Halloween School Party

Some of you asked me how my Halloween Party, at the school, for Abram went. The party didn't take place until Halloween, and so I finally can show you a little bit of what I brought for it. I didn't attend it this time because Den's employer passed away and his funeral was that afternoon, at the same time as the party. Abram was a little bit blue, but I tried to make up for it by making sure that there was plenty to look forward to for the second graders. Nevermind the fact that later that evening there would be trick or treating.



Aren't these cute? The bakery let me go in to the candy aisle and pick out a bag of candy with body parts and marshmallow ghosts. Abram said that they were a hit! Plus, the cupcakes were only $13.99 for 24.

Then I purchased these Halloween magnets. The kids got to put them together. They were foam pieces that were stickers on the back, even the magnet was a sticker. Then after putting them together I bought glitter color pens for them to decorate their spooky creations. I put two magnet sets in each sandwich bag for each student.

Then I bought a large bag of tootsie roll pops, tissue paper and some Halloween colored pipe cleaners and made these ridiculously easy ghosts. Just a little something for them to either eat or take home for later.

I couldn't resist this little cupcake holder. It was only $2.99. It was made of cardboard so it wasn't anything fancy, but it looked great with all the cupcakes and body parts.....lol

Ahhhh Bubbles!

What does a jetted tub and aromatic bath soap make? HEAVEN! hehehe
I poured a little in to the tub while waiting for the hot steamy water to fill up. I got a few small bubbles at first. To be honest, it was a little disappointing in the beginning, but the smell was amazing, and I must admit I added a few more squeezes of soap for good measure. It wasn't until I hit the jets that the bubbles began to multiply like a wicked rash, only to realize that I wasn't in control any longer. I tried to shut the shower doors to contain them all, but soon I had to holler at Den to see the mess I had made.

When he first opened the shower door he chuckled. I just smiled back knowing he was thinking I was ridiculous...lol He ran to get the camera, and I had zero fears that anything would be showing underneath the mammoth amount of bubbles that was hiding my gigantic belly, so I cheesed it up. Of course, I regretted that Roman and Abram were no where to be found during my bathtime, because only a two and six year old could totally appreciate the possiblities that this amount of bubbles could bring. Oh well....I wasn't in mommy mode, I was supposed to be in "quiet, stress free, don't think about children" mode. Turning that mental switch off is hard to do sometimes.....but somehow.....we managed....hehehe

10 Moments Of Smiles

Some of the things that we experienced on our Disneyland Trip that made me either smile or giggle:

1.) When standing in the shuttle it was wall to wall people. All the seats were taken when we got on, and there was a very small place for us to stand. A gentleman got up and offered me his seat. I thanked him and was reminded that chivalry isn't dead.

2.) The five us were sitting in front of a stage waiting for a show to start. Roman and Abram were generously feeding the outgoing little birds some Chex mix, when the show started. Towards the end of the show Woody from Toy Story came on the stage and Roman's mouth literally fell open with the widest eyes of shock I have ever seen. Den and I watched him stare at Woody, and we both chuckled at his pure joy and amazement. That was a Disneyland moment I will never forget!

3.) While watching the Christmas parade Abram said, "Look he/she waved at ME!" I clapped my hands and agreed.

4.) Disneyland Playhouse had a room where parents and toddlers sat on the floor and watched a character show. There was familiar music and characters from all the Disney shows that we watch on television. Roman was so excited and so in to it that he would stop and just run to Den, Levi, Abram and me to give us spontaneous hugs. That was the only way he could express himself. Den and I snapped several pictures of his sudden loving outbursts, and giggled and reminisced about that later in the day.

5.) During the Christmas parade the Evil Stepmother of Cinderella and her dreadful Stepsisters were role playing with each other as they were dancing down the avenue, when they spotted Abram and asked him if he was willing to take her daughters to the ball. He of course said, "No." lol so she let him have it, about how he wasn't ready for the ball and left in a huff. It was quite funny and he loved the interaction.

6.) Levi said on the third day of Disneyland, "I STILL can't believe we are at Disneyland!"

7.) When the Fairy Godmother exhorted the boys on good manners before she would sign their autograph books and pose for a picture. It was very entertaining and true to life.

8.) I was down in the lobby with Roman. I was following him around the huge lobby just letting him explore the vast spaces. It was all about letting him blow off some steam since we had been cooped up in the hotel room all day. He was quite content that I was giving him a little distance, and this made him feel independent and quite adult like. A man came up to me and commented that he was quite the little man. I smiled and agreed. He then schooled me on how much harder life was going to get once I had teenagers and they began driving. I nodded my head in agreement and smiled sweetly, thinking if he only knew I was on #6, and two were in their teens......lol

9.) Watching Levi watch me through some of the shows that were 3D. I could watch his face of anticipation to try to judge whether something was coming up that he thought would be funny. By the way, he was right, I screamed at just the right times, every time....

10.) My favorite part of this trip was how Den and I would climb into our hotel bed and rehash the day. We would laugh and demonstrate some of our favorite moments and expressions from the kids. We decided, this year, that we would consider this our Christmas present to each other, and I have to say that it is one of my favorite gifts I have EVER recieved.

More Disneyland

The second day was pretty uneventful too. Even though the car journey was shorter, only 6 hours, it felt longer since it was our second leg of the journey. It went rather smoothly until we were about 10 miles from Disneyland. This is when we hit rush hour traffic. The boys knew we were close, and the last 10 miles felt like an eternity to all of us. Even Den was so excited that any and all "Welcome to Disneyland" signs had us yip yipping for joy!

That first day we checked in to our hotel. I couldn't believe how much stuff we had to bring to survive the week at Disney. I kept thinking about how much more stuff we would have brought if we had taken River and Isaiah too. I decided to put all the clothes in the drawers and hung the shirts in the closet. I didn't want to feel like we were living out of our suitcases all week. The room was a suite, and I say WAS because after a couple of nights we decided to switch hotels. The suite was very tiny, we couldn't control the temperature of the room, and the Internet was on the fritz. We put up with it for the first two nights, but upon waking the third morning, and after Den sweating profusely all night long we packed up everything and went to a nicer hotel. Wow what a difference it has made.

The first day of Disneyland was soooo much fun. Levi and Abram just kept saying, "I can't believe we are at DISNEYLAND!" It felt amazing to finally have that checked off our parental list, if ya know what I mean. Den rented me a motorized scooter since I wasn't feeling as good as I thought I would. It turned out to be worth its weight in gold. For one, we didn't have to carry any of our stuff, although Roman wasn't allowed to sit on my lap while scooting down the Disney streets. Plus, there were tons of rides that Roman and I couldn't go on, and so I always had a great place to sit, and so did he.

On the rides that we could ride on I got to go to the front of the line. It was rather embarrassing, but the long waits were no longer an issue. Den and the boys loved that! LOL

My favorite ride, that I probably shouldn't have went on was Space Mountain. I had no idea what the ride entailed, and they put us right to the front of the line. I figured it was obvious I was pregnant and got into the seat with Levi and Abram eagerly. When we first took off I thought that it was a nice mellow roller coaster ride that would mostly be about the lights and visual effects.....UMMMMMM not!!! Abram was terrified and I couldn't stop giggling. I laughed so hard trying to comfort his stiff little body that I had tears streaming down my face. Obviously it wasn't too bad for him since he rode that ride 3 times that day....lol I would have loved to have jumped back on that one tooooooo!

After the ride stopped, and we stepped off, Den handed Roman off to me and I sat back on the scooter so the three of them did it all over again. That was the only ride that I rode that wasn't in ToonLand. Toonland is geared more for the little tikes and the rides aren't really an issue for Roman or expectant moms. I was glad that I got to experience Space Mountain, however I won't be riding it again. I am not sure that Baby #6 was all that thrilled....hehehe

Now that we have Internet again I will try to post again.....maybe even tonight since I am now behind a day or so..........

Day 1 Disneyland Trip

As much as we were looking forward to our big trip to Disneyland we were equally dreading the long hours in the suburban with our two year old, surely sixteen hours of car entrapment would be too much for his small body and mind. When we left it was still dark outside, but the car was warmed and everything had been loaded the night prior. It seemed like a brilliant idea and it definitely paid off. The boys went to bed dressed in their sweatpants and sweatshirts so all that would be required of them was to open their bloodshot eyes and to meander out to the vehicle.

After stopping through the McDonalds drive thru for some morning calories we were off and running. Surprisingly and pleasantly our trip was extremely uneventful. There was no….let me emphasis this…zero temper tantrums on the entire journey to Sacramento. It was ten hours of movies, gameboy games, and music. We had a quick pit stop at a WalMart to pick up cheap snacks and a little doohiggie to give our laptop that extra boost of energy it would need to keep up with the hours of use ahead.

We pulled in to our hotel in Sacramento at suppertime. We unloaded our hefty gear and Den headed out to find us some good eating; well that’s if you consider cheap fast food good grub. Later that evening we hit the outdoor pool and hot tub. You would have thought that we had joined the Polar Bear Club when we went outside to enjoy their outdoor pool by the reaction we received from all the hotel help. I think we could have charged admission by the attention it drew…lol. We explained that it was one of the warmest pools we had ever experienced in their muggy 50 degrees weather. I mean it was nothing compared to the extreme weather we were used to in Washington. We giggled when Roman didn’t even bat an eye upon entering the pool. After spending a good hour in and out of the pool and hot tub we knew that we had a pretty good chance of persuading the boys to hit the hay at a decent hour. After all we still had 6 hours the following day and we wanted to get on the road early enough to get to our final destination to enjoy their pool and stake out the Disney area.

The two older boys stayed home for the week. They have been to Disneyland before and they weren’t up for another crowded trip with their younger brothers. Plus what teen doesn’t look forward to having the house to themselves for the week? Bro. Rusty and Sis. Mary will be in town and has promised to check in on them while we are gone. We didn’t get cell reception until the next day and so we didn’t call until the following morning. I was surprised at the reaction Isaiah gave us when we finally did call. He was legitimately worried about us and was thankful to finally hear from us. Poor baby! We won’t be letting that happen again.

So far so good, and I will be taking lots of pictures, however I am not sure I can upload my pictures on this laptop.....ugh!

Christmas Nostalgia

Christmas time is such a special time of year for me. I have such amazing memories of the holidays when I was a little girl. Although my sister and I were the only two children in the house you would have thought from all the excitement there was six of us. Those traditions I have tried to hand down to my children. My mom used to wrap the presents with such care that I remember admiring how she would crease the corners at the end of each package, and then tape them inconspicuously. I found such a beauty in it that I find picking out the wrap, and carefully wrapping them brings me the same pleasure today as it must have brought my mom.

Shopping with all the red, green and "Merry Christmas" signs gets me in the holiday spirit without much trouble. There are even certain smells and tastes that conjure up all things Christmasy. It's funny to hear how long this season seems to last for my boys, but as for me, as I am gaining in years it goes by so fast that I try to stop and smell the eggnog along the busy way.

I want to be one of those people that savor and enjoy this holiday for all times. I know that some consider it commercialized, but I believe everything you do in life is what you make of it. If you feel the dread of such a holiday than dread is what it will be, but if you relish it, even the craziness of it all will be precious to you. I have chosen to relish it. I have chosen to listen to the holiday tunes every chance I get. I have made it a tradition to make the homemade almond roca, white powdery lemon bars, and Russian teacakes and let those aromas and memories burn imprints upon my children's memories. Then one day when I am old they will come for Christmas and have the nostalgia in their hearts with their own children.

Merry Christmas to all!

Thanksgiving Weekend

I can't believe that Thanksgiving is already gone. We went to my families house for the special day, but I must admit we barely made it since I was fighting the flu bug. Nevertheless, we made it and dinner was divine. We didn't stay long since night time seems to make sick people feel worse, and I was definitely feeling worse for wear.

The next day Den hit the Black Friday sales. He LOVES them! I think its the whole "thrill of the hunt" thing for him, now me.....I just like to shop....lol However, he did it on his own this year because I could barely get out of bed. We didn't have the most successful year as far as getting our hands on the items that we had drooled over the night before, but we did get our yearly necessities like towels and socks from Fred Meyer. Overall it was a success!

So we spent the rest of the weekend battling sickness. It would sort of come and go. You know make you believe you were on the mend only to discover that you weren't...*big sigh* So here are a few pictures of some of the wee activities that took place in this little home over the weekend, except for photos of me laying around in pajamas and battling bed head....no need to see THOSE kinds of photographs, right?

First off the guys all decided to get my table started, ya know the one I said I was going to paint black a couple of months ago. Well I didn't....*bashful look* So they decided to drag it out to the garage and start sanding. I can't wait until it's finished.

Here is why the other boys are not in the last picture. They were called to diaper duty. Doesn't Isaiah looked thrilled? lol Now Abram, on the other hand, seems to love his chore of disposing of dirty diapers in grocery bags. What a guy!



After a fresh diaper was put on Roman the two little guys could get down to business.......practicing Kung Fu! This is the only one I got that wasn't so blurry that you had no idea what the pic was....

I collect snowmen, so they are sitting here and there around the house.
One of the funnest things about Thanksgiving weekend are the Christmas decorations. We had put them up the weekend before, and boy am I glad we did since I would have been too sick to have done it. This is the living room tree. We decided to put up two trees this year. This is the one that I always decorate that is our traditional red and gold look.

This is our smaller tree, I think he is 5-6 feet tall. I let the boys decorate him (yes him, in fact his name is Charlie and we have had him for years, we LOVE him....hehehe)

The boys did a good job decorating, I even took them to the store last week to pick out their own decorations for it. That was a hoot; getting to see their own choices and preferences. Let's just say that compromise was the key word on that shopping venture. I put on the lights though, that seems to be my job every year, no matter what. However, I love lights.....lots and lots of lights on a tree!

After some of the presents were wrapped the boys descended upon the tree to see who had what under there. I think that Abram has shook, pressed, squeezed every gift under there 100 times....Christmas is a LONG wait little man!

Lastly, is our nightly tradition of tearing off one of the chain links for our Disneyland trip that we will be taking this year for Christmas. The younger boys are so excited! I knew that half the fun was the anticipation of it, so I had them help me make a chain for the days until we leave for our trip.

So there ya have it, our busy, everyday, not too exciting, but loving it anyway, life over the weekend.

I hope you guys had a GREAT weekend, and enjoyed lots of great food and loving family.

I Am Thankful For:

I love having a house full of boys running around, even if at times I think it's too rowdy. I can't imagine how different it would be if the house was quiet with no children underfoot.

I am thankful for the cookie dough that gets made, but the cookies turn out flat because someone didn't add enough flour.

I am thankful for shoes scattered by the front door, because Mr. Roman couldn't make up his mind which pair he wanted to wear that hour.

I am thankful for all the smirks that wash over River's face as he recieves texts from his other homeschool friends.

I am thankful for the sound of Isaiah's guitar and voice as he his singing from his bedroom.

I am thankful for the sound of cartoons and laughter from the family room as I type.

I am thankful for the library books spread out all over the living room, while Abram is sitting criss-cross-applesauce on the floor sounding out words.

I am thankful for the constant whirring of the washing machine that never seems to end.

I am thankful when I hear Levi taking the time to teach Abram something during homeschooling.

I am thankful for the sound of elephants storming the kitchen when I holler, "Time to eat!"

I am thankful for the bible that is open on the floor from where Den was reading it the night before.

I am thankful when River pulls back up in to our driveway with his jeep, after work. He was missed.

I am thankful for the notepads and crayons across the dining room table, because Roman is happy and content.

I am thankful for the excitement when we are ready to leave to go to McDonalds and the boys can't get in the suburban fast enough.

I am thankful for my family and my life! Even when its a little chaotic or the house is a little bit messy. I just wouldn't have it any other way!!

On another note, here are some pics of the costumes from the party. We had animals, ninjas, princesses, a masquerade ball lady, and some Hannah Montana guests. It was AWESOME!

Here are all the "Littles" from our Halloween party. Roman was asleep. He couldn't keep his peepers open, and therefore missed out on the party. It was a bummer, but he didn't mind as long as he got a sucker and a cupcake upon his wakening....lol

Here are the older kids all dressed up. We had a LOT of fun. I was so glad that the kids seemed to have a good time and got into the whole thing.

This is Levi's costume. He is an overweight tourist. We put on clunky hiking boots, and don't forget that camera to get those great shots!

Abram was a ninja this year. He's too cool for his costume! hahaha

Roman is a mini ninja too! The hat with the tie isn't on quite right, but you get the idea. Isaiah took the pics of the boys so they are ariel shots.....lol

Here is Roman striking his favorite Ninja pose. Abram and him, definitely, play the parts when they are in costume. It is so cute!

Paaaaarty!

~ What is a party without paper crepe streamers? It was Isaiah's idea to wrap them around the pillars. Genius.....I say! ~

~ Here is a little closer shot of the table. Although still weak. I have a carved pumpkin in the center with tootsie roll suckers sticking out of it, all over. The kids can just pull one out and voila'.....sugar! ~


~ Here is the basket full of the crafts. ~



~ This is the craft for the younger kids. They are little foam purses to decorate. ~




~ The older kids have a little more variety, and it is a little more challenging of a craft than the purses. Just a little keepsake for them to take home at the end of the day. ~



We are having a Halloween party today!! The boys are excited!!! hehehe It doesn't take much to get kids happy happy happy. Isn't that so wonderful about children, though? We need to tear a page out of their book once in a while.



Okay, so I admit that the photos are weak and almost not worth posting. You see my batteries won't charge for my camera so I had to rely on my handy dandy camera phone. So what you see is what you get. The color makes everything look washed out, but believe me that orange is plenty vibrant! LOL



We made cupcakes last night. The hub bub of them baking was almost cruel, but the really great part, was the orange frosting and pumpkin and bat sprinkles that were layered on top. There is just something about sprinkles that make anything look amazing to a child.



Sis. Marisela and her 6 kids, Sis. Tisha and her 4 kids, and my 5 will be the only ones attending. We extended the invite to the others at the church, but sadly they declined. Maybe next time.



We are doing a craft with the little kids. I bought these foam purses that are in the shape of Frankenstein and spiders. I have googly eyes for them to glue on, and puff paints for them to decorate uniquely. What can they use this little purse for? Who knows...but Roman can barely keeps his tiny hands off of them. That's always a good sign, right?



The older kids are putting together a little more sophisticated, but still simple craft. I think the little projects will be hit. Anything to keep the troops busy. The other ladies are bringing over some goodies too. The kids are supposed to come dressed in their attire so that the kids can judge them. There is a small prize for the winners. I think we will have the rule that you can't vote for yourself, which I hope is a given, but ya never know.....hehehe



They are also bringing over their pre-carved pumpkins so that, again, the kids can judge them. This one will be based on age or something. I haven't figured out this detail yet, I am hoping for a little feedback from the other moms. I just thought it was a great way to kick off some festivities for the kids this year, and bring us all a little closer together.



It starts at 4pm. I will take some more pathetic photos with my camera phone and put them on my blog tomorrow. It should be chaotic and yet fun, isn't that what a party is all about?

Pumpkin Patch Time

It was time to get out there and get our pumpkins. There is a great little (well not so little) farm that puts on quite a fall display for all us city folks. We used to take the three older boys when they were little, but it has been years since then. It was great to make it a family tradition, again.

We, first, let the younger boys get their face painted. Abram chose the cross bones like a pirate flag, he said.


Christian came to spend the night so we were able to take him to the patch too. Of course, he wanted his face painted as well. He chose a bat!

After the face painting they have a barge like boat that picked us up with our empty wheel barrel, and took us to the huge pumpkin patch. There were a few fun objects that pop up out of the water for the kids. Roman wasn't phased by them in the slightest! hehehe

Here is a picture of the gigantic field of pumpkins. All of these photos were taken with my camera phone, so they are little dark and pathetic, but you get the idea!

Roman and Levi sat on their pumpkins while everyone else was still on a mad hunt for the perfect gourd. Roman was happy happy because daddy bought him some kettle korn. In fact, you can see that some of the kettle korn is still stuck to his cheek. Mmmm mmmmm good!
After we had gathered up our pumpkins there was a little train that picked us up and took us back to the barn. It was great fun!


After we got home I went to work decorating the doorway. We had bought some mini bales of hay to set the pumpkins on. The great thing is that I can keep the hay for years to come. We had already bought our scareCROW and a couple of signs. I just love this time of year!

Here is the other sign. Den was worried that the "Crow Away" part may have come off unfriendly....lol However, I told him that if someone feels like we are saying "Go Away", then they are tooooo sensitive. *giggling*

All the Fixin's for the 4th!

Levi with his water bottle waiting to antagonize his little brothers.
Abram and Roman running through the sprinkler. Watch out for the bushes boys, there may be snakes in them-there bushes!

You can't really see the sprinkler action, but it was a lot of fun! Yes, Roman is saturated in sunblock so that's almost like he's dressed, right?


Another 4th of July came and went, and, I have to say, it was one of the nicest ones we have had in a while. We had big dreams for it, we even talked big about what we might do, but the morning of the 4th rolled around, and we got lazy. Yep, and than our thoughts about how to celebrate it got lazier...and...... lazier........ and lazier, until we thought it was the best idea we had ever had! Den and I are compatible like that!




You see, the whole thing took a down hill swing when Den didn't get home from work until 1am the night before. Yep, you heard me right. I know I know.....what does a senior superintendent have to do at a job until 1am, was the common question I got from everyone, yesterday. So let me explain briefly....he had to babysit other workers. You know the kind of workers that won't finish the job unless someone is standing over them with a baseball bat? Therefore, our 4th of July plans were kind of put on the "Let's just stay home and relax" burner.



First thing in the morning we went to the store. We ate breakfast out with the little guy (Roman), picked up stuff for a good BBQ, bought a small wading pool, one of those crazy fun sprinklers, of course, we stopped by the fireworks stand and splurged on a few things that blow up, go kaboom, and even that disappointingly fizzle! A good time was gonna be had by all, right from our own backyard. No fighting traffic, no carrying coolers for long distances and having to stop to sit on it for a breather, no keeping track of kids in large crowds, no ewwwing and ahhing over gorgeous fireworks that were lit up in the sky by professionals. No sirreee bob, we were gonna be the lazy sort that did it all, 10 feet from our kitchen. Yeppers!


It was a scorcher of a day, so as soon as we got home we put the pool and sprinkler to work. We brought lawn chairs out to put around the pool, and we all splashed about and had a great time. River, Levi and Abram (Isaiah is spending a week or more with his best friend Andy) got to go see "Transformers" the movie, too. So I think we did a decent job of imprinting this holiday on their minds, even if we did take the L-A-Z-Y way out.

I'm Still Crazy About You Babe!

Levi took a pic of Den and I before we left. Den still makes me swoon!
Matt and Tisha's bug, that they let us borrow for the weekend! Thanks guys!
Sandcastle Day is famous at Cannon Beach. We missed that weekend, but the pic said it all.
Somebody sculpted an Octupus with some sharks and stuff. Den had to pose by the masterpiece.

Me, on our hotel deck. The view was spectacular. Even more amazing was the weather for the day at the Oregon Coast! Hurry honey, roll those babies up, the tide is coming!


Haystack rock behind us. My hair was blowing like crazy, so I had to try to tame the beast! lol
Den setting the POSE! hehehe
The view from our deck! A storm rolled in that night and it all sounded so beautiful. Waves, rain, wind....loved it!


These pictures make me so happy! I could have spent a whole week at the beach with Den. Today is our 19th wedding anniversary! 19 years! It's so crazy to think that we could be married that long, and that we could have five sons. Life has been such a gift, and I am so incredibly grateful to the Lord.

Matt and Tisha, our church friends, let us borrow their adorable, green, Volkswagen bug, as an anniversary gift. I thought that was so sweet and thoughtful of them. We totally enjoyed bombing around it. It made us feel more like honeymooners, again! We went to Seaside and Cannon Beach. Both places we enjoyed on our actual honeymoon. Oh the nostalgia of it all! It felt so good to be back home. The longer I live here the more it is settling in that we are home, where I grew up, got married, and bore 4 of my sons. I love the idea that this is my land, and it is all so familiar to me and Den. What a huge blessing!

Den rented a gorgeous room, overlooking Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach, Oregon. The weather was amazing, and the company was even better! When I look at these pictures of Den and I, I feel sort of giddy. I am just crazy about Den. I love how he holds my hand after all this time. I love how he flirts with me and makes me still feel like I am the prettiest woman in the room. It feels amazing to be at an age where we can give each other secret glances that say, "How did we get so lucky?", and the other one knows exactly what the other one is feeling.

I know that I sound a little gushy while typing this, but I have to give credit where credit is due. God has been so good to Den and I, and he couldn't have picked a better man for me to have lived 19 years with. Thank you Lord for being so generous to me and ohhhh Den you know I'm crraaaaaaazzyyy about you too, Babe!

Happy, actual, Anniversary, TODAY!

Just Wanted You To Know, Dad

I saw this question and answer theme on some of the other blogs, and thought it was sweet and thoughtful. I just had to do the same.

I sat each boy down, (privately), and asked them the same 3 questions. Here are their brief, but heartfelt answers.

Question #1 What is your favorite memory with your Dad?

River: I loved working with him. Feeling like I was a part of him. Getting up with him, eating lunch with him, and just getting to REALLY talk to him.

Isaiah: That's REALLY hard, but it's a great question. I loved musket hunting with him. We went out on our property, and we got a deer. That was really cool!

Levi: I love how he always takes us camping. That is a blast! Also, when went fishing at Rat Lake. It was really cold, but fun!

Abram: Ohhh that's easy. I love how he plays around with me, and I love snuggling with him when he is sitting down. I like going places with him. These are my FAVORITES!


Question #2
Why do you love your Dad?

River: He's a laid back guy, someone you can talk to. He always includes us boys with things that he does. He's a great motivator.

Isaiah: I love him, because he is really understanding, and the perfect role model.

Levi: I love how outgoing he is, and how he always includes us, even the little ones.

Abram: He is kind, fun, and good to us. He loves to play around with us!

Question #3
What would you want your Dad to know?

River: That I really love him. I would want to thank him for all that he's done for me.

Isaiah: I would want him to know that he was as much of a friend to me as a Dad.

Levi: That I love him alot, and that I'll see him in Heaven.

Abram: I just love him Sooo much, and with all my heart!


Roman was rather introspective during his questioning sessions. He babbled contemplatively, and used lots of hand gestures.


Happy Father's Day, Den!!

Happy Father's Day Photos

Today, I took all the boys in to get a family photo of them. Roman has a lot of pride for his pint size body, and is also shy (like Levi used to be), therefore doesn't like to smile for complete strangers. I had to work for the photos that I got of him...*sweaty whew*. What a mom will do in the background can knock her pride down a notch or two....hehehe Anyway, here are the three group shots of the boys, and I will be updating the sidebar photos today too. So be sure to check them out!

Mother's Day

My Mother's Day Pictures.
The morning started off with breakfast being served in bed by my NON-cooker (River). It was a delicious breakfast sandwich with a hot cup of coffee. Once the boys had been told that all was clear, (Mama was up), the festivities began.

The boys all huddled together outside my bedroom door, whispering and laughing with excitement. I have to admit I was anxious to see what all the hub bub was about. No sooner did I question the thought in my mind and in came the brood.

Upon entering, they all proudly brought me this small silver bag. The first thing that caught my eye was the ribbon that they were all wanting me to wear that said "Mom to Be". Den stopped drinking his coffee and said, "Boys, your mom isn't a mother-to-be anymore." Isaiah said, "Ohhhh that's what it meant." I giggled and pushed passed it quickly as to not dwell on the negative. I knew that Den was questioning all my homeschooling skills as he continued to shake his head in disbelief.

When I grabbed the bag it was a little worse for wear. In fact it looked like they had nabbed the poor bag from a pitbull (Roman) just before entering my bedroom. I, again, overlooked the bag and began to pull the tissue paper out of the top.

This is when I discovered that the tissue paper was indeed tissue paper, or some call it "toilet" paper. I giggled at their creativity and quickly yanked it all out. Upon which I found a chewed up piece of pink gum stuck to the end of it. I again chuckled and tried to overlook it. Den, however, looked a little mortified.....lol.

The boys began chanting, "Read the card! Read the card!" So I paused to find the little silver card that was attached to the bag and when I opened it it said, "Hey!" with a scribbly smiley face. I truly didn't know what to say, but I did laugh heartily at this point.

After digging through some old Easter candy that wasn't even good enough for the children to eat, I found my gift. A bottle of travel size shampoo that had been rolling around my bathroom drawer for sometime. A little speechless I said, "Well thanks guys!" They kept a stiff upper lip (just like their mama would have) and all went on about how much they loved me and disappeared. This is when Den said, "What the heck?" I just laughed and said, "It was sweet!"

This is when the REAL gifts came in. These are River's.

Isaiah's. He is my sock giver...hehehe

Levi's. They all wanted me to put on the lipstick, which I did, and then they all laughed and laughed at the color....so I don't think I will be wearing that one.....lol.

Abram's sweet little gift too!

Den's roses that he gives without fail. I love my boys, and I honestly had a great Mother's Day. However, truthfully, I can say that my favorite was the first gift. I giggled and giggled at the genius of it all. You know it's all in the presentation people. You can tell that they are listening to Mama!