Moriah's blog

2011 Christmas Letter

2011-12-12T16:58:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends and Family,

Another year has flown by and I hardly know where it went!! Sometimes I feel like I need to push the pause button and take a breath to savor the moment before plunging on!

The living room of our hotel

We had an eventful summer, when it finally got here…around July. When Eric got out of school in June, we took a family trip to Washington to spend our anniversary and visit family. We took our time and stayed in Spokane for a few days before heading off to Seattle. Since we are huge fans of the Food Network Show, Diners Drive-ins and Dives, we decided to do a little “food crawl” and visit all the places the show had featured in each city we were in. It was so fun and we were NOT disappointed in the quality of the food…yummy!!!

Wall art at one of the places we ate....love it!

The Children's Museum in Spokane

Riding the gondola over Spokane Falls

Yummy Fish Tacos

Then, when we went to Seattle we got to go to the Museum of Flight, Space Needle and Pike’s place Market where we met up with Joe’s sister Tiffany. Of course Eric and I had to visit the Library…a very heavenly place.

View from the Space Needle

Library in Seattle

Space Needle

Then we got spend a few days with Joe’s brother Ted and his wife Kellie who just moved near Seattle from Chicago. We are so excited that they are closer and we will be able to see them more often! Joe’s other brother Dan and his wife Jeyne were visiting too so we had a nice little family reunion with the grandparents and siblings!! I hope we get to do it again soon!

This summer we got a boat, thanks to Ted and Kellie, and a camper! We did several camping trips to the lake and many, many days out on the water!! It was so fun and really helped to relieve the stress of the daily grind! Eric has always been a little more timid about the water so he mostly stayed in the boat. We did get him to try tubing once and he swam some the lake. I actually had my first experience tubing! Besides banging up my chin, it was really fun! Shawn loved tubing...(his way of tubing is being pulled very, very, very slowly, basically floating in the water behind the boat with an adult). He would always have his fists pumping the air, yelling “I’m tooping…woo hoo).

Joe took me to Spokane for my birthday and we camped at a KOA and had tons of fun!!

Another Triple D location in Spokane that we tried!

Later in the summer we were really busy planning and getting ready for my sister’s Gina’s wedding in August. I was her maid of honor and had a lot of fun designing her invitations and throwing her a 1950’s housewife bridal shower. She and I handmade most of the elements for the wedding and between friends and family, we did almost everything ourselves. It was a lot of work but tons of fun! She had a beautiful outdoor wedding by the lake, surrounded by mountains. We officially added my new brother-in-law John to the family. For the first time in a long time, I had all 11 of my siblings together. It was very special, especially to have my brother Michael come all the way from Pennsylvania to walk Gina down the aisle.

Eric had a great first year of school in Kindergarten and ended the school year by playing his second year of T-ball. He loves playing baseball and says that this next year he wants to try basketball too. He turned 6 in March and ended up being sick on his birthdayL, but felt good enough to enjoy his Buzz Light-year birthday with family and friends. There were a lot of firsts for him this year including losing his first tooth, having his first sleepover, and experiencing boating and camping for the first time. He started 1^st grade and loves it!!! He is advanced in reading and math, at least 2^nd grade, and I am constantly amazed at his vocabulary and abilities. He really loves school and has a blast with all his friends. Along with school he did several sessions of swim lessons, really improved his swimming and started learning some basic dives. Eric loves to read, build legos, and help me cook. Some of his chores are doing his own laundry, emptying the dishwasher and keeping his room clean. He loves playing with his little brother and is a huge help to me. He gets them both breakfast and helps keep him occupied when I need to take a shower. I am so proud of my little Eric.

Congratulating the other team...so cute!

Eric at VBS, his first time!!! He loved it!

Shawn is changing all the time. He is taking after his brother in early development especially talking very clearly in full sentences. He always surprises me with the things he says. He loves books and will sit forever and bring me books to read. He even has a few memorized that he reads to me. He counts to 11 and is working on learning his colors and animal sounds. He recently started doing the knock knock jokes: “knock knock, who’s there, Shawn, Shawn who, Shawn cutie!!” It is so cute when he prays and picks specific people and things to pray about. He’s decided he wants to potty train and asks to go the bathroom. One of his favorite things to do is sing…. he sings songs word for word and is constantly singing. He is loves using the iPad and iPhone and knows exactly where all the apps are, the volume and how to play and pause his music. When I ask him to give it to me, he says “minute”. He’s a big cuddle bug and loves to snuggle with his daddy. He’s growing up too fast for me!

Joe has been busier than ever at work and was recently made CEO of the Montana Sky Net!!! I am so proud of him and his success…he deserves every bit of it. However we do see him a bit lessL He has had a rough year with his health and has gotten some extremely bad flu’s that have scared us and the doctors. We are working on building his immune system up and helping him to reduce his stress (ha-ha). He really enjoyed the summer boating and found it to be a good outlet for his stress. This winter he looks forward to taking Eric to ski lessons every Saturday.

This year was one of my busiest tax seasons and I really enjoyed it but it got pretty hectic!! I love volunteering at Eric’s school once a week and being involved in his activities. The summer was very busy with planning for my sister’s wedding. I really enjoy designing cards and invites and have had a lot of fun with that. I designed the Christmas card this year and I like to do digital scrapbooking with my program also. This year I started a book club with my sister and a few friends and it has been so fun! We did a Jane Austen themed night to go along with reading Emma. We meet about once a month and it’s become like a fun girl’s night out!

But now it is time to start gearing up for tax season again!!

Our house is busy as usual. My younger siblings come hang out every couple of weekends and we really enjoy that! Joe’s brother, David, moved here from Idaho in February and has been staying with us. It has been really nice to have him close after years of not seeing him much. We have family get-togethers fairly often and just having my siblings and mom over is around 20 people but we love it! From November to January we have 10 birthdays in addition to Thanksgiving and Christmas and that is not counting the cousins and extended family so this time of year is just crazy, but fun crazy!

Turning two!!!

Thanksgiving

This year has also brought a lot of heartache and stress and it has been very hard at times.

Early in the year, the earth lost one of the sweetest people when Joe’s step-mom Sandi passed away February 26^th. At age 46 she has suffered so much with various illnesses and her leaving has left a very empty hole in our hearts. We miss her so much but we are also happy for her that she is in heaven and is no longer in pain. We love you, Mom, Sandi.

A couple months after Sandi’s passing, Joe’s dad ended up in the hospital with pneumonia and sepsis, an infection in the blood. He was on a breathing machine and in the ICU for days and they were not sure he would make it. Miraculously he pulled through and has been doing better than he has in years. It was a miracle that we praise God for and are glad he is still with us.

I am so thankful for all my friends and family. God has blessed us and is helping us through the hard times. I pray that we all have a good 2012 with good health and take the time to enjoy the little moments with our families.

Merry Christmas,

Moriah, Joe, Eric and Shawn

Remembering

2011-10-14T12:54:00.000-07:00

Today I am remembering thinking of you, my little angel in heaven....three years ago, at 10 weeks along, we found out you had flown up to heaven on your angel wings.

"Precious, tiny little one
You'll always be to me
So perfect, pure and innocent-
Part of heaven's family

We dreamed of you and your life
And all that it would be
We waited and longed for you to come
And join our family

We never had the chance to play,
To laugh, to rock, to wiggle.
We long to hold you, touch you now
And listen to you giggle.

I'll always be your mother,
He'll always be your dad
You'll always be our child,
The child that we had

Now you're gone...but yet you're here
We sense you everywhere.
You're our sorrow and our joy,
There's love in every tear.

Just know our love goes deep and strong,
We'll forget you never-
The child we had but never had,
And yet will have forever" (Author Unknown)

I can't wait to meet you someday and get to hold you.

"You Are Loved, So Very Loved
How very softly you tiptoed into my world.
Almost silently, only a moment you stayed.
...But what an imprint your footsteps have left upon my heart."

Your Mommy

Organizing and prioritizing

2011-01-17T14:17:00.000-08:00

Last Monday I was co-leading a MOPS meeting about organization and I put together this handout from tips I found online. I also read and did a little activity from a blog of a friend and author Tricia Goyer. It is focused on organizing and safety and 13 tips for the overcommitted/overloaded. Be sure to check out the full entries on Tricia's blog by clicking on the links! It's a 5 part post so click on the next entry to keep reading on the 13 tips!

This is a some of Tricia's advice that I included in the handout:

Change can happen. Especially when we realize getting our priorities in order makes us available to God and to those most important in our lives. To summarize, we can stop the insanity by 1) focusing on what’s most important, 2) concentrating on key people, and 3) using ministry as family bonding time. Only then will we be truly available to the work of God in our lives, in our families, and our service.

Major on the Majors
Want to focus on the most important? Try this:
1. List everything you do in your day, your week, your month.

2. Rate these items on a scale from 1 – 4. “1” being most important, with “3-4” things that are nice but you can live with out. (For example, cooking dinner, giving kids baths, reading your Bible, spending time with your spouse would all be “1s.”)

3. Ask yourself: “Will this really matter five years from now? Ten? Is God at work here, or is it my own ambition?” Also, “How does this task rank in light of eternity?”

4. Eliminate out all the “4s.” Consider which “3s” you could put off for now. This may mean taking your toddler out of dance class. (Will she even remember it a few years from now?) Or cutting down on your television usage.

5. Revise this list over the coming weeks. Ask God to show you what tasks to focus on.

When prioritizing remember these tips:

1. Get a good night’s sleep.
2. Take control. Don’t blame others for your overload.
3. Say “no.” Prayerfully consider every request.
4. Set boundaries to protect your family time.
5. Seek solitude in order to sift through your daily problems and brainstorm solutions.
6. Ax the guilt. No one can do it all.
7. Refuse to compare your weaknesses with someone else’s strengths.
8. Decide what things matter most in light of eternity.
9. Realize that kids will someday be grown up. Enjoy them now.
10. Spend quality time with your spouse. Encourage each other.
11. Don’t get caught up in the “extracurricular activities” trap. There are many successful adults who never played t-ball or took piano lessons.
12. Realize the values children learn from down time and home life will set a foundation for their future households.
13. Seek God. Our limitations remind us how much we need Him.

What changes do you need to make in your priorities?

What is one small step you can take towards that?

Remember: Today is Someday. The things that are most important on your priorities, focus on TODAY!

These are some other tips I gleamed from books and other resources:

Tips for organizing and de-cluttering your busy schedule

Prioritize your schedule and daily activities. Cut out unnecessary things that just make you too busy. (see other side for tips in doing that)

Do quick pick ups through out the day to help with the mess build up so you don’t have one huge mess at the end of the day when you are tired

Plan meals ahead to help with last minute meal anxiety. Pre-boil eggs, pre-wash and pre-cut, veggies etc when you have a little more time so that you can quickly throw lunches and meals together. When possible, buy groceries and drugstore items in bulk to save a trip to the store. When you prepare one casserole, make one or two extras and freeze them.

Try a timer. Multitasking doesn’t always work when it comes to keeping yourself organized. Sometimes, you need to be able to focus on a single task in order to really get it out of the way. Using a timer can help. It's amazing how much you can get done if you’re trying to beat the clock!

Get a great planner to help organize your schedule. Put your PDA to good use, try managing your time online with Google Calendar, or go with the tried-and-true -- an old-school day planner. Even a basic, notebook-style planner with plenty of room for you to jot down notes will help you manage your time more efficiently.

Designate Days. Choose a day or night to do your grocery shopping and errand running each week. Choose a day to clean your home. Stick to your schedule and forget about these responsibilities the rest of the week. Maximize Your Trips. On your way to town, are there errands you can run so you don't have to do them at night or on the weekends?

Teach your child how to prepare a drink mix, do laundry, empty the dishwasher and clean his room. An extra set of hands goes a long way.

Streamline housework. Let the voice mail pick up calls while you clean, to help maintain momentum. To make daily tasks go more quickly, use comforters instead of blankets (to make beds more quickly) and keep cleanser and sponges in each bathroom (to do quick scrubdowns). Organizing the house better makes cleaning up not seem like such a monumental task. To get rid of kitchen clutter, for example, clear counters of anything you don’t use at least once a day. Clear out drawers and closets of outgrown clothing. But don't do everything at once, break down the work into a task or a time frame. For example "I'll clean one closet every week until I'm done.'"

Christmas

2010-12-26T12:41:00.000-08:00

Eric's Kindergarten Christmas Concert was last week and it was soooo cute!
Joe's parents and my sisters, Martha and Miriam came to see him and it made him so excited.

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer!

Eric was concentrating so much that it was hard to get him to look at us to take a picture. He told me later "I was so embarrassed, Mom". That's his way of saying he was shy to have people looking at him, lol.

He got every word and really enjoys singing.

Shawn started to fuss until Grandpa held him and let him see the performance and then he sat there the content the whole rest of the time. It was so cute!

Eric and his Miriam

June, Jessina and Jeannie

Our Italian family has always had a tradition to eat raviolis on Christmas. Growing up we always made our own and we have continued that tradition which is really neat to pass on to our kids. This year we had my extended family come over, my aunts: June and Jeannie and my cousins: April and Jessina. It was so fun to visit and "help" Martha make the raviolis.

April, Martha and Monica

Martha, Lynette and Kendra

On Christmas Eve, Joe and I go to his parents house and this year we took some my family with us. We had a wonderful meal of lasagna, green salad, ham, scalloped potatoes and green beans! Then we did a little white elephant game which is always alot of laughs!

Cody (BIL), Gareth, Shawn, Kip and Sandi (FIL and MIL)

Jon, Joe, Shawn, Monica and Jennica (SIL)

Christmas Morning

sideways pic....Opening the stocking

A book...my favorite

So excited to get Woody from his cousin Will

A phone...my favorite toy, thanks cousin Jake!

Mark

Monica

Mom

My favorite picture

Eric made Joe a framed letter, painted him a mug and gave him a big bag of gummi bears!!

For gifts we did a secret Santa exchange for the kids: 10 on down.

For the adults we usually do a secret Santa too but this year we all got a $30-$50 present and then we played a "while elephant" type game where we got to pick and steal presents from others! It was so fun and everyone ended up with some great stuff!

Joe playing with the hover craft I got him for Christmas. I was really proud of myself because I have a hard time coming up with stuff to get for him. Joe's brother, Ted, gave me the idea (Thanks, Ted!) It was a big hit with not only Joe but all the other guys too!


All the grandkids!

Back row: Lee, Lynette, Hans, Kendra, Paul holding Shawn
Front row: Eric holding Ellina, Eliza, Gareth and Tony

Shawn but he was grumpy cause his teeth hurt

Joe and his wonderful and silly helpers, Lynette and Kendra

It was a great Christmas and I am very thankful for a nice relaxing day and wonderful family!

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Christmas Letter

2010-12-14T17:12:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone,

It’s almost Christmas again and we are surrounded by piles and piles of snow. By now they have turned into piles of slush and ice, which isn’t my favorite. Hopefully we get some more nice fluffy stuff for Christmas!

We have really enjoyed our year in our “new” house since we built our addition last fall. We finally got a lawn and Joe had a fun time this summer building an elaborate tree house!

Shawn's First Christmas

Shawn and his twin cousin Eliza: 9 days older


The view from our bedroom window

Eric's new ornament

Shawn's baby ornament

We did a few family trips this year which I was nervous about doing with a baby but we are blessed with a pretty laid back little guy.

In July we went to California to visit my Grandparents. Joe finally wore me down into getting a mini-van so we were able to drive very comfortably in our new Sienna!

We took my sister Gina and little brother Mark. It was pretty special because my brother Michael flew over from Philadelphia to visit them at the same time. He and I have birthdays a week apart so we got to celebrate them together. We had a great visit and got to introduce Shawn to his great-grandparents. It was so relaxing; swimming every day, visiting with family, going Disneyland, Knotts berry farm and being in the wonderful California weather!! Eric and Shawn both couldn’t get enough of swimming and loved our trip. Shawn is very easy going and did really well on the long trip to California.

In October, Joe’s grandma and uncle Brett came for a short visit from Idaho and Eric had a wonderful time getting to meet his great grandma and great-Uncle Brett whom he called “Grandpa” Brett. Eric has a total of 6 grandmas altogether so it’s like he’s always getting to meet new ones!

For Thanksgiving we got to fly to Chicago to spend time with some of Joe’s family and attend his brother Dan’s wedding. It was Shawn’s first time flying and he did very well on the flights. Eric was ecstatic and couldn’t get enough of the airplanes! We had a wonderful 10 days staying with his brother Ted and his wife Kellie and their two boys. Eric loved playing with his cousin Will who also has a love of Toy Story and Buzz Lightyear. Jake and Shawn are close in age and had fun and fights over important things like toys and food! The wedding was beautiful and we loved getting to visit with all the relatives. Unfortunately we all got the flu, which put a slight damper on some of the funL

This year I feel like the kids have grown up so much, too fast!!

My little Eric is not so little anymoreL He has had a year of big firsts. After finishing off a fun year of preschool, Eric was very sad to say goodbye to his friends that he had spent the past couple of years with. We had a lot of adventures in preschool, “visiting” other countries and taking field trips to the skating rink, doing plays and creating our own art at the art studio.

He turned 5 in March and had a fun day of roller-skating with his friends and then a family party at home.

One of Eric’s firsts was playing T-ball in the spring. He was so excited and did really well listening to the coach and learning to hit the ball and catch. It was a lot of fun and he can’t wait to play again. Eric loves summer just like me. We got him a bigger bike and he is able to keep up with me now so we took a lot of bike rides together. Every chance he got he would be playing outside: jumping on the trampoline, riding bike or playing in the woods.

And then, it was time to start kindergarten. It came way to fast for me, and I definitely had a lot of anxiety about which school to send him to. He ended up going to a great school and his teacher is someone we already knew! He is doing great and loving it. Eric has always been very advanced and when kindergarten started, he was already reading at first grade level! They tested him and now send him to the first grade class for reading. He reads books to me everyday and I am amazed at what he is able to read. We are so proud of our little guy!

My little baby Shawn is 15 months old! He has grown up so fast over the past year. We have enjoyed him so much. He is daddy’s little buddy and spends a lot of time cuddling up to his daddy! He was always a pretty chunky little guy but around 10 months lost a little weight and thinned out a little. The doctors weren’t too worried because he is very active and developmentally on target but we did regular weight checks to keep an eye on it. He is gaining normally but is still a little small. However I am pretty small and I’m told Joe was a scrawny thing himself so I guess he takes after us!

Being small hasn’t slowed him down any. He rolled over at just a few months old, was crawling all over and pulled himself up standing at 6 months and walked around the furniture. He has always been quite the climber and could get himself on the couch and up and down the stairs at around 9 months. He really liked crawling though, (more efficient you know) and wasn’t interested in standing by himself or walking until a year old. Now at 15 months, he’s walking around like a pro. He is a very happy little baby.

He loves to play with puzzles, talking on the phone and playing with remotes. He takes the remote control and points them at the TV so he can be like us! He says a lot of words: uh oh, all done, Eric, mama, dadee and ball. He says “Mam” in a very demanding voice until I say what. Then he proceeds to tell me a story. It’s so cute. He also says hiya and biya for hi and bye.

Joe and I are very thankful for our little ones and the life that God has blessed us with. We’ve had some very difficult times in the last year and although it’s easy to get discouraged, it helps to think of all the good things we have and be thankful.

I hope that all of you are doing well and have a great Christmas full of happiness and relaxing moments.

Love,

Moriah, Joe, Eric and Shawn

Pumpkin Patch....again!

2010-10-26T10:48:00.001-07:00

My brothers and sisters were up for the long weekend so we decided to go again. However, this time was definitely not sunny and warm! Apple cider was needed!

Shawn all snuggly warm in his doggy suit!

This is a great workout for your legs!

The best invention ever...the giant jumping pillow. And adults can even jump!

Lee, James, Lynette and Kendra

The faces of Martha, Eric and Monica

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-21T23:10:00.000-07:00

We always end up going to the pumpkin patch late in the year when it's freezing cold so I decided to get a jump on it this year. Martha and I and another friend went together on what ended up being a very sunny day!!!

My nephew Tony and his adorable grin!

Nephew Hans being silly

They love the trikes.

The sunflowers were gorgeous!

Tractor wagon ride!

Paul did a great job helping me with Shawn!

Shielding his eyes...so thoughtful

Eric and one of his best friends from pre-school...Nya.

Attempting to take Shawn on the riding horse/swing.

Food

2010-10-13T11:30:00.000-07:00

I Love Food.
Lately I have been wanting more diverse food. I love trying new foods and I'll usually try anything once. While I love eating food, I do not like cooking it. I have been bored of the same "old faithful" meals that I always cook so I got inspired by Julie and Julia to try something new. (I even poached my first egg!)

I picked out a menu of meals of things that either I hadn't cooked before or with better, higher quality ingredients and fresh herbs. Martha helped me find alot by showing me some great recipe blogs like Tammy's recipe's and Recipe Shoebox. (btw, all photos are stolen from their sites:-)

So far I have made:

Fish Tacos with halibut and homemade tzatziki sauce. It was so good I think I could've eaten the sauce on it's own.

Tzatziki sauce ingredients:

1/2 cup grated peeled cucumber (seeds removed and juice drained*)
1/4 cup greek yogurt or plain yogurt
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon chopped oregano
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt

Grilled Chicken Souvlaki Gyros...they were sooo good.
I stole the picture from Tammy's blog but mine looked just as good...of course! :-)

http://www.tammysrecipes.com/grilled_chicken_souvlaki_gyros

Creamy Spaghetti and Beans with Earthy Portobello Salad with Prosciutto
(Rachel Ray says this is Italian comfort food and will wrap your stomach in a cozy blanket!)
It was yummy but I would cut down the beans next time. You put dry spaghetti in a skillet and add a little wine and chicken stock a few ladles at a time until the spaghetti drinks it all up. I was babying it and keeping a close eye until my neighbor came by to talk about the road. You know how you don't want to be rude when someone is talking but you need to do something? So I kept trying to sneak in the kitchen to stir it, but it ended up a little drier than I think it should've been.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/creamy-spaghetti-and-beans-recipe/index.html

Joe normally isn't a huge salad fan, unlike me who dreams about salad, but he liked this one! Mostly because of the large chunks of portobello mushrooms!!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/earthy-portobello-salad-with-prosciutto-recipe/index.html

Garlic Chicken Latta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes from http://recipeshoebox.blogspot.com
This was really delicious and even Shawn loved it. I usually have a hard time making creamy sauce without some issues for some reason...curdling or it not being thick enough. This turned out PERFECT! I guess I should follow a recipe sometimes.

http://recipeshoebox.blogspot.com/2010/05/garlic-chicken-pasta-with-sun-dried.html

Skillet Rosemary Chicken from Food Network

This one turned out so good....tender and juicy with a slight lemon flavor. I ended up using the leftovers on top of salad. What else?

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/skillet-rosemary-chicken-recipe/index.html

I also made Chile Verde: I used stew meat cooked all day in the crockpot with green chiles until super tender and then put in tortillas topped with mozzarella and baked.
I've been craving it for months, literally because that's how I am :-) It wasn't as juicy as it should've been so it was a little on the dry side but I didn't care!!

I also tried my hand at Paninis....Artisan bread with prosciutto, salami, tomato, fresh basil, provolone, olive oil and balsamic (mouth watering). However, the panini effect is hard to achieve without a press so it was more like a grilled cheese but still good.

I'd say the biggest challenge of it all is trying to plan the meals around Joe's schedule. His work schedule is so unpredictable that he could get home at 5pm or 10pm. I don't like to cook a big meal just for myeslf so I saved these ones for the nights I knew he'd be home. For myself I'd fix a big greek salad with spinach, olives, feta, cucumbers, pieces of salami, balsamic dressing...yum

Next recipes to try: Zippy Steak Chili and Balsamic Chicken and Pasta.

Wish me luck.

Eric

2010-10-06T10:20:00.000-07:00

(pretending to be a dog)

My little man is such a big boy now. He started kindergarten and loves it!! He had just started reading alot before he started school so the teacher tested him. He is reading at first grade level!! He can't get enough of books...always trying to read everything! So now, during reading time, he goes to the first grade class and fit right in!!
Its really hard for me to have him gone for so long. I go to the school every chance I can to eat lunch with him, or special class events. I really want to start volunteering but they haven't needed me yet.

Eating lunch in the lunch room!! All the kids LOVE Shawn!

Our "E" themed snack: eggs and bacon...they were a big hit!

Yum!

Eric loves to tell me all kinds of stories...they last a very long time and are very imaginative:-) He always surprises me with the big words I hear come out of his five year old mouth: "first you make the diagonal line and then the vertical...that is not the correct one, Mom...it's an experiment....when Dad sees this, he will be amazed!"

He is very good at arguing....deciding what is fair for Mom to ask of him:-)

He has come up with alot of questions and discussions lately about heaven, marriage...serious subjects!! He says "then you got married again and had Shawn!!" He told me the other day that he doesn't want to get married ever, wants to live with us. Then he adds " I think I might forget that I said this when I get older." lol
He wants to go to heaven with me and Joe and wants to know when we will go. "How will we get up there? Will we go through the clouds? If we could hear God, then he could tell us when!"

I try to make the time to cook with him...he loves it and I don't do it often enough!! He gets so excited about looking through cookbooks and deciding what ingredients we need.

Making oatmeal raisin cookies...they turned out good!

Eric's has liked trains since he was little....obsessed with them. We have a train that goes by about 10 yards from our front yard!
I finally finished his Thomas/train themed bedroom:

I spent a couple hours setting up his train tracks in our old bedroom. Can you tell where he got his love of trains from?

He loves playing with Shawn and they have a lot of fun together:

He had a great time helping me plant my tulips and we found a nice juicy worm.

Look Shawnie, a worm!

Got to show it to Daddy

Even though he's a big boy now, he still loves to cuddle with me on the couch to read or watch a show. He has his own chores: his laundry, empty dishwasher and clean room. I love that he knows what he thinks and what he wants and is more of a leader than a follower.

Is it bad that I already get teary eyed thinking about him moving out and that I already hate my daughter-in-law for taking him away from me?

Shawn

2010-10-02T10:32:00.000-07:00

My little baby is one year old!!! When did that happen? I enjoy my little boy so much: he has such a sweet personality. He is very laid back and a big cuddler but very active and a big entertainer. Loves an audience!

Although he's been pulling himself up standing, walking around furniture and walking stuff around since he was 6 months old, he doesn't seem to really desire to walk. He has stood on his own for a few seconds and then realizes a quickly sits down!! His favorite thing to do is push the step stool up to the counter in the kitchen, climb up and find exciting things on the counter. He goes up and down the stairs very very quickly...it's a little scary.

He says "all done" "daddy" "mama" "MOM!!!" "hi" "uh oh" and "owie". Only after owie he giggles. My little boy playfully hits and then says owie and giggles! This is all Joe's fault because one night he was playing with him, allowed him to hit him with an empty bottle and then would say "Ow" very dramatically. So now our son thinks hitting and owie are a fun thing!!! It's cute now but...

Everything is a phone to Shawn. He holds it up to his ear and starts talking!! However, he knows that remotes control the TV and the other day: actually pointed at the TV, clicked the power button to turn in on and off several times!! He amazes me! Maybe he'll be like his brother and be playing his own DVDS at under 3.

Birthday Time!

I don't want this hat on!!

He hasn't really had any sugar yet and I wanted to find a cake that was on the healthy side. I ended up finding this recipe on website for baby food.

http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/tipFirstBDay.htm
It is only sweetened with fruit juice, made with whole wheat flour and has carrots, raisins and wheat germ. It was actually really good!

2 1/2 cups thinly sliced carrots
2 1/2 cups apple juice concentrate (you may use slightly less)
1 1/2 cups raisins

Vegetable Spray/Shortening
2 cups whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 whole eggs
4 egg whites
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup wheat germ
2 Tbsp low sodium baking powder
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

Prep: Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two 9 inch square cake pans with waxed paper and spray the paper with vegetable spray/shortening.

1. Combine the carrots with 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of the juice concentrate in a medium size saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, covered, until carrots are tender, 15 to 20 mins. Puree in a blender of food processor until smooth.
3. Add the raisins and process until finely chopped. Let mixture cool.
4. Combine the flour, wheat germ, baking powder, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Add 1 1/4 cups juice concentrate, the oil, eggs, egg whites, and vanilla; beat just until well mixed. Fold in the carrot puree and applesauce. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans.
5. Bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 mins. Cool briefly in the pans, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely. When cool, frost with Cream Cheese Frosting below or sprinkle a wee bit of powdered sugar if desired.

However: he wouldn't touch it!!! The days after his birthday, he ate tons of it. But I think all the loud people singing at him and making noises was too overwhelming!!

Here Gina "smashed" it in his face to see if he would eat it. He ended up looking like a little Santa Claus!!

Presents!!

Mean Aunt Gina giving the first haircut....or rather trim.

The look of trepidation

She's TORTURING me!!

Ok, we r done....and I'm still not happy!

He LOVES books just like his brother. He'll sit there and listen to me read and turns the pages, touches the fuzzies and lifts the flaps. However, his favorite books to play with are mine...turning pages and opening and closing. He played with these for like an hour!

Telling me all about the book.

I love how he lays on his belly to read!

We went to the park and he loved the swing.

He's a little daredevil!!! Eric did NOT like the swing.

Oh yes, this is the new favorite thing to do...keeps him occupied for a long time.

I just can't get enough of my little boy...he's growing up way too fast! It seems to be happening way faster to Shawn than Eric. I don't want to miss a moment.

Shawn's nursery

2010-04-06T00:54:00.000-07:00

So, I realized I haven't really put alot of pictures up of the finished house. I am slowly doing decor, finishing and organizing each room. It's one of the frustrations I have with myself....I have such a high expectation of what I want to do, that it either never gets done or takes forever. I have to really just push myself to just do it!!!

So...Gina pushed me and we finally got Shawn's room finished. Here are the pics!!

Eric helping me vacuum..he's such a good helper!!

Shawn watching Eric vacuum...and yes, we are moving the mattress down....silly kid had to go and start standing right after I set up the crib.

I like my room!!!

The paintings that Gina made me....she is so talented!!!

2009 Christmas Letter

2009-12-16T13:53:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone,

It’s Christmas time again!!! Here is a little bit about what we did this year and how we are doing now.

We started off the year celebrating Joe’s birthday in a beautiful condo at the Schweitzer ski resort in Idaho. We relaxed in a rustic style 3 bedroom 3 bath furnished condo with direct access to the ski hill. We could ski right to our door!!! My parents watched Eric and my sisters Miriam and Gina, my brother Jon and friend John stayed with us on the mountain. It was so relaxing. The guys could go down the “scary” hills while us girls relaxed in the hot tub or drank hot chocolate. It was beautiful blue skies almost the whole weekend.

Miriam

Not long after this we got the wonderful news that we were expecting a new little addition to our family!!! We couldn’t wait to meet our new baby and Eric was looking forward to having a little brother or sister.

Eric turned 4 in March and had two birthday parties!!! We had one party in Libby with my family and I went a little crazy and made a train cake. We had Thomas as the engine who pulled four cars: coal car, passenger car, zoo car, log car and a caboose brought of the rear. It was quite the production and it took my sister Mishael and I hours to make!!! The next day I decided to make him another Thomas cake for his party at Joe’s parents house. I’m definitely not an expert cake decorator but the result was satisfactory to Eric so I guess that’s all that matters!! However, I think for his next birthday simple cakes will be the theme!!!

As the snow began to melt, Eric was very sad as his favorite pastime was shoveling with the small shovel my mom gave him. He also really enjoyed our trips up the mountain to ski and “snowbobile” as he says it. Joe got several snowmobiles this year and has really enjoyed playing with them. His brother Jes and his family came to visit and we all took snowmobiles up to the top of the mountain, rode the lift down to a restaurant for lunch, then took our snowmobiles back home. It was so great to see them and a great activity to do together with kids and adults.

In June we decided to take a family vacation and ended up making it a road trip. We took my sister Monica along and she was a great help with Eric. Joe arranged for us to stop in Vegas to stay in a luxury suite in the Venetian to celebrate our 5^th anniversary. Since we had our honeymoon in Italy, the hotel was reminiscent of that with St. Mark’s Square, the gondola rides and dinner at Mario Batali’s restaurant. We even found a family friendly magic show that Eric really enjoyed. Since our hotel was a mall, theatre, and restaurant all in one, we didn’t really go anywhere else. Most of the Vegas attractions don’t really appeal to us anyway!! We finally arrived at my grandparent’s house in S. California where we spent a wonderful week visiting with them and other relatives. We had fun taking Eric and Monica to Disneyland, SeaWorld, Universal Studios, and San Diego Zoo. After saying goodbye to my wonderful grandparents we decided to head up along the coast to see Hearst Castle and stop in N. California to say hi to my cousin. The drive was beautiful with gorgeous views of the ocean and later Mt. Shasta and Mt. Rainer. We stopped in Tacoma to see Joe’s grandparents and sister Tiffany. We had a lovely evening with them. His grandparents got to meet Eric and we got to catch up. We only wish the visit could have been longer.

Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle Randy & Aunt Sarah and cousin Hannah.

In front of our hotel in Vegas

Disney land

Universal Studios

Monica and Marilyn Monroe

Newport Beach

Hearst Castle

We stopped to see my cousin Heather in Redding.

Tiffany and Joe's Grandparents

San Diego Zoo

Because I was pregnant the summer seemed hotter than any other summer!! The pregnancy went well besides a few things: I sprained my ankle, had a horrible allergic reaction to antibiotics and had to use an inhaler for some severe chest congestion. That part was not fun!! I stayed pretty active though and Eric and I would take little walks and bike rides almost every evening.

Silverwood Theme Park with Mom and the kids.

Floating in the lake at Family Camp

A Beached Whale

About a month before the baby was due, we embarked on the adventure of adding on to our house. The addition includes a living room, four bedrooms, an office, and family room. And then in the middle of construction…I had the baby!! Thankfully our existing house was not really affected by the construction yet so I was still able to have a home birth. Labor started off a little chaotic as I ended up going to the bank to sign closing documents on our loan while having contractions!!! It ended up very calm and relaxed at home with my mom who is a midwife, my sister Martha who is a doula, my sister Maria who is an RN (who ended up hitch-hiking to get to the birth!!) and Joe. The labor was about seven hours and went much faster than Eric, which I was so thankful for. Little Shawn Joseph was born weighing 8 lbs 8 oz and 21 inches long. Eric is the proud big brother and has adjusted very well. He loves to help with the baby and runs to him every time he whimpers!!! Joe was so wonderful and pampered us. When he finally went back to work he’d come home at noon every day to make us lunch, make sure I was drinking water, do the laundry and clean the house.

Meanwhile the construction continued. It was a race against time to get it done before Thanksgiving but we did!!! We were able to have my family and Joe’s here for dinner and we fit all 28 people!!! The new house is such a blessing and makes it so much easier to have family over. Everyone spent the weekend here and helped us finish moving things and completing all the small projects. There are still little things to be finished but the list is dwindling thanks mostly to Joe. I don’t seem to get much done besides the meals, feed baby, laundry, feed baby, change baby, sleep(haha), feed, change…

All the Grandkids at Thanksgiving

Besides the house projects, Joe stays busy at work as usual. The business is still growing which is a huge blessing in this economy. I am so proud of what a wonderful father and provider he is. I can’t thank God enough for giving me such a wonderful husband.

Eric is a pretty active little four year old. This summer he learned to ride bike, took a month of swimming lessons and spent a lot of time playing outside. We are doing the preschool co-op again and he’s really enjoying it. He surprised me a couple weeks ago by starting to read simple sentences. I got a Kindergarten reading curriculum and he’s is breezing right through it!!! One of his other favorite pastimes is playing the Wii. He loves doing the sports and Wii fit and is so good at it that he gives me pointers. I love it because we can do it together and are active while playing. He loves singing and will be performing in a Christmas program with his preschool. He also loves to play the piano and tries new songs all the time.

Shawn is such a good little baby. He only fusses if he needs to eat, be changed or sleep. Otherwise he’s content to play or smile and talk to us. He is smiling a lot, cooing, and even giggling a little. He is happiest when he’s propped up and can see everything. At almost three months, he just started rolling over!!! Now he just has to figure out how to get back over onto his back.

I am staying busy with the kids and getting my new house organized. I love Christmas and all the snow we have. It makes me want to curl up on the couch with a cup of tea and enjoy a good black and white movie or book. My sister Mishael had a baby girl, Eliza Grace only nine days before I had Shawn and we have such fun taking pictures of them and watching them go through the same stages together. The babies complain to each other in their baby language about the hardships of their lives and how they have to put up with all these photo shoots and change of outfits…so tough!!

When I think about my family, my heart overflows with happiness at all the blessings God has given me. While there have been some difficult times, this year has been filled with so many gifts.

I hope that all of you are doing well and have a wonderful Christmas and New Year!!

We love you,

Moriah, Joe, Eric and Baby Shawn

Painting!!!

2009-11-21T19:01:00.001-08:00

Basement is primed and ready to be painted

My bathroom tile just got grouted!!! I really like how the design turned out.

Shawn's room....we will have white chair rail between the colors, blue and brown and I have some other ideas. I'm really excited to have a real nursery

Looking into the new living room from the kitchen.

Our paint helpers...Paul, Hans, and Gina's boyfriend, John.

Working on our master bedroom.

Fred is an awesome painter....everything looks so perfect.

Hans helping clean up staples after pulling up the carpet.

We did hydro seed on our yard...it should all grow up into a nice lawn in the spring. Right now it looks like someone just spray painted our yard bright green.

Home stretch

2009-11-16T18:26:00.000-08:00

We are on the home stretch of the remodeling progress. It's supposed to be finished by Thanksgiving!!! We have drywall on and most of the taping done. I got all my paint colors picked out and I'm really excited to see them on the walls.

Beginning to cut the opening from our existing living room into the new addition.

The stairs

The basement...family room/media room

Our master

The new living room

The entertainment built-in that Joe made.

Living room

Shawn loves looking at himself in this little mirror and I caught him grinning at himself!!!

Snuggling with big brother in bed

baby fun

2009-11-03T09:50:00.000-08:00

I am so excited I caught his smile on camera. He's been really smiling and even giggling a little especially at night!!

He likes to lay on the floor and look around. He kept kicking with his foot and making it jiggle. He really likes to look at himself in the little mirror...it's so cute.

This has been a thing lately. If I don't get in fast enough with the pacifier, he finds a substitute. Naughty but cute!!

I was attempting to get a picture of my beautiful salad: mostly spinach, romaine, steak, mini peppers, apples, cheese and a drizzled with a dressing of olive oil, balsamic, salt, pepper and basil.

yeah, found the thumb again!!!

Eric wanted to cook so we made these muffins. The recipe was actually for doughnuts but I realized that I don't have the proper cooking pan or mold for doughnuts. So we made them into muffins. It's a recipe from Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfield; a cookbook that helps you sneak healthy ingredients in food kids will like. These muffins had pumpkin and sweet potato and were made 100% whole wheat. They were yummy and he was very proud of his accomplishment.

We are getting close!!!

2009-10-29T15:50:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted any progress in a while....mostly because I'm a slacker but also because alot of the progress now it wiring, plumbing etc...stuff that is hard to take pictures of.
They should be starting on drywall tomorrow and siding next week. I'm having fun picking out tile and paint colors.

This last week, Joe did all the wiring; electric, surround sound, tv, ethernet and Fred did tons of insulating. Martha's boys, Paul and Hans have been coming over and helping Joe and Fred. They are such hard workers and did a great job!!!
It was very dusty but I got some pics of them all working

These rooms are all insulated now but this is our master bedroom partially done.

Shawn's room right off of our room.

What will be my office/scrapbook room!!!!

The living room or "Great room"

Our front door is where it belongs!!!

The house from the front.

Our jacuzzi tub!!!

Baby Shawn

2009-09-29T13:27:00.000-07:00

My sleep deprived brain is going to try to write a post about the arrival of our precious little baby, tomorrow he'll be two weeks!!! It's so weird to me that I'd only be 4 days over due today and I totally expected to go over due but I'm so glad to not be still pregnant!!!
A couple of days before he was born I definitely started to feel some stuff happening but I know that can happen weeks before. I had been taking some good brisk walks and I wonder if that helped things move along. Tuesday night I kept waking up with contractions about every 20-30 minutes but I again figured just false labor. We were scheduled to close on our loan the next morning at 9 and by the time that rolled around I was having pretty regular contractions....I still wasn't convinced it was real labor although everyone else was!!!
So, I made the trek over our horrible bumpy road and into town to sign our papers!!! Right as we got up to leave the bank another contraction started so I just booked it out the door. Joe said they were all saying "bye Moriah" but I was already gone!! They were all women so they were really sympathetic. I guess I'm now a legend at the bank.
Maria was getting ready to ride with some fellow nurses to a paid conference in Billings and I told her I still wasn't sure if it was real (gosh, I guess I was really in denial) and so she headed out. About an hour later mom arrived and I was dilated to 5. So we call Maria and she ended up hitch hiking part of the way back!!!
The morning was crazy: we had nothing really ready, construction guys working outside, my birth supplies hadn't arrived yet, people hitch hiking, loan papers signing...it was crazy. Everyone sprang into action, they got the pool and bed set up in the living room. The crew practically vanished the instant we told them I was in labor...it was hilarious!! Everything became really calm and relaxing from that point...besides, well labor:-)
I allowed one picture of me in labor...the water felt so good and relaxing.

After about 7 or so hours of regular hard labor my water broke and I literally had him about 4 minutes later.

Maria made it about a half hour before the birth. We called my cousin April right before my water broke and although she hurried over, she missed it by a few minutes. I was sad that she missed it but really happy that she got to be here to see him. When Eric was born, she lived in California.

Eric's first look at his little brother.

The whole experience was so different than Eric's birth. It was way shorter and I had more energy during labor and the recovery has been so much faster. With Eric it was about 8 months until I felt like a normal person and I already feel almost back to normal after 2 weeks!!! All the things I stressed and worried about didn't happen.
I got the home birth I wanted and having my mom and sisters there was really comforting. Martha is a wonderful doula and really knows how to help a laboring mom relax. It was so nice to be able to just enjoy the baby afterwards and not have to go anywhere.

It still seems so surreal that we have a new little baby and it's amazing to me how much you can love someone.

Alot has happened....

2009-09-27T19:24:00.001-07:00

So alot has happened on the house since I last posted, like I had a baby!!! I need to do a baby post but for now here is the construction progress. We are so excited that it is going so fast.

The beginning of our living room being framed

The living room windows...it's going to be full of light, lots of windows.

The upstairs floor

Where the stairs will be

The upstairs will be our new master suite and crib room.

It looks like a giant house is swallowing ours!!!

The view from our master bedroom window!!!

Framing

2009-09-15T16:33:00.001-07:00

The basement being framed

The basement will have a family room, bathroom, two bedrooms and a mechanical room.

There's our front door!!!

Looking into Eric's old room

The upstairs being framed....our new living room!!!

Front view....the windows are huge!!!

Eric playing on the giant dirt pile in our yard....a wonderful sandbox!!!

Loves to ride with Daddy in the tractor and sit in it when it's parked.

Construction Update

2009-09-08T11:30:00.001-07:00

So far we have the basement entire basement done and they will start framing this week hopefully tomrorow!!!!

Eric watching them pour cement

The cement pumping rig.

The wall in Eric's old room is now a hole to the new basement

The basement slab

Now we have walls!!!

The view from our front door....we have to be careful not to just step out the door anymore!!!

Our construction project

2009-09-02T10:41:00.000-07:00

We have started building an addition to our house!!! We are adding a basement, then on top a living room and then a third story which will be our new master suite!!!

I'm trying to chronicle the progress in pictures. There is more progress than these pics but I thought I'd post the beginning pics.

Taking off the front porch, Joe and his helpers, Eric and Paul. We were able to save all the lumber.

Pulling the porch roof off. It was rotten so we weren't able to salvage anything except the roofing tin.

This is where the swallows make there nest every year. The babies were already grown for this year so it was a perfect time to tear it off. I liked having them some extent but they tend to get bird poop all over the porch so I figure they can find a new spot next spring!!!

Eric and Joe in the little tractor....Eric just loves to work with Daddy.

Porch is off, ready to dig the hole.

Eric standing in his old room...we moved his room upstairs because they had to tear a hole in the concrete to connect the two basements.

The same wall....being torn open.

The hole is dug....ready to start foundation work!!!

Belated prego pics

2009-08-11T14:17:00.000-07:00

Here are some belly shots from 25 weeks....
This first one is on my birthday, as you can see I am turning one!!!
I ordered a yummy cake from a Greek bakery with fresh strawberries inside. The frosting was a little sweet but it was good!!!

Pregnant Belly

2009-05-31T22:42:00.001-07:00

I decided to try Carolyn's method of taking pregnant pictures...only my mirror is a little dirty. This is 22 Weeks.

The Craziness

2009-03-11T12:43:00.000-07:00

So I always start off with good intentions, wonderful ideas and high goals. When it comes to the...whats the word...seriously the baby has stolen all of my brain cells. I just have enough left to remember that I used to be able to think and function normally. Anyway, oh, the word is execution.When it comes to the execution I end up realizing that I decided to do too much. For Eric's birthday I decided to make him a train cake. So got some wonderful Thomas kit things...enough to make two cakes and I thought I'd mix and match. Here's the story:
We went up to Libby on Friday and had a nice relaxing couple of days. Friday night we watched this neat old movie with James Gardner and Doris Day: Move over darling. It's about this lady who was stranded on an island and when she returns after 5 years, her husband had just gotten married that morning. It was hilarious!!!

My brother Jon was turning 16 on Sat and we had a party for him.

Eric couldn't wait for dinner. I made Lasagna and salad and Mom made strawberry and blueberry cheesecake.

Monica gave Jon a pineapple, sour patch kids and gum. He really loves pineapples!!!

Mom gave Jon a blow drier...he was very excited because now he doesn't have to stand in the heater to dry his hair before walking out to the bus.

We got him Biscotti from costco that he loves and some new goggles. I can't believe my little brother is 16. He was born when we moved to Libby.

So on Sunday we had a party for Eric. Mishael helped me and we made the train cake...it was alot of fun but took us hours. My goal was to have Thomas for the engine and 4 cars because he's turning 4. Mishael ended up adding a caboose.

The mining car...with red rocks.

Originally supposed to be the passenger car with gummy bears as passengers. Later Eric named it the freight car.

The top was supposed to say Eric.

The Zoo car..one of my favorites...has animal crackers inside.

The log car...It was hard to make all of these without everyone eating the ingredients!!!

Mishael's caboose...she even did a little balcony on the back with a little gummy bear for the brake man.

The finished train...almost too pretty to eat!!! Mishael kept groaning every time someone cut a piece.

One candle on each car...harder to blow out at once!!!

Naughty Grandpa gave Eric a whole half gallon ice cream all for himself. Said it's for him to eat for breakfast before mom wakes up...every kids dream.

yummy!!!

Joe and I gave him this new reading pen called TAG. It's really great and he loves it. Grandma and Grandpa gave him a kid snow shovel and an old muffin pan to play in the sandbox with.

We drove home Sunday night in the snow storm and since Monday was Eric's actual birthday, Joe's parents wanted to spend it with him. So instead of doing something simple I decide to make another cake...a giant Thomas!!! It was a complicated day: baking the cake, trying to pick up my car from the shop, dropping Eric off with Joe so he could take him for ice cream, running to the store to get supplies, and running back home to actually assemble the cake.
Here's what the end product was:

Eric and his cousin Jaylie eating cake at the new little table Grandma and Grandpa bought.

Grandma and Grandpa bought him a carrying case for his pen the we got him and lots of books to go with it. Aunt Jennica bought him another book that works with the pen too. He loves it!!!

We came home from a long day and worked for several hours to clean the house, do laundry and make chocolate biscotti that Eric had requested for his birthday snack at preschool the next day. I was so tired that I slept better than I have since I got pregnant!!!

I think this birthday may have to last him a couple of year because I don't think I will try to outdo myself next year. From now on it's simple, simple, simple!!!

My little Alien

2009-02-24T14:11:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd post of picture of the unltrasound...I'm about 10 weeks pregnant!!! We are so excited and thankful that everything is looking good and healthy. If you can make it out, the head is to the right side of the picture...looks like an alien because the head is bigger than the body. It's so beautiful to me.

life and stuff

2009-02-12T17:12:00.000-08:00

It's so wierd because when I go to post stuff on here my mind pretty much goes blank...well actually it goes like this. "maybe I'll write about that...no that's boring...oh what about this...no that's too long of a story..." and it ends with me getting so overwhelmed because I haven't written for so long that there is too much to write about!!! But the thought is there to post on my blog. And according to reliable sources "it's the thought that counts!!!"

Christmas Letter

2008-12-18T14:20:00.000-08:00

I decided to post my Christmas letter on here as well as sending it out...so here it is.

Hello Everyone, 12/2008
I can’t believe it’s already Christmas again. This year has zoomed by!!! I’m going to attempt to sum it all up for you.

The year started off busy for me as usual with taxes. My business is growing, mostly just from word of mouth, as I don’t do a lot of advertising. I enjoy it but I don’t want to get too busy so I keep it small.

We had A LOT of snow last winter, very good for skiing and good to have the extra moisture. Joe injured his back while skiing and had to take a break from going up to the mountain. He is so active that he had a hard time taking it easy. Needless to say, he is very excited for skiing this year!!

In March, Eric turned 3 and we had a big Thomas the Tank engine party for him!!! He likes everything and anything related to Thomas and friends. We had Thomas cake, games, hats, whistles and décor...I went a little crazy!!! Joe and I surprised him with a Thomas bed. He had aunts and uncles, cousins and two grandmas and grandpas at the party.

After a lot of house searching, Kip and Sandi (Joe’s parents) found a house over here on 5 acres and began the move from Grand Coulee, Washington. Joe was very busy making several trips back and forth to move their things. It’s around 18 hours round trip so it’s been quite an undertaking. There are still a couple of trips to be made. After building a small addition, fencing the yard and painting, they are still getting settled but the house turned out to be perfect for them. We are really excited to have them living close so that we get to see them more and Eric can get to know his grandparents better.

Joe decided to build a cedar fence around part of our property and the front yard and did a phenomenal job. I am always so amazed at how he seems to have the ability to do any project. Of course he couldn’t have done it without his little helper Eric to hand him boards and screws. We have 1.25 acres so we are just fencing two sides at this point. It has added a lot of appeal to the property.

The summer was busy, mostly with trying to fit in every summer activity I could think of. Our summers are so short so we try to take advantage of every bit of it!! This was the first summer Eric has wanted to go near the water so I took him to a Mommy-toddler swimming class. He’s still tentative about putting his face in the water but we are going to keep at it. He got to have his first boat ride on the lake this summer, which scared him at first, but I think by the end he thought it was pretty cool. In July, Joe’s brother Ted, his wife Kellie and their baby Will came to visit from Illinois. We always have such a good time with them so we were really excited for the visit. We decided to take them up to Libby, about 1.5 hour drive, met up with my family, hiked up to Kootenai Falls and had a picnic at Libby Dam. Then Kellie and I took the kids up to Canada to visit an old preserved mining town and left the husbands to have boy’s-only day. Then we took them over to my Aunt and Uncles house for Fourth of July barbeque and fireworks. We left with terrified kids and a firework shaped bruise on Ted’s stomach!!! Thankfully it wasn’t serious!! I think despite that it was a pretty fun evening and we were sad to see them leave.
In August, Eric and I went to church family camp with my parents and stayed in their tent trailer. It was really fun and Eric enjoyed it so much more than last year. It’s amazing how in one year he went from baby to little boy. It’s sad in a way to see him not be my little clingy baby but nice that he likes to run and play with the other kids more.

As the school year got closer we talked about putting Eric in a preschool two days a week. A couple of other moms from our church have children the same age and we decided to start a preschool co-op. Basically we are homeschooling our kids together. We ended up with six kids, three moms are teachers and three are helpers. So we only have to teach every three weeks. We set up a room in the church and we each contribute money every month. Its been great for the kids to have structure, be exposed to letters, numbers, creative concepts and learn to respect other adults and their peers. It’s been a lot of fun so far. We have done some field trips to the pumpkin patch, pottery painting, had a Thanksgiving celebration, and are planning a Christmas program.

Joe keeps really busy at work but has been able to keep a better schedule so he can be home more evenings and weekends. This makes Eric and I very happy!!! He really enjoys having his parents closer and was really happy that he had three of his siblings here for Thanksgiving. It was really special to have Thanksgiving in his parent’s new house and have so much family there.

Eric is a very active boy with an inquisitive mind. He never stops surprising me with new things he has learned. He can use the computer and loves to play his preschool game on it. Just recently he made me so happy by playing Twinkle Twinkle on the piano!!! He can’t learn enough about letters and I have a feeling he’ll be starting to read words next year. The most recent accomplishment is that he knows what letter and sound each word starts with. He looks around the room and tries to figure out all the sounds of everything he sees. He writes his name everywhere and wants me to show him how to write all the letters. This year he got to go to his first movie in theatres. We took him to see WALL-E and he loved it. He still talks about it…it was such a cute movie. He’s my little buddy and I really enjoy being able to spend so much time with him.

I have been staying busy with the preschool. It’s so nice to be able to do some teaching and yet still be able to be with Eric. I like being able to decide what he’s learning and being exposed to. In addition to singing at church, I started to play piano for the service, which has been a learning experience and helps me get out of my comfort zone a little. I really enjoy it and in a way it’s an outlet for me. In October we went through a difficult time after we lost a 10-week pregnancy to miscarriage. It’s been difficult but we know there is another cute little angel in heaven. Only God can bring healing and comfort.

Looking back over the year I just feel so thankful. Thankful for wonderful family, friends and a God that that is always here for us. He has blessed us with everything we need and more. Now I am working on trusting Him for the future!!!

We love you all, Moriah, Joe and Eric

It's been a while

2008-10-13T16:06:00.000-07:00

It's been such a long time since I've posted on here...I'm sorry:-( It's been one busy summer/fall and every time I went to post I thought of all the things that have happened that I could write about and got overwhelmed. So here is my attempt to catch everyone up.

Family Camp

Every year our church has a family camp and my mom got me going a few year ago. This year was so much fun...it was in Plains, MT which is a nothing town about 1.5 hours from Kalispell. This year my mom brought her tent trailer and it was much better sleeping than last year when I attempted to sleep in the concession stands.

A volleyball game where you try to catch a water balloon in a cloth and shoot it over to the other team with out breaking it....lots of wet fun!!!

Jon and his friend

Monica, Gina with eyes closed, our friend John Hale and Eric watching the game

John's scary face?

Eric playing with blocks in the eating hall.

Mark playing a flag football game

Jon playing it the big "kids" game.

Our campsite. After setting up and moving twice, we finally found a nice shady tree to park it under. James and Mark could set up the tent trailer in like 10 minutes!!!

Gina and I taking pictures of eachother as we watched the football games....as you can tell, we are huge sports fans...just can't get enough. (not)

My beautiful Mama

Me relaxing with a book trying to keep the shade and sun in the right places.

Wierd tan lines!!!

James attempting to float.

Experimenting with an unbrella and a camera. Hans really did some cool moves in the air.

Dad trying to avoid his picture being taken as usual but I have out smarted him...hah!!!

John Hale and Gina....squinting because it's pitch dark and the flash is bright.

Hans ad James in their tent being silly.

Swimming

This year I wanted Eric to get exposed to water so we did toddler/mommy swimming lessons. Up until now he's been terrified to go in the water but this year he loved playing with the water and it scared me that he wouldn't know how to swim if he fell in. So although he was very clingy and afraid to get his face wet, he did pretty well in the lessons and by the end was less cautious.

First day

Went in with aunt Miriam

Trying to blow bubbles....can't get chin wet.

Grandma Sandi came to watch.

I'm relaxed....just trying to keep all parts of my face above water.

Paddle....paddle.....

I like this elmo toy!!!

to be continued...

Libby Adventures

2008-07-11T13:38:00.000-07:00

We also took our company up to Libby where my parents live. We went to Kootenai Falls and Libby Dam and had a barbecue. It was a nice day except the drive was a little hard with cranky kids who didn't want to be in the car any more!!!

Joe and Eric

Monica just hanging out.

Me sitting at the top of Kootenai Falls

Jon Eric and I with our feet in the water

Jon climbing a wall

Me at the bottom of the falls.

Tickling kisses

Kellee and Will

Family pic

Canada

2008-07-11T12:31:00.000-07:00

So, this past week Joe's brother Ted, his wife Kellie and their 10month old son, Will came to visit us from Chicago. There were so many things we wanted to do and we tried to fit them in a week!!! One of the things on the list was taking them to Canada. Since, Ted couldn't find his birth certificate and we are such sweet wives, we left the husbands at home and took the kids to Canada. So we went to Fort Steele which is an old mining town in 1898. The people that work there dress for the time period and play the characters of the people that lived in Fort Steele.

Eric smiling weirdly and Will, trying to see what Eric's doing so he knows what the cool thing is to do.

Aren't I a gorgeous horse? I think it's a little big, maybe I need to get it tailored.

Having fun in jail!!!

Kellie and Will on the wagon ride. I love that pudgy little tummy!!!

Ok, I was trying to take a picture of the gorgeous Rocky Mountains but your eye immediately goes to the man who I couldn't tell if he was checking me out or really irritated at us. I should've cropped him out....he's really taking over the picture!!!

Brilliant idea for sock drying!! I thought it was cute, thinking of the couple that lived there and them sitting by the fire with their socks side by side...LOL.

Eric and I trying on hats in the dress makers shop.

So I should preface these photos by saying that Eric loves trains....he is probably Thomas the Tank Engine's biggest fan. However, we have a train that goes right by our house...like in our front yard and one day it honked really loud when he was outside. He was so freaked out that now he is very sensitive to loud noises. So he really wanted to go on the steam train at Fort Steele but also was pretty scared. He is very knowledgeable about trains and when we climbed on he said right away "I want to go in the coach", because he didn't want to be close the engine. However, we weren't allowed to ride in there and it was like 150 degrees in there!!! Anyway, here is out little train adventure:

Letting out steam very loudly!!!

Cousin Will just having the time of his life.

Eric....trying to block out the sound of the very loud whistle.

Ok, Mom, this isn't funny....stop taking pictures of my misery!!!

Wow, this train is pretty cool.....maybe I like it a little bit.
After we get off the train he says "That was fun, fun, fun!!!" But made sure we knew that "I like the train, NOT the whistle!!"

The Coach

Judge Eric in the courtroom.

School children getting ready to play basketball. We were invited but we opted to watch.

A large herd of elk we saw on our way home.

So when Eric and I had to use a restroom on the way home, we found this lovely outhouse, doesn't it look quaint!!! Yeah right, outhouses shouldn't be used with any words other than gross!!! Anyway, Eric did his thing...it's a lot easier for a boy to not touch anything. When my turn came, I latched the door but it leaves a good 6 inch crack for viewing the outside. This was all fine until a car pulls up and man gets out to use the other outhouse. So I then have to stretch my short arms to grab the door and hold it shut while I finish up and try to adjust my clothes with one hand!!! It was an experience and needless to say, we dosed up on hand sanitizer.

We are finally back in the good old USA. It's alot harder to get back to the US than to go to Canada. I got nervous when I realized that I hadn't gotten a letter from Joe saying I could take Eric. After the man saw my Montana plates I think he didn't care because he didn't say anything about it. I did have a little fun and called Joe to pretend that we were stuck at the border because we didn't have the letter. Ah....such fun stressing other people out.
Goodbye Canada....you were very good to us but we are glad to be home.

My New Haircut

2008-06-16T16:54:00.001-07:00

So I was really bold....at least for me and it was shorter than I've gone before. I love it!!!

Embarressing but True

2008-06-16T11:59:00.000-07:00

All my life we've always laughed at my mom and how when she doesn't know the words to a song, she just fills them with her own made up ones. Now, you have to know, its done very well. In fact if you didn't know the song, you wouldn't know....one of her many talents. Anyway, I have started to noticed that I inherited that trait from you. I never noticed how bad I was until I was singing the National Anthem and Joe started laughing. I looked up the words, and there are three lines in the song that I've never even sung. I had made up an entire addition to the song!!!
So I am admitting this on the World Wide Web....I don't know the National Anthem....well not totally it.
Needless to say, I am working on it. I will learn it at least the three lines I don't know. Do you all know it? Come on, tell the truth!!! Does anyone know the other verses?

Crazy weather

2008-06-10T22:30:00.000-07:00

So almost everyday lately it's been 10-minute weather. Everytime I look out the window it's different. Yesterday it rained and rained and then in the evening there was this beautiful rainbow. I tried to get some pictures and some of them turned out pretty good. Of course my camera was in my car...so I ran out in the rain to find out it was dead. So I took these by going out the porch as far as the cord would allow. The rainbow was literally shrinking every second.
There is something so majestic about a rainbow....just screaming that God exists and that he is true to his promises.

Then today....it snowed...huge, juicy, wet flakes....all day. Just another June in Montana. I'm ready for some sunshine.

Anniversary

2008-06-06T10:06:00.001-07:00

We had alot of fun on our anniversary yesterday. Look at my beautiful bouquet Joe got me:

We hung out here at the house during the day and then Miriam watched Eric while we went to dinner and a movie. We went to a new Wood Fired Pizza place and we really liked it, besides it's right across the parking lot from the theatre. Then we went to see Indiana Jones....it was really good. Why does Harrison Ford still looks almost as young as ever?
Joe has off until Monday and he wanted to work on the fence more but it's raining. Everyday it's been doing this....rains, 10minutes of sunshine, rain and so on. Tomorrow I am going to my cousin Apirl's baby shower and then Sunday I'm singing in worship. It's really neat that I get to do it more but I'm also learning alot about having confidence and not feeling so inadequate. There is something about a microphone that is just intimidating. I have a lot of learning to do!!!

This is me being silly with a wig. What do you think....Should I make it permanent?

Tulips and happiness

2008-06-04T15:46:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted very often...I'm sure people get tired of looking and it's the same old post. And the last two were kinda depressing:-(
So, I thought I'd move on to happier things like tulips. This is the first year that I have grown tulips. I planted a lot of bulbs last fall hoping that some of them would take and they did. I haven't planted the rest of my annual flowers yet but Monica and I got out all the weeds.
Here are some pics.

Tomorrow is our 4th anniversary and Joe got off at 2 and has off until Sunday!!! Right now Eric is out helping him build our fence that we've been working on. There something inexplicably special about watching a little boy help his daddy. Eric has this look on his face like he's accomplished some great feat and Joe is patiently letting him "help". I asked Eric what he was doing and his said "I'm tape measuring!!1"

Dear Grandma

2008-05-30T00:06:00.000-07:00

I've just been thinking about you alot lately....I miss you. I know you are having a great time in heaven but sometimes I just want you back. It still doesn't seem real that you are not here. I don't want to forget anything about you. I don't want Eric to forget you. The other day he asked me to sing Beautiful and as I sang it I could here your wonderful voice singing along with me.
I was watching a show tonight about this Italian girl who had her Italian grandam with her. Her grandma kept trying to feed all the people around her breakfast and it just reminded me of you, always making sure everyone was taken care of and most of all, fed:-)

I'm so proud to be your grandaughter and be related to such a wonderful, strong women with such a kind, caring heart.

I love you
Moriah

The News

2008-04-22T15:10:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to avoid the news lately because of all the stuff about that polygamist cult. It really hits too close to home for me. The cult our family was involved in, has evolved into a polygamist group and our friends are still in it. Today I had the tv on and Dr. Phil was talking to a women who escaped with her mom from that TX cult.
It really makes me remember alot of things and how nobody understands what it's like to be in something like that. You don't realize what is happening. They make you question everything about your feelings and beliefs. There are so many precautions taken to keep everything a secret...even silly things. It's always about male domination over women, keeping women covered up and used as possessions. It's nothing new, they all do the same things.
I know the solution, time away from the group and it's influence. Thats the only thing that got our family out but not without damaging it forever.
I feel so helpless to get my friends out of this group, because the authorities can't do anything without proof and unless one of them speaks up, it will just go on. I just want to kidnap them. They are in Alaska which is a great place for it because it's so remote.
My heart feels so heavy, I guess I'll I can do is pray. There aren't alot of people to talk to about it because not alot of people understand what it's like or want to hear about it.
Alot of people don't know that this is happening, here in America, and no one knows about these groups until they get large and the scale of abuse and harm is so large.
I'm sorry if this is a depressing blog....i just needed to write out my feelings. I also want people to be aware.

Eric's 3rd Birthday

2008-03-20T10:43:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,
I haven't posted in a while....but I have good excuses. Between getting bombarded with taxes and getting the flu and a really bad chest cold, I haven't had time. I thought I should at least put some pictures up of Eric's birthday.
He ended up having two parties, one with his cousins and one on his birthday. Paul and Hans have birthdays very close to his so Martha and I had a brilliant idea to have a big party in a church gym. It turned out to be a very wise idea!!! The men (or big kids as they are better known as) played basketball and Joe organized some different games for the kids.

Then on his birthday we were going to have a small family party. In my family, that is an oxymoron!!! But it's always alot of fun. I was able to use my church basement and I really went crazy with the Thomas theme. We played musical chairs....which ended up being a lot of laughs. Jon played the piano for our music....he's quite talented on the piano.

I got a "pin #1 on the Thomas" game...we used a hat for the blindfold. Eric didn't really get the concept...he kept saying, "I can't see, I can't see". We finally just let him do it with it off.

I made him a Thomas cake...he was so excited about it that for days before he birthday he would tell everyone, "I'm going to have a Thomas party and a Thomas cake!!"

Just blew out the candles!!!

As you can see, my professional cake decorating skills leave much to be desired. But the little wind-up Thomas that went round and round on the cake was a big hit!!!

Presents.....he really scored with gifts; he got a little ATV, bubble machine, Thomas laptop, coloring books and more. From Joe and I he got a Thomas bed for his room.

He loves to climb on his Thomas bed, and bed time is a lot more fun. He is always saying "Thomas is my friend" and kisses him on the nose!!

Horses

2008-02-26T22:39:00.000-08:00

All my life I have loved horses and used to dream of having my own one day. I was only able to ride when I would get a chance to ride one of my friend's. I think the last time I was rode was around 8 or 9 years ago. Well, today I go got a chance to go ride with some friends in an arena and I was so excited. I forgot how much I love everything about horses, even the musty smell of leather, hay and...well...horse. I've forgotten alot of things about riding and had to work on relaxing myself when trotting or galloping....I know my leg's will be sore tomorrow but it was totally worth it.
There is nothing like that feeling when you are floating along feeling the powerful muscles work beneath you.
Now I want a horse again.....sigh

Cookie Day

2008-01-10T14:14:00.000-08:00

Our MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) had a cookie exchange in Dec and I made gingerbread cookies. Eric helped me in his little apron....although he is only wearing shorts. Apparently he likes the cooking with minimal clothes!!!
I gave him his own little cookie sheet and he was so proud of it, watching it cook and eating it...well thats the best part.

Pictures of little Joe

2008-01-01T12:15:00.000-08:00

I was so excited to get some pictures scanned of Joe as a little boy. Joe's mom had a bunch and it's neat to see Eric in some of these pictures.

Newborn Joe

I see some of Eric in this picture.

This smile looks like Eric too.

Joe and his brothers, Tracy and Jes

Joe and Tiffany

Joe and Tiff

Christmas Trip to Chicago

2008-01-01T12:12:00.001-08:00

Waiting in the airport at 5 am...

Opening one of his many Thomas the Tank Engine gifts.

All the girls, left to right, Tiffany, Joe's mom Cindy, Becca, Grandma Maxine, Aunt Carrie, Moriah and Kellie

Cindy and her five kids: Back: Ted, Dan and Joe; Front: Becca, Cindy and Tiffany

We went out to eat at a really good Italian restaurant the day before we left.

Four Generation Picture

Joe and his sister, Tiffany

Cindy and her grandkids, so hard to get them all looking!!!

A motto for 2008

2007-12-31T23:38:00.000-08:00

One of the secrets of a long and fruitful life is to forgive everybody everything every night before you go to bed.
(Ann Landers)

Family Picture

2007-12-18T22:18:00.000-08:00

I love you Grandma

2007-12-09T11:54:00.000-08:00

Today my Grandma passed away. I have never had anyone close to me die, it's very hard. I feel happy for her, she having a great time in heaven, reuniting with her husband and seeing Jesus. I just miss her. I want to call her up and talk but I can't. It's hard to think about. Below are some of the last pictures of her about a week ago.

Honesty

2007-11-15T10:09:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking alot about honestly lately. Sometimes it can be cruel and unnecessary and other times can gain you respect and solve problems. I am one of those people who just wants everyone to like me and everyone to get along no matter what. I guess I just don't want to be one of those people who just says whatever they think regardless of the consequences or other's feelings. I am constantly apologizing for something I said that I'm afraid might be taken wrong and I think it annoys people. I don't handle conflict very well and sometimes would rather "tell a little white lie" than cause any trouble. Then I go home and stew about my true feelings on the subject.
So lately, I've been more honest, in a tactful way. It's such a great feeling to actually let people see the real me.
The fact is, people are going to have conflict and have issues with others...even perfect little me...jk!!! And I can't fix it all. There's alot of freedom in that and perhaps it will deepen some of my relationships.

Pain and hopefully, Gain

2007-10-23T09:46:00.000-07:00

So, yesterday was the first day of the adventure of the gym. Now, I thought that I was in ok shape. I've been doing a little workout at home and just wanted to get something more consistent and be pushed harder. Well, thats exactly what happened!!! I got pushed harder and harder and past the limit of what I feel my muscles can handle!!! So today I can barely move. I did not think I could make it through the hour class called "cardio pump", but I did, barely. My cousin April and I are doing it together which is good because otherwise....well, I feel like giving up today. We are both dying of sore muscles today but we know that we need to go back to see results and work out the kinks. So by the New Year, we'll be lean, muscled, "hot mama's"....just wait and see!!! Ok, if not, at least we'll feel better and have more energy.

I have been a lot more busy lately than I wanted to be. I am going to town for something almost everyday of the week. Mon I have MOPS and workout, Tue I babysit a neighbor boy, Wed workout, Thurs shopping, appointments and workout, Fri bible study. It's not too much to handle, but it just means I need to get more organized so that I get all the house stuff done too. It makes me wish I lived closer to town too. It's 15-20 minutes to get in to town and I end up using alot of gas. So maybe someday we'll have to think about moving closer in. I like my land and trees though:-)

I can't believe the holidays are almost here. Besides, Christmas we have alot of upcoming birthdays in the next three months. Martha, Maria, Mishael, Regina, Miriam, Fred, Lynette, and Joe.
We are going to Chicago for Christmas to spend it with Joe's Mom and family out there. We are really excited to go. It will be Eric's first plane ride.

Here are a few more pictures that I got taken in CA:

My Trip - Part 2

2007-09-20T14:31:00.000-07:00

The last day I was there, Grandma took me to Laguna Beach. We ate lunch at this beautiful restaurant by the ocean. I guess it's a restaurant they've been going to for over 60 years!!! We just walked along the beach a little and took some pictures.

My lovely grandmother

We got some people to take our picture and it ended up they were from Germany!!! It seemed like such a coincidence that we'd meet people from Germany just like us.

It was alot of fun and a nice relaxing vacation, but I'm glad to be home. I really missed my guys!!! I hope I can take Eric there in the next few years when he's able to enjoy it more.

My Trip - Part 1

2007-09-20T12:44:00.000-07:00

I took a week-long, baby free trip to CA to visit my grandparents. It was so much fun to see everyone but it's good to be home.

The first day I was there, my grandma took me to get glamour photos taken. It's kind a little tradition she has started with the granddaughters. It was so special. I felt like a model, they do your makeup and hair and then show you how to pose.
This is the pose we picked and I really like it.

I then went up to my Aunt's house in the mountains for a few days. My uncle is a football coach at the highschool so I got to go and see my first football game. It was fun and I understood it more after my aunt explained the basics of football to me!!! Afterward, we went to a victory party and had a feast of enchiladas, taquitos, homemade refried beans, chips-n-salsa, and salad.

My Aunt Ronda and I at the game...it was freezing cold but we got to sit in the announcer's booth which helped.

My Aunt Ronda and Uncle Tim.

The next day we went to a recording studio to get the harmony part recorded on a song my aunt wrote. It was really fun to see how everything gets put together and wonderful to hear her song.

This is a picture of the house they are building. It's really spectacular.

I got to go to my cousin Philip's wedding while I was down there and it was lots of fun. I saw my other cousin Jason, Uncle Tom and the Dalys (sp?). I only got pictures from one side during the ceremony. Here is Philip at the altar.

My cousins, April and Jessina were bridesmaids.

Beautiful Women

2007-08-26T12:44:00.000-07:00

I was reading my friend's blog (Sonyetta) and I thought she put into words what I've been really thinking about lately. Here's what she said:

"I wish women knew how beautiful they are. Why is everyone so obsessed with getting rid of wrinkles? Why do we feel the need to run the household, run the business, AND run twenty miles a week? I used to think that if I just lost enough weight, I would feel good enough, but I realize that's not true. In fact, many of my friends who are half my size are even more insecure than I am. And the world just keeps layin' it on us, ya know?

I don't get why youth is such a coveted thing. What's wrong with a few wrinkles? If you're fifty, what does it matter if you look fifty? If you've survived fifty years on this planet you deserve to look a little rough around the edges. Those lines show that you lived. You laughed and cried and loved and brought forth life and you should be proud of yourself.

I've spent so much of my life hating my body, but I can now look in the mirror and have profound respect for my body. It's been up and kickin' for 23 vicious years and yet it has rarely given me any major fits. I certainly don't deserve to have had it treat me so well, not after how I treat it, and yet here I am. I may not have the perfect figure, but my body is sturdy and strong. It's got more than it's fair share of bagage to haul around but doesn't complain too often. I feel blessed to have this body.

Maybe next time you look in the mirror, instead of noticing the newest zit, or the size of your hips or whatever it is you usually gripe about, think about everything your body has done for you. Breathe a prayer of thanks if you're healthy. Think about all the things it has gone through and will go through and what an amazing piece of machinery it is. And that face of yours may not be everything you hoped it would be, but I'll bet someone loves that face. Those eyes speak love. Those lips curled in a smile can warm someone's heart. And best of all- you are a reflection of Jesus, the One whose beauty is so brilliant one cannot look directly upon it. So don't hide your light under a basket. Let it shine girl, you're the only one who can bring your gift to the world. Nobody can take your place."

This is Sonyetta....isn't she beautiful? She has one of the most bubbly, sunshine-filled personalities and even though I think she's gorgeous, it never mattered what she looked like because she really cared about me. I know another girl who is really gorgeous, but she's acts mean, pretentious, and superior. So to me, she's ugly....anyway, (climbs off soap box).

Family Camp

2007-08-15T13:51:00.000-07:00

I got back from Family Camp on Sunday and was completely exhausted. It was fun but tiring....maybe from lack of sleep. It was just Gina and Eric and I that ended up going. The camp was held in Plains, MT, about a 1.5 hour drive from where I live. You can kinda see the "P" on the hill for Plains. Most Montana towns have a letter on the mountain or hill for the town.

We would get up and eat breakfast at 8:00 am. Then there were optional mini-bible studies. The one I went to was called "Laugh your way to a better marriage". It was really funny and interesting. Then we had lunch at 12pm and free time until 5:30 when we ate dinner. The Camp was held at a fair ground with buildings for eating etc but no dorms. I decided to try to set up camp in an old concession building. This is what it looked like.

The first night I tried sleeping there but it was too cold and also a little gross, (dead bugs, mouse droppings etc). So the next night I slept in my car....laid the seats down and a egg carton mattress topped with towels. We were nice and warm and didn't have to worry about spiders. Here is a pic of my bed:

In the evening we had a service. The worship was let by a Christian Rock band called the Angie Raess Band. They were very good and excellent musicians. The speakers at the camp were professional actors from CA who also do comedy ministry. There were very funny and really kept your attention while getting their point across. It was really refreshing. I think everyone really enjoyed it.

I wish I had taken more pics....here are some more.

Our Friend Pam Knight

Bonnie Khenne, we kinda substituted her for Mom. She and Mom are alot alike and I really missed Mom at camp.

2007-08-03T12:56:00.001-07:00

Do you ever wake up in a bad mood? You don't know why but everything and anything is irritating. Thats me today. I just feel blah, fat, and like I'm mad at whoever happens to talk to me. Now that I write this it seems ridiculous!!! Anyway, I guess i feel pretty drained from this last week/weekend. The family reunion was alot of fun, people and noise. After a few days of being sleep deprived from staying up late, the heat and lots of visiting (and fully enjoying it), it definitely saps your energy. I'm so glad we did it and hope that we can do it again in the near future. I was talking to my Grandma Mary who is the Matriarch of the whole Laudadio clan and she seemed like she was very proud of her family. She said as she looked at all the people during the reunion it made her think of how her and my Grandpa Tony (who is in heaven) started it all. How you have a few kids and then they have kids and pretty soon you have a big family. She was joking and said, "all of this is our fault"!!!. Anyway, here are some pics.

Four Generation picture...I look a little wierd.

Grandma and her "five" children. They are making a spot for John who wasn't able to make it.

All the Laudadios....it's impossible to everyone looking at the camera and smiling....so this is the best we can get.

My cousin Daniel and I dancing. My Aunt Jeanie and several of my cousins are great dancers so Maria took us all out one night to dance. I can't dance but Daniel was trying to teach me.

A BBQ at my Grandma's Assisted living apartments. My cousins Dave and Joy came along with my nieces Kendra and Lynette.

busy busy

2007-07-24T10:12:00.000-07:00

So we have alot of things happening at once. The most exciting thing is that I got a new car. Joe and I have been thinking about it for a while because my car has a lot of miles on it and has been needing a lot of repairs. It also tended to go just go dead with no apparent notice. Usually it chose to do that when I was late and hopping in the car at the last minute.
We also wanted to get something with 4Wheel Drive since our road is in very bad condition and the winter is almost impossible. We ending up getting a Toyota Rav4 which drives like a little car but has more room and is an SUV. Here are some pictures.

Now Joe is thinking about getting a truck because he uses his car for hauling stuff so much for work and he needs more towing abilities.

So besides that, we have the Laudadio Family reunion coming up this week. People start to get here today and will be here until Mon. It's going to be alot of fun and maybe chaos. We've been trying to avoid that by planning everything very thoroughly. I am really looking forward to seeing everyone.

I also painted my kitchen and partial living room. Right after we put the first coat on, a large wind, lightning, and rain storm came up and we were without electricity until morning. Reminds me that I need to get more emergency lighting. Unfortunately what I have is a few candles that put off very little light. It's interesting how when you have no TV and everything is dark, you realize that there is nothing to do but go to bed. I guess thats why back in the day, they would rise with the sun and go to bed with the sun. Not my ideal schedule!!!

Contentment

2007-07-11T10:15:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking lately about how I need to change. I was talking to my Grandma Mary today, whom I am alot like, and we both worry about everything. I already worry about wrinkles and how to keep my son away from drugs when he's older.
I also don't do things because I want them to be perfect. I obsess over things because I'm not sure that it's the best way it could happen. For example: My walls in my house are all still white even though I've been talking about paint colors for like a year or so. When someone suggests we go somewhere, I have to think about all the things I need to bring, whether we should go at a different time...etc etc. instead of just being spontaneous. Maybe some of that is good but not to the extreme.

So my conclusion is that for one, I need to be content with my life and not worry that maybe I could have done something differently. I need to just jump into things sometimes, not big decisions, but little every day stuff. I need to take one day at a time. I need to trust that God is in control of my life and will give me strength to face the unknown. Worrying will only make more wrinkles!!!

Ok, so that's my lecture for myself and anyone who identifies with it.

Gilmore Girls

2007-07-10T00:05:00.000-07:00

Current mood: sad

As I sat bored and wondering what to watch, it started to wash over me like a flood of melancholy waves.
Memories of that fateful day. When it happened. And without warning. To me anyway.

"sniff, sniff". Blows nose loudly.

Gilmore Girls ended. I know it's been a while but it's as fresh to me as if it were yesterday. I can't believe I even just typed those words. I am aghast, horrified, devastated, undone, disbelieving, without hope....

It wouldn't be so bad if they didn't end it like they did. But I guess they really can't have Rory get married. Then the "Gilmore Girls" wouldn't be the "Gilmore Girls.

I know I'm probably the only one in the world who is so upset but it has meant a lot to me and impacted my life in ways I can never describe.

It will be missed, not only in my heart but on Tuesday nights when I turn to the DVR only to find is empty, devoid of any "real" shows to watch.

My finger will never push play on a new episode, never laugh uncontrollably at something Lorelei said (..stops to think "have I ever done that?), never see Kirk's disturbingly weird stomach/chest area.

Ok this is really getting old.
Just thought I'd share.
I'm not really that pathetic, at least I hope not.

Independence day

2007-07-05T12:25:00.000-07:00

July 4th was hot, clear skies and beautiful. We were invited to a barbecue at our neighbors and that was fun. They played volleyball and had swimming for the kids. We had to wait until around 10:30 to start the fireworks because it is staying light so late. It was like 12:00 before we were ready to head home. Martha and Maria came for fireworks and with everyone we had a nice big crowd to enjoy the beautiful show.
So we are all very tired today. I think Eric and I will try to take a nap.

Eric and Tony swimming

Eric and his friends on the trampoline

Gina and I being silly after we got home at like 1:00 am

Summer Daze

2007-07-03T18:35:00.000-07:00

It's been very busy and hot. Today, we went to the beach, which I had never been to. It's was a nice, actual beach and although Eric didn't like the water, it was nice to sit in the sun. I will have to take him more so that he gets used to being in the water.

Lately I have been realizing how obsessed I get about stuff. Then I start worrying about being obsessed. I have a hard time being spontaneous. I want to think through all the options and make sure it's the best possible outcome. This can be good in some ways but it's certainly very tiring.

Right now I'm losing my voice because I am still fighting this cold. I have been dosing myself with zinc, vit C, probiotics, trying to avoid it. So now I've felt like I'm almost sick for days.

I hope I'm not one of those people that always complaining.

Watch your back, you never know when there is a dog ready to bite

2007-07-02T16:45:00.000-07:00

Originally posted June 26th, 2007
Yeah, it was bizarre. I got bit by the neighbors dog yesterday. It all started when I noticed it rained and I had left my windows in the car down. So I went out, turned the key, rolled them up and forgot to turn off the key. (by the way, who does that, I mean that is pretty air-headed to leave a key on). Anyway, so I am getting in my car to take my grandma to the foot doctor and it won't start. I spot my unsuspecting neighbor talking on the phone on his porch so I go over there to ask him to jump my car. The whole time I'm talking to him this dog is growling and barking at me. I turn to walk away and he lunges at me and nips me in my upper thigh. So now I sit, with a sore leg and sore arm from a Tetanus shot. The bite wasn't bad although it did puncture the skin. The neighbor felt very bad and offered to pay for anything I needed.

The lesson I learned is to stop giving dogs the benefit of the doubt. I always think "hm, he looks and sounds like he wants to rip me to shreds but his bark is probably worse than his bite". Well, now, I will always assume they have evil intent.

Originally posted June 25th, 2007

2007-07-02T16:39:00.000-07:00

Right now, Joe is in Idaho with his family. I miss him and wish I could be down there with him. His Grandfather passed away yesterday. It's really hard on everyone. He was a very successful man and it's very sad when someone dies and the family argues about money. I'm afraid that will happen here but I hope not. I think time with family is priceless and when they are gone, money is the least thing to think about.

Life has been a little crazy. We've been trying to get yard work done and I planted the flower-beds finally. Petunias, lilies, daisies, marigolds, miniature roses, and a bunch of little flowers I don't know the names of. We also built a gigantic storage shed on our property which is finished except for the tin on the roof. It was really neat because it was something we did together. Joe and I raised the walls all by ourselves. I'm sure he lifted more weight than me!! We have been renting a small unit for a while and it's such a pain to get to. Now we can organize our ski equipment, tools, tires etc so we can get to it. It's so nice.

The group of ladies I exercise with every week did a "Boot Camp" for the month of June. 6 AM, yep, it's way too early. But I guess I am really committed to staying fit because I've actually been getting up and going. The only times I've missed is when Joe had to go to work early and couldn't stay with Eric. We flip tires, pull a tire across the yard, run laps etc. It's hard but good. The only problem I had is that when I got home, I was wheezing really bad and couldn't get a breath. I've had a cough for several months but after this episode decided to finally go the the doctor. I've never had any trouble with asthma although it runs in my family so it was very scary for me to not be able to breath. Basically, the doctor said my lungs are irritated and inflamed from the cough and haven't been able to heal. So I'm using an inhaler for two weeks and it seems to help.

I belong to a MOPS group (mothers of preschoolers) and we participated in a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society; Relay for Life. It's a 12 hour, all night event where you walk for a cure. Our group raise almost $2,000 so it was definitely a success. It's really fun to hang out with other Moms too because everyone understands and isn't going to give you dirty looks if your child misbehaves. They have been there too.

Well, I think I'll stop for now. I love you all.