Jonah Turns 7!!!

Jon, Shon, and Ian took Jonah, Tim, and Aidan to Ground Kontrol again this year to play video games until they were ready to throw up

Most of the kids sitting and eating Round 2 Thanksgiving dinner

Pre-Pie in the Face, post-dinner. Hopefully we'll have Pie in the Face pictures (from that normal camera) coming soon!!!!! Leave a birthday comment for Jonah to read and he'll be stoked.

Just a Lil' Update

Don't worry folks who live far away, we've not been washed downstream by the torrential rain which hit the Northwest this past week. We did, however, have a family vacation planned to the Oregon coast which may have to be canceled again (i'm going to give up trying to plan family vacations pretty soon!) due to the impact the storm had on the cities on the Coast. Evidently they don't have power or telephone service, which means that we have no clue how to get in contact with the hotel we had reservations at to see if they are operating or what. I guess it'll work out--it always does! I do feel bad for those people and businesses at the coast, tho, that can't be good for business or life.
Jonah's b-day was a couple weeks ago and everyone's probably wondering why the heck i haven't posted pictures...that's cuz my digital camera is broken. and i took pictures with a regular camera (you know, the kind with film that has to be developed--remember those??) and i am a slacker and keep forgetting to turn the film in...but Ian said he took a bunch, so I'll try to post some soon. I think they may even be on this disc here. Oh yes. Hey, I blame "Mommy-brain". I'll post 'em tomorrow. I promise.
So Jonah is SEVEN and has now declared that his bike is too small and baby-ish (his word, not mine), and that he now hates Barbie movies, and that he is done with all his matchbox cars, and that he is going to be a chef when he grows up. That last one I find awesome. He frequently now comes into the kitchen and asks to help me cook and I try to let him (i'm a control-freak and don't like messes--bad combo for a mom). The other day he made everyone a sandwich after church while i was feeding Brynne. Mine was two pieces of bread with a piece of cheese, a squirt of mustard, and a sprig of cilantro. I asked him if he knew what that green stuff was and he said he thought it was "like a lettucey-thing, you know." I took a bite and it was surprisingly good in a simplistic, cilantro sort of way. I love that he did that for me "to help Momma out and give her a break" he said. He is a silly, thoughtful, kind, and sensitive boy who is smart and quick and confident and I am just so thankful to have him.
(So don't read into my lack of posts about his b-day--it's my dumb broken camera and the dumb film that i have to drop off and then pick up! You'd think I could kill an hour at Target!)
I love Christmas traditions and the little quirks that makes each family unique. Our tree is up and on it I have an ornament that Grandma Grace (GG) made me that is a little santa face, and it has a piece of paper glued to it that reads "Squeeze my cheeks, and I'll give you a kiss". Ava LOVES that ornament. Everyday she wants me to hide it and she looks for it so she can get the Hershey's Kiss that's inside of his mouth (That's what happens when you squeeze the cheeks...get it?!). Except she calls them HORSEY Kisses. I think GG would have laughed when she heard that. When I was little my mom had another Christmas decoration that GG made which she hung on the knob of her china cabinet. The thing said NOEL, but every time my sister JoAnna walked by she would flip it upside down so it would say LEON. So silly, but everytime I see NOEL written anywhere this time of year I think of Jo and it makes me happy. I think maybe I should get one for my china cabinet. And wrapping paper--I need some of that, too. :)

Santa No More

Well, it was a long thoughtful process in which I finally decided to tell my kids that Santa is just for fun (yeah, right, anyone who knows me knows that I sprung it on 'em as quickly as the thought entered my head). Yesterday I spur of the moment decided to read them the book "Mommy, Was Santa Claus Born on Christmas, Too?" that my sister April had left at our house for us to enjoy. Halfway through the book (which tells the story of St. Nicholas) I realized that they were going to figure out that the "Santa" they knew of never existed (and this right after Jonah wrote his Christmas list!). We talked for a while about what the true meaning of Christmas was, and Jonah was very quiet and thoughtful. Then he piped up with, "Oh, I get it! I think that the Santa we saw in the mall was just a guy dressed up like Santa!" (Yay! he got it!) Then he followed it with, "Maybe it was the Tooth Fairy dressed up like Santa!"

We're Addicted

Nearly everyday Jon and I look at each other and say, "You know what I'm craving?"
That's right, Bubble (aka Boba) Tea. Yum--I want one right now.

This post is dedicated to April--Original w/ Tapioca Pearls...??

Picture this: June 2006

Jillian Griffin turns five years old, and her mom asks her which friends she wants to invite to come over for a little party.
Her response? "Ava."
"Just Ava?" her mom says.
"Oh, yes. Ava is like many friends."

Harken back to 1985...

What the Durias' showed us the other night. I can't get the song out of my head...Get past the first few seconds of Johnny (yes, that's Johnny) rollerblading in his chonies, and it gets really funny!

You could just see her brain working

"I see a baby! And she's darn cute!"

A beautiful morning

The view from our front porch the other morning. Beautiful!

This Girl...

LOVES animals! Someone brought a bunny to our PE co-op and Ava couldn't wait to hold it. I am content with not caring for any pets currently, but with Ava around, I know that it is in our future at some point!!

Halloween

Click to see "The Astronaut Farmer" (photo courtesy of Ian Durias)

It's Official

She's the Boo-Boo!!

And she's got a belly full o' jelly

The Aftermath

"What" is going on here!

This blog is "awesome". And so is This one. I think that second one is much needed--why the heck do churches have those signs? And if they MUST have the sign, can't they just post actual scriptures??
Two long standing pet peeves of mine...

Coins and Cakes

This morning I was getting ready in the bathroom while Jonah and Ava were playing "Coin Adventures" in Jonah's bedroom. I am not sure of the rules of this particular form of make-believe, but I know that they pretend the coins (pennies, dimes, nickels) are little people and make little houses for them, etc. This is what I overheard:
Ava: Jonah, pretend that it's this guys married day and they were going to have a party to celebrate.
Jonah: No, Ava, it's a party to celebrate that he killed the dragon and rescued the princess.
Ava: But, Jonah! I want it to be his married day! He needs to get married!
Jonah: Why do you always want to make it into such girl-ish stuff?
(then a few minutes later). . .
Ava: So it's his married day and they are going to kill the dragon, right?
So funny.
Then, in Arizona, we celebrated Jon's 33rd birthday. At dinner I said to the kids "Let's tell Daddy what we like the best about him." Ava said, "I like his cake!"

Arizona 2007

Back to the Rain

Well, it sure makes for beautiful scenery...

Arizona, here we are!

Our little family has been enjoying some R & R with Jon's folks in the warm Phoenix area.
Yesterday Ava told me that the tiny linen closet is Poppop's closet because he's smaller than God. And every morning she wakes up at 7am and says "I think it's light enough to watch cartoons!" Jonah's the little fishy and is jumping off the ledge from the hot tub into the pool and shouting "Geronimo!" with a hard "G". So cute! He's definitely our phonics boy.
Jon's been swimming laps at the clubhouse pool and is on the hunt for the perfect pair of jeans (and for the perfect price!).
Jon and Jerry watched the kids today while Louise and I went to a movie, Costco, and I had to get a pedicure, of course!
Nope, I don't miss the rain one teeny, tiny little bit.

Elisabeth's rational and irrational fears...part one

I have a fear of lice. Yes, that is a picture of a human head louse. If I ever had that on my body I think I would throw up. And go buy about 10 bottles of lice shampoo and then do enough laundry to cleanse a third-world country. I took a bunch (well, 6) of kids to a movie today and was reminded once again of this fear (you'll never put your head back against that seat without thinking of it now, either). None of my kids have ever had lice, but let me tell you, this is one of my main reasons for homeschooling...well, sort of kidding.

Our Little Blueberry Tart

She looks cute enough to eat!

Look at that tongue

Does it GET any cuter?!

OOooooooh Yeeeaaah...

You may have seen this before...Randy "Macho Man" Savage has long been Jon's fav wrestler (not that he watches it anymore)...but Jon put this pic as himself on Facebook. What? You've never heard of Facebook, you say? Weeeeelll, let me invite you to be my friend...

Kahneeta Sept 2007

Here'a a few more pics of Kahneeta (I actually can't remember if I ever posted any, and I am too lazy to go look so here's four in case I never did)...This boy was so cute on his bike in his jammies...

You gotta have at least a BITE of Indian Fry Bread...

"You got enough to share with a pal?"

Ava was so funny...Every morning Louise would take her and Shadow on a walk thru the campground and thru the teepees (in the background of last picture). Ava would not go NEAR the teepees at first "just in case the Indians were at home"...

A Little Time...

With Gammie and Papa Mel. Bedtime stories...

Lots of hugs and kisses...

A sweet pic of Papa and his only brown-eyed granddaughter.

The Thrill is Gone...

Our last night with Bepo...

Ava's Sleeping Criteria

--"Momma, when I go to Nana's house can Poppop sleep at William and Heather's? Acuz (because) He tries to take me off the top bunk and I always wanted to sleep on the top bunk."
--"Momma, can you not sleep with me for the whole night? Acuz if you sleep with me for the whole night you might have bad breath."
--"Momma, that baby is crying and it's keeping me awake!"
--"Momma, (two minutes after she has a little drink) I'm getting pretty thirsty."

She's Dedicated!

Last Sunday (one week ago) we had Brynne dedicated at Eden Bible Church. She says she feels a little different now...

Be my Friend?

I loaded a new video onto my Facebook. But you might have to join in order to watch it. Sorry...but, heh, it's just one more way to get more friends than my sister (you know it's a competition!)...plus, it's totally worth joining just to see a funny video that's too big to load onto blogger or YouTube.

These are for...

the Papa and the Poppop!

Homeschooling...

A few of you have asked me how homeschooling is going...
So far it's going really well! I think that for so long I was so set against it, and expected it to be horrible (and I'm sure we'll have days like that!), but so far it's just been really easy and dare I say natural? The kids (especially Ava) LOVE it. She was so bummed that yesterday was field trip day instead of a normal school day. The curriculum is easy and just involves a lot of reading so far in normal books, which we do all the time anyhow. It takes just about two hours each morning and then we are free to play, run errands, go to the library, play with friends, go on walks, do our co-ops, etc.

Ava Lou

 
Was wishing she could have a sleep-over with her friend Paige last weekend. Jon and I decided to have her wait until she is five. "Oh, man, I should have turned five at my four-year-old birthday!"

Kid-onomics

-Gammie gave Jonah and Ava each a dollar bill. Jonah's response? "Gammie, can I trade this one dollar bill in for a five?"

-I was tucking Ava into bed last night and she gave me a really long hug and said "Momma, I love you soooo much! Like fifteen dollars!"
Then tonight, I tucked her in and said "I love you fifteen dollars!" Ava said, "That's what I was gonna say!" I then asked her what the biggest amount of money she could think of was. "Um, fifteen dollars. No, sixteen dollars! Then I love you sixteen dollars!"

-This morning Mindy and her kids were over and when they left her van wouldn't start. We unloaded the kids to go play while we figured it out and they were yelling, "Hooray! The car broke down! Now we can play! We're staying here forever!" The adults, of course, see dollar signs while the kids would gladly give up any extras for the month just for a few more minutes to play with their friends. So sweet.

A sweet moment with Bepo in the backseat

 

Hair...Oh how we miss thee...

 
Brynne's got the "Monk-Doo" goin' on...

I miss my hot tub

A lot has been going on in my brain lately. It would be kind to say that I have only been "fuzzy". Consequently I haven't been able to remember the smallest of details (just ask April). Like why I am going to Gresham on Thursday night? Or that I am even going to Gresham. Where's Gresham again??
My little boy has been in school for three years (yes, he's 6 and no, he's not stupid. Two preschool years and one year of K) but last week when asked by his Sunday School teacher when he starts school he replied, "I'm not going to school this year. I think I'm just going to stay home." He's right. We start homeschooling in just two weeks. Tonight my friend Mindy and I went to a coffee shop to organize our individual homeschool curriculi (curriculums?) and I could hardly focus. I reread everything at least three times.
What's on my mind?? I'm glad you asked:
1)My sister recently sold almost everything she owns and packed the rest into boxes (now snug in my attic) so she can move to Romania and serve others for the rest of her life. That's a BIG thing on my mind.
2)Homeschool. I am inwardly FREAKING out while outwardly saying I'm OK.
3)I have three kids now. And one of them just started eating no-so-solid food (why do they call it solids anyway?). That's a lot of cooking and freezing into ice-cube portions to remember to do.
4)Life group just restarted again last night and I felt mildly punked about something in my marriage, namely letting my husband be a MAN and being his helper, not the other way around.
5)One of the girls I grew up with lost her dad to cancer not long ago. Life is so precious and so short. Her kids are now growing up without their Grandpa.
6)A friend of mine who was almost full-term with a baby boy has to make funeral arrangements for him instead of painting the nursery.
7)My son has been pretty naughty lately. And I am so drained from talking and talking and talking and it not sinking in.
9)I've been thinking about people I grew up with in the Inland Empire of California. What they are doing? How many kids they have? Do they still walk with the Lord?

I'm really not trying to complain. And I am not saying that I am even worried about these things. Just that they are on my mind. I guess I could say something really trite now about casting my cares on the Lord. But the truth is, that's...really... hard.
And aren't blogs really just online web logs/journals? The diary that everyone reads? The fact remains that any time in my life that I have ever kept a diary it has been written with the thought in the back of my mind of "What if someone reads this?!" (you know you think that every time you pull out that journal at Starbucks!). And really a blog is the ultimate form of exposing ourselves to the world-wide-everyone-else. Or at least the parts that we want seen.
So (raise your glasses with me) here's to the guy who bought our house in Clackamas and subsequently a hot tub. May he relax many a night beneath its hot waves. Tonight I could have used one.

Dessert, please!

Last night we went to The Screen Door to celebrate Louise's birthday. At home earlier in the day Ava said to me out of the blue "I can't WAIT to eat cake!" "What are you talking about?" I asked. "I can't wait to eat birthday cake for Nannie's birthday!" I informed her that the restaurant might not have cake, but we'll be sure to have something for dessert. When we got there we saw a HUGE chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. Then, when the waiter brought our food out, he asked if we needed anything else. Ava (who was face down in her macaroni) said, "I need dessert after this!" Oh, and by the way, Jonah and Ava attacked an enormous slice of chocolate cake all by themselves. I think Poppop would have liked to try it, but then Ava sneezed on it...

Jonah and Ava love this...

A parody on the reigning movie series in our house for at least the past year...