It Sure Does Go By Fast , Folks!

Yikes! He is FIVE! To me, this is simply crazy! It was just yesterday that I was panicking because I didn't know tons of lullabies and nursery rhymes to tell him as I would rock him to sleep. My S-I-L came to the rescue as she found lots of fun music to learn from-fast!

We had a Batman Birthday party and I thought Nathan's favorite part was eating pizza in the bat cave -AKA Gotham City. I stood to be corrected when he told me the coolest thing he did at his party was watch some of the new songs on the Michael Jackson DVD- really loud and dance. Who knew? I could have saved a lot of time and money. (note for next year)

Mammy, Nathan, and Kendall

If I could say five words that described Nathan, they would be:

Passionate
Sweet
Compassionate
ENERGETIC
Fun

He has been an amazing little addition to our family and like all parents, we sure think we hit a huge jackpot with him! His personality fits in so well with ours and when he is a teenager, I just might be typing something totally different, so for now we are trying to enjoy the most amazing child in the entire world.:) Enough doting.

Some of the kids trying to get a whack at the pinata.

I threw this picture in here because my dad refinished these cabinets in THREE days! How?

A Surprise for the Boys!

Hopefully, we can keep them alive!

Justin and I both grew up with fish tanks. There was something soothing about the sound of the bubbles lulling you to sleep every night and the sight of multicolored fish gliding through the water.

Gentle movements and the quiet humming seemed to drop the stress levels instantly! And as weird as it sounds, after about 8.2 seconds you were taken away from your problems as you absorbed this other life in the aquarium.

Witnessing live fish births and observing our 10 inch plecostomus grow and suck the algae off the sides of the tank didn't happen everyday.

Our boys were in desperate need of a cool night light and with Nathan's birthday rounding the bend we thought it would be a perfect time to introduce them to a lifelong hobby. (I guess time will tell if they enjoy this as much as Justin and I did when we were little.)


I'm not a huge animal lover (I know, I know,) so I'm hoping that cleaning the tank will not gross me out as bad as I think it will. That is one chore that my dad never made me do growing up! Bless your little soul! He truly understood my gag reflux!

A Dang Yummy Cake For Easter!

Because I want to make all my friends as fat as me, I demand that you go and make this cake. Right. Now.

It's Paula Deans Coconut Cake from Food Network. You gotta look it up!

Ready?

It's coming! I saw signs this weekend when the snow was trying to melt!

Now, if only I could put my order into mother nature...HURRY!

In Love With Him...

Chocolate face and all!

This little one has decided he is done with the whole diaper thing! One morning he was lowering the toilet seat lid and I overheard him singing (more like belting out), "Down, down, down, to the burning ring of fire!"

Beating the Blahs...

These past couple of weeks have been cold and snowy. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

In times like these... I need a fun little project. I found a wreath like this on tater tots and jello and thought I would attempt it. It made for a fun evening.

Winter Games 2010!

There is sea of laundry on the floor, dished piled up in the sink, crumbs on the carpet, bathrooms that need cleaning, piles of blankets and pillows all over the living room -resulting in unmade beds, messy hair, and lots of pizza boxes stacked up in the trash.

We have a problem...we are addicted to the Vancouver Olympics! WE LOVE IT! I even let Nathan miss school on Monday.

We have been eating meals, (pizza and cereal) in front of the TV while cheering on our favorite athletes and watching on the edge of our seats as they compete. It's been really fun, however, I'm ready to get the house in order and get a vegetable or two down my family.

Do You Believe In Miracles?

If you could meet my dad, you would. 10 years ago my dad was given a miracle. A second chance at life, doing what he loves most. Staying a little longer here on earth with his sweetheart, my mom.

Family has always been his passion but inside he has a quality that can't help but burst through his body. The ability to create.

Some of the best doctors in the nation stood over his limp body and for 18 long hours, the team of 16 doctors extracted a benign brain tumor, the size of a lemon, that was pushing on his lower right side of his brain and brain stem. That team of doctors saved his life.

His journey was just beginning. We were just starting to see how strong this man really was. He had many trials and hardships to overcome. First, the physical trials. He lost his hearing in his right ear, his facial nerve was destroyed resulting in paralysis on the right side of his face. A paralyzed vocal cord nerve made it impossible to talk and swallow. He had a feeding tube for 3 months to ensure he would be getting nutrients that would make it possible for his body to heal. The tumor was pressing so hard on his brain stem that he could not walk. He was completely numb on his entire left side of his body making it impossible for him to get back to his occupation, woodworking.

Then the unthinkable happened. He was able to reach inside himself and with the help of Heavenly Father, he was able to overcome many obstacles. Little by little, with many surgeries and help from speech and physical therapists, family and friends, he was able to retrain his body. He learned how to talk and swallow again. There he was again at mealtimes joining us at the dinner table for mom's home cooked meals and his occasional favorite, apple pie.

He was able to compensate for his loses. His left side, (he is left handed) had learned to feel through pressures, ways to hold a hammer and a drill. His balance improved. His strength increased. Long minutes turned into long days and long days turned into long weeks. His body healed. He grew physically, mentally, and spiritually. He did not only survive, he thrived.

As soon as he was able, he started to build again. Wainscoting, decks, kitchens, mouldings, base boards, bookcases, fireplace mantles, etc...

His brother Doug, then gave him the opportunity to challenge himself and push his limits. He was given a dream and it was up to him to see if he could make it come true. The chance to create something beyond the imaginable. He did the impossible before, could he do it again?

Still numb on the entire left side of his body, he headed down to Arizona, 12 hours away from his beloved sweetheart, 5 winters, thousands of hours later, and in a humble carport he transformed into a make shift shop, he built his brother a library. A library that words cannot describe.

The celling alone has over 2500 pieces of wood. It's hard enough to be on scaffolding and work hours and hours on a ceiling. Now imagine you have no balance and are numb on one side of your body.

Here is his blog.

This is his "shop".

A Good Day...

Pumpkin pancake breakfast with Greek honey yogurt and buttermilk syrup, staying in our jammies most of the day, making heart sugar cookies with pink icing and sprinkles, ding dong ditching homemade valentines, watching The Time Travelers Wife- during kids nap time, giving the neighbors a "heart attack", eating cheese fondue and flaming turtle chocolate fondue for dessert, watching the Olympics together, all of us taking a "Sunday Snooze", and I even talked Justin into playing a conversation card game (he's actually a sucker for any kind of game:))

Valentine's Day OWW, OWW!!

This post might be PG-13. WOOOOOOO!!!!!

I love Valentine's Day! I convinced my friend, Tamera to mix it up a bit this Valentines Day with me and make our guys something a little different. We got the idea off, love actually, tweeked it to our liking, and voila!

Dates for a year! (At least the ones we are in charge of anyway:))


♥