What a week,

You know those strange feelings you get, "today feel's like a friday" or "it sure feels later than 6pm!"? Well, last week was a "Man, that week felt like a month!" It was just a full week. I started my new job at Russ Moss Construction (cabinetry) last monday and fortunatly did not mess up anything too bad. It was actually a good week of work and I am encouraged that this career change will be good. I have been hearing of more side work than I am able to physically do so it looks like it will just be an issue of scheduling and how much time we want me to be away from home. Noah had the best week of sleeping he has had since he was two months old. Hopefully he is developing better sleeping habits. We got our new cell phones on Thur! My number is 503-729-3353 and Erin's is 503-347-0079. We got a digital camera Wed. Our old one was from work so I had to return it when I left. We have been wanting to get a nice one for a while and we got a great deal on a Canon Digital Rebel XTi. It is sooo cool! We have really enjoyed taking pictures since we bought our Canon Rebel 2000 and even took a photography class a year or two ago. We found out on Tues that the Subaru needed new tires, front brakes, and alignment. That was unexpected. A friend gave me 280 lbs of aluminum he had lying around to recycle so on friday I took it in and got $180 dollars for it! "We're ahead!" On the way home the Escort got sick :( the timing belt broke and some vital parts in the engine got bent. So, it needs a $1500 surgery this next week as having a second car has become vital now that my commute to work has gone from 4 miles to 15. And to close out the full week, on Sat. a friend dropped off more food for us from the Grange. It must be atleast $200 worth of meats, dairy, baby food and even orchids. She has done this for us every other week for the past month or so. It has been a huge blessing and we are eating better than we ever have... Ahi Steaks, lamb, Wild Salmon, Satey Peanut Sauce, Indian Flat bread, and strawberries to name a few. It is all from the store Trader Joes which is all organic and all expensive :) We have been blessed. Erin shared in church this morning about the groceries in light of our financial "adventure" and after church someone I didnt know slipped me $40 and said they were praying for us. :) It was just a full week but a good week. The Lord is taking care of us. Just wanted to drop a line before the start of this next month, I mean week, and check in with you all!

Loving Sisters!

Us 4 girls had a great weekend - last weekend- shopping. We hit Steinmart, Tuesday Morning and Tanger Outlet. Marie found several really good deals for the girls including these dresses. They are great shoppers, though they are beginning to develop their own taste in clothing which will be challenging in the coming years. Can I have an AMEN on that? The shades are new too - in case you wondered.

It would have been a ball to have all the shoppers here to enjoy the store stomping! The weather was perfect and there was a toss up for shopping or the park - guess you know what won! :)

Comparison shot...

Okay, so they look a lot alike, but not really... here's a shot of both at one year. We are still recovering from stomach virus but doing okay.... hope y'all are doing well!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATTHEW!

This is one of my favorite pictures of the birthday boy! He looks like an angel! We're so glad you're here Matthew!

Matthew's 1st Birthday!

Birthday lunch....






Birthday bug cakes.....


Birthday presents....


and Birthday Hives!!!

Our baby is 1!!!!!!!!

Our London Times

We took Elijah to Luton, England for a circumcision surgery on Wednesday. We flew there Tuesday night, had the surgery at 2pm on Wednesday, spent some time in London after that, then flew home on Thursday. It was an enjoyable and tiring trip!

Elijah did amazing for all that traveling and having his surgery. The doctor and nurse said, "he's the best one we've had all day!" After that we headed to London for about three hours. It was quite a city! We saw just a few things, St. Paul's Cathedral, Big Ben, and the Thames River. Oh, and Joel treated me to Starbucks! Oh so yummy!

Here's a few photos from our quick trip:

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!

BIG HUGS FROM ALL OF US TO ALL OF YOU, even you Joel your getting one too.

New directions in life...

Hey everyone. Well, we told mom and dad last friday so by now everyone should know I am leaving my job with Mitch. I thought sense this was such a big move I should post a blog and put it in the records :)
The last couple years of work have been a time of great growth for me personally. I have been able to learn soo much in the past 5 1/2 years of work and the company handed me some great opportunities that I may never have been given had I been working somewhere else. I really got a big sense of accomplishment this past summer when I was able to manage an entire $300,000 home renovation. I dealt first hand with the homeowners, managed and scheduled nearly 20 trade contractors and our own company employees, and had to deal directly with the county. Well, not that I didn't get help from Mitch or that everything went perfect but in light of the fact I couldn't read a tape measure 6 years ago I have had a full and exciting time. So why leave? I'm glad you asked :) A lot of the responsibilities in the past two years have been "dropped" on me due to numerous crisis situations that Mitch and his family have had to deal with. I supported him in the decisions he made for his family and the company but the result of each of these events left me more and more drained. I am viewing the last few years as a blessing. For me, I have learned a great deal personally as well as skill wise. For Mitch, I was able to give him a dependable, flexible, and trusting employee that he could leave without supervision during these difficult times. He was also able to share with me, as a friend, the stituations he was dealing with and I was able to give him support on that level. It has just drained me to the point that I am no longer able to continue. I have become emotionally exhausted. Mitch and I did have talks throughout the process. We had a serious on this past summer and again during December but we were just not able to resolve the situation. So, I told him officially on last Friday that I was going to be leaving. We are both pretty stubborn at times (thanks dad :). He tried on Friday to have me reconsider, we met on monday and he tried to have me reconsider, he called a meeting this morning and tried to get me to reconsider .... hopefully tomorrow he will be able to accept my resignation :) It would help since we agreed this Friday would be my last day of work. Well, that's probably as much as anyone wants to know of the soap opera at work.
As for now, I have been talking with a cabinet maker (Russ Moss) we use for our jobs. He has been looking to fill a position that became availible this past fall and we are both excited about the opportunity to work together. He is a solid Christian guy that has always been consitent in his passion for his faith and familty. He makes really good custom cabinets which excites me too. So, we are in the process of negotiating the final terms and expectations and I will be starting full-time probably sometime in March. I will need a second job though as my pay will not match what I am getting with Mitch but the responsibilities wont either which will be a nice break. I will probably look for a part time twice a week, no brainer job just to bring in a little extra income.
So, that's the latest here work wise. We have never had restrictions on how much we could write on one post. After reading all this I'm sure you were wishing we had :) Thanks for reading it anyway.

Ohhh, and on a lighter side. My vote is for Asia'h on American Idol !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you

Happy Birthday Morgan:) We love you!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MORGAN!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MORGAN!!!!!!!!! HOPE YOU HAVE THE BEST BIRTHDAY EVER.

We love you very much!

Grandma and Grandpa

Hey:)

Hey everyone! Just checking in.....Thought I'd post a picture of the twins, I mean of the boys. Did everyone vote???? We are just enjoying our day today. Ben went to work, then we went to visit our friends who just had a baby yesterday. We also stopped by the fishing bridge just to stroll. Oh, and we got Krispy Kreme donuts on the way back - the best part:) (besides the baby)

Below is a pictures of our latest attempt at getting Matthew in his crib at night...aka the 'death trap'. No, we really don't think it's a death trap. It has to be safer than sleeping in between two really exhausted adults in a queen bed. We pushed the crib next to our bed, added a mattress and took off the gate in the front. Tada a homemade co-bed sleeper. It worked last night. He woke up once and I just shhhed him and patted his butt and he went back to sleep. Yeah!!! A whole night without a baby's head in my armpit and his sharp fingernails clawing at my neck trying to find my necklace! I hope it works again... Our plan is to get him sleeping in HIS bed, then add the railing back, then push it against the wall..... BABY STEPS! Something's gotta give. Love you all, and hope you all are having a wonderful week!

Parade!

Yesterday there was a parade here in Sencur. Three years ago just as we were moving here, we went to it and actually stood in front of this house. Yesterday, we decided to stay inside and watch from Abigail's bedroom window. Anja & Tjasa came by though and asked if they could take Abigail out. They're such sweet girls, they even bought Abigail that huge balloon!

I just think newborn feet are so, so cute! Eli has the exact same big toe as Abigail and Joel. So funny that a 'toe' would be passed down.

I have a picture of Abigail in this chair, I think at the same age and she looks "just like" this. I think it's actually on our other blog. yep...here it is!
But in this picture, he doesn't really look like her. Definitely a cutie though!And here I was taking a couple pictures and out of the blue...he smiled! So cute!

Stats

I took Noah too the Dr today for his 9mo check up and I thought I'd share his stats...29in long and 18.8lbs. He's doing well just not sleeping. I slept with him for about 2hrs in his crib last night. He just cuddle up and went to sleep after a bit of crawling over me. I like cuddling! I also like sleeping and I'm looking forward to the day when that happens.

This past week Noah has started walking on his own a lot more. We thought about putting up a little video but his progress looks like Matthew's. You get the picture. What a big boy.

Jon had 3 days off of work this past week because of all the snow. There is still a little left in the yard and the snow level is supposed to drop again tonight. Nothing like last weekend though. I've never had that much snow in my yard before. It was quite fun.

Mom and Dad, thanks for the CDs. We're listening to them right now and all singing along even Noah's trying. Have a great weekend all!