January Update

It has been a long time. I have just been struggling to get things back into order. The kids were out of school last week for snow. Which brings us up to 8 snow days and the canceling of our mid winter break. I am just trying to reestablish routine and get my house back in order. At the same time, I am trying to get out of the house for my sanity. Last Thursday I drove up to the pass and went snoboarding for a few hours by myself. That was so nice. Sat, Chris and I went out to his annual work party which was fun. We left early and went dancing down at Pioneer Square with some friends. That was funny. We were the oldest people in the room and it was way past our bedtime but don't worry we rocked it anyway.
Christian is getting around in that wheel chair pretty well. He only has two weeks left. He is finding things to keep himself busy. He has gone to a couple of friends houses for playdates and he even stayed home alone for a short period of time. I think he can't wait to get moving again.
Chris and I took Jonah and Max skiing after Jonah's basketball game on Saturday. It was nice for the boys to get out. Max likes to tear up the mountain and he tries to do as many jumps as possible. Jonah is all about turning. The competition is fierce between those two but they are also the best of friends. Chris and I were laughing yesterday just listening to those two playing and laughing together. They were cracking eachother up and they were in hysterics. It was hilarious.
I am hoping that the next couple of weeks are incredibly uneventful and very relaxing. I have high hopes as we head into Februaury.

To good to pass up!!!

My brother posted this picture on his blog www.daredub.blogspot.com and it was too perfect to pass up so I shamelessly stole it for my own. His own family pics are adorable and it is worth checking out my adoorable niece. As for Jonah, I just love him. He is coming into his own and he is such an amazing little boy. He played in his first basketball game this weekend and he was awesome. He had the most rebounds and steals (in my opinion). He was so aggressive and did such a great job. He got "3 hoops." He has spent the weekend practicing a song he wants to sing in the talent show at the end of the year. I think he is adorable and perfect. Christian is watching sports 24/7 because he can't do too much. His birthday was January first and he is a big time 9 year old. I let him have a sleep over with several of his friends. We had a surprise party on New Years Eve and under the circumstances it was just what he needed. He stayed home alone for the first time (for an hour and a half) this weekend during Jonah's game. I had the Mustang and couldn't take him and the wheel chair. I think he was really nervous but in the end he was excited. He was allowed to play video games and anyone who knows me knows that is a rare treat indeed. Max is crazy as per usual. He has been Jonah's partner in crime all weekend. He and Jonah have been watching movies, playing legos, singing and racing on their new scooters. This morning before church Chris told the boys to get on their best favorite shirt, get ready and stand by the door. Like a good boy he did as he was told. When we got to church and took off his coat we noticed he didn't have one favorite shirt on but three. None of which were buttoned properly. It was hilarious but at least he dressed himself. When we got home we realized that his undershirt was unusually big for him. I told him to take it off but before he did I noticed he was wearing one of my shirts. OHHHH MY, the people at church must have thought we were nuts. Chris is working today after working at the pass, stacking wood and watching the seahawks game yesterday. I am so glad the won. We are also excited that the Seahawks face Rex Grossman. If you see or talk to Chris tell him you love Rex Grossman....trust me, its a fun game. Well we are off to another crazy week, wish me luck...

Christian's broken leg

Yes it is true. Christian broke his leg skateboarding on Mrs. Tubbs drive way. He knew it was broken right away and begged for me to take him to the hospital. We ended up at Swedish in Seattle and found that he broke it in two places. Once down on the left side of his leg in the big bone it is broken right on through just a couple inches above the ankle. Then on the right side just below his knee is a smaller break. Therefore he needed the full leg cast to keep his knee imobile. As per usual he was not without his Seahawks hat or two layers of seahawk shirts. He was a little disappointed when they had to cut his jeans off of him. I am holding up his jeans in the background. Christian is laying on the couch watching sports movies. He won't be able to be up around for awhile but he is in good spirits and a little pain. So that is the newest chapter in the Duvall family saga.

lights out

Well, we were hit with another natural disaster and were without power since last Thursday. As you can see we tried several things to amuse ourselves. This is a picture of the Christian, Max and a flashlight. The storm hit taking out our phones and electricity. I of course had very little battery on my phone and Chris could not get a signal on his. We had one gas station in town that worked and people were waiting up to three hours to get gas. It was incredible there wasn't gas for miles and supplies were depleted all over western Washington. Everything was closed, people were selling supplies for outrageous prices. I just wanted a Starbucks but no such luck. Monday, Issaquah finally got power and I was able to take a sick Max to the doctor. He of course has a slight case of pneumonia. Lovely! Monday night I decided to take my meat up to a friends refrigerator (she has a generator, and is also the same friend who saved us in the flood, She Rocks)! When I got home a light was on in my house and someone was here. It was my mom. She and her husband had driven up after work to save the day. They brought us a generator and gas! YEAH! That instantly changed the temperature in our house 10 degrees. It also gave us the use of a fridge again and more importantly a hot cup of coffee. Thanks Mom!!!!! Luckily it had been cold enough outside to keep most of our food. The last two days we have been cruizin in style. Our power came back this morning around 11am. I instantly did several loads of laundry, it was starting to stink around here. I also did some dishes in my dishwasher. I love dishwashers. Today finds us a little better off although Max is still under the weather, Jonah has a fever of 102 and Christian and I are holding strong at 99 degrees... The last two months have proven to be exciting for the Duvalls. We have learned a lot about ourselves and what is truly important......Electricity (just kidding) I hope we are able to make it out of here to see some loved ones over the Holidays. The boys pageant was reschedule for this Saturday at noon. Can you believe it, they even canceled Church. Catholics canceling church, I have never heard of such a thing. I thought we would pray by candle light but no such luck, they did however print bulletins and when we went to church on Sunday morning they were passing them out. Got to love that. Love to all.

Christmas News

Well, I was surprised to realize I hadn't blogged since Thanksgiving. Part of me was waiting for my brother to send me some Thanksgiving pics but I have long since given up. The other part of me has just been doing all kinds of things getting ready for Christmas. Max and Jonah are in the upcoming church play so I am making Shepard and Angel comstumes for both of them. Chris has been working and was in Omak and Wenatchee today doing some sight visits on schools. I ordered my Christmas cards which I will pick up from Costco tomorrow and hope to mail out before the end of the year. (anyone that really knows me is concerned right now) I thought it might be nice to post a pic of the kids and a little about what is going on in their lives as we head into the new year. Which by the way Christian turns 9 on the first. I can not believe I have a nine year old. Well, I am going to sign off so I can finish up the last costume and maybe sit back with a nice glass of wine and a good book. Merry Christmas incase I forget to post again.

The Skip

Ever since Christian was born we have called him Skippy. I can't even remember why. While we were in the hospital on the day of his birth he was entranced by the sports on T.V. and his obsession has only gotten more intense. He is a nut. I don't mind however because he is such a smart boy with so many talents. He is a great at piano, baseball, and chess. He loves learning and is always striving to be the best. At the same time he is often praised for his good manners and kind heart. Our struggles with Christian are few and far between because he tries so hard at all things (except cleaning his room). He and Chris are the best of friends. Chris does not enjoy it when Christian is at a friends house playing especially if a good game is on. That child knows more useless sports information than anyone I know. This year has been a good one for him, he had the opportunity to meet Josh Brown, Seneca Wallace, and Bobby Ingram from the Seahawks. Two of them signed his hat that NEVER leaves his head. Christian recently finished alter boy training and he looks like a little angel when he is up there. The flood was a little difficult for him and has brought on a few nightmares which is unusual for him. It was the first time his structured life was a little haywire so I am not surprised. He is amazingly mature and I know he can handle it. Well everyone pray that the Seahawks go to the Super Bowl so Christians dream can come true.

Jonah, Jonah, Jonah

MY OH MY, What am I going to do with this child? Obviously, he thinks he is something else

and frankly so do I. I have never seen a child with such an amazing imagination. He was in a small play is his acting class yesterday. I am proud to boast he rocked it. He is also going to be a shepard in the up coming pageant. I think Jonah was casinova in a former life because all the little girls adore him but who has time to worry about such things when you are seven. In stead Jonah is trying to figure out how he can be in a movie and he has written several drafts to Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) to solicite advice. Acting lessons are his main passion but Jonah is also in Piano and he will be starting basketball soon. Jonah is the funniest little boy in the world , my friends and I have actually developed a new language based on Jonahisms. But this is not the extent of his many talents Jo is also a great artist. He loves art and is perfectly content sitting for hours with a notebook and a pencil creating books, pictures or alternate universes. There is only ONE JONAH!!!!

MR.MAX

Max brought the candy cane ornament home from school for me. He was so proud of himself. He is such a loving kid. He was very excited about playing on the Grand Piano in his lesson today. He is also excited about being a shepard in the upcoming pageant. Max is such a sweet child. Chris and I often comment on just how happy he always is. I love it. He and I spend every morning together and it is just nice to have quality time with my little boy. He is however a starbucks addict and everyone knows him by name even the customers.....Pathetic. (Don't tell Chris). But don't let his sweet disposition fool you he has a hidden dark side and will wrap you around his little finger to get what he wants. Chris is rarely able discipline him because he's got his daddy right where he wants him. He is also a quick learner. We went to the library the other day and he asked me if he could get a kindergarten book, he did and he came home and read the whole thing aloud. I had no idea he could read. Sneaky little bug. He still loves maps, music and trucks and aspires to be a fireman. It is convenient that most cops and firemen hang out at the starbucks. I can't believe my little baby is turning into a little man. He still climbs in bed with me for a good cuddle from time to time so he's not all grown up yet.

Thanksgiving Weekend

This year for Thanksgiving we stayed home as per usual. Trevor, My brother and his wife and kids came over. I had baked 4 pies! YUMMY. The turkey turned out so nice. Chris spent four whole days at home and we have done Nothing! Chris is getting antsy and has no idea what to do with himself. He is not very good at doing nothing but he is getting the hang of it. I have done a little sewing, reading and watched a few movies. I burnt my arm last week so the first few days of our vacation I was on drugs and had a tendency to fall asleep. It is threatening to snow and the weather is supposed to be in the thirties all week. I will be locking myself in the house!!! Yeah! I don't do cold. Hopefully, Derek will email me a couple of Thanksgiving pics and I will post them as soon as I can. Oh yeah, other big news is Christian served as an Alter Server for the first time at church last night. He is growing up so fast. I should be getting pics of that soon too. For now I have to go help Chris do nothing.

Jonah and The Priests

Jonah recently participated in his First Reconcilliation. Before he went to Church, I could not get him to actively participate in cleaning his room. After asking him several times to hurry, I decided to change tactics and apply some of that good 'ol Catholic guilt. I said "Jonah, if you don't listen to me and clean your room you will have to talk with the priest about that sin." To which he replied without an ounce of hesitation, "Don't worry mom, I already planned this one." It is good to know he was getting in as many sins as possible because he was pretty pleased with himself after being "absolved." Stating that they "forget what I tell them as soon as I say it" as if that was the coolest thing he ever heard of. Jonah is all about "the confession."

Flood part three....(read in order)

This is a view of our street from Mrs. Tubbs yard. At this point the water had already started to leave. FUN STUFF.
I got in the house about 10am, I was so happy to be home. The house smells a little musty and the yard is messed up with debris. I spent the morning cleaning up with My AWESOME friend Kim. If you see her tell her she rocks. Trevor, surprised me by pulling up shortly after to help. He checked out the furnace and got the heat going. He also changed out my themostat which was older than me. Everything is slowly going back in order. Thanks to everyone who called, sent messages. I really appreciated the support.

Flood part two

This a view from the neighbors house the next day after some of the water had gone away. A little blurry but you get the idea. That night we all stayed at My friend Kims house, who by the way was totally awesome and we are so blessed to have her and her family as friends. When the dealer called he let me know there was a good chance our car was toast. (lovely) We had no idea what had become of the house either. I was paniced. Fortunately, our neighbor who stayed called and went into the house to make sure there wasn't any damage. Thank God, the water never went in the house but stayed at the door. Then a few hours later Kim and I went into town to get a few things out of the car. When we got there the car was in the parking lot. I was a bit irritated that they weren't working on it. When I went into the dealer they told me they had just finished the car! Yeah. I brought the suburban back to Chris and he was very happy. Later that day, we drove down through town and Chris waded into the house and got out a few things we would need for the night. When woke up this morning the water had receeded enough for us to go home yeah!!

The flood part one

The first thing I have to say is I am amazed at how quickly the water rose. We new the flood was coming but had not heard anything specifically about our neighborhood. Others had been notified to evacuate but we had not. I walked the neighborhood at 9pm and all was well. Ihad a feeling we would get water but not this much. At 10pm there was a lot of vehicle comotion outside so I went out to look. I then realized the wate was already quickly approaching and we needed to move Chris's car. Within an hour we had tried to get the cars moved to dry ground. We came back, called a friend and decided to leave. 11pm. We got everyone loaded and tried to head out. No luck, the only option was to try our luck through the water. The suburban stalled about half way through, with Claire and McKenna in the car behind us. We pulled the kids out through the windows and walked them to a truck waiting on the other side. We then waded back into waste high water and pushed the Suburban through. AGGHH. Chris went back for Claire who was stuck with McKenna on the other side. They tried other routes with no luck. The water was coming from both ways out. I called a tow truck and my friend picked up the boys and took them back to her house and put them to sleep. She then came back and waited with me for the tow truck. I got the car towed out and then we went back to try to pick up Chris and Claire. About one o'clock in the morning we got the Sheriff to go in and get them. They put Chris, Claire and Mc Kenna in our canoe and then drove them the rest of the way out. When Chris left the water was knocking on the door!

Halloween

Before I talk about Halloween I just want to say it is very difficult to keep up a blog. I have taken to clicking on my blog in hopes that I will find someone has posted for me. It never works, I guess I have to do it myself.
Halloween was a lot of fun. Max was a robot which turned out awesome. I loved it. Jonah was Harry Potter which is shocking I know. Christian finally got to be something scary.....A vampire. The boys looked adorable. We went to some friends house and trick or treated the local neighborhood. I had a lot of fun and as always think my kids were the cutest.
It was a crazy day, I had to grocery shop for class party supplies, make 50 sugar cookies, take Jonah to acting, dinner, and then Halloween but it was a great time.
Today I am recovering, I didn't sleep to well last night because of all the wind. Yikes! I will work today, then off to piano lessons and boyscouts. Fun Fun DAY. Now you know why it is hard for me to keep up the blog. I got the kids school pics back and I will be posting them soon. I swear. Happy Halloween, now I just have to get ready for Thanksgiving!

CRAZY, CRAZY, CRAZY and thank God the seahawks won!!!

Oh my, things are extra hectic these days. Christian had a particularly fine soccer game this weekend scoring what they call a hat trick (3 goals). He is getting to be a pretty awesome player. Jonah starts acting tomorrow which is exciting. I go with him on a field trip to a play first and then off to acting and first reconcilliation. Max finished his soccer season and had a great time. He also received an award in the assembly for most laps walked in the kindergarten. Chris works too much and is studying for his test every spare moment he gets. Yesterday we watched the Seahawks of course and was so thankful they won b/c Chris was in a good mood while studying. Christian had to leave for a Church meeting at 1pm right after the Rams scored in the 4th with 1:44 left to go. I had the pleasure of picking him up at church with the good news. It was great to watch him go from bummed to elated in 2 seconds. As for me I am just running around doing what I can to keep the house running smoothly. I also try to spend as much time as I can in the class and on field trips so I can keep an eye on what those crazy people are teaching them. Just kidding. Our teachers are great!!! I go for the teachers protection. I have been watching Greys anatomy and the Office to appease a few people and I am liking them. Other than that same stuff different day. I need to get some pics posted. I will work on that this week.

Been A Long Time

It has been a few days since I have BLOGGED. We have been real busy. The boys had their walk a thon fundraiser on Friday. All the boys did well. Christian ran 30 of his 38 laps for a grand total of 8.5 miles (I've been told). Jonah also had an amazing time doing 30 laps of his own. Which is about 7ish miles. Max worked the walk a thon with me so he got to be there all day for both morning and afternoon, finish 30 laps himself. I am pretty sure Max walked the most in the whole kindergarten. Jonah was tied for the top in his class and I think only one other student beat Christian (one of his best friends, Cooper, who is in fact the energizer bunny.) Another one of his bestfriends Ian tied. These boys are hard core. I love it and am proud of them all. It is nice that he has such a strong group of buddies to hang with.
Chris got home from his trip last Tuesday and spent the day at home with me and some time in each of the kids class rooms. It is always nice to volunteer in the room so you can actual see how your child relates/behaves. I also spy on them when they don't think I am looking so I get a true behavioral analysis. Chris had fun on his trip and is now back in the grind again. I must admit that I miss him terribly when he is gone.
As for me I am finally feeling like I am getting into the rhythm of motherhood that I have been searching for, for almost nine years. I also redid Chris and I's room while he was gone and surprised him. I am happy with how it looks and can't wait to redo the floors in there. Only the boys' room is left! Yeah.

Been Tagged

Ok, here are five things you may or may not know. In my case, I am sure everyone knows because I am such a blabber mouth.

1. Here is one no one should know. I sometimes wear tinkerbell underwear. No kidding.
2. Sometimes I secretly wish God would un-fix my hubby and give me a girl. (good back up plan in case adopting my asian baby falls through) About as likely as me winning the lotto.
3. Jane Austin is my absolute fav... I have read pride and prejudice more times than I care to admit. I could probably recite the whole movie and I love Mr. Darcy (colin firth from the original). Yes, I realize he is an older man. But nothing is better than him walking out of the pond soaking wet!
4. I often dance in my living room when no one is around. Like a Virgin, Disco, you name it. I am also a fabulous singer when the music is blarring and no one is around. Too bad you can't have background music in American Idol because YOU CAN'T TOUCH THIS!
5. I will chose a restraunt based on what kind of soda products they carry. Diet Coke RULES... pepsi DROOLS. Real mature I know but I have walked out of a restraunt before. Pathetic

Busy Week

It has been such a busy week for the Duvalls. We went to the Puyallup Fair and saw Little Big Town (our favorite band). Christian and Jonah were finally tall enough to ride a real roller coaster. We took them on the Wild Cat and they had a blast. Max was hypnotized by the band and Jonah loved the lights. The kids sang their hearts out to their favorite songs. We were in the 14th row. The kids were dancing in the isle and one of the girls bent down and waved at them from the stage. They thought that was cool. Chris left today for a long camp out. He is headed to Mt. St. Helens and then to tour a couple of lakes. He should take some awesome pictures of the dome. I think he is very excited. Christian is getting a chance to see one of the best Seahawk games this year. He was invited to go to the game against the Giants on Sunday. He is going to love it. Look for him on TV. Claire and I have decided to try our hand at camping this weekend. It should be very impressive. We are taking the kids up to the pass and should have fun. Wish us Luck. I will post any pictures that I take.

waiting on family portraits

We had family portraits taken this weekend. I can't wait to see them.
Chris is preparing for a backpacking trip this weekend. He will be climbing Mt. St. Helens and looking at the volcano dome. That should be cool. Christian had another soccer game this weekend. I like to watch him play (however I still hate soccer). Max plays every Tuesday and Wednesday and is absolutely adorable. He has perfected his flying kick. Jonah has been in lego heaven the last few day and making Max play whatever game he can think of. Life as per usual is crazy. We got some great work done to the house this weekend thanks to Chris's Parents. I am so happy. When I look in the kitchen I feel complete. FINALLY! Max's room and the bathroom are also 100% finished with the exception of a few minor paint touch ups. I almost have a complete house again. Don't fret though I will be tearing up the boys's room soon. Keep you posted.

Family pictures will be able to be viewed at www.lynnsnowphoto.com I can't wait.

Lazy Morning

This morning started out very nice with a cup of coffee and a movie. Grandma and Papa are here and we all are just laying around chillin. What a nice Saturday morning.