It's a Christmas Miracle!!!

Yes, the birth of Jesus takes the cake for sure.  But something even more surprising than that (at least 2000 years later)?  Maybe a blog post from yours truly.  Let's just sum up the last six months, shall we? It's been a whirlwind, so it's good for me to reflect, too. 

It's like a zoo around here... or at least an amusement park ride. literally.

Moved to Oregon. Pregnant. Bought a house, moved again. Found out we're having a girl (Katherine Grace).  Thanksgiving in San Diego.  Back to rainy (which actually has been rather sunny lately) Oregon for December, enjoying the season of Advent, and gearing up for our first Christmas in our family home. 

And now that that's out of the way, on to the craftastic: 

Gingerbread houses out of graham crackers.  I put these together the morning of, and it was almost disastrous when I ran out of hot glue and actually had to use frosting. 

Luckily the houses stayed together and we had a great time decorating with friends.   

Wrapping paper as a tablecloth.  Thank you, internet, for all of your amazing ideas.  

Thomas had a miniature house, because by the time I got to my fourth house, I only had enough unbroken crackers for a shack.  Thank Goodness there was one kid young enough to not care.

Thomas has 4 mini marshmallows in his mouth here, and he knows he shouldn't.

We had a lunch, tea, and jello party after the decorating.  You might not think sugar cookie herbal tea, tuna fish and avocado sandwiches, and lime-strawberry Christmas jello go together, but let me assure you, it was the perfect feast.

Earlier in the week, we had a special visitor stop by on his way to Chicago to visit a very sick Aunt Ann.  William has been talking about Doo-Dah nonstop ever since.

Say a prayer for Annie, would you?

We hope that your last six months has been as wonderful as ours... and maybe with a few less happy-but -stressful-and-exhausting life-changing events :)

And while our family may not always look like the perfect picture of peace?

Inside, we've got it going on.

Return of the Cow

Summer Siesta

Planting Seeds

Giddy Up

Cupcake Treat

Cheesy

Drive In

Sprinklers

Thirsty Summer

Green Thumb

Bike Ride

No BBQ Here

Memorial Day Weekend... Oregon style.

3

It has been less than a month since I've last posted, and a lot has changed.  Michael finished school, we packed, we moved, we're unpacking.  Officially Oregonians now, we're embracing life in the Pacific Northwest and doing pretty well with it all so far.  Michael arrived first to meet the movers, and I flew up with the boys just shy of a week ago.  We're slowly getting settled in, and enjoying a more relaxed pace after a very hectic few months. 

The big change today came from our little boy, who really isn't so little anymore.

The Portland Children's Museum was a huge success and a great way to celebrate William's birthday.

It has rained every single day since I've been here, and the weather forecast shows no signs of it stopping.

After a morning of fun, we headed home for some downtime.

 William got a big gift this year.  We had no wrapping paper and I couldn't find anything to tie around his head, so I just had him hold a folded paper towel up to his face.  We're all about improvising around here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We're finally starting to get more settled.  Here's a view of our living room in case you're interested.

 And to top off an already grand day, a "sprinkle cake," specifically requested by the birthday boy.

 

Happy Birthday, William!  Congratulations on turning 3!!!

The Little One

Oregon Shoes

The Rest of Easter

The boys looked fabulous.  William insisted on wearing his tie the rest of the day, and has asked to wear it almost every day since Easter.  It's a good look for him.

My brother and his wife came down to celebrate with us.

William and Thomas had an egg hunt.  I think Thomas found more eggs than William.  And I'm pretty sure that's how it will be from now on.

I made our traditional lamb cake, which turned out more like a puppy.  

A very delicious lamb-puppy.  Jonathan insisted on eating the head.

My darling sister-in-law brought some treats down, too.  Pictured above in the background are cake-pops and chocolate dipped peeps.  And below..  

Chicken feet, of course.  I'm so thankful they had peanuts so I didn't have to try them.   We had just one brave taker.

Hope your Easter was as flavorful as ours!

Adorable.

I only have time for one picture tonight, but this one should hold you over for now.  Thank you so much to Uncle Tom and Aunt Judy for sending the most adorable outfits for Easter!!!

Happy Easter!

I've been away from my computer a lot lately.  The camera almost always tags along, and I'm glad the memories are stored away somewhere even if I can't get to them just yet.  The boys and I are soaking up every last bit of San Diego sun before we move north. 

I haven't done much yet on my bucket list, but I'm okay with that.  We've spent the last 40 Lenten days cleaning and purging and organizing and just living our little family life.  We've also spent a lot of that time fretting and replanning and searching and wondering.  Did I mention I've never even been to where we'll be moving?  But pretty soon, we'll hop on a plane (or in a car, or a couple of cars.. did I mention replanning and wondering?), and off we'll go...

But for now?  Today, it's Easter, and we will rejoice.  We'll feast and praise the Lord.  Because He is taking us on this scary new journey, and it's going to be awesome.

 We'll also keep having fun, living our little family life, just as we always do.

Please pardon whatever stain is on my shirt... Rarely will you see me with an unstained shirt.

We love our simple days in the quiet (our quiet is actually rather loud) of our home.  These eggs were a good reminder to me that going above and beyond is not always the best.  I spent a good hour blowing out eggs so they would keep for all of Easter.  They also floated so well it was impossible for William to color them. 



Thomas was interested in the jars of color, but mostly just so he could knock them down.  That boy loves destruction.  So, we scooted him over until he was out of reach.  

Later that evening, he decided he'd like an Easter egg of his own.  

The swelling is mostly gone now, but he has some lovely blue, green and purple pastels just in time for Easter pictures.  And remember that it is just the beginning of the octave of Easter.. so I'll try my very best to share our celebrations with you all week long.  

I hope you all have a happy and Blessed Easter!

"If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above,
where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.
For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ your life appears,
then you too will appear with him in glory. "
(Col 3:1-4)