Story Time

I read the boys a book before nap time AND before bed time. It's a reward for listening and cooperating during our before sleep rituals(Brushing teeth, getting a drink, using the bathroom, etc) I love story time. Russell insists on curling up in my lap and Sam snuggles in close while we read a book of their choosing. It's a moment I like to savor and enjoy their true enthusiasm about a simple story and being with me. I just love these tender moments and I am grateful I get to have them every day.

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Grateful

Today I am grateful for a little family fun time exploring.

(Sweet Creek Falls)

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Sunday

Sometimes Sunday's are so rough you can't even make it through lunch without a little nap.

I am grateful for this moment captured today. It was just another wild day at church with a 4 year old, a 2 year old and a 5 month old:)

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Today I am grateful...

...that sidewalk chalk comes off of siding. As in, the side of our house.

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Thanks..

Ryan. For going to the grocery store for me. I am so grateful I didn't have to battle the crowds. You are the best, especially since you've been going for me almost every week!:)

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Corn

Today I am grateful for corn.

Fresh from the garden corn.

Is there anything better than eating it off the cob with a little bit of butter and some salt and pepper?

It's the only way to eat corn.

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Today...

I am grateful I had enough energy to clean my house, and the yard, and the apartment(we have visitors:) and take care of the kids. I am tired. Time for bed.

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Fortune

I got this fortune 1 week before Evelyn was born, 3 months before we moved across the country.

I don't remember being bored at the time, but compared to now...I must have been bored:)

I am grateful for my new adventures. It makes life so very interesting.

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For the Beauty of the Earth

I am grateful for a beautiful sunset...

FHE Dinner over a campfire at Sunset Bay.

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Mmmm-Bopp

So, Evelyn can use the Boppy now and I am pretty sure it's the cutest thing ever.(just sayin':)
She is neither happy or sad about her new toy and today I am grateful for her adorable expressions...



It's really too bad that Hanson song comes into my head every time I get it out.

Mmm bop, ba duba dop
Ba du bop, ba duba dop
Ba du bop, ba duba dop
Ba du
ya, you're singing it now too hu?

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A few pictures...

We've had visitors over the past two weeks and it's been a lot of fun. I have a few random photos of some moments I'd like to remember.

Everyone loaded into the van. Cousins are so much fun!

Beautiful Amanda showing us the day's catch.

Jeri Carried Russell around for a week straight! He loves to be held, especially while watching a movie! We were walking down a trail to Simpson Beach at Shore Acres.

The look out at Shore Acres

The gardens at Shore Acres

Cambry(Emily's good friend), was so kind and patient with the boys. They were super excited about her wheelchair and she was awesome about it. She would give them rides and let them push her around. I tried hard to not let them bug her but OBSESSED might be a better word for their enthusiasm so I hope she knows how grateful I am for her patience, they loved it.

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Bath time

I am grateful for bath time today.

It was just too cute

Love this serious face.

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View

I am grateful for this view...

from one of our favorite lookouts. Oh, to have a view like that someday:)

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Visitors

Having family visit always makes me wish I lived near family! Man, do I love these people:)

Grandma, Emily and Cambry(Emily's friend) are visiting this week. More to come on our adventures later but today I am grateful for them for watching our children while Ryan and I went out for our anniversary.

It was nice to get away from the noisy, crying, wildly energetic crew for a few hours.

Thanks.

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I am grateful for...

fresh, local, yummy blueberries, strawberries and blackberries.

With whipped cream on top.

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Alright then...

Sam: "Mom, I'm sorry but my sticky hand(Small squishy toy that sticks to things and is shaped like a hand) is going to turn into poo."
Me: "Uh, okay, what do you mean?"
Sam: "I ate my sticky hand."
Me: "Oh. Hu, we'll see how that turns out hu?"

Grateful the package says, Non-Toxic.

Why Sam, Why?

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Here's lookin' at you babe...

Eight years

I am so grateful I found you.

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Sleepy Superhero

I know that it's actually supposed to be "Sleepy Bunny" but Sam gets these crazy ideas sometimes and we just roll with it.

"Sleepy superhero, sleepy superhero, go to sleep. Go to sleeeeeeeep.
Wake up sleepy superhero, wake up sleepy superhero, go save a life, go save a life!"

Good thinking Sam. The Bunny was getting kind of old wasn't it?:)

Grateful for a little change:) around here.

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Grateful

We are so grateful that Matt and Amanda came to visit us. It was so fun to have them here and spend some time with them.

Thanks for making the trip out to see us. We know it's quite the drive.

Love you

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How to Make Clam Chowder...

First, you go gather yourself some clams...


Bring some family along to help with the hard labor...


If you feel so inclined, fill the holes back up with sand...

Carry around a kid or two...

Once you've gathered your limit, take them home, wash them and give them a good soak...

Shuck those clams and De-gut their innards(No pictures of the De-gutting, not a pretty sight) until all you have left is the edible muscle...

Those look yummy right?!


Make Clam chowder using this recipe:


NEW ENGLAND CLAM CHOWDER
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2 dozen lg. chowder clams or 3 (10 1/2 oz.) cans minced clams
1/2 lb. bacon
1 c. chopped onion
3 c. diced, peeled potato
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
4 c. clam liquid
2 c. cream
2 c. milk
2 tbsp. butter
Paprika

Steam open chowder clams. Strain and reserve liquid. If canned, strain clams and reserve liquid. Fry pork in large pot until golden. Remove pork and reserve. Drain off all but 1/4 cup fat. Add onion and saute 5 minutes. Add potato, salt, pepper and clam liquid. (Add water to clam liquid if amount is less than 4 cups.) Simmer until potato is tender. Add clams, cream, milk and butter. Top with crisp pork and sprinkle with paprika. Makes 3 quarts or 6 servings.

Recipe adapted from Cooks.com

Enjoy the fruits of your labor, one spoonful at a time...

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I am grateful for...

...the comforts of a nice big bowl of homemade clam chowder and bread.

Yum.

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4 Months old and I'm So In Love

Evelyn turned 4 months the 25Th of last month. It took some searching after the move to get her into her 4 month doctor well-visit but we succeeded last week. She is growing and healthy and truly the most amazing baby ever. This coming from her mother, I know I'm biased but I love her beyond expression and I keep willing the days to slow down so I can keep my little baby a little longer.

At her appointment she weighed in at 12lbs 14oz and was 24" tall.

Evelyn has slept well since she was born. She goes to bed now regularly around 8-9pm and sleeps until 5am, eats(half asleep) and then sleeps again till 9 or so. Some days she doesn't eat until 7 am and then she'll sleep again soon thereafter.

We haven't started feeding her any solid food yet and I think I'll wait a few more weeks. She eats every 4-5 hours during the day but I have to remind myself to sit down and feed her sometimes because she never demands to be fed. She has even been known to fall asleep right before I think she is going to eat and then sleep for an hour or two.

Evelyn is happy to sit and watch life from her little bouncy chair. She is smiley and happy all of the time. She will cry when she is hungry or very tired but she will warn me by complaining loudly first for a while. I can usually feed her or wrap her up in her blankets and she will doze off on her own. I've just started putting her in her room for naps so the boys don't keep her awake.

Evelyn is babbling and talking and screeching with her new found voice and loves to sit and stare at those hands of hers. Fascinating. She is starting to grasp objects and has been watching me move around the room for a long time now. She is starting to recognize when I leave the room and will yell or get upset if I don't return quick enough:) She is not rolling over yet but she has great head control and I'm sure the rolling and mobility will come very soon. I am enjoying a baby that stays in one place for now:)

There are so many things I love about Evelyn.
Just a few:

-When she smiles her whole body wiggles like she can't contain her happiness.
-She is so very observant of her surroundings and will watch me contentedly for hours.
-When you tickle her, her eyes open wide in amazement, like she can't believe what's happening.
-She has the cutest comb-over and I can't wait until I can put it into a little spout pony tail on her head.
-Her chubby cheeks are firm and perfect for kissing.

I think my favorite thing to do in the whole world is nap with her. I'll wrap her up into a little burrito baby and lie next to her on my bed. We'll lay there face to face, just smiling and staring at each other.

Pretty soon she will just doze off into her peaceful baby sleep. I like to snuggle up to her and sleep too. Lately the boys have been sleeping at the same time and so even I get a nap. Ha! I never thought it was going to be possible with 3 kids but with Evelyn, anything is possible.

A good friend of mine asked me one day if I ordered her from a catalog. Because if you could order the perfect baby, I'm pretty sure they would send you Evelyn. I don't know how I got so lucky. Baby girl I love you to the moon, more than anything, more than I ever thought possible.

I am so grateful for my baby girl.

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I am grateful for...

the safe travel of visitors. Matt (Ryan's brother) & Amanda arrived this morning. They drove straight through from Utah! Wow! We are so glad they arrived safely.

Now to have some fun...

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A friendly neighbor

Today my next door neighbor dropped by to say hello and introduce herself. It was so nice to meet her and very thoughtful of her to bring us cookies from a local bakery.

I am grateful for her kind gesture.

I'll be visiting the bakery again soon. Yummy.

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I am grateful...

I can walk.

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Wood floors

I am grateful daily that our place has wood floors. Well, Pergo wood flooring material. Similar in function but not feel, if that makes sense. It makes cleaning up messes, a cinch. My own home in the future will also have wood floors. You know why?

Kids are messy.

Very messy.

Especially boys

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I am grateful for...

Kep-up (ketchup)

Because it tastes really good on hot dogs and Russell says it so sweetly.

Mo kep-up pwese.

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I am grateful for...

big, comfortable, sweatshirts.

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It's not uncommon...

for Russell to follow me around, grabbing at my legs. He holds tight to my clothing and says "Hold you?" over and over again until I stop what I'm doing and pay attention to him.

Today, after pulling his little fingers off of me 5 or 6 times to continue, whatever I was doing, I finally stopped and sat down on the floor in front of him. "What would you like me to do?" I asked him.

He then put his little hands on my cheeks and said, "Mom, I hold you."

I nodded my head and he smiled as he sat down in my lap.

We sat there silent together, for about 15 seconds. Then he looked up at me and smiled his sly smile before jumping up and running off to play.

I am so grateful he still wants me to hold him.

Lesson learned- I will be stopping more often.

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Reward yourself

Today, after all the kids were in bed, and I'd finished my "chores" . I rewarded myself with one of these:

Congratulations self, you made it through another day.
Should I be grateful 7-11 is just down the street? maybe not, but I am.

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I am grateful for...

good health.

Everyone else got a cold this past week.
I did not.

I am so grateful for that little blessing. I am sure getting up multiple times in the night would have been even harder if I had been sick too!:)

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I am grateful for...

sunshine.

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Coos County Fair

Friday we took a little trip out to Myrtle Point to visit the Coos County Fair. It's an annual event that we didn't want to miss. The day was a little overcast but a nice temperature to enjoy walking around outside, seeing all the animals, riding a few rides and of course-eating carnival food!

(Look closely at those onion rings. They were huge! We couldn't finish them)

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Exploring Cape Arago...

Last Friday we went out to explore and enjoy the sights at Cape Arago.

It's about 15 miles from home and has some great areas for a picnic. The views are just plain amazing, and we were even fogged in a bit. I bet it's spectacular on a clear day.

Skipping rocks

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