February Findings

Joel took Thomas and Spring and a couple of their friends to the Columbus Temple. It warms my heart to know our children love to be in the temple and willingly make sacrifices to attend as often as possible.

These girls are buddies.  Sara loves to hold Rebekah and Rebekah doesn't like to be held by her so much anymore!  She wants to crawl and play.  Mary is just our sweetheart.  She goes about life dancing on her tiptoes, giggling, and smiling-sometimes oblivious to what she needs to get done, but happy all the time! :)

Springtime weather means lots of playing outside.  We live in the best neighborhood. There are always kids outside playing and they all get along so well.  The older ones invite the younger ones to join in.  You can look up and down the street and see kids swarming and hear their giggles, shouts, and laughter.  It's a wonderful place to live.

Bedtime stories with your big brother are always special...and a treat at this time of year.  Thomas is super busy and not home as much as we would all like so we take advantage of the moments when he is here.  And, he is a wonderful friend and example to his younger siblings.  They adore him.

Josh earned his Wolf badge in Cub Scouts!  Sam participated in a Math Competition with some of his buddies.

Spring and Jacob are giggling buddies! She is an amazing sister.  She never seems to tire of playing with, helping, and encouraging her younger siblings.  And she is awesome at helping Thomas learn to relax and lighten up!  Josh is our tree climbing, well climbing in general, expert.  These limbs are not very big or strong however, and I had to tell him he couldn't walk all the way out to the edge of the branches.  He couldn't understand why!

Family Scripture study time!

Jacob is growing into his role as a big brother! He's still goofy and silly and crazy...but he sure loves his little sister!

Cabin Campout

Sam and Joel went on a cabin campout.  When it was planned there was snow expected for that time of year, hence the cabin.  It was beautiful weather and no snow to be found!  Sam served as cook for his rank advancement.  He made dutch oven pizza for dinner, french toast and sausage for breakfast, and grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch.  Sam loves all things scouting and he loves to learn.  When he had his Board of Review for 2nd class he was asked, "What was your least favorite requirement for this rank?" He looked at them with a puzzled look and responded, "Nothing.  I love all of it!"

A Couple Firsts

Thomas experienced a couple "firsts" this month!  He went on his first date and he went skiing for the first time.  He took his friend, Emily, to see the musical "Mary Poppins."  They both love music and Disney so this was a perfect date.  He tried to act cool and all, but he was beaming all day.  It was fun to see them excited.  On President's Day his band director, Mr. Monroe, took him skiing.  Mr. Monroe is on Ski Patrol and has been telling Thomas all year he wanted to teach him to ski.  We had such a mild winter this year and that there weren't many opportunities.  They seized this day and had a blast. Thomas can't wait to go again next season. He loves Mr. Monroe and we are so grateful for the mentor he is to Thomas.

Trip to Washington

I was blessed to fly out to Washington and visit with my parents for a week.  Rebekah was my travel mate! :) My mom picked me up from the airport and we stayed in Chehalis that evening.  We did some shopping and relaxing. She pampers me well! Rebekah was so tired that evening from jet lag and we couldn't get her to calm down in the hotel room.  Then I thought of having her sleep in the bathtub and it was a great solution! It was dark and quiet.

The week spent with them went way too quickly, as it always does.  We played games with my dad, did some sewing, and just spent time together.  It's so nice to visit them and I wish we lived closer so we could see them more often.  I am blessed to have wonderful parents that teach me by example to love and serve others, rely on faith in Jesus Christ, and to value family above all else.

Mayhem in the Evening

Never a dull moment in our home!  I love to watch the kids play with their Dad!  Joel is an amazing dad and he comes home from work and is 100% dad. He usually asks me where I need him to help and jumps right in.  Sometimes as dinner is over I will tell him, "Let me do the dishes.  Just go play with the kids!"  Not only do they all love it, I love the few quieter moments of cleaning the kitchen without being needed by anyone!"  It's a win-win!  I'm so grateful for the relationship we have.  We often comment that we make a great team.  I could never do this without him by my side! 

Annual Cupcake Wars

One of the kids' favorite traditions is our annual cupcake wars.  Each year the anticipation and planning builds.  This year they baked their cupcakes one day early so they had more time to decorate them.  It's fun to listen to them work together, and work through disagreements, and learn the arts of cooperation and compromise!

  

9 Months

Our peanut is 9 months old!  She still doesn't make the charts for her height or weight, but she hit 14 pounds even!  Still wearing 3-6 month clothes and size 1 diapers!  She has become very mobile...officially mastering the real crawl while we were on vacation visiting Grandma and Grandpa.  She is fast and finds every small thing on the floor.  Rebekah has become quite the Momma's girl.  She wants to be connected to me in some way ALL THE TIME!  She is content and happy as long as she doesn't see me.  I have to be sly as I move around the house so she will keep playing and not cry for me to pick her up.  We are still working on  getting her to sleep through the night for more than 3 hours...one day that will happen! :)  Her smile and giggle make everyone happy.  So grateful for her influence in our home and family.