Thank God for Grandparents!!!

God gives us many gifts, but family is one that I am especially thankful for these days. Recently, Matt's Dad and Mom came for a visit from Indiana. We had some special times with them: playing the Wii, doing some light repairs around the house, eating at the Spaghetti Factory, shopping with Grandma, having them join our Bible Study, and going out for a movie. The kids are always eager to be around Grandpa and Grandma, and it's cute to watch them bond and enjoy each other. I never really had grandparents when I was growing up...they either lived super far away or had already passed. So, now I'm really beginning to see how important and special it is to have these relationships for our children. I am so thankful!

Happy New Year

I always like to make New Year resolutions, though most of them are sadly forgotten months later. Here are a few of the themes I was thinking of for 2010:

My 4 S's:

1. Take time to be Still.
2. Live Simply.
3. Smile more.
3. Stay caffeinated.

For the New Year our family went for a hike at Discovery Park in Seattle.
Here is Matt "staying caffeinated" on our hike. =)

Lana doing some off-trail climbing (Don't tell the Parks 'n Rec Staff).

We stopped at the Discovery Park Nature Center. Who would have guessed they had sharks! Aaaahhh!!!
Ever since we have moved to Seattle we have always wanted to get a picture in front of the "Sleepless in Seattle" house. Oh my goodness.....I have seen this movie 100 times. This was Tom Hank's home in the movie! Awesome!

Christmas Memories.....

Last Christmas I didn't take a single picture, and this year well....I didn't do much better. I got a few pictures, but nothing to write home about. Things just get busy and I forget to pull out the old camera. This doesn't mean it wasn't special or that we didn't create memories...we certainly did! I will mention a few of my personal highlights:

*My Dad graciously took Matt, my Sister, my brother-in-law and I out for a very fancy (children free) dinner the night we arrived in Portland. We have made it a yearly tradition to go out to the same restaurant he used to take my Mom for their anniversary. We had a great time laughing and sharing! This year my Sister and I even got our hair done for the occasion (what a treat)!!! Thanks Dad!

*On Christmas morning we all gathered at my Dad's house and had a yummy breakfast together, followed by opening gifts. Ten kids plus five adults made it cozy, warm, and memorable! My kids love and look up to their Opa, Auntie & Uncle, and special cousins. We are truly blessed and thank Jesus for allowing us to all be together this Christmas.

*My Sister and I spent quality time together chatting at Starbucks, then shopping the day after Christmas (in our new matching slipper shoes...I might add). This is one of our favorite things to do together!

There is more to share, but I will stop and present a few pictures...

Asha and her special cousin Christmas morning (in their new matching dresses from Opa).

Everyone around Opa's Christmas tree eagerly awaiting to open presents.

Aaahhh....the men got matching sweaters (from me). Too cute, guys!

The girls and I stayed a few extra days to celebrate my Mom's birthday (she would have been 69 on December 28th). We went up to her grave site and had time to remember her, pray, and share tears. We then took the train home. We had a blast playing cards most of the way (our favorites - Uno and War).

Now to the New Year!

Happy 4th Birthday Jeffrey!

Yesterday my baby turned 4 years old. I just can't believe it! Wasn't it just yesterday I was carrying him around in a little front carrier all day or feeding him cheerios in his high chair? Gulp. I wish I could stop time, so that I could enjoy his every little growth a little bit more. Being that he is our last child...it's a bit hard to watch him grow up so quickly.

Jeffrey is our fun and easy - going boy. He loves to play with his cars, build with his blocks or Lego's, and now strum on his new guitar. He is content to sit and snuggle on our lap or tag along with Luke and his adventures. We are so thankful to God for his life!!!

For his birthday we took him out for dinner at a Mexican restaurant. He loves beans!! =) Then we came home and had chocolate cake. We loved celebrating him and making it "his" day!

All the kids were very "available" to help Jeffrey open his gifts.

Jeffrey playing his new guitar. He is a natural. We got him this because he loves music and played on Matt's guitar a lot (until he broke most of the strings).

Asha loving on her little brother.

Jeffrey got some ice cream and sombrero at the Mexican restaurant to celebrate his birthday.

Happy Birthday our sweet boy!!! We love you!

We love our city!!!

One of our favorite things to do as a family is to adventure downtown...especially around Christmas time. In fact, every year we have gone downtown a few weeks before Christmas to go on the monorail and Christmas carousel. One of my personal highlights this year was seeing all the musically talented people out on the street corners. In one place there was a group of Dickens Carolers and then on the other side was a group drummers. It was fun to stop and listen to each of them. Here are some pictures for all to enjoy!

Asha on her blue stallion!

Asha, Lana and Luke. Jeffrey didn't want to go on the carousel this year. =(

The kids on the monorail looking up at the Space Needle.

This picture cracks me up! We took the bus downtown so we wouldn't have to deal with parking. Here the kids are on the bus pretending to talk on their "fake" cell phones. Do they fit into the city, or what??

Me and my sweet boy (who is almost 4!!! Guess what my next blog post will be??) on the bus home.

Buzz Day

All three of the gentlemen in our family got a buzz yesterday. For Jeffrey it was the biggest change, as we hadn't cut his hair for almost two years. It had gotten very long! It was sad to see the cute curls fall to the floor, but it is so much easier to maintain. I thought it would be fun to post a few pictures (though I don't have any of Matt).

Jeffrey before.....

Jeffrey and Luke after the buzz....

Muscle Man!!! Man, I wish I was that defined!

Oh....one more photo of sweet Lana with her rosy cheeks. No, she didn't get a buzz. =)

More fun with the family.....

The fun continued after Thanksgiving! My Sister and her family stayed with us for two nights. On Black Friday my Sister, her daughter Marissa, and I hit the sales at 4:30am. It is a tradition of ours no matter how tired we are. This year my sister got about 45 minutes of sleep and I about 2 hours. We are crazy, but it is a fun bonding experience. Coffee is always a MUST!

Also, my Dad, Sister and I took eight of our kids to the Space Needle. We found a coupon for all the kids to go up to the top for FREE (BTW -if you are interested I have several more of these coupons). It was so fun!!! Here are some pictures from our time at the top!

We had perfect weather...a few clouds but mostly clear! Beautiful!

At the top they had a free kids' cookie decorating table. Even Santa was up there in a space ship.
Good job Tyler!

Luke checking things out!

Opa with Asha & Lana.

Seattle is the most beautiful city!


Sweet Marissa!

Cousin fun!