Saturday, October 29, 2011

Yearly Pictures

I got made fun of when I say I am taking the kids' school pictures, so I will call these yearly pictures.  Last year, I did this, but the pictures never got into the frames.  This year I am doing much better.  They were taken this week and are already in the frames.

You will notice a lack of Bailee in the following pictures and that is because her Aunt Ange is going to do a fun photo shoot of her.  We will just use one of those pictures.  She is so excited.  I know they will have a lot of fun.

Here are the other three:



Don't worry Grandpas, Grandmas, Aunts, and Uncles, you will get your copies.

Friday, October 28, 2011

The Tie-Dye Adventure

Mom bought a huge tie-dye kit to take back to Kenya with her.  The girls talked her into using some while they were here.

This is Mom's skirt.  She was not able to actually be with us when we did the tie-dyeing.

This is the girls making her skirt colorful.

You have to allow your tie-dyed clothing to sit for several hours before you wash and wear them.



The end products - I included this picture because Mom and I are not below.







Thursday, October 27, 2011

A Last Visit with the Elder Movi

Life is so busy right now.  Mondays through Thursdays just seem to blur.  I am sorry I have not been good at keeping this up to date.  There is so much left to share of my time with my family.  Josh, Rachel, and the kids are still here.  In fact, we were told last week that they are expecting little Leister #3.  How excited!  Sadly, another niece/nephew that I will only get to see at rare times, but they make those times so much more special.

Back to when the Leisters were here:
We got one more visit with Grandpa Ted and Grandma Brenda.

Bailee thought this was her throne since she was wearing her boots.

I just love my Dad's face in this picture.

Mom and Sammy

They thought this was funny.   You will understand when you see them together in the rest of the pictures.

I put the rest of these in so you can see how naughty Ted and Bailee were being.  I think there is only one with okay faces.




Wednesday, October 19, 2011

More Catch Up: Nez Perce County Fair

Dad and I at the carnival

Luken catching bubbles.  I love that they have the whole kid free section.

Giant pumpkins

The petting zoo - This is one of the kids favorite parts of the fair.

Brittney, Justin, and Anjahli were also with us.

A LLAMA!

Aren't they cute?

More cuteness with Geema, which is the name Makayla gave my mom.

Look at Bailee's face 

Bunnies - Bailee has been asking for a bunny for a while.

FOOD - We had some of the best nachos.

Justin is eating tongue tacos, hence the look on Brittney's face.

A whole lot of cheesiness

Dad and daughter

Grandpa Ted and Grandma Brenda joined us.

Riding the carousel - Another favorite

Some of the very first friends my parents made when we started attending RCC.

Luken and Anjahli got in on the carousel action.

Interestingly enough, Makayla loved the dragon and Sam did not.

Brittney, Dannon, and Bailee riding the something or other.

Monday, October 10, 2011

From Simple Mom


This is a blog I follow.  It spoke to me.  I hope it speaks to you.
Posted: 09 Oct 2011 09:01 PM PDT
Post image for Seldom have truer words been said
This. This was the quote that replayed in my head the past ten days as my daughter and I traveled 6,000 miles to the other side of the world to gather the remaining belongings of our former home. (I didn’t make up that quote, by the way—I first saw it on Etsy.) I braced for a wide range of emotions—from sadness to guilt to relief to a longing to return.
But the prevailing emotion honestly surprised me. I was flooded with peace.
I prayed that God would show me whatever He wanted to show me. We were going to do fun things together, and I was excited about spending quality time with Tate. But we also came to say goodbye—goodbye to a physical place, and goodbye to the life we once lived.
I’ve mentioned before why saying goodbye was important for us, but I still wasn’t surewhat, exactly, to expect. I’m completely serious—the calm flood of peace was unbelievably surprising. It just wasn’t what I really expected.
I don’t think it’s because I’m particularly gifted with wisdom, or because I knew exactly how to process all my emotions as they came. I think it’s because I’ve been blessed with a little experience in living out this quote: that the grass really is greener where I water it.

What does this look like for all of us?

• It means I find contentment when I’m cultivating my own lawn, and not gazing at my neighbor’s.
• I can’t sit around and just hope that my grass stays green. It takes work.
• When I’m watering my grass, I’m investing the resources that I’ve been given, not spending my energy wishing I had different grass.
• Heck, I’m blessed to even have grass.
I could go on with the grass and lawn analogies, but you get my drift.

Illustration by Brad Vetter

At the end of the day, this means:

• I’m focused on taking care of my tangible belongings, my relationships, my health, my lot in life—and not wishing I had something else. My energy is spent on stewardship, not on jealousy or ingratitude, unable to see my blessings.
• My body is healthy, my work is productive, and my relationships are flourishing when I work at them.
• It might seem like there’s always something better, somewhere more beautiful, or some house more functioning… and it’s true. There always will be. We’ll never be content on this earth until we’re grateful for where we are now. And when we finally are, it’s surprisinglyenough.
• I can choose to be content with where God has me, and with what He’s given me.
• Life is good because the Giver is good, and when I make the most of that life, then will I find contentment.
So I sit here on this return flight, slowly crawling back across the Atlantic, eager to squeeze my boys and return home. HomeExactly where I belong.
Your grass is greener where you water it, too. What does this look like for you?

Sunday, October 9, 2011

The Cat Lady


Dannon loved our cats and she was sure they loved her just as much as she loved them.

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Marvin Leaves Home

Marvin left in September to make his own way in the world.  He has not been living with any family members for a while now, but the Valley is his home.  

Dad and Mom were home at the right time.  They were able to move him to Coos Bay, OR, where he is looking into working until he has the money saved to go to school.


His girlfriend, Chelan, has also moved there to go to culinary school.  Marvin and I have chatted a time or two and it sounds for interesting for Chelan.  Marv says she got the weirdest roommates the school had to offer.


He is living on his own in a very small studio apartment, but he loves it.  Not a lot of space to clean.  


These were pictures I took the day before he left.  We are looking forward to his visit around Christmas.

 

I am not sure what was said, but obviously, it was fun.