"I want the BLUUUUUUUUUE Kind!"

We made our first trip to Cold Stone Creamery today. Andrew had a pretty good time...and so did Tori.

Decisions...decisions...



"I want the Bluuuuuue kind!"


Cold! But Yummy!


Tori tries some...


Ice Cream Face!


We ruined their dinner appetite but it was so worth it!

Not much to report!

We've been busy the past few days, but nothing really new & exciting going on. Wednesday afternoon Mark & I had a date while the kids stayed with Nana & Papa for a couple of hours. Thursday we just walked around the mall for a bit, got lunch in the food court and then came home for naps. After naptime we headed down to Keizer to watch the Stanfield Tigers play a baseball game at Keizer Stadium. While we were there, Andrew got to hang out with one of his favorite people:


This is Katie--our wonderful friend who stayed with Andrew while I was having Tori. Andrew was pretty darn excited about the baseball game but even more excited about hanging out with Katie.


Yesterday we thought we might head to the lambing barn in Corvallis (per the reccommendation of more than one friend) but the weather was pretty yucky so we opted out. Instead, the kids & I headed down to Salem for the evening to hang out with some friends while Mark had a little break and worked on some lesson plans. Today we went up to the Portland Saturday Market and then had lunch downtown--so fun! I found a booth at the market with some WAY cute clothes and found a shirt for $5! Yay for inexpensive new clothes! Tomorrow we'll head to church and come home for naps and a relaxing afternoon. And then its back to the regular schedule come Monday. SAD...I'm going to miss Spring Break! But only 10 more weeks of school left! And then Mark is home for the whole Summer! WAHOO!

Tori's New Face

Almost everytime we take a picture, this is the expression we get:



What a ham! We love it!

Oh...and for comparison (I was recently asked how different they were in appearance), here is Andrew at the same age:

Easter Pics

Easter!

Easter was too much fun with the kiddos! Pictures coming soon!

Spring!

Now that I'm home from Texas we can focus on Spring! I asked Andrew if he wanted to plant some flowers and he was very excited about it (I think playing in the dirt was the exciting part). We got our soil, our pots, our seeds and set to work. After we were all done, he watered them and said, "K! GROW!" And he stood there. And he stood there. And he stood there some more. And then he said, "Momma, these ones are broken." I had to explain how they take a little time. He's pretty excited to watch what happens! I love this age! He's having the best time learning new things and doing new activities.

COOKIES!

One of Tori's favorite moments in Texas...

Some things can take your breath away

While on our trip to Texas, Madre and I witnessed countless small miracles. We looked back and realized God's hand was in the entire trip--every step of the way. But two moments really stood out to me and just took my breath away and the memory of them always will.

1. Watching and listening as my grandmother passed on her heritage in the Lord and prayed over my daughter. She prayed a special blessing on her life and thanked God for the calling He has for her. She prayed for Mark & I to have patience and wisdom as her parents. I sat and wept as she touched my daughter's face, hair and hands over and over again.

2. Watching and listening even more as I stood in the background with Tori as my mom prayed over her mom. She placed her face in Nana's hands and spoke to God in her own prayer language while she wept for her. I watched Nana touch Madre's hair and weep. I watched them pray over eachother and ask for blessings in eachother's lives.

We knew going into the trip it was going to be different...I'm just not sure we realized HOW different and how much God was going to touch each and every one of us in our own special way.

Sometimes the pictures say all we need to say...

Four Generations In One Small Room!

Goodness we are tired! But we are so glad to be here and so blessed to get to spend this time with Nana. She recently moved to a new facility closer to her apartment so she was pleased about that--more people will be able to visit. Only four hours after her move, she'd had two visitors! Good news travels fast in a small town.

There isn't much to update on: Nana is tired and trying to get some of her strength back but has to take it easy. She loves sitting and chatting with us and watching Tori play and try to "escape" down the hall. All of the nurses and other residents love seeing Tori run around and are always interested in what she's up to. I feel like she has a whole building full of grammas and grampas! They love her and its so great to see them smile and play with her. Fortunately for us (by God's amazing grace) she has ALWAYS been in a good mood when we're at the nursing home--even if she's had little or no sleep. Madre & I have decided she likes the residents better than us! HA!

The time difference is beginning to catch up to me. We've been staying up late and getting up early. I have some quiet time now (Madre is with Nana and Tori is sleeping) so I might clean up a few things and then try to sleep for a bit.

In the mean time...here's a picture from the day we arrived. We were all very tired (Nana wasn't feeling well and we had been traveling all day with a baby) but we managed a few smiles anyway!

As always: thanks for praying!

Texas or bust!

We leave tomorrow morning! Me, Tori and Madre are headed out the door bright and early. My Andrew-boy will have a fun filled week with Daddy, Nana, Papa, Auntie Stace, and his buddy Elijah. I really do hope he has a good time. And I really hope Tori gets good sleep, lets us get good sleep and is, overall, a good baby. Traveling can do weird things to a kid, but I'm hoping for the best! Better get the rest of our gear together...

Off we go!

Its so cliche, but it's also true!

I grew up in church hearing the phrase, "God is good all the time! And all the time, God is good". This past week it has been incredibly true for me in so many ways. Here's a quick rundown:

1. God has provided, via a close friend, a way for me to get to Texas. I get to take Tori with me and introduce her to my Nana. My mom, Tori & I will get to spend an entire week in Texas just spending time with Nana. I'm sad Andrew doesn't get to go with me, but, at the same time I feel like there are some very specific reasons its just me, Tori & my mom.

2. The details of the travel arrangements could not be more perfect for everyone involved. Everything, all the way down to the tiniest detail, is falling into place.

3. My grandfather met with a lawyer last week and things seem to be ironing out a little. No matter what happens, he felt and sounded 100% better after meeting with his lawyer.

4. I *finally* got a break from my kids last night. I haven't had one in weeks (maybe months?) thanks to illnesses, coaching schedules, work schedules and just life in general. Last night, I went out with a group of ladies and we went to a wine tasting, went out for drinks & food afterwards and stopped at a coffee shop after that! It was so great to stay out late without a screaming child pulling on me.

5. God continues, in small ways, to provide for us financially at a time when we didn't see any way to make things happen.

6. Andrew had a follow-up appointment and is WELL. He DOES carry some pretty obvious symptoms of asthma so we are to assume, until she diagnoses otherwise at his three year well-child visit in May, that he has asthma. We will continue using his inhaler every day. He is sleeping better, eating better and gaining some of his weight back.

7. We got new neighbors below us and were very concerned about the kind of family we would be living above. They are a large family, but Christians and they have small children. So far, we haven't had a chance to talk much, but I do smell some pretty amazing things cooking! I might have to go pick up a few recipes! :) We feel blessed to have them living here. My children aren't hearing a lot of language, inappropriate music or yelling (all of which we had with the previous downstairs neighbors). Hopefully they'll stay for a while! At least as long as we do!

8. This seems small, but for me, its totally a big deal: I found the greatest jeans on sale and I don't have to hem them! They are so comfy and they were only $11! One less thing to put in the "to be hemmed" pile!

Things to pray for:

1. That Andrew & Mark would have a great week while Tori & I are gone. That Mark would be able to find childcare for all the days he needs it and that Andrew would just enjoy spending time with other people and not stress that I'm gone.

2. That Tori, Madre & I would have a smooth day of traveling to & from Texas. That God would bless our time with Nana and accomplish all the things He has for us.

3. That God would continue to provide for us financially.

4. That God would, daily, remind me to call anyone I come into contact with, "Sir". :)

The best part of my day!

Even though it's only 8:21 AM, I think the best part of my day already happened.

Mark & I went to Starbucks this morning (we had a rough night with the kiddos) and saw a homeless man outside. He came in to use the restroom and was counting his money and looking at the food items. I ordered my coffee and, just before handing my debit card over, turned to the gentleman and said, "Sir, would you like a breakfast sandwich this morning?" He was startled, smiled and said, "That would be so great! How nice of you!" So I looked at the *uncomfortable* clerk and said, "Whatever he wants on his sandwich add to my bill." He ordered and I turned to leave. As I was going he stopped me and, with tears in his eyes said, "Its been a long time since someone called me sir..."

Its the little things that keep us going when nothing else will.

To the park!

We found a great park not too far from our apartment this weekend. Here are a couple of pictures!