What {I've} Been Up To:

If I had planned this a bit better, the kids would be up here at the top and not this post - so feel free to scroll down to Ryan and then work your way back up here to the boring part :)

I {finally} feel ready for school - for some reason, it's taken me longer than it usually does to feel like kids could walk right through my door and I'd be geared up for them. Here's a sneak peek at my classroom...not a whole lot changes from year to year...

Our school adopted these rules. I really like them...and can't wait for the activity we'll be doing with them on the first day!

Thank goodness these little organizers were on SALE at WalMart!

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...and in {other} news...

1. My appt went very well- good, strong heart beat. I'm officially 12 weeks now, so we're starting to go 'public'. We even told Ryan yesterday, who consequently, has told every person he's come into contact with since. He is very excited and has exclaimed on several occasions that he wants a brother...and then has recently changed to a sister (who he wants to name Olivia again). He asks me about every hour if the baby is still in my tummy and if he can spend the night at the hospital with us when it's time to go...

2. JD pulled his name out of the interview pool. He's said that he's not ready for a change and I feel peaceful knowing he's comfortable with his decision.

I suppose that's all I've got for an update as of late. I'm particularly enjoying some much needed {time} with my boys {all 3 of them}...a clean house...and the smell of toasted almond filling our home.

Don't you just love fall?

What {Gage's} Up To:

Gage is active as ever these days. The plus side is we're having fewer and fewer meltdowns as his vocabulary grows. He starting to speak in full sentences and is particularly interested in animals and what they're eating. We went for a walk yesterday and I grabbed my camera before we left...these are a few shots from our outing:


You can just tell that talking has really made his day :) Frequently on his tongue these days?

" stop it, Ryan "
" chicken and fries please "
" mommy...mommy...look...train on the tracks "
" mommy...mommm...look...ambweeeeelance "

he's continually inquisitive...and very, very smart.

I think he looks just like my brother, Kasey, in this picture:

He is so stinkin' silly. It just cracks me up!

It's such a delight to hear him communicate (in a non high-pitched, screaming way) with us! This little guy just makes us laugh all day long!

What {Ryan's} Up To:

This is a little late in coming but Ryan is playing outdoor soccer this year. He was so excited to learn that his team color is greeen (his absolutely, hands-down, favorite color). He's number 2 but was a bit disappointed because he wanted to be 5. Turns out, the smallest kid on the team has to wear the smallest jersey...and that would be Ryanie with Numero Dos :) Here's a few highlights of his first game:

And Ryan's BIGGEST happenings lately have been his days going to KINDERGARTEN! Here he is the morning of the first day all ready to rock and roll...

I know a million moms say it, but I just can't believe he's this grown up!

He loves his teacher and I have been very impressed with the whole school so far. I really never thought I'd feel this comfortable with him going to school...but it's a blessing to know he's in safe hands. He's made a LOT (you know, cause he's quite a talker) of friends so far and from what I can tell with what's coming home, he's 'getting it'.

I love this little guy SO much.

Just this and {THAT}

I haven't been blogging much lately- some because I feel like I don't have anything to 'say' but mostly because I can't keep any thoughts straight enough to bring together something worth reading. So I suppose a bulleted list of 'what we're doing' might suffice for the time being? We'll see...

1. I took my boys to school with me last night so I could get some work done. This usually means {them} running around like banchees doing alllll the things we don't let 'normal' children do at school. It usually means scissors and flashlights...and 1o minutes later we're back in the car with an armful (or two) of stuff to work on from home. Last night, however, I was a wee bit more prepared with happy meals and Scooby on the BIG screen. Needless to say, I got a LOT done (despite the entire chocolate milk that ended up on Gage's pants).

2. I start school on Tuesday....and so does RYAN!!!! He is so excited...we've got all his school supplies packed into his RED backpack. I even let him splurge a teeny bit - he got a "stappler". We met his teacher and she seems great so first day- here.we.come!

3. Gage is {still} bink-free!!!! And if you ask him what happened to all his binks, he will tell you the entire story...bugs and all ;)

4. I am not fitting into any of my 'normal' clothes these days. And yeah, yeah, yeah I know it's still pretty early but I consider myself pretty stretchy to begin with...hahahhaha! I bought one of those belly bands from Motherhood the other day...haven't used it yet but I could have TOTALLY invented it! I guess it's back to gauchos and thick waste bands for a bit.

5. Speaking of pregnancies....I have an appt on Sept. 4th that I'm just a wee bit nervous about. Despite the growing 'me', it's still pretty early and a lot could happen. I'm not sure if that's me being a pessimist...or a realist. Probably a bit of both.

6. JD has a big interview coming up next week that you 'might' hear more about but for now, he could sure use some extra prayers if you've got 'em.

7. Just finished Time Traveler's Wife and here's a tip - if you want that book to make any sense at all, read the dates. I skipped 'em and was lost until the end :)

8. Cravings? Um, yeah. Banana Cream Pie - homemade with REAL bananas and grahm cracker crust. Cyrus simply will.not.do. Could possibly be why I can't fit into anything at the moment ;)

9. Of the $737 that was in my camera fund in July, about $4 are left. Humph.

10. God continues to be ever-present, ever-graceful, and ever-loving in my life!

Wow...all that time and it's represented in 10 bullets. Nice.

Cheers to the end of summer and the {beginnings} of something great !

Advise (not to be confused with ADVICE)

When I was student-teaching (what feels like many moons ago) it was MY job to write the list of 20 spelling words on the chalkboard as the kids eagerly copied them into their notebooks. Pshaw- how difficult can it be? I mean, these were 6th graders....6th grade WORDS. No need to 'prepare' or 'glance over' them beforehand, right?

Oh, so wrong.

I'll never forget that day. The day when it first occurred to me that advice and advise are not the same word. That the suffix 'ible' goes on words that cannot stand alone and 'able' goes on words that can. I could go on...but I think it's safe to say it was {one} of {many} embarrassing moments. I was so not ready for those words - and it was painfully obvious to a classroom FULL of 6th graders (and a mentor teacher who will never, EVER let me forget that moment).

For me, it was one of those kinds of moments where I came to a fork in a road. One path led to an admission of stupidity and one led me down the humble road of humility. I could have been prideful- threw the chalk and stomped off. I could have. Or I could have laughed at my mistake and admitted that I, along with all of my 28 onlookers, needed to study this week's spelling list right along side them. I choose humility. And I took that Friday test {and passed}.

I have a college degree. I'm {supposed} to know a lot. But I admit, I don't. And I {try} not to pretend like I do.

I'm a Christian. I'm {supposed} to know a lot. But I admit, I don't. And I {try} not to pretend like I do.

I'm a mom. I'm {supposed} to know what to do but again, I admit. I don't.

I could go on here, but you get the point.

Sometimes there's a fine line between pride...and conviction...between knowing and sharing what you know. We are ALL teachers- whether we put that label on or not. And mark my word, there's a line between being a teacher and being teachABLE.

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Last night I was at a store stocking up on notebooks for my classroom. There was a BIG sale on spirals (10 cents each!). There was a limit of 18 and at the check out counter, the clerk and I simultaneously realized that I had 19 in my basket. Whoops. It was an honest mistake, believe me.

"Looks like someone needs to go back to school to learn how to count" she said to me. Her comment full of pride and poke.

*smile* "Everyone makes mistakes".

Be teachable. Every day....in every way.
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When I sat down to this post, this message was not my initial intent. My initial intent was to celebrate Gage's BIG accomplishment today...he is eaxctly 24 hours BINK-FREE! And I was going to ADVISE anyone who will listen that it can be done. And if you want some free ADVICE on how to do it, do like we did: cut all the nipples off the ends of the binks and tell him the bugs ate them. Worked like a *charm*.

Yucky binks.

A fair{nite}

Our friends came allllll the way from Wenatchee to share the fair with us. Here's Candy, super woman she is, carrying a five year-old and pushing and almost-two-year-old. Super woman, I tell ya!


Our first stop was to Pierce Hall, of course, to check and see if anything I entered won any ribbons. I was hoping to at least get a second place on my cherries since I drove alllll the way home to grab them at the last minute when I realized there was only one other entry! I figured I'd at least get a red~ hahahahaha!

Imagine my surprise when JD started yelling that my cherries won first place! And then I ran over to realize that the ones he was referring to weren't mine....but when we DID find mine....there was a BLUE ribbon on them! SHOCK to the nation. Seriously! I was so excited, I took a picture - shaking and all! Everyone in Pierce Hall was staring at me but do you think I cared? Um, not the least! Hahahaaha!!!!

Then we went to check out the pictures and you can imagine the squeal I let out when Candy said, "I see a cowboy picture of Ryan with a blue ribbon on it!". UN.BELIEVE.ABLE. JD took our picture (and Ryan felt famous :)

Gage's hand got a blue and the silhouette pic (which is barely visible behind me) got a third place white ribbon.

I learned a lot about categorizing pictures, for sure! I put JD and Ryan on the Columbia in 'water scenes' and about died when all the other pics in that category were of waterfalls and lakes! lol. Live and learn, I suppose.

I just thought it was super neat to have some pictures that I took among all those other GREAT photos! I have never done this before and it's very nerve-racking. You sort of put yourself out there and wait to be judged - I can't think of one person who LIKES that feeling! But it was just fun to see my kids in blown-up pictures...and hear people comment about them in an artsy kind of way. And listen. We all know who the REAL artist is here; I was just lucky enough to push a button at a right time. ;)

This {nite} held a lot of other 'firsts'- It was Ryan's first time ever riding rides at the carnival...

Cotton Candy. Root beer. Elephant Ears. Carmel Apples. Pictures. Rides. Music. Laughter. Crowds. Huckleberry Lemonade. Friends.

I think it's safe to say that we had a blast at the fair this year! Hope you did/do too!!!!

This {KIND} of Love

I've been a wee bit obsessed with {this} song lately. I guess you could say that it's singing to my soul. When I first broke the news about this pregnancy to a friend of mine, she said to me, "you know...this may be just God's little gift to you". Ever since those words, I've tried to make it my {personal} mission to look harder...and longer...and faster for God's little gifts - especially the unexpected ones that are seemingly wrapped in blue and pink paper with a lil note that says "Do not open for 9 months". Isn't it funny that it sometimes takes an 'outsider' to point 'in'? Isn't it funny that simple words and simple reminders can ease a scared heart in an instant?



Don't get me wrong, though. I'm just a human- just a girl. I'm still feeling {uneasy} from time to time about the carseat situation - and going to the grocery store with (3) little ones still seems impossible - have I mentioned that we sold our infant carseat and stroller in the garage sale? - these are just a few of the little bumps in the road that run fast through my mind...and then I remember to stop.

God is so in control here. And his fingerprints are alllll over this lil miracle (just as they've always been...).


And so, when I listen to this song by Sister Hazel, I let myself be in LOVE with the creator of you...and me...and my sweet little tiny beating heart blessings. Every last one.




And speaking of blessings...(because what's a post without a pic of these handsome little men???) Talk about some sweet blessings! ;)