happy new year...

mom... look what i got for you...

ethan is a gift giver... i dont know if you have one of these at home... im not talking about that lovely fish that ethan gave to gwen on christmas morning... im talking about a child/or maybe its yourself who loves to give gifts... a true gift giver...i really think ethan wouldnt care if he got anything for christmas as long as he could give... maybe this sounds crazy but its true... he loves to lavish gifts on his family... like this fish... which, when he gave it to gwen... as she was unwrapping, he exclaimed... " i know youre gonna love this, momma"... and she did... and it now graces her work desk so she can see it every day and remember her christmas morning...

girls rock...

abby got her guitar... abby has been taking piano and has done really well so far... but... that wasnt enough for her... she asked santa for a REAL guitar and he obliged...

anyone know anyone who gives good, cheap lessons?

an example to be followed...

today , at work... we were very busy... im sure most of you know i work at costco and this is our busy time... well actually... the busiest time of year and its so easy to get overwhelmed with all we feel we need to do in a single shift... and today was no different... anyways... back to my original reason of this post... my friend dan who works in the rtv(return to vender) department... probably the most under- appreciated department in the whole building, today came out on the main floor and helped with getting us ready for an early opening... he helped stock and sweep... so we could make it to opening... his example encouraged me and inspired co-workers to do their best and help out in other areas when they finished theirs... dan is also a follower of christ... a servant who loves his savior and wants to please him... he wants to be a positive example... a leader... a hard worker and a good friend... i think he accomplished that today

merry CHRISTmas...

The Christmas Fun Begins

Noah had his Winter Concert at school this past Tuesday evening. (Of course, we cannot call it a Christmas concert anymore.) They sang songs and played their recorders. Nothing like 75 4th graders playing recorders to get you in the Christmas spirit :-)


And today our Christmas baking officially began! Abby helped me mix up some sugar cookies and Noah helped me with Mark's favorite butterscotch drop cookies. Tomorrow we'll work on the rolling, cutting, and frosting of the sugar cookies, peanut butter fudge, chocolate fudge, peppermint fudge, and maybe some gingerbread cookies if I don't wear out before then! And, of course, Christmas Eve morning would never be complete without homemade caramel rolls and lefse! I can't wait!

My brother, Greg, flies in from North Dakota this afternoon. The kids and I are so excited to go pick him up from the airport and enjoy the next 9 days together!

Did You Forget Something?

As you may remember from an older post, Ethan has the job of crossing guard at the kids' school. Because of this, we have to have him at school about a half an hour before school starts every morning. So, during this time Ethan mans the crosswalk, Noah hangs out with his buddies, Abby and I have our special reading time together . . . and Cole is not always so happy to be a bit left out of things for a bit. So, last Thursday he began to give me a bit of attitude and his notorious "stink eye" face. I told him that he was being disrespectful to me and needed to change his attitude or he would have to have a spanking when we got home. He continued with the grumpy heart and so I told him that he would now have to have a spanking when we got home. He then, of course, shaped right up (why do kids do that??) and Abby and I continued our reading time. Well . . . by the time we got home almost 40 minutes later, I had honestly forgotten that he was supposed to have a spanking . . . until . . .

Cole: Mama, did you forget something?

Me: Well, I'm sure I did! I forget something pretty much every day. But I don't know what it is! What did I forget?

Cole: Mmmm, maybe something that starts with an S . . . like a ssssandwich . . . or a ssspanking . . .

Me (trying not to laugh or look too astounded that my 4-year-old is reminding me to spank him!!): Oh, that's right, Cole! Let's go into the bathroom and have your spanking, and talk about why you have to have one.

Cole: OK, Mama.

And so we then had a talk, and a spanking, and a hug . . . . and a sandwich for lunch.

best line in a christmas movie... ever

if you know me you know i love christmas... i love everthing about christmas...i love the food... i love the music... i love the parties... i love seeing family and i really love the movies... we own many christmas movies and love watching them over and over every year.... but if i consider all of them.... i would have to say my all time favorite line from all the christmas movies i have ever seen, is by far, this.... watch...i hope you enjoy... and agree

a division championship... and revenge...

sunday... i was privileged enough to go to the seahawk/cardinal game with two buddies from work... lewis and adam... we had a blast... this was the fourth game this year that i was able to go to...(quick recap) the first was in arizona (09/16/07) against the same cardinals, and the first seahawk road trip gwen and i have gone on(first of many)(i hope)... unfortunately... we lost that one 23-20...(pictured below (great friends): me, jb, mark, candace, gwen, val)

the next game i went to was seahawks/saints game(10/14/07)... i went with some guys from work, pictured below: me, mike, kevin, lewis, and tim... this was a great time and we had a blast, unfortunately the result was no better... seahawks lost 28-17
so at this point i was wondering if i would see a winning seahawk game(in person) this year... so i decided to try one more, or actually noah picked me to go with him the next week(10/21/07) against the rams( he was given tickets by a friend and her dad) the result of the game was much better... the seahawks won BIG time 33-6... this was noahs first game and WE had a great time...
so ... back to this past sunday... against the cardinals(12/09/07)... we needed a win... i needed it to go to 2-2 on the season(in person)... the hawks needed it to win their 5th in a row, and win their 4th division title(nfc west) and to avenge their earlier loss to these same cardinals... anyways... we got it... in a big way42-21... it was so fun to be there when they won it... and i cant wait to go again...

Whew! We Survived the Tights!

Well, we survived the entire Nutcracker performance with no reference to the men's tights! And, purple tights they were! Actually, we had a fabulous time. The girls (Miki, Abby, and Biz in first photo from left to right) looked absolutely adorable in their red Christmas dresses. They are the sweetest of friends together, and I love that they are building these memories. I have told both of their families that they are never allowed to even consider moving away from us, because I think it would be so great for the three of them to have a lifelong friendship! And the fact that I adore both of their moms makes it an even sweeter blessing for me!

It's Good to be Prepared

Tomorrow afternoon Abby and I (Gwen in case you couldn't tell by the use of the shift key) are going to see The Nutcracker with two of Abby's friends and their moms. Abby has never seen The Nutcracker before (neither have I for that matter), so I got a DVD of it from our library so that she could watch it and have some idea of the story line, in hopes that this would make the "real thing" more enjoyable.

So . . . . we're watching and everything is going great. She's loving it. Then, suddenly, she YELLS, "Mom!!!!!! The men don't have any pants on!!!!!!" I tried to explain that male ballet dancers wear tights (instead of pants!) when they dance. She absolutely could not figure out why in the world they would do this!

My hope, though, is that she is now prepared and won't yell the same thing at the performance tomorrow!

I'll let you know how it goes.

Cute Kids

I know that we all think that our kids are the cutest kids around, but you have to admit, these four are pretty darn cute!

Noah, Ethan and Abby all had their Christmas piano recital on Saturday. They all did such a great job! Ethan and Abby sang while playing their songs, too. I am so amazed at how all three of them don't get a bit nervous, but play & sing in front of a crowd of people just the way they play & sing for me in our living room. When I was their age (and even older!), I hated piano recitals. I would get so nervous. My hands would get all sweaty and gross and I could hardly remember where to find middle C on the piano. I am so thankful that my kids don't experience the same nausea-inducing fear that I did! I know it's due in large part to their amazing teacher (and my amazing friend) Kerri Grant. She instills such confidence in them and really focuses on building a lifetime love of music. We are all so thankful for her! Just a couple of more years and Cole gets to join in the fun!

Winter?

Here in Washington State, we wait all year long for the possibility . . . the chance . . . of SNOW!!! Yesterday, we got just a taste of the white stuff. Literally, as it lasted just long enough for the kids to step outside and catch some on their tongues before it turned to . . . rain, rain and more rain! Then later in the evening, when we were all sitting in the family room watching The Polar Express together, Mark looked out the window and just as the train in the movie arrived at the North Pole . . . more snow here! Again, it lasted for only a few minutes, but the timing was perfect and we enjoyed the little bit we got!
Being from North Dakota originally, I never thought a day would come when I would get so excited about a few minutes of snow, but after being away from it for the last 15 years, it's now a rare treat rather than something to endure for 4 months of the year :-)

holiday greetings through christmas cards...

as many of you know i love christmas time... i love everything about this time of year... but, one of the things i love most is getting to the mail box, before gwen and getting the christmas cards out... i love hearing from you all, i love the letters... but most of all i love the pictures... some are just great family shots... some are from trips you took this year... some are of the kids, so we can see how big they are getting and how they have changed... and some... my favorite are when the kids are caught in a crazy instance... caught by the camera... laughing... crying... looking so much like their personalities are... these are the reasons i love getting them... why i love getting home from work and reading the mail... this is one of many reasons i love this time of year...

Thanksgiving and Birthdays!

We celebrated Thanksgiving along with Mark, Cole and Uncle Daniel's birthdays on Thanksgiving Day at Mark's parent's house. It was a wonderful day filled with family, food, gifts, and lots of laughs!

Mark and The Bird


Say Cheese Uncle D!


Mark and Cole blowing out their candles together!


Cole and his stash!

dinner conversations...

so... tonight at dinner we had our usual conversations... ones we have had HUNDREDS of times... and many of the responses to the many questions asked were typical... one that we enjoy asking is what our 3 school going children did at recess... this was my favorite subject in school and their many stories of their time with their friends amuses us and makes for alot of laughs... so tonight we asked the question and these were the responses...

mom: what did ya do at recess today?

noah: you know mom... ive started to play basketball (instead of soccer) and now ALL the kids are playing basketball...

mom: ethan... how about you?

ethan: well...(pause) at first recess me, hector, and michael tried to pull this weed thing out of the ground... we tried the whole time but couldnt get it out...then at second recess we just walked around... i asked hector if he had ever heard of Jesus... he said no... so i told him all about him...

at this point i almost choked on the large chunk of bread in my mouth and i felt this feeling of pride in my son unlike ever before... i didnt know whether to cry or cheer or clap or hug him...

ethan continued: i told him all about Jesus and i could tell he was really listening...

at this point i started to clap and cheer and we spent the next few minutes talking about sharing our faith...

after dinner ethan told me that hector said his parents didnt believe in Jesus.... hector had been to church once when he was 4 or something... but ethan thinks hector either" believes now or is very close to believing"... ethan also told hector that its ok for him to believe in Jesus even if his parents dont... because he needs to...

i pray that we, as a family have this same conversation HUNDREDS of times in the coming years...our 3 oldest have all had the opportunity to share Jesus with their friends with boldness that can only come from God...

thank you Father... thank you for your son, thank you for your sacrifice, thank you that you choose to use us to tell others about you... and thank you for ethan and his example to me...

me and my best friend...

more photos of me and her...

Bed Head

And you thought you were having a bad hair day!

Behind The Clouds

If you ask any 3-year-old boy what his favorite movie is, you'd probably hear many of them say, "Cars!" Cole is no exception. He loves everything Lightning McQueen. Lately in the car we have started to listen to the Cars soundtrack, and his favorite song is "Behind The Clouds," by Brad Paisley. Here's his rendition for your listening pleasure . . . . .

When it starts to rain (these words aren't actually part of the chorus of the song, but Cole absolutely insists that they are) behind the clouds, the sun is shining . . . . believe me even though you can't quite make it out . . . . you may not see the silver lining . . . . but there's a big blue sky waiting right behind the clouds.

I know that these lyrics aren't necessarily "Christian" in nature, but they are a great reminder to me every time Cole sings them (which is many, many, many times a day!) that even on those days when I don't necessarily see or even feel God's love, I still KNOW He's there . . . waiting for me.

i would go to a church like this...

1,372 seats... looks about 70% full...(typical)( i know alot of pastors that would like that pew count...)( is that darth vader in the 7th row?)
3,976 windows... lots of natural light...7 feet by 5 and 1/2 feet by 30inches in size...

75,000 + legos... lets just say my boys are officially jealous... after looking at this my boys wanted to know... "when do we start...?)

a night on the town...

we went out to dinner tonight to the melting pot http://www.meltingpot.com/ in tacoma with our good friends wes and martina...

the night was perfect... the food was great... my wife looked wonderful...the conversation was engaging...


our friends hadnt been to this restaurant before so it was a great new experience for them... every aspect of the meal was surprising... the 3 cheese fondue to start the meal was perfect... the salads were de-lish... cooking the food... the meats and veggies was so fun and the dessert... the chocolate... was incredible... the final surprise... the check... you should have seen their jaws drop... ouch!!!


well... i guess there is a cost to all good things... it was worth every penny...


p.s.... martina wants to sneak in nilla wafers next time to dip in the chocolate... sounds like a great idea!!!

p.s.s.... wes wants to make sure they will serve the same "punch" the next time we go... i think we can arrange that...

this...was a rough one

today was a tough day... i wanted to blog this and give some great story or verse that would encourage me and you... but i was dry... i had nothing...

then i thought... i will ask you... i will ask for comments on "how do you get through a tough day? what do you do to remedy a day like this?"... so thats what i was going to do... but... ill surf my daily blogs first... i thought...

through a friend of a friends blog i stumbled upon this well known... often used passage... and i knew... this was it... this is what i needed... maybe you need it too...

The Lord is my shepherd;

I have all that I need.

He lets me rest in green meadows;

he leads me besides peaceful streams.

He renews my strength.

He guides me along the right paths,

bringing honor to his name.

Even when i walk

through the darkest valley,

I will not be afraid,

for you are close beside me.

Your rod and your staff

protect and comfort me.

You prepare a feast for me

in the presence of my enemies.

You honor me by anointing my head with oil.

My cup overflows with blessings.

Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me

all the days of my life,

and I will live in the house of the LORD forever.

Psalm 23

i would love if you have a favorite passage, quote or saying... or if there is something you do to get you through a rough one... if you could share it with me... i would greatly appreciate it...

tomorrows a new day... a new dawn... and with a new day comes new challenges... i am glad to know He is with me...

mm

top 10 reasons to go to disneyland... (instead of disneyworld)

10. disneyland is in california, not hurricane prone florida....

9. disneyland is closer, not MILES away like 3000+ to go to disneyworld...( so you might run into someone you know)
8. disneyland, both parks are nice and close in proximity, where as the disneyworld parks are spread over MILES and MILES... 7. disneyland, especially in may is not very busy, where as disneyworld lines always are MILES long...
6. disneyland is the original, disneyworld is, well, not...(look at our sMILES)5. disneyland has better member service, the princesses are friendlier, and the characters are nicer...
4. disneyland has the original rides, disneyworld, at best, has copies of these originals...
3. disneyland is like book 1 in a 4 book series... you cant jump to book 2 without reading book 1... 2. disneyland has kids fly free, disneyworld, doesnt...
1. go to disneyland... because i said so....
leave us comments on any observations you might have about the happiest place on earth... we would love to read them....