Yes, we are still here...

We've just been a little busy. I haven't really had the motivation to put all my pictures onto my computer (it takes forever!) so I was finally forced to put them all on Ad's computer because I ran out of space on my memory card - on Christmas morning. Good timing, huh? Anyways, Adam's computer is much quicker at downloading and working with pictures, so I am finally doing something. Maybe I'll just use his from now on.

Here are just a few of the things that have kept us busy lately:

Homemade ornaments for all my nieces and nephews and various other very special people. These were so fun to make and are now my favorite ornaments. I made 22 of them, I think, and have another couple to make for a couple little boys to be born this spring (ours and Becca's).


Sam's Reindeer Project. Sam did a lot of work on these little guys. We made them to give as gifts to the great aunts and uncles and grandparents. They were so much fun! They're made from wire hangers, knee highs, and felt. (and lots and lots of hot glue)


This is what accompanied the reindeer project. We made tons of goodies, mostly things we could dip in chocolate so that Sam could do a lot of the work :). I found a new favorite recipe for cookies, using Andes mint chips (which I found at Walmart) - so delicious! Not too many of those made it onto the cookie trays.. ha..ha!! Maybe I'll post the recipe sometime. I actually went to Walmart the other day and bought several packages of the mint chips - just in case I couldn't find them again :) They were sooooo delicious???


These are just some wooden cutouts that we purchased at Michael's. Sam painted them up for the aunts and uncles this year. Didn't he do a great job? Another artist in the making, I think.


And finally, these are some monsters we decided to make a couple days before Christmas, when we finally ran out of Christmas craft ideas. I drew several monster faces and bodies and Sam picked out the different features he liked best, and we put them together. I was rather pleased with the results.

So, now I am officially out of ideas for what to do next. Any ideas? I have found that life goes much better when we keep Samuel as busy as possible with projects :o)

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We had a wonderful and white Christmas this year! We woke up to a couple inches of snow, which continued to fall throughout the day. It was beautiful! It just doesn't seem like Christmas without snow. We spent the whole day feasting and opening gifts. As usual, we all received so much more than we could possibly need. We are so blessed and really enjoyed each gift.

Fall has come and gone... & winter is ALREADY here???

Well, we have really been enjoying the cooler weather the last couple days; HOWEVER, I was in no way prepared for what happened this morning....


Did you all know it was Christmas! Boy, time really flies... for me anyways. I woke up this morning to Samuel bursting into my room, throwing open the curtains, and VERY EXCITEDLY proclaiming the good news that it was Christmas because it was snowing outside. This was a huge surprise to me, and a big disappointment for him too I am sure when he realized that there were no Christmas presents on this particular Christmas day, not even a Christmas tree. Well, we finally settled the issue of Christmas - I had to get out the calendar and explain to him that each square represented a day and that there were many of them before Christmas. The boys were just so excited to see the snow falling, there is just something so amazing about snow, and the seasons beginning to change. For Seth, this is a whole new experience since he was so young during last winter's snow falls.


Another great thing that happened today was that Sam actually realized the hugeness of a prayer. The snow quit falling soon after we decided it wasn't Christmas, and the poor guy was just devastated - not only was it NOT Christmas but it was also NOT snowing anymore. He was very upset about this issue and begging me for more snow, and I mentioned that it was God that makes the snow fall and there was nothing that I could do to make snow. He then, without any other prompting on my part, started praying "Please God, can you please give us more snow." I then had to explain to him that sometimes God takes a little while to answer our prayers, and that sometimes he says no, just like Mommy and Daddy. Not long after, the boys grew weary of staring out the window waiting for their precious snow and resorted to their bedroom to play with their cars and trucks. I noticed about 5 minutes later that it was once again snowing, only much harder than before. I ran to Sam's room and asked him if he remembered what he had prayed for. Sure enough he did, he ran out to the window, and was just amazed "Mom, God said Yes. He gave me snow!" So, he had his first real answer to prayer today. What a good day for us....

You just gotta love the wonder and excitement on their faces!

Oh, as you can also see, Seth got his first haircut. I am sure Gene will be very pleased with this news (and will hopefully get off my back about it... Sheeze! =) It was hard for me to cut off those beautiful curls, but I figured since it was getting harder to comb - because of the tangles - it was probably time. He looks so different to me, so grown up. It's hard to believe that he's already exiting the baby stage, but he's still definitely mommies' little boy. He is such a snuggler, he loves to be held and give "lovies." I just love it!

Fall is FINALLY Here!

I have been dreaming a lot lately bout fall, and the nice cool weather that accompanies it. I was so excited to finally experience some of it this past few days. In fact, yesterday we really experienced it and had a most wonderful time.

The boys and I headed to Ross yesterday morning to look for some new tennis shoes for Sam's ever growing, size 11 feet. Well, we finally found some, as well as many other little things - I have now officially began my Christmas shopping - Yay! (If there is anything special on anybody's Christmas list, you better tell me now or you just might be stuck with some random thing Sam or Seth picks out for you =). Anyhow, on our way
home I called Ad at work just to check on him, and he just happened to be heading home at that very moment as well. Another yay! An extra afternoon to spend together as a family (doesn't really happen so often these days).

So, we bundled up and set out for Fallon - Lattin Farms puts on a Fall Festival every Saturday in October. They have a great corn maze, hay rides, a cow train, build your own scarecrow workshop, and (our fav.) a Pumpkin Patch. We picked out some very amazing pumpkins this year. Sam's is so HUGE, it probably outweighs him by a few pounds at least. I picked out the double pumpkin, I figured it was as close to a pregnant looking pumpkin as I was going to find. I won't really go into what Adam thinks it looks like, but I am guessing you probably have an idea ;)

We also braved the Corn Maze again this year. Last year it was 2 acres and had several solutions; however this year, because it was Fallon's centennial year, it was 3 acres (they had to fit in the Fallon logo and several words) and only had one solution. It started out pretty fun. Sam loved being in charge and telling us which way we ought to go. But Seth lost his binky not too far in and everything went downhill from there. The stroller was too bumpy for him to sit in, he only wanted mommy to carry him, and he cried much of the way through. Carrying him was definitely a workout for me - he is a heavy little kid! Needless to say, Adam had us out in no time at all. It only took us 45 minutes to make it all the way through - I think that might be a record. The staff guys at the end were pretty impressed anyway.

It was nice and cool, though a little windy,and the boys just loved being out where they could run and get all dirty. We were all pretty worn out for the drive home, so we stopped and got some $1 cardboard pizza's (Totino's - Mmm! definitely the best!) and curly fries for a lazy and very late dinner back at home. Overall, it was just a very fun fall day!!!!

My New Kitchen Gadget

I love getting new things for my kitchen. I don't think I'm Martha Stewart or anything (not even close actually) but I do love to get new gadgets that make cooking more efficient. I guess I just love food, so anything that helps it taste better or cook better is my thing.

My newest addition is the pizza stone from Pampered Chef - it is awesome!!! I especially love the fact that it has handles on the sides. Thank you Micah and Daniela!!! It was delivered to Gene and Patty's just this morning, so we rushed home to try it out - well, after a nap that is. We had a very yummy garlic chicken and olive pizza for dinner. My plan is to try some bread on it next. If any of you have a really great recipe, please share. I really want to try something new.

Sam's Photography

I just thought it was cute :)

Self Portrait


the Very Beloved Mickey Mouse CD Player (the best gift we ever got him)


the Animal Friends


the Little Brother


and we can't forget the Blankie!

17 Weeks Today!!!

Yeah, I know, it's been forever once again... I am incredibly impressed by those (Christa!) who keep their blog up to date. I just don't have that many interesting thoughts or occurrences to share.

Well, today I am 17 weeks pregnant and growing. I can't believe that it's only been 17 weeks, it seems like I've been pregnant for forever. But, thank goodness, the bad stuff (barfing and yucky feelings) is over and now we are on to the fun part of just growing and developing into an amazing little baby. Only 3 weeks till we find out whether Sam gets his wish for a little sister or has to put up with another little brother, something he is refusing to accept :)

Other than that, we've spent the day building blanket forts over the couch, working on Quicken (trying to figure out our budget), and right now we are watching Ratatouille and chowing down the popcorn. Adam has been working all day, is on call all night, and has to work a regular day tomorrow as well. He is going to be extremely pooped when he gets home tomorrow evening. I guess I won't be getting that birthday cake (chocolate) I've been dreaming about - unless I make it myself :) Oh, well... I just hope he's able to get some rest - it can be tough to find peace and quiet around here.

P.S. Sam took the belly picture for me - he's becoming quite the photographer lately :) The other day I caught him in his room hiding the camera. Turns out I have a bunch of portraits of various teddy bears, toys, and Seth that I don't remember taking :) Crazy kid!

Nevada State Fair

This past weekend we splurged and went to the fair. We usually tend to stick to the activities that don't cost us anything, but hey, we're
bringing in the dough now so... why not? Well, it actually took us a good couple of hours to decide whether or not it was worth all that hard earned money. But, we finally caved in, went and had a really good time.

The boys had a blast. Seth was so enamored with the rabbits - I had to drag him out of there, almost kicking
and screaming. Luckily, his attention span is short enough that he forgot all about the bunnies seconds later when he saw the goats. He was finished with all animals, though, after a sheep 'baa-ed' at him once. He was terrified of all living animals after that. Sam loved all of the animals, but seemed to enjoy the cows the most. I know - very odd! I think he bonded with the young dairy cow and just thinks they're wonderful now.

The demolition derby occurred the same night so we sat in on one heat of that. I'm not sure exactly what Sam thought of that. He spent most of the time with his hands over his ears (very sensitive to loud noises) and I think a smile on his face. He told me the next day that he was going to drive race cars that crash "when I grow up and be a daddy." But then he changed his mind and decided air planes (that crash) would be better. Luckily I have several years left to try and persuade him to do something else :)

We ended the evening at the Burger King drive thru, with Whoppers and fries - doesn't get much better than that. Yummm! It was a fun time, and we are glad we splurged for the evening.

Oh, and sorry about the blurry pictures. I forgot the camara so we had to make do with Adam's phone - not the best quality, but you get the picture!

Before breakfast

Well, today was kindof an interesting and laid back day for us - I know this isn't too unusual for us as we are usually pretty laid back. But, typically I spend most of the day trying to find things for my two very busy little guys to do, mainly to keep them from finding their own things to do, which can lead to disaster sometimes. Anyways, today we were having new asphalt laid down in our parking lot out front. This provided hours of entertainment for the boys. From about 7:30 on they were just about glued to the front door.

After breakfast

It is so funny to listen to the boys jabber with each other. Sam told Seth countless stories, and taught him all about the tractors and trucks passing by. Big brothers are so smart :) It is just amazing how interesting these big, noisy, smelly trucks are to a little boy. You definitely don't have to teach them love the big machines, it is totally natural. Had I been home alone, I would have had the door closed and been very content with not seeing, hearing, and smelling all that. Girls are so very different! But, I definitely wouldn't trade my boys for anything. Their curiosity and excitement are just so fun for me.

Several hours later :)

This gave me enough time to work on another Christmas ornament. I know, I am starting very early, but there just seems to be a TON of children in our family - 2 almost done, 15 to go. Yikes!


This picture is for Christa - who posted a photo of Ethan enjoying his popcorn the other day. I just really smiled when I saw that because I too had taken a picture of my boys doing the same on Sunday night. It is so fun to watch them just devour the popcorn. And, you gotta love Sam's half naked bod... and snow boots. They come up with the funniest things :)

Rancho Picts

Am I cute or what???

My Handsome Boys

Bunny Hunting - this was before Seth took off chasing after him

Cheeeeeze!

the New Asian Look

A couple nights ago we went bug hunting at Rancho San Raphael. Sam got a bug catching kit for his birthday and really wanted to try it out. We had a great time, but unfortunately didn't catch anything besides a fly. . . oh well. The boys always love the chance to get out and run around. So, yesterday, we went over to Gene and Patty's to water some plants, check the mail, wash my car, and just play in the yard. When loading the boys up in the car afterwards, I noticed a little red spot on Seth's nose. I figured he'd been pinching his nose or something. He's been really into his eyes, ears and nose lately. Well, the pink spot kept growing and by the time Adam got home from work the original spot on his nose was ooozing. Poor kid! He had an allergic reaction to something probably at Rancho, and the doctor said he would look worse today and even worse tomorrow, and his left eye would probably be swollen shut. So far so good. I think he actually looks a little better today, but we'll see as the day goes on. He just looks a little Asian to me. These pictures really don't do it justice. Add a few more shades of pink and they would be a little more accurate.