Friday, January 23, 2009

FFF ... Favorite (F)photo Friday!

It time for my 2nd installment of "Favorite Photo Friday". Even tho I did post already this week, there are some fun pics to share...


Taking baby Becky for a walk... a first for both of them! :)

Doug and his dad putting up a new antenna at his parents house. They don't have and don't want cable. Doug is trying to help them get ready for the big "change" to digital from analog tv.


Evelyn and her buddy Josh playing a duet on the piano. It was even cuter in person!

"You caught me"! This is where I found Evelyn after I left her alone for a few minutes while I did something. I had left the raisins on the table. She decided to help herself.


This, although not the best quality, is my favorite. We have a rule that Evelyn is not allowed on our bed unless we are in the bedroom with her. Period. She actually does very well obeying this rule, too. I had gone to take a quick shower one day this week and came out to find her like this. Reading her Bible (very intently I might add!) on our bed. It was SO precious.. I ended up climbing on the bed and reading with her! (I know.. I'm a softy.. but really, would you punish that?).

Happy Friday Everyone!

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

January 20th

January 20th. First and foremost.. my dad's birthday. He would have been 68 this year. He never wanted to make a big deal about his special day. That's just the way he was. Happy Birthday, dad. I love you and miss you. Every day. More than words can begin to say.

Me and Dad at my wedding 7/01 (8 months before he died)


January 20th is also Inauguration Day. I have watched almost every inauguration since I can remember. I find the whole history and protocol of it is fascinating and think it is very important to witness.

This January 20th marks quite a remarkable day in history. No matter who you voted for or what you believe.... change is coming to America. Yes, it will be different, and it should be different, for Obama is who God granted to lead our nation. I am committed to praying for him and praying for our country. Will you join me?

We are a nation under God, and I believe God intended for us to be free. It would be fitting and good, I think, if on each Inauguration Day in future years it should be declared a day of prayer.
Ronald Reagan, January 20, 1981

God Bless President Obama.. and God Bless this great nation!


Friday, January 16, 2009

Something New...

In order to hold myself accountable to updating my blog at least weekly, I am starting a new "feature" here on "The Joys of Life". Get excited, people... it's "Favorite Photo Friday!" If I don't post during the week I will do a Friday post with some of my fav's of the week.

Here are this week's top picks!


She asked to have her picture taken for this one. This is HUGE, people!

"I see you Daddy!"

Apparently I make a funny "fish face"! (Doug took this one!)


Singing atop the play structure. I think this is my favorite!

Happy Friday! Enjoy the weekend!

Saturday, January 10, 2009

New Year's in Snohomish

We headed up north to my Aunt and Uncle's on New Year's day. We only went for the day, but we had SO much fun just hanging out with family, playing games, watching football and eating lots of good food. It was totally worth the 4 hour drive! Here are a few shots from the day.


My cousin Hayley reading to Evelyn & Payton (my cousin Justin's son, age 3). Evelyn loves Hayley and likes Payton more each time they meet!


The "younger cousins" (my niece Abby is in the shot, too). My sisters and I were the only grandkids until my cousin Justin was born when I was 12. After, him there were 6 more cousins. They are all grown up now (*sigh*) and had fun hanging out together.


My sister Michelle and her kids were there, too. Evelyn loves her "Aunt Michette"! Can you tell?


The hostess with the mostess!! My aunt Carolyn. Love her!


Cousin Brooke and my nephew Curtis playing their DS's.

Playing cards. One of many games played that day. My favorite... Apples to Apples!



Evelyn and Payton had fun checking out the tree. And running around the tree. And turning the lights on and off. Over and over again! My uncle Scott supervised most of the "tree time" and apparently they did okay! He is a saint!

What a fun way to ring in 2009. With family you love. Happy New Year.. a few days late! :)

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Moving on...

It's time. Time to just get over the fact that I have at least 10 posts I could to write to catch up on all that's gone on the past, what... month? Time to face that fact that it just isn't gonna happen! Time to start January fresh and new, and hope to stay on track and keep this puppy goin' strong. As my friend Erika so eloquently stated in her blog, "Let's move forward because this blog is never going to jump-start itself!" :)

So you all don't feel slighted about missing out on my oh-so-exciting life, here's a recap of some of what's been goin' on!

*Evelyn turned 2. WOW.. where did the two years go? She was and is SO excited to be two. She still sings "Happy Birthday" to herself periodically! :) She was spoiled with love and gifts as usual, but her most prized things from her special day were her Birthday cards! She read them over and over and over again. Instead of reading books before nap or bedtime, she wanted us to read her cards. It was the cutest thing!




*Snow. Need I say more? Seriously.. what a crazy couple of weeks! Thankfully we got to spend most of the time inside together. We made it to Dallas, OR for time with Doug's family the weekend before Christmas, but had one heck of a drive coming home in the ice and yuck on 1-5, which was no picnic AT ALL! And then we actually got stuck in the snow on Christmas Eve and had to walk home (and we were in the truck!). I only had tennis shoes on. Evelyn had no coat (long story!). And it was SO cold! Yes, I know, "Mother of the Year" award for me! Thankfully it was only about 1/2mile walk and Evelyn loved the "adventure" and still talks about it! The snow WAS beautiful, tho, and probably the most snow we will see for a very long time!




*Christmas was SO fun this year, and such a sweet time. Now granted, it got a bit crazy having to reschedule/reorganize celebrations due to weather, but all in all if was wonderful.
*Evelyn totally got into the Christmas spirit in many ways. Yes, she did love opening gifts (to hear her say , "oh, my goodness!" with each gift opened was precious) and got a lot of fun new toys. However she almost loved giving the gift more, handing them out and enjoying people opening their gifts. I hope that she will continue to be a "giver"! She understood that Christmas is about Jesus' birthday and LOVED hearing the Christmas story read to her and having us act out the story with her "Little People" nativity. I don't think we read many other books besides Christmas story books, or played with many other toys other than the nativity set last month! It was also SO precious hearing her tell the story herself: "One day.. man name Jophat and girl name Minnie gonna married. Then Minnie found out she was have baby. God's son." and so on and so on. My favorite part: "three wise man brought gold, fank, and murray. and fruit cocktail!" SO SO cute. Unfortunately, every time I tried to record her doing it she stopped. Thankfully it will remain in my heart forever!
*She also now knows most every Christmas carol, too. Nothing better than hearing her sweet voice singing.. and really knowing the words. She is amazing. And yes, she still is singing carols. I love it!
*My sweet husband got me a new camera for Christmas! I am SO excited and have enjoyed using it SO much already! I was spoiled by many fun things this year!
*I got to spend time with my entire family between Christmas and New Years... probably the best part of it all. I am blessed to have and to have married into great family!







So.. there you have it. I sincerely hope you had a wonderful holiday time with ones you love. Here's to a great year of blogging in 2009. Thanks for reading!