Christmas in Review

We are getting family pictures done this Sunday and I was looking at all our old Christmas pics so I thought I would share them. It is so amazing how fast the time has gone and yet it still seems like yesterday. I am truly blessed for this little family of mine

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009


After looking at all of those I am glad we are doing a whole family picture this year, I did not realize that we did ones with just the kids the last two years.

Thankful List

So my good friend Morgan over at Mama Loves Papa made a list of things she was thankful for and challenged others to do the same so here is my list :)

I am thankful . . . .
1. That I have a God loves me no matter what
2. That I have an awesome husband who is my best friend
3. That I have been blessed with three amazing children
4. That I have so many family and friends around me who also love me no matter what
5. That I have this lap top so I can type all this out from my bed, ha
6. That I have a God who not only loves me but watches out for me so I don't have to worry
7. That I have a radio station that I can listen to positive music on (KLOVE)
8. That I have the opportunity to teach my children from my home or wherever ;)
9. That I have the opportunity to also send said children to school for a few hours a week
10. That I have so much freedom in the country I live all because some really brave men and women are willing to stand up and die for it.

Daddy is

HOME!





Oliver was a bit unsure at first but now has warmed up to Daddy and it was almost as if he never left.

So Tired

I have lots of things I want to post and I am moving over all my posts from my old blogs to here so there is lots of stuff there too since I started blogging right before Mattie was born. But I am just to tired, seems life has been a little more draining as of late, however it has been no less wonderful. I am so so so incredibly blessed. SO blessed and so thankful for everything I have, I can't imagine a better life for me. More posts to come soon . . . after a nap :P

For the Love of Paint

Paint is awesome and we love it here in this house. However when it comes to finger paint there are different opinions . . .

Cora is my messy get right in there girl


Mattie is nice and neat but still likes getting her fingers dirty


Oliver, well he loves paint but not the feeling of it on his body so he uses a brush


I think that is one of my favorite parts of parenting, watching my kids become their own amazing person.

Labor Day Fun

We went up to my parents cabin for Labor Day and enjoyed the day. Here are some pictures :)

Redwoods

We wanted to go see James' mom during his two weeks here and she lives near the Redwoods so we ended up caravaning with my brother and sister in law up to where she lives to camp! We had a great time, even though it was colder than we expected and there were a lot of mosquitoes, bleck. Overall though we had a great time visiting and can't wait to do it again some time soon.

Don't Know How . . .

he got up there without falling or the kitchen falling over! Crazy little climbing boy :P

My Baby is 2!!

I can't believe Oliver is two! It seems like yesterday that we were talking names if we ever had a boy, and then shortly after finding out our little man was indeed a boy! I remember that when we found out James was deployed to Korea and so I called him and told him "Hey! The baby is a boy! Aren't you excited?!?" I was slightly disappointed at his reaction until I realized I had called him at 3:30AM and I had woken him from a deep sleep. Opps :P Here are some pictures of our little man through the last two years.

Actual Birthday

My Favorite Picture of Oliver and Daddy

First Birthday

18 Months

Now

Family Reunion

Every year we go up to the cabin with a ton of our family to spend some much needed time reconnecting. There are usually 50-100 people there (from my dad's side) and the days are usually filled with good food, good conversations, good games, and good memories. Here are some pictures I took while we were there.

Can't Go Through Summer . . .

without a trip to the beach! We went to the coast for a family reunion on my moms side and we had a blast! It was a 9 hour drive both ways but the kids were phenomenal . . . I was honestly very surprised the did so well but very happy too. Gives me more confidence to do some of the smaller trips I have been wanting to do. Anyway Oliver loved the ocean, he wanted to run in head first! The girls preferred just to play in the sand and build all kinds of cool castles that they promptly would destroy and build again. It was really nice too see family too, most of whom we had not seen since Mattie was a baby since we never lived very close to any family. Joining the Army and moving all over the United States will do that you know. It is really nice to be back and within driving distance of everyone. Really really nice.









Oh and just because . . . less than a week till James comes home!!! YAHOO!!

Bliss

That is the feeling I think Oliver had while sitting on one of his favorite thing in the world. Great Grandpa Dan and Great Grandma Marcela are pouring some cement for a new driveway and pad for their hot tub at their new house and so the people they hired to do it need what Oliver calls a "diggy". It was so cute to see how excited he was, made me want to buy one for him :P Of course the girls loved it too, they took turns pretending to be Wendy from Bob The Builder (the currant favorite DVD at our house right now). The only thing that took their attention from the "diggy" was the large amount of powdery dirt, yes they got very dirty, especially Oliver.





I am so using one of this pictures for his two year birthday invites next month.

Healthy Easy Banana Ice Cream

I don't remember where I heard this from but I wanted to try and it! I just took 3 large bananas and put them in the freezer for a little over 3 hours. Then I took them out and peeled them which was not nice to my hands, I think I might have a mild case of frost bite . . . well not really but it sure was cold. Anyways I cut them in thirds and put them in a baby food processor and blended for about a minute or two. After that I dumped them into bowls and gave it to the kids to enjoy and enjoy they did! It really was as creamy as it looks in the pictures and super sweet too, next time I think I will and strawberries or some other fruit to it :)

Twister

One of the things we do during Oliver's nap is play games. The girls picked Twister today, I have never had them play it before because I thought they were too little but I figured I would let them try. While yes they were too small because they could not reach all the spots they had a lot of fun. Here are some pics :)

Best Ant Killer Ever!

I love this stuff, the ants are not evening coming back! And these are ants that were attacking a cup of water. Every night I was mopping and cleaning everything in the kitchen and dinning room till it was pristine and still usually the ants would find something that I missed. sigh. But then I just randomly sprayed some with my fruit and veggie cleaner because I was annoyed and holy guacamole it killed them! I have been using it ever since.



Little does he know the work Mommy goes through to keep his kitchen clean :P *Update 10/2012 - Kills ants great but leaves a sticky mess. Bummer.*

Sleeping Babes

I love the Veggie Tales lullaby from the movie "Rack, Shack and Bennie" So I figured I would add it to some of my favorite pictures of my kids sleeping. Enjoy!

Think of me everyday hold tight to what I say



And I'll be close to you even from far away



Know that where ever you are it is never to far



If you think of me I'll be with you



Think of God's love for you



His word is good and true



No matter where you go



He will take care of you



Sleep now and close your eyes



Just like a lullaby soon you will wake up and the day will be new.