Monday, February 28, 2011

Jeremy and His Snowboard

Of course, this is definitely not Jeremy, but it is the only picture I have of Bailee out when we were sledding. She has been sick for a week now and sledding was definitely not something she wanted to be doing.

Here is Jer and his snowboard. The hill is not very big, but Jeremy has decided to use it.


I am going to have practice the action shots with my camera. They did not turn out all that well.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Reality

Sadly, Makayla had a major reality check on Sunday. We had left church and gone to Costco to get a few things. There we saw Chris and Esther Dotson. Esther has asked me a couple of times if Sam could come to their house. They had all be spur of the moment and tend to not do spur of the moment. This time her mom was with her and agreed to get Sammy home, so I agreed.

Makayla thought this invitation included her and was devastated when she realized she was not included.

I had just been thinking a few days before how they were getting to the age where this was going to happen. It was hard to see it take place though. I know this is a good thing. All of my children are individuals and need their own times to be with friends, but it was hard for me to see Makayla so upset. Life can be so hard when you are six.

Here she is with her brother before Sammy got home.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Snow Day

We have had another round of snow up here on the Palouse. I had almost given up hope of seeing more winter. It definitely felt like we were headed to spring.

The day the kids woke up to snow they ate breakfast and headed outside. The temperatures were warm enough that it could have melted at any time.

Jeremy had Saturday off, so that morning we headed out to our sledding hill. The girls will take the sleds out on their own, but Luken usually wants to join them, so they do not get very far. With Jeremy and I in tow, they were able to go to the bigger hill.

In the above picture, you see how we get Luken out there. He will walk for a bit, but his little legs do get wore out.

We usually only go about halfway up the hill. It is a nice hike up the hill and the girls are definitely not into going all the way.

I even love to sled. I am in the above picture way at the bottom. I know I burn a lot of calories hiking back up the hill.

Luken is crying in this picture because his dad has left him to snowboard down the hill.

Finally, he came back and Luken is happy.

They got a bit hungry, so we had a little picnic.

Then we decided the dog needed a workout, so we tied the sled to her and had her pull Luken around.

And then it was back up the hill. You cannot see her, but Gia is still pulling Luken.

Sadly though, not long after this, Luken and I went for a ride down the hill and had a terrific crash. When we went back out on Sunday, Luken did not want to have anything to do with going down the hill on the sled. I am sure he will be good with it again, but it might take some time.

The kids are really loving the snow. We are going to open up our sledding hill to friends. If you are interested, give us a call Saturday and come sledding.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Friend or Parent?

Which would you choose? Do you want your child to think of you as their best friend or are you willing to be a parent, who tends to make decisions that your child does not appreciate, but are for their benefit? I think all of us want our children to look on us as great parents, but hopefully we also realize that we are responsible for who they become in the future.

I just happened to come across a blog post by Jim Daly, President of Focus on the Family, about Billy Ray Cyrus and his daughter, Miley. I thought it was sad and interesting. Checking it out Focus on the Family.

I think it is so sad when young stars get lost in the rush to be the new hot thing and totally lose who they are.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

And More Snow

When the kids woke up Wednesday morning, they were excited to see that there was still snow on the ground. They got ready and went right outside.

I love how the snow drapes everything in a lovely whiteness. It makes everything look so clean.

We are suppose to have more rain and snow over the next few days. I am hoping for snow. I really, really hate the mud. I think I have mentioned that before.


Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Our Snow

Everyone except Bailee was very excited to wake up to the snow. As I said yesterday, the little ones were outside as soon as possible. They did not want the snow to melt before they were given an opportunity to play in it.

Here are some pictures from yesterday.


More News from Kenya

Just a quick note for prayer! We took one of the twins Esther into the hospital on Tuesday and her and i ( phyllis) spent the night as she was treated for pneumonia! I am home for just a bit today and Troy is at the hospital ( Wednesday ) so that I could reassure all here and get a shower! Esther and I will be spending another night tonight and hope that she will have improved enough to come home on Thursday! Please pray that she recovers quickly and that no one else here gets it! Because of the cold nights it has become a serious problem in our area! The President got on TV and radio Monday and proclaimed it an emergency and is offering free immunizations against pneumonia for children under the age of 1. We have 4 of those and are going in on Friday for these shots. Horace is very tired because he has been me for a couple of days and I am very tired but other than that we are ok! We will appreciate any and all prayer! Love Mom Phyllis

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Winter Wonderland

We woke up this morning to winter wonderland. After weeks of almost spring like weather, winter whiteness has returned to the Palouse. It is suppose to warm up today, but we are suppose to have more snow over the next few days.

The kids were outside first thing this morning. I will post some pictures later today.

Our Cat

I have stated before how our cat is not all that friendly, but he does like to sleep on us when we are lounging on the couch. Here he is on my brother, Marvin. Marvin loves Oscar.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Kissin' Cousins

Brittney, Justin, and Anjahli came to visit last night. Anjahli is getting to be quite the little mover. She does not necessarily crawl, but she can get herself wherever she wants to go.

They were getting ready to go, so Luken got down to say goodbye to Anjahli. I told him to give her a kiss and he did.

Then he decide she was a cute puppy and was trying to get her to do tricks. It was funny. He kept wiggling her fingers at her like he had a treat for her.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Tessa's Birthday Party

The girls were invited to celebrate with their good friend, Tessa, her birthday. They were very excited to get to go bowling.

Then they had another surprise. Their cousins were also invited.

They had a wonderful time. They are both now wanting bowling parties for their birthdays.

Luken was the only boy and felt it. At first, he was very offended not to be able to bowl, but after a little while, he was given the opportunity. He loved it. Anything to do with balls is for him. Anyway, more on that later.

Thank you, Tessa, for allowing us to share your day.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Another Project - Making Cards

I have been purchasing paper and other scrapbooking items for a while now and have nothing to show for my purchases. I finally took some time to make some cards with all of my stuff.

Here are some sample of what I made.

In making these though, I have come across another want. It is called a Cricut (pronunciation "cricket") and it is a machine that cuts paper into different shapes. In some ways, it takes the place of stickers and other embellishments. There are not an item that would fit into our budge right now, but I am continue to keep my eyes open for a great deal.

Friday, February 4, 2011

More Luken Cuteness

My son is always giving me reasons to smile. Is it because he is 1 or is it because he is a little boy? I am not sure, but he is quite the character. He loves to do things that he knows will bring a laugh. He is also already practicing his dance moves.

Uncle Justin gave him this helmet about a year ago and he is just now really beginning to enjoy it. He loves football. He comes home every Sunday after church and touches the TV and says "football". I am not sure what he is going to do now that football is over.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Jeremy turns 35

My husband has turned 35. For me this means, I will be 34 for 2 1/2 months while he is 35. I love those 2 1/2 months. Here are two pictures I took from his party. I was manning the video camera, so I got lots of good video and not very many stills.

Our video camera also takes stills. Once I get the video and stills off, I might post some of those.


These pictures are from the day before his birthday. I had bought him a new iPod Touch and he knew it had come in the mail. He could not wait, so we let him have it the night before. We hid it from him and made him play hot n' cold to find it. I had hid it in an excellent hiding place. I finally had to show him where it was.

I believe he had a good birthday and I am sure 35 for will treat him well.

Update on Alex and More News from Kenya

Hi everyone just an update! Alex is doing well, is what we hear! We are scheduled to go to court on Friday for the twins! (Mom mentioned to me during own last conversation that there were twins needs a home. They were born Jan. 1st.) The out break in the hospital ward is " chicken poxs " not a big deal in the states but here the children are dying because of complications! Please pray! We had a young american Ped. Dr. come yesterday from Moi to check on a rash that Matthew has and she told us things are not good there! They are trying to evacuate! The twins are still well and being kept in a different part of the ward but still in danger. We are not even going to visit with them at the STC before we get them on friday because we do not want to bring it here! Thank you for all your prayers and support! We love you all and will keep you up to date on what is happening here! Love Phyllis

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Losing A Child

For those of you who do not remember, my parents are directors of a children's home in Eldoret, Kenya, Africa. It is called Tumaini Children's Center. Here are the links to my mom's blog, Leister's in Kenya, and Children with Hope, the organization that they are under.

Below is an email I received from my mom this morning. Please keep them in your prayers. Life is very different there and they need prayers more than anything.

Today the DCO came with Alex's mom and grandparents! They had done all the paper work before they came so they were able to take him with them! We are feeling that these people, his family, love him and will take care of him! I write this through my tears of course, how many times have I done this, hundreds, but it never gets any easier! Especially here in Kenya where life is so different outside of these walls! Pray for Alex's safety, for his heart as he transitions, for his family as they transition, for all of us here as we transition with out him! Thank you so much for being there to pray for us and our children! Love Phyllis