Nine Years....

Isaac and I celebrated nine years of marriage last Wednesday. I can honestly say it was the best one so far. We have come such a long way together, and have fought with all of our strength to not just survive in a marriage, but have a thriving, successful, love filled life together. We have learned so much, especially in the last two years. We spent the day reflecting on the miracle in our life and talking about what is really important about marriage. We talked about things like, serving one another, humility, spending time in the morning together (just us.) The funny thing about this anniversary was that it wasn't unlike any other day. In the past we used to try to make our day this amazing emotional experience where we showed our love to each other in a big way. Now, we do that everyday. Our anniversary is just another day where we love each other, and live for each other. I was at peace and quite satisfied with just being together, it didn't matter what the festivities were. The japanese food was a BIG plus though. We saw "The Blind Side" and cried our eyes out, loved it!!

This post will be dedicated to Isaac. I love his heart. I love that everyday he strives to be the best man, husband, and dad that he can be. I love how loved he makes me feel. Happy anniversary to us!

P.S. The picture above is of us at my senior prom. We were 18 years old:)

Jack and the Beanstalk

Judah was so excited to be part of another play. This is his third one with the Missoula Children's Theater. He was a member of the band in the circus. He was very excited to have a "bigger boy" part this time. He did great and his confidence is growing each time.
They worked everyday for a week until 8 p.m, but was still smiling.
Afterward he was excited to get a chocolate flower and a gift card. I think part of the reason he does the show is because he likes getting a goodie afterward, and likes having fast food brought to him at rehearsal each night (YUCK)! Isaac and I are so happy that he enjoys theater.

She Jumped!

Stella FINALLY jumped in the pool at her swim lesson!! This has been an ongoing drama since August when I traumatized her and threw her into her daddy's arms in the pool on vacation. She has refused to jump, saying things like, "I am not going to jump in when I am 5. I am not going to jump in when I am 30!" She even fought going at times, just because she did NOT want to jump!

Well, I don't know what changed or why, but, she stood right up, grabbed the teachers hands, and jumped! Then, she jumped again! I was delighted. She was moved up to the next class, yay! So proud! Judah has moved up as well. He is now a fish! Two more steps to go until he is a shark and has completed the program.

Important Things To Know About Me and What I Love

I spend most of my blogging time writing about my kids because they are my favorite subject. But, because this blog is partly for them I thought I should share some things about me that I want them to know. These are just a few that come to mind. Prepare yourself for cheesy overload....

Iced Coffee, extra cream, 2 splenda

Fresh Flowers of any kind in a vase on my table

Photography

The smell of my children's feet (when they are 5 and under)

Watching a movie with Isaac while my cold toes are warmed by his calves

The warmth of the sun on my bedroom window when I open the curtain in the morning

The smile on the kid's face when I pick them up from school and the smell of crayons on their hair

Family hug time

Listening to Isaac read to me at night

Praying with Isaac

Praying with my children

Dinner time talks about our favorite part of the day

Hearing about my children's love for God, questions about God, and care for others

Hearing them sing to themselves when they think no one is listening

Strolling through Target without a time limit

Jacuzzi's

Taking a shower after the house has been deep cleaned, ahhhhh

Jazz music, while cleaning, driving, eating, resting....etc.

Being a redhead

Playing my piano and singing loudly, all by myself

Finishing what I start

A productive day

Encouraging others about relationships/parenting (knowing that I've "been there")

Pasta, pasta, pasta

Watching my children grow to love the family members whom I have loved for so long

Laying next to them as they sleep and smelling their breath

The excitement in my kids about life, right down to the simplest of things like......popcorn

More to come later.....

This Face:)

I can't seem to get many pictures of Judah lately. But, I got one:) All I can say is......

I love this face!

Lullaby and........GOOD NIGHT!!!!!!

What happened to my children's 7 p.m. bedtime? Was it vacation? Is it that they are getting older and don't need as much sleep? I put them in bed around 7: 30 usually and it seems that they are still awake at 9 pm!! They are thirsty. They have to go the bathroom. They want to read for a "few" minutes. They are too hot. They are too cold. They can't find their teddy or their tiger, or their baby. I am such a softy. No matter how frustrated I get, I can't leave the room without a hug, a kiss, and an I love you, even if for the 20th time. So I guess this is all my fault.

A few nights ago I came in to see this sight in Stella's bed.
At first, I was a little worried, wondering why she has taken to "hanging" (torturing) her animals. I was ready to reach for the phone to call a counselor when she said, "Mommy, they are ornaments, like on our Christmas tree. Phew!

Then, last night I found as I usually do, feet on pillow, head turned the wrong way, with a book nearby. I though the title of the book was fitting.....and funny....

At least she was ASLEEP!!

Busy Wednesday!!

This past week was VERY busy, especially Wednesday. I worked all day, ran home, and had 5 minutes to change before taking Judah up to the slopes. It was very cold, but we all had a great time.

Here is the Chinese food we ate afterward, no time to cook:)
I tried to get a picture of Judah on the hill, but with 100 kids skiing it was tough. Here he is, all geared up.
Side note* I "ATE IT" trying to walk the hill in my Uggs. I fell flat on my face (in front of many parents) and the *S* word (unintentionally). It hurt!! I was later teased by some of those same parents. Time for snow boots.

Sunset on a Saturday

This is the beautiful sunset we came home to after a family day together. It was much more vibrant in real life. We couldn't tell if it was a fire in the distance or a sunset. Gorgeous!

It's Not "Julie and Julia," It's "Kerry and Martha"

Drum roll please.......I did it!!! This may sound ridiculous, but I have never made a WHOLE roast chicken. I always strolled by them in the meat department and just kept on walking. I haven't had the best of luck at times with trying new recipes. I make a few things really well; pot roast, enchilada's, tomatoe bisque soup, and a few others, but this has always scared me. Anyway, a few nights ago Isaac and I watched "Julie and Julia." It is all about cooking. I wasn't expecting much but ended up loving it!!! So, I thought I would use a Martha Stewart recipe and take on the challenge. It worked!!!! My family loved it. ALL of them, which is not often. They had helping after helping and if this all wasn't silly enough.....I almost cried. I was very proud of myself and inspired myself to try another recipe. I haven't decided what yet.

P.S. I pulled and yanked and struggled for 10 minutes to get the giblets out of the neck, only to realize their is a HUGE hole on the other side from which they are supposed to come out, whoops.
I should have taken a picture of it before it was all cut up. It was a very pretty bird. I even made roasted red potatoes, shallots, carrots, and garlic to go with it.

Stella, The Little Bitty Mommy

These are Stella's American Girl Bitty Twins. She takes very good care of them, note, the bandaid on Jack's head. This is the way she tucks them in every single night. Just had to share.

Brownies Can Fix Almost Anything

I took the kids to the VERY large sledding hill on Monday. Stella was hesitant at first. I went with her. Then, her brother went with her. Then, she went on her own sled while I hung on to her from mine. Then, she went alone! She rode down again and again and walked up all by herself every time. I was watching her closely of course. She was so proud of herself and I was beaming about my brave little girl.

THEN, three kids of about 10 years old decided to link themselves together and sled right into the walkway on the side of the hill. Who were they headed straight for??? The littlest kid out of them all, Stella. I knew it was coming and could do nothing about it. One the the kids legs hit Stella's legs VERY hard and her face was to the ice with a millisecond. My friend said that I FLEW down the hill (on my rear.) Her little mouth was bloody and what I realized a few minutes later was that she had an ice burn on her chin. She cried and cried and CRIED. Thankfully, a very nice man asked her if a brownie would help. She calmed right down and nodded her head. He brought back a large bag of them and let her have first choice. After that, she was proud of her wounds and VERY happy to be cozy in the car with chocolate! That's my girl!!

Naughty Words

Stella recently became obsessed with the movie "Home Alone." I am usually very strict about what the kids watch, but made an exception on this one because Isaac and I loved it so much. The brothers and sisters in it say several naughty words. We have pointed out to the kids that these are naughty words and should never be said.

Sooo, Christmas Eve we were at my mom's house and Stella was playing with her cousins when she turned to 5 year old Ashton and said, "You're an ass." Then, she said it again, "You're an ASS!" Several family members heard and were shocked. Ashton's mom said, "Uhhhh Kerry???" I hadn't heard her say it and couldn't believe it when they told me. Anyway I hope the very stern talking to wasn't ruined by the fact that we were all laughing so hard we couldn't breathe. Home Alone will be in the basement.....alone, for a very long while.

Ski Night

Judah wanted to participate in the ski program that runs through the school. We had a great time although it was BITTER cold. Several of his friends were there. I put the skis on the snow, he stuck his boots in and went flying perfectly down the hill. He has only done it about five times before and that was two years ago. It was really fun to watch! Thanks to my friend Barb, he now has a helmet.

Stella spent her time in the lodge with me drinking hot chocolate, eating skittles, and fries with cheese. We will be having a LOT of fruit and veggies in the next couple of days:) She conked out on the ride home.

And, if that wasn't enough fun, we had a near miss with a deer on the way home.

The Nutcracker

We took the kids to see "The Nutcracker" performed by a local dance studio. We all had a blast. They are familiar with the music, but had never seen it performed on stage.
This is their star pose.....
Stella was babysitting the class teddy bear for the weekend. Teddy enjoyed the show too when he wasn't being sat on.
Apparently I didn't have time to paint her nails. She used pink marker and colored on her nails for the show. She also adorned herself with some "bling."

Stella's School Christmas Party

This is one of the songs Stella and her class sang at her Christmas party. Although I am completely enamored with my little girl, I couldn't help but watch the girl to her left for half of the time, so cute and so funny. Stella takes the singing thing so seriously. She is so serious about it that she hardly smiles. She wants the notes and words to be just right.

More Christmas Fun

Cookies and Milk for Santa. Carrots for the Reindeer.
Stella loved her teddy bear. She snuggled it all day.
Fun! PLENTY to open. We are blessed.
The infamous bitty twins.
Stella and her new favorite snuggle partner, Timmy. She made the gold tree for him.

Christmas 2009!

These two (above and below) made the cut for the Christmas photo. It was 14 degrees outside! I rewarded them with hot chocolate!

The pics outside turned out much better than the ones I took inside. The one below is one I liked. It was a little stressful trying to get them to hold still, smile, and keep there eyes open at the same time. Tired mommy + excited wiggly kids + trying to take a photo = a mommy who is going to scream. Once I took them outside we starting just laughing and having fun and of course I got some great shots, go figure. Man, I love those little munchkins.

Catching Up

I am way behind on my blog. I have let it go for a few weeks, so I have a lot of catching up to do.

We had a really wonderful Christmas. My sister was here with her boyfriend Tim for ten days. The kids were so happy and had a blast just hanging out and playing with them. Christmas morning was really great. I think we may have gone a bit over the top with presents. It took two hours for everything to be unwrapped!! I guess we will be scaling back a bit. To our defense, we really took our time and didn't let the kids just tear through everything. Stella loved her bitty twin American girl dolls. Judah loved his DSi and his new hunting game. He also was excited about his new guitar. He has practiced several times already with his teaching booklet and c.d. I am so glad that he is so interested in it.

We had a special Christmas Eve reading "The Night Before Christmas" and talking about Jesus, the best gift of all. They really seem to understand and get excited about the real meaning of Christmas. I hope this will grow in them as the years go on. I will post some pics on the next post.

Say Cheese

For a long time Judah has been resistant to taking a "normal" photo. I beg and plead and it's a little pathetic. I usually get a good picture of him when I take him off guard, or when I end up threatening him. I know, I know, threatening him seems a bit much, but I love pictures so he is going to have to fall in line. Here are two perfect examples of what I mean! AHHHHH!! And daddy looked so nice.

P.S. Yes, of course I think Judah is perfect and cute anyway, but come on! Smile!! :)

Helen

We visited Helen today. She is very special to us. She used to be our neighbor. We would visit her on a regular basis and just shoot the breeze. One day, we saw an ambulance in front of her house. I went running down to see what had happened. She had fallen hard and was wedged under her bed. She was hurt, disoriented, and crying. I held her hand and talked to her. I knew she would not be coming back to live alone in her house.

She was moved to a women's home and we visit her there now. I know I need to go more often than I do. Now that we have moved too, we are closer to her.

We were sad to hear today that her beloved cat Marshmallow, had died. He brought her such joy and I could see a change in her now that he is gone. I believe she has dementia. She repeated two different stories three times, verbatim. It seems worse than a year ago. She knows her mind is going and it is very frustrating for her.

We love to talk to her, she has such a great sense of humor and keeps us laughing. She loves to see the kids and play with them. We laughed and even cried a little together. She gets lonely. I know we will be visiting more often. I want to decorate her room a little for Christmas. It is her first year without a tree. I asked her what she wanted for Christmas and she said, "To get the hell out of here." She doesn't like being on a schedule for meals, or being told what to do. We will have to see what we can do to cheer her up. She continually told me how happy she was that we came and how we "made her day," She always touches my heart and I know that she is a gift from God to us, and I told her just that.