Ballet!!!

Ellie has recently started taking a ballet class. She has always loved to dance (and sing, and act, and anything that involves entertaining). We have been wanting to put her in a dance class, but really didn't feel like we could afford it at this point. And now one of my friends is teaching a ballet class in her home, free of charge! The little girls are all so cute, dressed up in their little leotards and tutus! They're learning the ballet steps and practicing for a recital, and are even going to dance at a nursing home. Ellie has only been to one class so far (this morning will be her second), but she LOVES it! I am so thankful that she is able to do this, and that God has blessed us in this way!

Ellie has so much fun dancing, and ballet class is a great way for her to meet some new friends!

Ellie's all smiles as she gets ready for ballet class in the morning!

A time to shine!

We celebrate Halloween in our family. I know that this holiday can be a little controversial, but we have always chosen to celebrate it. Now, we don't ever celebrate in scary ghost, witch, or skeleton ways. And we don't teach our children that this is an "evil" holiday (we don't believe it is, unless it's celebrated that way). But we use even this holiday as a way to teach our children about the God who loves them. For the past two weeks of preschool, Ellie has been learning about why being a Christian is like being a pumpkin. We have a cute little poem that we read each day at the end of school: "Being a Christian is like being a pumpkin. God picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washed all the dirt off of you. Then He cuts off the top and scoops out all the yucky stuff. He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, and greed, carves you a new smiling face, and puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see." We talk about what each part of this poem means, and how God is always changing us and making us more like Him. It has been a great tool.

Fun at the pumpkin patch!

Ellie and Parker each made their own homemade pumpkins during preschool.

Of course some of our celebration is just for fun! Our church puts on a Trunk or Treat party, and we had a lot of fun going around the parking lot and getting candy from each of the cleverly decorated cars. Parker dressed up as a pumpkin and Ellie was a bride. They were both super cute (of course)! And they now have enough candy to last them a LONG time:)

Cute little pumpkin, Parker Paul!

The beautiful bride, Ellie!

Halloween can be a time to shine in dark places. As Christians, I believe that we are called to do just that:)

Rainy Days:)

Fall is absolutely my favorite season! I love the cooler weather because I get to wear sweaters. I love the smells, both outside and in (fall inspires me to bake quite a bit, and when I'm not baking I usually have a "fall-ish" candle burning). I love the beautiful colors, and although nothing can beat the beauty of central Washington in the fall, I'm really seeing a lot of beauty here, too. I think the colors come on the trees a little later here, and they are now becoming very pretty! I love knowing that Christmas is just around the corner, and starting on Christmas crafts. I love being cozy inside and drinking coffee, hot cocoa, tea, or carmel apple cider. I think I could go on and on, I just LOVE fall:)

We have a maple tree in our yard that is turning a beautiful red!

Now that we live on the west side of the mountains, we are experiencing the wetter side of life! I am happy to have a winter with less snow, and hopefully we won't get too sick of the rain! Right now I'm enjoying it. I grew up with weather similar to what we have now, and it's kind of nice to be back in the rain. As crazy as it sounds, I really missed it when we lived on the east side and didn't get very much rain. Ellie and Parker really enjoy playing in the rain and stomping in puddles! Ellie is the only one in the family with a rain coat and umbrella, though, so we may need to purchase a few more for the rest of us.

Ellie and Parker LOVE playing outside in the rain!

Yay! I painted our living room a couple weeks ago! I really think it looks a lot nicer now. It makes me excited to paint another room, but it took 17 hours to finish the living room, with prepping the walls, priming, and painting, so I'm going to rest a little more before beginning the next room! I've been waiting to put up pictures until I paint each room, so once a room is painted and has the pictures on the walls, it feels so much more like home:)

Doesn't the paint lighten up the room?

I am so thankful for the blessings in my life. I pray that you are counting your blessings, too. They are there, we sometimes just need to take the time to see them:)

Remembering Ian

Ian Tawney was a great friend to me in high school. We shared a lot of wonderful memories, and I was blessed to have had him in my life. Since high school I had not seen Ian, nor even spoken with him. But when I heard of his death in Afghanistan I was truly heartbroken. My heart is heavy, and I am filled with emotion. I mourn the loss of a great friend. I grieve for his family - his wonderful parents, his siblings, and his wife and unborn child. I mourn the years that I allowed to pass without staying in contact with my high school friend. Ian was a great man. He fought for our country, putting others' lives above his own. He will always be remembered, and he will be greatly missed. I take comfort, though, in knowing that for those of us who have accepted Christ as Lord over our lives, we will see him again one day in Heaven. I remember conversations that Ian and I had as teens, and his love for Christ. I know that while his body may be dead here on earth, he is alive and well in Heaven. I look forward to the day when I will be reunited with friends and family, and we will all rejoice together in the presence of our King! For now I pray for comfort, for myself and for everyone else who will miss Ian so much here on earth.

Daddy's Little Princess:)

A few weeks ago my sweet husband came home with a bouquet of flowers for me. When he came through the door holding the bouquet, Ellie ran up to him and said, "Yay! Are those flowers for me?" Jared told her that they were for Mommy, and she almost started crying, she was so heart-broken. So last night Jared ran to the store and when he returned he had a bouquet for Ellie. She asked if they were for Mommy, and Jared told her that they were for her. Oh, was she excited! She just lit up, knowing how special she is to her daddy! It really made her feel like his little princess. It was priceless! Now her bouquet is sitting on her dresser, where she can see them all day (and night). And, to top it off, Jared also brought me a beautiful red rose! He is such a wonderful husband and father, and we are so blessed to be his girls! We love him so much!

Preschool, kittens, and more!

Well, we've had a fairly busy past week. Last week Ellie started homeschool preschool three mornings a week. It's been a really fun experience for both Ellie and I so far. She's so smart, and she's really doing well with school. She absolutely loves to learn! It's a little tough keeping Parker entertained sometimes while we do school, but for the most part he does great with some cars, coloring pages, or puzzles. I also try to let him be involved in the schooling whenever possible, which he likes a lot. It's fun to have a little bit more of a schedule now (although we still haven't completely settled on which three mornings we'll do school), and I hope to get our schedule even a little more organized in these next few weeks!

Ellie is great at saying the Pledge of Allegiance!

Last Friday the kids and I headed over the mountains for a wedding. Ellie was the flower girl, and she was absolutely precious! When she got to the front of the audience, she opted to come and sit with me rather than standing up front. As soon as the bride started down the aisle, with the wedding march playing, Ellie said to me (in a very loud voice), "Mom, they're playing Farmer in the Dell!" Unfortunately I forgot my camera at home, so I have no pictures except a few low-quality ones on my phone. Hopefully someone else took some, and will give me a few:)

On our way home on Sunday we stopped and picked up our newest addition to our family - a sweet little kitten! Her name is Rose (Ellie's suggestion), and she is very cute. Ellie and Parker both love her, but she's not so sure how she feels about them! So far she likes to spend a good portion of the day hiding under Jared and my bed. Whenever she's out, though, Parker is chasing after her, or holding her if he manages to catch her. He is not super gentle, but we're working on it! Ellie, on the other hand, is very soft and sweet with the kitty. We're really enjoying Rose.

Our New Home

Our new house

For those of you who haven't given up hope of me ever posting again, I sincerely apologize for my lengthy absence! I knew that it had been quite some time since my last post, but as I signed in I saw that it has been over two months! Inexcusable, I know. We moved into our new house almost a month ago, and before that we were madly packing and trying to do everything in our old town "one last time" before we moved. I fully intended to blog every step of the way, and well, that just didn't happen. But now I have a new goal. I plan on blogging once a week, on Tuesdays. I may end up blogging more than that, but I will wholeheartedly try to blog at least that often. For now, here are some pictures of our new home. We are not in love with the wood paneling and have plans to repaint each of the rooms, but that will take time. In painting Ellie's room, I was "absent" from my kids for almost two straight days. That is about as much as any of us can handle, so I'm taking it a room at a time, and plan on doing one room a month. So, as I get each room done I will post new pictures. There are other projects we'd like to do as well, but right now Jared is working 12-14 hour days, so any house projects are on hold. Blessings on you today, and please feel free to check back in - I promise to be more consistent in blogging than I have been:)

Ellie's room

Parker's room

Kids' bathroom Our bedroom
Our bathroom (there is a bathtub out of view)
Kitchen Dining room
1/2 of living room

Other 1/2 of living room