Merry Christmas

What a busy day! We started out skyping with daddy, then grandma and grandpa. The kids got lots of great gifts. Maleah is in baby heaven receiving two babies this year. Noah, well he loves his huge truck. "Mom I've never seen one like it!" he repeats. Along with a train table I think these kids are pretty happy campers. I guess my kiddos must have been good this year! Next we are off to join some friends for dinner. Merry Christmas!!

Never say never

Ever said never?  I did.  I will NEVER move to the south.  I will NEVER have my husband travel for work.  I will NEVER be able to be a single mom.  I will NEVER....well, I see a pattern, don't you?  I have learned in the past 10 years of my life to NEVER UNDERESTIMATE GOD.  He really does see the big picture.  Why, this tiny being that I am, do I feel the need to control everything and set such defined limitations to my life?  Guess that is being the sinful human that I am.  Well, newsflash for me.  God had a different plan.  He said, you WILL move to the south and I will enrich your life.  You WILL endure months (maybe years) with your husband traveling overseas for work and it will bless you.  And You WILL be able to be a single mom, because I will carry you through it.  Whew.
Okay, so, here we go again, trip number 3.  And guess what.  We are alive!  This doesn't take away the fact that the kids and I miss Dave terribly.  Heck, I can't even watch a sappy romance movie without crying for my husband.  The kids see me boot up the laptop and they both race to the screen anticipating dads handsome face to pop up and greet them.  And it is very hard for them to not have their dad here.  Just as it is hard for dad to not get to hold his babies.  But, the point is, Gods grace is getting us there.
It is tough to be apart for long periods of time.  I try not to worry about him over there and stay busy here.  Keeping the kids is a very fast pace and tiring lifestyle.  I am thankful for my friends and family who have pitched in to help along the way.  It is always nice to get a break, and even get to pick up groceries by myself!
Perhaps the hardest part of this trip so far was the fact that just after dave left all three of us caught Influenza.  I have never been so sick in my life, and I am sure the kids felt the same way.  I found myself in panic because my husband was not here to make everything okay.  I was on my own.  But, when I thought I couldn't do it anymore, God provided help.  Wonderful people from our church and friends around where here to help with the kids, meals, anything.  I am so grateful to each of them for their time and love.  (And hoping we didn't get everyone sick!)
Each time dave heads to Afghanistan I pray that we will grow stronger and deeper in love and that our situation will not work against us.  So far I have found that we all grow stronger in different ways.  I know for myself God is helping me to be a better mother and wife, through each trying moment.  (Even though I am sure he gets tired of hearing me grumble!)
We are almost one month down.  As we get ready to celebrate christmas in a couple of days.  I just want to tell those in my life that they are a blessing to me.  To my husband, I am proud of you.  And to my savior, thank you for never saying never.

Almost 4 and so grown up!

In just a few short weeks I am going to have a 4 year old!  Is that even possible?  It really was yesterday  that I had him, or at least it feels that way.  Noah has changed so much this year.  He is sharp as a tack and very witty to say the least.  But he also has energy that would give a busy bee a run for its money.  This kid could run around the earth a dozen times and still not wear out.  That is my boy.  His nickname (at least I like to call him this) is Midas.  Only when he touches stuff is doesn't turn to gold, more like, well the gold color of Gorilla Glue or masking tape.  He is also very good at magic, recently.  He can make things disappear really well.  But, well, the reappearing part...we are still working on that.  He is a boy of many talents.  He loves music, singing, art, trucks, dirt, firetrucks, and playing in his fort out back.  He is good at giving his mama a snuggle and his sissy a love or two.  He is an amazing "man of the house" when daddy is gone.  He vacuums, makes his own bed, unloads part of the dishwasher and is super at picking up toys.
Noah says the funniest phrases and I only wish I could remember them all.  But, here are a couple he will enjoy later in life:
"Mom, I can not believe it..." (This is a phrase used often)
"Mom, I am so sad." Why? "I don't have any hair up my nose" Why would you worry about that noah? "Well, Dad has LOTS of hair up his nose and I don't have any!"
I just love how he says spaghetti "psgetti" He loves psgetti by the way.
"I love you tutu"

Okay buster.  I saved the embarrassing stories for you later.  But, boy, you better beware I have some good ones coming...Here's to enjoying whats left of you being 3!

18 months going on 18?

Well, I give in.  It's true.  It is harder to actually document your second child's life than the first.  I think it is certain that I am  much more busy chasing two busy bodies around than blogging.  However, while it is fresh on my mind, I wanted to make note of a few things....
Maleah is changing so fast!  She is a beautiful toddler with a sweet personality.  She loves attention, sending kisses to anyone who will catch them, and making you smile.  Her face lights up the room.  She has the biggest ringlets in her hair (you can thank, or not thank, your daddy) and they bounce to her beat  just perfectly. She adores her big brother through every push, shove and snuggle.  Will eat a whole costco size container of raspberries before your eyes.  Loves puppies, necklaces, shoes and handbags.  (Thats my girl!) She mimics well, as her brother can attest.  And she is a huge blessing to our family.  Just as I cannot imagine my life without her brother, I can't even imaging a day of life without this darling soul.
Some of maleah's favorite phrases right now are: hmmmm....think,think,think (finger taping chin), No No Puppy! (always shaking her finger), No No Grandpa, Up!, Oh no, bite, and many "boy" phrases that brother has decided to teach her.  Though she has many other words, these are the phrases that she shows with such great expression, therefore I want to always remember them.

Maleah, someday when you read this, you will be all grown up.  But I want you to remember you will always be my baby girl.  At this moment, I am looking forward to seeing who you are becoming and all that you are going to do in life.  I love you!

Galaxy of lights

Before Dave left for Afghanistan we decided to take the kids through the lights to kick off the Christmas season. The kids loved it! It was neat this time to see how much the kids have changed since last year. Noah really enjoyed each display telling us what it was and Maleah said "ohhh...haaa" the whole time!

A few last pictures

Well as our trip ended we got one last visit in with great aunt Arlene and uncle Russ. It sure was nice to visit. They were surprised at how much Noah had grown, after all he was A baby last time they saw him!
And then there are a few pictures along the way that I forgot to add in...
So there you have it! A fun filled, action packed trip. It went pretty smooth short of the flights. I think next time we will let Maleah take her own seat. She didn't like being a lap baby! But I'm sure they both earned their wings!!

Washington and Idaho family

We flew to Spokane for three days, and it was one action packed visit! We stayed with aunt Paula and uncle Larry. It was great to catch up and see cousins as well! A lot if time has gone by... Noah loved waking aunt Paula in the morning and
snuggling up next to Larry to read the paper. Maleah...well she loved all the attention! We also spent some time with dad's uncle rob. We were able to see deer in his front yard which was neat. Sadly, we had just missed the snow! We then spent time in post falls visiting, grandma Sally, dick, Bobbie, Dave and Logan. It was so nice visiting! Noah asked me "mom, how many uncles and aunts do I have?!" Spoken from a child who rarely sees family! Lol. Finally we went to joy and Garry's house where we enjoyed a nice dinner and visited with cousins and great grandma and grandpa Schmautz! Grandma surprised us with some very yummy apple pie. Oh how I love her pie! We sure left with a lot of great memories and two very tired kids!!

Mom & dad get away

Grandma & grandpa were so sweet and they sent Dave and I off for a night away. It was wonderful! We enjoyed the ocean and a stormy night. Followed by, blue sky! We also enjoyed a walk up to the light house and it was so beautiful! What a relaxing time together. Thank you!!'

Great grandma & grandpa warren

We spent some time with great grandma and grandpa warren. As you can see Maleah enjoyed giving grandpa kisses, snuggles with grandma and playing with toys. I'm glad the kids got some time to get to know them.

Max ride and omsi

We had the opportunity to take the kids for a ride on the max. Noah was thrilled to go "on a train ride" as he called it. Maleah enjoyed watching out the window with her big brother as things passed by fast.
One day we met Anna and Landon at
omsi. The kids enjoyed running around and playing. Maleah liked the machine that you could put a ball over the air spout and it would float! It was so funny to watch her try to catch the ball!

Visiting nana & g-pa

We enjoyed our time in Portland visiting nana and g-pa. We also spent some time with uncle chris and aunt hailey. We spent some time collecting leaves (there were some beautiful ones!) playing and snuggling!

Ohhh...waterfall!

We took the kids up to see multnomah falls. They loved it. Maleah liked all the big leaves and Noah liked hiking up to the bridge. I had forgotten how beautiful it was up there. I'm glad we could share this beauty with the kids!

Family trip to Oregon

We had a great time visiting family...and introducing Maleah! We bounced back and forth from grandma and grandpa parker's house and nana and g-pa's. And then we took another plane ride to Spokane where we visited family there and in Idaho! We were blessed to see all great grandparents. We took so many pictures, I'm going to break the trip up. These first pictures are some fun we had with G&G Parker. Hot tubing, bird house building, and fishing are just a few of the fun activities! It was great fun!