Farewell Summer!

We've had a fun summer and at times it was difficult. Already school will be starting within a few days! We had lots of fun adventures. Our summer started off with a two week trip to Seattle, WA. We did lots of fun things, but most of our enjoyment came from spending quality time with my in-laws.

I won't use many words, I'll just show a few pics from our time.

The kids loved playing at the playground near their grandparents house. Tabitha learned how to do the monkey bars finally! She is very excited about that.

Enoch taught everyone, including Sam, a bit about basketball. (I can't seem to figure out the new picture ways of Blogger!)

One day we went on a safari adventure. Here are some moose (I think).

Enoch carrying around Seth.


This pond was covered in a green moss thing.


Ian with Seattle's backdrop.


A big leaf we found from a tree.


We had almost daily trips to DQ. There burgers aren't as good as they look in their pics.


Everyone out there has beautiful gardens with many different types of flowers.




This was my favorite flower:


Our most lasting memories come from the bonsai collection we saw.


The bonsai forests were pretty amazing to think about.



Next up: our drive down the Oregon coast!

Are you in the club?

Have you ever heard an angry child use the "H" word? The thought of one of my kids saying, "I hate you" makes me cringe. I'm glad my kids haven't picked up that habit from their surroundings. No, they are much more creative than that. Well, at least in this regard.

Instead of the not so nice word, I tend to hear the kids saying, "you're out of my club, then!". They say it all day long. Believe me I've been kicked out of the club more often than not. I do give them some credit though. On more than a few occasions Patricia has told me that I'm in her club. That's usually a result of some kindness that's been shown to her.

I asked them the other day what kind of stuff they do in their clubs. Tabitha said, "Like, we do fun crafts and other fun stuff like that." That seemed like a good answer to me, because I know she likes to think she does that with the other two at times.

Seth never did answer me. I guess it was too girly of a question.

Patricia, who never fails to amuse, started jumping around and told me that they get to color and do Irish dancing in her club. I'm pretty sure its all in her head, but at least she made me smile.

I hope that when my kids grow up I'm "in the club" and not kicked out for being too overbearing.

$50 tacos

Last week we all went on a diet. I don't think I've ever been on a diet my whole 31 years, but now I am on one and so is my family. We are trying to go gluten free, cut out all preservatives, eat way more fruits and veggies than you can shake a stick at and cut down on good ole sugar.  We're doing this to see if the behavior of a certain boy in our family changes for the better in some ways. It's a three week trial.

And trial it is. It's been so tough in different ways. One of the most noticeable ways is financially. I never realized how expensive it is to keep your house stocked with fresh produce. It's only been a week, but I've been to the store about 4 times and each time I spend way too much money. Produce really adds up!

I went grocery shopping on Monday and I told myself and Enoch that we were good for the rest of the week. Well, today is Thursday and I didn't have anything to serve us for dinner. I was given permission to run to the store.

I planned on getting stuff to make tacos. Nothing harmless in that. While I was there I figured I'd pick up some more bananas, since we just ran out... "maybe a couple of potatoes, too.  They will go to good use within the next couple of days. Oh yeah, that applesauce is on sale, let me just grab a couple of those. Well, that's right next to the canned fruit. Since we do seem to keep running out of fresh fruit so quickly, what's the harm in a couple of cans???" In the baking aisle I saw that Betty Crocker now sells gluten free brownie mixes for a mere $3.79 a box. That's not too cheap, but compared to the usual $5 a box for gluten free stuff it is an improvement. I do have some self control though, I didn't purchase any. Small victories do happen sometimes! While I was getting the cheese for the tacos I threw a couple of ice cream cartons in the cart (on sale, of course). Negative $50 and positive guilty feelings later I was on my way home.

Does anyone out there have tips on how to keep well stocked produce in the house without breaking the bank? I could really use some advice!

A Walk with God?

Today I went on a three mile walk. It was a beautiful day and I've been wanting to walk for sometime now. So, I packed the two kids I had in the car (yes, a car ride to walk, that's Michelle style). When we got to the starting point I put them in the stroller and started off. These quieter times in my life tend to be good times of prayer and pondering life in general. Today was no different.

About a mile into the walk we encountered another mom with a stroller. We were able to walk along and talk for a nice little clip. There was nothing unusual about our conversation. After we parted ways I realized something very interesting. Everyone has tons of "names" in their lives. I'm sure you can easily think of 15 people you know and interact with fairly regularly. Well, the three names that she disclosed to me have left a mark on me. It wasn't long before we shared our kids names with each other. Her son in the stroller is named, CHRISTIAN. When I told her my name is Michelle, she gave that surprised look and told me that MICHELLE was her daughter's name. Then she told me her name: PAZ. I translated it right away: PEACE. Lovely name.

So, as I continued on my walk, which happened to have steep hills I pondered those three names: Christian, Michelle, Peace. Some hills were steep on a downward slope, making them easy to accomplish. Others were so steep upwards I didn't think I'd be able to continue (no thanks to the stroller!).

Then I met another lady. She was a mom or grandmom, not sure which. We were going opposite directions, so we only talked for a couple of minutes. She encouraged me strongly to enjoy my children because they grow up fast and then I won't have them any more. I thanked her profusely. It was such a pleasant thing to hear. People normally snicker and say things like, "you sure have your hands full!"

I wasn't expecting God to clearly reveal Himself today, but He did. He promised me peace through difficult and easy times of life. Of course, none of this would be possible without first having received the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior. Having entered into the family of God, I can now enjoy the peace of God which passes all understanding.

before and after...

Where do I begin? That's what I've been asking myself for several years now. I've been so totally overwhelmed with everything all the time and I just never knew where to begin. Ian is 8-months-old now and I still haven't felt like I've bounced back like I have with all the others. I have felt stressed beyond normal and my house has become a disaster. I never liked it and yet I didn't have the energy or the know-how to change it.

A couple of weeks ago I checked out five books from the library on organizing and storage. I figured that I was never really taught how to keep things orderly, so I'm sure I can learn a thing or two from these "experts". I didn't think they would have such a big impact. A lot of the things I read were things I used to do, but have fallen out of the habit of doing. The major thing I learned is to make sure everything has a home and to put everything in their home. I honestly think that half the stuff in my house is homeless! Poor things. :)

Well, I've written up a personal list of over 30 areas I'd like to declutter in my home. I took before and after pictures of the first project, which I refuse to show you. The before pictures are just too cluttered. I forgot to take pictures of projects 2 and 3. But after those three our bedroom is now relaxing! I am already not as stressed as I was a week ago. Enoch was able to tell the difference. He also said he now likes to stay in the bedroom because its so clean. He even gets on my case if something is out of its home!

I've always envied "organized" people and knew that I wanted to be like them. Well, I think my time is coming. I still have many areas to conquer, but I have made a strong start and there's no going back! From my first three "projects" Enoch has said that he's never seen me organize like that before. Sure, I've cleaned up these areas in the past, but this time is different somehow.

Ok, I'll stop jabbering. These pictures are from my fourth decluttering project. This is the top of the piano. Unfortunately this is how most of my house has become. Things piling up like crazy without anywhere to go. You'll notice there is really no empty space.

Here is the after shot.
I finished framing Ian's six month picture, so he could join the others. This wall space was begging to hold them, so I obliged. I cut out a rectangle to scale of the wall and four small ones to scale of the frames. Enoch and I fiddled with them until we came up with this layout. Our wedding picture was on top of a tall desk with some other pictures. They were really too high to notice anyway. My friend passed the candle holder on to me about a year ago. I finally took it out and purchased candles for it. As a finishing touch I added this iron basket of mine. I didn't know what to put in it, so I put the flowers Enoch brought home for me the other day. Does the red look too out of place?

I know many of your houses look like this, but this is a major accomplishment for me. I'm excited to embark on this adventure!

Since we're doing before and after I must include Ian's first haircut. Everyone used to think he looked like a girl, so we had to cut off his curly cues, even though we loved them to pieces. Here he is, unsure of what's going on:
I like his handsome new look, but am still looking forward to some curls coming back:

First day of school...again!

On the day of October 1, Seth started preschool. It was a last minute decision, but we all feel that it was a good one. At home Seth was getting bored and I haven't had much energy to do much with him. Next year he's supposed to start kindergarten and I wanted him to have a head start. So, the new schedule is M-F 9-3. All day, every day. I'll write stories throughout the pictures.

With our new schedule Tabitha is now a "car rider". We drop her off and pick her up with the mini van. No more walking to school for her these days! Every time I drop Seth off at school he pleads with me to let him go in by himself. The way his school is set up, I kind of have to go in with him. I have to disappoint him every day by not letting him be such a big boy!

On the second day of school when I picked him up, I was trying to converse with one of his girl classmates (there are only 7 students total). The teacher told me that Seth tried to kiss her that day. I told her he must think she's beautiful! On the way home I asked Seth about it. He said he wants to marry her, but he can't. I asked why not. His response: "I asked her if she wants to marry me, but she said, 'NO!' "

Next Tuesday Seth has a field trip to a pumpkin patch. I've been talking to the teacher and due to Tabitha's school schedule that day all three of the other kids and I get to tag along! Wouldn't you know it, I had to "break the news" to Seth. He was upset, he wants to go with his friends by himself and not have us there. I've been realizing more and more how much he wants to not communicate. I think it's a boy thing, I don't know!

birthday boy

He's not a full year yet, but he's halfway there! (Don't worry, I don't do half year birthday parties, we were celebrating another person's birthday above.)

Ian has been such a joy to have in our family. He has a hearty laugh that usually only comes out while rough housing. That must be a fourth child thing. :)

Ian is our slowest teether and our biggest gainer. Tabitha and Seth got their first teeth and 3 1/2 months, while Patricia was around 5 months. Ian still hasn't popped his first tooth! What's he waiting for?? Being toothless has not prevented him from eating, though. I don't remember any of the others being too interested in food until about 8 months or so. Ian was ready and waiting at 4 months. At 6 months I am amazed at the amount of food he can get into his little belly. He has three full meals of solids a day. At his check up he weighed 18 pounds 7 ounces. That's around how much his siblings weighed at one year. I guess he's showing his individuality!

He is quite good at sitting. Of course he still falls backwards at times, but for the most part he's pretty steady. He grabs at everything and anything that is within reach. I don't like watching him shove papers in his mouth, but it happens quite a bit. We went out to eat at a restaurant the other night and he chewed all the placemats around him. Right now his reach is pretty well contained, but he's been trying hard to crawl. He pushes himself backwards at times. I don't think it'll be long before he starts moving forward.

Can you believe six months has passed already?!