Two year olds are fun...for the most part.

Most of the time Andrew is a good kid. But, he's two. Which means, just like other children, he can be a challenge. Today was one of those days...

He fought with me all morning.

"Andrew, pick up your blocks please." "NO!!" "Pick them up now please or you'll have a time out." "NO!"

He took a time out.

He got out of time out and I asked him to pick up the blocks. He did. Then he decided to dump them back out and throw them.

He took a time out.

He got out of time out, picked up the blocks, apologized for throwing them and then proceeded to take the lid off his milk cup (he recently discovered his great ability to do that) and dumped milk all over the kitchen floor.

He took a time out.

He got out of time out and cleaned up the spilled milk (yes, he did cry over his spilled milk! HA!). Then he played with Tori. Ahhh....there's the sweet little boy I know! And then he threw a stuffed football at her head.

He got a spanking AND took a time out.

The day just got worse from there...he colored on the kitchen chairs, he colored on the kitchen floor, he ate play-doh, he refused to nap and then, after falling asleep for a while got up way too early and threw a fit at Daddy's school in front of Daddy's new boss and co-workers. Yes, it was one of THOSE days...

Here's hoping tomorrow will be better. AH-HA! It WILL be better. I just rememebered Mark is home tomorrow. PRAISE THE LORD! PRAISE THE LORD!

Growing up!

Both the kiddos are growing by leaps and bounds! They amaze us all the time. Tori is eating rice cereal and Andrew is almost completely out of diapers (we use them at naptime & bedtime). I can't believe how fast the time goes!

Every morning Andrew chooses his underwear and them informs me he is not wearing pants. "Mom, no pants." And then I have to remind him that if we go somewhere, he has to wear them. Generally speaking, he agrees to that. But, more often than not, the kid is running around in his skivies. *sigh* Oh well! There are worse things!




Potty Trained! WAHOO!




Mmmm! Rice Cereal!

Admitting it is the first step...

I admit it. I am a complete internet addict. Being without it at home is slowly killing me a little each day. *sigh* Fortunately, there is the Canby Public Library which has saved me on more than one occasion. Yesterday their internet was down and I almost cried! It was so depressing to get here and then turn around and go home. UGH.

Monday night the kiddos and I went to a friends' house and hung out. The kids played, ate dinner, ate ice cream for dessert, played some more and cried when it was time for us to leave. All the way home Andrew was chattering away about playing with Elijah and Tori was making all sorts of noise in her carseat. I imagine if she was able to talk, she would be gabbing about the evening, too.

Here are a few pictures...



Andrew & Elijah playing cars




Andrew & Elijah coloring






Here are all the kiddos on the couch: Grace, Andrew, Tori, Elsa & Elijah

Headed into a new week!

Mark went to his new teacher orientation last week, but this week he'll get into his classroom, get his class lists and start getting things going for the upcoming school year. Wahoo!!

In the mean time, the kiddos and I will continue unpacking (yes, its a slow process when I have them to "help" me), head to another play group session (hopefully he won't "encourage" anymore pants wetting) and hang out with some friends in Salem. Other than that, it will be the same old thing! Not a very exciting life, although...Andrew is two so there really isn't ever a dull moment in our house.

A recent Tori update: she rolling all over the place and often wants to "chase" her older brother. She gets awfully upset when she can't keep up. SO...she's decided to work on a more effective method of moving and has gotten up on all fours a couple of times. *sigh* I guess the days of leaving her unattended on the floor are quickly dwindling. We'll start trying new foods this week! Can't wait to see what her favorites are!

Andrew has started repeating little snippets of what he hears, so last night he decided to order a drink while at the Mexican restaurant here in Canby. Mark ordered a beer and when the waiter asked if he wanted that bottled or draft, Mark said, "Draft please". Andrew quickly added, "DRAFT PEESE!" Hmmm...hate to break it to ya, Andrew: you're a bit young! He did order his own rice and beans, though.

Okay, enough blogging from me! I'm headed back home to rescue my husband from the children. When I left, they were napping, but I doubt that's still the case!

Its Sunday again--more notes from church!

Once again, we headed to the New Life Foursquare Church. We dropped off the kiddos (both were more than happy to head to their classrooms) and headed to service. Pastor Eric preached another great sermon on Spiritual Warfare. We were reminded of little details we (well, at least *I*) tend to forget. The biggest thing I came away with was the reminder that, even when I feel insignificant, I need to step up. Remember: Satan is TERRIFIED when even ONE man stands up for God and shines God's light into the world. He will jump into action almost immediately and bring his helpers with him. They will go after you, but when they find they can't get to you, they'll go after everything around you. But, no matter what, he is fearful of what you have: Jesus is the victory. When we have Jesus, we automatically win!

We went through each piece of The Armor of God and what we can do to effectively wear that armor.

1. Wear the Helmet of Salvation: it is protection against the battle for the mind.
2. Wear the Breastplate of Rightousness: it is protection against the battle for the heart.
3. Wear the Belt of Truth: It helps protect us against the battle for our freedom (it was a stretch for me to understand at first, but Pastor Eric explained that the belt covers the loins of a man and the loins are the very essence of a man. If the very essence of a man is protected and he is free inside, nothing can come between him and his God).
4. Wear the Shoes of the Gospel: It is the protection against the Battle for our World. Everywhere you go, you preach the gospel; what version will you preach? When you wear the shoes of the gospel of peace, you preach love, kindness and peace to those around you. You fill them up with encouragement and love.
5. Pick up the Shield of Faith: It protects us against the raging battle for our true devotion.
6. Use the Sword of the Spirit: It is the weapon against the battle for our beliefs.

I came away with a better understanding of what I can use each piece of the armor of God for. How each piece helps me in my daily walk through this raging battle that is always going on around me. It encouraged me and made me feel stronger.

Finally! Some pictures!

I would tell you about all the pictures, but for whatever reason, I only get to see them as code on my side of things. Hopefully you'll see something better! :)

I have to brag just a little...

My "Proud Mommy Moments"

1. We went to play group today and more than one mommy told me Andrew was "delightful" and "well behaved" and "so sweet!" He did do well--he listened and shared all the toys!

2. Andrew shared "Football" (his security blanket) with Tori when she was upset today. He was especially proud when she nuzzled it, drooled on it and then wouldn't let go. He pointed to her and said, "Andrew made Tori happy!"

3. Andrew said he was "sorry", without being asked, when he ran over Jose at play group today.

4. Andrew was the only child to say "please" and "thank you" during snack time at play group today. The other mommies were all very impressed--some were even a little chagrined!

5. Tori smiled and giggled at all the mommies at play group.

My NOT-so-Proud Mommy Moment today:

Andrew had a little accident at play group today and, noticing the wet spot spreading across the front of his pants, loudly declared, "I PEED! I PEED!" A 4 year old, who has been potty trained for quite a while, said, "I can do that too!!!" and promptly wet himself. And then Manuel, who is 3 and potty trained, said, "Me again!" and wet his pants. Fortunately, I had a change of clothes for Andrew. Christian & Manuel have been potty trained long enough their mommies don't need to bring clothes for them. *sigh* They were laughing about it, but I think they were a little irritated that Andrew would start this trend. Hopefully next week will go more smoothly...

At least I know he's listening!

Quite a while ago, I started giving Andrew directions and then asking him, "is that clear?" to establish that he was listening and that he heard me. A few weeks ago, I asked him to do something and he said, "no, I don't want to..." I said, "Excuse me?" And he said, "No--is that clear?" *sigh*

It's been a few weeks since he said that, so I figured he was moving past it. This past week a close friend came over to help me arrange furniture and get some more things settled into the apartment. She was drinking coffee in the living room where Andrew is only allowed to drink water (I'm not a fan of spilled milk on the furniture & carpet). He pointed to her cup and said, "Water?" She said, "Nope, it's coffee!" He reached for the cup and said, "Not on the carpet. Is that clear?" She let him have her cup--he set it on the kitchen table and said, "Here is good. Carpet is bad." And then he asked her to take a time out. I quickly established that Sue was a guest and an adult, so that rule did not apply to her. Andrew had a concerned look on his face but said, "Okay. I guess." Now, if either Mark or I take something into the living room, Andrew reminds me we are "anults" and it's okay.

Pretty soon, he'll be giving ME a pop quiz on the rules!

Doin' a little church shopping

Now that we've been here for a week, we're working on finding our new church "home". Not easy...there's always something you REALLY like about a church and something you don't. One of the things that decides it for us, is whether or not our kiddos like the nursery. In Hermiston, we chose NOT to stay at the church where Andrew got so upset in the church nursery that he gagged himself, vomited all over himself and begged us never to take him back. To this day, I wonder what happened in there! We DID stay at the church where he managed to escape, but that was just because they had him in the little nursery and not the "big kids' nursery" as they call it. He LOVED their nursery--it even had a slide.

So this morning we took the reccomendation (did I spell that right? I think there might be 2 m's...oh well) of a close friend and tried out the New Life Foursquare Church. Andrew cried and cried when we picked him up from the nursery. That's always a good sign--he's having so much fun, he doesn't want to leave. Tori was a happy camper, too.

So the kiddos were squared away--where does that leave Mark & I? We really enjoyed the music and the pastor was great. However, he was a visiting pastor, so we have yet to hear the Sr. Pastor. Pastor Eric (visiting from Baltimore) gave an amazing sermon on spiritual warfare. I took three pages of notes and Mark & I came away feeling like soldiers in the army of God. He made us think, he taught us new lessons and made us laugh. Perhaps we should consider a teaching position in Baltimore? Nahhh....not yet.

Pastor Eric reminded us that there is a constant battle--the question isn't ARE we at war, but are we going to show up to fight that war?

"Spiritual warfare is a battle that rages in the invisible between the armies of God and the satanic forces of darkness"

"Darkness is not just the absence of light; it is anything we have not declared for Jesus and His Kingdom. Have you declared your home for Christ? Your job? Your family? Anything you have yet to declare is dwelling in darkness..."

"There is no 'de-militerized zone'. You're either on God's side, or Satan's side."

"The Devil has nothing except what we give him."

"Victory for the armies of God is guaranteed--we just have to get there."

These are just some of the things he said that made me think. I've spent the remainder of my morning praying and asking God to show me how to declare my house for His sake and how to better teach my children to be warriors for Him.

Andrew and the prissy boy...

Quick--before the library closes, I have to share this...

Yesterday Andrew & I are checking out the play structure by the apartments when a little boy about his age comes over to join us. Andrew is playing in the dirt (as always!) and invites Austin to join him. No such luck. Austin, who is well dressed, entirely too clean and has gel in his hair (yes, GEL!) refuses claiming, "Dirt is yucky. Look at your hands! Gross!" Andrew looks at his hands and says, "DIRT! Play dirt!" and proceeds to show Austin how its done by grabbing Austin's arm and pulling him in. Austin screamed! Like a little girl! Then, he stood, totally alarmed and waited for Andrew to finish. He then turns around, looks at me and says, "He's gross!" and then turns to his own mother and says, "Lets go! No dirt for me!" And they left! Oh well! More play time and more dirt for me and Andrew.

And, yes, the mom gave me the dirtiest look ever...

Unpacking, cleaning & organizing

Ahhh...we are finally moved. I've had a couple of days to get things put away and am feeling a little more relaxed. Andrew has been a big "helper" and wants to put things away as much as he can. He'll open a box and say, "Mom? Where dis go? Put it away? Where is away?" He LOVES his new room--it is HUGE compared to the Stanfield house and he has all sorts of space to play and spread out all his toys. He's most excited about his train set he got for Christmas last year. We left it in storage because he wasn't interested in trains until recently. Now it is THE FAVORITE toy. I will hear him yelling from across the house, "Train!! CHOO-CHOOOO!!! CHOOOOO-CHOOOO!!!" He'll run over to me and say, "Mom! Stop cleaning! Play trains!" So I will take a break and play trains with him. As soon as Mark walks in the door from work, he's pulling at him and saying, "Trains! Play trains!"

Tori is adjusting well--she's sleeping in her own room in her crib (handed down from her big brother) and loves to hang out in her johnny-jump-up while I unpack. She's also recently learned how to roll over and is log rolling all over the house. Today I left her in the living room and, after starting a load of laundry, found her halfway down the hall with a huge grin on her face. She was so proud of herself! Silly girl!

Well, I'm at the library (yes, I was that desperate to check email and update my blog) and my time is almost up. Better scoot so the next guy can get online.

As always, I'll be on when I can!

We made it!

Well, we're moved to Canby. "Moved" as in our stuff is in the apartment. "Moved in"??? Not so much. We managed to get all our gear in the apartment and then we left for the night to stay at Mark's mom's house. And then we're headed to the coast this afternoon for the night at a beach house. Then we're home tomorrow night and Mark starts working on some painting projects with a friend of our's on Tuesday while I stay home and try to organize stuff and get us semi-settled. My goal is to get the kids' rooms mostly put together and get our room empty enough that I can set up our bed and get a feel for how we want things arranged. The biggest challenge? The kitchen--zilch for cupboard space. *sigh* Oh well--I do have a dishwasher! WAHOO! I would rather have a small kitchen with a dishwasher than the large kitchen in Stanfield without one. Whew! Life just got a bit easier!

Well, that's about all I have to report for now--off to the coast we go! :)

So close and, yet, so far.

We're at that point in the moving process where you really can't do anything until the moving truck arrives and most, if not all, your gear is on the truck. We're throwing things in boxes and marking them "Misc" just to get stuff put in a box and out of the way. The kitchen is mostly done with a few dishes here and there. And, just when I think I'm done, I open another cupboard or drawer and find something more to pack. *sigh* It has to end sometime, right? And, thankfully, we have help on this side of things. People to help with the kiddos, people to load the truck and people to help me clean as the guys clear out rooms. The tricky part will be the other side...we're not certain how much, if any, help we'll have unloading. We're going into it thinking we'll have no help at all so that whatever help shows up is a huge blessing. One really good thing: Andrew will be hanging out with his Nana (Mark's momma) for the entire day. I won't have to worry about him running out the door, falling down the cement steps or getting underfoot. I can focus on unpacking boxes and putting his new room together so he can start settling in ASAP. Tori will hang with me all day, but she's not mobile yet, so she's still pretty easy. Plus, she'll have lots of action to watch and entertain her!

We're excited about the move, but there are a few things we will miss. Yes, believe it or not, we WILL miss some things. And it's those things that make us sad to go. Andrew & Tori have acquired an adopted gramma, auntie & uncle who will remain near & dear to us. If you ask Aleta how many grandchildren she has, she will tell you: "I have 12. 10 natural, 2 adopted." And she keeps pictures of our kiddos on her desk right next to her other grandkids. Anytime Andrew sees her, he lights up and runs to her.

Anytime we pull up in front of Bryan & Katie's house, he starts pointing and yelling, "Byon! Kee-dee's house! Kee-dee!!" And he pulls and tugs at his carseat straps to get out as fast as he can. He knows those two will play with him, talk to him and just be with him. They are such a blessing to us. In fact, they made Tori's middle of the night birthday possible by staying with Andrew all night. :o)

It's these people that make the leaving difficult and sad. We will miss them. And, we might just have to come back to see them every now and then. For now, though, we're headed on a new adventure and we're excited about it.

I'll be filling you all in as soon as we have internet access. Until then, pray for us...we're going to need it!

Relax? What?

What a fun weekend! But oh-so busy. We had Bell Ranch complete with BBQ, camping, a Lu'au, outdoor church and swimming in the river. Andrew couldn't get enough of it! Tori was pretty happy, too--she was able to nap out in the fresh air and get carted all over the campgrounds by anyone and everyone. It's so funny how people just want to hold a baby and snuggle with them. While Tori isn't much of a snuggler, she doesn't mind being held and walked around so she can watch all the action around her.

After hours of settting up, having a great time and then tearing down, we headed to Madre's house to organize stuff and take a (short) break before my brother & sister-in-law arrived with her parents and my nephew in tow. William is 15 months and he & Andrew were so excited to hang out and play together. They're still learning about sharing, but they loved watching eachother and following eachother around. We had a nice 2-day visit with them before heading home. They got to meet Tori and get a little "baby fix" before we left. I have more pictures of the crazy boys to post later, but here are a couple for now:

Now its back to Stanfield and packing for our big move! Only 3 days away and so much left to do! After we (finally) get settled, I think I'm going to crash and sleep for a week! Well, as much as the kiddos will allow, anyway!

I spoke too soon...

Andrew may have had an awesome time at Bell Ranch yesterday, but he had a terrible night starting at about 11 PM. The poor kid has never dealt with allergies before, but as soon as we got home I noticed he was congested. He & I were up until 1:30 this morning trying to figure out how to manage it. Then he was up at 5:40 wanting to get up for the day. He finally went back to sleep and is still out, but I have the feeling I'll need to pick up some kind of baby allergy medicine today if we're going to manage the rest of the weekend. Poor little dude! I felt so bad for him tryin' to breath and cry and settle down. He just kept asking for his bed and to go to sleep ("My bed. Seep! Seep in my bed!") but each time I would lay him down, he would be crying from the congestion. *sigh* Hopefully today will be better...

A wonderful start to our busy weekend...

Today I was reminded of how blessed my children are. Not only do they have amazing family members in their lives who love & adore them, but they are blessed with amazing friends who might as well be family!

Today was our first day out at Bell Ranch for the church camp-out with Madre's church (mine and Mark's old church in Corvallis). There's plenty of grassy areas, dirt and a little swimming area nearby--Andrew was in heaven. The best part? He had people who played with him non-stop. Pa-pa Marv took him for a ride on his shoulders all over the campground and chased him across the grass and played with him in the dirt. Auntie Stacy helped him get dinner and played in the dirt with him some more. Carina played "volleyball" with him in the grass. All the while, Tori was being held and talked to and cuddled by these same people when they weren't with Andrew. I had people take my kiddos from me and say, "get your dinner...get a drink...take a seat...take a break....let me play with him...let me rock her...let me give her a bottle..." I had time to help set up while chatting with someone I didn't know that well and came away feeling closer to her. I had time to sit back and really ENJOY the fresh air.

Evening rolled around and the kiddos got tired. I brought them home and got Andrew a bath--he spent the entire ride home and the bedtime routine talking about his day. "Pa-pa Marv and Auntie (stacy) in the dirt with the trucks! My ball! Keena (carina) and the bolley (volley) ball! I ate hot dog for dinner! And chips! And water!" I kissed him goodnight, layed him down and he was asleep...

Tori cried the whole drive home but passed out as soon as I pulled her out of her carseat and layed her in her bed.

Both kids are tired but are also very, very blessed...

Packing for this; packing for that! Is anybody else going crazy yet???

We have had one crazy busy summer! Having a baby, making trips home to show off the baby, a wedding in Seattle, a trip to North Carolina, another trip to Seattle, a trip to Redmond to visit a friend and one more trip home. In the midst of all that, we're trying to pack to move! *sigh* This is our last trip "home" before moving and it's just me and the kids this go 'round. Mark is staying here to get some "REAL" packing done (meaning: Andrew isn't unpacking what we're packing and Tori isn't drooling all over the boxes while we try and pack one-handed while holding her). He's also going to try to get a head start on some lesson plans for next year. I'm looking forward to the cooler weather (it's over 100 degrees today!) while Mark is looking forward to a full night's sleep (lucky!!). We'll arrive in Corvallis late tonight (I'm driving while the kiddos are sleeping) and then we'll head back to Stanfield Monday or Tuesday night and then we move Saturday! WAHOO! What I'm having a hard time with is figuring out what to pack for the move, what to pack for the trip and what to leave out until the last possible minute. I've been doing "grocery math" and "laundry math" to figure out exactly how much food to buy and exactly what clothes to leave out for the kids and me. That way, Mark can rearrange, pack and do whatever he wants with everything while we're gone. I know we'll have enough clothes to get us through this trip and next week. We'll worry about laundry and grocery shopping on the Canby side of things.

In the mean time, I'm going to go pack another bag. What am I going to pack? I have no idea, but I know there must be SOMETHING that needs packing!

Oh yeah! Good news: I talked with the apartment manager this morning and they are tearing out the old carpet today, putting in the new carpet Monday morning, painting Tuesday & Wednesday, cleaning Thursday and taking care of anything last minute on Friday so its all ready for our arrival on Saturday. Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! We cannot wait to get there!

Big Boy Helper!

Andrew will often decide he doesn't want Daddy holding Tori ("Daddy, give Tori to mommy...drive cars with me...") or he'll let us know he needs a break from Tori ("Mom, I play here. Tori sit on blanket."). However, on occasion he'll decide he likes her and might even want her to be happy. Today is one of those days. All day today, if she has fussed or whimpered even a little bit, he has run to me and said, "Mommy! Baby crying! Pacifier! Bottle! Pick up!" He's come up with all sorts of suggestions about how to make her happy. I love watching him try to soothe her--he'll kneel down beside her on the blanket, rub her tummy and say, "Shhhh, baby, shhhhh" and offer her a pacifier. If that doesn't work, he'll find a rattle and try to play with her. He'll also try a game of peek-a-boo (his favorite). If that STILL doesn't work, he'll do his best to pick her up (supervised, of course) and bounce her on his lap. The best part, is that she adores him. She smiles and coos anytime he tries to play with her. I know they'll bicker and pick fights with eachother in the not-too-distant future, so I love watching these little moments of sibling peace.

Here's a picture of a little game of peek-a-boo...