Over

With the Christmas season over, I am starting to focus in on the future a little more.  As unbelievable as it may seem, I foresee this next year being as full of change and adventure as the last!  As much as we have enjoyed our time in the "tiny house" we are all beginning to lose our patience with it.  I definitely miss more space, my own washer and dryer, and a normal sized bathroom.  The cold we have experienced so far this fall and winter has been intense as well.  Thicker walls are becoming less of a want and more of a need! 

I will also be finishing my bachelors degree this year and hopefully starting on my masters.  I am looking forward to this, but it also makes me nervous.  School takes more of my time than I ever imagined it would, so for now I really am still enjoying the break!  Many things to look forward to, I just need to work on being patient, enjoying the moment, and keeping a positive attitude!

Merry Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas, and for that I am very grateful!  The service on Christmas Eve was really beautiful.  I think it made us feel closer to the congregation that we were able to attend.  That night the kids were just so excited.  It was a lot of fun to see them so full of joy.  For the first time ever, they fell asleep right away and it was a fairly restful night.  I didn't sleep a whole lot just because I was nervous.  I knew Santa would be coming and I was just a bit curious as to how he was going to set out all of the presents and fill up stockings without waking anybody up!  He pulled it off though.  The kids woke up at 7, which was another nice surprise, and they were thrilled to see that Santa had really come.  They all were surprised with what he had brought and eager to open packages as well.  In what seemed like no time at all, all the packages were open and I have to admit it felt really chaotic. We really had nowhere to put all of the new toys and just the trash and paper alone was making me feel pretty claustrophobic. 

After presents we all took showers and got ready for the day.  The kids played with their new things while the King and I made a really nice dinner.  It took FOREVER for the prime rib to cook in our tiny oven, and Christmas lunch slowly turned into Christmas dinner.  The kids snacked on goodies from their stockings, but everyone was pretty hungry by the time the time the meal was served. 

Later that evening we all went to see the movie Frozen.  I really was not sure what to expect, but it was amazing!  All of the kids stayed awake throughout the whole movie.  It was definitely worth seeing in the theater.  I was kind of surprised at how many people were there, but we came early and got great seats.  By the time we got home everyone was exhausted and after we all got changed into pajamas we fell asleep.  It was our first, and most likely last, trailer Christmas!

Christmas Eve!

My camera is on the fritz.  It has been for some time actually.  It has water damage and now the lens is spotty on the inside.  I miss taking more pictures, but it has also been nice to just enjoy the moment and not always worry about capturing it at the same time. 

We have had a wonderful day so far.  We slept in, again.  I think I could get used to that.  The kids decorated a gingerbread village with the King and I made reindeer noses with them as well.  Most of the afternoon, I wrapped presents.  I really didn't procrastinate this long, it just wasn't practical to have all of the presents under the tree until now. There have been Christmas programs on t.v. all day and it is so fun seeing how excited the kids are getting.  We are going to the Christmas Eve service at our church tonight at 5:30. 

Tomorrow will be the first Christmas that we have ever done just our family.  We are having cinnamon rolls and orange juice for breakfast, opening presents, having a prime rib dinner, and going to see the movie Frozen.  It should be fun and thank goodness everyone is feeling good this year.  This year has been so good to us.  We have felt so much love and healing in so many areas.  I am really looking forward to 2014!

Lazy Day

I think this is the laziest day I have had in years.  Especially when everyone is completely healthy.  It all started when we stayed up late last night finishing up laundry.  Once that was done we decided to watch a movie.  Apparently once we fell asleep we slept pretty hard, as the alarm did not wake either of us for church!  Oops.  I was bummed.  Really bummed, and it threw off our whole Sunday routine.  The only good thing to come out of it was we got to see the entire Bronco game, and it was a good one.  It was really cool to see how happy Manning was when he broke the record for touchdown passes!  Right now I have a lasagna in the oven and I am bracing myself for how busy tomorrow promises to be.  After a day like today, I certainly have some catching up to do.

Christmas Weekend

Today was  such a fun day.  We slept in this morning, which was amazing after getting up so early the last week or so.  We took our time getting ready and then headed out for a day of fun.  Our first stop was brunch at Perkins.  The King and I had eaten at a Perkins restaurant before, but none of the kids had so it was a first for them.  Our meal was delicious, but the seating arrangement was awful.  We sat at a longer table right along side another family that had already started their meal when we sat down.  It ended up working out okay, and they even gave us a coupon for 20% off of our meal, but it was awkward.

After our meal we went to Santa's Workshop, which was set up right here in town.  The kids saw Santa, had cookies and cocoa, made crafts, read a book with Mrs. Claus, and rode in a horse drawn carriage.  It was even more fun then we had expected.  The kids behaved wonderfully and I am so glad we went.

We finished up the day shopping for our Christmas dinner.  We decided to stick with tradition and we are having prime rib, twice baked potatoes, cheesy vegetables, homemade rolls, a veggie tray, and pies for dessert.  I think I am as excited for the meal as the kids are for the presents!  All of our shopping is done, but tomorrow I still have a lot of wrapping to do.  I cannot believe Christmas is only 3 days away!

Festivities

We have been thoroughly enjoying the holiday season!  On Friday the 13th, I took the kids and we went to visit my mom and family for a week.  We had decided some time ago to do it that way this year.  It allowed us to keep many of our old traditions, while still giving us plenty of time to start new ones here in our new town. While we were there we shopped downtown, baked more goodies than I can count, watched Christmas movies, went to their new church, and sewed some gifts for our friends.  It was nice to have so much fun and not feel rushed at all.  Now we are home and the daunting task of putting everything away is complete.  I am very much looking forward to this Christmas weekend and we have some really fun things planned! 

Halloween



 

The kids had a really fun Halloween this year.  I am a little disappointed that it took me until December to post about it, but I guess at least I am getting around to it.  They picked their costumes out almost a month in advance and were so excited by the time the day finally came.

 This was the first year that Buster really understood what was going on and he was just so excited to be Spiderman.  He loved his "muscles!"'

 Boo made an absolutely gorgeous Sophia the First.  She makes me smile.  She is such an innocent little bug.

 Midge was a hippie and quite honestly it scared me a bit how much she fit the part.  She looked pretty groovy!

 Tea was an Eskimo princess and looked just gorgeous.  She is our sweet tooth and was very focused on strategies to get the most candy.

 Chiggie is growing up so fast. I was thrilled that she still wanted to dress up and come along trick or treating.  She was Cleopatra and looked just gorgeous.

They are all growing up so fast.  It's moments like these that I search frantically for the pause button on life.  This is more fun than I ever could have imagined!

A New Pumpkin Patch

We have had so many new experiences over the course of the last several months.  A new pumpkin patch was one of them.  We actually didn't go until the Saturday before Halloween, which we now know is a little late in the season.  A lot of the crop was also ruined by the flood, but it was still a fun experience.  The barn was beautiful and the farm was just dreamy.  Next year we will go sooner!

 

 

Pumpkin Painting

 

The week before Halloween, the park had a pumpkin carving/painting contest for the kids.  We decided to paint because we had not gone to the pumpkin patch yet to pick out our pumpkins for carving.

All of the kids are very creative and enjoyed expressing themselves with a pumpkin as their canvas.  In the end there was no real "winner" and all of the kids got sweet treats and prizes.

Boon Docks

 

In October, we were thrilled to have the chance to join my little sisters in celebrating their 12th and 14th birthday.  We met halfway and spent the day at Boon Docks.  None of us had ever been there before and really did not know what to expect.

 Right away we were impressed.  It was very clean and orderly and we were met right away by customer service and they helped us pick the package that was best for our family.  The restaurant area was nice too, and we enjoyed a delicious lunch and birthday cupcakes.

 Chiggie drove for the very first time, and true to her nature she was terribly nervous.  Here she is not sure she wants to keep going.  By the end of the day she was unstoppable.  I am really proud of her that she is branching out the way she is.  There was a time when we couldn't even get her to try new things at all.

 Buster on the other hand, needed no persuasion at all before he hopped behind the wheel.  He was so cute and would cover up his little face when he didn't know what to do.

 Midge surprised us by belting up and taking the wheel too.  It was especially humorous when she rear ended another kid full speed when they were lining up!

Tea and Boo, particularly enjoyed the bumper boats.  We were so happy that this attraction is open year around.  Some of the kids had never been on bumper boats before.  They go pretty soaked, but dried off quickly in the sun.

They also bowled, played laser tag, climbed on the indoor play place, and enjoyed the huge arcade.  We spent over 8 hours there and the kids were exhausted on the ride home.  It was a very fun day and I was so happy to see some of our extended family after almost 3 months.

December

I absolutely cannot believe it is December already!  What an incredible year we have had.  Probably one of the busiest, scariest, most exciting, happiest, and possibly even saddest yet.  Our internet at the park is terrible since the flood, and updating regularly is nearly impossible.  This shouldn't be a problem for very much longer and I have so much to blog about.  Until then just a few things that I d not want to forget:

• We are having an awesome school year.  The kids are really blossoming and some of the things that I worried about last year aren't issues at all.
• I am finished with my 3rd semester at CCU.  I have maintained a 4.0 and am 5 classes away from hopefully beginning my Masters in Counseling.
• It has been FREEZING.  Like below 0 for a week.  We have had no running water, but we are staying warm inside.  Cabin fever is setting in.
• The kids are in full blown Christmas mode.  They love to go to the mall and have had the opportunity to see Santa twice already.
• The King got a new job.  It is local to this area.  We did not see that coming.  It has been a huge blessing, but also raised some questions as to what to do next?
• We are really liking our church, especially Chiggie.  She is very active in the youth group and they have a lot of activities to keep the kids busy. Her favorites so far have been the Clue Game/Costume Party at Halloween and the 30 hour famine/sleepover they had to raise money for a child they sponsor.
• We went ice skating outside for the first time last month.  It was a total blast.  Until Tea held Buster up to see the Zamboni and he flipped over the side, knocking his teeth through his lip. 

That's about all I can think about for now.  I am going to try to update more frequently, but I am using a newer laptop and haven't transferred all of my pictures over yet, so it will be sans pictures for now!

Jumpin'

Now that the weather is much cooler, we have to be a bit more creative in our efforts to stay active.  Gone are the long afternoons at the beach or the city pool.  We discovered a nearby gem where the kids can jump around in multiple bouncy houses and I can work on my own schoolwork.

It's always great when I find something that works for everybody.  I can see coming here quite often this fall and winter!

Buster and Joey

This summer, Buster made his very first best buddy.  He and Joey were literally inseperable.  First thing in the morning Buster would ask to go outside and often he and Joey would play still clad in their p.j.'s and sticky from pancake syrup.  They shared towysw and even shoes sometimes.  They rode bikes, caught toads, and squirted the girls with water guns.  Joey moved to Arizona not long after the flood.  Buster still talks about him all the time and we will hopefully visit him and his family in Estes Park next summer!

In The Meantime

After evacuating due to the flood, we really had no idea where to go.  We drove around for hours looking for somewhere else to stay, but due to the circumstances everywhere was either empty due to evacuation or full for the same reason.  It was an extremely frustrating time.  We finally found a place that we really liked, but it smelled so horrible from the dairy farm right next door that we just could not see ourselves staying there for any length of time.  Finally we decided to bide our time at a local state park.  There were several playgrounds for the kids to play at, a large laundryroom that also had a an area set up with tables that we used to do school work when it was cold, and a nice restroom and showers.  Despite all the good, I have to admit that I was miserable here.  Even looking at the pictures now I still feel almost depressed just thinking about it.  

 

 The kids were happy here for the most part, but it was a stressful time.  The bees were terrible and each of the kids was stung at least once.  Tea's leg ended up swelling and they are all now very afraid of bees.

 

We were only here for two weeks, but it seemed like much longer.  Many of our neighbors were fellow evacuees but everyone was under tremendous stress and that resulted in a lot of drama that we were thankfully not involved in.  I believe everthing that happened in the two weeks following the flood strongly influenced our decision to return to the park we evacuated from despite the devestation it endured.

The Aftermath

The Unthinkable...

The rain never stopped.  Our evacuation story and the events of the next several days will follow as soon as we are in a more stable location and maybe have internet service.

 

We've Sprung a Leak

On the premise that I may someday want to remember the ugly along with the good, I will share the nightmare that was last night.  It actually started yesterday around 2 in the afternoon.  For a wonderful change, it was much cooler.  The clouds rolled in and it started raining.  Like really raining.  It didn't stop.  In fact in the middle of the night, I may or may not have mentioned building an ark.  When we went to bed we noticed a great deal of wetness along the rim of the bed in our bedroom.  Uh oh, there was a leak.  An impossible to catch or seal in the moment leak.  The only solution was towels....lots of towels.  Oh yeah and maybe some tears.  The wetness made it freezing and it's not like there was really anywhere else to go.  In even worse news it is still raining today and there is no way to really fix it until it has a chance to dry!  Looks like I will be sleeping in my bathing suit tonight....

Fall Kickoff

Today was the fall kickoff/bbq at our new church.  It was the first event we have attended as a family since we started the church in late April.  This summer the little girls went to VBS and Chiggie has attended youth group on most Thursday nights.  There is always a transition when you move, but when you move churches, I think it can be even more difficult.  Had we not moved, we still would not have stayed at our previous church due to some changes they were making and the direction we felt they were heading, but moving on is never easy.  Today's gathering was nice but it was also lonely.  We are used to being surrounded in fellowship by people that we have known and loved for a very long time.  I know new relationships take time, but I don't know how much time we have and that adds to the complication.  That being said, I am glad that we went and there were many friendly faces.

Learning

I have never been good with hair.  Like...ever.  So God thought it would be hilarious to bless me with 4 daughters.  All of whom love to have their hair done.  Up until now, I have been so busy with little bitty kids that I just did the best I could.  The older they have all gotten, the more time I have, and the more elaborate their requests have become.  We can call this, "the summer I really learned to do hair."  I have been practicing on Chiggie (per her request) every chance I get.  She loves french braids and I have finally mastered several versions of them!  It has truly been a reminder to me how "seasonal" every aspect of our lives truly is!

Museum and Science and Nature

Two weeks into the school year and we took our first field trip.  The King was home, so it was the perfect opportunity to go somewhere bigger where we could all play and learn.  We settled on the Museum of Science and Nature and were not disappointed.  This is our first year using The Story of the World curriculum and our current unit focuses on ancient Egypt.  The museum had an entire room dedicated to this topic and it was so cool for the kids to see a real mummy! 

They all really enjoyed our tour through expedition health as well.  The each got a card and their information was stored from each exhibit they visited.  In the end it printed out a picture of them and all of their information.  They thought that was really neat.  Overall the animal and habitat exhibits were my favorite.  I am continually amazed by God's creation.  I am so glad that we got to go on such and fun and informative trip.  Unfortunately my cameral batteries died so I have no photographic proof.

This Moment

Where else could you possibly do your school work in a bathing suit and your cowgirl boots?

Estes Park

A couple of weeks after school started we made the trip up to Estes Park for a treat.  We had so much fun walking around, shopping, and seeing th sites.

 We had lunch at a delicious Mexican restaurant and were lucky enough to get a table on the 3rd floor deck.  Boo liked looking over the ledge, seeing how high up we were, and people shopping.

 Midge liked this hat, but unfortunately was not persuasive enough and it stayed at the store.

 What could possibly be better than an apple dipped in caramel?  An apple dipped in caramel and rolled in M&M's!

 

 Can anybody name this famous (haunted) hotel?  Haunted or not, it's beautiful!

 Several of the kids wanted to ride the super tall slide.  Others waited patiently and worked on their suckers.

It was a really fun day.  One of those where you just want to freeze time and stay in that very moment.

River Play

We are very fortunate that the R.V. park we are staying at, is right on the Big Thompson River.  Many hours have been spent wading, splashing, and fishing in this river.  Buster has learned to cast and real in and has watched the King bring in many fish.  The girls have collected toads and bugs of all kinds.  Now that school has started we usually walk down to the bank in the afternoons and cool off.  

First Day of School

We started school on August 19th.  A week earlier than we had originally planned.  Nearly three weeks ago and I am just now beginning to feel the familiarity of the routine.  The first week, I primarily worked with the older two.  I helped get them adjusted to their new program and polish up their notetaking skills.  The next week the little girls (and sometimes boy) jumped in full swing.  I am so excited for everything we will all learn this year!

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