Busy time of life

No excuses, it's been way too many months since I last posted anything. So, I am going to start slow and just post a couple of pics at a time of what we are doing at the moment!

Here's the quick run down of the kiddos:

James: Doing fantastic at school, reading and writing already in kinder, still loves all things fire trucks and anything to do with army guys. Is an incredible older brother and doesn't hesitate to let you know something is bothering him :).

Julie: Loving preschool and learning to use her voice (since big brother isn't there to do it for her), is addicted to monkey bars and riding her bike or any adventure without fear of any kind, a sweet kind hearted love!

Jacob: Running like crazy, quiet trouble, a follower of anything his older siblings are doing, loves playing ball, a very sensitive little soul.

Hoping to keep up with this so much better in the future, what can I say, I'm a busy mommy :)

Whirlwind April

Yikes, just realized how many pictures I posted, sorry. Guess that explains our busy month so far! Lots of bike riding, birthday parties, visits from family, Easter and much more.

We were blessed to celebrate our risen Lord on a chilly day with family. We managed to get in our egg hunt before the rain! James and Julie have got it down and Jacob seemed to enjoy his first Easter, even found one egg! What a great day it was.

Tara (my sister) came for a visit for several days during her spring break. We all spent a wonderful day at our local zoo and had a great time playing throughout the week. The kids love when she comes and they excitedly call her "fun Aunt Tara"!

Tara was also here to celebrate James' 5th birthday. We had a party at The Home Depot with many of his friends from church and preschool. Wow, what a cool party!! We provided hard hats for each child and Home Depot gave each one an orange tool apron. The kids, with parent help, then each built a project. This month it was a butterfly house. So fun to see all those kids hammering away and building. James had the best time and will remember this experience for years to come!

His actual birthday is on the 20th so I am sure we will celebrate again with family. Still can't beleive he is 5, wow!

Looking forward to a trip to my parents soon. The kids miss their Nana and Papa and ask daily when we will visit again. They love going to their house! Can't wait to meet my nephew Jonah who will already be 2 months when we see him.

The Highlights:

James (5): flies on a 2 wheeler, hits a baseball out of the air, reads and writes many words, great golf swing, high energy

Julie (2): rides a big girl bike with training wheels, no fear, quite the ballerina, first golf blister, loving heart

Jacob (8mo): crawls, pulls up, cruises, stands alone, shy, million smiles, happy heart

Enjoy this spring weather!!

Josh and I were fortunate enough to get away for a night to beautiful Monterey for our 10th anniversary. What a wonderful time we had hanging out at the lovely resorts in Pebble Beach. It was so nice to look back on ten years of marriage and realize what a good thing we've got going! We were able to sit with a beautiful sunset and "dream" of our future. What great things lie ahead, I can't wait. :)

January was busy. Our anninversary trip, an afternoon in the 11 ft of fresh powder snow, an awesome trip to my parents for the weekend, golf tournament included (go nick!), lots of play dates, and my personal favorite, the start of dance and gymnastics every week!!! I now feel like one of "those moms" who stay home full time but am rarely home. We do a lot of living in the car.

Point and flex

Jump!

In preparation to register James for Kindergarten in a month, we had our first trip to the dentist. Xrays and all, James did perfectly, no whining or complaining. What a great boy I have!!

I'm totally relaxed!

Julie's teeth were checked as well. The dentist quickly noticed she sucks her thumb, a habit we have been trying to break for several months now. In an effort to "encourage" her to stop, the dentist told Julie she will end up with "horse teeth" instead of a pretty smile. So now every time James sees her sucking he says "horse teeth" and she quickly takes her thumb out!! Isn't it nice of him to help his little sister :).

a visual always helps, right?

Jacob is up on all 4's reaching and scooting. He "talks" a lot, my favorite of course in ma ma!! Can't believe he's only 6 months. The boy loves to eat and is just so very happy in any situation. What a wonderful gift he is to our family.

Love those rosy cheeks!

Well, Jacob is waking from his nap, and big surprise Julie is still hungry, (the girl eats non stop and is still so skinny), guess I better go. Must get something done before picking up James in an hour. Love and hugs to you all.

Happy Valentine's Day!

a new year, a new chapter

it always seems as though christmas comes and goes so quickly. we were able to enjoy our holiday richly this year. daddy was home our entire break. a first for us since, well since before we were married. after our year the Lord knew we needed many days to be together without any plans, to do what we wanted and just enjoy time as a family while we celebrate Him. we decided to protect our family time this year. not to feel the pressure to go to every gathering, to buy big gifts, to go crazy with ligths and decorations, or prepare huge meals. we literally talked, played, cleaned, and simply had a wonderful uninterrupted time together. this was the greatest gift for us this year. 2010 promises to be a full year. in a couple of weeks, we will celebrate 10 years together. wow, i truely can't believe it. i am so grateful and blessed for my husband and kids. can't wait to see what the Lord brings us in this next decade.

james continues to thrive in preschool. he is reading many words now and writes them as well. i love teaching him and watching the excitement on his face. he looks forward to baseball in the spring, and continues to "build" everything he can using all materails and tools available. hard to believe i will send him off to kindergarten in august.
julie is quickly turning into a girly girl. she loves taking care of her babies and always has their needs in her mind. she must have blankets, bottles, and pacis for them at all times and when they are taking a nap we are told "sshhh, my baby is sleeping". she has such a kind heart and looks after both her brothers with such love. she has no fear and attempts all things big brother does which makes mommy really nervous. we hope to start her in gymnastics soon so she can do her "tricks" without as she says "cracking my head open". jacob is 5 months now and just the happiest thing ever. he has his 2 front teeth and continues to amaze me. he is sitting by himself, eating some solids and scooting all over the place. he loves to hold things and of course put them in his mouth and drool gallons. he uses his left hand a lot, maybe another south paw in the family? he still looks like james as a baby, except with longer hair. i can't wait to see if they will look the same as older boys. fun times ahead as he reaches many development marks!
yep, we are settling into life with 3 kids so close in age. many people ask us how's it going or what's it like? our response is usually the same, we love it, but it's reeaaallllly busy. so grateful and appreciative for what God has entrusted to us. hope to make memories with you all in 2010. happy new year!

Fun Thanksgiving

We enjoyed a busy but fun November. The highlight was our trip to Nana and Papa's house in San Diego for Thanksgiving. It was our first long trip with Jacob. He did great!! My children generally don't like to be strapped in their seats for any period of time, they are all movers, so 7 hours in the car is a challenge. Movies, snacks, books, and car games seem to help a bit, I think I will invest in some ear plugs however for our next trip!!

We have made some big changes lately that we hope will improve our families quality time. For the first time since having kids I am not working at all. That's right, I am now a FULL TIME mom, whew hew!!! I miss my job at our church, especially the people I worked with, but being home with the kids has been incredible. It is the hardest, most frustrating, selfless, funniest, most rewarding time. Being the one and only care provider is exhausting work, but one that God commissioned me to do and I gladly accept. Lord God, give me patience and wisdom to train up these kids in the way they should go.

We are preparing for the changes that lie ahead. Losing an income, no matter what size brings change. Please pray we keep our eyes on the One who provides and our ears ready to listen and act on His word.

Daily life in our home is well, life lived. Loud, wild and crazy, toys everywhere, laundry always waiting to be folded and put away, dishes never ending, running, laughing, and having fun. Come join us if you get the chance, we'd love to have you!

Fall is in the Air

loving the cool weather, riding bikes, playing at the park, and spending time outdoors with friends. james has decided soccer is not for him and really wants to play football, yikes! julie wants to get earrings like mommies except she wants pink. jacob is already sitting up in a seat (thanks Cherie for the loan) and playing in his exersaucer. please, please someone make them stop growing so fast!! enjoy the pics of our sweet kiddos!

Fun Family Times

The end of summer brought a new family member, a camping trip, new skills, and lots of new possibilities. We are enjoying life so much with baby jacob and are trying to cherish every moment together.

James started his 2nd year of preschool and is doing very well. He is very interested in learning how to read and Mommy is all to happy to teach him! He also is participating in his first organized sports team playing soccer. What fun it is to see him chase after the ball and try to make a goal. Though he enjoys it, he is much better at golf so far. This summer brought James another first, fishing!! He, caught his first fish while we were camping over Labor Day. It was some good eats! The most recent, as of last night, James is now riding his bike free of training wheels. Wow, he has had a good year so far!

Julie girl is just the most fun. She is rough and tough because she needs to be, but also so sweet and loving. So loving that I can't leave Jacob alone with her for fear that she might smother him with love. She too has learned to ride her tricycle this summer and has become quite a mommy to her babies. She is talking very well now and will let you know what she wants! We hope to start her in dance class soon as she sways and prances around the house, so cute. She insists on having pigtails each morning and has to pick out her bows to go with her outfit. I don't know where she gets that. What a sweet little girl God gave us.

Jacob is a great baby!! He is almost 7 weeks now and is smiling like crazy. I just can't get enough of him. He is a tank at over 12 pounds already and so long, he might be a basketball player. He sleeps great and wakes happy. Truely a blessing to have him in our lives. He did great on his first camping trip and loves being with his brother and sister. We just love that little guy!

Josh and I are busy with work and our ministries at church. We can't believe that we are coming up on our 10th anniversary already. What a life we have been given. So thankful for our many blessings!