A Must-Read Article

http://www.pastordale.com/articles.asp?specific=182

What Really Matters

What have we been up to?

Company! That is what we have been up to! Lots and lots of company.
Aunt Chandra moved to downtown Portland from South Dakota,
so Grandma Jana got to come with her for a visit.

Jenny and the boys came for a few days too. Andrew and Chris ran the 5 mile on the weekend of the Portland marathon, so we got to see Andrew for the weekend. A group of guys from Bear Creek Church all completed the actual marathon, so we got to visit with them as well. It was quite an accomplishment for them all to finish, as their goal in finishing was to raise money for the church's new disabilities ministry.
Then we got to see my good friend Maria and her two boys (that I had not yet met....cuties!!) when they came this last weekend to go to the Women of Faith conference. I had not seen her since the week after Benjamin was born, so it was great to see her! THEN we got to visit with the Tollefsons since they were in town to see family! There certainly has not been any boredom or lack of excitement around here, that is for sure.
Now I am starting to gear up for baby, as I have only 6 WEEKS LEFT! It has certainly been a different pregnancy than the other two. I feel bigger and am carrying this guy differently. I have contractions if I even do too much around the house, let alone walk anywhere.

The kids with Mateo (2-years-old), Maria's oldest.

Grandma Jana time!!

We went to a pumpkin patch with grandma, Chandra, Jenny and the boys and our friends the Meyers. (Cousin Cooper is missing from the pics since he fell asleep on the way to the patch and was conked-out in the stroller!)

Gotta love those teeth popping through!

Cooper M., Avery, Bethany, and Benjamin

Anne, Andrew and Chris after the 5-mile. I'm proud of Chris as he has been back in the swing of running now for about 3 months, after 8 plus years of "taking a break" :) He is really enjoying it and looking forward to getting ready for the Pear Blossom run in the Spring.

Chandra and me at a shower that my friend Michelle threw for me with two other gals from the neighborhood. Very sweet of them!


The kids bike riding with Cooper. I wish that I had been able to take more pictures, but I think I was lucky to remember to take the few that I have. Busy, busy!!

Can you say, "Firstborn"?

Bethany's idea of playing with her toys is organizing them into long lines and groups and patterns. Yes, she is indeed a firstborn, although I thought a desire to keep a tidy room came along with those"organizational" qualities. I guess the organizing is just for fun, 'cause we are having a challenge with putting away those "organized toys" after we are done playing :)

Today during school, Bethany was taking a bit more time than it should have taken writing out a verse. Then I overheard her say, "Sorry, I just got a little bit extracted."
Yes, we are also working on not getting "extracted" so easily :)

Side note: No word yet on Benjamin's EEG results. Still waiting.

Baby-wise: I am 31 weeks. I had an appt. today, and am not dilated, but baby is really low. I have not had more significant contractions...as long as I don't exert myself too much. Hopefully this little guy will stay put for little while. I figure after all of this, he will still probably be late like his brother and sister! We shall see!

Ok, Ok, I'm Back

So it has been a bit since I posted anything. It's been slightly busy around here as we returned from a Medford week, began school and have been praying about some health issues.

MY purpose for blogging is mostly to share pictures, soooo I will do just that and illustrate our recent life adventures for you.
First, we had a great trip to Medford, once again. The kids and I were able to go down for a week. Chris joined us on the weekend. We fit in a play, a couple play dates, lots of rides in Papa's truck (much to Benjamin's delight), a fantasy football draft, a baby shower, a birthday party and much more!

Betsi's Baby Shower

Annabelle, Heather, Betsi and I are all due in the coming months! This was so fun to see everyone and get a belly shot!

Anna and Bethany

Saiah and RJ

Benjamin Turns 3!!!!

At his party.

My baby is three! This is one of my favorite pics of him taken at 9 months.
That face is too cute!
I wonder if the little one wiggling away in my tummy right now will look like his brother?
I'm thinkin' probably so!
Please pray for Benjamin as he has been having little seizures over the last month or longer. We will have an EEG on Wed. the 17th to check out what is going on. We are so grateful to God for this guy and know the Lord has His plan for him. Benjamin has a very sharing heart; is always looking out for his sis and is very good at sharing with his friends.

Ben's snake cake. He loves snakes and jungle animals in general,
so we had a jungle party for him.

Also in Medford...
We went to see Oklahoma for a girl's night out. Here are Grace and Beth sharing one of their many photo opps.



Home again

Yes, we did go to the zoo again, but we did get a membership to begin with, and are very glad we did. It has been a great investment and fun to have the opportunity to learn about the animals as a part of our school time. This time we went to see the baby elephant that was only a few days old. We had to wait in line to see it since it was so new, they did not want to scare it with too many people coming through. The picture is not the greatest since they kinda rushed you through and did not want anyone to use their flashes. Nevertheless, it was a pretty amazing experience (for me anyway). The little guy was so tiny, and even was trying to nurse as we walked through. Just an amazing testament to God's creation.


School Times, End-of-Summer Picnics and a Haircut

School has gone well so far. I sure enjoy teaching them, and we have fun getting out for picnics in the yard. I have not been going very far from home, as I have been having contractions if I do too much. I have been trying to take it easy and avoid going into labor too soon. Early sounds good to me, but we certainly want this baby to be healthy and ready to come! Only 10-ish weeks to go....pretty crazy. We are all ready and excited for a little baby boy around here!

And on a final note...Bethany requested a haircut after quite some time of growing it out. I think it looks really cute on her short. Actually, here is the picture taken 2 years ago after she took it upon herself to give herself a cut. It had not been cut since :) (I don't think she has lost any of her posing skills!)

Out to the Ballgame

We got to go up to see a Mariners game this last weekend. Reminded me of going to Giants games when I was younger, and, of course, Chris was wishing he was watching the Twins! (Go Twins!!!). I suppose second to the Twins, our loyalties are with the Mariners, so we enjoyed watching them play the Rays. Of course, we did manage to hit a late, slow game that even went into extra innings after 11pm. (We did leave in the 10th, and they ended up losing by 1) We were able to go to the game with Chris' cousin, Blake. Stephanie had to work :(
We enjoyed staying at their new home again, and seeing all the hard work they had been putting into making it home!

The best story of the night happened when we arrived early, hoping to try and snag a ball during batting practice. There were lots of eager young boys yelling at the coach out on the the field to toss up one of the balls. At one point he came in our direction, so I waved Benjamin's arms, hoping to attract a ball our way. Beth, though, was one of the only little girls there, and she must have caught his eye. He came over and said that if he tossed it up, we would have to give it to the little girl (Beth). We agreed of course, and he tossed it to Chris. We handed it to Bethany who did not really know what had just happened. Ben grabbed it from her, and before we knew it, tossed it back to the coach on the field. After all, as far as Ben knew, the guy was initiating a game of catch right? We laughed, but the coach didn't think it was very funny. He did toss it back up, but not before giving us a lecture that we were supposed to give it to the little girl. He did not get the humor in the situation. Oh well, we got a ball. We stuck that ball in our bag pretty quick though. Didn't think the rest of the "eager-for-a-ball" crowd would think it was funny if Ben threw it back again ;)

"Let's play ball!"

It poured on our way into the stadium, so we were a bit cold and wet. They did open the roof right before the game began though, as the weather had just cleared. Our cold girl (takes after her mommy) had to snuggle in Daddy's jacket to keep warm. Ben on the other hand, had dried off in about 10 minutes just by wiggling.....lots.

Thanks for having us Blake and Stephanie!

WIlsonville Fun Run

Wilsonville had a kid's Fun Run today. It was a really great (free) event put on by the city and several other sponsors. The kids got t-shirts, medals when they finished, there were lots of booths with fun stuff for the kids, bounce houses and bounce water slides set up. They also served a bbq lunch. Benjamin ran with the pre-k group. Chris was able to run with him since it was the youngest group. Poor guy cried to be picked-up the whole run. It was a big crowd. Beth on the other hand, is going to be our little runner. The Kindergarten girls ran together (1,000 meters) and Beth did great, didn't slow down, and finished in the middle of the pack with a smile on her face.

Bethany and friend Sophia

Friends from the 'hood.

Decorating their running numbers

A Blue Blog

Note the color change from pink to blue. Yes, it does look like the girls around here are about to be outnumbered.

Our 4th

We had a fabulous 4th of July with the Hopkins gang (Chris' sis and hubby Justin and their cuties, Copper and Tucker). They came up and we did the zoo. The zoo has a fun new dinosaur exhibit. A bit scary for the little ones. The dinosaurs are life-size and move and are very realistic. One even spit at you when you walked by....like I said....a bit much for the little ones.;)
Fun though. They were troopers. We did go out to see fireworks downtown too. I was too busy consoling Bethany to get any pictures though. She was really scared. Ben on the other hand....not so much. He didn't flinch once. The difference between those two cracks me up. Hope everyone else had a great 4th. I think the highlight (besides having the Hopkins) was the weekend before when church had a really wonderful patriotic service honoring our military men and women. The service was a poignant reminder to me, of what a wonderful country we live in, and how (amidst much ungodly government and leadership), there are so many wonderful godly men leading our country.

A Beach Day

Last weekend we went to Cannon Beach for the day. Had not been to the ocean/beach since Ben was little, so he really enjoyed the "new" experience.

Lunch at Mo's, of course, for their famous clam chowder.

Things I don't want to Forget

I was inspired (by Anna) a few weeks ago to write down some of the cute things the kids are doing so that I might not forget. My memory is really pretty awful; once the kids are past a certain stage, I can hardly remember that they were ever there. Maybe it's pretty typical of a busy mom, but nonetheless, I would really like to make more of an effort to write these things down before they disappear from my little ol' memory.


Bethany Jane

1. Beth, Bethie, Bethers is our girly-girl. Last night, per request, I put her hair in 4 braids so that it would be curly in the morning. Today she said that we should probably do that every night. In the morning I have to keep an eye that she doesn't spend too much time looking in the mirror fiddling with her hair. Also, she is very particular about her "outfit", but does not yet seem to have the whole "matching" thing down. Often I will have to bite my tongue when she comes out in a floral print top tucked-into a completely different floral print pant or skirt. I don't always bite my tongue :)

2. Her new thing is liking to clean things. I certainly don't protest. She asks for a wet rag and will go around the house scrubbing things. She just finished wiping-down the patio chairs.....and she had just done them 2 days ago!

3. She ALWAYS wakes up smiling in the morning. Never grumpy. How can you start the day grumpy with that little smile to greet you?

4. When she is doing a project, playing, or cleaning, she is constantly humming or singing. Sometimes Chris and I have to work really hard to keep a straight face. She will be sitting at the table humming while coloring, then will suddenly break out into this opera humming/singing with this crazy fake vibrato. Pretty cute.

5. She is always looking for things that will please her brother. We will be driving along, and she will say (in her "I'm talking to a little kid" voice), "Look Benny, there is a tractor", or "Here comes a flag". She is the only one (maybe besides Aunt Grace) who calls him Benny. We never thought we would call him Benny, and don't ever, but for some reason Beth took to calling him Benny. Cute coming out of her mouth.


Benjamin Lee

1. This boy is really such a boy. Stating the obvious, I know, but each day Chris and I are still amazed that we have a boy and that he is such a character. He is non-stop motion, and we really are working hard at trying to sit still.

2. He LOVES to help.....especially when it comes to putting things together, turning things on, taking things apart. Pretty much just any type of project you need done, Ben could be your very eager "helper". How can you turn down that cute little, "Can I help you Momma?"

3. Benjamin loves his blankie and animals; especially upon waking from a nap. He will collect them all, march to the couch and promptly ask for milk. This would be his snuggle time of the day when I may be lucky enough to hear, "Snuggle with me Momma!"

4. Ben loves to sing and has to have a good kid's cd on in the car at all times. His current favorite is Skinamarink (I love you). His all-time bedtime fave is good old "Jesus Love the Little Children.

5. One of his favorite activities is going in Papa's truck; doing what, I am not sure. I think they drive around looking for boy stuff like tractors and I think last time they got the truck washed at the car wash. Just yesterday he said, "Maybe next time I can go in Papa's truck again...that would be fun!" "That would be fun" is one of his most-used phrases when talking about something he would like to do. How can you resist? "That would be fun, huh Momma?"


What's new around here:

Baby-wise, I am now almost 19 weeks along. Almost half-way there!!!!! I am feeling the baby move, especially when all is quiet in the evening and I am sitting down resting. It must know the others are in bed and it is their turn for attention. Chris actually felt it move last night too. We have decided (gulp) to find out this time if it is a boy or girl! I feel like we are betraying our tradition, but am excited at the same time. The kids are excited.....Beth is really looking forward to looking through the baby clothes :)
Our ultrasound is on July 10th. We might just keep you updated ;)

All-in-all, we are greatly blessed and looking forward to enjoying the summer that has finally arrived! We are off to the water fountains in minutes!