Still Blessed

Well, our Thanksgiving did not quite go as planned.

We were suppose to head North but that got canned.

About 12:30 Lilly woke caughing and did not sound good.

We tried breathing treatments and did all that we could.

We decided to head to the ER about 4am,

She was diagnosed with Croupe and there went our plans.

Home for the weekend is where we would be,

but what would we do without a turkey?

Thank goodness for Wal-mart who was open all day,

for folks like us, (or for those who delay).

Tim decided he would take on his first Turkey quest,

so a recipe he found and headed out for the rest.

A fresh turkey was bought, potatoes and stuffing too,

His family would not go hungry and all he had to do...

Was wash and butter and season and rub, it turned out to be some amazing Thanksgiving grub! He mashed, stuffed, and carved for his family, but when it came time to eat no one was ready.

Lilly was crying because she was ready to sleep, Tim was tired from making the feast. Lucas wanted the turkey out of his sight, but I think the table looked beautiful, right?

The turkey was moist, the potatoes were lumpy, (I don't know about you, but I like mine kinda bumpy). And of course there was no room for pies in our tummys, which was too bad since there were three in the fridge that were yummy.

We did miss good cooking by mom and spending time with family, but we are so blessed that our weekend was pretty happy. Besides the caughing and puking (did I mention Lucas had the flu?), we spent most our time playing games and watching the tube.

Still blessed with the snuggles through good times and bad. Still blessed with the friends and family we have. Still blessed by the Lord who provides it all. Still blessed by all we have, both big and small.

So remember that Thanksgiving is not only about food, but to also give thanks for all that is good. I hope your weekend went well, wherever you are, and we send our love to those near and those far.

The Mission

So last week I started a mission. This was a mission that required mind over matter. It required brawn and endurance. It required precious time taken in order to accomplish the task. I chose this mission, executed the mission (and am still trying to accomplish the mission). The mission was to rid the acre yard of the three inches of leaves that had accumlated and for some reason not blown away. The difficulty of this mission was timing. The kids both had caughs, and due to cold weather and (proximity to the road) this mission needed to be accomplished during nap time. The window of opportunity was narrow, but it could and would be done. Good snowmen with no leaves stuck in their bodies depended on it.

This is all that was left as the beautiful signs that fall was coming to a close and that the time had come for action. So almost every day last wekk I would make sure the children were snug in their beds (and actually sleeping...which could take awhile) and then I would venture out with a rake and monitor in hand. Each day I would slowly build large piles and fill big bags of leaves. I would only have about an hour before I would need to return inside to waking children. And I would always look back to see what I had accomplished...and it was good to see giant piles with green space around them, but there always seemed to be more piles than before (b/c I would tend to rake vs. bag), but the thought of knowing that I did accomplish something was good. That maybe I burned some calories, that maybe the sweatshirt and coat that soon became a sauna was working for me, instead of against me. I did enjoy my time outside, even with numb fingers. It was a nice break from the typical computer glow of work (which seems to be in short demand as of now). And then on Sunday the weather was finally warm enough, and the kids well enough that everyone got to enjoy the piles...and soon destroyed the piles of leaves that I had worked so hard to create. But hey, the more you jump, the most the leaves are crushed and the less space they take up in a bag...right?Lucas tried to show Lilly all the correct manuvers for pile jumping, but she really didn't get that into it. Tim called her a princess.
She seemed content to just run around and around.

Lucas was in heaven. I think it is one of the best joys of fall and for those who don't have big trees in their yards, or enough leaves to make a pile, well feel free to come on over. I will admit that even out there by myself I fell into a leaf pile or two. It is just too tempting not to do!

So here are two missions that I leave you with:

1. Find a pile of leaves (weather in your yard or not) and jump in them!

2. Guess how many bags (the big brown paper leaf bags) did we fill this year?

Your mission has begun....GO!

Throwback Thursday- Sock Puppets

We made sock puppets awhile ago, thought I would share some funny pictures!

Oh too cute and fun, and we sewed them together so we could use them over and over! What have you made lately?

Tuesday early preview

So, thanks to my sister we got some early Christmas pics of the kids this past Friday when I was up North. I won't show the finals since that would be copyrighting to scan them and send them out for christmas cards which I am sure that I would never do...but thought I would share some pics of the ones I snapped while we were waiting.

This is how they stayed entertained while we waited, Lucas pulled Lilly round and round and back and forth.Lucas showed off his dance moves.
And Lilly hammed it up for the camera. Final pics turned out very cute- but you'll have to wait for your Christmas Card to see them...I mean, you will have to come over to our house and see the framed version. Right, now I just need to actually make the cards! Maybe Lilly's artisic skills and new crayons will come in handy!

The weekend...what a zoo

The crazy weekend began late Friday night picking up some special visitors at the airport and then Saturday morning we put one of them to work making the animal cakes for the party.

She had LOTS of help (as you can see) and did an AMAZING job!

Thanks cousin Kristin!

The cakes were the hit of the party! Kids were screaming "I want the lion!" or "I want the monkey!" I couldn't cut them fast enough!

I love this picture, not only b/c Lilly knew exactly what she was doing and was so excited but because the looks on the other kids faces just says it all.
She was an expert present opener and of course looked so adorable!

And the best part of the weekend was that we finally got to meet Miss Rita!! She was adopted in February from Russia by or cousins out in CA and we were so excited that they were able to come and visit us for the first time. She is a bundle of energy and fit right in with our little ones. We went to the Children's Museum on Sunday but I forgot my camera, so when I figure out how to upload pics from my new phone (or get some from someone else...hint hint), I will blog more about the great weekend. Thanks to all who came- especially the SanDiegoans!

On Lilly's actual birthday (Tuesday) she got to open her present from us...a HUGE doll house! Hopefully this will last for years to come! She was very excited and Lucas thinks the elevator is pretty cool and has already taken his hot wheels for a ride! I am sure that Barbies and Superman will get along well in the house. Everyone is welcome to come on over and play!

Happy Birthday Baby Girl

1 week old
6 months old

12 months

19 months

2 years old

Miss Lilly turns 2 today. It doesn't seem that long ago, but looking back through all of the pictures and seeing how she has turned into such a beautiful little girl is amazing. I was pretty convinced that I would have all boys, and that would have been ok too, but so glad God has blessed us with this little one who always keeps us laughing. She is our little lillybug and we love her very much. (Will post pics of the party tomorrow).

The true Superheros in my life

They aren't only superheros on Halloween...

Daddy is their biggest hero of all.

They do make the cutest dynamic duo ever!

Kapow! Pop! Kabam!

Well I do have to say thanks to God for my everyday Superheros. Tim goes off to fight crime at work and make the world feel as safe as he can for his family, and he does an amazing job. Lucas fights monsters, robots and ghosts here at home (but he doesn't fight off my kisses). Lilly mainly fights off her brother and her creative energy is contagous (and is the best hugger ever). Me... well, I just tend to fight laundry, dishes, and dust bunnies (and sometimes a difficult client who doesn't realize that I know what I am talking about). We all have our strengths and weaknesses. We all triumph and fail each day. I just pray that even though things may not be perfect in our little world, that God is watching over us and protecting us b/c he is the biggest Superhero ever.

The Justice League...and me

Sorry for the blog delay, but phone line was down which meant internet was down. But as you can see below, Halloween turned out great. The Justice League (plus Cat Woman) were out fighting crime in the burg (and collecting candy of course).

We had been talking about Halloween for quite awhile and Lucas went back and forth between a ghost and Batman. Of course Tim was pushing for Batman, but when Lucas told him he wanted him to be Robin I just started laughing. Not b/c I was trying to picture Tim in tights, but b/c Tim being Lucas' sidekick was just oh so funny. Tim tried to be Superman or Green Lantern or someone else, but Lucas insisted on Robin and of course Tim gave in. He really looked great in his tights and adding Wonder Woman to the mix was the pefect touch.

Here's the crew that hit the sidewalks. So we added an Elephant, Monkey, Carebear, and Frog to the group, I think we were outnumbered by animals.This was Neil whose house we crashed for Halloween. Thanks for sharing Clarks! All the kids did really well and I think the funniest part was just watching everyone walk down the sidewalk either cape flying or being carted in a wagon for the little ones. The funniest was the elephants waddle and the carebears heart on her backside. They were all too cute.

The Dynamic trio looked amazing! Thanks to my mom for helping me with Lilly's costume the morning of! Hope everyone else had a wonderful Halloween as well!