mom with her stroller just picking out clothes for her little son. She looked so peaceful, just strolling along, picking out whatever she liked or could afford. But then he had a messy diaper and she had to stop what she was doing and head to the restroom.

It is a trade off - every season has its joys and struggles! The blessing comes in learning how to be content in every season - being able to say "thank you, God" for this season!