Saturday, February 11, 2012

living the American dream... WITH the dog now!


I Forgot to mention... we have welcomed a new member in to our family...

Meet our ADORABLE Labradoodle (not so) puppy Nara!!! She's been a HUGE blessing to us, and for those of you who walked with us through our previous dogs, you know how BIG of a statement this is. She is six months old and has been really great. Hardly barks at all, has only chewed up her own toys... and was practically potty trained by the time we brought her home. She's being kennel trained, and has done amazing. She sleeps in her kennel at nights (in Ethan's room, per his request) and is kenneled when we leave the house. We're so excited to have her! She's been a great addition to our family.

Friday, February 10, 2012

I just am NO good at this Blogging thing! haha


Well... a LOT has happened in about a year since I last updated...

The last time I had posted, Ethan was just going to the fire department with his PRESCHOOL class... Well, since then, Ethan has entered Kindergarten at Emmaus Christian School where he is absolutely THRIVING and becoming the most awesome little dude I have ever met. He is practically reading! I can't believe this day has come. Not that long ago he was my little dude, learning the basics... and now... READING! He has made a Best Friend which BLESSES my heart... His name is Mitchell, and they are like two peas in a pod(a lame expression I know)! Ethan has lost two teeth, and his adult ones are half way there! Everything about what he is going through this year is AMAZING to me. I absolutely love watching the person he is becoming, and the relationships he is making and fostering... it blows my mind. We have been blessed with an amazing opportunity to have him in a private school. His Kindergarten teacher is the MOST amazing teacher, and we are just really blessed with where he's at right now. He's becoming BIG in to Star Wars, loves video games (he's a real boy!) and is just full of spunk and energy. I love it!!!

Little Miss Madelyn is the light of my life, even in her temperamental three stage! haha... She is doing AMAZING. Her talking is so clear, and in sentences. She has started counting, knows her ABCs... and much like her older brother, LOVES music... I have been blessed with two very musical children. Something I always dreamed of being. She's still another year out from starting preschool, where she will probably attend at Emmaus to follow in her brother's footsteps. She has a fantastic personality, even when she's driving me up the wall, I am humbled by how God has taught me so much through her. She's had her FIRST haircut, at the age of three, and it was only to even out the layers that were growing out uneven. She has made many friends, both the daycare kids that I watch, as well as siblings of Ethan's friends, and church friends. I am excited to watch her as she continues to grow in to her super sized personality, that is for sure. She's truly my best friend in the whole wide world. God knew just what I needed when he gave me Maddie!

As a family, we've been through a few changes. We have finally decided to cut our 11 year tie with Evergreen Christian Center, and have moved to a new church, Sonrise, also in Hillsboro. We have been praying over this decision for quite some time, and at the beginning of the year, knew God had a move in store for us, and one day we just listened... and you know what, we've loved the move so far. Ethan's best friend Mitchell goes there, which was great in transitioning Ethan to a new place, and we know many people who attend as well, and have found a place where we belong. It's been really nice so far. Praying we continue to hear God's message toward our lives and the direction we're heading through this transition. It was lot easier than I had expected it to be.

Me, personally, I have had a TREMENDOUSLY blessed year so far. With Ethan starting school, I had decided I was going to be a mom who was active in her children's schooling, and I took a lot of plunges this year. Which for most of you who know me, that's very hard. Feeling very distant from a lot of my close relationships, I sought out some of the mom's from Ethan's class, and you know what, God heard my plea for friendship... He heard my plea for support... and He heard my plea for a place to belong. And these ladies have given that to me. I have been blessed with friendships in people who truly like me for who I am. For ladies I can share with, in good times, in bad... and in goofy times as well. Ladies who have never made me feel judged, or an outcast, or weird, just because of the situations I've been through. It's been SO long since I have felt So accepted by a group of amazing women of God! Probably since my college age years in Fusion. And that's been a LONG time! haha... And I have been blessed by Allan's encouragement in these relationships, and his ability to let me know that he is proud of my steps forward. That in itself is an amazing feeling...

Outside of that, not a lot has been going on... Our big house project for this year is that we're going to build a big shed/shop in the backyard, so that we might be able to clean out the garage and make it soley for the cars to be parked in at this time... and for the fridge and freezer. Hopefully this year we'll be fixing the hot tub as well. It'd be super nice to be able to start using that, considering we've never been able to since we moved in... We have a LOT of plans for this house coming up as well. A big kitchen remodel is in the planning, as well as an addition to the back of the house... I'll fill you in on details as that comes to fruition... and just some other fun things that run through our head. Moving the daycare downstairs has been a blessing on our living space as well, and the kids have LOVED having their own space that is just for them, instead of having to suffer between kid and adult things... In addition to keeping my daycare running, I have started selling Scentsy... I'm excited about this transition in my life. God has given me a tremendous peace about it, and I'm just going to keep working hard at it until I have made something of my business. Truthfully, if I could just make enough to pay the kids tuition at school, that would be enough of a blessing! But we'll see!!!

We had our annual trip to Disneyland this past December, and it was fantastic. The kids had an amazing time, and I've learned how truly brave Ethan is. He loves rides, just like his dad... and it takes a tremendous burden off me that Allan has someone to go on rides with... though there's still some I'm not ready for him to go on yet. I know... I'm crazy!!! haha.... Other than that, we're just really loving life!!! It's been a great year for us... and we pray it's going to continue to get better and better....

Hope 2012 has brought many blessings to you who read this so far. I'm hopeful it won't take me another year to update some information! haha