Could there be a more opposite "compromise"?

The girls have it stuck in their heads that they are tired of the grey and rain and are going to move.  Bella wants to move to Hawaii and Genna wants to move to Tennessee.  When Bella asked why Genna didn't want to move to Hawaii, Genna told her it's because there is no snow anywhere in Hawaii.  Bella's response: But they have volcanoes!  Only in Bella's mind would that make sense as a good alternative.

Luscious gifts

Last night Jeremy surprised me with some wonderful bath goodies from Lush.  He brought me a sakura bath bomb, vanilla fountain bath bomb, blue skies bubble bar, and trichomania shampoo bar.  Lush is by far my favorite luxury bath and body shop, ever since my mom and I first found one in Canada before they were even in the US.  They are a little pricey, but so worth it to get high quality, all natural products.  I used the shampoo this morning, which smells like creamy coconut- what a great way to start a day!  The only problem I have is that Genna's pup won't stop licking me!  I don't really get a chance to shop at the Lush stores we now have in Washington, so it really is a huge treat to get these things.  Thank you Jeremy ♥

I don't think he's a Washington kid

Today Isaac sadly asked me, "why does it have to rain forever?"  We've had a beautiful stretch of sunny days, which is very unusual for our area in February.  I told him it wasn't going to rain forever, probably just for a few days.  He then asked "why does it have to rain at all?"  Poor guy.  I don't think it'll be long until he joins Genna and Bella's bid to move to Hawaii.

pup pics

It's not unusual to find these two napping together; I think they exhaust each other!

perfect pals

Hanging out in the club house

childhood innocence

Recently the girls and I were chatting about what it might be like to live somewhere completely different, and what life might be like for the people that currently live there.  I was also explaining to the girls that there are certain places in the world that we, as a white/American/Christian family, would never move to unless called there by God.  When I had finished explaining racism and xenophobia, Genna said "well, we don't have to worry about any of that because we're peachy colored!"  If only my dear......

big boy

Where does the time go?  How did my baby boy get so big and old???

Happy Birthday to......... Nahshon's tongue?

I guess you could say he has a favorite picture face. Happy Birthday Nahsh-man!

feeling springy

I love pretty flowers. 

They just make a room feel happy.

a joy

We've had little Estella home for 6 days now, and she is just a joy.  A few people warned us/suggested we skip the puppy phase, but it truly has been no trouble.  We were not at all opposed to getting a slightly older dog, but because we had a specific breed requirement, we knew that the right dog may come to us as a young pup or as a toddler. Her small size has not been as issue at all as the kids treat her very gently and respectfully, and we keep a close eye on Micaiah when he is near her.  Genna is great about taking her out to go potty often, and we still have not had accidents in the house.  She almost never barks (I've only heard her once when she was scared of a toy, and Genna heard her once when Isaac got her hyped up), and her all time favorite activity is cuddling.  I just could not picture a more perfect furry friend for our home.

little miss

Little miss Estella is settling in quite nicely.  Today Genna gave her a bath, helped give her the deworming medication, and made a large pillow bed for her out of some left over fleece we had.  She's been taking the puppy out to go potty every couple of hours, and as a result, we've had no accidents in the house! Estella showed us tonight that she is still very much a baby, and wants to drink formula from bottles just like baby Micaiah.  She has quickly stolen all of our hearts.

Meet Estella

Meet our newest addition, Estella.  Jeremy surprised us all and showed up with her tonight.  Her mom is a poodle-yorkie and her dad is a poodle-chihuahua.  She is just sweet as can be.  This picture is the one taken by the family we got her from, but soon I will have some loaded up with her and her happy mama, Genna. Welcome home little Estella!

kids say the darndest things

 This kid cracks me up, I just love the last thing he says.




I'm sure many of you have already seen this one, but I still think it's so cute.  I've said this before and I'll say it again; if my kids had Brittish accents, I don't think they would ever get in trouble.  They would just be too darn cute to listen to, I wouldn't be able to get mad!

Would you like some maple syrup?

Today while I was folding laundry, Genna approached me very seriously and said,

"mom, my feet smell like waffles."

I'm not even sure how to respond to something like that.

Just in time for Valentines day

Isaac has learned a new phrase, and he's been saying it over and over and over:


Hey baby, how you doin'?


In my defense, I think he heard it from the Nancy Drew movie.  It is rather funny coming from a 3 year old though. ♥

A wish for a dog, a fish, and a frog

My kids have been bitten by the "we want pets" bug..... hard!  Genna has her heart set on a small poodle, in the hopes it will be a dog Isaac is not allergic to.  Elijah is convinced a frog is what he needs most in life, and Bella wants a tank full of fish that she can mindlessly babble to for hours on end while they just blow their little fishy bubbles.  I've been a little reluctant to add more fish to our family after I accidentally cooked the last one, but she's been asking for a while and I think she's finally got me worn down.  Elijah doesn't want for much in his life, so when he does ask for something of a reasonable nature, it's hard for us to say no. (especially because it's all he'll think about and talk about for weeks)  After much research, I think I could be persuaded into a couple of African Dwarf Frogs.  The poodle though, will be a little harder.  First, we have to test Isaac as I refuse to bring anything into this house that will cause anyone to be sick.  We would also have to convince daddy, who strongly dislikes little animals. Of all the kids though, Genna is the one that I wouldn't think twice about getting a dog for.  Isaac just informed me today that he wants to have a pet elephant.  I'm pretty sure we're going to say no.

what to do, what to do......

Well, the pipes are fixed.  Now I just have to figure out what to do with that giant dirt patch in the yard.  Perhaps this will be the year we make a vegetable garden?

Not exactly what we had planned

So, the bathroom remodel has started.  The plumbers came out today, and we learned tree roots have grown into the main pipe and broke it.  Now they will be digging up the yard this week to replace the pipes. (thank goodness this whole mess wasn't cause by a toy being flushed!!!)  Already things are behind schedule. When Jeremy pulled up the floor, it was worse than expected.  My dad is a contractor, so I know well before a single screw is even touched that a project will take longer than expected.  There is always something.  Still, that knowledge doesn't make it any easier to have the bathroom torn to bits with 6 kids in the house.  I'm looking forward to the finished product (large soaking tub, tiled shower walls, new tile on the floor), but it's going to be a long week.

uncle, mercy, white flags all around!!!

On Thursday our car overheated and when Jeremy pulled over, it flat out died. On Friday Jeremy went to the bank to find that someone has been using our account to the tune of $500. Today (Saturday) our toilet started bubbling and then flooded the bathroom (3 times) and the bathtub filled up with water from the drain. Luckily it looks to just be dirty water, not sewage. So, that is 3 disasters in 3 days. Enough. I'm done now. No more please. The car is fixed, the fraud department at the bank is taking care of the charges and we closed the account, and tomorrow we will be replacing the bathroom floor. Here's to hoping next week goes a little better.

aahhh.....

I love new, clean sheets. It's just so nice to crawl into bed and not suddenly jump back out because someone decided to secretly eat crackers under the blanket. Funny what makes me happy as a mom.

the aliens are coming

A few days ago I asked Elijah if I could borrow his tools. He sadly confessed that he didn't know where his tools were because Bella and Isaac lost them. When I asked him how they lost the tools, it was reported to me that they were building a rocket. Upon further questioning I learned that they believe aliens are coming to take Genna away, to turn her into a robot alien. They were building the rocket to save her. Worried, I asked them if the aliens were planning to take anyone else, but I was reassured that Genna is the only one they are after. Good to know they have a plan.