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!

Throwback Thursday- Happy Halloween!

Well, last year we were 50's greasers and pink ladies...wonder what we will be this year? If you don't live in the Burg, you will have to wait and see the blog post! Not throwing our typical Halloween party this year...so sad I know. Let's pray that next year we will be back on track to continue the tradition. But don't worry we are still dressing up this year! Tim and Lucas are ready to go...maybe I should start working on Lilly's and mine since I have less than 20 hours left! Here is your one word hint: Justice.

Well, I did survive the root canal...thanks to all of those who sent their love and concern my way. Got numbed up again today, didn't go with gas b/c I had a bad headache all last night that wouldn't go away and I had to blame something. Numbing was worse, 1/2 my nose and part of my left eyelid...that was weird. Now I am just sore and should probably go to sleep.

Happy Trick or Treating to all! Nothing chewy for me!

At the Root of the Problem

So my tooth had been bothering me for awhile, finally made a dentist appointment. The day before I went I was in the worst pain ever...seriously comparable to child birth. I would have to say I have a high pain tolerance, although any time I say that Tim starts laughing...hmm. I am not sure if it was the pain itself or just the fact that it is located in your mouth, close to your eyes and ears and brain that it hurts so horribly. Essentially (as my dentist explained) my old filling had cracked and was allowing bacteria to fill the inner cavity of my tooth which then infected it (for those who wanted to hear the facts). The dentist did give me some penicillian and pain meds so I have been better this past week, but he referred me for a root canal. Yeah! And I got to experience that joy this morning.
Wasn't really sure what to expect, different stories from different people. It's horrible, it's fine, no big deal but you'll be sleepy all day, one friend even told me that you can eat chips at Hacienda right after, and one worried I wouldn't be able to go to meetings the next day??...so needless to say I wasn't sure what to expect.
Of course you go in and they are very nice and explain the procedure is and what they are going to do. The specialist shows me my tooth x-ray and explains how deep my issue is and that he hopes he be able to keep the tooth...but he won't know until he drills it all out...what?!
Let me just be up front now. I hate going to the dentist. Always have, probably always will. And as they told me last week, I am just one of those lucky people who hold bad bacteria in their mouth and therefore that is the reason I get cavities easily. Great, so really when I say that I hope my kids get my husbands teeth (b/c they are perfect and he has never had a cavity), what I should really be saying is that I hope my children gets my husbands bacteria non-holding capabilities? Interesting.
Anyway, back to the story...so the tech is prepping me and wants to know if I would like a pillow, blanket, or headphones. I went with the headphones thinking maybe the music would drown out the drilling, (not quite). They numbed me all up and asked if I wanted some Gas (Nitrate?) to help me relax...Yes, who wouldn't? So as I get kinda sleepy and numby and start to pretend that I am not really there...then they shove this rubber "mouth keeper opener" in and the drilling begins. Now, I haven't had a cavity filled for quite awile and according to the tech who said the experience would be similar forgot to mention that she is really lying and the drilling would be twice as horrible and twice as loud (even with music blaring). And in regards to that metalic teeth burning smell, well I would rather stick my face in a dirty diaper.
So, they finish up their root drilling and then the doc informs me that I will need to come back tomorrow to finish things up b/c my tooth insides are inflamed and need to settle before he can fill it in. Hmmm, wonder why they are inflamed? So with the glass half full, I have something to look forward to tomorrow. And as I type this five hours later the numbness is now finally wearing off, which means I should probably go and take some more meds. Overall, I would rate it in the middle of easy and horrible. Although eating chips is not an option. Hope your Wednesday and Thursday are filled with just as much fun, and a little less drilling.

Carving it up

So yesterday we actually carved the pumpkins we picked the weekend before. The kids had a good time with scooping out the slimy guts.

Tim got creative with the top of the funky shaped pumpkin and it turned out great.
Lilly liked trying to put the pieces back that you cut out.

They were such goofs last night, just screaming and laughing at one another. Not sure if it was the pumpkin rush or just being overtired from a long weekend. But that only sat still for about 2 seconds for a picture and unfortunately that one turned out fuzzy, then it was back to running circles.Lucas had been talking about his "scary face" pumpkin for weeks now. Above was his impression of what he wanted his pumpkin to look like. I think Tim did a great job at trying to create this face on Lucas' pumpkin...

Which one do you think is his?

My little pumpkins...

Headed out to the pumpkin patch this past weekend, it was definitely more "fall-like" weather than the weekend before. Perfect for a hayride and pumpkin festivities. We got so many great pictures, thought I should probably break it up into two separate blogs...so first we will start with the pumpkin picking!

Here are my two handsome boys on the anticipated hayride to get the pumpkins, Lucas so looks like his daddy.

Hmmm....this one is perfect for sitting. But this one is just my size, how will I make up my mind?
Well she did finally make up her mind...and then had Lucas carry it for her. I guess that girl is learning already!
This is Lucas thinking...I wonder if daddy will carry this one for me?

And a family picture! I think this is the first family picture since last year at the pumpkin patch! I may be a little bias... but my family is pretty cute!

An apple a day...

Well, we have been eating at least an apple a day since last weekend when we went to an apple orchard. It was the first time we have ever done this, I was inspired by a friends pictures, so I googled apple orchards (you would be amazed how many there are), and we headed out last Saturday. We had a really great time, the weather was perfect for pickin' apples!

Lilly loved to bag 'em...
Lucas loved to pick 'em! And he was amazing with the "apple grabber"...not sure what the official name is for that thing is.
Lilly just picked them the old fashion way.

Proud Mr Lucas, showing his catch.Lilly was really only interested in tasting the goods. I seriously think she ate at least three apples while we were there.

I think the bag of apples behind Lilly is bigger than her...needless to say if you want an apple pie...just place your order here! They are heavy on the cinnamon and have perfect crumbly tops! Yummo!