It's a Long One...

So this one will be long, seeing as I have almost a months worth of catching up to do!
First of all we did move in, and for the most part, have the house functioning and working, thanks HUGELY to Mike! I can't tell you what a blessing he is to me and the kiddos- always striving his hardest to provide for us and be there for us- We LOVE him! Seriously, I've never met anyone who can work so hard!
We moved in last Friday night, and got the kids' beds in at about midnight- no joke! This was not fun for mommy, but they did well their first night and thus we were happy! Once we moved all our stuff over and out of storage, Mike and I were so shocked with all the things we have! Seriously now, how much kitchen stuff does a woman need? The thing is, I went through my cupboards to see what I could garage sale, and there wasn't one thing in there I was willing to part with... I guess I could sell the Little Mermaid cake pan, but how much room is that really going to save me?
Another big triumph for us was getting a tree, let alone Christmas presents for the kids and our parents. The snow here was awful and frankly quite dangerous since we're not used to it, and there really wasn't any getting out to speak of. Mike did make it out on Tuesday though and got presents for them all- I was so bummed I missed out on this activity- that's the best part about giving the gifts! Next year I'll get to go though- I'll make sure of it! On his way home, he also picked up a tree for me- not any tree, but a nearly 10 foot, completely iced over tree! The only good news is that the place selling them was shutting down shop, and instead of charging us the $90 they were selling it for, they gave it to us for $30! We love nobels and have to have one every year- it was an excellent deal! After lots of plastic wrap and a LONG hairdrying session, we got most of the icicles off and managed to get the tree in a standing position so it could dry out overnight... let's just say it only fell over twice while putting lights on it. Needless to say, we are buying a new tree stand next year! Here's a pic of the tree...

Another thing I was able to get done was finish my Christmas stockings- I was so proud to have them done before Christmas! Here's a picture of the final product!

So, as far as pictures of the house go, I'll have to wait until we get Christmas stuff, and more boxes cleared out. We made it through Christmas, then brought all the boxes in the garage inside... now we are just trying to find places for it all. Once it's cleaned, I'll take more pictures!
So, the day before Christmas I was making Sugar cookies for the families and festivities, and Rachel decided she wanted to help. I left for a second to grab something, and apparantly this is her idea of helping- completely dousing her brother in flour. He didn't seem to mind though... such a good attitude that one has!





And here are some more randome pics of Christmas... I didn't have a camera the whole time, so my in-laws are sending me some more, but this is what I got! Enjoy!
The kids in their Christmas PJ's after opening stockings...



Rachel showing Andrew how to use his new toys- she was quite good at this, and I see her walk by his toys all the time and contemplate whether she is too old for them or not... I really think she almost likes his better!



Rachel pretending she's a present...



My Father-in-law, Brother-in-law and Rachel...



My mom and Andrew



My dad with Andrew



My sister-in-law trying to figure out how to set up a princess tent! This was clearly a highlight for rachel- it took up half our living room though, so we took it down for now!





Andrew after a long day of opening presents and eating food- just relaxing with some toys...



And Daddy taking a nap... so jealous...



And the last pictures are of Rachel playing Guitar Hero World Tour... It was my gift to Mike- So here she is playing the drums and singing...





Hope you all had a wonderful holiday as well! Looking forward to visiting more of you in 2009!

A Shoe Fettish...

I don't know what it is about girls and their shoes, but since Rachel has been able to crawl, she's had a fettish. She doesn't stop trying shoes on- EVER! Seriously, we'll go into the store and all of a sudden I hear a clunk, clunk... I look in the cart, and she has thrown her shoes in the cart, and taken off toward the shoe aisle in whatever store we may be in! This only takes place at stores that actually have carts... The other day at DSW (a huge shoe store, for those who don't know), she put her shoes in another box! I couldn't find them for like 30 min! I was so mad! Anyway, here's a few pics, but seriously, the store moments are the best. I wish I had a small camera to carry around with me... You'll just have to enjoy the ones from home for now (keep in mind, this is only from the past few days!)!

Construction Continues...

So Mike has been working extraordinarily hard on our new home, and here are some more updates on what he's been doing. Mike's dad came over last weekend for a bit and helped us put that huge (6'x6') window in upstairs- that was a huge blessing. We also got all the millwork off and staples up out of the ground (yes, I got that tedious job)! Mike also finished the sheetrock and has been texturing the walls and replacing the millwork now. Poor guy never stops working. The good news is, though, that we get our carpet installed on the 16th and we can start moving a few things in! Yay for us! That means we, and we means mostly Mike, has a lot of work to do in a short period of time! Oh yeah, and we get our siding put on probably Tuesday! We are so thrilled- I will definitely take pictures once that's done. Pray for us!!! Enjoy the pictures!

My pantry's coming along!



One of Mike's sheetrock jobs, primed and textured!



Millwork around the old windows... those are getting replaced next summer!



Our big window (from the inside)



Our new baseboards!

Our Thanksgiving!

Our Thanksgiving was hectic, but fun, as usual in our household. If we didn't have 4 places to go to, I almost begin to wonder if we would get bored! Having four families is hard on us, driving from place to place (I so want to see Four Christmases!), but we have fun, and this year, the kids made it through all the car rides! Thank God for mini DVD players! Seriously, the thing is a life-saver! Well, here's a few pics of the happenings, before my camera died!

Uncle Tony and Lana playing Mario Kart


The boys... Andrew and Isaac...



Dancing with Grandpa!



Isaac and Hayley playing together...



Our attempt at a good family photo...



Daddy and Rachel Dancing





Rachel, Andrew and their baby cousin Isaac (2 weeks younger than Andrew)!



Grandpa David and Andrew

And So It Goes...

Mike and I had a very long weekend of working together on our new place- so much fun! We haven't hung out together in so long without our kids, and it was nice to do something other than eat or watch tv! Anyway, here's some pics- check out those new windows we put it!

It's Comin' Along...

So, as most of you know, Mike has been working on our home, without ceasing! Whenever he's not at work, he's there, diligently slaving away, so that we can move in before Christmas. Anyway, today I had the wonderful pleasure of accompanying my husband for about 4 hours... Grandma Ann was watching Rachel (overnight- woohoo!) and Grandma Dee was watching Andrew for a bit. I went and got Andrew and tried to bring him back to work with us, but he wasn't having it! I packed him up and left Mike alone to work, once again! Here's a few pics of our progress, but really, Mike's done so much more!

A wall that was completely rotted with mold- He's completely redone it and should be putting on the sheetrock tonight!




Mike's building me a pantry- love it!!!

It Made Me Laugh...

It's mostly the things the kids do, or say that make me smile the most throughout the day- This is just a few of todays happenings, and every day is different and new... Despite all the challenges these ages bring, they come with fun moments like these!

It's 5:30 am and Rachel is up and ready to go for the day- it's like she doesn't need any down time to wake up or anything- hyper-mode instantly! Anyway, she says she is hungry and wants breakfast. I give her options, the usuals... cereal, toast, oatmeal, etc. She says, "ummmmm, no, how about (drawn out and exaggerated, like she's thinking hard about a good option) cookies." I say no, and she says, "Okay, well, how about just crackers then." She seriously talks like this- everything now is "no, how about this, or that..." ornery, but funny- it made me laugh...

Later that morning we are roaming the aisles of Fred Meyer (yes, this is what I do when I am bored), and we ended up where framed art is. Rachel points to a photo and says, "Look mom, there's the Eiffel Tower. The Bad Knight lives there in France." She apparantly watches a lot of Little Einsteins. It made me so proud to know how smart she was though, and it was so random it made me laugh...

It's nap time and I am trying desperately to find Andrew's pacifier. Not that he really uses one anyway, but if he wakes up early or something from his nap, I like to know where it is so it can soothe him back to sleep. I give up and ask Rachel. She says it's right by the big couch. I say where by the big couch. She gets this exasperated look on her face and sighs loud (obviously expressing that she has better things to do with her time) and goes to the couch, lifts up the coushion and hands me the pacifier... It was just so funny- her acting so teenagerish, it made me laugh...

I've warned Rachel a million times not to stick things in the outlets, but being two, she doesn't ever listen... This afternoon I heard a loud scream of complete terror and came around the corner to find Rachel holding her hand, and my keys dangling out of the oulet. I attempted to pull them out and they were stuck bad! She put them in there deep- And obviously there were consequences for that. She kept telling me for some time afterward, "I did no-no's and it hurt me." I'm glad she didn't get hurt too bad, but also glad she did feel some sort of pain, so she knows not to do it again... Although it was bad, it made me laugh...

So this evening, we're on our way home from visiting Mike at the new house and Rachel says, "Mom, I feel like having some coffee right now." It was just so random and like she drinks coffee anyway, that I had to smile and laugh...

Last but not least... So, most of you know that Rachel has always had trouble pooping- something's not right inside her and it causes her pain. Anyway, I always encourage her when I see her going to push hard and that she can do it. So tonight, I'm putting the kids to bed, but I stop and tell them I have to go the bathroom real fast- I just couldn't hold it any longer. As I am running down the hall, I hear Rachel say, "Don't forget to push really hard momma." She makes me laugh...

The joys of motherhood!

New House and Roof!

So the roof is done as of this afternoon! We are so excited to move on now with the closing process- we should own the house by Monday or Tuesday of next week. Below are some pics of the new roof, but keep in mind that the shingles aren't all flat until the heat hits them... so it may look a little funny! Also, here are some pics of the inside- everything needs a little work, but we're going to fix it all up! These are definitely titled our Before Pics! Enjoy!