Welcome the newest member of our family!

Hello Folks, this is Rob posting for a change!

Kristin and I celebrated our own private little Christmas on Christmas day, which was wonderful (I love my wife more then anything!), but then her family came over for the weekend to have a Christmas with them, and boy was it fun! We got to spend some good ole quality time together, and we even went and saw the movie "Marley and Me", which I can tell you is just as moving as the book, and very well done.

In any case Kristin's parents had brought over a bunch of presents for us all to open, along with the disclaimer that this year was strangely over-abundant because they sold their house. After we had opened all the wonderful things they had brought us, they looked askance at each other with quotes like "I think we forgot one..." and "Isn't there one missing?" upon which they made us close our eyes and went out to their car to get something. When they came in this was sitting in front of us.So welcome the newest member of our family, 32LG30, we will make sure he is well cared for!

I know I shouldn't, but...

I really cannot help myself. Baylee is too darn cute (and getting very good at her 'stay' command...) and much too willing for me to stop. She just sits there and looks so happy that- I mean, is it really that much of a crime to plop a hat on her head and make a cute picture out of it? I think not.

See for yourself.

First, she started out very happy with her new Santa hat (that she tried to eat about 30 seconds prior.)

She struck a few poses, looking all purdy for the camera. Still pretty content with the hat, though it was tough to get a picture without her trying to eat the ball she realized was firmly attached to the end.

It isn't long before she begins to tire of the hat.

"...Oh what joy does she get from such torment?"

Then she pulls the, "Fine, I'll just sit here and look sad so your pictures aren't as cute anymore" look and she wins. I tell her to go.

Relieved, she tastes freedom and shakes free of that awful hat.

Man, I love that dog. I can't even imagine how much I'm going to love my own kid if I can feel this much for a furry, four legged lick monster. And, to show that I also humiliate myself, and to give Bella (who hates it immesely) a little bit of shutter time, I shall throw in this one for good measure. Merry Christmas, everyone!

Christmas Time!

I suppose it is time for an update! Winter is in full swing! So far, Rob and I have been having a blast. We have gotten quite a bit of snow (not nearly as much as our friends in Spokane who are pretty much stuck inside) but it is a good amount to where everything is nice and white but not too much to where it hinders our ability to do anything. Although, and I think Rob would agree, it is getting a little tiresome to have to shovel the sidewalks 2,3,4 times a day.

With just a few days to go, we are ready and rearing for Christmas! Sadly enough, we will not be able to go to Lakewood and take part in my family's Christmas traditions. Rob's family is pretty much all in California, and while it is slightly sad that we will not be in the middle of family gatherings, there is plenty to be said about getting to spend our very first Christmas together, alone with our pups, in our own little house. My family is driving over on the day after Christmas and will spend the weekend with us so we will still get some fun family time. Needless to say, we are very looking forward to all of it.

We set off December with a bang and on the first (my birthday) we went out and got a tree, (real, of course) put lights up on the house, and got out the (few) Christmas decorations and made our house feel a little more like Christmas!

(These stockings were so easy to make it was almost like cheating. I borrowed an idea from Martha Stewart of all people, and went to Goodwill, found cool, old sweaters, and made them into stockings. We are really excited with how they turned out.)

Quite a few years ago, I got this dancing/singing snowman from my Grandma. Over the years, he has become a family favorite. This year, however, Baylee decided she absolutely HATES- and I mean loathes- Mr. Dancing Snowman. I don't know if she is jealous of his moves or what, but she wants nothing more than to take him down.

I spent much of last week baking all sorts of cookies that we really aren't too sure what to do with. I will post one of my favorite recipes sometime this week; it is definitely one to use.

The dogs aren't too sure of the snow. For awhile, they would run outside to use the bathroom and hide under the deck until I bribed them out with treats. They still aren't too fond of tromping around in it, but Baylee has taken it upon herself to make sure she eats each and every last flake until it is gone. There is enough snow outside now, that if they don't jump through it, they sink and just their heads show. They don't think that is nearly as funny as we do.

Today while we were out shoveling the sidewalks for the third time, I (in my picture obsession) decided it would be a great time to get some good family photos. I set up the camera on the hood of the Jeep on top of a cardboard box, pressed the self timer, and ran as quickly as I could without slipping in the snow and ice and falling flat on my face. Due to the harsh weather conditions, I only took two (compared to my typical 2-3 hundred) and considered myself lucky to even get that. This was the best of the two, (considering our heads were entirely cut off in the other) but still not all that great. (Note to Santa: I would really appreciate the remote and tripod for my Nikon that's on my list...)

Luckily our neighbor was pained in watching our failed attempts at self portraits, and offered to snap a picture for us. She works at the humane society and photographs the dogs for adoption, so using some very interesting noises, she actually got both the dogs to look at the camera and it turned out to be a pretty darn good shot. Thanks neighbor!

That has been our December thus far. Hopefully we won't get too much more snow than what we have been getting because I feel sick to my stomach to think of Rob driving all over the place in it. The man drives right around 1100 miles a week and that is about 1099 miles too many in this weather for my liking.

(Bella was extremely sad about taking a Christmas portrait. Baylee was, well, Baylee...she doesn't really care what you do to her.)

We hope you all have as merry of a Christmas as we are having and a really happy new year. We sent out Christmas cards last week, so hopefully you all enjoyed our little poem. :) We sure had fun writing it.

Happy Birthday To Me!!

Today was a great day. It would have been a great day birthday or not, due to the fact that my loving husband busted his butt so he could get home early and we got to spend the majority of the day together. We got out all of our Christmas decorations, went and got our tree (live, of course...I refuse to do fake) and put up lights on our house! It was so great being able to do all of these typical Christmas traditions, together, for the first time, as our own little family unit. We loved it. (Of course, typical me had to stop Rob constantly for pictures of which I will post soon.)

We then came inside, he made me lasagna and garlic bread, we watched a few episodes of The Office (yay for Netflix streaming!) had super-duper brownie sundaes, and he headed off to bed while I stayed up to post cute pictures of me from when I was a young tot. ;) Really, though, we had a blast.

I love that we didn't feel the need to go all out on my birthday. Not only are we trying to stick to a budget, it is still so neat for us to get to be married and do everything together that spending the day putting up Christmas decorations and just being together is about the best thing I could have thought of doing on my birthday. Of course he was extra sweet, too, even going so far as to let me backseat drive without repercussion. :)

When I was going through some pictures to try and find some for my last post (Wow! Two in a day, crazy, I know...) I found all sorts of pictures from my childhood. I thought they were too cute to pass up and since its my birthday and all, and I was already using our obnoxiously loud scanner, I figured I'd post a few up here to share.

There really isn't anything to not be happy about when you've got a duck like this one.

Yes, I have been baby obsessed from day one...

When my parents let me dress myself I would do so in a manner I called "Wacky-Wild-Koolaid-Style" which looked something like this...

We really were that cool.

I have quite the cheesy grin, if you haven't noticed yet.


Two cases in point: wacky-wild dressing as well as cheesy grin.


Our boy cats' kittens. Even the vet said he was a boy. However, biology doesn't lie and if you give birth to five children all in an hours' time, my bet is you're female.






Who doesn't go riding around on elephants every now and then?








This is what Texas does to you...


Holy cow. Look at that haircut! Product of being born and raised in the 80s/90s I suppose...

The haircuts just keep getting worse...

Well there you have it. My life in a nutshell. So happy birthday to me. Who knows what kinds of pictures I'll have to post next year...

Happy Thanksgiving! It may be late, but I am still just as thankful...

While this is a little overdue, I do not believe it is ever too late to express your gratitude for all of the wonderful blessings in your life. Rob and I had a great Thanksgiving here in our little home in Wenatchee with my family and Grandma Barb. We loved hosting our first Thanksgiving and really just had a blast. I hope your Thanksgiving was as surrounded with family and fun as mine was, and that you are as full of thanks as I am.

I am one ridiculously blessed kid. I almost feel guilty for the immeasurable blessings that have been bestowed upon me since that one early evening in 1986 (22 years ago to the day, actually) when I arrived into this world, naked, screaming and in tip-top, perfect health.

God must have been having an amazingly great day when he decided that mediocre me deserved the family he allowed me to be born into.

He gave me a father who is an amazing man; strong but gentle, focused but silly. A man who works so hard for his family and loves them beyond all measure. A man who isn't afraid to bow down and worship our God, who isn't afraid to protect his family at any cost, a man who isn't afraid to admit his own weaknesses, and a man who gives to others without so much as a second thought.

God continued to smile down on me, before I was even a twinkle in my parents eyes, when he gave this sweet, sweet angle of a woman to my father, who became his wife, who, in turn, became my mother. There is no exaggeration in my words when I say there isn't a mother better than my own. She loves without restraint and she gives of herself with no limit. She too, is unashamed to love our God. With her contagious good moods and her amazing talents and creativity, these two, my mom and dad, make an amazing pair.

God prepared the perfect place for me, right smack in the middle between an incredibly gifted and perfectly stubborn older sister who would show me many of the ways of the world, and followed with the sweetest, most honest, though respectively obnoxious, little sister who continually brings innocence to our life. The former has an amazing talent of standing up for what she believes that we really could all learn a bit from. She isn't afraid of what people might think, she isn't afraid to be wrong and she certainly isn't afraid to upset anyone with said beliefs. The latter, has this amazingly concrete faith that she has had from day one. She knows that in all aspects she will be taken care of in life and therefore has gone at living said life with gusto.

As if my immediate little family isn't more than one can dare ask for, our little flock is surrounded by some of the most loving, caring and downright good people we get the privilege of calling relatives. We certainly aren't flawless, we may have a few black sheep or two, but when it comes right down to it we are rock solid, full of love and life and would do anything for anyone of us. My extended family is not big, but it is most definitely all that I need and more. My grandparents, yes ALL of them, are seriously some of the most giving people I know. I can think of 110 examples just within this last year in which they have sacrificed things solely for my purpose of happiness, need or comfort. I know without a shadow of a doubt I am loved by them, and none of us are afraid to say it.

I make friends with fascinating people who for some reason or another find me someone they want to enjoy life with and we make more great memories than one deserves. We find ways, even in the murky days of high school, to have the most fun of times while sticking to our guns and not turning our backs on our morals. We have our differences but embrace them rather that letting them be the wedge that shoves us apart. I love these people like they were born into my family. I still know I can count on them for anything, at anytime and hope beyond all hope that they know they can count on me for the same.

So here I am, living an overly blessed life. My parents are still giddy, head-over-heals in love with one another, I have been given my faith in a loving God from day one, I have great, nay, amazing parents, friends, siblings, grandparents, aunts, cousins... like I said, I am one blessed child. I have been given opportunities to live in different areas, always have more than enough food, clothes and shelter, and have had so many marvelous experiences presented to me in such a way that I can enjoy and learn from them. I am loved by more people than I can shake a stick at and, really, haven't a worry in the world.

Then, amidst probably the lowest point in my life, when I was full of teenage angst and had made up my mind that everyone was out to get me, while I did some not-so-great things (mind you, this is the lowest point in my life) out of my shame and misery comes my knight in shining armor. I can call him husband now, but my then 'boyfriend' of sorts stuck with me through the hell I drug him through for no better reason than my own entertainment. I would consider myself beyond my rightful blessings had I been born in a cardboard box and left to fend for myself had Rob still stuck with me, still loved me, and heck- still wanted to be with me.

I don't know why I deserve the man who I call my husband. The truth is, I probably don't. He is the kindest, most trusting and honest person I know. He is the best of everything from everyone I know. He is a hard worker like my father, he gives of himself to no end like my mother, he stubbornly stands up for his beliefs (and me) like my older sister and he loves his Lord and God unconditionally like my little sister. He would give his last penny to a perfect stranger in need like my grandparents, and for some reason unbeknownst to me he loves me for me, like all of my friends and family.

Our entire relationship, from day one, has been a roller coaster, but entirely guided and planned. There is no way God's hand isn't in on this, because the story is entirely unbelievable, yet 100% true. I have been given this incredible man that I get the privilege of sharing a life, a family and a faith with. I cannot express enough words of thanks for everything (namely, everyone) I have been given in this life. God is so gracious.

I write this in my cute little house, listening to the subtle snores of my wonderful husband, sitting next to my sweet, sweet puppy, belly full, toasty warm, and perfectly taken care of in every single aspect of my life. And all I can think about is that sweet little girl on my refrigerator who is thousands of miles away, living in who-knows-what kind of house, who hasn't eaten a meal in who-knows-how long, and has a greater need for health care than anyone I know, and has the least chance of receiving it. This little girl is Verina, an 8 year old who lives in Malawi, Africa. My parents decided to sponsor a child under each of our names (my siblings and me) in order to give more. They gave us all a picture and the name of our sponsored child at Thanksgiving, with the promise to send their monthly money every single month until the children are grown adults.

I cannot stand to think of how blessed I am, how much I have, while there are so many millions of people who don't even have their basic needs met. So this Thanksgiving, my sincere 'thanks' for everything in my life comes with a prayer. A prayer for all of the people of the world who either don't have food, shelter or family, as well as those who do not have faith in the one true God, who gives, and loves, and who has a plan for everyone in this wild, crazy life.

What are you thankful for this year? Make sure you really consider all of the blessings, the true blessings, in your life. I have so many, I have completely lost count.