It has been SO very long since I've blogged. I have to say I'm not disciplined, but I'm sure I'm not the only one!

These kids are so fun! Aleah just turned 1 on October 1st! She has 12 teeth now. She's really close to walking but is so content on crawling and getting where she needs to go faster. She says 'hi' with the cutest intonation! That's her first word I guess! Next to da-da. :) oh, and she points to things that she wants and says 'this?' she is just too cute for words!

 She has such spunk, like her older brother Eli, and is quite sassy. I think we're gonna have our hands full with this little lady!!

Would you get a load of this guy?! I can't help but laugh every time I see this picture! Eli just turned 5 on October 26th. I cannot believe he's already 5!! He is a natural ham, as you can tell. He makes me laugh so hard I cry sometimes :) He challenges us a lot these days, seeking ways to push the boundaries just a little further out...he loves spending time with us though. I'm learning a lot about myself in parenting. It's a tough job! I'm sure I'm not the only one who prays this every night, but I sure hope I don't screw these kids up! I'm so imperfect, but thank God for his grace and mercy on me, giving me hope when I think things are just hopeless and just when you feel like you've got it down, God humbles you and you realize 'nope!' and a new stage in your child's life begins. Oh, I'm so thankful for God in times like these :)

Eli is having a great time in Pre-K and meeting lots of fun friends that hopefully he'll go to Kindergarten with. He is so bright! He likes to learn just as much as he likes to play super heroes. I can't wait to see who he becomes :)

Eli and Ben have good times together....being goofy and driving each other crazy.

 

 

Ben Just turned 3, July 14th. He is such a sweet boy and is learning lots of 'AHEM' things from his big brother. We had such fun this summer with the nice sunshine, riding our bikes on the street and playing in the back yard with the dogs and chickens :)

 We where even able to go on a couple of camping trips this year....even with the cousins! The have a blast with their cousins :) We bought a pop-up camper this spring and it's been so great! Can't wait to do more next year. I'm hoping that we'll sleep a little better with Aleah being almost 2 :) This year was a little rough, though her popping 4 upper teeth at once doesn't help either...poor munchkin.

Ferocious Eli with his 3 dragon tails and tattoos!!

 We have good times with our cousins. I'm so thankful that they are close in age. The years to come are going to be so memorable for them! Something I wish I had when we where kids, but so glad these kids will be creating some serious mischief, to be sure!!

 Here's Willem holding Aleah. I almost laughed when he asked if he could hold her :) so sweet. But, surprisingly, she really liked it :) she's such a snuggler!!

This was today at Eli's Pre-K class! They had a Halloween party and Eli volunteered to be the guinea pig for the mummy! What sportsmanship bud!! You make a great mummy.

As I'm sad the sun is gone, I don't mind the fall so much. The kids get a little more restless, but friends have been faithful in meeting for play dates and I am so thankful to God for the community that we are getting to know on the East side.

Now with the rain making itself quite comfortable today, I find myself snuggling up to a cup of tea and leaving the dishes for another moment. I cherish every quiet moment I have now to myself, because they are few and far between! I see a light though, with Eli being in school and Ben and Aleah approaching the same nap times...I really want to start sewing again! We'll see :) For now, I'll try and update my blog a little more frequently.

xo,
Jaymie

::Ten on Ten :: July 2012

The Roosters End

Yes. We had not 1 but 2 roosters in our 5 that we picked up. They weren't sexed so we just had to find out by sheer accident one morning when the Rooster went 'cocka-doodle-doo'. We figured there was one, but no, there were 2 SO off with their heads!

I'm going to post some photo's, and I was careful to not share the really graphic ones however, be wary of little ones around OR if you get squeamish, don't look, but I had, had to share that we did this. I feel like we're farmers!! Oh, granted I didn't exactly bring down the hatchet, our friend and neighbor Jeff did, BUT Justin helped and de-feathered them right afterward. It was quite the scene. They will be bbq'd this weekend for a feast with our neighbors! :) Here's the lads below before their final destiny:






So-first we tied them up from their ankles and wedged their head in between 2 nails, which didn't hurt them, then Jeff, with his mighty cleaver, cut their heads off. Then you let them hang for a few minutes and once they are done wiggling you can dunk them in 170 degree water to soften the skin to pull out the feathers. Once that is done you can cut the feet off and pull out the insides and then store them in the fridge for a few days or just cut them up to start cooking. It seemed surprisingly fast! I was glad it was over quickly. Can't wait to see how they taste this weekend! I did actually fry up their livers and eat them...might sound gross, but hey...I like liver and Eli liked it too though I didn't tell him what it was. Just that it was meat :)

A New Outlook

So, after the week of being alone, I found that I had more in me than I realized! It went amazingly well, thanks to friends that prayed for me :) I guess God knows you'll need an extra bit of strength. That week did however, show me how capable I was to take care of a whole household when needed, though I would never choose that for the alternative! Justin's help is amazing, and it gave me a whole new appreciation for his presence, in so many ways!

I feel, too, that God has given me a different perspective and attitude with babysitting other people's kiddos and thankful for my own little ones. Every kid is so different and unique! Watching them is getting easier, but I'm thankful for the temporary state that it is. I look forward to when the sun does come out, and take every chance I get for when the rain stops, to go out and enjoy the outdoors with the kiddos. They love playing pretty much anywhere outside!

My pregnancy is doing well. I feel good, overall, but can't help but feel fat :) though, I know there's a reason for it, I don't like the feeling! Thank God that's just temporary too. It's funny how when I'm pregnant I long for a run or a bike ride, but when I'm not, it's the last thing I want to do!! If I was doing that previous to my pregnancy, I probably could do them! But, I wasn't so, can't really just start, at least they say not to.

I had some really cute photos of the boys that I wanted to share. They are so funny! They do amazing new things everyday. Ben is talking a lot and he is my little snuggler :) Eli says the funniest things! He's into being a super hero right now-flying around the house and jumping off of things to save the day! Here are my little goof balls! Justin tied a bandanna on their heads and it was so cute :)


I love our family and I'm so excited to see what this 3rd little one will look like!! We aren't actually going to find out till the baby is born what the sex is! which is so crazy to me, but hey! why not? :) We've got boy clothes for sure and family has girl stuff to hand down, so we're set either way, thankfully!

here it comes.

...the week I've been dreading. look out...here's my spill!!
Justin leaves for a week. I know I'm at home with the kids all day, but there's something about when your spouse comes home after a long day for talking to toddlers and having an adult to talk to, even if it's just about your day, it's adult conversation. None of this 'don't do that to your brother!, no throwing balls in the house!, yes! you CAN go potty by yourself...you've done it LOTS of times. Sorry, no you can't have candy for breakfast.' and the list goes on.

Ok, so I might be throwing myself a bit of a pity party, but can I help it? It's my first time with the kids by myself for longer than a night. I've been lucky. My husband doesn't usually travel without us, and I don't have a problem with him doing it, it's just never come up.
So, here's the test. I really just hoping the sun would come out. please, please. As I'll be watching kids (other than my own) all week and being stuck inside whilst it monsoons is freaking ridiculous.

PLUS, I'm super emotional cause well, I'm 12 weeks prego and we DON'T have insurance. awesome. (here's more spill) I hate, hate America's health care. It stinks. I fell like I'm being punished for having this baby cause it's a 'pre-existing condition' and no insurance company will cover the birth. I cried for an hour (pity party) after I hung up on my insurance company who said 'sorry'. SO this one is out of pocket. If ya'll know about other options or financial aid of some sort please PLEASE let me know. I'm sure we won't be approved for DSHS, but we're not rich either! One friend today told me about Samaritan's Ministry and I've yet to look into it, but will.
...sigh...I feel better already. As one blogger Kimberly says 'I cannot afford therapy; therefore, I blog'. There you have it. Thanks for listening...if there are many listeners out there? :) not sure, but heck, it still feels good to vent through my keyboard.

On the up note: I have a boat load to be thankful for. I really am thankful. I know in my heart things will turn out fine. It's just so hard to see how right now. I guess that's where faith comes in. So! here's to believing in something bigger than little me. I know there's a ray of sunshine behind those clouds. It'll come out eventually.

nighty, nighty. my bed is calling :)

:: march 10 on 10 ::

oh the rain and other things...

I am trying my best to find the good in everything...but this rain has really pressed hard on me lately, but in looking at some past photo's of my family, I can't help but be thankful for what we do have. We are truly blessed. Though finances be hard and being home with kiddos is hard, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Lent has begun. I'm giving up soda! yikes! but it's a really good thing. I don't need aspartame or gobs of hfcs from Diet coke anymore :) but I will miss it! It's mostly the carbonation that I like..weird huh?! but, that's ALSO not all that good for you, so it's a good thing for me to give up.

I've been trying to coupon lately too! If you have any websites that you've used that are a good resource for coupons, let me know!

What else? oh yah, I start baby sitting this week...should be interesting. I'm really, really nervous about being 'stuck' at home to baby sit kids, but I'm going to give it a shot. A great way to make a little extra AND play dates, kinda, for my kiddos. Tuesdays are my 'off' days, so that's always something to look forward to.

Justin is heading out on his first business trip this Sunday...for a week! I might have a breakdown. My evenings are the time I enjoy with Justin and when the kids finally go down, so it'll be sad to not have him here and do all that by myself. I'm praying for the best attitude God can give me and some seriously good nights of sleep....OH and some sunshine? maybe?!


We just came back from California and visited with Justin's parents in Tahoe...for The Great Ski Race that Justin does every year with his dad. It's really an awesome time. We took Eli sledding for the first time and he absolutely loved it and showed NO FEAR!! He had the biggest smile every time he went down. He's getting so big!

Ben would have nothing to do with sledding. It was my fault, as I took him down the first time. I dragged my feet and totally sprayed him in the process...not a happy camper. He was happy to sit with his snacks instead! I did have some sledding fun myself too!!