throwback Thursday!

Some throwback Thursday fun!!! 

Bonus Baby Oren Paul!! 

Me and my babe, camping in Chelan! Loved this baseball weekend and camping trip!! 

me and my dad

I love having "little" brothers

Oh Willem! 

He was nine! 

Grandpa Vic and Merit

Sweet, sweet memories! I am so thankful for family! 

February Days

This tournament was fun! 

I really like Wenatchee and sure enjoy watching these boys play! 

Go Thunder!

This game was SO exciting! And yes, we WON! We were guest.

Every single member of our family has "buddies" on the team or through the team. 

These families have become great friends! 

This, today, was a precious moment.

And this

Oren, you are getting big too fast. 

You are SUCH a doll!  --- He is pushing, testing, laughing, squealing, loving, being. He is so amazing. He wears me out and makes me smile! I LOVE watching him with his siblings. I love watching him play. 

He was a joy over the weekend! A few rough moments at the hotel but good at the games and when we went out to eat. It was fun to get out of town for a bit and enjoy basketball, good company and a change of scenery. :)

chalk paint, toddler, good days!

 I have seen some really neat things painted with chalk paint, as of recently. My sister Lesha painted a chair. Pinterest has fun ideas and I heard about a kitchen redo that turned out really cute.  Sooo, I headed to JoAnn Fabrics, coupons in hand, and picked up some chalk paint and clear wax and distressing wax. I threw out old makeup and hair products, I tried to find some sort of organization (I am not good at this) and had fun getting things from drab to fab!

This bathroom needed help. 

Hazel, Oren and Willem helped me paint. oh.my.

I had the rug! And it ended up matching perfectly, I bought a few new towels and curtains. 

Kelly encouraged me through the process. so fun! and crazy.

a vanilla ice cream cone in the shop

So silly!! So fun! 

Basketball for Merit this weekend! Should be great! 

I am so encouraged by friends! It has been a busy, challenging, fun, great week. With LOTS of time outdoors! And lots of time in my little bathroom completing the mini makeover...

I married a red vine guy.

Our laundry pile is HIGH and I am tackling it this morning, slowly but surely. Drinking lemon water (and also coffee) eating black licorice. Taking breaks for nursery rhymes and clapping games, eating more licorice. My family and dutch licorice and black licorice. It is so a piece of who we are! My grandpa Ken often had a "stash" and he often had the dutch licorice black cats in his pocket. 
My dad's "candy drawer" usually has black licorice in it. My grandma Dorothy had a candy drawer too. I married a red vines kinda guy. And here, many years later, I am still a black licorice/dutch licorice kind of girl and he is still a red vine guy. Marriage teaches us compromise. But hasn't had to when it comes to licorice. 
I smile because there is so much compromise, forgiveness and hopefully laughter in marriage. Vance and I are quite different. But for the most part those differences compliment each other and I just pray we stay strong and carry on. Our family right now is dreaming of the idea of a small barn. I went for a hike with Merit, Willem and Hazel yesterday and asked them if we were to build a barn, where should we put it? (This is a question Vance has asked me. I suffer from impaired decision making, so decided to involve the kids in this one.) I got some good feedback. Willem then asked, "what animals would we keep in our barn?!" He thought maybe sheep and chickens, which is exactly what I have thought. Hazel suggested horses and kitties. Merit would rather see us put a baseball field in. 

It has felt like spring here. These days are so beautiful! Hikes, Nellie swimming in the creek, Oren carrying around sticks, exploring with great friends, breathing in fresh air,soaking up nature! 

Little people, living life, sunshine

Miniatures.

I love miniatures.

I love small people too.

A picnic, with two of my favorite people. 

Fresh air, good conversation, yummy food = good for the soul

I love her basalt counter top. Before we know it, we'll be seeing these all over pinterest :) 

This little farm store was my moms. I have several special things like this and when I take them out I think of her. This is usually a fall decoration, but it is adorning my front porch right now. Moms of acquaintances, cousins and friends have expressed such delight in their children and grandchildren - I think I am noticing this on Facebook more than anything. You know when you are having a challenging day and when you see something like this your heart hurts a bit, even though you know you should just be happy for them? I have had a few of these moments. I never like it when I let my heart and mind "go there." I feel happy for my friends and peers who have great relationships with their moms. But the moments when hurt or sadness creeps in are hard. 

Oren did great at his Dr appt. today! And we read Five Little Monkeys about four times and watched an Oswald episode on my phone. The pediatrician got called to the hospital right as we got there so there was a bit of a wait. Oh well, mama and Oren time. And after his immunization, I gave him a couple of conversation hearts. Those candies took away the tears. 

I miss my sisters a ton! Would love a day of sharing mom memories and watching old home movies with them! 

I will say,  I am so encouraged by friends and family! And I love the joy these kids bring! I would love to have "just one more" -- seems I have said that before. My poor husband. I know I am BLESSED and life is good and life is full. 

Back to laundry and then getting Merit for his dentist appt. The sun is SHINING! I have a little boost of energy. The littles and I did a walk and wagon ride too, so good for all of us.

Drizzly Days, Pumpkin Pancakes, Beauty

Pumpkin pancakes are a favorite around here. I, however, am never shirtless while making them.

Hazel is very helpful in the kitchen.

We have had a lot of dark, drizzly days. Usually an Eastern Wa winter sees more sunshine. 

Yesterday I was doing dishes, looking out my kitchen window and spotted this bald eagle! 

I got my boots on, grabbed my camera and headed down towards the creek. That fresh air felt so good and this bald eagle was so beautiful! A pretty sight on a dark day! 

Today was brighter. Maria, Emily, Nathaniel, Hazel, Oren and I enjoyed a walk in the country~ and the kids played while Maria and I got caught up. It felt good. This afternoon was a little hectic. --- And tomorrow is busy! Immunizations for Oren, Pre-school for Hazel, a dentist appt for Merit, basketball for Merit ... Maybe we can do take out tomorrow night. :)
Willem, Hazel and I are reading Babe together. The writing is entertaining. This weekend we are going to have popcorn, rootbeer floats and watch the movie.

February's here

This old Century is such a cool boat. 

Vance recently had it at a shop in Moses Lake and had some work done to it. 

It is such a beauty! Vance is having fun fixing it up. 

She adores him. She is so patient with him. Her excitement over his accomplishments is one of the most precious things!!! 

 On the way to and from basketball tonight Will asked "What do you want to talk about mom?" We talked about school and children. He asked me which ages are tough and which are great (while raising kids). I told him that two and three year olds can be challenging (although I LOVE the curiousness and wonder of this age) and that four is one of my favorite ages. He asked me if a child who is almost four is pretty easy. I thought that was cute. I told him that he was 3 years, 9 months when Hazel was born. Their relationship from the first moment was precious. He loved being around her and was so helpful. He loved holding her too.  While driving in the car he would say "I am so glad we have a girl baby!" --- I explained that I still think their relationship is very special, but now, they do some fighting. He said "Mom, we're siblings!" He went on to tell me that he thinks Merit is very mature for his age and this is why Merit doesn't fight with his siblings very often. These conversations. They are so precious. These days. I will never get them back. I LOVE being with these kids. 

Hazel and Estelle (my 4 year old niece in Alaska) were talking on the phone a bit the other day! Those girls! The things they were talking about made me laugh. I asked Hazel to tell Estelle that Lane would be getting a book from us - Diary of a Wimpy Kid - shipped through Amazon. I hear Hazel say "And we sent Lane the book Diary from a Lumpy Kid" - ha!

Hazel, our good buddy Reise and Merit

He picked up this little Bible last night and spent quite a lot of time "reading" it. 

I love this.

How is it already February?! Time is flying by! 

These days are great and busy and sometimes tiring. I usually go for an afternoon cup of coffee. 

This past Monday however, I skipped the coffee and went for a brisk walk with Shannon. That brisk walk and great conversation on a dreary day was a better pick me up than any cup of coffee! 

Okay, time to start our night time bed time routine. Swap out the laundry, brush teeth, read, get to bed...