4 years old tomorrow

My dear little guy,
  Tomorrow you will be 4 and I wanted to tell you some things... You won't probably read this until you are much older but I have to record even for my own sake so I won't forget the wonderful things in my life because of you.  Since you were born I have had sand in my bed, rocks in my bed, rocks in my washer, rocks in my dryer, rocks in my shoes, rocks in my pockets, toys in my car, my bed, my kitchen, my porch, my clothes, trucks in my cupboards, giggles in the mornings, trucks in my dish water, loads and loads of very dirty clothes, puke on my table, puke on my rug, sink parts down the drain, water all over the floor, mud puddles in my house, bike skid marks on my floor, water all over the walls, other brown material all over the walls, books in my bed, Moo in my bed, Bunny in my bed, rolls of toilet paper unrolled into the toilet, crumbs in all kinds of cracks, sticky hands smeared on my face and my hair, smelly feet in my face, cold feet on my back, boogers wiped in places other than a tissue, tears of joy, tears of sorrow, tears of worry, some nights without much sleep, some days when I could have worn earplugs all day, and other things mothers of boys have.  But all these things and more are what make me smile everyday, and your smile, your laugh, your words, your creativity, I'm amazed day by day at what a great gift  you are and you may never understand how much I love you, until maybe the day you have children of your own.  You are kind and forgiving, even when other kids have not been kind or forgiving. You are generous with your affection and your helping hands. You are always eager to say hi to everyone, even if they don't look at you or hear you.  I love that you notice the little things, and I'm trying to cherish the little kid things you do before you're all grown up and too mature to do them anymore.  You have a great memory and sense of direction.  I don't think you ever forget a person, and you break the silent tense awkwardness with strangers with your friendly "HI!" to everyone you meet.  Your language is changing daily, and I kinda miss the days when you called monkeys, mee-moos, and flowers, fhoo-fhoos.  It stills makes my day when I hear you say copcorn, or when you see a whirl iffin around the yard.  Hahaha.  You are such a good big brother, always trying to comfort your sister, talking to her, bringing her toys, swinging her in her swing, patting her hair down, or tickling her.  I have seen you just this week protecting her (from Chile), and proud of her (telling people out and about that you have a baby sister named...)  I wouldn't trade you for a thing, there is no one else that I wish was my son, I am so glad that God gave us you, just as you are, and just as you will be.  He made you, little love, and he knows you and loves you more than Daddy-o or I even could.  As much as I would love to always have a great relationship with you, what I desire more is for you to have a great relationship with your  heavenly Father and Jesus Christ the Lord over all.  That is really all that matters anyway.  Friends and family  just weren't made to be everything for you, but Christ was, so I will pray today and everyday that you go to him, inquire of Him, know Him, love Him, trust Him, put your hope in Him, listen to Him, believe Him, rest in Him, and speak of Him to everyone you know.  He will not disappoint, and what he has is eternal.  I love you little man and I am so blessed to see you unfold and grow like a beautiful garden, bearing good things.  4 years ago today I was in labor with you and had not a clue what I was getting into doing this parenting thing, but there is no place I would rather be, and nothing else I would rather do.  If nothing else, the Lord is stripping me of my selfishness so He can be glorified in losing myself to what he has called me to....the high calling of parenthood.  I trust Him with you and know you are in good hands, someday you must entrust yourself to Him too.  If my love for you is like a crazy rushing river in the springtime, I can't imagine what God's love for you is really like.  Know this--the Lord is good.  Better than the best thing you have ever known or experienced.  You know I'm a rambler, so I'll stop with hopes that someday you will read this and understand.  I love you more than sunshine, sleeping in, ice cream, knitting, a hot tub, a woodstove, homemade gifts, dark chocolate, a hike in the mountains, or fresh raspberries.
Love,
Your Mama (and dance partner, for now)

Things happening around here

We hit a deer last night.  We have a smashed headlight, everyone is fine....except the deer of course.Our little guy saw it all and asked several times today to go to the garage to see the broken light.  Then he would retell me what happened.  He's been waking up from dreams early in the morning, crying himself into our room to try to explain what was happening. This morning they were all good dreams.  The first words out of his mouth this morning were. "Big John Deere tractor in the parking lot just like mines"  haha.  Then he said "get tires at new store"  I asked him what store, was it Costco?  He said yeah, get new tires at Costco.  We went to Costco last night.  Here are some pictures of both of them sleeping at the same time....this lasted for about 15 minutes, so I really didn't get anything done.  I need to make a list of things to do when I get the chance that both of them are sleeping (since S gave up naps entirely when H was about 7 weeks old). When the opportunity arises, I get so excited I really don't know what to do with myself, so I do 10, 1-2 minute things.  Someday I'll be organized in this area.  Here is a picture of him after he fell asleep on the couch next to J.  He was just sitting there and then we noticed he had tipped over. LOL! Poor guy had a cold and this is the first one he was wiping his own nose with a tissue (not just his sleeve).  He was like an old lady with his tissue wadded up in one hand carrying it around everywhere until I firmly told him to throw it away and get a new one.  What a kid, I love him so much!

 Well, our little sweetie pie is growing, growing.  She was 12 lbs and 3 oz. tonight before her bath.  She is getting so strong, close to rolling over.  On her back, she arches her back so she can get to her side but hasn't gone all the way to her tummy.  On her tummy, she can get over to her back.  She throws her legs straight up in the air and grabs her knees.  She loves to watch her brother do anything, which has made nursing a challenge lately.  I have to tell him to go play in his room so she will focus a bit, but when I'm getting dinner ready his distraction helps out so much.  She likes to watch the dog, too.  She laughs, and giggles and babbles all sorts of sounds.  She's good at grabbing my hair and toys, she's actually pretty good with her hands, chewing on them and pulling out her nuk, but she prefers her thumb.  We put her in the stroller for the first time this week, she seemed to like it but didn't fall asleep until we had done all the loops in the park and were back in the driveway...too much to see for those attentive little eyes.  I just wonder what she is going to be like when she  gets older-- that some kids just drift off to sleep easily, but she doesn't want to miss a thing.  I give her many opportunities to jump into slumberland, but she keeps those eyes pinged open as long as she possibly can.

J poured the foundation for another house last week, the rain held off and he got the driveway done on Monday of this week, so he'll be as busy as he wants to be this winter.  This time change has kicked my hiney, I'm going to bed.

More pictures

3 Months old!

                                                             Our thumb sucker

Almost 3 months

She was closer to 2 months when these were taken.

 The flash was a bit much, but you can see how big she smiles here.

We just moved into town close to a big park, so we have been going over to walk the long path a few times a week, in between unpacking.  S rides his bike in the park , we were hoping to teach him to ride without training wheels this fall, but we have also started building another house so he might have to wait until spring :)  Our little girl is changing so much and I love to hear her giggle, she starting to reach for her feet (she's good at holding her knees), and she's been sucking her thumb for a few weeks now.  She loves to watch her brother, which is a great help when I'm getting dinner ready.We're all getting adjusted and resettled, just in time for real fall weather.  Not really looking forward to winter this year...:(  we don't have our wonderful woodstove this year.

She's here!!!!

While we were waiting for our baby to arrive the guys built a storage shed. See who is working and who is supervising.

S went to a birthday party and received these wonderful hillbilly teeth. Entertainment at it's finest.

and...she finally arrived!! 9 lbs 21 inches long on July 27th @6:43pm.  we were so surprised to have a girl but couldn't be happier. forget punctuation i only have 1 hand to type. she is a good eater and she sleeps a few long stretches. it's nice to have a bigger baby! we are praising the LORD for the birth and health of our new little one, He has been so good to us!

with the big brother...he is such a good big brother

my beautiful baby girl! i'll try to update but life is pretty busy right now

Fishing, Friends and (cars with) Fire!

We've been spending a significant time at the lake.  No, it's not warm and sunny here and we don't go in our swimwear.  Rather, we wear our winter coats and hats and hope it doesn't rain on us.  But the fishing is great!  J has been reeling them in one after another, but that doesn't mean we can keep them all.  Protected, smotected, lots of fish in our lake we have to throw back because they are threatened, but our freezer and refrigerator are full, so I'm not complaining :)

In May, a college roommate of mine came from St. Louis with her fam for a week to check out Idaho.  Here they are (the random kid in the stroller belonged to neither of us, I guess he just wanted to be in the picture) at the Lost in the 50's parade, followed by my gang in the next photo.

 S was super excited about this parade, and talked about it for days afterward.  Anything with wheels is still his "thing".  Oh, by the way, I'm not that fat, but getting bigger :)

This is the result of having a "silt" pond (background), a boy and a dog. His eyelashes were caked.

Glad he still fits in the sink, because I was not going to let the trail of mud lead all the way upstairs to the tub, and if it were warm enough for him to wear shorts we would have been all about the hose outside, but I'm still wearing pants and sweatshirts, people.

Notice the gloves and winter hat...it's been unseasonably cold this May and June.  He and Chile play in the long grass to entertain themselves.  If he can remain quiet enough, he gets a good game of hide and seek going with his furry pal.

If he knew there was a fish this close to his face he would not be smiling, he's more the "I"ll take a stick and poke it" kind of fish handler.

 Overseeing the operation, as J guts, beheads and fillets the unfortunate fish.

 I love this picture.  The fish is gasping for his last few minutes, as S armed with his sword, focuses to poke, and Chile sneaks up for a sniff. (She is not fond of live fish).

At last, my birthday banner is finished! S loves it, what kid doesn't love a colorful banner hung in the house, as he's proudly  learning his letters.  Yay! No more wasteful party decorations, except maybe balloons, cuz they're fun.

Some other fun things he's been saying doing lately:
*He bit into an olive a night we were eating fish for dinner, and he spit it out and said "bone in there".  We assured him there were no bones, but discovered the pit had not been removed. LOL!
*Before we buzzed his hair he would shake his head and say "crazy hair", now he just rubs his head and says "Sambo haircut, Daddy-O haircut"
*As we've been driving around he will randomly say "junk all over the place" and sure enough, he's got an eye for junky looking places, found abundantly here in Idaho.
*We've had some resident turkeys eating our grass seed for the past several weeks, which was cool at first, but they are messy creatures, so S will spot them and let Chile out and say "Chile chase the turkeys" She obeys immediately.
*As we celebrated the resurrection this spring, he took special note to the kind of "owies" Jesus received, and a common dinner conversation includes the following  "Jesus died on cross with big owies, some little owies". followed of course with "Jesus came alive again" :)
*One day we were working outside and he was playing in the sandbox and we hear him saying to Chile "driving me nuts!"  LOL
*He's fond of the word "probably"  like when I ask him if he needs more water in his cup for dinner, or if he needs a napkin..."probably!" hahaha
*We are trying to teach him not to be double minded, but it seems he cannot make up his mind most of the time.  Yes, no, yes. this one, that one, this one.  Maybe it's 3 year olds.
*Be sure he doesn't catch you with your eyebrows crooked, he will be sure to call you grumpy! even if you are a stranger waiting in line behind us at the grocery store.  I'm learning not to be embarrassed, as I know this is just the beginning.
*Popular phrases of late include: "Mama, Daddy-o, Sambo, Chile...best friends!", "Chile, ts your lucky day!"  This one he says in a tone of voice as if he were cursing her, to which we crack up saying "wow, Chile it's
your lucky day again!"
* He puts his hands on my belly and says "little baby's getting bigger bigger bigger!"

I wish I recorded more of life but this is what I can remember for now.  One more month and we will have pictures of a new baby with all the news that goes with that, Lord willing, please pray all goes well. Thanks!

the house that daddy-o built in the winter.  It's coming together. James is very overwelmed with mud.  Ericka is very fat,  Sambo is very crazy.

Building in the Winter

So we bought a bank owned acre with a double wide. Our realtor suggested we give the mobile a face lift and rent it out. Can I just say that remodeling a manufactured home is last on our list of things we want to do in building. So we sold it and started a house on the land. We don't usually build in the winter because it takes so much longer (shoveling before you can even get to work, dealing with ice and short days, etc.), but we decided it was a go. Good thing because a week after we started excavating, we had an offer on our house in town! So it is all going to work out fine. We will probably move into a slightly unfinished house but at least we won't have to move twice.

In the preview, this picture was the correct direction. He loves to be at the jobsite (if dressed right)! He talks about 'trusses' and 'drywall' and 'Daddy-o going to work building houses'. It seems to be a great learning experience and it's fun to see he isn't just playing around us, he is actually paying attention to what we are doing.

Our 3 year old boy loved the day they set trusses, we are just thankful the truck made it up the hill. It's difficult to see in the photos, but this property is quite steep....and with the string of warm weather we have had--muddy! Steep and muddy have not worked out great for getting heavy supplies to the house, but we are so thankful we are as far along as we are.

The framing and the hill.

As of yesterday we had all the windows and doors in and the insulation guys were working. Siding was started and the drywall hangers will be here Monday! Yeah! I've been busy packing and trying to 'go-fer' supplies. We are able to stay in our house until the end of the month now, so that will give a few extra days to get things ready at the new house before we have to move in.

There is actually a beautiful view from the property, and there were some bonus features that came with the property...see the tree house, we also found a radio flyer wagon in the bushes and a big tire (for a sand box?).