Bend, Part 1

The day of the Race!
Aaron was on a team of OSP Swat guys competing in Bend's Annual Pole Pedal Paddle! There were 2 teams, two guys competing for each leg of the race. It was every one of their first time's competing!! Unfortunately it was a bit cold and off & on rainy that day, which is no fun for the racers and not terribly fun for the Mom's of small snotty children who got to his finish line extra early just in case...

Audrey was cheerful for as long as patiently possible..a few times begging to go back to "our little blue house" (the rental)

...and Ellie held on long enough until the food ran out. I thought I was told a certain time that he'd possibly be finished by, but it turns out that was the time he began...so we were way earlier than we needed to be, like by an entire hour.

(these next few pictures were taken by one of the other wives who went up the mountain to the start of where Aaron began and her husband finished his leg of the race.)

Hi Guys!

Almost ready! Gearing up!

Ready. Set. Go!!!

The Girls did a great job waiting. For the most part they were easily distracted by either food or "Is that Daddy coming???" comments I would make to keep Audrey on the look-out...

We watched all the silly bikers who began way earlier come in with silly wigs and costumes, and a few die-hards with all their bike gear. We sat, we stood. We cheered for racers. We ate crackers and bananas and thought every red shirt biker must be Aaron coming. We tried to see our Daddy...until there he was!!!

As a spectator of this race, one of my observations was that it seemed as if the longer you waited for racers to come in the slower they must have been in the competition. That was not true. And I have to say that because it would look to most like we waited and waited for Aaron because he was not one of the fastest when in reality his team was one of the last to have a start time....but once they got going they were passing people left and right! (well hopefully only on the left, as that is biker courtesy I learned in my childhood years...) So all that is to say is that our Red Shirted Daddy was Fast!!!! And we were very proud of him!! :)

Yay for daddy! All done!

...walking to official finish line of entire event.

I wished I would have taken a picture of the crowd both where we were waiting for my biker hubby to finish and also at the official end to the race. These pictures don't do it justice. There were 962 Teams. 3130 people participated. And a whole lot of us regular folk who munched on potato chips while watching them all sweat and cheering them all on!

The entire (2) Teams of Red!

Great Job Guys!!!!!

Here's the Game Plan....

Even when we were first dating and discussing all things important to us we had decided we'd like 3.. 4.. 5... children...

After Ellie arrived, we were beyond blessed with our two little ones, but knew that we'd at least have another child and reevaluate our "plan" each one thereafter...

We had a plan!

We had decided to wait until Ellie turned 2 in September to start trying for baby number 3...

Aaron would be on full-time SWAT for the Summer which would take him across the state for potentially Monday through Thursdays of every week for 3 or 4 months...

We had a plan!

We thought it sounded too inconvenient to have him gone while I am early pregnant and potentially very sick...

We were very "careful" every.single.time.

(there are a few ahem, brand name company's I'd like to have a word with right about now...)

A Spring baby sounded nice. Yes, we'd plan to have our next child be born in the Spring.

We both planned to have THIS be our first baby that we actually "tried" for...you know...in the Fall...

So what the heck happened you ask?

Exactly.

WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED!

In all seriousness. We cannot plan any bit of our lives, and this is yet another clear cut example.

"If you want to make God laugh, tell Him what you're doing Tomorrow."

That is SO true. My life is already completely planned out. But not by me. I'm just apparently along for the ride. And in my storyline lies another little life inside me planned for this exact season of my life.

This child is yet another gift straight from Heaven above.

Amazing!

The first few weeks we had known I wasn't sad or in disbelief, I was in "trying to figure out how and when this happened" mode. I over analyzed every single date of the month. There was a lot of racking my brain, but thankfully, I am over that now. I know I'm pregnant and that's all there is to it. Time to move on!

So, with out any hesitation I can say that

This Child was PLANNED!

And they will show their little face by the end of January 2012!!!

Little Sister turned Big Sister

It's official, Ellie Lu is going to be a

BIG SISTER!

She is my wild, curious, self-sufficient and at times a bit of a, well let's just say it, moody child!

...She is also her most gentle self when caring for her baby dolls...

...She is also the most helpful little girl if someone needs something...

...She is my baby, until the next one arrives...

She has enough spunk for all of us in this house. I have no doubt that she will both adjust easily to the change of a baby and that she herself will readily rise to the occasion of her role as New Big Sister!

Catching up Recap

It has been an extremely busy last 2 months around here. I haven't been able to even mentally blog about one part of it all, let alone put pen to paper (fingers to computer...). So, I thought the best and easiest way for me to recap everything in one swoop is to recap the last two months in pictures with maybe a brief description. All of these pictures probably deserve a post in itself, and maybe someday when things slow down for 24 hours I may be able to get to it....but for now, with no further adieu...

My Life in Pictures, in Order:

(literally this all happened in less than 8 weeks)

Walks & bike rides on our vacation to Beautiful Central Oregon with Aaron's family.

Each night after the children were in bed Lily & I would collaborate our crafts and fun things to do for the girlies to find in their "Fun Boxes" as a surprise in the morning.

Chloe wasn't quite having the picture sesh...but how cute are they? This is Aaron's brother Ryan, my friend & sis-in-law Lily, and their two beautiful children. Chloe & Sawyer. Love getting together with them for overnighters or vacations, it grows our relationship so much with quality time aside from the distracted time cute babies running around can be.

Finally had a break in the rainy Spring to do some gardening. Audrey actually planted the entire garden this year, with only my direction as to where to place seeds. I would say she is to blame if it backfires...but we now have a bountiful harvest!!




Speaking of this girl, we signed Audrey up for a nearby (5 houses away) in-home Montessori-based preschool for the fall. 3 hrs a day, 3 days a week. Wonderful gifted caring teacher and Audrey already has a few neighbor friends that attend. We think she will do wonderfully. The verdict is still out on how this Mommy will do emotionally in the Fall....


When you give her the letters, Audrey enjoys writing out names. We think she will fit in just fine in this little pre-school.... (Top to bottom: Audrey, Ellie, Mom, Dad, Lucy)

First time copying the letters to her own name!!

I could post the other 18 pictures of different angles of this exact picture...but I think you get the idea. I AM PROUD!

First family vacation as a family of 4 (?...) to Bend!

So proud of their Daddy for his role in the Pole, Pedal, Paddle Race!!!

....And then we wound up in the Bend hospital for 3 extra unplanned for days.

A very sad sight: My child pushing her oxygen cart around the "playroom" in the pediatric ward.

Ellie had a fun time playing and resting at the nearby Ronald McDonald house with her Daddy.

Got to spend a long rare weekend with my parents in NASHVILLE, TN! Such a fun trip! I hope I can post more on this later.... Here my Mom & I are goofing around w/children's cowgirl hats she bought for the girls at the Grand Ole Opry Store.

The actual stage!

My Mom just hanging out with Michael W. Smith, you know, when he invited us (and 600 others) to his family's farm. It was beautiful. And hot.

Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville in downtown Nashville.

(One of these drinks had to be non-alcoholic...)

Girls had a BLAST hanging out with their other Grandma and Grandpa while Mommy & Daddy were on their trip! 5 days out on the farm? What could be better!

Leading the new Miniature horsies around!!!!

How cute are they???

Apparently this happened recently too.

This is not my manicured hand, nor is it my actual pee test. But the results were the same.

Yup, I'm pregnant!

Here's Proof:

(These are also not my test(s), I found this picture online and it made me laugh...I only took one test, but this picture is how I felt. Pregnant? ...that can't be right... Positive? ...No, just one more test will be more accurate... I'm still pregnant?)

...More on baby news later...

Mother's Day

On Audrey's 3rd Birthday back in December we were sitting down at the table as a family starting in on her cake when...

"Audrey, did you know that you made me a Mommy and you made Daddy a Daddy?"

with out skipping a beat she says:

"No Mom, God made all of us!"

My heart melted then, and I thought it was appropriate to post that quote for my Mother's Day. I am so enormously Blessed by God Above for giving me the role of a lifetime, to be a Mother. I do not take the role lightly....although tough and tiring, this is also the most FUN I have ever had in my life. :)

It's a love no words can describe.

Ellie Lu happened to wake up extra early crying with a fever--which was later determined to be teeth coming in--but she wasn't eating much other than when I would spoon feed her some baby food I still had in my pantry.

I must say, she is extra darling when she isn't feeling good. Her normally pink lips get even pinker and her eyes, although sad, seem beautifully more green or blue depending on the day.

My Mother's Day was spent caring for Ellie Lu, receiving beautiful roses/lillies chosen by my firstborn in addition to handmade cards with a lot of glue and a LOT of pom-poms... :) And treated to a family outing of Ice Cream by my darling husband. It was a great day!

Spring Baby Animals Day

A few weeks back I heard at the last minute that there was a "Baby Animals Day" downtown at a local feed store. So we hustled our little bootys down there via stroller to partake in the crowded action. The girls loved it! They got to pet a calf, baby chicks, baby goats, lambs, hamsters & guinea pigs. Here are some pictures from our day:

At times Ellie was a little too brave with the animals, sticking various body parts into cages without watching the actual animals...

And Audrey climbed the cages...

And my job was to keep track of my two children and try to snap a few pics...

Easier said than done! I managed to at least capture the day...enjoy!

Why yes that is my daughter wearing Ugg Boots to a farm event. We are all about practical, and although they are "Uggs" to others, to us they have simply been her everyday boots this past winter/spring.

(And wellll worth the .50 I paid at Good-will!!! Boo-yah!)

Mountain-o-fun

There is always laundry to be done. I can never keep up, and the reality of my life is that I can never keep up on putting away the laundry. So, if I have been chipping away at it all week and our living room looks like my washing machine threw up all over the place with piles and empty & full baskets and the start of some sorting...and then we get a call that a friend is coming over for dinner. What's a girl to do? Throw it into your bedroom in the far corner as fast as you can and cover it up with a blanket. Of course!



Unfortunately, when I do that I then get used to creating outfits for the week out of the clothes still left in the dryer since the mountain of laundry becomes far too much to handle for a (sometimes too long) period of time.



However...where there is a problem there is also a solution and I have to say that this mountain has created some good entertainment for the girls for the past few days. Simple joys :)

Go Fish

She was pretty happy about our Tic-tac-toe fish game. Made out of cutting felt. So simple!

Once Audrey got the hang of it, she wanted to teach her little sister how to play...

Here she is giving directions.

Ellie contemplating her next move...





High-fives for Ellie learning!!!

Getting Crafty

I don't necessarily consider myself crafty, so it's ironic I've been doing a craft a day with Audrey lately. It's also ironic I was beyond excited receiving my sister-in-law's old sewing machine she had planned to replace with an upgrade!! It's also ironic I now consider JoAnns Fabric/Craft store one of my new places to meander the aisles of...

Slowly but surely, I'm apparently turning crafty. It's true that every time I have created something related to art I have thoroughly enjoyed it. My family always thought it was funny (or weird?) that during certain times of stress during my growing up years even into middle school/high school, I would pull out a coloring book & crayons and go to town. Not creating anything other than a simple coloring page where I'd try my hardest to stay in the lines. It was a bit of a stress reliever, as was my pottery ceramics class. Hands down (no pun intended) my favorite class of high school. On days when I would skip all other classes all day, I would make it a point to attend that class. Something about working with my hands like that was, again, a stress reliever. I never made anything beautiful, but to me the time of creating something is valuable. There was the painting I made at a significant point in my walk of faith that is a treasured favorite. On the few woman's retreats I have attended there is always a optional craft time, and I am there in a heartbeat, usually from start to finish of the designated "come and go" duration of crafting. I have dabbled in scrap booking.....although it's a sore subject how many supplies I have accumulated and how many books I have actually completed (1.5)...


Fast forward to now and I can whole heartily admit that I am envious when I see other more crafty Mom's doing fun projects with their children. It's a funny thing to be envious of but for some reason I want my children to have those same creative experiences and I feel as though my "artistic inability" as well as a lack of organization prevents me from beginning even a simple project. So we have stuck with coloring pages, paint, and play-doh.....until now.

I finally realized that it's less about creating something beautiful and useful and more about spending the time together goofing around trying to make something. I also realized that the reason I may have a hard time wanting to do a craft is because I have preconceived ideas on what a "Crafty Momma" may look like:

1. Always organized, every step is thought out and planned ahead, cut ahead, structured.

2. You must finish something in one sitting.

3. You must be so creative that you design the craft, no help from the Internet/books.

4. People who look at your handmade creation must say "oh where did you get that?" In which you proudly, yet humbly, reply... "oh this? Oh I made that."

I hate to break it to you who have preconceived ideas about me...but I am the opposite of the above mentioned.

1. I have never had good organization and with my crafting lately I am figuring it out as we go.

2. I have almost never finished something in one sitting.

3. I am an avid supporter of many favorite craft sites as I cannot for the life of me create something new.

4. And if you come within 100ft of my house I will shout out to you "COME LOOK AT THIS!!! I MADE THIS!!!", because I am ever so proud if I actually have finished a crafty project. Yay! :)

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of spending the weekend with 8 other lovely ladies away at the beach. We were all asked to bring one or two of our "favorite things" to be added to every girls' waiting gift bag. (What a cool idea!! Turned out so fun to receive 8 other gifts each with a story or reason why they like their gift--great way to get to know others too!)

In addition to the little pink wine bottle stoppers that I brought for each girl, I also decided to sew something. Yes, that's right. My sis-in-law had given me her sewing machine earlier that week and I thought, why the heck not, let's make your first sewing project for 8 other woman--some of which I didn't know to begin with! During the entire process I couldn't decide if I was brave or just plain crazy to make it for others, but you know what else is ironic? My project turned out pretty darn good. :) I, of course, found the directions online on how to make a microwaveable heat pad. A favorite thing of this crampy girl. I sewed my little heart out, cutting, sewing, cursing at my sewing machine as the bobbin got stuck 800 times, but in the end (and I mean the veryyyyy end--3am the night before we left sort of end.), I actually finished.

They were filled with rice, chamomile tea, peppermint tea, and a tiny bit of lavender oil. A very soothing combination.

So with no further ado, I present to you, the finished product of my first-ever-sewing-craftiness-project:

Can you even tell what it is? So to the left are the inside pockets that I sewed & I stuffed with rice and the scents. Then sewed them up. And the brown/teal outsde pocket is just a cover that is machine washable. The one in the forefront is stuffed and completed.

A definite learning project, but really fun.

Ta-da!

Oh Ellie Belle

Dear Ellie, I don't want to forget the little things that you enjoy doing lately. Like, trying on everyone's shoes in the house. Or running as fast as you can, but still unable to cut corners, which results in hip checks and elbow bruises from those darned walls that keep getting in the way. I don't want to forget how you can go from a serious look to an obnoxious laugh at your sister's antics. I don't want to forget how your sister has renamed you "Elk" and insists on calling you that. I want to remember that you accurately & proudly use new words like "Look Mommy, see?" and "I wan go potty..Mommy, come on" as you reach for my hand to accompany you. I don't want to forget how you love to run into a room yelling "Fee Fi Fo Fum!!" I want to cherish your littleness, because before I know it all these little things will change.