Hello!!! Remember me? :) I don't know what I have been doing lately, but obviously not blogging! I haven't even checked blogs in months. Shocking. I know.  This fall has been a fun one with lots of birthdays and soccer.  We have had four birthdays in the house in the last month, five if you count the summer, all five kids played soccer this fall with two on traveling teams, and all are in school(with three different schedules!).

Here are some pictures to help me document what has been going on this fall and catch you up to speed. That is, unless you are on Facebook! ;) Facebook is just so quick and easy!

Kir & I got to go to the store opening of Hot Mama and watch Kristina in action.  

At the end of the summer, Greta and Justus's soccer teams both came in first place in  a soccer tournament.

She just makes me smile, so I had to post this picture. :) This was her trial outfit for back to school(I told her she needed something longer on)

Kristina came to visit and Kwame(as well as the rest of the kids, love her).

This is how you do pre-teen bday parties. Give them airsoft guns and let them go to town. ;) Yeah  right! 

Kristina's protege's :)

Loved this idea that I stole from my friend Anji and Becky and I was so happy the the kids humored me.  If you wonder why Fia's number is so small, it is because I thought I had a 2nd grader and ran out of poster board, so I had to cut the 2 down to a 1. LOL! And yes, I am saving these numbers and just adding on the missing digits.

Our school mascot-an ORCA! 

My mom and I got to road trip down and do some shopping together too at Hot Mama.  Super fun!

Myself and these lovely ladies(plus Joyce  who's taking the picture) got to get away  on a Women's Retreat  for a weekend.  Lots of great times with late night chatting, worship, canoeing, paddleboarding, and maybe some trouble. ;)

Daron took his annual Fall Harvest trip back to the farm in MN and this year it was Greta's turn to go with and help.  She got on the combine a little bit, but I think she mostly helped watch the kids with Grandma, which she thought was fun too!  It's so neat that her Aunt Sarah is doing the farming with Grandpa now.

Fia is the first of the fall birthdays and she turned 7!!! I can't believe when I first saw her picture she was only 3! Time has gone so quickly.

Fia is in 1st grade now and doing a fantastic job.  She seems to get an award every  other day for her hard work and helpful spirit.  She is such a good friend to everyone!

Fia had a birthday party and got to have some of her friends come and play for a couple of hours.  What a blast they had!

Ella was the next birthday and she turned 9!! I can't believe it! Ella is in third grade now and loves music and art.   For her birthday party, she decided to have a cooking party, so we made ice cream, smoothies, and had fondue.  We also went on a hike up to the local park and got to run around for a bit too on a beautiful October day.   

This was the last game of the season for Ella.  She had a great team and alot of fun.  Fia and Kwame had a fun season too with a few of their friends and a great coach(haha-me!) Greta  and Justus are still playing through December. 

Halloween-enough said. 

'Double you pleasure, double your fun' -Randi and I were the  Doublemint Twins for a GNO and we had a good time! She made the shirts and these awesome sparkly skirts for us, but I don't have another picture on my computer now, so this will have to do!

Greta and Daron's birthdays were next and they always go on a date  on the day between their birthdays.  They had a great time and I think Greta felt special on her 11th birthday.

And Daron, well, this was his 40th birthday!!!  Enough said. ;) 

One major downer this winter was that Grandma Bev broke her foot in many places this fall, so she has been  off her foot and healing for a LONG time.  So, one day off of school, we grabbed her and took her on our errands.  Of course, Starbucks was the 1st stop for us. :)

One major highlight this fall was meeting Steven Curtis Chapman again.  We went to his concert and got to volunteer at the www.showhope.org booth.  Show Hope gave us a large grant to help bring Fia and Kwame home and while we were at the concert, they asked if we could go up on stage as an example of where the money they raise for Show Hope goes. Of course we said yes and the kids were nervous and excited at the same time.  SCC is an amazing person, and we had the best time getting to talk to him again and listen to his music.  Josh Wilson and Andrew Peterson were also there too.  Amazing musicians and great storytellers, so we were also thrilled to see them in perform in person and also meet Andrew Peterson after the concert.

SCC performing songs and answering questions at a Q&A before the concert

Up on stage....

I was touched by this...Justus 'dressed up' on Veteran's Day in honor of his Uncle Joel who is currently deployed in the army.

Well, there you have it! There is obviously more that I have left out, but this is already a super long post! We are healthy and with have a lot of thankfulness in our hearts as we come up to Thanksgiving tomorrow. I am so thankful for my family, friends, and good food and football that we get to experience tomorrow.  Happy Thanksgiving!!

Another Year....Another Birthday! Happy 37th to Me!

So, I just had my birthday and I had a great time! Fortunately for you, I didn't get a picture of my breakfast in bed! Yea, I know you really want it, but luckily, they forgot. Ella did video me, but I think I will save that for our personal video collection. In case you are wondering,  my family treated me to some eggs, toast, grape juice(ha ha!I think it was left over  from communion), coffee, and the new favorite....browned jalapeno cheddar summer sausage! :) It is a new hit!

My birthday fell on a Monday, so Daron and I actually went out to celebrate a couple days before it for dinner.  An amazing family from our church actually gave us gift cards to a Seattle restaurant for Christmas AND offered to take ALL five kids overnight! I asked what time she wanted the kids and she said noon! Seriously???Yes! Then, she said to come back the next day to get them around 11 and she would have brunch for us too! Wow, this woman is a saint and I am SO thankful for their generosity.  They really treated us to something special.  Daron and I had a great time in the city for dinner and I even went in early for a haircut, where they also pampered me with a complimentary foot massage/soak.  The next morning it was such a treat to wake up to a quiet house, enjoy our quiet breakfast, and QUIET coffee(are you catching my drift?).

The day of my birthday, after my breakfast in bed and kids were off to school, my mom took me to Port Townsend for the day.  My dear friend, Johnene, watched the littles, and we were able to get away for the majority of the day.  It was blissful! (Now, I know I keep saying that it is wonderful and blissful to be without my kids.  I need to let you know that I LOVE having my kids around the majority of the time, but I also enjoy some alone time too-so thank you to those that made it happen!) I love spending time with my mom, so it was wonderful to just take our time, enjoy our lunch, coffee of course, and do a little shopping too!


For my birthday dinner with my family and parents, I got to have a favorite; London broil! Daron made a delish meal with yummy potatoes, salad, beans, wine, etc....and finished it off with a creme' brule cheesecake that was a hit(for everyone but me since I don't like cheesecake or creme brule-shhhh!!!)  But, in case you are feeling bad for me, don't! My friend Tracy W. (lucky for me!) took pity, and the next day when she realized I didn't have a chocolate cake(my favorite), she whipped one up and dropped it by. It was delish! A homemade chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and chocolate shavings...can't get any more chocolate than that, huh?

I am thankful for my family & friends.  It was great to hear from so many.  I know Facebook is overwhelming and time consuming, but it was fun to get messages from lots of people that are from my past and present, how fun is that?! On the flipside, I guess I am also still old school, as I really appreciated the phone calls I received from family and friends.  It was especially cute to hear my nieces and nephews sing to me! Thanks to all that called, messaged, and sent letters.  It meant so much to me on my 37th birthday!



Don't mind my hair, I just took my hat off!



Happy 5th Birthday Kwame!

Our little prince, Nana Kwame, turned 5 today! I can't believe how fast the time has gone. They have been home with us for almost two years now and we met him when he was two! I love this little guy. He has the best joy and excitement that oozes out of him. For breakfast in bed he wanted eggs and bacon and that is what he got!

Happy birthday Kwame. We love you SO much!

Mom (and Dad)

Happy Birthday Daron!

I wanted to write a blog post on Daron, but he wants me to spend time with him, so I guess his birthday present is to NOT write a post on him....as long as tomorrow he isn't mad I didn't give him much of an online birthday post.

Notice he only had one candle left signifying one girlfriend!

t.

Happy 8th Birthday EllaBellaGrace!

Happy 8th Birthday Ella! I love you, your smile, your laughter, and your love of life. You are so special to us!

A month or so ago, Ella found this double bagel and said she wanted it for her birthday. So we froze it-haha- and TA-DA!!, she got it for her breakfast in bed this morning. She was thrilled!

After school we gave her a scavenger hunt to find her present-it was a PINK GUITAR! She wants to be a rock star and loves singing and dancing, so we figured, let's do it!

As I speak, she is writing out a song to sing on her new guitar! ;) I love it.

Happy birthday EllaBellaGrace! We LOVE you!

HAPPY 11th BIRTHDAY JUSTUS!!!

Just look at that smile, isn't that the best? I am so thankful for this guy that we have in our lives and can't believe that today we are already celebrating his 11th birthday. Wow-time really does go so quickly! This is going to be his last year of elementary school and next year he will be off to middle school. I also told him that in 4 years I will be practicing driving with him and he will get his license in 5. He said, I bet you are going to be nervous! I, of course, told him no, as the cool mom I am trying to be, but ummm-yes-nervous is an UNDERSTATEMENT!

Justus is such a GREAT kid with an amazing heart. He is the best big brother and most of the time looks out for his siblings-ha! Of course he tries to get under the skin of his sisters, but what normal brother doesn't?? He also sometimes forgets to clean up the pasta that he drops after cooking himself an extra dinner(right, Justus?). But besides that, I can't complain. He smiles and melts my heart. I LOVE this kid! I have so much fun watching him with friends, playing sports, being compassionate, and goofing off with his dad. He is one of a kind and I am so thankful to be your mom, Justus. Happy Birthday!!

Happy 60th Birthday Mom!

A VERY happy birthday to my wonderful, beautiful(outside and in), fantastically superb, amazing mom! This first picture of her is when she was a young teenager at their family farm in MN, where my grandpa would make their own ice rink for the girls. Yes, this picture is in the dead of a Minnesota winter where my mom decided to put on her ice skates and pull a Dorothy Hamel! How beautiful is she???The cars not so bad either, huh? ;)

I really have had THE best mom I could ever ask for and now I am realizing, as a mom of 5 myself, just how much more I appreciate all she ever taught me and did for me. She is now a best friend of mine and there has never been a time when I felt she wasn't on my side(even when she didn't agree with all my decisions).

We have really had a special relationship. I don't ever remember that time that most teens have when they are embarrassed of their mom. I really don't think I ever went through that phase(did I Inger? I have to ask her b/c she has a great memory and mine stinks!) I always loved when she was around and took pride in the fact that my friends thought she was cool too. I don't think I was spoiled (siblings may disagree here), as I fully knew my boundaries and felt I was held accountable to my actions. I just never wanted to disappoint her, and when I did, it hurt. I LOVE my mom and today I wish her the very best birthday. We had fun celebrating with our family over the weekend, but I wasn't able to be with her today, so I definitely want her to know that I strive to be a better mom, wife, and person because of what she has taught me and continues to model for me. Thank you mom and I hope you have had a great birthday and know that not only me, but your son-in-law (right Daron?), your grandkids, and your whole family love you so much and we are blessed to share our lives with you. Happy birthday Grandma Bevy!