and now for my final TRICK: 05/01/2011

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Wedding Day

Cheri and Joe got married!

Woo Hoo

It's about time too!

They did a little ceremony at home last night and then there was a big party.

Low key and so sweet.

Kevin and Pop were the official witnesses.

And mom was on cloud nine!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

It has been raining off and on for like a week. That NEVER happens here. The other day Holden woke up, saw the rain, and said, "Oh no, now we can't go to school!" She had never gone to school in the rain before, snow and ice yes, but not rain. She is not a fan, but Everett is in love with the rain and splashing in the puddles, no matter how chilly it may be.

And I just had to share two more sweet photos of Lily!

Monday, May 9, 2011

Lillian

We have a beautiful and healthy little lady with tons of dark hair, and two excited cousins!

Well, excited aunts, uncles, grandparents, and parents too!

Saturday, May 7, 2011

I'm Getting a Baby

Ha Ha! Did I get ya?

I am getting a baby niece on MONDAY!!!

Lillian is head up and just so wedged in there she can't seem to flip around. Despite the 37 tricks, exercises, and old wives tales Courtney and Mike have tried to get her to move.

So, a scheduled c-section it is. Sounds like little Holden all over, I wonder if Lily will be as stubborn as Miss H?

This little lady will be entering our world the same day her brothers left it one year ago. It is bittersweet, but will always give her a special connection to the twins Courtney and Mike lost one year ago. Her guardian angels will always be watching over their little sister and protecting her.

Mother's Day will be crazy as these two expectant parents usher in family and friends anxiously awaiting Baby Lillian. Mike's parents along with Grandma and Opa will be here for the celebration and we are planning a big Mother's Day picnic at Mike and Courtney's to celebrate and anticipate their big day on Monday.

We are just twiddling our thumbs and counting the minutes till we all get to meet this precious baby, smother her with love, and spoil her rotten.

In the brilliant words of my son, Everett (the scholar),

"Baby Wee Wee comin soon!"

He can't say the L sound very well so we have

Wee Wee- Lily

Wee-Wee-In- Lillian

We will see you soon angel face:)

Friday, May 6, 2011

Big Day

The end of the school year is drawing near...(did you hear the sigh?).

Now, we all know I adore my children, I love them to pieces with all I have,

but man, I get about 3 hours a week, while they are in school to do a million things and I am scared of a summer without that time.

Anyway, that's another post for another day. Today is all about how proud I am of my little munchkins. We started the morning at Happy Valley watching Holden's spring performance with her classmates.

We sat outside next to the animals in the sun and breeze and got excited for summer while listening to the amazing talent of a bunch of 4 year olds!

H was felling a little under the weather and sleepy so her performance was peppered with many

coughs and exaggerated yawns!

She was very proud to give me some love and Mother's Day gifts.

We all loaded up and headed to Everett's school for his last day celebration. I didn't realize it would be such a big deal and I was glad to have the camera!

Big sis was happy to help with the replacement of hats!

And the eating of the ice cream sundaes!

Like Ev's 2 handed style. That hand follows the spoon to catch anything that doesn't make it all the way to his mouth. He just shovels the lost pieces in with his dirty little fingers.

We were so glad to have Ian along for the morning to share all this fun and excitement!

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Where's The Fire?

Last weekend we loaded up and headed down to Colorado Springs to spend some time with our old friends. J.T. had a party to celebrate his second birthday and we had a sleepover at Ty and Nichole's.

Emily and Holden had their second sleepover, sleeping in the same room and everything and it took about 3 hours for them to settle and finally fall asleep. The biggest obstacle was apparently Holden's thumb sucking.

Holden: "Emily keeps saying she hears squeaking and she can't sleep.

I can't hear anything though?!?!"

Emily: "It's your thumb! When you suck it it squeaks!"

Those girls.....

Anyway, the next morning we took the crew down to the Blackforest Fire and Rescue to visit Mr. Ty at work. The kids had a blast tearing through the fire station, riding the truck, blowing the horn and flipping the sirens off and on, which I am sure all the neighbors loved.

As usual, Nichole took some very cute pictures and I will let them tell the rest of the story!

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Contest

So I am a finalist in this contest on a Design Blog. And I NEED you, yes YOU to head over and vote for the awesomely cool dresser I redid for Everett's big boy bedroom.

It looks like this, just so you don't accidentally vote for another project

(even if you think it is better than mine). You are MY friend after all!

Recent Reads

Honolulu by Alan Brennert- 4 Stars
A lovely tale told by a Korean woman who came to America as a "picture bride." We learn of her challenging and oppressive childhood in Korea, her journey away from all she knew, learning the new culture in Hawaii, escaping an abusive husband, becoming an entrepreneur, finding love, becoming a mother, and living a fulfilling life. I previously read Molokai by the same author and loved it, which is why I snatched this one up as soon as I heard of it. I think I enjoyed this one even more! The writing is smooth and easy, the tales are gripping, and the experiences are harrowing which keep you wanting more of this woman's incredible story.

The Book of Awesome by Neil Pasricha- 2 1/2 stars
This book is a collection of vignettes celebrating the awesome things in life. The cold side of your pillow on a hot night, finding money in your coat pocket, popping bubble wrap, when cashiers open up a new line at the grocery store, and watching Price is Right when you were home sick from school. This guy also has a blog where people can submit more awesomness. It was fun to read, but not as great as I was hoping. I will probably read his blog though, because he is pretty witty and definitely made me chuckle and remember to appreciate the small things in life.

Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson- 3 stars
PAGE TURNER! I read this in 1 1/2 days. The story begins with a woman waking up in a bed, next to a man, in a house and she recognizes none of it. Over the next few minutes she learns that she has amnesia and every night when she goes to be she forgets most of her life. She begins working with a psychiatrist who convinces her to write in a journal, so she can reread it each morning and hopefully begin to build memories. The mysteries of how she ended up in this condition and her relationships with friends and loved ones kept me on the edge of my seat.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet - 4 1/2 Stars
Another winner here folks. This book was AWESOME (and a bit shorter than Cutting for Stone). This was a new perspective on World War II for me. The story follows a boy growing up in a Chinese household in Seattle during the war. He befriends a Japanese girl, which is STRICTLY forbidden by his domineering and emotionless father. He realizes he is in love with her just as her family is removed to a Japanese Internment camp for the remainder of the war. The stay in touch through letters and his enormous risks to visit her . I don't want to give away any more, but you simply HAVE to read this book. The relationships between the children and their families and even the public during these war years was an interesting perspective for me. The twists and turns kept me up till midnight and the ending was wonderful!

Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese- 5 Stars
Oh my! I LOVED LOVED LOVED it. It was long and delicious and I did not want it to end. The premise is a nun working at a clinic in Ethiopia dies while giving birth to twin boys. The story explores the people and relationships in these boys' lives through the eyes of Marion, one of the twins. He grows up in the clinic in Ethiopia with amazing adoptive parents who were friends with his parents and gives us a taste of the culture, food, and everyday life of an Ethiopian. He heads to America to pursue a medical career and his birth father. We read this for book club and had wonderful and rich discussions...I wish there was a part 2!

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton- 3 stars
This was pretty darn good. It took me about 100 pages to really get into it and the ending was a bit too quick, neat, and tidy. But not nearly as terrible as the ending of Handle with Care by Jodi Piccoult (I threw that book across the room and into a wall as I read the last word). I was hooked and couldn't stop myself once I was into it. It was a book club choice and there was more discussion than I remember in 3 years of book club. We were talking over each other and jumping into other conversations. I couldn't even keep up. This story centered around the lives of three sisters who grew up in a castle in England from World War II to the present. They had an eccentric family and extremely odd and famous author father. The mysteries weave through history and the walls of the castle, revealing themselves to the woman chosen to write a piece about the famed play written by the father. It was very good and I would highly recommend it.