Christmas 2010.................

Another year and another Christmas! We had a good day, we spent it the way we spend all of them. Morning at our house and afternoon at Grandma and Papa's house. Throw in way too much good food and a few naps and you have a well rounded nice day!



Craig took the boys and Maggie with him to pick out our tree......

Tallis liked the tree right off the bat..........

All trimmed and pretty..........

The boys spending some time with Mom on the sewing machine..........

Homemade gifts for the girls..........

The Rosies..............

I witnessed the rise and fall of the Green girl band within a half hour this afternoon. Maggie spent an hour setting up the living room into their stage, complete with drums, poster board guitar, and music stand and microphone. Molly and Maggie started practice without Tallis due to the fact that she was down for a nap. They had some discussion as to the best band name and came up with 'The Rosies'. I was able to snap some pictures before the fall happened. I heard a shriek from Molly and then a defiant 'I don't want to be in the band'! To this Maggie responded with her own frustration, 'So what, your just gonna ditch the band?'. I had to laugh as the line from 'That thing you do' rang in my ears. "Being in a band a week is sometimes a week too long"! They kissed and made up but the fate of the Rosies is probably bound for lots of dramatic arguments! Song style, dance style, wardrobe style, I'll have to keep you posted~



The 'Cover' shot............

Maggie as lead singer (of course)...........

Jammin'............

Molly on guitar..............

Maggie filling in on drums because Tallis wanted to see who was on the camera...........

The Green Girls have chicken pox.................

"There faces showed all the signs in rosy, polka dot designs!" I'm really glad that we picked up the book 'Goldilocks has chicken pox' this summer from the library's reading program. For some reason I knew that it would come in handy! Somewhere this fall we happened upon some chicken pox. Maggie was the first to come down with them. I have to admit I wasn't sure at first what we were dealing with. Then it became VERY apparent! Within two weeks Molly and Tallis got their spots. We were blessed to not have high fevers or feeling crummy, just spots. We made fun out of applying our thrice daily dose of calamine lotion. I didn't get a shot of Tallis's face paint but Craig said that the girls looked like little white native bush girls with their pink lotion in crazy designs. We had a 'Get Well' basket from the Hansens with homemade lipgloss and stickers and treats to get them through. It was very thoughtful and I'm sure it helped!

Hanging on every word................

I came down the hall to this scene. Craig was telling the boys a story about work and they had settled themselves on the floor to listen intently to every word he was saying. I love how boys look at their Dad, I also love how the girls look at their Dad. I hope it has something to do with the way that I look at their Dad~

Basket for baby................

Tallis found this basket that we had brought home from Krissi's house. She made use of it by taking her books with her!

Just so very Thankful...............

I am thankful for so many things in this life that the Lord has given me.

~I'm thankful for my Lord. The giver of the wonderful blessings I have, the one I'm able to talk to in the shower about absolutely everything and I know he hears even the things I don't say, and being my constant support.

~I'm thankful for my husband. His support, his appreciation, dates in the car, being my best friend, his sense of humor, the way he smells, and the way he looks at me.

~I'm thankful for my boys. Their blunt honesty, that they still like to hug and kiss their mom, that they can see me at my very worst and love me anyway, and the way that they 'hug' when they wrestle each other. (I stole that from somewhere)

~I'm thankful for my girls. Their overdramatic dramatization, the way they sound when they play 'nicely' together, listening to them sing LOUD in the car, that the things that frustrate me are the things most like myself.

~I'm thankful for my parents. The understanding, the love, the inside jokes and falling off the curb, having someone to cry happy AND sad tears with, and just being a 'sure deal'.

~I'm thankful for my siblings. Having relationships with one another that are real, unconditional love, being able to tell poop stories and coupon scores all in one conversation, having nieces and nephews that I so adore and enjoy.

~I'm thankful for my home. It's comfy cozy, we fit perfectly, it's a haven.

~I'm thankful for where I live. My view is pretty amazing, we get ALL of the seasons, you don't have to drive very far to be alone, and even in town it is quiet at night.

~I'm thankful for friends. Having a mom you can call to pick up a kid last minute, repeat the poop stories and coupon score to, encourage you in life's daily hectic pace, and laugh with.

~I'm thankful for good food. Avocados and chalula, baked potatoes, pecan cookies (twice a year), diet coke (not sure if I'd qualify this as healthy but I'm thankful for it none the less!), fresh fruit, and LOTS of milk.

~I'm thankful for being able to stay home with my children. This is one thing that I never take for granted. I appreciate Craig so much in this, both because he works so hard and that he is happy I'm able to be with the kids.

~I'm thankful for good tools. A washing machine and dryer that are reliable (also the knowledge of how to fix them both, most of the time), a clothesline in the
summer that cuts my power bill, a dishwasher that never stops running, washrags that make my kid's face clean, pots and pans that I like.

~I'm thankful for clean. Bleach, ammonia (not at the same time, of course!), comet, and toilet wands. Fresh sheets, fresh towels, mopped floors, and nicely vacuumed carpet.

~I'm thankful for My Story. It belongs to no one else, it is unique, it is special, and I think it's a good one. I am going to enjoy adding chapters to it.

~Missy

Your 9 year old hearts desire...........

Oh Sawyer, our Smed. You have become such a big kid over this past year. I think that as much as your body grows, your heart grows twice that. You are my child that is so like your Dad AND Me that it is crazy. You have wanted nothing but a pet for the last four years. When really pinned down you admitted that a fish just wouldn't do because you can't cuddle it. I think we got the bluff on you this year, the scavenger hunt for clues to your hearts desire was fun and ended with 'happy tears' when you realized that you were going to get a kitten. I knew you would cry and I knew I would cry when you did. I am excited to see how you nurture and love this kitty, you will make a great 'steward' of a pet. I love the age that you are, you are learning every day and creative in your projects. You are a good big brother and will learn patience because of your siblings. God has such good things in store for you Sawyer, Happy Birthday.
~Mom



Meet Theodore.........

Captain Insano..........

Craig sent me this picture from the job he is on up by Smith's Ferry. He was about fifteen feet off the ground when he cut this off. The text with the picture he sent read, 'Captain Insano shows no mercy'!

Let's Go Fly a Kite, Up Where The Air Is Clear................

We had particularly fun prize box this week! Grandma scored these sweet sea creature kites up in Grangeville and brought them down over Sawyer's birthday weekend. I had to put a token price of ten on these and (I know this is horrible) they also had to come up with five tokens to actually go and fly them. We got a whole lot of cheerful, willing cleaning out of these kites! Thanks Grandma!!

The afternoon that we decided to go and fly them we had neighbor kids show up so they were invited along for the fun (Sidon didn't think this was fair at all! 'Shouldn't they have to clean something at our house or something?'). Just as I was wondering how I was going to help seven kids get kites in the air (the very reason they had to pay tokens to GET to go) Christy Cole walked over with extra kites and a willingness to help. It was a lot of fun and the kids had a blast, we stayed for about two hours, just long enough for one of the kids to let Christy's kite string come undone from the reel and float (ever so gently, I might add) over the elementary school and sent screams of panic from every child there! After some time we saw the kite flying back our way so the rescue was successful!


Sawyer and the dolphin.......


Tallis, Molly, and I took our turn together.......

Maggie did great with this little kite that Christy brought over........

Sidon doing his best to help the breeze out............

Sweet Moments......

I do catch my kids in some very sweet moments with each other. I wish there was audio to go along with this post. Maggie was asking Tallis all kinds of questions and Tallis was answering all of them with 'Yep, yep, yep'!

Spare Time...............

It is too bad that coupons cannot buy spare time, I would stock up! My porch needed cleaned, so I taught Maggie a very valuable lesson in the importance of paint. I took what was left of my trim paint and 'cleaned' the porch. It made my face happy every time I opened the door!

Labor Days................

We made the trek to New Meadows for the Labor Day parade and logging show. It was even more fun because we had the Ward clan joining us from Oregon! The kids were able to bungee jump and the little guys had fun sliding down the big slide. Craig and I were able to enjoy BBQ with just each other for company (thanks Mom, Dad, Lori, Greg), and it was awesome! I'm not sure which was better, the uninterrupted conversation or the food. I think it might have been the conversation, but food took a close second! We watched a little bit of the logging skills competition and finished the day off with some fresh kettle corn, a good day indeed!


Kettle corn is GOOOOOOOD................

Sidon on the bungee trampoline..............

He got it down and was able to flip front and back..............

Sawyer on the bungee.........

Papa Derry and Ginger..........

Asher on the bungee.........

Molly watching the boys jump........

Eli, Sidon, and Ashers legs...........

First Day of Fancy School.........

We went to Krissi's house and made plumed pens and personalized notebooks. Tallis and Walker wanted in on the action but plumed pens were taken by the 'teachers' after one too many not so loving taps at each other! It was a fun day and when kids get through being sick we both have more fun 'fancy' projects planned for school!!


Maggie, Walker, Piper, Molly, and Tallis...........

Corn Girl............

I was invited to a corn husking party at Krissi's house and brought home this tote FULL of corn! It was quite the party! Keeping kids out of the alley and little guys (Tallis and Walker) in sight, big kids occupied (Maggie and Piper and their counting lesson), and Molly from screaming, it was quite the party! I went to work on it and Molly was the lone child that would not fall asleep so she got to be the 'corn girl'. She counted out the corn I needed to blanch before I ran out of bags for the vacuum sealer. She had fun and posed for pictures so it was a very blessed day! Thank you Hansens for the corn!!

Logger Practical Jokes..............

Bo and Marcus Lucas work together on Mahon's crew. Bo had been telling Marcus for weeks that he was going to give him a pink hardhat. Today was that day. Bo bummed the rest of my pink spray paint and a set of pastel acrylic paints to add finishing touches like a beautiful daisy and a rainbow. I'm curious to see how this stunt is repaid. For the record Maggie said that she would love to have this hardhat!

First Day of School 2010.............

I was not ready for school to start but the boys were happy to get back in the swing of things. Sidon looked so much bigger this year when they rode off down the road. I have decided to keep my Maggers at home with me for one more year so we are doing 'Fancy School' at home with just the girls, I think it's going to be really fun. Future posts to come........


Sawyer helping Sidon get his shoes untied..........

Ready for school.........

The gang on their way............

Striking it Rich...............

Craig has been wanting to take the boys (and girls) to the creek and pan for gold so we took this fun excursion not far from town to try out our new pans. We found a little bit of color and had a fun day! Days like this remind me of how truly rich we are.




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Maggie wanted to pose like this tree, I think she did a great job...........