Fun with Family

We got to go and hang out with Greg's brother and their family today. It was so relaxing and wonderful. God has blessed me with such a fantastic sister-in-law. The kids loved just hangin' out with each other and playing with toys. The boys were busy building things, the girls were playing princesses, there were train tracks to master, and there was a very happy Jenna who absolutely adored her Aunt Stephanie today. Priceless memories!! After lunch, playtime, a great walk with Denise, homemade chocolate chip cookies, and more relax time, we headed off to Lake Wilderness. It was wonderful. I've never been there. It is absolutely beautiful. I think it helped that it was a gorgeous day today. The kids had fun playing and Jenna is definitely enjoying the slides now. Then it was off for another walk down by the lake where Uncle Matt is the skipping rock champion. Uncle Greg did good but Uncle Matt can get like 7-8 skips on one rock!! That's talent folks.

All in all, a wonderful time. Thank you so much Matt and Denise for having us out to visit today. Looking forward to the next one!! Love you guys.

Jordan's New Room

It has been a long time coming. When we moved into our house a year ago we talked about doing a room for Jordan that was special, just for him. A one of a kind if you will. He had one when he was a baby with a beautiful train mural that his aunt drew on and painted for him. It has finally become a reality. Aunt Chrissy is so amazingly talented. She looked at a few pictures to make sure the logos were right and that's it. She free handed all of the murals for Jordan's walls and she and mommy went to work painting. Really though, this was Aunt Chrissy's baby from start to finish. She really wanted to finish it before Jordan's birthday (as kind of an early present) and tonight when we got home from seeing some family.....there it was in all it's glory. There are a few details to finish on the backboard but other than that, the murals are finished. Jordan is so happy. There are a couple of things like a bean bag chair and some pennants that we still need to add to the room but he loves it so much.

THANK YOU Aunt Chrissy! You have again created masterpieces that a 7 year old boy will treasure. You are amazing and I love you so much.

Enjoy!

"End of Summer" Family Night

Well, it has kind of become a tradition to go to Red Robin for birthdays because we get free meals and free dessert. So this time we timed it right and Jordan and I both got to go at the same time this year. It was fun. We ate yummy food, got birthday cards from the restaurant with our balloons and ice cream, and then got to go to the $2 theatre to see "Up". It was a really fun end of summer family night. The kids loved "Up". Greg and I would look at each other and giggle as our kids were laughing out loud (and when I say loud I mean louder than anyone else in the full theatre) at dog voices and funny birds. It was a great time for us to enjoy our kids and make some fun memories.

The Almost First Day of School

Tonight was the open house at the kids elementary school. They were so excited to check the mail and get thier postcards telling them who their teachers would be. Unfortunately, Mikayla's didn't show up. So she had to wait the agonizing three hours to see who her teacher was going to be this year. But all's well that end's well.

Jordan, our 2nd grader, knew that he would be looping with Mrs. Whitehead, his teacher from last year. Even though he knew who his would be, the evening was just as fun for him as you can tell from the pictures.



Mikayla, our 4th grader, was a little cautious when she found out that her teacher would be a male! His name is Mr. Huson. But all that caution was thrown to the wind as soon as she entered his room and met him. He is very nice. She is very happy that there is a full view of Mt. Rainier from their room, which is on the 2nd floor. And to top it all off, she had this to say, "Mom, he wears glasses just like me." Too cute. So she is excited and telling everyone about her "boy" teacher like it's a badge of honor.



Isabella will be in Kindergarten this year. Her teacher is Mrs. Earnhardt, her mommy. We are continuing to get curriculum organized and ready. She has already begun begging for lessons and flashcards. I'm pretty sure she is more ready than I am but I know I'll catch up.




Reflecting for a moment.....my babies are really growing up. When we left today, there were no tears and no one was scared. It was the newest adventure in their lives right now and they were ready to face it. There is not a memory that I don't treasure. I love the way they use to cling to my leg and beg me not to go. Well not Jordan! He's always been fearless. But, I also love that they are growing and learning and becoming more and more the individuals that God is creating them to be.

Now that is not to say that we have it all down pat. For sure that is not the case. My newest reading right now is "How To Have A New Kid By Friday" by Dr. Kevin Lehman. It's about changing behaviors and attitudes. I also plan on going through the Love and Logic curriculum this year as well as attend a seminar on the material. I don't consider myself an expert by any means. But, I do have three incredible children whom I love and adore. I am so proud of them. Here's to a fantastic year of learning, growing, and loving as much as we can.

I am 33!

Thanks to my whole family for celebrating with me today.

Mud Mountain Dam & a trip to the Urgent Care...

Today, Greg and I took our kids to Mud Mountain Dam. It is a great recreational park and hike that one of Greg's friends told him about last weekend. We loved it. The kids were in the lead on the whole hike. All three of them practically ran back up it and it has a pretty steep grade. We were definitely impressed. Then it was on to the park and the water wading pool. The girls had so much fun but Greg and I noticed that Jordan was kind of quiet and acting a little strange. He didn't want to play in the water which is so not like him. So as we started for home we wondered what was really going on?












Upon getting home, we asked him to take off his bandaid from his accident yesterday to his hand and we'd take a look. Oh my goodness! Even my stomach turned. I will spare you the very sad details of the next 15 minutes where a grown man could hardly get his son in the van due to extreme panic and fear. Once at the clinic, it was obvious that we had made the right decision. He had a low grade fever already and his little fingers were red and swollen up to the base of his hand. The doctor quickly started soaking the hand in Betadine and water. She explained that he had what was comperable to a 2nd degree burn across his fingers and edge of his hand, only instead of fire being the culprit it was the pavement. And now, there was infection setting in. Plain english, they were really messed up and it was bad. He ended up being treated and then wrapped up in burn unit type stuff. We have started on an oral antibiotic tonight and then tomorrow afternoon begin changing dressings and start a topical ointment on the injuries as well.

We are all confident that we have caught this in time, but please be in prayer for Jordan as his hand hopefully starts to heal. Please pray that the infection does not enter his bloodstream as we would then have to stay in the hospital. He is doing so much better tonight. He loves his dressings and calls them his "cast" kind of like Josiah's was, but with net. He's excited to show them off at church tomorrow.