4 years

My baby turned 4 last week. Pretty crazy to think about where our life was 4 years ago and where we have traveled since then. This kid has a lot of miles on him for being 4. I love this little man like nothing else. He has such a sweet spirit and has my heart wrapped around his little finger. It just kills me to think of him growing up. I don't ever want those sweet baby cheeks to go away.

This growing guy got a big boy bike for his birthday. He has been making tracks on the trike all summer, but a couple of weeks ago during a trip to REI, he got on a kids bike with training wheels and was flying around the store and weaving in and out of the racks (supervised and out of the way of course!). So we decided that if this guy was going to ever keep up with his dad, he needed a real bike. He LOVES it! Happy Birthday Kellan!

The Blazing Hibachis

Last weekend we were able to go to a bocce ball tournament out at a beautiful old mansion just outside of town. The tournament was a fundraiser for a local ministry here that gets underprivileged kids outdoors and exploring God's amazing creation. The Moody guys raised enough money for 3 teams, one of which was the Blazing Hibachis. There were prizes awarded for the best team names and team costumes. While the guys tried being creative, they weren't creative enough to win first.

The Smurfs took home first on the most creative costume. Mirielle was really excited to go say hi to them until I told her that they were really just guys in blue paint.

Jason at the wind up

The release

The love birds

And I was quite content chasing the kids around with my camera. The lighting towards the end of the evening was simply divine.

The advantage of working with college students

I would have to say that one of the advantages of working with college students is the sheer amount of man power muscle available in times of need.

I recently decided that we could no longer live without a piano in the house and began a search on Craigslist. I found this beauty and managed to pay only $50. It needs a good tuning, but sounds great and is such a joy to have in our home.

Jason was able to round up a couple of guys from school to help him go get the blue beast back to our place. The thing was HEA-VY and we were SO happy to have the help. We paid the guys in pizza which cost me almost as much as the piano. What a deal though for a piano in our house!

Sweet Home Arizona

When Jason and I lived in Arizona many moons ago, we used to have lots of debates over whether or not Arizona was a beautiful place. He had the perspective of growing up in another state and I dare say he was somewhat smitten with the dry desert for what I believe were 2 very important reasons.

1) He could fly on almost any day of the year.

2) He could ride his bike any day of the year.

The man had his priorities and they haven't changed much after all these years.

I, however, didn't appreciate the desert and though it was dry, brown, boring, brown and boring. I wanted out and out I got.

Now that I've been gone awile, I can certainly see the beauty of the place I still call home.

I was amazed this trip with how green everything was. Even during the winter when the grass was brown and the trees had dropped their leaves. I guess after staring at beautiful white snow for a few weeks and then dirty brown snow for the last 2 1/2 months, the desert seemed like an amazingly alive place. I miss the wide open spaces. There aren't many places up here where you can see for miles and miles around.

So I have to confess, that I miss the big sky, the dramatic sunsets and the bright sunshine. I'll admit that my husband was right, but only on this blog and never to his face! :-)

I've been searching for so long

For a home like this. Shipping container turned house. It would have been the perfect solution for us the last few years of our life. Looks pretty peaceful to me!

13 Comfortable Homes Built from Recycled Shipping Containers - 6 Living Green - Your Life - MSN Lifestyle

A Tree Planted by Streams of Water

Psalm 1:3

He is like a tree planted by streams of water,

which yields its fruit in season

and whose leaf does not wither.

Our pastor preached on Psalm 1 at the beginning of January and this verse has stuck with me the last few weeks. It creates a mental image for me of the woman I want to be. A woman of quiet, peaceful and enduring strength whose source of life is in Him.

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Most days between our schedule, the kids, keeping the house from looking like a bomb just went off, and not seeing the sun for days on end with this winter weather, I often feel like I am running around in circles. Crazy would be a good word to describe how I feel on some days. I am not like that tree whose leaves never wither. I feel kind of like my house plants look - dried up, half dead and in need of a good drink.

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I've been meditating on this verse. Considering the source of the stream. Thinking about those roots that go deep, the strength of the branches and the yield of the fruit.

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I love this picture of Mirielle. I am that tree. I imagine my kids swinging from my branches - like on the days when I try walking through the kitchen with Kellan hanging on to my leg, or Mirielle pulling on my arm as we walk through the grocery store. Or on the days when Kellan falls and needs a hug or I spin Mirielle around while we are dancing. On those days they are literally swinging from my branches. I so long to be big strong branches, realizing in a new way that it only happens by being planted by the stream.

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So I am praying that I would be that tree, dependent upon that stream of water, yielding fruit, whose leaf does not wither.

Happy 2009

Last night we had a special family dinner to usher in 2009. It was basically an excuse to splurge in few things that we normally do not indulge in eating. I mean, how many times can you walk by all of that amazing food at Costco without giving in? Mmmm!

While we were sitting around the table we put together a list of 2009 goals/predictions. Here they are for your public enjoyment:

-Mirielle will learn to read and write
-Kellan will finally stop using diapers (I am afraid this one is going to happen against his will) and will start feeding himself at the dinner table (or starve)
-Jason will teach Kellan how to really throw a ball
-Mirielle will lose her first tooth
-We will go camping together as a family (hopefully we will make it past camping in our backyard)
-Jason will bike to the 49 degrees ski area and back (in the summer, which means it will either happen in July or August)
-Kellan will give up using sippy cups and move on to what we refer to in our house as 'big boy cups'
-Jen will take a photography class
-A 6 month 'spending fast' (this one has me nervous already) will occur in our household
-Jen will finish decorating the house (which should be interesting considering the spending fast)
-Jason will conquer the slopes at 49 degrees and Schweitzer
-Mirielle and Kellan will learn to swim
-Jason and Jen will have a proper 9th anniversary celebration

Hope your 2009 holds lots of promise for you!