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.

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!

hmmmm.....

I have been thinking & contemplating so much lately that honestly, I feel overwhelmed a lot. Even though I feel a very strong underlying sense of peace there is so much chaos in this brain of mine. And to be completely honest, some of the things I am thinking about may be too much for this blog.

We have been home a lot since Monday. My kids had 4 snow days this week, Christmas parties were cancelled, dance performances & classes were all cancelled, martial arts graduations were cancelled - all sad but forced down time is good. We have been productive - I finished unpacking a lot of boxes, we hung a lot of things on walls, I painted Cody's closet that comes down from the ceiling & I repainted Emma's bed & dresser to match her new colors in her room.

Cody, his two friends and I did venture out last night to the middle school overnight party - yes, I stayed all night. I did take 2 1-hour naps and then slept 4 hours this morning. They seemed to have a good time but they were all pretty tired this morning.

Curtis & I are praying for direction right now. Several big decisions and not sure what is right in some of the decisions. We want to hear from God. We want to know that we know that we are doing what HE would have us do - not just what we think is best. Waiting on You, Lord!

We are looking forward to a very simple Christmas this year. We only bought a couple of gifts and we are doing things different. "If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always got" - so we are approaching it differently. We made a few gifts and are doing a white elephant with Curtis' family. The snow has been a beautiful gift from God to remind me of how simple Christmas truly can be. I read my kids the complete Little House on the Prairie series several years ago and the snow makes me feel like I am living back then. No where I have to be - just being still & enjoying God's creation. Resting & enjoying my family.

Maybe when I can sort through more of my thoughts I will share them with you. Praying that you all enjoy the snow and are safe. Praying for health for sickness. Praying for God's provision for many. Praying for rest as you celebrate Christ's birth.

Fun Morning in the Snow!

Now that we have a hill to sled on, we tested out the run. Tucker decided it was pretty fun to chase the kids down the hill. Luckily, everyone escaped the teeth.

The kids both had fun getting air at the bottom. It was a nice dry snow, perfect for sledding.

Tucker had enough energy for all of us. Every thing is a celebration when you are a puppy!

I decided since Tucker wanted to chase us, that he needed to test out the sled run. We made it successfully to the bottom.

Their are several cows in the field next to us. Daily the cows and tucker have a stare down. Even though he wants them to come to the fence, he is terrified if they get too close. He talks big, but really is a chicken around big animals.

The men made an odd snowman. His hair is grass and he looks a little mean! Obviously, us girls had already gone in for hot cocoa by this point.

We love snow days!!