Day 25 - Youth Group, again

January 25th, 2009



The boys and I didn't go to church this morning cause Liam wasn't feeling well. We did go to youth group tonight though. Not a whole lot to report. Same ol', Same 'ol'!

Day 24 - We're all tired!

January 24th, 2009



Dave had to go to church this morning to help set up the chairs and clean. So, the poor guy didn't get to sleep in on a Saturday. We haven't gone to sleep the past two nights before 1AM. Why? I don't know. But today it caught up to us and we're so tired. It doesn't help that I have been sick and not sleeping well at night. So, everyone but Dave napped. I wish he would have too but he was worried Gabriel would wake from his nap and I would wake up to get him. So he stayed up to deal with Gabriel. Anyway, we're going to bed MUCH earlier tonight.

Day 23 - Dave's Birthday

January 23rd, 2009



We had a few friends over to celebrate Dave's birthday and to share his cake. The picture shows how much LIAM enjoyed it. Somehow he ended up with chocolate on his eyebrow!

Day 22 - The Making of Dave's Birthday Cake

January 22nd, 2009



So today we made Dave's Birthday cake. It was a Pomagranet Chocolate Torte. It had a home made jelly in it that was make out of apple, pom juice and cranberries. There was tons of chocolate in it! It was quite an impressive Birthday cake.

Day 21 - My new glasses

January 21st, 2009



I picked up my new and FIRST pair of eye glasses. I can see so much more clearly now which is nice but they are going to take some getting used to. I feel like I'm wearing sun glasses and as soon as I walk into a building I feel like I'm supposed to take them off. It's weird.

Day 20 - Inauguration Day

January 20th, 2009



We have a new President. Yeppers, Obama was sworn in today. We watched and thought about what a huge step for America this is having a black president. With us adopting an African child we are excited to know that America has come so far. Racism isn't what it used to be, thank you, God. I don't know what the next 4 years hold with Obama as our President but I do know today was a big day.

Day 19 - Laundry ect.

January 19th, 2009



Not a lot happened today. We cleaned the church, I did a bunch of laundry, we went to small group and I came home that night SICK! It came on really strong in just a couple of hours. My head felt like like it was going to explode and my body hurt.

Day 18 - Single mom of 4 on Sunday morning

January 18th, 2009



It's always work to get the two boys up, dressed, fed and out the door in time to make it to church Sunday mornings. Dave goes in early so I'm always a single mom going to church. Well, this morning was even more of a challenge with 4 kids. I got up a lot earlier then normal and we all actually got to church earlier then the typical Sunday. Way to go MOM! So this picture we took right before putting on the coats and heading out the door.

Day 17 - Parents of 4 for the weekend

January 17th, 2009



My brother and his wife went away for the weekend and we took care of their kiddos. We went from 2 to 4 kids over night. Fun! The 3 older ones took a bath before bedtime. It was quite a sight. They really enjoy hanging out with each other and get so silly!

Day 16 - Nothing much

January 16th, 2009



Gabriel has been attempting the stairs for a while now but it's not usually while we're watching. I know, what kind of parents don't monitor their little ones on the stairs? The first time he tried to follow me up and I didn't know it. With Dave down stairs and me upstairs we heard him start crying. We found him sitting on a stair half way up. The first 20 times Liam tried at that age he got two stairs up and quit. Gabriel was a bit more dettermined. haha! Anyway, we practiced today with Dave and I both watching to keep him from tumbling down 15 stairs.

Day 15 - Crochetting Gabriel's blankie

January 15th, 2009



Nothing much happened today. I have been working on a blankie for Gabriel. Liam has his favorite little blue blankie that he just absolutely loves. Gabriel has a little teddy bears that he likes to hold while he sucks his thumb when he's laying in bed. But he doesn't have his own little blankie. There's a couple people gave him as gifts but the best kind are always the crochets ones with holes. So, I finished one today for him. The picture is him and his new blankie.

Day 14 - Aftershock

January 14th, 2009



Today we went to the chiropractor AKA my brother, Lowes, the PO and the grocery store. Exciting stuff! The student leaders came over for burgers and we had a meeting planning out the next few months of youth group. After the meeting was Aftershock. What is Aftershock? you may ask. Well, it is simply an open house for the high school kids to come and hang out at our house. The kids get a little crazy at times and I sometimes question how I will ever make it as a mother of high school students someday. That's me in the orange sweatshirt in the picture.

Day 13 - House Work Galore!

January 13th, 2009



Today I worked my butt off. I went through all of Gabriel's clothes and packed away a ton of small little clothes. :-( I still had 3 month clothes in his closet and most of what he wears now is 9 to 12 months. It was quite a job but it's done. I also did a few loads of laundry, unpacked the rest of our vacation stuff, did a bunch of dishes, made dinner, organized the office, bleached the kitchen sink. . .I think that's it. Can you tell in the picture the difference between the two sides of the sink? I bleached the left side first. It's bright white now!

Day 12 - first meal on the calendar

January 12th, 2009



Today was the first day on my monthly meal plan. Yeah, I guess it's only a three week meal plan cause we started after vacation but still! :-) Today was Chicken Tetrazinni. It was good. We will definitely change it a bit next time around. It was a bit bland. So, we will probably add onions, maybe olives and corn. I made double and froze one pan which is exciting for those days when we just don't want to cook.

Day 11 - Youth group

January 11th, 2009

Today was Sunday and that usually means we spend most of our day at church. The picture is Liam during youth group playing with his cars. Cute boy!

Day 10 - Sam's Club

January 10th, 2009


So, today was shopping day. We hadn't gone grocery shopping for a good month cause we were trying to clean out our frig before vacation and then we were gone for 2 1/2 weeks. So, we had some good grocery money saved up and we decided to STOCK UP! We hit Sam's and spend a "little" money. hehe. Anyway, we made a price list and kept adding it all up along the way but we ended up within the budget and got everything we wanted. By the time we were in the check out line we were all hungry and very ready to be done.

Day 9 - January meal plan

January 9th, 2009


I did very little today. The boys and I picked Dave up from the church for lunch and although I had plans of going to the grocery store after I chose to take the boys home for a nap instead. I also napped. . .it was nice. :-) Tonight Dave and I planned out our menu for the rest of January. I had been wanting to make monthly meal plans for a long time but never did it. I am excited about having it all figured out and being able to do one big shopping trip for the whole month. Since we've been gone for 2 1/2 weeks and just deposited two pay checks today we are ahead on grocery money and we're going to hit Sams Club tomorrow. We're going to stock up on a ton of stuff we use regularly. My hope is that we will visit the grocery store less often and in turn spend less cause there will be fewer spontaneous purchases.

Day 8 - Traveling home

January 8th, 2009


We got up at 4AM PT. Our flight left Seattle airport at 7:27AM. Our poor little boys were so tired. Liam slept almost the whole flight int Denver which was close to 3 hours. Gabriel, on the other hand, slept for maybe 30 minutes. He feel asleep before our plane even left the runway. He likes to move around when he sleeps so once it was time to more he woke up since he was sitting in my lap. Poor guy. He was awake the rest of the flight. Once again he fell asleep for about 30 minutes in his stroller during our layover in Denver but woke once he tried to roll onto his tummy while buckled in. Regardless of his lack of sleep Gabriel did well traveling and Liam thoroughly enjoyed flying on the airplanes. We got home by 2:55 PM MT and were so glad to sleep in our bed again.

Day 7 - Packing

January 6th, 2009


So, we spent most of the day packing. Fun, huh? Yeah, we did go to dinner with Dave's mom and step dad but I forgot to take a picture. So, this is all we got today, a picture of our luggage. We checked 3 that were only a couple pounds each under the weight limit of 50 pounds. We also carried on a ton considering they are now charging for every piece of checked. It stinks!

Day 6 - Dick's for Lunch & Ethiopian spices

January 6th, 2009


Today we went to a little Ethiopian market. It was really awesome and exciting to find a place like that. We were able to get many different spices and things so that we can make some Ethiopian food once we get home.

On our way home we stopped at Dick's to pick up some lunch. We got some cheese burgers, fries and shakes. Their food is super greasy but also very good.

Day 5 - Lunch with family

January 5th, 2009


We met Dave's mom, his grandma, his aunt and great aunt for lunch today. It was nice to see them all again and have some good Italian food. I thought this picture was very cute. We got there first and after putting two tables together Dave and I sat at one end and Liam said he wanted to sit at the other end. So, his great grandma sat next to him and helped him eat his pizza.

Day 4 - Children's Museum

January 4th, 2009



We went the the Children's Museum today with Dave's dad. It was a lot of fun for the boys. This pictures was in the firetruck. Liam didn't want to wear the coat so we put it on Gabriel and as you can see it was way too big. . .but terribly cute!

Day 3 - Kelsy's Baby Shower

January 3rd, 2009


Today I attended Kelsy Lange's baby shower. She's having her first and it's a boy! Kelsy is such a cute little pregnant lady! I love it! I'm so excited for them and can't wait till their little one arrives.
I got the honor of sharing a devotional. I talked a little about how much your kids watch and learn from your example and that how you live will teach them more then sitting them down and trying to teach them. I think it went alright. It was nice to see some more ladies that we don't often get to see when we visit Seattle.

Day 2 - Settlers of Catan

January 2nd, 2009



We spent the evening at Nikki's condo. What a beautiful place she has. It was so nice to see Nikki and catch up. I miss that girl. Jesse and Kelsy were there which was great. There was another couple there whom we met for the first time but they were a lot of fun. We played Settlers of Cattan which we taught Jesse, Kelsy and Nikki so long ago when we lived in Iowa. It brought back some good memories and it was a lot of fun.

Day 1 - Happy New Year

January 1st, 2009



This picture sums up our day. Liam is eating LUNCH in his PJs. As I type this at almost 5PM we are all still in our PJs. It's New Years Day and we're at Dave's dad and step mom's house. We've been watching a lot of football and Mythbusters. Dave is the only one who has left the house today. Still sporting his sweats/pjs he went out to grab a Slurpee. Since we've been in Seattle we've been pretty busy and haven't taken a lot of time to just kick our feet up. Last night we put the boys to bed and left them in the care of Grandma and Grandpa and we brought in the New Year with Nic and Melissa. Getting to bed at 1:30 this morning helps us feel good about a lazy day. It's been such a relaxing day!