Friday, April 30, 2010

Our House

For those of you who have never been to our house, here it is. Like I have mentioned, we live in the middle of a wheat field. In fact, the tractors have been busily going past our house the last week. They have been tilling and Rounduping to get ready for planting. It is fun to watch.

This is about a half a mile away from our house. You can see off to the right another house and right in front of that house is the highway. We live in beautiful farm land.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Haircut - Yep, I said haircut!

One - I hate having my picture taken, but I did get my haircut and I want to show you.
Here I am with my long hair. This hair is the longest I have had since I was like 9 or 10.

When Bailee was 1, it was longer, but not this long.

Here is the new me or the old me depending on how long you have known me.

A Mouse

I am not sure how many of you have ever had to deal with a mouse. We live in an old farmhouse in the middle of a field. Having mice in our house is somewhat relative.

The other day I was in our kitchen getting ready to make dinner. I had opened the refrigerator to get something out and then I was headed to our pantry. As I took a step toward the pantry, I admit, I screamed. Right as I was about to place my foot, I looked down and there was this little guy.

This is very unusually. We often hear the mice in the walls or duct work. We rarely see any of the mice. This guy was moving incredible slow. Jeremy had time to go get a glove on, grab the little guy, and take him outside. We are sure he was sick or dying just for the fact that Jeremy was able to grab.

It is one thing knowing there are mice around. It is another seeing them.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Gia

Here is the dog that we got from Chelan and Marvin. She has definitely grown. We think she is about the same age as Luken, which would make her about 11 months old.

When we went for a walk the other day, she found this hole. There are many wholes in the side of the hills along the road we walk. I am not sure what makes them or lives in them, but Gia loves them.

She decided she was going to dig this one out and find out what was living in it.




As you can see by the below picture, she dug her way down into the hillside. When we went for a walk the next day, she had dug it out to the point that she could not be seen. I will let you know if we ever figure out what is in there.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Crocheting

For those of you who do not know me well, I love to crochet. I am always finding new patterns and trying them. I tend to be a very tight crocheter, which means everything comes out smaller than the pattern states. I change the size of my crochet hook, but I don't always get it right.

Here is a hat a finished the other day. Makayla thinks it is for her, but Ange, I think Roslynn has a new hat.

Monday, April 26, 2010

More Luken

Here are a few more of the little man. He is getting to have quite the personality. He loves sippy cups. He drinks from them all the time and thankfully now he can hold them up himself.

"Take My Picture!"

This is something Makayla says to be every time she sees my camera in my hand. Here she is with "Sheepy." She never use to sleep with something specific. Whatever would do. Now she cannot sleep without Sheepy.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Our Swing

We have a great tire swing in our yard. The weather is finally getting to the point where the girls can go out and enjoy it. Here are Sam and Makayla doing just that.




I love the fact that they enjoy going outside and playing together. We are blessed to have wonderful children.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Luken

Mr. Luken is getting so big. He is starting to walk. He has taken several steps. He is also brave enough to let go of what he is holding and walk away from it.

He loves his dad's drum kit for Guitar Hero.

He also loves climbing the stairs. He is so quick at it. We have to keep a close eye on him.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Rainbow


I few weeks ago we had a lovely storm go through. The kids and I were coming down from the Orchards and could see the whole rainbow shown above. I did not stop to take a picture until we were going up the Lewiston hill. Don't you love the antenna in the way. I actually just noticed it. It was an awesome rainbow though. Only God could create such beauty.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

New Camera

I stated previously that I received a new camera for my birthday. I was very excited. I have had a point and shoot for several years now. I have appreciated this camera tremendously, but I was ready for a camera with a bit more.
I had Jeremy talk with my photographer sister-in-law to get an idea what would be a good beginner SLR camera. This was her suggestion - Nikon D50.I really like it. It seems very simple. I am going to get some tutoring from Ange. I am looking forward to the control this camera will give. This previous posts pictures were taken with this camera, although it was set on the auto setting.

I am sure I will have many more pictures in the future. Having a new camera is inspiring.


Wednesday, April 21, 2010

My Birthday Party

Here are a few pictures from my party. In the above picture is one of Luken's friends, Jocelyn. She belongs to our friends, Christian and Jill. Isn't she cute? If you would like to see more adorable pictures of this little girl, go to Ange Movius Photography Blog.

They were seeing whose finger could go farther in the others mouth.

I am not quite sure what Christian and Justin were discussing, but obviously it was interesting.

Pregnant Sister Brittney and Jillian.

Brother Marvin

Mike and Grandpa Ray

Our little man

Luken was definitely the hit of the night. He usually a little reserved, but this night he showed us all what he was really made of. He was doing his sit-twirl dance. It was really funny.

Uncle Justin is definitely one of Luken's favorite people.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

The Fire of Your Heart

I have a small devotional by Max Lucado that I read through each day whenever I have a moment of time. It always me to draw my thoughts back to Jesus if they have wandered during the day.

I thought I would share today's with you.

My God, I want to do what you want. Your teachings are in my heart. Psalm 40:8

"Want to know God's will for your life? Then answer this question: What ignites your heart? Forgotten orphans? Untouched nations? The inner city? The outer limits?

Heed the fire within!

Do you have a passion to sing? Then sing! Are you stirred to manage? Then manage! Do you ache for the ill? Then treat them! Do you hurt for the lost? Then teach them!

As a young man I felt the call to preach. Unsure if I was correct in my reading of God's will for me,, I sought the counsel of a minister I admired. His counsel still rings true. "Don't preach," he said, "unless you have to."

As I pondered his words I found my answer: "I have to. If I don't, the fire will consume me."

What is the fire that consumes you?"

- The Great House of God,
Max Lucado

Monday, April 19, 2010

My Birthday and Happy Birthday to Josh

I turned 34 on Saturday. I had a nice, relaxing day at home with my kids. Jeremy had to work and actually, Bailee deserted me for a friend in the afternoon, but it was nice.

Right now, my husband is downgrading my computer for me. I got sick of Vista. In the next few days, I will get some pictures up and show you the fun.

I got a new camera for my birthday which I am very excited about. Thank you for all of you who contributed to it.

Today is my brother, Josh's, birthday. He is 32. In fact with him living in Kenya, his birthday is almost over. We talked with him and wished him a happy day. I think one of the hardest things I deal with having half of my family in Kenya is not being able to be a part of special occasions - birthdays, holidays, children. Josh and Rachel are expecting in August.


I am so very proud of Josh. He is pursuing a dream of being a doctor and not just any doctor, but a doctor that will go to those who need him the most. He is getting an education in Kenya, because he wants to know how to be an effective doctor in limited circumstances. Right now, he has the highest GPA the school has ever had. He says that is not saying much, but if you know Josh, it is. I cannot wait to see what God has for my brother and his family in the future.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Privacy

Privacy, at our house, is measured by mom and dad. You act responsible, no sneakiness, then you will be granted a degree of privacy.

Bailee had a slip a few months ago. She chose to lie and hide things from us. At this point, she is not granted very much privacy.

I read her emails, not everyday and not everyone, but I do go through and skim them every now and again. This is why I know her password, so I can get on whenever I have that feeling. You know that mom feeling that tells you that something is not right.

She also knows that I will and have looked through her notebooks. She really does not have a diary, but she has random notebooks she keeps. She sporadically writes in these. Not long after the above incident, I was looking through a few and found some things that I need to discuss with her.

She does not have a cell phone. She was given one, but it was a pay as you go phone. We told her we would not pay for more time and she really struggles to save money. It ran out of minutes very quickly.

My mom allowed me to have my privacy. She felt that I was a smart, young woman and did not need her looking over my shoulder. She was wrong, as she admits now.

Our children need us. They do not become teenagers and know everything, even though they think they do. They need us to help them see truth in the crazy world they are coming into. They need us to help them understand what they are think and feeling. How can you do that if you do not know what they are thinking and feeling?

Now, I want to clarify that Bailee knows I read her email and I look through her notebooks at time. I will tell her before I do it or as soon as I see her, if she happens to be gone. This is an agreement we have made. I want to also say that talking with your child is the most important thing you can do. You just have to know they are not going to tell you the whole story.

Just think of you as an adult, you respond the many things in your life in different ways. Hopefully, you are mature enough that you have learned to take things in stride. Your teenager has not. They will have a thousand different thoughts running through their minds and they could be regarding the same matter. We need to help clear the confusion.

The teenage years are wonderful years. If you allow them, your child's teenage years will change you as you help them grow and become the person God has destined them to be.

Monday, April 12, 2010

More Thoughts on Teenagers

My next question for you is: What do you think about privacy for your teenager?

I know those of you with small children probably have not had this issue arise, but I will encourage you to think about this and talk with your spouse long before the need arises. With all things teenage, you need to be ready before they are.

I was talking with my sister the other day and she gave me her opinion on teenage dating and then told me she has some years before she really needs to think about. I then related to her the fact that our 5 and 7 year olds all ready pretend to be married. Girls just think about these things a whole lot sooner than boys.

Okay, back to privacy, does your teenager need privacy or how much privacy do they need? Are emails, text messages, diaries, and the like sacred? Or should you be aware of what is in your teenagers mind and what is being relayed to their friends?

Let me know what you think.

And some exciting family news, no, Ange and Brittney, I am not pregnant. Actually Luken is taking some steps and will be walking soon. That is exciting. He can really get around quick crawling, but it is always fun to see them get more adventurous and daring. It will change our lives, but most new things do.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Mom's Calendar

I had plans to share this a few months ago, but time has slipped away from me.

My mom likes to get photo calendars from Costco whenever she is in the states. Their last visit went by so quickly, she was not able to do it herself. She asked me to do it for her. I thought I would make an extra special one.

I love to digital scrapbook. For those of you who do not know what that is, it is scrapbooking with your computer. You have to have special software to do it, but other than that, you can get so many "kits" for free. There are so many great blogs out there that off these. I am going to work on a sidebar with all my favorite blogs that do this. Keep an eye out, if you are interested.

Here are the pages for my mom's calendar: