We hosted a small gathering of kiddos for a birthday party. Yup, a birthday party for Jesus.
We lit candles and sang him happy birthday. (And I think these two shots of Daisy may be my favorite from the season so far.)
And even Dani made a friend in Alex as he made her smile by "pat-pat-patting" her belly so gently.
Making sugar cookies! This isn't my favorite Christmas activity, but I love eating the darn things so much that I couldn't resist taking on this project. (Plus, we had to have some fun things to leave out for Santa.)
Daisy helped out with the first batch, which was a lesson in patience for me. Toddlers don't quite understand how to arrange the cookie cutters in order to maximize the rolled-out dough, instead choosing to place the cookie cutter right in the middle and go to town. Lots of re-rolls were necessary.
I decided to make a second batch during naptime, and since Darin got off work early he was able to snap some pictures. Daisy woke up and wanted to help again, and luckily I was almost done this time!
The spread and the girls at camp's Christmas party. We had fun eating good food, chatting with friends, and laughing at the white-elephant gifts. And Daisy chased her new friend Rosie around all night. (Poor Daisy freaked out: 'my fiend, my fiend go!?" when Rosie took a bathroom break.)
Dani does her best to help cheer up Darin. Poor guy had an awful reaction to his pain meds and had to cut them out. Hopefully he'll be back to normal soon!
Could she be any cuter?
We helped our little buddy MJ celebrate her first birthday. Daisy was very into helping MJ open her presents, so it bodes well for Christmas morning!
Daisy and Darin put the rest of the ornaments on the tree. Back there she's playing with an ornament I got way back when I was a baby. Made me smile on the inside.
Before dinner Daisy was flipping through her Bible book, so I took the opportunity to read her a few pages of the Christmas story. I LOVE these times together.
Yesterday Daisy got her first solo ride on a horse!
You can read about her first ride here, and her second here.
I was pretty freaked out when Josh lifted her up there, got her settled, and then walked to the front in order to lead the horse. What?! You're not going to hold onto her while she's up there?! On that giant animal?! Josh!!!!
But I guess Josh knew what he was doing, cuz Daisy was a natural. She just held on and let her body sway back and forth with the movement of the horse.
Thanks Mr Jazz for being so kind and gentle with my baby on your back. And thanks to you too Mr Josh. I think she had a great time.
Every year around late November the camp staff box up the unclaimed lost and found and prepare it for donation. And every year before its sent off, we all are invited to rummage through and take what we can use. Last year Darin did some rummaging and found a few keepers, but this year, in order to keep things a little more fair and a lot more fun, the bosses decided to do an auction.
Basically, it ran like this: anything you wanted got thrown in a bin. Most bidding prices started at 25 cents and depending on how many people were interested in the item, prices went up from there.
But the best part? All monies collected for the stuff is heading straight to World Concern and the people they serve. It made it a lot easier to keep upping the offer in a bidding war, that's for sure!
And check out all the great stuff we came home with! For $15 we got shirts and sweatshirts, flat irons (yup, a pair), hats, swimsuits, a pair of kids keens, and an overnight bag.
A majority of the lost & found items were in kids sizes, so most of this stuff is for my nieces and nephews. (I hope they don't mind wearing used stuff, but seriously, a Roxy sweatshirt? A Billabong sweatshirt? Good stuff here people. For $15! That went to charity!!)
But I have to say I'm pretty stoked about the hat and flat iron I scored. Not too shabby a deal for me either!
Of course, it wasn't an i-pod shuffle found in the pocket of a jacket "purchased" for $7 (happened to Allison, lucky girl), but I'm pretty happy. Can't wait for next year already!
Ready to throw a punch?
Or just trying to have a conversation?
Either way, Mr. Caiden looks a little worried.
Caiden was born a couple weeks before Miss Dani and belongs to our friends and Darin's coworker. We were lucky enough to share a condo, a late night coversation, a delicious breakfast, and a stroll around Leavenworth with them last weekend.
And Dani enjoyed her time on the ottoman with her new buddy.
Anne is one cool chick and we are so happy that she has found J-money (as the boys around camp started calling Justin when he began dating Anne).
We first met Anne in 2005 when she and Darin worked at Fircreek together. She had finished her degree in recreation and was getting away from home (Iowa, I think) to come work in our fair state. One of my favorite things about Anne that summer was her inability to understand the Washington concept of "layering". She was always so cold! We tried to teach her you wear warm clothes in the morning, strip them off mid-day, but save them for the evening when it gets chilly again.
Anne was the activities coordinator that summer and was full of life and creativity and fun. And I loved hanging out with her.
Anne moved home after summer and Darin went back to school. One of his fall courses required him to do some practicum visits so he made an appointment with Crista Camps to come tour Island Lake. During his tour he learned of an opening in their program department and called Anne that afternoon. Anne was soon hired and not-so-much-later given a promotion to Program Director at Island Lake.
Darin was oh-so-jealous, but being still in school was unavailable to apply for the job. He and Anne used to joke that he got her the job and she now owed him big time.
A while later, when Darin was all done with school and on the job hunt for months we signed up to attend the "super sectional" of the Christian Camps and Conference Association. We spent our own money to travel to Coeur d'Alene and register Darin for the conference, hoping it would lead to some great job opportunities.
During the conference Anne pulled Darin aside and asked for his resume. Turns out she had inside knowledge that her counterpart at Miracle Ranch would be leaving soon and she wanted to be sure that Darin's resume was the first one in the hiring committee's hands.
(A couple other serendipitous moments happened during that conference as well. One lunch Darin asked God to help him sit at a table with the "right" people and was frustrated when he ended up lunching with a bunch of maintenance guys. [Nothing against maintenance guys, Darin was just hoping to get a job in program at this conference.] Turns out one of the guys he sat with that day was on the interview team for the Miracle Ranch job. In addition, I left the conference early to go to Spokane and get my haircut and Darin ended up hitching a ride to Spokane with the Crista van. He was later told how much of a positive impression he had left on his soon-to-be-supervisor in that van ride.)
Long story short, Darin was hired and Anne made good on her debt. And Darin and Anne enjoyed working together for many months. I will never forget their program team characters of the Easter European Table Tennis Champions and how they practiced their routine for hours in their office!
Anne's friend set her up on a blind date with Justin and we were excited for her. But one night when she was hanging out with us after doing her camp-hosting gig, she revealed she was a little nervous about this guy. She had asked him their staff-meeting "question of the day" which involved which type of ice cream one would be and Justin had responded vanilla. Anne couldn't figure out what that said about him. Is he too boring? Or is he stable?
We teased her a long time about that.
Turns out vanilla was the right answer.
We are so happy for these two and can't wait to see how God continues to use them in our lives. (Or maybe we'll get a chance to be used in their story this time!)
Thank you to everyone who helped contribute to our purchasing of this lovely double stroller. With about 8 gift cards and a 15% off coupon, we were able to purchase this lovely at Babies R Us just before vacation.
I really wanted a side-by-side, even though it's pretty wide, I could envision countless fights about who would get to ride in front of the sit & stand models. But, there will probably be lots of fights over "MO-OM, she's on my side!" with this model.
See? Daisy's already trying to hold her sister's hand for the picture!
We also love that the seats go up and down so easily, allowing us to use it with both the toddler and the baby, as well as be able to use it for quite a while.
Here, Miss Dani is hanging out while the rest of the family was swimming.
Oh, she's so cute, we must need a closeup!
All summer long when we'd walk to the dining hall for meals, Daisy would choose to walk over riding in her stroller. Now that we've got this guy, she always picks stroller.
Thanks again!
After naps on Labor Day, we loaded up the children and headed out for a walk around camp. We had just purchased our fabulous new double stroller (more on that later) and thankfully hadn't yet parted with the single jogger.
So the twins got the inaugural ride in the double:
And Sam took the single:
And the big kids had to walk. Poor guys were trying desperately to get turns in the strollers, until they realized that walking could have its perks too: like berries!
Or pushing the strollers!
(Can you even see Daisy back there? Trying her hand at pushing too.)
Before we left, we had to load the girls up with some milk, and put their sweatshirts on. Look at this dynamic duo taking care of the second generation duo!
(Jen later borrowed our camera and captured some nice shots of my rear in response to this photo. Too bad those pictures were on my camera and this is my blog, and I don't have to share them here!)
Jen did take the following shot, a nice candid of the walk.
We stopped by the barn for a bit to terrorize the baby kittens.
And stopped by the game room to show our friends our favorite game of roll the pool balls into the holes.
Poor mister Sam wanted in on the action too.
On the way home we found a couple hula hoops left behind in the big field,
and Darin turned them into a choo-choo train to encourage the tired kiddos to walk the rest of the way home.
Man, sometimes I really love living here.
At Mercy's house Dani was hanging out on an ottoman and Noah was so nicely playing with her. Touching her softly on the head and talking to her about how cute she was. It was pure loveliness.
The next thing I knew this sweet little boy was licking my baby! LICKING MY BABY?! Licking my baby right on the lips!
"Oh no," I told Noah. "We don't lick babies."
"Yes we do," he promtply retorted.
"Yeah we do," I hear laughter coming from his Mom.
"Noah," Amy turns her attention to him. " We give puppy kisses to our babies, but not to other babies."
Puppy kisses...I get it. But doesn't mean I'm okay with it.
"Aunt Deanna," Noah asks so sweetly. "Can I give baby Dani more puppy kisses?"
Sorry kiddo.
"How about big boy kisses?" his Mom suggests.
I can definitely get behind that idea. For now.
We'll talk again in 10 years.
When Jen and Amy and the kiddos arrived on Monday they were all very ready for lunch and then an attempt at afternoon naps. Since poor Sam had broken his arm, he was having trouble getting comfy enough to sleep, and his nap was shorter than his Mama would have liked.
So the two of them curled up on the couch and Sam cozied up and fell back asleep.
Problem is, this cute kid isn't so much of a baby anymore. And 30 pounds asleep on your chest gets uncomfortable fast.
And yet, there's his lovely Mama making due, giving up her breathing room and feeling her arm ache. We all make sacrifices sometimes.
Soon enough, Miss Jen, you'll have a small one on your chest again. And what a blessing that will be.
It really stinks when your two very best friends live on the other side of the state or in another state entirely. It also stinks that they are sisters and get the chance to see each other way more than you get to see either of them. But what makes it a little more bearable is the committment we made way back when a certain someone (ahem, cough, Jen, cough) moved to Idaho. We decided that we'd do our best to see each other at least twice a year. That meant I'd go there, and she'd come here once a year.
Most years I've been lucky enough to get to see my girls more than twice, usually 'cuz one of us is having a baby and we need to celebrate. (Although this year it was due to a scary illness we're all glad is over.)
Over the holiday weekend I was so excited to get to host these two girls and their brood of kiddos. They spent the first couple nights with their "Seattle Mom", Mercy, but since they were just up the road rather than hours away, we drove the 45 minutes to spend the day together.
And Sam, since your mom didn't get a chance to take too many pictures, I'll share mine here.
The first thing Miss Jen wanted to do was hold baby Dani. It was a great reminder to her that all the pain and suffering she is going through (poor poor girl with a body that doesn't like being pregnant) is worth it in the end.
Amy even got a chance at Dani, despite having three of her own kiddos to wrangle. Super-Mom indeed.
Don't you just love it when other people love your children? I sure do.
We got the chance to celebrate these two and the occasion of their birth. Ice cream cake was requested (and later regretted) by the pregnant one.
Noah and Daisy were given the chance to blow out the candles, although for Daisy that meant a lot of spitting.
This girl knows how to eat ice cream!
We brought some toys to Mercy's, but sharing is still difficult for our Daisy. She and Noah had to take turns with the popular pink bus, and even though she was reading, Daisy wasn't going to miss her turn.
We were thankful for Darin taking them outside for a while!
And he got some great pics of Mr Noah while outside too.
Classic Noah grin.
After his nap, Sam joined the fun outside too.
Lucky for me, I got to tag along with the twins to their special birthday dinner. Darin took Daisy home (who later ended up getting to spend the night with her Aunties) and Dani and I enjoyed a delicious dinner and wonderful conversation.
But before we got to go, we had to put Sam, Kate & Glory down for bed. And that, of course, required a bed time story. This picture perfectly captures the chaos of it all.
When we lived in Bellingham Darin worked for an awesome company called Mason's Land Escapes. With his boss Steve Mason, and a coworker named Andy (and a few other coworkers that came and went depending on work load), the guys built some awesome hardscapes and water features. They also developed a great friendship.
So when Darin heard that Andy was leaving MLE to move to Seattle and go to college, he wanted to go to B'ham and Andy's going-away party. And since camp ended the same day as the party, we were able to go!
After a good nap in the car on the drive north, Daisy was ready to hit the beach the minute we got there. And her friend, Miss Rachel, was happy to be her beach buddy.
Here's Steve (middle), Darin, and Greg. We went to church with Greg's family and he has taken over the summertime lawn mowing part of Steve's business. Greg is a teacher, so this is a great gig for him (and his son).
Daisy enjoyed her first ride on a motorboat very much.
So did my hot hubby. (Not his first time, though.)
Mr. Greg let Daisy and Darin take a turn driving.
Loving it!
Can I tell you how much it was killing me that there was a waverunner at the party and I wasn't able to go on it? KILLING ME. This is my dream toy. Someday...
So Darin enjoyed a good ride for me, and then he even took Daisy out. They went pretty slow at first, but apparently our little girl was having such a blast that Darin picked up speed quite a bit. Let me tell you how much this nervous mother loved watching that from shore!
Daisy kept saying "again" and Darin was happy to oblige. Must be my daughter.
Someday we'll have one...someday...
The party was a lot of fun and we were glad for the chance to see these guys again.
My parents loaded up their house and pulled out of our yard last Friday. Even though we got two extra days (they were supposed to leave on Wednesday, but my dad got really sick), it was still hard to see them go.
Not only did they watch Daisy for us while we were in the hospital, Mom did so much laundry and cooking and cleaning when we came home that I think I forgot how to work my washing machine or load my dishwasher. In fact, the other day the dryer made a noise that caught Daisy's attention and she called it "Grandma's dryer". Clearly, my mother has been the only one doing laundry around here for weeks.
Oh yeah, they were also really good at baby holding and toddler entertaining. They even babysat one night so I could escape to a staff worship event. And Mom is the best grocery store/library/park/anywhere companion as I worked to learn getting out and about with two kiddos. I'm glad we'll get to see them again in Eastern Wa in a few weeks, but for now they are really missed.
Friday was made a little bit easier by a short visit from our best Bellingham friends, the Dvoracheks. We miss these guys a lot and even though they only stayed a few hours, it was wonderful to have them here.
Here's to hoping we can see them again next weekend in B'ham!
Gram
And Gramps, too, but somehow we didn't get a picture of him.
This big sister came, bringing birthday cake and presents with her. (I think Dad has some pictures of her holding Dani, but I didn't get any.)
Gran drove happily from Lakewood in her air conditioned car.
Auntie Michelle
Cousin Jake
Mama Stace
And we even talked Papa Ty into holding his newest (not as fragile as she looks) God-daughter.
And dear Uncle Sky, who impressed the nurse with his baby handling skills.
Can't wait to see who comes by tomorrow!
This happened last time too. Daisy was third in a group of friends having babies.
Last Tuesday Darin's coworker and his wife delivered their first little guy. We went to visit on Wednesday and "baby Coco" as he's been nicknamed, still had no official name.
Super cute kid though.
And then yesterday my friend Tina delivered her little gal. Too bad they're living in California now. Here's little Addison-Danielle-Haven-Riley-Rae-Stevens.
Congrats to both of you! Now it's our turn!
Hey, at least we've got names picked out.
with two adorable little girls
and bribing this cute boy with food
unlike last trip, this time we are good buds and I love that he gets excited when I come in the room!
I've had a great trip and will miss these guys, but I'm looking forward to seeing my own family again tomorrow.
