Goodbye, summer.

The kids are back in school and I think we all wish for another month of summer break.  Here is a little summary of our activities.  We celebrated birthdays for Alana (13), Janae (6) and Andrew (12).

The twins turned 18 months and nursery is a wonderful program.

We had a fun reunion in Idaho and stopped in Spokane on our way home to see more family and went to Silverwood.  We also traveled to Okanagon twice and visited family in Portland.  We've camped at Ensign Ranch and Cascade Park. 

Goodbye, summer. . . hello fall and lots of soccer :)

spring is here

I just wanted you to know that I am still here.  The twins are fourteen months and taking some steps.  Walking will be a whole new exciting world to them.  I imagine us being outside a lot in the months ahead and them exploring.  We got ten yellow chickens that will eventually lay white eggs, so when our brown eggs start disappearing then the black chickens will be done with.  Then I still pinch myself that we own cows as Taylor bought three black Angus steers at an auction.  I do like the feeling of being able to be more self reliant when it comes to things and hope I'm able to handle a garden again.  Taylor is putting in automatic sprinklers for the garden tomorrow!  Soccer is finishing up except for Alana who is playing her first school sport.  I'm so happy for her.  School sports for me were mostly a given.  Here it is very competitive.  She painted her room a light blue and I'm repainting the dressers to be white.  So, we are redecorating the 'guest room' for you!
This is turning into a modge podge of a post, but if I delete it then who knows when I will get back to blogging.

I have been feeling so unperfect lately.  Then I read this article in the latest BYU magazine about how perfection is a process and Satan wants to make us feel like failures and give up.  Or he wants us to be distracted and put all our energy into being perfect in the things that don't have eternal consequences.  I need to read it a couple more times and hopefully it will sink in.  In a way it is good to recognize our weaknesses so we can improve on them, yet don't lose sleep in the process.

 I love Spring!  My anniversary is next week, which means a date night.  Then Mother's Day and my birthday are around the corner.  I want the same thing every year- a hair cut and new clothes :-)

Growing Babies

Here's the twins at 5 months, yet they are now close to 7 months old. Time flies when you are having fun and they are a lot of fun!

little update

I will give a little update as it has been forever, you know. The twins arrived 6 1/2 weeks early on February 7th! I was in labor at church not quite believing it was for real. I am so glad I found someone to teach RS for me and went home, then soon after to the hospital. They are Tallen Laine 4 lbs. 8 oz. and Kaylee Ann 4 lbs. 9 oz. They stayed at the hospital for 2 1/2 weeks. Kids weren't allowed in the NICU, so it was extra exciting bringing them home and introducing them to the family.

It has been a bit of a blur since, yet lately they are having more awake time which translates to longer sleeping periods! I tell you, having older kids this time around has been such a huge help. They can feed and burp them, especially Alana has been wonderful and is so good with taking care of them if I have to drop off or pick up a kid from something.

We did have a scare. They both got respitory infections ( the flu) a month ago and it hit Tallen harder and he was in the hospital for three days. Poor babies, it was hard seeing them so sick. We are all better now. Just wanted you to know that I am alive and things are looking up. We just adore these babies!

I would post pictures, but we are having problems downloading with this new camera card. :(
Happy Spring!

Checking in

Alright, I'm feeling guilty for not letting you friends know that we have some big news. What makes it more special is that I'm not just expecting, but we are having . . . . . twins!

You may ask, do twins run in the family? Not really. I have first cousins on my dad's side that are twins and Taylor has a great grandma that was a twin, but us having twins was never even a remote thought. God sure surprised us and we feel very blessed.

I am 23 weeks along and due in March. I'm already feeling the aches and discomfort, but have a ways to go so am managing alright. I have had several ultrasounds and babies are growing great. After finding out the genders a couple weeks ago, we asked our kids who wants a baby brother? Who wants a baby sister? You all get what you want because we are having a boy and a girl! The kids are very happy :)

So, I am trying to take things easy and simplify as best I can. I apologize for the delay in letting you good friends know.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Taking a break?

Alright, so I am deciding whether to continue this blog or close it for a time. Maybe it is the summer season where I'm just in a "taking a break mode." We work and play, then work and play some more. The fruits of our labor are starting to come. We have radishes, lettuce, potatoes, and onions so far free from the garden! Taylor discovered our chickens first eggs yesterday. I thought the day would never come.
We had a wonderful 4th holiday and got to see some great friends, go camping, and enjoy the beach north of Seattle. Taylor's top reason for heading over the mountains was that fireworks are allowed over there and we lit ours with complete strangers that we found doing some that Saturday night (fireworks weren't allowed at the campground). For Taylor, July 4th isn't July 4th without fireworks. I, on the other hand, think it's money going down the drain. I do enjoy watching other people's wasted money, though.
I should also mention that we got two free kittens. They are about 2 months old and live in a horse stall. Heather, if you are reading this, they will never step foot in our home, so you are still welcome to visit us :) They will be future mousers and their names are Striker (Andrew's choice) and Ashes (gray color).
One of our other summer activities is we meet my sister and her kids at the JH track two days a week. We run and the kids mostly play in the sand for the long jump. We also run Saturday mornings without kids. I tell you the best motivator is to have someone to exercise with. We ran 3 miles the other day which was my ultimate goal and I would have never accomplished that without her.
Hope things are well with you. Bye for now.

Summer's here

Summer, here we come. The kids got out the 11th and I am loving it, so far! (ok, its still pretty fresh) Don't have to worry about kids making the early bus, homework folders getting signed, the lunch meat being out of the freezer and thawed for those lunches, and driving a kindergartener mid-day. I like the kids having more time to help out around the house, piano, and extracurricular activities by mom. They are in the habit of writing in their journals after breakfast. I like this wonderful age of independent learners. Alana turned 11 yesterday and I am somewhat shocked that she has one more year til YW. Anyway, we don't have much scheduled this summer, just Andrew's 3 day cub camp, July 4th plans, and reunions in August, so it's freedom. Well, actually the huge garden will keep me grounded :)
Please come visit if you can. We'd love to see you!