Birthday Present from Japan

Uncle Matthew and Aunt Elaine sent Walker a birthday present from their current post in Japan. Walker was so excited to receive the package (which got here in about a week, impressive).

Getting started...

...doesn't everyone have a full laundry basket on their kitchen table?



Only Uncle Matthew






And stickers, too


Walker has asked to call Uncle Matthew and Aunt Elaine several times to say thank you. I hope their phone gets set up soon and I can figure out the time change so he can place that call!

The Party

A wonderful time of celebration and fun with the family.













Trying to get a picture with all the "cousins," Eli was not in the mood.

The Big Slide!

On Monday Walker conquered "the big slide" at the park. My very cautious child had never gone down it on his own. Now, Eli had no trouble and has been sliding down on his stomach for a while. Walker on the other hand, would go to the top, look around and then walk back down the ramp.

This time, however, he marched up there all by himself and slid down without and prompting from Mommy. He then proceeded to slide for what seemed like forever (but was probably like 30 minutes). He was so proud of himself and exhausted. He fell into bed that night. My little boy is growing up.

Celebrating Walker on His Birthday

We started the day with a trip to Cracker Barrel. I forgot to get eggs so we had to go out for the breakfast pancakes. It turned out to be a wonderful choice. The boys were perfectly behaved and enjoyed playing with the toys after we finished.





He got to open and play with is gift from mommy and daddy.







Walker wanted pizza for lunch.


And got to decorate and eat cupcakes.

January 27th, 2001

Eight years, three children, two dogs, five moves, three churches, one college degree, one Ironman completion, one Caribbean cruise, several Disney trips, eight jobs, one new company, many traumas and countless successes; these years have been an beautiful start to our marriage.

I am honored to have in a husband a man who loves Jesus, loves me and loves our children. I am so thankful to be a part of this mysterious, spiritual union with my Jason.

Our wedding day was wonderful. Truly one of the most pure holy days I have ever been a part of. The world disappeared and it was only about God, Jason and myself.

The weather was perfect, even in January, much like today. Sunshine and almost 70.

We had a blast and then quickly whisked ourselves away to San Fransisco followed by Park City. It was so much fun trying out this "marriage" thing together. It is neat to think about how much as changed and how much has stayed exactly the same.







**Everything was perfect that day. My only regret came months later, upon receiving my wedding pictures. These are some of the best, and well you can see the quality. Maybe for our 10th we can get all dressed up and take some do-overs. :)

Walker, Year Three in Pictures

This is a quickly put together montage of photos of Walker over the past year. It has been an amazing year. Enjoy!

Early Morning, By Walker

Walker gets up early, very early. Much earlier than anyone else in the house is ready to get up. One morning this week he got the camera and took pictures to document what he did while he was the only one up. He also seemed to take the time to figure out exactly how to work the camera.

Upside down and too much flash.


Right side up and too much flash.


The perfect early morning face.


Breakfast, upside down.


Breakfast entertainment.


I guess the next step was to take the camera to the computer and try to upload the pictures, but mommy and daddy interrupted him.


This kid never ceases to amaze me.

Any Old Thursday...

Between the rain last week and the cold this week the boys and I have been spending a lot of time in the house.

Thursday morning did not start well. The boys were going a bit stir crazy and I was not feeling very patient. I knew they needed something different from the everyday to do.

A while ago a friend had posted on her blog, Blessed with Boys, about using baby food as finger paints. I didn't have any baby food, but we did have instant pudding. So, I whipped some up and got the boys ready to play.







The boys behaved as I would have predicted. Eli was covered and ate as much as he played with. Walker had a good time, but asked me to wipe his hands about 10 times and he didn't get pudding anywhere but his hands.

A few tips for anyone else who wants to do this... 1. Sprinkles are the bomb. They start to melt in the pudding and make really cool colors. 2. Soy milk never really makes pudding. That is okay for paint, but not for eating. It just never sets up.

After the pudding paint, of course the boys went straight to the bathtub.


We had gotten some of the Kandoo soap and shampoo for Christmas that is green, so we continued the body painting in the bathtub. It is the only time Walker has ever willingly done the actual washing part of the bath time.

After the bath I instituted Pajama Day. The boys then decided that their sunglasses would be the perfect compliment to their pajamas.







After a lunch of turkey and cheese sandwiches we settled in to watch Wall-E. The boys love that movie. Eli is so cute, he won't let you say Wall-E without saying Eve and he was so excited to be wearing his robot pajamas while watching the movie with robots. :)

It turned out to be one of the best days we have all had together. I am so grateful for the unexpected blessings God gives me everyday.

Deceptively Delicious

For Christmas 'Aunt' Sara got me a copy of the Deceptively Delicious cookbook. I have been wanting one for a while and was excited to try out some of the recipes. The idea is that you steam and puree vegetables and keep them in the freezer and then add them to your meals so your kids (and being honest here, the mommy) will eat their vegetables.



I tried the Italian Meatloaf and the Mashed Potatoes earlier this week. Those were recipes in my comfort zone, so I thought I could be successful. Dinner got rave reviews! Walker ate every bite of a huge serving of meatloaf and Eli loved the potatoes. Jason and I enjoyed it, too. And, bonus we got two complete meals out of it that everyone ate, even the second time around. Now here is where the deception begins, the meatloaf had carrots in it and the potatoes had cauliflower in them, and no one was the wiser. I can't wait to try out some more of these recipes.






I would love to hear if anyone else has tried or uses these recipes with your family and what has been successful or not.

Start Them Early

The other night after dinner Jason and the boys disappeared into the living room. I thought Jason had put in a movie, but when I checked I saw something very different.



Jason had taught Walker how to play the XBOX in about 3 minutes, wow. Eli was mesmerized by the view. I'm sure there will be many more scenes like this in the future.





I thought we would have a few more years before this big boy activity began, and continued...for about the next 15 years.

My Three Sons

On Monday we were able to see our precious little one. It was very reassuring to see him and find out that he is healthy and growing just as he should be. We invited a few people over that night to watch the ultrasound video and guess whether this baby would be a boy or a girl. There were a few holes in my plan and this little guy made it pretty obvious, but we still all had a great time celebrating this little life.

We let Walker "read" the paper from the ultrasound technician. I had been practicing with him, but I didn't count on her putting the picture in there and distracting his focus, but he eventually got there.



Dessert set up for the Pink or Blue Party.


Grandma Jayne and Eli waiting for the movie to start (or maybe just for the cupcakes, hard to tell).


"Watching" the ultrasound while 4 little ones ran around.



We are thrilled to be welcoming another little boy into our family. I love the way Walker and Eli have each other and I cannot wait until this one is big enough to join in.

There is one small problem with discovering we will have another little boy. We are fresh out of boy names. I think we did pretty well with Walker and Eli (if I do say so myself), but we are at a standstill with this little one. So, any great suggestions out there? I welcome all ideas, but am not making any promises.