happily random

Samantha is two!

My baby girl turned two today. I just have to LOL at this picture. This is her silly smile. Hee-hee. It was all I could do to get a picture of her because she was so excited about Grandma & Grandpa coming over and about eating cupcakes that she picked out at the store and opening presents that I could hardly get her to stand still.

Samantha is such a sweetheart and a complete charmer. She is definitely going through the "I-do-it-myself" phase, from clipping her own carseat (which I double check of course) to even attempting to putting on her own diaper (not well, but she tries... LOL). Samantha does what she wants to do and doesn't let her size or inexperience stop her, to the point of scaring me from time to time. She is quite the talker and her vocabulary is just amazing for a just 2-year-old. "K Mom?" is one of the things she asks me about a thousand time a day, which is very cute, but unless I say "Okay, Sam" in response she'll continue to say it over and over and over again. LOL. Her favorite toys are baby dolls, cell phones and stuffed animals. She just loves the Fur Real baby jaguar we got her for her birthday. I just love this little girl and I can't believe that it's been two years!! Happy Birthday Sammy!

Joel and the kids hiked the property and cut us a Christmas tree today. We still have to decorate it, but it's up in the living room now. I posed the kids under the tree to take pictures for our Christmas cards. I was just amazed how easy it was to get them all to smile together as opposed to last year. I guess that's what happens when your youngest is two and will say "Cheese!" with the rest of them. This is actually the first time since having kids that I've had a 2-year-old and no newborn in my arms. It's an interesting experience and I must admit, my arms ache a bit. It doesn't help that I have 6 friends that have announced to me this month that they are newly pregnant. But I think that four may be our limit. We'll see if I can hold out. LOL.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This is just a little something my husband wrote yesterday and I thought it was fitting to post it today.

Amidst the hustle and bustle of the holiday season it is easy to forget that Thanksgiving was intended to be a spiritual day. It was meant to be a day of reflection, set apart from all other days specifically to acknowledge, with humble hearts, God's loving provision. Make this week a time of reflection, repentance, and new beginnings. Spend time in prayer and search out God's will in the scriptures. Encourage one another. Share your blessings with those in need. Most importantly, take the time to acknowledge with gratitude and praise the blessings given to us by Almighty God.

"Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endures to all generations (Psalm 100)."

Happy Thanksgiving!

First Snowfall

As we drove home from church yesterday, the drizzle turned to tiny snowflakes as we climbed the mountains to our house. You would think the kids had never seen snow with as excited as they were about it all, even though it wasn't sticking. But this morning we woke up to a 2" blanket of snow. So at 6:45 a.m. the kids were snowsuited up and out the door to play in it. I hadn't even had my coffee yet or even gotten dressed for that matter and all four of them were throwing snowballs. I didn't get a single picture, which of course is completely unlike me I know, but I'm just not the morning person my kids are. LOL.

Walk Like an Egyptian

After a studying ancient Egypt in history, Rebekah's 2nd grade finished off the segment with an Egyptian party. They made headdresses and collars over white robes that we provided from home. Not only that, but they made small sand pyramids, stamped their names in hieroglyphics, played Egyptian games and ate Egyptian food. Her teacher said the kids were all good sports and sampled a little of each of the unusual foods, even asking for seconds in some cases. For three weeks leading up to this party, I heard about the preparations for it every day. I'm glad Rebekah is so excited about learning about history and I'm equally glad that she has a teacher that makes learning about it fun.

Oh, and I just had to share this photo that Joel took of Samantha sleeping last night while I was at MOPS. Isn't she a doll? I can't believe my baby is going to be 2 in a couple of weeks. There was a quote in on of my the email I received from MOPS that said this:

"It will be gone before you know it. The fingerprints on the wall appear higher and higher. Then suddenly they disappear."
- Dorothy Evslin

*sigh*

Where did October go?

Just yesterday we were just starting off the month and here it is November. October was a busy month. We spent the first week and a half sick, as I blogged about below. Not fun. I turned 34 on the 18th. Rebekah finished up the fall soccer season. We went hiking around Lake Pend Oreille as fall was making its grand appearance (pictures above). We finished up the remodel of my scrapbook studio for MOPS and MomSense magazine (it's supposed to be in the January/February issue). I lead two MOPS meetings for our local group. I lead my first MOPS Council Meeting for the Idaho Panhandle consisting of about 65 MOPS leaders. Oh, and I started volunteering for Luke's kindergarten class on Tuesdays. And that is just off the top of my head. I am a busy mom of four. :)

The laundry really suffered in October. I think it has been almost 4 weeks or so since I did any laundry, so I'm really paying for it now. Oh, I've done a spot load or two as the kids have needed uniforms or Joel has begged me for clean underware (LOL), but all that time had to be taken from somewhere, right? I guess for me, it was from the laundry time. Yesterday and today I tackled the mountain of laundry and it's been tamed somewhat.

Now I've started to think forward to the holidays, planning out our Christmas cards and the kids' Christmas wish lists (mostly because my mom has asked for them so she can order early this year). I'm beginning to feel like that before I know it, it's going to be the New Year.