today i am thankful for the opportunity to play outside, my children's love of the outdoors, and my husband's passion when he plays with his kids outside.
Friday, November 2, 2012
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Giving Thanks
The month of November has to be my favorite; the smell of apple cider, pumpkin, Chai lattes, the leaves covering the ground, and the opportunity to to give thanks and share a huge meal with loved ones. This year I am following the suggestion of a blog that I subscribe to and will post a picture daily of things in life that I am thankful for. There is no blessing to small to be thankful for and this month I want to concentrate on simplifying and giving thanks for everything.....
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Making up for lost time
I would like to say that I will be better about updating our blog in the future, but that would be an out-right lie. So, instead I will promise to do my best....it's what I ask of my kids, so it only makes sense I apply it to my own tasks, right?!
Well, a lot has happened since our last update about our road trip to Bellingham/Lynden, Washington. We are now expecting a sweet lil' one mid-April and we couldn't be more excited about it. The boys are especially excited about the coming baby and watching mommy's belly grow. Josh loves to ask, "How big is the baby this week?" It's been fun to see him involved with this baby's growing process and watching Josh grow in amazement in understanding of how God can create something so precious and beautiful. Beautiful blessings on so many levels!
Michael and I will be finding out the gender of this baby, unlike we did with Josh or Carter. To say this was a mutual agreement would be, well, another outright lie....it's probably best to say, Michael finally came around and reluctantly agreed to find out the gender. Regardless, I can see the excitement in him grow as we approach our ultrasound date.
As we prepare for another lil' one we are feeling quite a bit of pressure to have a plan of where we are going to be living. We are now closing in on a complete year of waiting on a short sale house....yes, 365 days. We have heard from so many how they think we're silly for hanging on for so long. Although we have actively looked at homes over the course of this year each of them have confirmed our love for this SS home. Yes, I can see the silliness that others see, but that look Michael and I shared as we walked around the house for the first time was a look that needed no words yet seemed to say, "THIS is it!" We still get excited thinking about making that house a home, but with a bit more hesitation.
Carter has been growing up so quickly. His speech is getting better and better everyday and we are excited for him to start some therapy soon to give him that extra little bit of help. He goes to a friend of mine for daycare while I am at work and he absolutely loves it...which makes this momma happy. They do some preschool learning, frequent the library, and recently visited the Pumpkin Patch. It's exciting to see the folder of art work and crafts from the letter they have been working on and be able to sit down and have him show us everything. Such a delight to see his mind and world growing! Thank you, Becca!
Michael is doing really well. He is on his last week of football and I'm not sure who is more excited him or myself....probably a tie. His health has been great and we are so thankful for that. He still has to go to the Liver transplant doctor every 6 months to check his liver enzyme levels, but it's good to be monitored and watched so closely, and you won't ever hear him complain. He decided against basketball officiating this year for a few reasons and he is very happy about his decision.
Josh is doing really well in 1st grade. He adores his teachers and the learning. He continues to blow us away at how well he can read and just how quick he is at math. I'm happy that school comes so easily for him and that he loves it so much. Hope those continue for a long time.
As for me, feeling much less nauseated and have a bit more energy these days. I'm still taking classes from CBU online to complete my BA in Business Administration. I love my classes, though so much of my evenings is be taken from them, but I love the learning. I am super excited because I am headed back to NY with my friend, Becca, to see our good friend, Kim, at the end of November and do some Christmas shopping in NYC. Fun, fun, fun!
Geesh, this is a really long update. Sorry! But now you are informed, maybe even too much so.
Happy Reformation Day tomorrow :)
Well, a lot has happened since our last update about our road trip to Bellingham/Lynden, Washington. We are now expecting a sweet lil' one mid-April and we couldn't be more excited about it. The boys are especially excited about the coming baby and watching mommy's belly grow. Josh loves to ask, "How big is the baby this week?" It's been fun to see him involved with this baby's growing process and watching Josh grow in amazement in understanding of how God can create something so precious and beautiful. Beautiful blessings on so many levels!
Michael and I will be finding out the gender of this baby, unlike we did with Josh or Carter. To say this was a mutual agreement would be, well, another outright lie....it's probably best to say, Michael finally came around and reluctantly agreed to find out the gender. Regardless, I can see the excitement in him grow as we approach our ultrasound date.
As we prepare for another lil' one we are feeling quite a bit of pressure to have a plan of where we are going to be living. We are now closing in on a complete year of waiting on a short sale house....yes, 365 days. We have heard from so many how they think we're silly for hanging on for so long. Although we have actively looked at homes over the course of this year each of them have confirmed our love for this SS home. Yes, I can see the silliness that others see, but that look Michael and I shared as we walked around the house for the first time was a look that needed no words yet seemed to say, "THIS is it!" We still get excited thinking about making that house a home, but with a bit more hesitation.
Carter has been growing up so quickly. His speech is getting better and better everyday and we are excited for him to start some therapy soon to give him that extra little bit of help. He goes to a friend of mine for daycare while I am at work and he absolutely loves it...which makes this momma happy. They do some preschool learning, frequent the library, and recently visited the Pumpkin Patch. It's exciting to see the folder of art work and crafts from the letter they have been working on and be able to sit down and have him show us everything. Such a delight to see his mind and world growing! Thank you, Becca!
Michael is doing really well. He is on his last week of football and I'm not sure who is more excited him or myself....probably a tie. His health has been great and we are so thankful for that. He still has to go to the Liver transplant doctor every 6 months to check his liver enzyme levels, but it's good to be monitored and watched so closely, and you won't ever hear him complain. He decided against basketball officiating this year for a few reasons and he is very happy about his decision.
Josh is doing really well in 1st grade. He adores his teachers and the learning. He continues to blow us away at how well he can read and just how quick he is at math. I'm happy that school comes so easily for him and that he loves it so much. Hope those continue for a long time.
As for me, feeling much less nauseated and have a bit more energy these days. I'm still taking classes from CBU online to complete my BA in Business Administration. I love my classes, though so much of my evenings is be taken from them, but I love the learning. I am super excited because I am headed back to NY with my friend, Becca, to see our good friend, Kim, at the end of November and do some Christmas shopping in NYC. Fun, fun, fun!
Geesh, this is a really long update. Sorry! But now you are informed, maybe even too much so.
Happy Reformation Day tomorrow :)
Monday, August 13, 2012
Family time
The beautiful Pacific Northwest is so majestic and lush. Michael and I love that we have the opportunity to go home for Christmas every other year, but there is something special about visiting during the summer. We were looking forward to visiting the multitude of parks and participating in the many outdoor activities that Whatcom County has to offer, that you just aren’t able to do during the winter.
We broke our time in PNW up into two sections; family from my side first, and then on to Lynden for Michael’s family. I’m from Bellingham, where my parents and two of my brothers live. We were fortunate enough that my sister from Colorado Springs was in town for a wedding, and my oldest brother was up from Olympia. It was so wonderful having everyone together.
Here are some pictures of our time together in Bellingham.
Friday, August 10, 2012
Road Trip Day 3
Oh, how I love waking up to a nice cool morning mist and a Prefontaine trail to run on. It's simple a great way to start any day! I forgot how much I miss running on trails vs the road.
We were all pretty excited about day three and the fun stops we had planned. First stop, walking around Autzen Stadium. What a cool stadium. Josh was pretty disappointed that there wasn't any football practice at the time, but he was soon forgot when we walked into the gift shop for a souvenir.
From there we ventured to the Salmon Creek area just outside of Vancouver to visit Caitlyn and her family. Caitlyn was a RCS classmate of Josh's that just moved to the area. It was nice to see her and her family again and give the kids lots of time to play together again and catch up with their new life in Washington.
After a fun lunch with the Mercurio family we headed to NW Trek in Eatonville, Washington. NW Trek is similar to the Wild Animal Park in San Diego, but showcases animals of the Pacific Northwest area, i.e. grizzly bears, bald eagles, badgers, mountain lions. It was a gorgeous day and not a lot of people were at the facility. Infact, there was so few people there that Josh was baffled. He kept looking around and turning to ask, "Where are all the people?" 'Isn't it supposed to be crowded?" Haahaa, I guess this is what someone that visits the San Diego Zoo would expect from any other zoo-like area. He had us giggling with how bewildered he was.
After NW Trek we headed straight to Bellingham. Michael and I were so amazed with how the boys did on out trek up to Washington. They were GREAT! I think we can do more road trips in our future.
We were all pretty excited about day three and the fun stops we had planned. First stop, walking around Autzen Stadium. What a cool stadium. Josh was pretty disappointed that there wasn't any football practice at the time, but he was soon forgot when we walked into the gift shop for a souvenir.
From there we ventured to the Salmon Creek area just outside of Vancouver to visit Caitlyn and her family. Caitlyn was a RCS classmate of Josh's that just moved to the area. It was nice to see her and her family again and give the kids lots of time to play together again and catch up with their new life in Washington.
After a fun lunch with the Mercurio family we headed to NW Trek in Eatonville, Washington. NW Trek is similar to the Wild Animal Park in San Diego, but showcases animals of the Pacific Northwest area, i.e. grizzly bears, bald eagles, badgers, mountain lions. It was a gorgeous day and not a lot of people were at the facility. Infact, there was so few people there that Josh was baffled. He kept looking around and turning to ask, "Where are all the people?" 'Isn't it supposed to be crowded?" Haahaa, I guess this is what someone that visits the San Diego Zoo would expect from any other zoo-like area. He had us giggling with how bewildered he was.
 |
| In front of Autzen Stadium |
 |
| Carter's U of O football player |
 |
| Caitly and Josh playing |
 |
| At NW Trek |
 |
| Male elk resting |
 |
| Sweet boy |
 |
| Brotherly love |
 |
| Beautiful boys |
Road Trip Day 2
The end of day one ended with enough time for the boys to hit the pool and for me to hit the treadmill. Both excellent ways to burn some energy and help you sleep well at night. Needless to say, after a well rested night in the hotel we woke up and ventured out to the Jelly Belly Factory. Surprisingly neither one of the boys were very excited about this stop, but that's okay, I had enough excitement to cover all of us. I LOVE Jelly Bellys!! We had heard that during the summer the line for a tour can be up to two hours long and that was definitely not going to fly with a six and three year old, or for that matter Michael and I (ages do not need to be mentioned). With this first hand knowledge we ventured to the factory to hit one of the first tours of the day. Not only did we have a front parking spot at the factory, but we just walked right up to the start of a tour. Can you say, "WOAH!" (like Joey).
The Jelly Belly factory is pretty neat, but our tour guide could have brushed up on a few important facts of the history of the company. Overall, it was lots of fun and and the boys now like Jelly Bellys, yippee (although that means I have to share, shoot!). My favorite part is when they allow you to pick from a variety of different flavors at the end of your tour because you'll never guess what flavor Michael picked out?! BOOGER! Seriously, Michael! Buttttt, my mind got to thinking, "What if it's a trick? And what could it possibly taste like?" Well we are both here to tell you, "It is by far the most disgusting thing we have ever had." It took the entire day for us not to taste it in our mouths, uhhh.
The rest of the day was Interstate 5 and rest areas. Not too much to highlight over. The boys opened a few more gifts and we played a couple of games. We have a favorite rest area (yes, you can have that) that is right along a river before the Oregon boarder it has a ton of shade and large grassy area. We got out the baseball, bat and gloves. It was nice to just relax and play a little ball for a while.
We ended day two in one of Michael and I's favorite cities, Eugene, Oregon. Our hotel was right across from the Matthew Knight Area of the University of Oregon campus. It was the week of Freshman so the campus was buzzing. Boy, are kids entering college at a younger age? They look so much younger than they used too, huh? Heeehee!
Well we got in pretty late that night, so quick dinner and right to bed! Tomorrow, day three, will be filled with more fun stops and reaching our final destination of the first part of our trip, Bellingham!
The Jelly Belly factory is pretty neat, but our tour guide could have brushed up on a few important facts of the history of the company. Overall, it was lots of fun and and the boys now like Jelly Bellys, yippee (although that means I have to share, shoot!). My favorite part is when they allow you to pick from a variety of different flavors at the end of your tour because you'll never guess what flavor Michael picked out?! BOOGER! Seriously, Michael! Buttttt, my mind got to thinking, "What if it's a trick? And what could it possibly taste like?" Well we are both here to tell you, "It is by far the most disgusting thing we have ever had." It took the entire day for us not to taste it in our mouths, uhhh.
The rest of the day was Interstate 5 and rest areas. Not too much to highlight over. The boys opened a few more gifts and we played a couple of games. We have a favorite rest area (yes, you can have that) that is right along a river before the Oregon boarder it has a ton of shade and large grassy area. We got out the baseball, bat and gloves. It was nice to just relax and play a little ball for a while.
We ended day two in one of Michael and I's favorite cities, Eugene, Oregon. Our hotel was right across from the Matthew Knight Area of the University of Oregon campus. It was the week of Freshman so the campus was buzzing. Boy, are kids entering college at a younger age? They look so much younger than they used too, huh? Heeehee!
Well we got in pretty late that night, so quick dinner and right to bed! Tomorrow, day three, will be filled with more fun stops and reaching our final destination of the first part of our trip, Bellingham!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)