WHITE CHRISTMAS!!!!!!

The snow if falling and it doesn't look like it will stop soon. The picture here is a little strange b/c there is no snow around Chris' car but the steps to my house are completely covered. There really are only a few inches out but there are some deep snow drifts here and there. The biggest one in the neighborhood is at the edge of my driveway so Chris could not get out even if the mustang was slightly better than a snow sled (with heat and a radio). The suburban however loves this and Chris digs driving over the snow drift. I think he made up reasons to leave the house just so he could pop it in four wheel drive and get out of he drive way (kidding of course). Thankfully they have scrapped and sanded all the roads in and out of our neighborhood. The worst spot truly is the edge of my drive way.

I am excited for Christmas tomorrow and looking foward to some skiing. I don't know if we will go up today or wait until Friday but it should be fun either way.

Andy and Susanne came by for a visit. We haven't seen them in a long time so that was nice. They brought their dogs which the kids loved. We went to Susanne's parents house last night for a little party. Tonight we go to Mass, read A night Before Christmas and wait for Santa!!! So exciting.

Holiday Happenings

There has been so much going on that I thought it was time to create another slide show. They boys had a Christmas Pageant and Jonah had his last performance of "a Christmas Carol" last night. Tanya came out to get our Christmas tree. We spent time decorating the tree and then took a trip to "Santa's". We went out to Santa's house in the trees. We saw his workshop and then we went inside to spend some time with Santa. It was such an amazing thing. The house was decorated beautifully and after we had cookies and cocoa in the kitchen. Tanya, Trav and the kids came with us and it was truly a wonderful experience. I forgot my camera but I know Tanya will be sending me pics soon. I love that they are so close and we get to share these memories together. The kids adore her children and it is nice to have family around. I guess you could say I am finally "in the spirit."

I taught Sunday School today and we talked a lot about waiting for Jesus. How we as Christians are always celebrating and always waiting in one way or another. We talked this week of rejoicing while we wait. As those before us worshipped and rejoiced the coming of the birth of Jesus. We remembered that while the anticipation for Christmas is great there is an important part of our waiting. We are meant to prepare the way for the lord. I am so blessed that my kids get it. We talked of how we prepare ourselves and I am reminded of all the gifts I already have. All in all it was a wonderful day. Today we Rejoice!

A Holiday Slide Show

Opening Night

Last night we were treated to a full dress rehearsal before opening night. It was a performance geared for families. These are pictures from that show. Tonight was opening night. It ended up being a very emotional experience for Jonah. I have to say I was surprised and at the same time not so much. Jonah has always been a very tender hearted, thoughtful young man and he proved so tonight. While he was eating dinner he jumped up and came to give me a giant hug. With big old crocodile tears in his eyes he said "thank you mom, this is my dream and you made it happen for me." I said "no, Jonah you made this happen." He just hugged me and cried. It only took a few minutes to gather himself. He got very nervous just before the show and in between scences he would panic and cry a little. He kept finding me back stage to give me a hug. I continue with words of encouragement and I have to admit I was beginning to wonder if he was going to be ok. However, when he went on stage it was like BAM! He was on. He did great and all his scenes went smoothly. Anita, the Religious education leader at t our church came, along with the childrens librarian Kate and a family that we have known for years. I mentioned to Kate what had happened back stage and she truly looked shocked. Jonah was so relieved after the show and I think now he knows he can do it. He also kept thanking me for getting him an audition. The hugs and love were almost overwhelming for me. He is such an angel, and a little ham too. I hope you enjoy the pics. He has two shows tomorrow and two more next weekend.

It was so hard to pick my favorite pictures. The guy who took them took over 400. I tried to limit, I even left out three small scenes he was in but still I overwhelmed you with Mom bragging pics....

Thanksgiving

Here are a few of my favorite Thanksgiving pics. It started out with a Rocky induced coma. The boys cuddled up for a Rocky marathon. Claire and the girls came over to help me finish cooking and to get things ready for my brother and his family. Derek, his wife Christina, Chloe, Devyn and their "adopted" daughter Courtney came about 2:30. I can't think of a time where there were so many little girls running through my house. At one point during dinner Derek's daughter and Claire's daughter announced that they were best friends. It was adorable. We had a wonderful dinner and then a fabulous dessert. As you can see the kids were excited about pie. After Derek's family left Chris, Claire, the kids and I vegged out in front of the t.v. for a couple of hours. Claire and the girls decided to have a sleep over. When we woke up Chris went to the store and picked up cinnamon rolls and butterhorns for us (love Chris).

The rest of the weekend was pretty low key. Trevor stopped by for leftovers, Jonah went to a birthday sleep over, we had pageant rehearsal, did a puzzle, watched more football than anyone can imagine and finally Chris put up the Christmas lights. I am starting to get into the holiday spirit which is nice. Chris and I both have to work tomorrow but it was a nice few days off. I am excited about my lights and I can't wait to go get my tree. This week is hell week with Jonah having dress rehearsal 3 hours every night. Opening night is this Friday and we are all excited.

I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving and ate plenty of Turkey.

Max's First Reconcilliation

Max celebrated his First Reconcilliation on Nov. 22nd. It was a great day. Max is excited to be on the road to his First Communion. He is so cute and I can't even imagine what he told the priest. He is such a good boy. I can't believe how big he is getting. I am starting to field old as my little men reach these milestones. What am I going to do when they get married?

Sleep over with Aunt Tanya

So they day started off pretty normal with me not hearing my phone ring 4 times for various people to tell me school was canceled because they expected flooding. Well, this happens to us all the time but they never cancel school (should've been my first clue). We were about to catch the bus when I checked my phone. Good thing Sarah decided to text me and let me know what was going on. Then people kept calling to tell me the flood was going to be real bad this time. After our last experience I took the warning. I called my friend Tara (who's husband works for the city) and she said we needed to go and that they were expecting 20% more water than last time YIKES! So I quickly began preparing the house w/ the flood cresting at 4. I had no time to spare. I figured the road would flood around 1pm. As I was desperately packing and picking thing up Tara pulled in the drive to help me. We put everything in the car and picked up as much as we could and then we were out by 1:15 and still no water....That was good news. So I felt a little over dramatic leaving but I thought it was better to be safe than sorry. Right, right.
So anyway, around 7pm Tara calls to tell me the city workers are going home, Mike drove by the house and it was fine. At the same time Sarah called to say that Kimbell Creek (the major threat to us) was backing up into her yard and she now had lake front property. With conflicting reports we were just happy to be at Tanya's house eating a fantastic dinner and watching movies. At 7am this morning Steve drove by my house and said all was well but the street behind us was under 2 feet of water. I drove into work but stopped at the house to turn the electricty back on and get it ready for the boys. I drove around and noticed the water stopped at my fence and went no further. My back yard neighbors yard were under water and I am not sure if they had any water inside. I felt very fortunate. We lucked out! The water knocked on the door but didn't come in. In the mean time, I am thankful we left because we would have seen the water coming and done another midnight retreat (which wasn't much fun the last time). The boys were happy and comfy and so were we. No stress, no drama. The water flooded the road into our house but the water had gone by the time I got there (not nearly as bad as last time) so that was good. I love my home and where I live but this whole flood thing is starting to get old. Well, I am going to go I am off work and I want to see my kids....

evacuation

We evacuated just to be on the safe side. I will let you all know how it shakes out tomorrow. So far so good! Say some prayers and wish us good luck.

Max's Heritage

Max was recently asked to do a small project about his heritage. He was to pick a family picture and present it to the class along with an explanation of his family traditions and/or heritage. Here is what he wrote:

Hi my name is Max.

We have a big family.

We are hard workers.

We love eachother.

We live in Washington.

We all go to Catholic Church.

We pray.

We sing to God.

We take care of poor people.

We celebrate God's bday.

We are Americans.

We love our soldiers.

We celebrate seasons.

We celebrate Thanksgiving and 4th of July.

My great-great grandparents taught us to work hard and love God.

From Max Duvall

That says it all...Here is the picture he is including. It was taken 3 years ago around Easter.

A weeekend alone

It seems so strange but the second the boys were done trick or treating, Chris left with them to visit his Uncle in Yakima. They went to build an addition on his house. I couldn't go because I had to do the children's mass this weekend and they wouldn't be back in time. The plans were so last minute that I didn't have time to plan a single thing so I stayed home by myself and cleaned out the garage (thrilling I know). I get scared and a little melancholy being here by myself so in true Halloween fashion, I slept with a baseball bat and a butcher knife in the mattress of the bed. I am so ridiculous. I did have an opportunity to go into Seattle and see a friend who is in the hospital and I stopped by the U Village Barnes and Nobles for some book time. (as if I don't get enough of that already) My friends Peggy and Ruth went to the hospital with me and we were sent on a mission to get books. It was hilarious, Peggy is a 2nd grade teacher, Ruth is an Art teacher and I work in a library (all very passionate about literature). We had a difficult time picking out appropriate reading material for a 12 year old but in the end each of us picked our favorite classic. Ruth "My Antoine" Peggy "Jane Eyre" and I picked "Pride and Prejudice" Along with "Why the caged bird sings (her selection) Secret Life of Bees and Tricksters.
I am happy to say she picked Pride and Prejudice for her first "book club" selection....I did shamelessly dance about a bit. The boys finally came back this morning and we have a whole day of pageant rehearsals, and team parties to go to. Back in the grind. I best go they are getting crazy over there. Plus, I haven't had a hug in about 10 minutes.

Halloween

Here are some shots of our treak or treating gang on Halloween. We had a wonderful time at our friends house and the boys had a blast getting candy. Our friend the Fursmans hosted another wonderful Halloween bash and we walked throught the neighborhood. Many of the neighbors got very creative with their decorations as you can see by the graveyard created by a family who lives on Silva St.

Weekend adventures...or lack there of.

Is it true....could it possibly be????? Are sports really and truly over until January!!!! There is a Lord up above who takes care of me!!!!

Friday night we did.....................Nothing. Christian was invited to a friends house to go to the Mt. Si football game and a Haunted walk through the woods. So, I got boboli pizza stuff and we made pizza's and watched Harry Potter. Chris was asleep by 7:58 which was cracking me up. I wasn't awake much longer. It was lovely.

Saturday I worked but I took an hour off so that I could make it to Christians last football game. He say he likes it when I hold the chains on the sidelines because he can hear me cheering for him. I told him I thought that it would be embarrassing to have me on the chains screaming my fool head off. He said "well, some of the things you yell are pretty embarrassing but I like it anyway." I loved it! Because it was the last game they worked Christian in on defense for the last three plays of the game. He was in on both stops until the tallest, fastest kid on the other team got the ball and ran it back on the left...Christian was on the right he went in the backfield to put pressure on the QB (a little retribution) when there was a hand off to the monster kid who couldn't be stopped. Christian took off after him and was the last kid in the back field. He ran so fast and so hard he was passing everyone! It was one of those moments where it looks slow motion. He was two steps behind him when the TANK entered the endzone if there had been 5 more yards to that field Christian would've had him. Why is this important? Christian has been working so hard to recover the strength/speed in his legs. He knew he had beat all those kids up the line and he knew he came from the back! I looked at him and said I had never been more proud and that he could finally put the issue of the "leg" behind him. I think for the first time he really believed that was true. So, the officials blew three calls that were (touchdown related) one of them was a touchdown for Christian. I was on the line so I saw him cross. So the officials weren't the greatest and we totallly got creamed but in the end Christian did awesome and walked away a big time winner. YEAH Skippy.

Then Saturday Night we did nothing....
Sunday we went to Church and then had breakfast with the Kolodejchucks. It was nice. It was just them and us and we had a really wonderful time just hanging out and we were so thankful they invited us.
After, Tanya and Travis came to pick up Max. They took him on the Halloween train. Mrs. Roy had loaned Max a skeleton costume and he loved it. After, Travis and the boys had an impromtu yard football game which lead into dinner. The kids had a blast playing and loved seeing Tanya's kids. It was great. Dinner ran a little late but it was good and I was so relaxed just hanging out. Tanya and her family are fantastic guests. I am really glad she doesn't live in Georgia anymore!!
So that long blog is what happened this weekend. I hope to do a lot more of Nothing in the weekends to come.

Happy Birthday Mom

So you know I am super lame when I not only post Derek's birhtday late but my Mom's too.

Happy Birthday Mom. My mom had the difficult task of raising four children. Raising three has proven challenging enough. With the absense of my father my mom truly had to become the super mom, she worked, she raised kids, she taxi'd us around she did it all. She once said that she thought that I thought I was a better mother than she was. I told her that I just have a different set of circumstanses to deal with. What she doesn't realize is that in many ways she set the bar very high. I struggle everyday to be the perfect mom not despite her but because of her. She taught me how to fight everyday and to never give up. She tries so hard to please everyone and to be an important part of all her grandkids lives. This is never more evident that when she comes for a visit. Of course she spoils the kids but that isn't what makes her great. What makes her great is that she take the time to get to know them individually and to learn their strengths, dreams and goals. She has a special relationship with each and everyone of them. When they succeed at something she is one of the first people they think to call. She supports them and nurtures them. I am thankful she is in their lives. Holy Cow the bar for Grandma is virtually unattainable. (but if anyone can do it, I can..hehehe) Happy Birthday Mom.

Happy Birthday Derek

UGHHH, I am sooo late on this but oh well. Happy Birthday Derek.

Derek is my older (much older) brother. He turned 36 on Oct. 19th. Derek is the father of two adorable little girls Devyn and Chloe (toddlers) and the foster parent of Courtney (teenager....crazy). Rumour has it that they have opened their home to another teenage daughter. How God thinks it is a good idea that I have all boys and he keeps giving Derek daughters like crazy is beyond me. But, that is my lot in life and I love it anyway. Derek is a Pastor at Christ the King in Bellingham. He has been there for years and loves it. He is a great Father, Husband, Brother and Friend. He is always very supportive of my children and their efforts and it is not unusual for Christian to pick up the phone and give him a call to let him know how is latest sports endeavor is going. I am thankful that Derek is my brother but I hardly tell him so. That is mainly because when I was growing up and trying to get some sleep he would get on the piano and play these ridiculous songs he made up about me and I don't think I have really ever forgiven him.
I am proud of my brother and the man he has become. From Spirit Man, New Cans on the Block, to Pastor and Daddy Day Care oh yeah and he helps his wife coach cheerleading! We've come a long way. Happy Birthday Derek.

A new slide show

I haven't posted a slide show in a long time. I felt these pictures were worthy. Chris left today to go visit his family in Seaside. They are celebrating his Dad's birthday. The boys and I stayed behind. We were just not able to clear the schedule enough to make it work. The upside to us staying behind is that I did clear some time. After I got off work, I went to pick up the boys and we decided to go to the pumpking patch. I have been taking the boys to there for years. I tried to talk them into Safeway pumpkins but they just weren't having it. We were there at the perfect time in the afternoon. The weather was perfect and we had the place to ourselves. They gave us a private tractor ride. The guy kicked it into high gear for the boys and they loved it. Mudd was flying off the tires and going everywhere. Max was covered in it after the tractor ride. They picked out more pumpkins than we could possibly ever need. After my friend Jerean and her son came over for some pumpkin carving. It was fun. Mitchell turns 14 tomorrow and Christian was very impressed. Jonah entertained them with his dancing. Max made a police man pumpkin. It was a fun night and I am glad. We needed a good night at home and it makes up for not being able to go to the beach.

The Pumpkin Patch

Peter Pan was a success!

Jonah was Peter Pan in the school play. It was great. The people that came to the school to put the play on were fantastic. They met once and to audition and try-out for parts. They practiced for an hour and a half once a week for four weeks and then this was the final product. I could not believe the play was almost a full hour and the kids really new their parts. Jonah was adorable. Tanya brought Tristan and Tori to the play which was awesome. Thanks to her I have a few clips to share of the play. Enjoy. Sarah (Mrs. Burns) also came out to support Jonah. He is so lucky to have such great people in his life. Here is a little sample of what he can do.

As for the Christmas Carol tickets are $12.50/15.00. The play is appoximately 2hrs. The tickets have not gone on sale Yet!

Jonah as Peter Pan

From Peter Pan to Tiny Tim

Well next Tuesday is Jonah's school performance of Peter Pan (he is Peter Pan). He is very excited.
Last night he went to a reading for the Christmas Carol at a small theater in North Bend. He got a small part in the production and is looking forward to playing Tiny Tim along with a couple of small rolls. He was so thrilled. He called Mrs. Burns (one of his biggest fans) and my mom. They appropriately oohed an awed for him. He is mostly looking forward to hundreds and millions of people seeing him on stage. All morning I listened to him go on and on about how it has always been his dream to be on a real stage. He cracks me up. You can get tickets to his performance from their website. http://www.valleycenterstage.org/ It looks like they will run the play three weekends in a row. I am not sure how much the tickets will cost but if I remember correctly it is not very expensive. Christian and I went with his third grade class two years ago and it was great. I am looking forward to watching my little man perform!!!