I Love...

My husband. The father of my children. Pictures like this put everything into perspective.


This girl. She amazes me each and every day and I still wonder how she's only been around for (almost) 4 years and I feel like I have loved her all my life.


This little pile of mischief. He faithfully helps me learn and practice patience every minute of the day and smiles while doing so. He has what we refer to as the "evil smile." It has been plastered on his face all day today since he learned that child locks now no longer deter him.

Have you heard that the definition of a boy is a noise with dirt on it? Enough said.


My mom. She is here spending time with my children (allowing me to rest) as often as time allows and she is always doing dishes, laundry, or some other household task that always seems to evade me.


My dad and step mom. They have been married for 20 years and are the ultimate example of being in a loving, committed marriage no matter what! They raised four children, which in itself amazes me, and are now empty nesters who enjoy having their grandchildren come spice up their lives. A usual night as their house includes them cooking, cleaning and playing with my children, and me catching up on my People magazine. :)


My mother in law and father in law. They raised the man I married and have been a huge source of encouragement through the trials we have faced. Having them with me when Ben was hurt was a huge blessing. I will never forget the experience of spending almost every waking moment for 2 weeks straight with them. Plus they raised three children, I will soon sympathize with that :)

Here are some of my other loves...

milk

freshly laundered sheets

my brothers

home made lemonade

being barefoot

sleeping

the smell of coffee (but not really coffee itself)

baking

tea in a teacup with matching saucer

The Beatles

sushi

late nights around the campfire

Italian Parsley

freshly vacuumed carpet

my high school memories

my grandmother

cheeseburgers

poolside cabanas in Vegas

MOPS

quiet

listening to the waves of the ocean

Kelly Clarkson

using the silverware of a grandmother I never met

cake

Faith

the sound of my children laughing together

my childhood memories

At the Drawing Board

Kaitlyn loves art. Anything to do with it. Drawing, painting, writing, play dough you name it. She is so creative and, if I may say so myself as only a slightly biased person, an amazing illustrator for her age. She comes up with the most random and wonderful drawings.

Happy New Year!

On New Years Eve we attended an "East Coast" new years eve party!



Hosted by our friends the Lowe family, a bunch of families came together to watch the ball drop at "midnight" east coast time and then head home in time to be in bed at a reasonable hour!



We had so much fun!



Even Lance stayed up to enjoy the festivities...and chew on my teething necklace.



Kaitlyn and her friend Makena ringing in the new year together! They have known each other since they were six weeks old. Man how time flies!



My friend Kate and I. My first Lincoln friend, someone to commiserate with on the trails of daily life as a stay at home mama and someone who watches my children... even when she doesn't want to. That's a true friend!


Kate and Kandice sporting the beautiful tiaras of 2010!


Me and my Lincoln girls. Kandice, Kate and Shannon. So much fun to be together after 5pm! Happy New Year everyone! I cannot wait to see what 2010 has in store for us all. Hopefully full nights of sleep and occasional dates with our husbands. What can I say, I like to set the bar high!

Catching Up and Goodbye 2009!

What an amazing year it has been! 2009 brought both triumphs and trials to our family but overall it was such an exciting year. Lance grew before our eyes and went from tiny newborn to walking, signing and being a busy little boy! Kaitlyn continued to amaze us with her sweet spirit, especially where her brother is concerned, and her drawing skills. (More on that in a future blog) Ben and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary with a quick overnight to Napa thanks to my mom watching the kids.

And although it seems like a dream, I did escape to Vegas with some friends for a girls trip. It was the first vacation I have ever gone on by myself without my husband or family and although I did spend a fair amount of time sleeping, it is still a memory I will cherish for a long time.

But back to Christmas...



Christmas brought a huge haul for both my children and I am still reeling at the sheer magnitude of it all. Not to mention where it all will fit! So thankful for all the people who love and spoil my children.


Kaitlyn's two big ticket items this year were a robot and a princess phone. The princess phone was easy enough to find. Then there was the robot...oh the robot. I tried to tell her she's a girl, and it's not the 1990's but she insisted that she really wanted a robot. So she got a Wall-E robot from the Disney Store. It's already out of batteries and will soon be forgotten I'm sure, but she got her Christmas wish, and it was even on clearance...I mean, Santa remembered!



Decorating the tree this year was...an art. Lance immediately showed much more interest in the tree, and the ornaments, than Kaitlyn did at this age. We decided to give up that battle immediately and just put non breakable items on the bottom of the tree and avoid disaster.



Surprisingly, the only one who kept breaking ornaments is my three year old. *Sigh*



We celebrated Christmas three separate times throughout the week and it was wonderful to have time with all our family members. All three of my brothers were there Christmas morning and I cannot tell you how many years it has been since we've all been together on a Christmas morning.





My mom stayed the night the day before Christmas Eve and we had a very special crab dinner (thanks Trader Joe's!) and got to spend the evening together and then wake up the next morning for Christmas #1. Kaitlyn loved having her Oba (Japanese for Grandma) spend the night!



Our Christmas with Ben's parents was exciting as well. Kaitlyn loves playing with her cousins.(and with everyone's new gifts) I think Ben's favorite part was his mom's chocolate pie. It's famous, it's a food group all on it's own, she makes them in beautiful Williams and Sonoma scalloped edged pie plates and then threatens our lives if we don't bring the beautiful pie plates back. It's all very magical, and my husband could eat a whole pie himself if I wasn't there to hold him back. Amen.

What a wonderful blessing to have so many family members so close to celebrate the birth of our Saviour. Happy New Year! I cannot wait to see what 2010 has in store!

Lance is ONE!

My poor December baby. Part of me still feels guilty about his birthday, as if he has any idea what a birthday is, and am afraid he will need lifelong therapy to get over this tragedy. Nonetheless we did have a family birthday party for the little dude and although he was not interested in opening or playing with his gifts whatsoever, the rest of us enjoyed ourselves! Here are a few (alright a ton) pictures of the festivities...


Here's his actual birthday. First birthday breakfast!


Opening his first gift from our dear friend (and mother of his namesake) Melanie.


So excited to have his own silverware! Although he still steals mine as well.