365 Project: January 30, 2012

A little game of Connect Four does a marriage good!

365 Project: January 29, 2012

Charm and I just couldn't resist getting some pictures of her beautiful baby bump... though, sadly, the cold and wind limited us to fewer than we would have preferred!

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. 

{Psalm 139:13}

Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous - how well I know it. {Psalm 139:14}

An amazing miracle indeed...

365 Project: January 28, 2012

Some of our best friends came to spend the weekend with us... and it was such. a. blessing! Jon and Aaron have been close buds for over 12 years, and Charm and I hit it off the first time we met! They're the type of friends that

... don't bat an eye at my "crazy bedhead, no make up, stay in my PJ's until noon" look

... don't judge us when we (or our kids!) don't have it all together

... we feel we can be 100% real with

... gladly sacrifice sleep so that we can talk until long after midnight three nights in a row!

The added bonus : they adore our girls. I've said it before... but every time I witness it, I'm blown away. When someone treats our kids as their own that speaks volumes about our friendship! 

Aaron did more reading in one weekend than he probably has in years combined, willingly sat through Alia's demonstration of what she's learned in "school"...  then asked if they could do MORE schooling together, plus got his fair share of exercise from chasing the girls around "the football field" (A.K.A. our basement)!

Charm made the girls day by opening up a salon... with the sole purpose of making them feel pretty!!

Mission accomplished! :)

They will be joining the "parenting club" in a few weeks... and if their role as "mommy and daddy" is anything like their role of "auntie and uncle" they will be FABULOUS members indeed!

365 Project: January 27, 2012

When friends are coming over for supper, and things are running a tad late...

... I have two (or three!) eager sous chef's ready to lend their expertise!

365 Project: January 26, 2012

Waiting for the hero of the house to come home...

... but sadly the reunion hugs will have to wait until morning. I have a sneaking suspicion that two little munchkins will be tip toeing into our room at the first yawn and stretch of dawn!!

365 Project: January 25, 2012

My wonderful friend, April, invited the girls and I over for supper in the midst of our "girls only extravaganza" and what. a. treat! She spoiled us with homemade chicken noodle soup, homemade buns, homemade cinnamon rolls (she's got some crazy good cooking skills... and knows my love of all things carb!!) not to mention refreshing conversation!

I peeked in the living room and had to smile at this sight... times sure have changed, eh?! When I was their age I had no idea what a computer was, much less how to use one!

Now adays Alia can navigate her way around the laptop, use a mouse with ease, and even type an          e-mail for her Daddy (he tells her the letters and she pecks away!). Judging by the way the two younger girls are watching, I'm guessing it won't take 'em long either!

365 Project: January 24, 2012

I gotta be honest with you... day two of our "girls only extravaganza" didn't go as well as day one. Among MANY other things... Caidrie was up during the night, Larren had four ear piercing temper tantrums (one of which was in public and two of which woke up her sleeping sisters), I was stir crazy by noon, whining was the girls language of the day, and I lost my temper more times than I would have preferred.

SO... to make the rest of the day somewhat tolerable I stopped by Dairy Queen, picked up some deep fried food for supper, let the girls bring down their buddies, and we had a picnic on the kitchen floor.

It didn't magically make the day perfect, but it brought out a few needed smiles... and considering the day, we'll take it!

365 Project: January 23, 2012

Snowmobiling in the mountains has been a long time dream of Jon's... and he decided that parental leave was as good a time as any to make his dream come true! I was excited for him to live out one of his dreams... just a little less than stellar about being on my own with three kids, ages three and under, in the middle of winter! So... this was the first day of our week long "girls only extravaganza" and I was determined to make the most of it!

We met a friend at the rec center's indoor play place, brought some Tim Bit's for extra smiles and made an afternoon of it!

See that gal in the yellow ball gown?

That one's a princess and she wanted every one to know it!

365 Project: January 22, 2012

While the girls played with Nana Barb, I was able to shoot for a bit with the guys on a warmer than average Sunday afternoon. It felt good to take aim, pull the trigger and hit a few targets...

... though I think I better stick to "shooting" with a black box and a lens! :)

365 Project: January 21, 2012

This is the baby face that I get to kiss, cuddle, and love on every day!

It's a hard job, eh?! :)

365 Project: January 20, 2012

The girls received a train set as part of their Christmas / part of Larren's birthday gift and since they are hooked, line and sinker, on Thomas the Tank Engine we thought this would be "the gift of all gifts" in their minds. 

They like it, sure... but it didn't pack quite the punch that we thought it would!

They're still a tad young for it, and will no doubt grow into it, but for now Larren likes being the "railway engineer!" She is our analytical one... and is always trying to figure out how things work!

She likes rearranging the track, hooking the engines and freight cars together, and dropping cargo from the crane into the waiting cars. But when her shift is done... that's it, the fun is over! All trains go back in the drawer and you'd best be running around the track if you want to get one more lap in!

You can try to convince her that there's lots more work to be done on the Island of Sodor, but trust me, Sir Topham Hatt himself couldn't change her mind! :)

** Shooting at night in the basement is a tad tricky... so another lesson learned - shoot early and shoot often! **

365 Project: January 19, 2012

Alia has informed us...

... that we can "pick her up to baby sit ANY time!!" :)

365 Project: January 18, 2012

The house was a mess... supper needed made... laundry was sorted and ready for washing... painting projects were waiting for me in the basement...

but after three babies, I'm finally learning that some things will wait... and some won't! :)

Cuddly Caidrie

365 Project: January 17, 2012

This, folks, is something to get excited about... in my world anyhow!

Jon volunteered to do the dishes, Alia ASKED if she could help dry, and Larren... well she simply wanted to be where the party was!

And don't let the fact that Alia's only three years old fool you... this girl is a dish drying professional! 

She just sings along... making up songs about each item as she goes!

Poor Jon has to practically bend in half to wash the dishes! A request has been made for higher counter tops in our next house. I counter offered with a dishwasher request ... negotiations are still in progress!

Caidrie tried to get in on the team action... but quickly came to the conclusion that the view from the nose bleed section was best!

And seeing how all bases were covered, there wasn't much left for me to do but cheer from the sidelines!!

Yay team K!! :)

365 Project: January 16, 2012

Jonathan, being the country boy that he is, had a fair collection of toy tractors when he was a young whipper snapper. Green is his color (and brand!) of choice... which appears started quite early on in life! 

These classics have been stored away just waiting to be played with by the next generation... and our girls were happy to comply!

Alia learned all about about haying, disking, stone picking, and combining...

... and wasn't the least bit thrilled when it was time to put them away! We may not have boys... but these are bound to get their share of use! 

Daddy/daughter date nights might have gotten a new look... tinged with hint of John Deere green! :)

365 Project: January 15, 2012

Dancing with my girlies in the kitchen is one of my favorite things about being a mama. Praise & worship to good ole' bluegrass... it doesn't matter, we're not picky! 

We'll dance to it all!

Alia's personal favorite? The "married dance." Which is a lovely mix of jumping, twirling, hip sways, skipping and a few birdy flaps for added flair! :)

365 Project: January 14, 2012

Snow + bearable temperatures = 2 very happy chicas

365 Project: January 13, 2012

Ron and Betty asked us to join them for supper...

... and it's a good thing Betty enjoys sharing!

"Her soup" was a big hit! :)

365 Project: January 12, 2012

I've never really seen pictures of myself napping before...

... and it appears that I should add "smile while sleeping" to my New Year's resolutions!

365 Project: January 11, 2012

My husband buys and sells all things motorized. It's a hobby he's had long before I met him and one that probably won't be going away anytime soon! Don't get me wrong... we all benefit from it, but sometimes... well sometimes, it can be a bit much!

Like this last project for example.

Around noon Jon mentioned that there was a truck in the city he'd like to buy and wondered when would be a good time to pick it up. I had been wanting to run into the city (a 1 1/2 hour drive) for something anyhow, and suggested we should go that afternoon. I was in the middle of a painting project, and no one had eaten lunch yet... so we rushed around to get every one fed, watered, and clothed... and were on our way.

Since it was a "special trip" we let the girls watch a movie or two... don't let their intense looks fool you, they were quite thrilled with the idea!

The roads were decent and Caidrie slept the whole way in so the trip was off to a great start!

Jon looked at the truck, decided to buy it, I did a bit of shopping, the girls got to play at the McDonald's play place, and we were ready to head home. Still a nice quick trip at this point.

Well, less than 10 minutes out of the city we started to run into some problems. The truck was a diesel (of course!) and still had summer fuel in it. Since our temps have been warmer than average it wouldn't have been an issue... until TODAY! It was -38 Celsius (-36 Fahrenheit). Needless to say the truck wasn't impressed. It's a bit of a lengthy story but the moral is... always bring a tow strap!

We typically follow this principle, but the tow strap that's usually in my Expedition got moved to another vehicle... so we were left with two tie down straps instead. As I was towing Jon with those, I called his best friend Josh (who lived about 20 minutes away) to see if he would come to our rescue! Both Josh and Jon are the type of guys that would do anything for anybody at any hour of the day or night, so Josh just laughed and said he's on his way!

Josh was coming from the opposite direction and rather than turning around on the road he decided to show his off-roading prowess... which resulted in the rescuer becoming the rescuee! 

Our Expedition was proud to be of service to one of it's big brothers in need and pulled the truck out with the greatest of ease!

The boys inspected the truck to see what hope it had left... and decided that towing was it's best bet of the night!

So... Josh got to rescue us after all! His only complaint was "Seriously... with all the warm weather we've had you chose the coldest night of the year to buy a truck!" And for the record... he tows WAY faster than I do! :) We were at Josh's house in no time... 

... and home by midnight!

Our girls were fantastic and oddly enough, weren't surprised by the whole thing! Can you tell they are their father's children?!

I just can't get enough of...

... this girl...

... or the guy behind this girl! :)

Age 0 - 6 months, eh?

We're getting extended use out of this mobile, I guess!!

365 Project: January 10, 2012

Alia and Larren making Grampa Arnie feel right at home...

... at least Caidrie's breaking him in subtly!