Hello, hello

 We've been busy as usual............
I just had my 5th funeral as RS president. I should be a pro at doing funeral luncheons by the time I am released. The day after the funeral I gave a talk in church. I told the bishopric I should have some sort of "get of giving a talk" card.....................being RS President, doing a funeral luncheon, and being pregnant.
I'm busy trying to get all my ducks in a row with activities and more with my calling before the baby comes.
 Two weeks ago we had to replace some piping inside and out. Our water pressure had been slowly going down over the past couple of months. It got to where we could only run one thing at a time. No one could take a shower if the dishwasher was running or laundry was being done. We fixed half the problem, which was the pipe and shut off valve in the house. Then Chris had to fix the pipe out by the sidewalk. I'm happy to be able to now run the dishes, laundry, and the shower at the same time, but spending the money to fix it was no fun. Oh the joys of being a homeowner.
Three weeks ago we decided to start getting the house ready for fall...........
cleaning and putting away the table and chairs outside, washing windows, cleaning up the front porch area, and then sweeping that back patio. As I was cleaning out the vent areas in the back, this critter came scurrying out. I thought it was two spiders at first because the front coloring was darker than the back.
He was positively huge! And after that the littles decided cleaning wasn't so fun and wanted to go in.
We've had lots of spiders lately. I'm not sure if that is because the weather has still been so warm.
I for one am ready for that crisp and cool fall weather.

 Here is little Miss Elsa. She's modeling her new headband she picked out.
She is never without a headband. Her other one had gotten broke, so I let her pick out
a new one. I love watching her make a decision. She gathers four items and then says.......
"Oh, I just can't decide!" We had that problem yesterday while trying to pick out new underwear at the store.
And while we are on the subject of Miss Elsa.............
I cannot wait to see how she will be with her new baby sister. As of right now she is practically glued to my belly. She talks constantly to her baby sister, and I love it! When I come home from being gone anywhere she asks if "baby" was good for me while I was out. She gives lots of hugs and kisses to "baby" and then will lean her ear to my belly and say "uh huh, uh huh, mmm hmmm", and then tell me what it is baby is saying.
All the kids love feeling the baby move and kick. I love the smiles and giggles that ensue after they have their hand or cheek (which was pressed against my tummy) kicked.

 I found Miss Rhaevyn a pair of clip on earings.
I can't seem to talk anyone into getting their ears pierced around here.
She loves wearing clip on earnings, and she was thrilled that I found these..........now she has two pairs to choose from, and she's got Aeva wanting to borrow them.
Rhaevyn has started seminary, and she is loving it. I will say that 5:30 am comes around awfully fast and early. She has also joined the Youth Choir for Youth Conference. They will be traveling around to 5 different stakes to sing and get the youth excited about Youth Conference this next year. They will also be having an orchestra, and she's thinking about joining that. I love watching the person/YW she is becoming. She's had quite the metamorphasis lately in breaking out and doing new things like the choir.
Her violin teacher is moving. She has one week of lessons left. So, we are trying to find her a new teacher.
I'm bummed because we had such a good deal worked out with her teacher to pay for her lessons.

Oh well, Chris keeps telling me the Lord will provide, and I need to have faith that that will happen because...  

With God All Things Are Possible   (Matthew 19:26)

 Yesterday the children and I went on an errand to find a car seat and materail for bibs.
We didn't find a carseat, but we were successful in getting burp clothes and finding materail for bibs.
I let them pick out the material.................my only criteria was that the colors could not clash.
It was so fum watching them. They were so thrilled and excited! Myles was ecstatic when he finally found one that did not clash with the one he really liked. See if you can guess who picked out what.

 
Well, that is about all for now. The kids are looking forward to next week.
They've accomplished 12 weeks of school so far and are eagerly awaiting their week off.

Outing with Ben and Stacey

Ben and Stacey came for a visit yesterday. We had a relaxing morning just visiting, and then in the late afternoon we decided to take them up to see Lucia Falls. We've been talking about it every time they are here, but never manage to go.
Now we can say we've done it!
The weather was great, and it was nice that we could fit everyone in one car :)
The water level was really low since we haven't had rain in quite some time.
We enjoyed the scenery and the company.

 

 

 

 

 Myles thought he'd take a short cut over to where we were, but got stuck on a rock.
Ben threw some big rocks in to make him a little stepping stone path, and then got him to dry land.

 

 

Rhaevyn found this rock with some leaf imprints.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Skipping rocks.

After our stroll through the woods Ben, Stacey, Chris and I went out to Chinese food. It was the first time we had ever been on a double date together, and we decided we should do it more often. It was really a lot of fun.

Today we got a surprise rain shower. It was so nice and refreshing.
This week Rhaevyn made three loaves of her French bread. Our family ate one, one she made so Ben and Stacey could try it, and then she gave one away on facebook.

Summer is coming to a close. I'm ready for some cooler and crisp weather.
Rhaevyn starts seminary soon, and I can't believe it!!

What's New McGoo?

I did my first shopping trip with all the kids in the "burb", and can I just say "I love it!!!!"All the bags fit nicely in the back. It's amazing how much you see when you sit up high. I've gotten a bit adventurous with my big rig.............drive through at the bank and parallel parking. And Myles has totally made the transition to the suburban fantastically and has come to the conclusion that he likes it much better than the van.

Last Monday we all went out to help Chris clean the garage, except Rhaevyn. She, instead, stayed in the kitchen and made two loaves of french bread all on her own. No help at all from me, and I will never have to buy french bread again.
She did an amazing job! The two loaves did not last long.

 

 Another baby blanket is finished.

We got care packages in the mail from my mom........................

for the baby :)

Elsa has been picking out names to call her little baby Sister.................Templeton, Fern, Charlotte.
And she loves to tell everyone she meets that she is a big sister and has a little baby sister.
Can't wait to see the two of them together.

Time to Say Goodbye..........and Hello, Hello, Hello..........

 

 I was reading over my post from September 8, 2008, and thinking how very similar this week's experience is to that in relation to our car situation.
 
We've been entertaining the idea of getting a larger vehicle, especially with a new little one on the way, for some time now.
I've been daydreaming of how nice it would be to have space for a stroller and groceries.
Space for groceries alone would be nice..........where the children aren't all barricaded in and surrounded by grocery bags that they must remove from  their laps or climb over in order to get out at the next stop.
While there would be enough seats in the Sienna, the leg room seemed to be shrinking. I kept going over seating arrangements in my brain at night while trying to get to sleep.
Let's see.........one of the olders has to sit in the middle row with the new baby.
That leaves one older and Myles and Elsa in the back seat next to each other.......My two that can be the best of friends and not so much best of friends. Myles was having issues with the idea of being squeezed next to Elsa. What to do, what to do?
On the one hand I thought.............."Well, I need to be content because this is a great car and what a blessing it has been." On the other hand I thought....."Oh how I would love to have more space for my growing kids and family. I seem to be doing just fine with making room in the house for five kids, but oh space in a car would be nice."
I kept thinking I was not being grateful and I was being selfish to want that, but I finally just let go. We had a family prayer about it, and then I prayed that if this was a good thing to ask for then to please help us find the right car and a buyer for ours.
And what do you know, the very next day we had a buyer for the van and bought a suburban.
Heavenly Father never ceases to amaze me on answering prayers. It just amazes me how it all transpired.
Chris and I happened to be looking at Craigslist at the same moment and at the same suburban.
He called to take a look at it, while I hesitated. I said no at first, but then felt inspired to tell him to go ahead and look, but I wasn't necessarily saying yes to buying it.
He arrived home from work saying that the person selling it said someone else was coming to see it. I think the guy was confused because it was really supposed to be Chris showing up at 3. Anyway, he called back and mysteriously the other person never showed up........chuckle, chuckle. Chris went and looked at it. Meanwhile I had to go pick up Elsa and Aeva from a play-date. Upon returning home there was a family waiting on my sidewalk. Miscommunication between Chris and I on someone coming to look at the car at a specific time. Oh well, they were good sports to wait. They looked at the minivan for 15 minutes and made an offer. They couldn't believe how clean it was...............thanks to my fabulous man! We had set the price high to begin with. They offered 500 less then what we were asking. We asked for 300 more than they offered......... and got it. Amazing!! They were back within the hour to pick it up, and Chris went over to pick up the Suburban with a friend/mechanic from church. He says we got a steal.

 

I kind of feel like this quote from Anne of Green Gables.........
"I feel....as though somebody.....has handed me.....the moon.....and I don't know....exactly what to do with it."
Okay, well I really do know what to do with it..........................I just feel so blessed.
Parting was bittersweet......................especially for Myles.
I had forgotten how little he was when we got the minivan.

 

His little heart was breaking that this car he's made memories in was not going to be ours anymore.
I found him sobbing in our bedroom while I was looking for the car title.
Chris came in and put his arms around him and told him that he understood completely how he was feeling. He said that Myles had made a lot of memories in that car, and that when he got rid of his Red Rocket Volvo he cried too (even though mommy hadn't seen that) and how hard it was for him to sell it. He told Myles that he would be making new memories in this car....................the places we would go, the treasure box he'll have in the new car for his legos, and that he'll have his very own space with no one next to him.
Reminds me of Dr. Seuss................." “Oh the places you'll go! There is fun to be done!"

So, now we are just cleaning it up and getting it ready to drive. 

And on another note......................
I'm halfway there (to my due date) already! I can hardly believe it.
The kids are loving feeling their little sister move and kick. They think that is the neatest thing.
It's time to start thinking of things like hospital registration, a car seat, and making blankets. I did make one double sided flannel blanket this past week. Now I just have a quilt type baby blanket to make next before I can't bend over on the floor anymore to cut and pin it.

Myles and Chris made a bird feeder. Myles is learning about birds right now for science. Flying Creatures is a pretty big hit with him. I always love it when I discover that I've made a good curriculum purchase. We've had fun watching the various birds eat from it and then try to identify each bird.

Next Saturday we get to go to the zoo in Portland for Chris's work picnic. The kids are thrilled.

The kids are looking forward to September when they get a week off from school. We are planning something fun for them for part of that week so it feels like a real break from schoolwork.

 So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, adieu....................until the next post :)

 

And.....................

it's a girl!!!!

I took the kids shopping after the ultrasound today.

They each got to pick out an outfit for the baby. 

It was quite enjoyable to watch them all on the hunt for the outfit they liked best.

Fun Days of Summer

 Just a quick post of some things we've been up to.
We went raspberry picking on the 4th of the July. This reminded me of our raspberry bushes that we had in Spokane. I was telling the kids about our huge gardens there, and how it seemed that half of one was all raspberry bushes. I remember people from church coming to come help pick because we couldn't pick or use all of raspberries that were produced.
Elsa had fun telling us which ones she thought looked ripe, and Myles I think ate everyone that he picked. We didn't come away with a huge picking, but enough to put over ice cream and on cereal.

  Myles celebrated his 7th birthday last week.
He wanted donuts for breakfast, so I let him put his seven candles on, and we sang to him then.
For lunch we went over and had pizza and ice cream with my best friend's children, and then Chris and Myles went out for their free birthday burgers at Red Robin for dinner. This was topped off by a phone call from Cullen, Cash, and Tuppence and Skyping with Oma and opening presents.

 I took these photos of Rhaevyn before the dance the other night. This was her new outfit that she purchased. She was all dolled up!

 

 

 Our swing set has been showing that it has had a rough life. It has been well used over the past 12 years.
It was starting to bend at the top, especially when all four kids would want to swing at the the same time on the two swings and rocket rider. Yesterday Chris took it apart, got out his welder, and put in some reinforcements (it kind of looks like a suspension bridge on the top now). Plus he got rid of one of the swings and put in two more. Myles even helped with some of the welding. So, now all four of them can swing on regular swings at the same time...........no bending and no fighting over swings.
Yay, for Chris!!

 And we got Myles a new bed. We had seen two bunkbeds at Ikea that we liked, but since I found this one on craigslist  for such a great deal we went with it.............saved me 100 buckaroos.
Just had to get one new mattress, and then we moved Elsa's in from the girls's room. They are happy for now to have her in Myles's room. Myles is being very nice to share his room with as little complaint as possible. So far it is working out fairly well. It has made so much more room in there for him to play.

 Plus Rhaevyn's violin teacher was getting rid of this desk, and we decided to see if it would fit in the room..
And it does! So, now he can do his schoolwork in his room, and I was able to put all his school books in the desk. More room on my bookshelves..........it's a win win!
We just put up his new blinds because his other ones bit the dust. These are black out shades, which are very nice for the summer :)

 Here are my two little monkeys hanging out.

And last but not least I will leave you with a little song and dance from my little pioneer girl.

Seattle To Portland

Just got some pictures from the Seattle to Portland bike ride that Chris did with a group of about 10 guys from our Stake/Ward. They have all been training together for the past several months.
I must say, that while I am glad it is over, I'm so proud of Chris for doing it. He made the 200 mile ride in one day.
He and his group left Friday afternoon for the Seattle area. A guy from our ward made a huge lasagna for them to fill them up on the night before. Ben and Stacey were gracious enough to let them camp out at their house, and then they were off early Saturday morning..............leaving the starting line around 5 am.
Chris called me from Centralia at 12:30, which is about an hour an half drive by car from our home.
At 5:30 pm he called to tell me he was 30 miles from Portland, and at 7 pm, as I was dropping Rhaevyn off at a church dance, he called to tell me he had crossed the finish line.
As I pulled these pictures from our bishop's email to all the riders in their group, it was really neat to read all the responses.............how they all were so supportive of each other and happy for the support that they got from one another and couldn't believe that the ride was over.
Only one of their team did not make it. He had gotten two flat tires and then at mile 80 had gone down. He ended up with a broken clavicle and his helmet was toast. Scary..............and I am so glad Chris made it home safe and sound.

 Chris is the 5th one back in this picture..........almost the last one.

 That is not Chris at the finish line, but I wanted to put it up anyway. It was neat to see all the people that line the whole street leading to the finish line. Chris said they all stick their hands out to give the riders a high five. Pretty neat!