Ok, so Max is super cute. We are in our third week of basketball and it is a ton of fun. Max is just learning the game and having a great time. He is a crazy little guy out there on the court.

Jonah is turning up the heat on defense and chasing the ball down. He and Christian are on the same team this year and several of the players are at least a head taller than Jonah. That doesn't stop him. His coach had him guarding the tallest guy on the other team b/c he is so aggressive. He is doing great.

Christian is having a ton of fun and just thrilled to be back in sports. He is taking his time and mentally trying to figure out the game. In true Christian form he checked out a book from the library on Basketball's offense. That kid cracks me up.

In other news the boys stayed the night at Tanya's this weekend. It was the first time Max had ever slept anywhere without me. Tanya and Travis took the boys to get a movie and fed them pizza and chocolate sundaes......they loved it. Chris and I went to his work party and had a really nice time. It was so weird to wake up without kids in the house. Tanya and Trav brought them home and I made a huge breakfast. They didn't miss me at all. Travis went sno-boarding with Chris while Tanya and I had some girl time. They stayed for dinner and chocolate chip cookies. It was a fun day and makes me sooooo thankful to have family around. We went through a bunch of old pics and spent some time making fun of our bad hair/outfit choices.....not GOOD.
However, it was a great weekend. thanks T-for taking the boys.

Busy Weekend

Well, I am not sure what happened but two days just flew by and it feels like a week. It started off with a pretty mellow and relaxing Friday night. We all snuggled up and watched a movie.
Saturday we woke up and were out the door for an 8:30 am basketball game for Max. He is hilarious when he plays ball. I love it. He moves from perfect defense to standing half court fooling with his nails in no time flat. He is one of the smallest out there and it is adorable. Max is on steroids following some respiratory issues so the jittery effect is an added bonus to the game. After the game we ran home to meet a home nurse for Chris and I. We are changing our life insurance policies and we needed a medical exam. After stepping on the scale, Chris and I were humiliated and are now on diets. The boys had a game at 1pm and we had friends coming over at 1:30. We went over to the school early only to find that the game didn't start until 1:30. I ran home to meet our friends and get a video tape going for the Seahawks game. I watched half of the first quarter by myself and then everyone showed up. As it turns out, I am the only one who got to see the good stuff. So, to avoid Chris and Doug going into huge depressions we loaded everyone up as fast as we could and went up to the mountain for some night skiing. FUN. We didn't get home until 10pm but we had a blast.
Sunday morning- I can't believe there is still more to tell. Christian had to serve at church and Max had class. Chris had to work at the pass, Jonah skipped church and went with him for some one on one time. They left at 8am and didn't get home until 4pm.... long day but it sounds like they had a great time. Christian, Max and I went to church and the came home for some R and R. After naps we headed out for a bike ride to the park. There is a track there so I walked a couple miles with a friend while the boys went crazy on their bikes. We made it home just after Chris and Jonah.....We all cuddled up and watched movies, Chris and I are practically dead from all the physical activities. In the end it was a fun weekend with lots of adventures. I hope to recover some today before I have to go to work......We'll see.

Keeping up with life.

What a week. It feels like Christian's birhday was just two days ago and I am not that far behind. Unfortunately, life with three boys moves much faster than that. My mom came up to stay the night with us to celebrate Christians birthday. She headed up to Belligham the next day to see my neice. I really wanted to jump in the car and go with but I had to be back for the boys. Saturday all the boys had basketball games and I had baseball sign ups for the little league. A couple of our friends came over to watch the Seahawks game and when I got home from sign-ups everyone (including my house) was bonkers. Sunday Chris worked on the pass. Christian went with him and they had a great day of male bonding. They skiied the crossover from central to west and Christian loved it. I have been making new friends at the copiers here in North Bend. I have been makig copies for the little league and distributing them all over the place in the community. The girls at the copy place are sweet and the get my projects ready when they see me pull up to the curb.
Last night I took a shift at the library, trying to finish my LA training so I can get more hours and become a contributing member of this family. After work I headed to NorthBend for some more baseball sign ups. I kind of have to shamelessly brag about something but it makes me feel so good that I have to share. Going through the signup sheets there were a few coaches requests. One set of names came up pretty frequently and I was so proud. Chris gets hands down by far the most requests in the little league. Some people remember to add my name as I coach with him at the younger levels, but it is Chris. I was noticing not only returning kids but other kids we don't know put Chris down for various reasons. Most of the requests aren't our friends either. Our friends know it is a draft and have stopped trying long ago. The requests are awesome regardless because we put so much time and energy into baseball and the community. You hope that people appreciate your effort and think you did a good job. This is the only sure way to know that they do. I came home last night and told Mister Humble Pie about the requests and he says a non-chalant "thats great." I on the other hand was bursting with pride that we have the opportunity to have such a positive influence in these kids lives. Maybe in the end when all the registrations come through, we won't have the most. No one really counts those things anyway, but the fact that we even have a few is the best reward. It makes you realize its not just worth it for our kids that we are there everyday, it is worth it to some others too.

Happy Birthday Christian

My son is 10- I still remember the night he was born. The car broke down on the way to the hospital. I had wanted a boy sooo badly, that God answered my prayer three times. Christian was a beautiful baby. The most common comment was that he was incredibly alert. He has turned into such a great kid. He is smart and talented. His piano playing is beautiful and he is such a good little athlete. He has taught me so much about myself. I love how he is a leader in the class room and a great big brother to the boys. He worked his butt off this year to recover from two broken legs. Physical therapy was hard but he did it. It is weird to have him stand next to me and know that in such a short time I will be looking up to him.

I am proud that he is such a well rounded little boy who is liked by all. He aspires to be a football player or baseball if football falls through. He know the importance of school and is always volunteering at church, whether it is alter serving, helping out a pageants and most recently delving into the music ministry. I know this is gushing and rattling on but it is hard to put into words what you feel for your child. Happy Birthday Christian, you have exceeded every expectation and I am so blessed you are my son.

Check out my Slide Show!

Check out my Slide Show!

12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS VACATION

Chris has had twelve days off. They have been fun filled, packed days. It started with the trip to the coast, and a Family day with the Paulson's. Then we had a fun Christmas with friends. We spent four days up at the pass skiing with the family. While we were up there we decided to call some of our friends and we spent three of those days skiing with the Burns family. The invited us to stay with them at their cabin. Max finally got a sleep over with Annie and we had a late night sledding/snoball fight. Then we headed out to Yakima to spend a night with the Kallevigs. We played Wii and just had fun hanging out. Yesterday the whole clan gathered for some sledding on White Pass. The Mercado's, Cambells and two Kallevig families were in attendance. We headed home last night to ring in the new year watching movies and eating chinese food with the kids. Chris and I fell asleep and Christian had to wake us up to ring in the New Year. We have had such a wonderful, fun filled vacation. We hadn't seen the Mercado's in along time and that was nice. This Christmas couldn't have been more different from last year. Today is Christian's 10th Birthday. I can't believe it. Chris goes back to work tomorrow and all will go back to normal again. I am so blessed for this vacation. We needed it.

Here are a few shots from the clam dig

Clam digging.

Chris took the boys clam digging with Uncle Don and from the looks of things they had a blast. The kids took to clam digging really well and loved every minute of it. The went to work with Chris yesterday which went well despite a little brotherly feud. They made it just in time for the clam dig. Chris took some Elk steaks down to Don and they had an elk feast. Yum. This morning after eating Don's famous sour dough pancakes they headed out for some crabbing. While the boys were gone Max had an all day playdate with his friend Jack. He was in heaven. The boys made it back just in time for Trevor to pick them up and take them to the movies and out to the cold stone for ice cream. They had a fantastic time and are very exhausted.

A Camera, A Camera, I finally got a camera!!!!

The big news of the day is Trevor sent me my Christmas present in the form of a camera. I am sooooo excited. Unfortunately, Chris and the boys woke up and were out the door by 6:30 a.m. and they took my new toy with them. First they are going to work with Daddy and then they are going for a clam dig with Uncle Don. They should have a blast.

Max and I are chillin' at home. He hasn't been feeling well and with his history and Christmas, I don't want to take any chances. That and clam digging sounds cold and wet. No fireplace.

I have been really excited about Christmas this year and surprisingly finding myself caught up in the spirit. I think changing my expectations, and no disasters has really helped. Plus, I have Jonah to teach us all about the meaning of Christmas.

Jonah recently asked Santa for a hamster. Santa promptly sent him a letter, gold envelope and all, telling him of terrible bad weather and the possibility of some children not getting hamsters this year. Jonah sat down and promptly composed this letter with barely a glimpse of disappointment......

Dear Santa,

Thank you for telling me about the Hamster. Christmas is not about hamsters. It is about God's birthday so I am not sad.

Just Harry Potter Five and two sketch pads. Happy Christmas, Love Jonah

Shortly after writing this he met Santa again at Chris's work. He quickly accosted Santa to explain guiltily why he asked for two sketch pads, it wasn't that he was selfish......."I just draw A LOT Santa!" he exclaimed very passionately. I love that kid.

So God Bless and I hope everyone has happy holidays. I hope to post less sporadically in the New Year. My friend had the idea of people commenting on the favorite holiday traditions. I would love to hear yours......

The Adventures of Tanya and Danielle.....

It has been awhile since I posted. Things have been steady around here. The weekend went by in a blur. Saturday, Chris took the boys out shopping and we went to mass and had a fun quiet evening at home. Sunday my Mom and Chuck brought over lunch and came to watch the Seahawks game. Tanya and Tavis came over with Tori so it was a nice afternoon.
Yesterday Tanya and I decided to kamakazi up to Oak Harbor to have lunch with my cousin Melissa (Tanya's sister). We should have known the trip was doomed when we realized Tanya left her purse at my house with her car keys in it. Ooops. We dropped off my car in Lynnwood and then headed to Oak Harbor. We went out to lunch and then back to Mel's house for some chill time. We hit the road just after two so that I could be back to pick up the boys. Tori was not to happy about another long car ride. All of the sudden Tanya's check gauges light went on and the car began to smoke. We were able to make it to a gas station and then we sat and waited. We got the Durango towed. The tow truck driver wouldn't wait for Travis to come pick us up. Melissa is spending Christmas with Tanya so her car was full of Melissa Christmas gifts. We unloaded everything onto the curb of the gas station and sat and waited for Travis to come pick us up. I felt like Santa Clause stranded on the corner. By that time Lynnwood was in the height of its 5 o'clock traffic time. We forgoed sitting in Traffic any longer and opted for dinner at the Red Robin, Yummy! I made it home just before 8pm (slightly late).
Today has been a little less hectic, I went to work in Max's classroom but no Max. He was in the office laying down because he didn't feel good. Not good. By the time I was done helping he had spiked a fever so I brought him home. He fell asleep instantly. I hope he doesn't get too sick.
Well that is it for now. Merry Christmas.....stay tuned for the next big adventure.

Check out my Slide Show!

Tanya sent me some pics of our weekend together. I put together a holiday slide show for all to enjoy. I am finally finished with my jury duty so I will be able to post more regularly now. Happy Holidays

Winter Blast 2007

One of my favorite things about storms in the Northwest is the ridiculous titles the news gives them. I named this years storm Winter Blast!

This weekend started out lovely. Tanya and her family came out yesterday morning to go get a christmas tree with us. She just found out Friday she is expecting a little brother for her daughter Tori. I am so happy for them.

We never get our tree so early in the season but after last years disasterous Christmas season, I was happy to get the Christmas spirit flowing in this house early. We went out to my favorite tree farm. We met Santa (the best around!!!!!) and went on a hay ride. Tori, was freezing but we made it through. Tanya got a huge tree and we got the perfect tree for our house. On the way home we stopped and had Mexican food for lunch. I love it. It was a nice time and I was really happy to spend some quality time with the Paulson's. On our way home it began to snow. I said a few quick good bye's and then rushed Jonah off to two birthday parties (he didn't get home until 8:30).

We put our tree up and Max and Christian headed out to play in the snow. Ususally we get a couple of inches every now and again but never a lot of snow. Well, the snow kept falling, and falling. The news called for late night rain but we just kept getting snow. By the time, I went to get Jonah the snow was steady and hard. We woke up this morning to a winter wonderland. I took a yard stick and measured over a foot and the snow was still falling. We had some huge snow drifts in the yard which made for great snow caves for the kids.

With a record breaking fourteen inches, the snow slowly has turned into rain. The boys are soaked to the core and in for some tea and a movie. Jonah had so much fun yesterday he lost his voice, so we are trying to keep him calm. This afternoon we are headed out to Tanya's for a chili feed (no snow there). We are crossing our fingers for the Seahawks and frankly, I am hoping the snow melts some before I head off to jury duty over Tiger Summit in the morning. Chris is hoping the snow stays so he can stay home with the boys. We will see who gets their wish. I leave you with a couple of snow pics to enjoy and a the promise that this holiday season will be much better than last. We are off to a great start!

Thanksgiving

Well, our Thanksgiving was great. It was very calm and quiet. Chris had four whole days off and we just spent them hanging out watching football. Chris told a friend at church that we were doing my favorite thing. (laying around and watching t.v.) Unfortunately, I have to disagree. I am a little burnt out on football but know that this is my lot in life and am willing to make the best of it. I did a puzzle which was nice and I worked yesterday (not nice). Today I am back at jury duty which is another word for sit in a room for undisclosed amounts of time staring at thirteen people you don't know waiting for court to begin. I was asked to be here by 8:50am but we didn't go into court until 11am. It is grueling. I don't have internet in the conference room so I have to wait until my break to connect with the real world.

Here are a few things I am thankful for.....

1. that we have a justice system
2. my family
3. my home
4. our town and church community
5. There is no football on tuesday or wednesday and not usually on fridays
6. Diet coke (got called out on that once and will never forget again)
7. Pumpkin pie
8. warm gloves
9. my fire place
10. I haven't needed a lawyer for anything........yet.

I leave you with a joke that Jonah made up this weekend.

Why can't Lewis and Clark play basketball?

Because they travel!!!

He is very clever.

Jury Duty PART 2

First let me say when I signed up to be a mom, no one told me I would be responsible for plumbing. The toilet was leaking and I had to pull it apart and replace some strange o ring...... I really ought to start paying people to fix my problems because somethings you never want to know how to do!!

As for Jury Duty, I was picked to be on the jury. The case will go on for what seems like forever (begining of Dec). It is very difficult to get the kids up and out the door by 7:30 every morning. The commute is not so fun either. I spend a lot of time locked up in a jury room with 13 people, I don't know. The testimony is long and grueling and the attorneys bicker about everything.

I do know that if I ever am in legal trouble, I am hiring a good attorney. Also, I am going to never try to break the law. I think it is a reasonable goal.

Things are crazy, I barely get home in time to make dinner and run the kids off to where ever they need to go. Tonight is alter boy training.....Fun! Until the next time.......D

Camera Crazy

So as most of you know, I don't have a camera. Chris bought me one years ago for my birthday and then he broke it in 2005 at a Seahawks playoff game with Christian. I used to be really great about taking and organizing pictures. Now, I SUCK! I am so thankful that I have amazing friends who do everything from helping me with my kids, saving us during floods, helping take tablesaws that have fallen on me off, bringing me flowers, making me cookies, helping out when one of my various family members ends up in the ER, and often times taking pictures of my children. Sarah has taken pictures of my kids on the first day of school for years, halloween, pre-k graduation. You name it she takes the pics. Nan took all of the kids first communion pics and Jeremy (Peggy's husband) has taken most of the sport photo's and a few others. I will often get a c.d. of a compilation of pictures from different points in my childrens life that I had almost forgotten. The perspective of other peoples picture taking is cool and they often capture their personalities better than I could. Jeremy sent a c.d. home with Christian (after watching the kids for Jury Duty. THANKS FURSMANS!!) The result were some fun pictures that I hadn't seen. The pictures of Jonah are from a Harry Potter party. Peggy bought Jonah book seven for his birthday and invited us to a midnight release party. She gave Jonah the first book of the night, which he will never forget. THANK YOU AGAIN! Then there are some pics of Christian playing ball in his full length cast. Chris let him play in a couple of games and he was so happy (not my favorite choice but better than when he had him on the roof in his cast). Also, there are a few pics from the boys at Ian birthday. Peggy and I took them to the Mariners and it was a lot of fun. Christian, Ian and Cooper were also bat boys for a Huskie USC game and I will be posting a couple of those as well. I often times forget why I love where we live so much. I keep talking about what a hard year it has been for my family but I would never had made it through without my "BEST FRIENDS" You know who you are.......Stop making fun of me!!!! God gave me this fantastic "collection" of friends because he knew I needed all the help I could get. If I haven't told you thanks lately sorry, but I do appreciate you!

Jury Duty

I have spent the last couple of days in Jury Duty. It has been crazy. I have been in a large pool of jurors for a criminal trial and I have yet to be booted off. I feel like I am part of a tribal council on Survivor. I have spent most of the time waiting and waiting to hear about my fate and talking with other jurors. I made a few friends (shocking). We went out to lunch and I of course drank a margarita hoping that would get me kicked off, but no, I am still there. I have to go back on Tuesday for more of their examination. As it stands now, I am on the jury unless someone veto's me. The case is expected to take a couple of weeks which is CRAZY! As if I have time to be on a jury for a couple of weeks.

Other than that, things have been pretty normal. I had a little league board meeting the other night and then met a girlfriend for a birthday margarita. Happy Birthday Kathy! Chris has to be at the summit this weekend and will be hunting again with his friend. Poor little Elk! The boys and I are planning to check out the BEE movie.

I am hoping for a relaxing weekend. I don't have to teach this weekend but the kids have pageant rehersals Sunday. They are excited. Christian is planning on playing the entrance song on the piano. He is getting really good. Jonah is angry there is no Joseph this year because he has waited his whole life to be Joseph. Its devestating, I am sure.

A year in Remberance

All right so marking the anniversary of the year from hell is probably a little dramatic. Oh well, it has been a tough year and I am so happy it has finally come to a close. 1 year ago today we flooded. With little to no rain in sight, I am counting my blessings that it is not likely to flood again this week. YEAH. We had a check up at the doctors a couple of weeks ago and Christian is not likely to break his leg again anytime soon (despite all his efforts).

The passing of my grandparents this last year was difficult. I was really blessed to have an opportunity to say goodbye to both. There was so much emotion wrapped up in all of that, it is hard to explain how the experience changed me but it did.

I am hoping for no more major power outages or illnesses but that is unrealistic. A friend of ours was just diagnosed with terminal cancer and was given just a few months. After seeing the miracle of brain surgery this last year and knowing God's grace and love, I have no choice but to hope. However, I am very well aware the miracle I am asking for may not be the one God is giving.

So here is to a new year. I hope it is a good one. If it floods, let it be a little one. If Christian breaks something, let it be a bone he doesn't need.

Here are some pics my cousin sent me. I was teaching the boys to ride the dirt bike that got stolen. Oh well, it was a fun day and the boys had a great time.

Chris and his 4x4

What an exciting weekend for Chris. After a hectic week at work Chris's buddy got him out of the house and into the woods. The two men spent the last two days hunting. Ryans wife went with them yesterday, she is braver than I. I received a phone call about 12:30 this afternoon saying they got one. Chris was very excited, it was his first Elk. He is lucky to have Ryan helping and teaching him. The boys and I hurried over to the Kolodejchucks to see the prize. The boys were excited and loved the whole process. We had a nice dinner and spent a great afternoon with their amazing family. I rushed home to put together a slide for all to see. Hope you enjoy!

Check out my Slide Show!