Our week in review

Well the pre-Thanksgiving weekend started out great with hubby and kiddo's getting out of school for the week, and my amazing mother-in-law arriving for a fun and relaxing week before Thanksgiving. We had all sorts of great things planned and were hoping to really spoil her and fill her tank for the return to Florida. Friday was the big feast day at the River and an assembly and the children ALL loved having grandma there with them to celebrate. Then mom and I went to a Pampered chef party for some adult time and had a lot of fun. Well, then things began to unravel. That morning, EARLY Saturday morning Nolen began throwing up, then Nadia then Mia, Emma, Scott, and Sharon. It was miserable. On Sunday night I slept in my clothes with just a light blanket on and my glasses on ready to jump up. I was up numerous times helping my poor family and running them back and forth to the bathroom, changing them and their bedding and being on guard as to not miss something really bad. Nolen was better and I thought Ty and Nadia were fine so we went for a walk with the dog at the park, all went well so instead of going in and exposing ourselves to the stomach flu we went to the store to pick up some rations. Well as soon as we got to the car Ty started throwing up. And when we got home I gave Nadia something to drink and she started throwing up again! Yowza! It was crazy around here for a couple of days. I never got whatever it was, thankfully. We are still dealing with some sort of head cold, but other than that all is well.
Thanksgiving day was a low key and relaxing day as we were all exhausted, but pretty well recovered. Scott grilled salmon and asparagus, I made a feta and blueberry salad, mashed Parmesan red potatoes and baked apples and Nolen made the Challah and we spent dessert with our dear friends the Bowes! It was really nice especially because I LOVE my hubby's grilled salmon!!! Any day with that is a good day. At dinner we talked about all of the things we were thankful for. Well, we had told the children that we were going to do this and we wanted it to be a well spring rather than a kinked garden hose, so we asked them to make lists earlier in the day of about 10 things they were thankful for. Well, Nolen made his list and then memorized it as not to have to worry about all of that pesky paper (very Nolen), Emma wrote out 10 (in about 30 different colors along with illustrations) and then ran down the stairs upset because she had way more than 10 and was asking if it was OK for her to "do more" . Then after she finished she decided to put it to music and sing it. Then she sat down to play a harp accompaniment to it (VERY Emma). Mia worked sooo hard and actually wrote out her's!!! She is only 5 so this took her awhile, but she pressed forward and and did it (very Mia). Ty chimed in at dinner that he was very thankful for Jesus dying on the cross and sharks and fishies. Nadia spoke up with her ever present, "Yea!", which is sooo cute by the way.
I hope you all had a great day and enjoyed your family and friends!

Great Family photo's

I am finally including the link to our family photo's that were taken by Joy Far earlier this fall. she did an amazing job and we were so happy with them! Check them out!!
http://albums.phanfare.com/4944566

Retro Christmas

I wanted to find some more authentically Americana pieces for Christmas. And this is what I found! I love it. For those of you who know me, there are even stains from Family Christmases past on the table cloth!! I can envision many-a happy Christmas dinner past around my pretty tablecloth. I can't wait to add our own gravy and coffee and wine stains to it -OH marvelous!! And to my dear friend michelle - - RED BALL FRINGE!!!! Ahhhhhh . . . .

Ty's comfort

Yesterday I was putting Nadia on the potty, and as I set her on she began to cry (I think it was cold). Well as soon as this happened Ty knew what the problem was and how to help, what a good brother. He said in a rather comforting tone, "Don't worry baby Nadia, the sharks won't jump up and bite your bun!". What a great friend. This is a great picture of family :)

cinnamon rolls

Here is a pic of what the cinnamon rolls looked like. NUMMMMM . . . I need to make some more!

My Buddy

Last week we had a minor catastrophe that could easily have become a MAJOR Problem. Our washing machine spontaneously ejected a vital part and started gushing water. So here I am with 5 small children and no washing machine. I called SEARS to get a repair man to come out to fix the problem and encountered any number of issues with the whole procedure (don't even get me started on the huge problem of outsourcing customer-service jobs to other countries, and the language barrier, ergh). The earliest they could get someone out was a week and a half later - Yikes. Now, I usually do at least 3 loads a day. As I began to do the math I was getting a bit disheartened. 21 loads of laundry was more than I could handle, not to mention the at that point I would be buying new underwear by the boatloads to keep up. The last time I had a washer issue and had to go to the laundromat it took 10 washers and 10 dryers and $40. Not to mention that Emma was sick (throwing up of-course) and I had to manage to keep Ty safe and Nadia contained during that whole process. Though edifying, I'm sure - not my idea of a relaxing afternoon. Well in the mean time hubby needed white tee shirts so a load needed to be done somehow. Well after acessing the situation and reviewing all of the possible alternatives I decided to just bite the bullet and wash a load, gushing water and all. At first I planned on just having Ty watch a movie or play so that I could focus on keeping the water off of the carpet and keep potential disaster to a minimum. I had it all figured out. I would start the washer and when I saw the water begin to gush I would just open the door to the back yard and sweep the water out (feverishly). Well when Ty saw this (water on the floor and mother poised with broom) he wanted to join in! So we had a great time together as he learned to work alongside me (with his own broom, seen here) and instead of being in the way and making a bigger mess he was a BIG help and now I have the cleanest basement floor ever!! Later my hubby called and managed to get us on some sort of waiting list to be called by ... someone. The next day the head honcho of the service department in Spokane called and the repairman came out the following day. Well, to me the problem was really cut and dry. The spring that holds the boot taught against the drum came out (along with the screw that tightens it) so the way to fix it would be to put it back in, right? Well, apparently the obvious solution to the repairman had to do with ordering a part and something about hell on earth and it being back ordered. Yowza... I stood silently trying not to take him by the cheeks and scream, "Listen, if 2 parts came out of the washer and those 2 parts are in good working order, then doesn't it make complete sense to you that the best idea would be to simply put them in and not worry about another mysterious part that does not exist!?!!?" BUT, alas.... Instead I simply said, "Well, see what you can do." I then went upstairs to pray like mad. After awhile I was either needing to go hover over him and watch his every move to make sure he was actually doing all he could to put it back together or something else - on the constructive and less annoying side. So I made cinnamon rolls. They were very distracting and they turned out great. The repairman had to take the entire front off of the washer, I just didn't go down. But he got it all together and it now works wonderfully, no leaks!
So when hubby came home this is the picture he saw. Happy wife with a fixed washing machine, warm smells of delicious cinnamon rolls wafting through the house and CLEAN white tee's for work, not to mention the impeccably clean laundry room floor! From his perspective a great day had by all. Life is funny. God is good.

Thankfulness Catch up :)

Alright, here goes
#7 my parents!! They are the greatest, and I am so thankful for all of the wise and practical advice they give. I look around my home and at my children and cannot see more that a square inch that does not have their fingerprint on it. From the Groovy Girl clothes, our slippers, hats scarves, dresses, etc . . . knitted by my mom to the tools and weedeaters filling our garage and sheds to overflowing. We are very blessed by their help and love

#8 my sister!!! She is always thinking of us! I'm not sure if we have made it into her book yet (hint!hint!) and by the way I would really like to see that - how hilarious. She is fun and funny and not bound by her limitations - BUT DO NOT OFFER TO ORDER HER A FRAPPACCINO (sp)!! I once did and had to walk off the laughter at what she asked me to order, I almost couldn't say it! My kiddo's are so kind and generous to anyone disabled, thanks to her. They have gone up and requested rides on peoples wheelchairs, though so I guess there are things to watch out for. Too comfortable and all.

#9 My mother-in-law! How funny is that? Do people actually say that? I personally love my mother-in-law. She is kind, generous, loving and fun. She LOVES her grandkids and just thrives on their antics. Whenever I tell her the latest daring-do by Sir Titus she is so good at putting it all into perspective, and reminding me that Scott was just like that and now look at him!! I usually leave our conversations with a smile on my face and a deeper love for my family.

#10 The River Academy, yes one of my favorite places on earth. I love to hear that loud rambunctious chanting of Bible verses echoing through that halls, to see Nolen and his friends running at breakneck speed out to the playground to play football or some other high intensity rule related game (Nolen is our rule-monger) with huge smiles on their faces. I love to see Emma and her friends going from room to room after school asking to help the teachers clean up their rooms, sharpen pencils and whatever else needs to be done. I love to see Mia bounding out of class to see me and give me a HUGE hug and to tell me she misses me after only a mere 3 hours away. I love to be in a place where my husband is respected for who he is, what he contributes and thanked daily for what he sacrifices to be there. The BEST thing about The River is that God is glorified and Christ is put first. The same teachers that have fun with the students are also not afraid to hold them accountable and to talk to them about what really matters. School is merely a training ground for the Christ centered life. And, yes a happy place for my hubby to be the all time quarterback at recess.

#11 Flu shots and our amazing access to medical care here in the US. A couple years ago Scott got the flu. Not Gastroenteritis but the real genuine flu. He almost died. It was extremely scary for me, the children were all to small to realize what happened, but with him in the hospital and losing weight daily I felt the full weight of a life with out my best friend. Everyone that came in contact with him had to wear a mask and couldn't touch his skin without gloves. I couldn't even sleep in the same bed with him for a week afterwards. When he was finally released I was left with a husband that weighed nearly 30 pounds less than he did when he went in, not a good weight loss regime. Ever since then we have all got the flu vaccine. If it protects us from the current strain, great -wonderful!!! If not, at least it gives our bodies another shot at learning to fight off a nasty bug. And it gives us a peace of mind that is worth more than the co-pay.

Happy birthday to Scott!!

Here is the hilarious picture of Scott and his 5 beautiful children (if I do say so myself) at Applebee's for his birthday. I was really there, but as happens with most mom's, sorry no pictures.
We had a great time and laughed a lot. The children consider Scott's birthday as one of the MAJOR holidays during the year and can't understand why noone else was hoopin' it up!! We started out the exciting evening with flu shots all around and so after school was a mad dash for Dr. Kolde's office to Dr. Milnes office to dinner before it was so late the children were starving. We immediately started dishing out the cherrios (that were orriginally intended for Nadia) and instructed coloring. It all went smoothly and they were soooo GOOD!!! We expect it, but you really never know when you have the little ones in the mix.
I am sooo thankful for this man! Can I say it enough?Not only is he handsome, but he loves me, works hard, can't wait to come home, and not only teaches but loves the kiddo's. Oh, and he cleans up the vomit when the kids get sick. The last one is really important, since I cannot do it with out getting sick too and being out of commission for the rest of the day. It is definately a divinely appointed task.
So Cheers for the day, and we hope your was as fun!

Thankfulness #6

The Tolerance Rant. I LOVE it. This is the most hilarious and true thing on the planet. If you haven't seen it, go there.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_MLUuNKjZU

Thankfulness #5

Now anyone who know me knows that I hate the rain. I am not talking from a mere single experience in it or seeing it from far away and saying, "ewww", I have been living in Washington state my whole life, and specifically on the peninsula for my first 20 years of life and can say with expert knowledge of the subject at hand and all of it's facets that I hate the rain. BUT!!! Today when we saw that it was raining I put the girls in these ADORABLE rain jackets and look what they did! My little Wenatchee girls are trying to catch raindrops on their tongues! I can now say with a heart full of joy that today I am thankful for the rain! Who wouldn't be with such cuteness as the end result?

Did I mention the part about their hoods? They are definately the cutest girls alive. Confirmed.

Shower pics

Can you believe they all fit!? amazing. This is definately something to be thankful for, such good friends.

Sue, Michelle and Baby Chelsey.

Bethany, Chelsey and Michelle

What a great sister pic.

Thankfulness #4

For my dear friends Rachel and Michelle.
We had a shower for Michelle and dear little Chelsey Fay here on Monday and the morning before the shower I had no idea how it would all pull together. Rachel wizzed over here and helped me (or rather I helped HER) get my house up to par and ready for all of the ladies who would come that evening. It was so fun and we had a great time. The shower was so lovely and a good time was had by all. Such fun.

Thankfulness #3

For the place we are. I love to look out my window and see the park in all of it's fall glory. The leaves are changing and fallllllling, so quickly that you can literally stop and watch a tree go from a full tree of beautiful golden splendor to a bare stick poking out of the ground and pleading with heaven to take it from it's bare misery. Ahhhhh...
I love to see my children playing in the Spring on the play ground and in the Summer in their swimsuits splashing in the puddles left by the sprinklers and in the Fall jumping in the piles of leaves and sledding down the trails in the Winter. Wonderful.

Thankfulness #2

OK, here is the 2nd thing I am thankful for.
#2 Daylight savings time!!! Who is not thankful for more sleep and actually waking up to light rather than darkness?

BE YE THANKFUL!!!

There are soo many things to be thankful for, during this time of the year, and especially in the country we are in. I am going to try and post at least one thing that I am thankful for each day for the entire month. I must admit that I am hoping to post MORE than one each day, but if I can say that I am going to post one then all others should be gravy, right?


#1 (drum roll please . . . ) My children and Hubby!!
They are the reason my house is at the same time messy, but fully of laughter and life. With out them life around here would be neat, tidy, dull, and depressing.

There you go, easy as pie! Now I would love to hear what everyone else is thankful for, so chime in!! Hope you have a great day!!

Vive Le Reformation!!

Here are our 2008 Reformation day pictures. Nolen, Emma, Mia and Scott dressed up in full reformation garb and had a wonderful time. Scott was a scholar (how he pulled this off I have no idea), Nolen was a handsome and brave knight seen below with crest, Emma and Mia were beautiful princesses. They ate a huge feast, jousted, played games and learned about the reformation. It was a funn day and they came home exhausted.

Sir Nolen

Scott, Nadia and Ty at the assembly

Emma and Mia best princess sister friends!!!