Spotts Family Adventures

What a blur...

2012-01-06T19:39:00.004-06:00

As usual, November and December went by in a blur and now I can't believe we are six days into January. Life is going by so fast and I can't seem to figure out how to slow it down and stop these kids from growing up so quickly! These pictures are in no particular order, it's a mix of Thanksgiving through Christmas...

Jayda is so big and loves to play with her big brothers. Micah was more interested in his DS, but he still wanted to be by her.

The boys got new pogo sticks for Christmas. Fortunately for us the weather has been nice enough that they have been able to practice. Micah is struggling a little with it, but Noah seems to get the hang of it and can get 3-4 jumps in before he slips off.

We had a fun Christmas morning this year. It was the first time in seven years that we have spent the holiday with family. We were so thankful that Mom and Dad Spotts were able to come and stay with us. What great memories these will be.

The boys both got Nintendo DS systems this year...quite exciting

The opening of the pogo stick...

In mid-December Micah's class went on a field trip to the Public Museum. I have not been able to go on any field trips with either of the boys yet, and it worked out that I could go this time. It was crazy and fun and exhausting. It made me appreciate the Kindergarten teachers that much more!

They have an atrium that is full of butterflies, so you can just go in and have them land on you if you want or just look around. It was really fun to go in there!

When Mom and Dad Withrow came, one of things mom likes to do is frost sugar cookies with the kiddos. It's always a disaster, but this was part of my handi-work

And this was the table at the end...pay not attention to the random shoe on the table.

We also went shopping and got a cute new pattern. It was fun to make these little wallets and they are so simple! We had a great time. I've since made 5 more!

Sweet little bug!

This was by the city hall in the nearby town. Too cute to pass up the photo opportunity and so I made my parents stand there for the picture.

This was Thanksgiving.

Early in December my friend Katie and I spent the whole day in Chicago. It was great fun...she found this great hat/scarf set because it was SO cold! We had a wonderful time together and got a few cute presents for our family and friends.

Jayda LOVES to read, so after Thanksgiving dinner she was just chilling in a chair reading her Princess Baby book.

Hershey vs. Nestle

2011-11-03T15:38:00.006-05:00

I didn't realize there was much of a difference between Nestle and Hershey chocolate.

This week, I made the wrong choice...sorry Nestle, you've lost this battle.

Happy Halloween

2011-10-30T20:16:00.003-05:00

It was cold and rainy today, but that would be no deterrent to the kids when it came to trick or treating this year. With the weather being poor it made for a short time out with Jayda and some pretty cold and wet little boys (and one big boy).

Jayda is at the stage where she is just constantly moving. She doesn't like to sit or be contained for any reason. So, getting her to stand still so I could get a cute picture of her for all her west coast family was near impossible, so I hope these will do...

Completely by accident, but it does make "Yoda" appear to really fit her name. She jumped just at the last second of me trying to take her picture. The boys and I laughed for a really long time about this picture, so of course I have to post it.

This is our neighbor and one of Micah's little buds. She came trick or treating with us.

The Four Amigos

Micah: Optimus Prime Noah: Clark Kent

And they have already started talking about next year...oh goodness!

Parenting is hard

2011-10-27T20:43:00.002-05:00

I don't understand boys. I always thought I was a good "boy" mom, but I really don't get them. I can't understand the way they like to play and I certainly don't know why they think it's funny to punch each other. I have talked with lots of moms who assure me that grade school is the time that kids are really learning what it means to be civil to one another. But, it still doesn't help when the principal calls home.
Additionally, I am taking a class at church called "The Peacemaker"...a biblical approach to resolving conflict. It's a constant reminder that each and every thing I do is being watched by little ones who are eager to learn how they are supposed to behave in this world. No pressure, right? Good thing we have a gracious God who helps all of us along this path.

It does my heart good, however, to look back through all the pictures that we have saved on our computer and finds one like this of my boys. Even if the road can be rocky in their relationship, I know they love each other and deeply care about the other one.
I sure do love them with everything I've got...which reminds me of why parenting is so hard - because we care so much!

This one is just cute. She won't let me put anything like this in her hair anymore. She just rips it right out. That's okay though. She's cute without it too...

Social Media

2011-10-26T21:36:00.003-05:00

They say that if you are going to start doing something on social media, you really need to stick with it. That seems like a really good idea, but life seems to keep going and I haven't been able to stop with it so I can post something online. So, I will get better. I will...
Here's what's been going on for us....
The weather in Wisconsin has been great! It's been warm most of October and only in the past couple days has it started to get cold. The kids still love the trampoline and even Jayda has begun to enjoy it. The boys are good with her and don't bounce "too high" when she's in there with them.

I was trying to get them to have a fun picture together. This was about as good as I was going to get.

She likes to take her brothers down whenever possible.

You can't read her shirt very well, but it does say "Daddy's Princess"

This is not our new puppy,but our neighbors also got a new puppy about a month before we did. This was at one of Noah's football games. I captured how Jayda is with our puppy (Yoda) all the time. She is so happy whenever she is around them. Definitely got that trait from her mama!

Until next time....blessings on your day!!

Moments like these...

2011-09-19T13:59:00.004-05:00

When Micah woke me up this morning at 5:30am because he couldn't swallow, I wasn't that patient. I kept thinking forward to the only day of the week that Chris and I both have to work. I kept thinking about what I needed to get accomplished today. Chris got up with Micah. He took care of him and I laid in bed trying to figure out how this was all going to work. He has a classroom full of students that are waiting for him.

As I sat thinking about this, I remembered the Mentor Moment that we had at MOPS this last week. Of all the things that I need to get done today, being there for Micah is by far the most important. So far, I've done some dishes, but I've also watched a few episodes of Phineas and Ferb, Kick Buttowski and Kickin' It, taken Micah to the doctor, snuggled on the couch, and the best, snuggled down for a nap which took all of six minutes for the boy to fall asleep.

It's the moments like these that I haven't gotten as a working mom. Even though I still am working, I am learning to find myself again...this time, finding myself as a mom to these three amazing kiddos.

One Already?

2011-09-10T11:50:00.006-05:00

Little did he know how much this bundle was going to change his life...

I don't think they realized it either...

And I certainly had no idea either...

These pictures are in no particular order, but just some that I took of Jayda over the past week. I've been having so much fun with my change in jobs getting to be home so much more with the kiddos. I love it! I forgot how much I love being home with them. (Even when I want to pull all my hair out)

Our water isn't just amazingly blue. For her birthday Jayda was given some "Bath Drops"...the first of many bath things for a girl... This picture just caught her perfectly. She is pretty sassy, especially when it comes to her brothers!

Micah adores his baby sister and she got this new princess car for her birthday, so he was taking her around the driveway on it last night.

One of our days of just her and I hanging out while the boys were at school. We ran a few errands together. It's amazing how much easier one kid seems after having more.

This was her birthday cupcake. Chris was a brave man to hold her during the process. She and He were a mess when it was all said and done.

Happy Birthday Cupcake

We had a little party at our house on the actual day with our neighbors. This picture is awesome of how Jayda often reacts to her big brothers. She loves them, there is no question about it, but she will always work to get her way.

I'm pretty sure she's laughing at Chris in this picture. This was the first present she got to open on her birthday.

Brew Crew!

2011-08-06T18:30:00.003-05:00

We were given tickets to the Brewers Baseball game this week. It was a fantastic day! Casey McGehee hit two home runs. Not to mention, we were just eight rows up from the field! It was so much fun!

My babies....

Yep, super close...

Emmaleigh

2011-07-26T20:01:00.011-05:00

I miss my friend. I started looking through old digital photos this week. Found a few, but there are so many more that I could add. I loved our sweet dog and I will truly miss her. The pet store up the street had a Santa come and you could bring your dogs. Emmaleigh does not look amused to be in this picture. To be honest, neither does Micah.

This is what she had to deal with. She was our original pillow pet.

This was just funny. Noah used to give Micah rides on the tricycle. It was really cute to watch.

She was happiest outside with us

Before we had kids Em used to snuggle in bed with us on Saturday mornings. She was pretty spoiled.

She was always there for me. It's weird, but dogs know when something isn't right. She would just come and be with me. And, she also thought she was a lap dog.

She was under two in this picture

And, I think Noah was under two in this one

Rest in Peace Emmaleigh.

The best dog anyone could ask for.

Baptism Day

2011-06-01T21:17:00.004-05:00

On May 22 we had the joy of having all three of the kids baptized. We asked our friend Jan to take a few snap shots of the day.

Sweet Jayda, 8 1/2 months

Noah is growing up so much. 6 1/2 years old. He is a great big brother. He is so helpful to us and loves his sister and brother.

I love the back of her dress, so we made sure to get a picture of the cute bow.

I love this picture of us!

Micah is growing up so much. He's going to be in Kindergarten next year. He's almost 5! He adores his sister and loves playing with Noah.

After Pastor Tim baptized Jayda, he turned to the boys and said "Who's Next?"

This picture caught them both raising their hands saying "Me!"

Jayda loved watching Pastor Tim.

This is another one I love.

2011-03-27T14:11:00.004-05:00

The boys really wanted Chris to put up the trampoline. It was beautiful last Saturday, so he went ahead and did it. It has rained and snowed every day since then, but today was just sunny enough that the boys went out to play. If you look closely, you will see that both of them are wearing hats and slippers because they were too cold to play. And the stuff in the middle of the trampoline - yeah, that's ice/snow. They made a game with it called "Don't get touched".

Before they went out to play, there was a Nerf gun war at our house. This is Noah, locked and loaded.

And, in case you were wondering - yes, she does look like her Dad.

This is just funny. This was their art project in Kindergarten on Saint Patrick's Day. LOVE IT!

Last Sunday we took the boys out to doughnuts. We were told about this great place in Port Washington. We were not disappointed, and you can tell by this picture, the boys loved it too.

She's just so adorable.

I am always trying to take pictures of her and I together. Probably for the rest of her life I will drive her crazy with this...she looks very enthused already - so I am sure it'll just get better as she gets older.

Six Months

2011-03-12T14:43:00.003-06:00

I recently heard a quote that has been so fitting and has helped me cherish these "hard days" at home...I don't know who said it, but it's a good one.

"The days are long, but the years are short."

Jayda is six months old already, Noah is reading full books by himself, Micah is memorizing phone numbers 'in case of emergency' and Chris is really almost done with his PhD and has been hired on by Marquette to teach in the 2011-2012 school year. WOAH! Where did the past 10 1/2 years go!

These are just some snapshots from my phone of Jay-bird.

She is getting so big - eating solid food. She loves carrots, sweet potatoes, avocado, bananas and applesauce. So far she doesn't really like yogurt, but I'm sure that will change. I've been loving making my own baby food again.

In this picture, if you look close, you can see her "Pebbles Flintstone" hair style.

She is so beautiful and I love to watch her sleep.

She's such a big girl in her booster seat. Ready for the next meal...

Snow Day!

2011-02-20T20:43:00.003-06:00

The news report said that we would get 12 inches of snow and it was supposed to start around 3am. We woke up this morning to nothing...not even a cloud in the sky. We got ready and went to church. When we walked out of the church, the snow was beginning to fall. We quickly ran our couple errands and headed home. In a matter of a few hours we had 6-8 inches of snow on the ground and the high winds have started! Just when I was starting to get spring fever with the 45-50 degree days we've been having.

But, I decided to make for myself a "kitchen" day. I baked bread, made granola, baby-food and tortillas. Chris even felt the urge and made almond butter - quite tasty!!

We had a great time. I think the boys were getting a little bit of cabin fever, but we managed.

Micah found a game on my iPod that captured his attention for part of the afternoon.

Noah loves the game "Angry Birds" on my phone.

Jayda and Chris watched Clemson beat Miami by four points.

And this is the bounty of my time in the kitchen. I had so much fun, but man am I tired. I realized this is why farmers back in the days of Little House on the Prairie must have gone to bed so early - and I still got most of my ingredients from the grocery store!

Until next time!

Snowpocalypse 2011

2011-02-02T21:05:00.004-06:00

I can't believe I have not kept up with my blog posting...well, actually I can believe that because I'm not actually sure what happened to the month of January.

The past couple days have been quite exciting. We had the mother of all storms blow through the area and the radio deejays had fun with names for it. My favorite - the title of the blog post, but there have been other good ones. The Mother-Load, Snowmaggedon 2011 (Chris likes that one because it rhymes). But suffice it to say, we got about 18 inches overnight and it was WILD. The YMCA closed in an effort to keep everyone off the roads and be safe. So, I had a snow day today and the boys were home from school. Here are some pictures from these two days - in no particular order.

Jayda has become quite strong the past couple weeks. The doctor is very impressed with her muscle tone and strength. Today, Chris was getting her ready for her bath, but she was all ready to do some gymnastics stunt right off his lap and preferred this upside down look to sitting upright.

We attempted to take her outside to "play" in the snow. She is not feeling well, but the doc told us that the cold air would be good for her lungs. This lasted about five minutes. Then her and I sat in the car and waited for dad and the boys to come back from sledding.

It took 2 hours to snow blow and shovel out the driveway and sidewalks this morning. I call this hill "Mount SnOlympus"- Chris thinks I'm a dork, but I just tell him I could be a radio deejay with these skills!

While the boys cleaned out the snow mess, Jayda and I sat at the table and enjoyed some girl time this morning. Don't you just want to squeeze her little cheeks!

This is Noah and Micah all bundled up and ready to help Dad. For awhile they were all in the same 2 foot square trying to shovel and make room. It was funny to watch.

Heck of a snow drift...caused by the 50 mile an hour winds that came with the blizzard last night.

This was the hill our neighbor told us about. It was fun to watch the boys go down. There were some bumps on it and I was sure Micah would be done after his first time, but I think his adrenaline kept him going.

A close up of Jayda in her snow suit.

The kiddos are just getting so big all the time. Noah's new favorite saying is, "just so you know..." followed by something that apparently we needed to know.

I am usually behind the camera taking the pictures, and most of the time my self portraits don't turn out that great, but this one I thought was pretty cute of both Jayda and me. She has my mouth and nose (thank God!)...but the rest of her really looks like Chris. She even got his ears!

Mostly a lot of pictures...

2010-12-26T21:38:00.002-06:00

She is full of smiles these days. AND, i love getting to put bows in her hair.

She got a new Christmas present...the BUMBO. I highly recommend this to any parent - especially if you have more than one child.

Chris got a new toy that has kept us all very entertained. It's a puzzle of sorts, too hard to explain. I bet you can google it: The Perplexus

My attempt at a picture of all three of them before we left for Christmas Eve service

These boys adore their baby sister.

She was starting to fall asleep on Chris' shoulder. I love this picture of her.

And again, with the Bumbo!

The disaster that was our house Christmas morning. Eventually I got it all picked up.

These two look so much alike!

New Hat

2010-12-11T09:59:00.001-06:00

Just one quick picture...she is just adorable!

Grandma and Papa are visiting, so we'll have more to post after they depart.

But for now...

Just a Fun Video

2010-11-25T22:22:00.002-06:00

Sorry for the poor lighting on this one.

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T11:32:00.006-06:00

I miss everyone. Back in the day we used to have such HUGE Thanksgivings. I even remember that we had to dress up in "fancy" clothes. Mom was always in the kitchen cooking and baking all day. It was fun.

Thanksgiving is different for us being so far away. Too short of a holiday to make the trip back home, so we celebrate with out little family of five. This year we are having a jammie day and just relaxing at home. Naps to be had by all (probably only for 3/5 of us, but I can always wish). I got outvoted in the "Turkey or Ham" choice. So, I will make a ham this year with some good old dinner rolls, maybe a salad and of course, homemade cranberry sauce!

Here are some pictures of our feast and our great day together!!

I heard about a fun activity to do with the kids. We traced our hands and then wrote all the things we were thankful for on them and make this "Thanksgiving Tree" to hang in our house. It was a lot of fun and a good project for us. I am hoping that these will last and we can save them and do this every year.

Some of my favorites that they boys were thankful for "Daddy's flashlight in case of emergency", "the trampoline", and of course "Jayda".

Since it wasn't a big party today, we decided for our Thanksgiving dessert to make GIANT chocolate chip cookies! The boys thought that was "awesome". Never before have I seen them leave a cookie unfinished...perhaps they were just a bit too large.

Jayda was loving hanging out on Dad all day today. She was full of smiles!

Then, we decided, what the heck, let's put up the Christmas tree.

Tummy Time with Jaybird

2010-10-25T20:41:00.002-05:00

Pay no attention to the crazy woman talking in the background of this video. I'm just enjoying the fun tummy time with my girl!

Just another day...

2010-10-15T18:59:00.004-05:00

I've been having a lot of fun on my maternity leave getting to sew lots of things. I made these fun hats for the kids this week. The boys have been asking for them for the past four months, but having this "time" I was actually able to do it. The one for Jayda is still a bit big, but you couldn't tell from this picture!

This is a great video of her playing in her play mat. I feel like she is so awake and alert for only being 5 weeks old. She is a lot of fun and we are starting to get a routine down. I have just three more weeks before I have to go back to work, so I hope to get lots of pictures and lots of snuggle time with all three of my gippers in before then!

The Clevelands Photography

2010-10-08T12:56:00.005-05:00

A couple weeks ago we had the pleasure of having dear friends come to our house and take pictures of the family. Jeff and Jan Cleveland have their own photography company and came to do a newborn shoot with Jayda and caught these great images. Jeff gave me permission to post a few of these pictures.

Please check their blog out for more pictures and the fun that we had!

If you visit their blog, please leave a message, we'd love to hear from everyone!!

The link to the post is http://www.the-clevelands.net/2010/10/jayda-grafton-wisconsin-newborn.html

This was such a great shot of what our life is...dirty rugged tennis shoes and a sweet little pair of ballet slippers.

Quintessential Noah

People have asked if the boys love Jayda...this speaks to that very well.

Mama and Jayda

Micah was our helper that day, holding up the light maker (I know it has better name than that!!)

Love baby feet!

Sweet Baby

I dont' know what to call this post.

2010-10-01T07:52:00.004-05:00

The hard part of having Noah in school all day is that Micah doesn't have his buddy to play with during the day. (It's also hard because I don't get as many pictures with Noah in them!!)

Micah still enjoys playing on the trampoline, but instead brings Fred, his teddy bear with him. The video at the bottom of the page shows how they "play" together.

I attempted to get into the trampoline with Micah, but that was a bad idea. I ended up getting what I think is a cute picture of the boy.

Micah is showing how he would protect Jayda. I especially like that he is already dressed as the Dark Knight!

We were having tummy time, but afterward she enjoyed some time of just laying on the floor. She loves being free...no swaddling this one! She sleeps better and awake time is better when she doesn't have all those blankets holding her down!

Sunday was our first day at church. She wore this beautiful dress that Grandma made for her. Chris got her ready (I was so proud of him). He even put tights on her! Isn't she just beautiful!!

Okay...this is the video! It's awesome!

So much fun!

2010-09-25T19:50:00.002-05:00

We have been having a great time getting acquainted with our little Jayda these days. Learning again how to have an infant...changing diapers, going on not a lot of sleep, falling asleep with the baby on your chest!! It's been a great ride the past two weeks!

A friend of ours made this sweet hat for Jayda. It worked out perfectly to wear today as the first signs that winter is on it's way came today. She wasn't exactly a hat person, but she kept it on as long as it didn't go in her face.

Her umbilical cord stub (is there a better word for this?) came off, so we were able to give her the first real bath. She loves it! She is especially fond of having her hair washed...just like her mama!

I asked Micah to go upstairs and get his jammies on...this is how he came back. He does actually have underwear under his pants as well. He told me this is more realistic to what Batman would look like.

And this one is just cute. Both these boys adore their baby sister.

Until next time...

Noah Turns Six!!

2010-09-20T08:09:00.004-05:00

These pictures are all out of order of what we did for Noah's birthday, but it still works!

noah asked me to make an Optimus Prime birthday cake for him. Because I secretly love Optimus, I was okay with that...this seemed as though it turned out pretty good and I was awarded with "AWESOME" by Noah.

Present opening time...Got a new Wii from Grandma and Grandpa.

Brotherly love

Noah was very proud of the crown he got at school. He got to wear it all day

This was special breakfast time before school.

And REALLY out of order, singing to him!

Our family party at Chuck E Cheese. We had a great time!

For his special breakfast, he wanted something to eat that had the number six on it! This was what I could come up with!

Happy Birthday to my sweet Noah! Always so much fun and makes me laugh all the time! I am so thankful and blessed that Noah is a part of our family!

Love Having Pink At Home!!

2010-09-16T15:26:00.004-05:00

What a fun time we have had with this sweet little girl at our house! Who knew that Daddy would turn into butter (well, to be truthful, I anticipated that one!). The boys absolutely adore her and she is EASY! Quick everyone, knock on wood!

I asked Noah if he would smile and show me his teeth...this was the result. Love this kid!!

Chris makes fun of the bows that I have been putting in her hair, but based on this "rock on" move she's got going on, I would say that she likes them!

Close up of my beautiful Jayda

Noah is learning to read and it is so much fun to get to watch him practice and seeing the light come on is the best part of all! I was able to snap a quick picture of his practice session with Chris last night.

Again, the adoring and smitten brother. They just want to hold her and kiss her all the time. I wonder how long that will last? I just hope they always want to protect her!

(for those of you who get this as an email...the below is a video)

And then there were three...

2010-09-09T17:35:00.003-05:00

Chris took some great videos today of Jayda. So far she has been the most content baby I have ever seen. She loves to just lay there and look around the room. She has been wonderful and I am really enjoying this...don't know what is in store for me with a baby girl, but I think we can handle it.

And stats: Jayda Nicole born 9-9-10 at 7:17am via c-section, weighing in at 8 pounds 13 ounces, length 19 1/2 inches. Surprising Mom and Dad by coming 2 weeks early!

First Day of School

2010-09-01T10:36:00.005-05:00

Today was the first day of school for both of the boys. Noah wanted to ride the bus with the neighborhood kids, so that was hard, but not as hard as I thought...at least not for me. Micah was very sad that he didn't get to go on the bus with the bigger kids, but one more year and they will all be on the bus together.

This is a shot of Micah working at one of the "stations" for Pre-Kindergarten.

Because Micah was so sad when his brother left, we took him for a special treat at Starbucks...this is after a BIG bite of a doughnut.

The three boys getting on the bus.

Micah waiting patiently for the bus. He's just too cute!

Noah was super excited this morning. He woke up at 6:30am and just laid in bed because he thought it was still night time. The clouds made it seem really dark today. The rest of the house got up shortly afterward and he was dressed by 6:35am and bouncing off the walls!

The boys just waiting for the bus. A rainy first day of school was good. Made it a little easier when they had to leave. Not quite feeling so much like it is still summer.

He's so adorable!

They are so cute!!

And so it begins...if they are anything like their dad, we'll still be wishing them luck on their first day 30 years from now.

Fun at the Lake

2010-08-15T20:03:00.003-05:00

We were invited to a friends' parents house today. They live right on a lake, so we took these city boys out to experience swimming in a lake. It was great fun!

This is a picture just after they got back from riding on the jet ski. They really enjoyed it.

It look a bit of time, but they finally enjoyed swimming in the water. It was more like bath water as the lake wasn't terribly deep.

Can't get them to take a serious picture ever!

They also got to go tubing for the first time. I was worried they would be scared, but the whole time Micah just kept asking to go faster!

Just some shots from the boat...absolutely beautiful day! We finally had the humidity break and the weather was amazing today!!

Good times...

Maternity Clothes

2010-08-13T19:03:00.003-05:00

Now that I am down to the last 4+week of pregnancy, not only am I tired of the clothes that I have, but nothing really feels like it is that comfortable anymore either.

I am so grateful for my friend Sara at work, who searched online for maternity fashion and came up with this hot number...Who wouldn't want an expandable dress...now this is something I could get and wear now and later! Or maybe not...

Yikes.

2 wheel bike riding

2010-08-06T23:23:00.003-05:00

These are the spoils of our labor of love...we've had just a few tomatoes this year off our plant, but it's been fun to grow our own.

Wish I could say we grew the corn, but I was just excited the boys liked it so much!

I thought teaching Noah to ride his bike was going to be a lot harder, but we took him out to the church parking lot, I said "you've got to balance," to which he replied, "Okay, I think I've got it"...and took off! It's been a great thing and this was just one video I was able to catch of him a couple days after he learned. Note the swim goggles...apparently he is practicing to be Evel Knievel.

Fun with Neighbors

2010-08-03T22:13:00.002-05:00

Our neighbors are great. They invited us over for S'mores one night and had HUGE marshmallows. This was the aftermath of one marshmallow and Micah.

Oops..don't know how to make this picture right...Noah was just hanging by the side of the pool and they caught a cute snapshot of him.

Chris will get in the pool with all the boys (they have two young boys as well - one high schooler too) and throw them up in the air. Scott did a great job catching Micah being thrown in all the stages.

We really do have such great neighbors. They are a lot of fun and we all just enjoy being around each other!!

Chris...

2010-07-28T18:52:00.004-05:00

To the man who makes me laugh everyday...

who challenges me to think beyond what I know...

who is the most caring dad...teaching independence to them now.

To the man who loves basketball so much, he will play it even though it hurts.

To the man who loves cheesecake that birthday cakes are EASY to figure out.

Thank you for everything you are. Happy Birthday!!

Thank you for always posing for self portraits with me even when this is how they turn out...every time!

You are my favorite person and the one I always want to be with-no matter what.

Happy Fourth of July

2010-07-04T20:17:00.004-05:00

We spent a couple hours at Lake Michigan this morning. The water was SO cold, but the boys had a lot of fun. Every time I started to feel a little hot, I just got my feet wet, but all three of my boys got most of the way in the water.

I'm not sure what Noah was doing in this picture, but he loved playing in the sand.

Micah had so much sand all over him...he didn't even care! It just made me itch!

I'm not sure why no one would smile for the camera.

This was the view just before we headed down the long flight of stairs to the beach. It really is a beautiful lake.

Us...

2010-06-08T18:42:00.004-05:00

So I promised at least one family member that I would post a pregnant picture. I am 25 weeks today with Baby Girl Spotts. I am feeling it just a little more at night...and she really likes to push on my lungs. But, this is a joy to me now and always...

I love this picture of my boys! They are all too handsome for words! I think I am going to be in trouble with the ladies for those two little ones.

Some Happenings...

2010-06-05T13:31:00.002-05:00

We started a little garden. This is the boys trying to figure out if the plant Dad just planted makes sense...it's green onions. We got it figured out. Eventually.

They are both getting really good on their bikes and loving the weather! We get to be outside all the time. For the most part I love it! But, being preggo, Mama can always use some downtime.
Our tomato plant. It just needs 73-80 days to mature. I think I can wait that long.
They love to race. We have a great "track" for them to go on around our driveway.

Chris and I did a half marathon mid-May in Green Bay, WI. The boys came with us (a friend watched them for us during the race) and were very excited the morning of the race.

I love this picture of them. They crashed the right before the race. Which was good for us because we had to be up while it was still dark outside!
i love this little family that I have. They can be crazy and I can not understand the minds of little boys, but I wouldn't change anything in the world for them.

Boys Just Wanna Have Fun

2010-04-16T20:09:00.003-05:00

For Easter my parents gave us a gift certificate to take the boys to Chuck E Cheese. They had a great time. Here are a few pictures of the experience...

Last weekend I had gone running and along my trail I found a Nature Preserve. So, for lunch that afternoon, the boys and I packed up a picnic and headed over to walk the trails and see what we could find. Unfortunately, they just wanted to know where the toys were.

Micah told me the sun was hot on his face, so I gave him my sunglasses, which he then wore like this. Apparently it was just this part of his head that needed the blocking.

Although they just wanted toys, we were able to find things of nature that were appealing...these did eventually get turned into swords and had to be put down because someone got whacked in the head...but that's a story for another day.

I absolutely love this picture of them.

My pictures are all out of order...

I cooked a ham for the family on Easter Sunday. We had this ham for almost a week afterward, but it tasted sooooo good. Much better than the lamb I attempted last year.

This was a lot harder to get than you would think...boys don't like to pose for pictures. Especially when there is candy to be found.

Our front porch in their Easter best.

Fun Around the House

2010-04-03T10:41:00.003-05:00

The boys have been taking these blue monkeys every where we go. I'm not exactly sure why they do it or why they call them "monka's", but whatever, we just roll with it.

We dyed Easter eggs a couple days ago. They loved it. Chris surprised them and made the eggs say their names. They thought the magical eggs were the best!

The weather has been so nice lately, so Chris put up the trampoline. I won't be able to jump on it this year, but the boys LOVE to have daddy come on and play the "Steam Roller" game with them. It's fun to watch them all play...I'm not sure who is having more fun- Chris or the boys.

Every time I try to take a picture of the boys, they have to pose and do something funny...I'm sure this is what it will be like for my entire life with them...but they do usually turn out pretty cute and fun.

Micah has taken to wearing his Batman pajamas everywhere. Usually at least twice a week I have to force him to take them off so they can be washed. There are bigger fish to fry than what he chooses to wear, but seriously...he's got a whole dresser full of "fun clothes" and I tell him Bruce Wayne doesn't wear the Bat suit everywhere. For some reason, he isn't buying it. He also tried to tell me that he doesn't need to go to bed at night because Batman doesn't sleep- he fights the bad guys during the night time...

I love these boys with everything that is in me.

Maple Fest

2010-04-01T20:55:00.002-05:00

It sure has been a wild ride in the past few months at the Spotts' house. Sorry it's been so long since I've posted...partly I forget my camera every time we go somewhere (like the NCAA basketball tournament in Milwaukee two weekends ago)!!

Anyway, this past weekend we took the boys up to a YMCA Camp because they were having a festival (MapleFest...they make their own maple syrup there). Part of the festivities were horse rides for the kids! I, again, forgot my camera, but my friend Valerie took some shots on her phone and sent them to me...here is the adventure...

This is Noah.

And Micah.

Micah was a little wobbly on the horse, but when they told him to hold on, he would not let go of the saddle.

Noah did a great job holding on as well...he felt a little more confident up there and did give a little wave.

Pure joy.

Happy faces!!

It was a really great Sunday to spend together as a family. The weather has been great, so I am hoping for lots more pictures to post in the coming months...and maybe you'll get some growing belly shots too, but I make no promises there!!

Noah's tonsillectomy

2010-01-19T19:35:00.002-06:00

Noah got his tonsils and adenoids out on Friday. He was a trooper and has been a great patient (most of the time).

He spent some time coloring before they took

him to the waiting room for surgery.

Sitting with Dad while they check his vitals. The next picture shows how Noah was a bit goofy from the medicine they gave him to "calm him down" before being separated from Mom and Dad.

These pictures were after surgery. Micah wanted to be with Noah so much, so they sat together, eating popsicles and enjoying Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles...yup, TMNT is still alive and well...

Christmas is my favorite time

2009-12-27T11:24:00.003-06:00

This year the boys were angels for the Church Christmas Show. It was really fun to watch them perform. However, I'm not sure the really knew the words to "Away in A Manger"...they looked cute though.

The boys friend, Evan, sat with us for the show until it was time to perform. Someone asked if they could take a picture of all of us.

As is a Christmas tradition for many families, we open pajamas on Christmas Eve. I think you can tell by the pure joy that is on Micah's face that he LOVED the Batman PJ's he got...Noah got the same pair and I'm fairly certain that unless we make them, they won't take them off.

A show of their cute new outfits...shirts adorned with Super Hero's of course. Noah has Batman and Micah has Spiderman.

This was the boys showing off their Batman moves in the kitchen in their new PJ's

the Spotts family elves

2009-12-18T18:41:00.000-06:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Love these boys

2009-12-05T22:12:00.003-06:00

I have not been very good about posting and keeping up with what is going on in our lives!

Here are just three fun pictures I snapped of life with our boys. It is good, it goes by too fast, but we are loving every minute of it.

Although they look like Zorro, this was an attempt at making "Batman" masks for them with whatever black fabric I could find in my stash. They have a lot of fun with these still. And of course, capes are a must for any little boy. They choose blue if they want to be Batman that day or red if they are feeling Superman-ish that day.

Often the boys will wake up in the middle of the night and come to our bedroom. They usually end up sleeping on the floor and when I get up I'll let them get into bed with Dad. However, on this day, both boys were in bed and when I was leaving this is how cute they looked...

Happy Halloween! We had a lot of fun with these...and still do. Micah wears his Spiderman costume everyday...I'm not joking- he really does wear it everyday!

Soccer!

2009-10-03T16:03:00.003-05:00

I didn't realize how long it has been since I posted something. The boys have been playing soccer on Saturday mornings. It's been really fun. It's a skills session so they can learn and then at the end of each week they get to play short scrimmages.

However, the first week this is what Micah wanted to do instead...

Noah making a goal...YEAH!

Always important to do some stretching before the big game.

Warming up with some jumping jacks.

New School Year...

2009-09-13T20:33:00.006-05:00

Last week was Micah and Noah's first days of school. For Noah this was old hat, having already done this last year, but for Micah it was full of new beginnings. He is in the morning class at school and there are 14 other kids in his class. He told me the morning of his first day that he planned on making new friends, but didn't want any girls in his class...silly boy!

Noah giving his brother a big hug before school.

Noah is so excited. He got a new backpack this year with Bumblebee on it from Transformers.

And Micah giving his brother a big hug before school. They go on different days. Noah goes Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Micah goes Tuesday, Thursday. I wish I could explain the helmet, but I figure if he likes wearing it, at least he'll have it on when he is riding his bike.

The teacher sent us this picture of Micah's first day in school. Looks like everyone is having fun! But, seriously,when did they grown up enough to be going to school??

First Half!!

2009-09-06T12:37:00.004-05:00

Yesterday I ran my first half marathon. It was so fun! The course was beautiful and wrapped around a lake. Runners were very encouraging to one another. This is the just the beginning for me, I hope! Chris wants to do one in May next year, so that will be great to do one together!

This is a picture with my friends Josh and Liz. They do races like this a lot more often and did a phenomenal job! Josh ran it in 1:43 and Liz in 1:57.

Chris and the boys met me at two points during the course. It was very need family encouragement at those two spots. The first was at mile 9 at the top of a hill and the second was at mile 12. This picture was taken at the latter.

Crossing the finish line! There are two times you are given...one is "gun time" and the other is "chip time". You run with a chip on your leg. Then when you start/finish it records the EXACT time you did the race. My chip time was 2:11:02.

I took these next couple pictures just before bed last night. This is where I got my blisters. My socks had slipped down and my foot was rubbing on the shoe. They are pretty sore today...

This pic was just before I was able to clean it up. You can see the blood, but the blister is just really beginning to form.

Triathlon

2009-08-31T19:47:00.003-05:00

Chris competed in his first Triathlon on Saturday. It was so fun to be there. I got a couple good shots. We didn't see the swim portion, but caught the end of the bike and these two pictures of him running are at the end of the run.

I believe he is trying to say hi to the boys...didn't have the camera on the "sport" shot...

Chris trained for the event with our good friend, Todd. This is at the finish line!

These four guys [Peter, Todd, Chris and Zach] all worked on this event together. Great fun! On the far rights is our friend, JoAnn. We didn't know she was competing, but we ended up getting to cheer her on too!

Little Boys and Hornets don't mix

2009-08-22T09:24:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was a scary day for Micah. They were playing at the park/lake and he stepped on a hornet's nest. (who knew they lived in the ground??) Anyway, he got four bites/stings before Chris was able to get him away from the swarm...

Even with the stings, he is pretty goofy today...you can see the swelling in his eyes though. He got one right between the eyes!

This is his leg...more of a bite, then a sting

His chubby little hand- sting was on his pointer finger

This is his forearm.

Better shot of his face

Bummer little man...This stinks, but I'm glad to know he is not allergic to them!

Packer Fever!!

2009-08-16T11:06:00.007-05:00

We were the very fortunate receivers of tickets to the preseason Green Bay Packers game last night. Now, we've lived in Wisconsin for about 4 years now and have not been to a game and have worked very hard to understand this crazy thing called Packer Fever. But, after attending the game, I caught it...bad! I'm so excited about the season. I've even got the schedule posted on our fridge! It also helps that I already really like football. Anyway, here's some shots of the day!

The stadium at night is really beautiful.

This was a great shot of the boys yelling "Go Pack Go!"

This was our "tailgate"...we sat in some grass and had sandwiches.

Can't wait until next time!

Growing up...

2009-08-03T23:21:00.003-05:00

I have spent the past week being a little contemplative about my kids. They are in our care for such a short time and I really can't believe how fast they are growing up. So, I am just posting a baby picture of each and a big boy picture.

Noah is about 9 months old in this one.

Micah is about two months old here.

This was just a couple weeks ago.

I think I posted this one already...but I love it!

Too fast if you ask me, but I sure love these gippers with all my heart.

4th of July Fun!

2009-07-26T14:14:00.001-05:00

Forgive this being out of order!

We had a great 4th of July with friends. We had a cornolio tournament. I'm not sure what it's called ANY where else, because I've never played it anywhere else, but it's basically a bean bag toss game. My team was the "youth and wisdom" team. We came in second place! not bad for having never played before! It was a great day topped off with wonderful fireworks.

Anyway, these are some fun pics from the day!!

The Birthday Present of Joy

2009-07-26T14:03:00.001-05:00

Thank you to our parents who made this present possible! The kids LOVE it!!!

Cousins

2009-07-11T00:19:00.005-05:00

These are just some fun pictures of the cousins. I wish it were all the cousins, but I'm missing some..

This picture doesn't describe how funny this was...Stacy was playing fly-up with the kids...my dad would throw it (to her) and then they would all CHASE her around the yard. It was great!

Pretty princess, Nyah

Enjoying some cake together

With Ben at Grandma and Papa Mo's house

Papa Mo took the boys for short little rides on the back of his motorcycle.

The Hill family and The Spotts family

With Pierce Man!

Malia...

Colton

Kyleigh

Amelia...she looks just like my sister

Spokane...

2009-07-10T20:58:00.005-05:00

We went back to Spokane to visit our family a couple weeks ago. We had a lot of fun. It was a whirlwind to be sure, but these are just some highlights. If I could figure out a cool way to do the pictures like I've seen on other blogs I would do that, but it's late and I meant to post these two weeks ago!

The boys got new goggles and now need to wear them everywhere! This was at the airport the night we got back.

Micah and Grandma Pool watering the flowers

Our niece Nyah P

Fun in Coeur d'Alene

We got together with Elizabeth and pictured here are her twins...baby Eli was hanging back in his stroller. This is Grace and Isaac.

We had one slumber party with the Hill kids. This is Chris reading them all a story before bed.

Roasting marshmallows by the pool

Second day of the trip, Micah was getting up onto the diving board (they both LOVE jumping off it) and he tripped and gave himself quite a mark. It's healing nicely now.

My dad and Micah.

More marshmallows...with our friends, The Millers.

Noah and cousin Ben. They had so much fun together.

The boys swimming.

I took 200 pictures while we were in Spokavegas! I have many more of cousins that I will post next. Chris also played (and won!) in Hoopfest. So, when it's not midnight and I feel like I'm going to fall asleep on the keyboard, I will post them!!

Love to you all! Thanks for a great trip!

The "Hawks"

2009-06-11T22:12:00.003-05:00

What a great night we had! We had a little party at our friends house where all four boys (ages 6-2) got their heads shaved into Mohawks! It was so fun. i can't seem to get the pictures to move around this time, so this first picture is the finished product of all four boys...

Best Buds for everything!!

The Shearing...

Micah has very fine hair...and VERY BLONDE hair, so it's a little hard to see his hawk

I'm not sure why Noah looks so serious in this picture...perhaps he is trying to "play the part"?

I love how much Micah is laughing in this picture. He LOVED getting this done...

Before...I sure love his long hair.

The before of all the boys.

Lion's Gate Trail

2009-05-31T22:18:00.005-05:00

We had such a fun morning today. It was an absolutely beautiful day, so we hopped on the bikes and rode up to a nature preserve we just learned about called Lion's Gate.

This was entrance and the boys were so excited. We had no idea what we were going to encounter, but we knew it was right on the bluff overlooking Lake Michigan.

This was more toward the end of hiking. We made it all the way down to the Lake and for a good hour all three of the boys threw rocks into the lake. I will confess that I did it too, but it is such a fun fascination for the boys.

This was at the top of the bluff. You can see how far up we were from the lake. Micah didn't always quite understand how far was too far (for mom) to lean over the edge. Couple times I nearly made him fall from yelling BE CAREFUL

And, this was how the hike ended...good thing the boys didn't need to ride their bikes home.

On another note..there are times when your kids say things that make you so proud that they were listening to you. Usually it's when they remember to say thank you without having to be reminded, but this week it was a whole different level of proud for me. Micah and Noah were coloring in the kitchen and this was the conversation

Micah to Noah: "What's Tutu?"

Noah said : "Desmond Tutu"

I was making dinner at the time with my back to the boys, with a big smile I said,

"Noah do you know who Desmond Tutu is?"

His reply: "Yeah, he's the guy in Africa, right?"

They truly are sponges...I told him about Desmond Tutu about two months ago because I was reading about him and he asked who the man on the cover was...WOW!

Enjoy...

2009-05-26T20:56:00.003-05:00

It seems the days go by so fast...here are a few recents.

This never gets old. I love my family.

This bear is older than Micah. I think I was five when I got him from Grandpa and Grandma Withrow when I got my tonsils out. We still call him Fred.

These boys truly love being with each other.

Is this really coming back? I'm not sure I'm ready. Micah is however.

The 80s called and they'd like their "shades" back.

Early Mother's Day

2009-05-07T19:41:00.006-05:00

Noah's preschool class had a special Mother's Day Program at school today. I was lucky enough to be able to take the afternoon off (thanks to wonderful supervisors!) and spend the day with my boys....and some friends I don't get to hang out with nearly enough anymore. It was such a fun day.

Noah's class has six boys and one girl. I think in this picture they are singing about Springtime and the butterflies that come out. These are two of his buddies, Marky (in the middle) and Evan on the right.

This picture is of the whole class...

This is a cute video of a song they learned about FALL...

After school, we hung out with our friends the Webers (both sets) and the French's. This makes for six boys and two girls...however Madeline wasn't feeling well, so it was mostly a lot of boy time...

I'm not really sure what they were doing here, but it was funny to me

He just keeps growing up!!!

I snapped this just after telling him that this wasn't a good decision and it seemed like a "safety violation"...a new phrase from Lou and Lou Safety Patrol that we've picked up around our house.

Checking out the local Cedarburg bugs...lady bugs to be precise.

And just before the rain started to fall, the evening was topped off with pizza and strawberries! What a fun group...the great part is, they all really enjoy being together and playing...as to the parents so it works out for all of us!

Some fun times

2009-04-11T17:40:00.004-05:00

I had thought spring had come, but I was mistaken. We hit some really cold days and were forced back indoors, but today the boys and I went for a run. You'll notice it is very sunny, but the boys are still very bundled because it was only 34 degrees when we went out. Seriously, I thought it was mid-April...oh well, I suppose that is what life is like in Milwaukee...

After a very fun run, we decided to go inside and dye Easter eggs. This was the first time we have done this in our house since having the boys. It was really fun and they did much better than I thought they were going to do. They were very precise.

This was from a couple weeks ago, but we had a great time painting some things to hang up on walls. It was really fun, but the pictures have disappeared and they just painted the entire picture.

Officially Spring...we went to the zoo!

2009-03-24T20:07:00.003-05:00

One thing that I absolutely love about Milwaukee is the Zoo. We have an amazing zoo. It's about 35 minutes from our house, but so worth the season pass that we have. It makes trips like this one so fun! We went after church on Sunday for just a couple hours. It's a great trip!

One strange thing about the boys getting older is no more stollers and no diaper bag. Although knowing where all the bathrooms are located in the zoo becomes a new priority.

The lions were so close to us this time!

The Aviary is really cool here. The birds actually fly free in parts of it. So, the picture wasn't really on zoom...I was just this close. Another great part of the season pass...if the boys just want to see the penguins and the birds, we don't feel like we missed out on anything and can spend a lot more time in each space.

This will be a fun place to continue to take their picture. When I have more time, I'll find pictures from last year at this same monument. it's of a baby gorilla, but will show how big they have gotten in the last year.

Seriously...this is just about the cutest video in the world. Micah is adorable!!

Spring Fever!!!

2009-03-17T20:07:00.002-05:00

Believe it or not, but I think spring might actually come to Wisconsin this year. We've had a great stretch of THREE days...that's right THREE in a row where we didn't really have to wear our coats. Alas, I hear rain is in the forecast, but I'm good...

We took these on Sunday. Lots of play time outside. The boys caught the spring bug pretty bad! And, like their dad, they only want to wear shorts now.

I sure miss being home, but it makes the time I get to spend with them that much more important and special...I can't believe how fast they grow up. I didn't think it went this fast when I was trying so hard to be an adult...

A Day with a Girl

2009-03-09T20:09:00.006-05:00

We had the joy of watching our friends three year old daughter, Madeline, for a day. We had SO much fun. It started early on Sunday morning. Chris picked her up and brought her back home. We all sat down for some breakfast at which point she informed everyone at the table she was Hannah Montana. This is a huge contrast to the Superman, Batman, Spiderman conversations that usually happen at our house. but, the best part was "Hannah" then looked over at Noah and Micah and informed them they would be The Jonas Brothers...

After breakfast the kids headed upstairs for some good old fashioned reading.

We took the kids to Costco for a quick run. Can you ever do anything "quickly" on Sunday at Costco...with three kids? It was fun and the kids enjoyed it!

Chris having a great time sharing some popcorn with Madeline.

And what shoe collection would be complete if there were not a pair of light up pink princess cowboy boots. I was jealous all day!!

How cute is this??

We had a great time with Madeline yesterday. She is such a joy and the boys loved it. I didn't get a picture of this, but while the boys were building a fort to thwart the advances of Darth Vadar, Madeline was building a bed for the books and the Rescue Heroes...oh the many differences between boys and girls.

Different Life...

2009-02-07T16:54:00.003-06:00

Life is so different lately. Since I went back to work a month ago it has been a whirlwind. I thank God to have such "go with the flow" kind of kids. They just play and go where we need to go. Today was a fun day. I decided not to be on the go today. We had a grocery run, but other than that, we've just been home. It was a nice 48 degrees today, so it made for some fun (even though short) play outside.

The boys were excited to not have to wear big winter coats outside. We got away with just wearing fleece jackets!

When did this one grow up so fast?

Wait, I meant this one!

The day usually starts with them asking to watch a movie in the morning. So, they found what they thought were the best seats in the house. I couldn't resist snapping a couple shots while they watched "Snow Buddies."

I am thankful for this crazy life. I am thankful for the guys in my life that make every day interesting.

Happy New Year!!

2009-01-01T17:48:00.007-06:00

I start this blog with very exciting news! My friend Elizabeth gave birth to a baby boy on Monday morning. He is a beautiful gift from God. His name is Elijah Hope Matthew. I am filled with love just by looking at his sweet picture!! Congrats my dear friend! Oh, and I stole this picture off her blog, but I know she won't mind.

Yesterday was my last day of work at Starbucks. I will miss working there, but am very excited to start my new job with the YMCA on Monday morning. This will be a transition for our family, but I know the boys will love getting to be home with Chris and it's not all the time that boys get to stay home and be with Dad while Mama works.

It was early in the day and Micah was hitting the Sierra Mist pretty had. We knew then we were going to have a crazy night ahead of us!

Five families took our eight kids, all under 5, bowling for a couple hours. It was so fun. It was the first time either of our boys had been bowling, but Noah hasn't stopped talking about it. These are just a few pictures from the excitement!
Noah and Evan.

We knew Micah was having a good time when he copped squat in the middle of the lane at the bowling alley.

Micah loving on Daddy.

Daddy helping Micah get the six pound ball down the lane. Micah bowled really well that night. He even got a couple spares.

Noah showing his hook. He also had a great game. But, I think the bumpers down the gutters would really help anyone, am I right?

Here Evan is explaining basic physics to Micah on how to get the ball appropriately down the lane to get a strike...which Evan was successful at doing.

After bowling, we headed to our friends house for dinner, drinks and merriment. We had such a great night as evidenced by the party hats and horns to ring in the new year. Again, you see how Micah is hitting it hard...he is wearing a bowl on his head.

Oops, out of order, but I don't know to fix that. This is just me with the boys at the alley. It was obviously a lot of fun for me.

My dear friend Jan got a new camera for Christmas. Besides the fact that she is a great photographer, the camera also takes nice pictures. So, thanks to Jan for documenting the evening because otherwise there would be no evidence of the night, I forgot my camera!!

Happy New Year Everyone! Looking forward to a great one and a very big birthday for me!!

Hint hint, Chris...that means you should have a party for me.

Christmas Morning

2008-12-25T15:45:00.004-06:00

We have had a relatively quiet day today. Unable to go back to Washington to visit and no other plans for the day, we spent the day lounging and relaxing.

The morning started early and with much excitement that Santa had come, but Chris first wanted to read the Christmas story to the boys. The picture is of him reading, the next is of the boys saying their "favorite" part of the story. Pretty cute...we've been working on that for a couple weeks now.

Opening presents from family.

I'm not sure if this look for Noah is terror or excitement, but either way, he's been having a lot of fun with his new trucks and cars today. This mat is a scene from the movie CARS. It's Radiator Springs and it's a fun playmat for all their new matchbox cars to race around on. They've also had a ton of fun playing with that today.

Well, I start my new job in about a week and Chris starts his new job in about a week, so we'll be enjoying the playtime, the snow and the fun of the new year starting. Thanks to everyone for prayers of support and encouragement over the past few months. Love to all.

Christmas Eve

2008-12-24T19:39:00.009-06:00

Today was a fun and relaxing day. I had to work the early morning shift at Starbucks, but I was able to be home shortly after 11am. We did some shopping (Santa comes tonight you know) and then hung out at the gym playing basketball for a bit of time. I think that might have been the favorite part for the boys!!

Here's a shot of both boys slam dunking the ball, with a little help from dad, of course.

I can't remember why Micah was crying in this picture, but it was too cute not to post. I think he has chocolate all over his face from the hot chocolate I brought home from work for the two of them. And, all this time I thought Noah looked so much like Chris, but I think he might be starting to look a little more like me...

Micah's favorite way to play basketball...just lay down with the ball...he's kind of a bruiser. Perhaps rugby might be more his style.

Noah's got some rad moves here.

If only the weatherman would listen. I keep trying to tell him that we have enough snow and we are certainly going to have a white Christmas, but it just keeps coming. I'm not sure how much more we can pile at the end of our driveway. The car barely makes it through as it is...

This second picture is Micah enjoying his Starbucks treat of hot chocolate while we wait for Dad so we can head to the gym to play some basketball.

Merry Christmas everyone...I'm sure we'll post more in the next couple days....

Holiday Cheer Part 2

2008-12-14T08:33:00.003-06:00

We put up the Christmas tree about a week ago. This year I let the boys help us out. It was really fun. Only one ornament was broken and I think that was more age of ornament than anything else. What was especially funny was that the boys kept putting the ornaments in the same place and often the same branch. So, we've moved some around since, but it was a lot of fun. Noah especially loved the star on top of the tree and could hardly wait to put it up.

And it wouldn't really be Noah if he was wearing pants.

The teddy bear, fondly called Fred, has been a member of our family since I got my tonsils out when I was five. My Grandma and Grandpa Withrow bought him for me while I was in the hospital. I've had him all these years and just got him out one night for Micah when he was scared and having a hard time falling asleep. Now, Micah can't go anywhere without Fred. It's pretty special for me to watch him with Fred since he means so much to me.

Holiday Cheer

2008-12-13T20:05:00.005-06:00

Chris is such a scrooge this time of year, but I have been having so much fun with the boys. The other day while every one was sleeping I got out most of the Christmas decorations. I put them all up, except the tree, and when Noah woke up, he came into the office and said, "Mom, I saw all the Christmas decorations up and they are beautiful." So, I am hoping that I will have two boys who love this holiday and are willing to go crazy with me!!

A couple years ago I quilted stockings for all of us in the family. I love getting them out now and the boys LOVE them. Noah even remembered where we hang them. We don't have a fireplace at our house, so we use some shelves, but that's a pretty good memory, I think, for a four year old...

Chris always hated the Nativity Set I had when we got married, so my mom gave me this one a few years ago. One thing that I really love about this one is that on each of the main characters there is a scene from the story AND everyone is wearing a quilt. Can't fit me much better than that!
I have been working on some sewing projects and one day the boys climbed under my table and got on the bookshelf and pretended they were sleeping on bunk beds. Of course, I had to stop what I was doing to capture that moment. They also were pretending they were the black and red SpiderMan...fitting who was wearing which underware.
We decided to do Advent Calendars with the boys this year. I'm not sure if there is supposed to be some sort of story each day,but they just love the cool pop-up tree and good chocolates they get each day. These are great calendars because we can reuse them for years to come because they are so sturdy and the openings are closeable (is that a word?)
Here is them on day one...Noah shows Micah each day which number to look for and helps him find it. It's a pretty cute thing to watch him be such a good big brother like that.

Been awhile...

2008-12-01T16:16:00.005-06:00

So, we decided about a couple weeks ago to foster care for a dog until a home was found for him. He was a really nice dog, but he didn't work for our family. He has found a new home. He certainly is a beautiful dog!

We went to a church retreat a couple weeks and one afternoon we just spent walking the grounds with the boys and it was so much fun. The video below shows what this picture tried to capture., my boys sure make me laugh.

Muscling...

2008-11-12T19:46:00.002-06:00

This is my first attempt at a video post, but this was a funny situation that was happening at dinner tonight and I couldn't help but share it with you all...

So Many Leaves

2008-11-05T21:53:00.002-06:00

We have so many leaves to rake these days. I can't believe it! The nice thing is that the weather has cooperated. It has been in the 70s or close to for the past three days, making it that much easier to go out and rake and the boys to play. We've got two beautiful red maples in our yard, but they are "late" in falling, so we are always cutting it close to leaf pick-up getting these taken care of. And I kid you not, most of the leaves fall in one day!

This is a picture of Noah "playing Monkey." That's how he described it to me so I would put him up in the tree.

This was the first year that the boys wanted to jump in the piles of leaves, so I captured a few of them doing so...

This is just a glimpse of part of our yard...can you still see how many are in the tree! It's November 5th for goodness sake!!

Africa...

2008-10-28T16:03:00.007-05:00

It has been many moons since I came back from Africa, but as we approach this holiday season I can't help but think of our two little boys that are there. I can't help but think about how much we have here and how little they have there. It is so easy to trust God and say that He is all we need when we have everything we need. The faith of the people in Swaziland is amazing and their trust in the Lord was inspiring.

This is one of our children, Mbongeni. His dad gave me this beautiful skirt and head wrap. I loved meeting their family.

I brought him a soccer ball. We had so much fun playing together.

We brought along a blow up globe to show them where we lived in comparison to where they were located.

This was a sweet little girl at one of the sites that we visited. She literally giggled the entire time we were there.

I miss my friends in Africa so much. I loved being there and the people that I met. I fell in love with them.

There is a song called "Africa" (strange, I know) by Paul Coleman Trio...it says, "Africa, I came to change you, but instead you changed me. I must confess that I came to frame you in a photograph, but you showed me why, you turned this heart around..."

One day...

2008-10-22T18:00:00.005-05:00

This is how my day started today.

But this was the look on their faces at breakfast...Micah loves oatmeal
Noah likes waffles and yogurt
Our afternoon snack was an adventure. I had seen on a TV show these peanut butter smiles for a snack and tried it out. The boys loved them. It's just apple slices with peanut butter on it and marshmallows for teeth. Of course they LOVED the marshmallows, but they ate the apples and pb too...
love having a snack they like...

Tagged

2008-10-22T17:17:00.002-05:00

4 things i was doing ten years ago:

1. I started college

2. Living in BJ Hall

3. Deciding that perhaps pre-med wasn't my thing

4. meeting my best of friends

4 things on my to-do-list today (i'm doing this late, so basically, it's what I need to do the rest of the night)...i had the day off work today, so my to do list is much shorter than normal.

1. Get my kids to stop pinching each other (that might take more than a day)

2. maybe take a relaxing bath and watch some TV

3. make dinner

4. view the employment section of the paper

4 Jobs I have had

1. Starbucks

2. Executive Assistant at QPL

3. Executive Assistant to Associate Provost

4. My first...McDonalds

4 movies I have watched more than once

1. Love Actually

2. Princess Bride

3. Braveheart

4. Bad Boys

4 Places I have lived:

1. Spokane, WA-birthplace thru college

2. Burbank, CA-first place after college

3. Arcadia, CA

4. Grafton, WI-home for now

4 Places I have been:

1. Swaziland-just this past summer, it's so beautiful

2. South Africa--WOW, I can't believe all the history here.

3. Victoria, BC--honeymoon

4. Mount Rushmore-just for kicks I put this one on here.

4 Places I want to visit

1. Ireland-part of my ancestry

2. Alaska-it just sounds cool

3. Argentina-i did a report on Argentina in college.

4. Germany-part of Chris' ancestry

4 TV Shows I watch

1. Criminal Minds

2. Lost

3. House

4. My own worst enemy (this is a new one)

4 Things You may not know about me

1. I like "boy" movies...like Bad Boys

2. I don't like guns

3. I bake and eat when I am stressed out.

4. I like run 3-4 miles a day

4 People I tagged are

1. Karla Schuh

2. Jill Cocking

3. Erin Oranen

4. Kaci Carlson

Fall Days

2008-10-12T19:07:00.006-05:00

When the trees start to look like this it makes me so excited for real fall. Today was a beautiful day, but it wasn't the crisp fall days I love so much. It was kind of sticky and 77 degrees. But, even though the temperature was warmer than I like for this time of year, I know that winter is fast approaching and so I won't complain.

Perhaps the east coast could have the midwest beat in natural beauty when it comes to fall, but I love this. I don't really remember the Evergreen State looking like this...

We went to a pumpkin farm today, but it had some things I don't remember at any pumpkin farms that I went to when I was little...

The boys had a blast.

They would stand and JUMP from the top and see how they did on the way down. I feel I got some great action shots.

The pirate ship was fun,but paled in comparison to the previous "obstacle course" pictures.

After the farm it was back to our friends house for lunch and pumpkin carving.

This just made me laugh.

Love these boys...

2008-09-27T22:08:00.004-05:00

We had Fall Fun Day at the park for preschool this week. This is a picture of Noah's class. They are all so funny. Five boys! The teachers sure have their hands full!

Doing some art projects with moms. Micah was able to participate as well. We collected "Pieces of God's Creation" and glued it to paper. It was fun to see what the kids wanted to collect.

A little picture trying to make Micah happy. He was upset for some reason or another and this made him smile.

Always goofing with Dad!

He just looks mischievous in this picture...but that's my boy!

Jump-o-lene

2008-09-24T18:50:00.004-05:00

The boys got a new toy for their birthdays from Grandma and Papa Mo. This is called a jump-o-lene. It's an outdoor/indoor toy, but they are having so much fun on it in these last few days of nice weather.

It's almost like WWF in there, but they can't climb to the top turnbuckle.

They enjoy flipping it upside down.

And more wrestling...

Happy Birthday Noah (a day late, but happy nonetheless)

2008-09-17T14:13:00.012-05:00

It's a sad day to realize that you can't find any of the baby pictures of your first born. This is the bad side of technology. Our computer crashed two years ago...apparently we lost all our pictures of Noah as a result. I did find a few however...

This is a couple months before he was born...I still had a lot of growing to do, but this I was willing to share.

He is about nine months here. This was his "bitter old man face" We can't figure out why he used to do it all the time, but he did.

For his birthday, we invited Noah's buddy Evan over to play for the morning. We had so much fun outside...one of the last nice days before the winter hits Wisconsin. Once that happens, we pretty much don't get nice days again until next July : ) Just kidding...or am I??

This is one posed picture I got the three of them to sit still for.

Apparently I was playing with Spiderman and Batman and these are some rad moves they have.

Grandma and Papa Mo are coming this weekend, so we are waiting to do a big birthday cake until they get here, but we made cupcakes together for our dinner birthday party at the Weber's house. Noah and I made and decorated them together. First time! It was so fun and showing that he is truly his mama's son, he picked chocolate cake and icing!

After the birthday song...

I really can't believe our little guy is already four. People told me that time would go by so fast, but I didn't think that sunk in until they were in high school and you wondered where the time went. Hopefully I will be able to find our electronic versions of Noah's baby pictures, but I am awestruck at how much he has grown up. He is quite a little man and working on outsmarting his parents more and more everyday! The two of them together is even more trouble!

First Day of School

2008-09-03T20:15:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was Noah's first day of school. He loved it. He only had five kids in his class...and they are all boys. For the first six weeks they will have a student teacher with them as well. Couldn't get any better! His buddy, Evan, is in his class as well. They sure seemed to have a lot of fun. Can't wait for more stories.

Micah really wanted to go to school too. So, we opted for the photo together. I love this picture of them.

This is a cute painting on the wall right outside Noah's classroom. Hopefully you can see the boys in the mix.

This is his class...one boy didn't want to take a picture, he just wanted to play. Mrs. Welzien is on the right and Miss Collins is on the left.

And this is what I watched the boys do this afternoon. Noah was teaching Micah how to play chess. Daddy is so proud. I'm not sure that any of the pieces were in the right places, but you've got to start somewhere.

Happy Birthday to me

2008-09-01T20:39:00.004-05:00

Today was a fun day. We spent the day with good friends. We had a playdate at the park and I got to go out to coffee with some girlfriends. We had a picnic and then early home because school starts tomorrow for almost everyone that was at the party. Labor day and birthday fell on the same day this year.

This is Noah's best buddy, Evan. They LOVE each other. They are both in the same class for school this year. I think they are going to have a lot of fun.

Micah with our friends oldest son, Jackson.

Chris always says it isn't true, but I think I have a gigantic head and pictures like this make me think it even more, but I thought since it was my birthday I should put a picture of the two of us in here.

Micah had so much fun today just playing by himself. He was fun to watch because he would just walk around and find different things to do and didn't care if people played with him or not. This was where I found him at one point. This is a small kiddie pop up tent that he knocked over when he was playing in it.

Me and Micah

Tomorrow is Noah's first day of school, so I'll try to post something in the next couple days, but he is really excited to go. He's ready this year...

Changing a 4-year olds worldview...

2008-08-25T09:49:00.005-05:00

We took the boys to see Kung Fu Panda last night. We didn't think too much about the fact that it was a Kung Fu movie (apparently the name didn't really kick in), but that's not the point of my story. We were on the way home from the theater and Noah asked if they could play outside. Sure, we replied, and then what came out next was a bit perplexing...

Noah: "Okay, Dad can stay outside with us and Mom, you need to go in and make dinner."

Dad: "Why does Mommy need to make dinner, can't Dad?"

Noah: "No, it wouldn't be fair. Mommy needs to make it."

Dad: "Why is that?"

Noah: "Well, Mommy's the girl."

WHAT! This is NOT something we promote in the slightest in our house. Needless to say, I had the night off from making dinner last night...it's probably one of those ways that God is showing us that the decision for me to go back to work and Chris stay home with the boys for a couple years ago is a good one!

But, Noah does say some strange things...he asked last week:

"Mom, can Miss Claire take me to Costco and buy me a surfboard so I can surf the perfect wave?"

a morning in Milwaukee

2008-08-18T12:48:00.016-05:00

We took a Saturday morning this week and went down to the much acclaimed Milwaukee Public Market. Having been to Pike Place, it was much different, but we loved it. I didn't get any pictures of the inside, but it was awesome. What we loved so much about it was that everything was local. Local coffee shops, bakeries, cheeseries (is that what they are called?). I so enjoyed the time down there. Then we went outside to the Urban Outdoor Market and had so much fun looking at the wonderful and creative art that is displayed. It was really fun.I didn't realize how very much I love the city life.

We wanted the boys to hold hands, but the decided if they just held each other's hands that was good enough. And, adorable for a picture. They really do love each other very much.
There was a great place to play right by the Milwaukee River. Not a whole lot of playing happened, mostly just looking at the river go by.
I love this picture because it captures the boys having so much fun with the fountain, but a great shot of this street in Milwaukee. There is a great place when you get off the freeway that shows the skyline so well, but I didn't have my camera out...next time.

Some cool arcitecture by Lake Michigan.

This really is a giant lake...

I can't figure out what the ducks were doing. I think eating, but it was still funny

Much needed music

2008-08-13T13:42:00.003-05:00

A couple weeks ago we had a special music at church that was amazing. The woman who sang the song was phenomenal and her boyfriend played the guitar along with her. I actually thought that he was a recording it was that good (and I couldn't see him from where I was sitting.) Anyway, it was one of those songs that hits right at the right time in your life. So, I got the information from the music director on the song and here's the link he sent me. The song is sung by Sean Smith; it's called "Shut out the World." (i think it's the forth song down on the list).

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=40418298

It's the Little Things

2008-08-12T15:32:00.002-05:00

Last week Chris redid our kitchen floor. Although Noah is trying his hardest to be the "cool kid" you can see how much our floor needed to be replaced. I don't like white linoleum...it just doesn't make sense, especially with kids. So, one evening while I was working late, Chris did the whole thing.

The new and improved kitchen floor. I love it!!

surviving boys

2008-08-03T14:12:00.005-05:00

I never thought much about what kind of mom I would be, but I think I've turned out to be a good mom for boys. I try to be laid back when it comes to the crazy physicality of boys, but sometimes I have to look away, like yesterday...

Chris told me Noah was "hiding from me." They had been outside playing while Micah was napping. So, I went outside and Noah pops up from the middle of a huge tree we have outside. I think he may be about 8 to 10 feet up there. He thinks it's so fun...yep, here he is...

Here's a closer up shot of him, enjoying the new toy...
And, then to get out, the boy JUMPS to Chris.

But, the reason I think I am good with boys is because rather than freak out for all to see...I was however, freaking out internally...I ran inside and got the camera. :)

Chris built them a ladder on the tree last night, but he laid down some rules...the first of which I made up...NO GOING IN THE TREE WITHOUT MOM OR DAD!

bedtime rituals...

2008-07-28T21:27:00.003-05:00

For Micah's second birthday we decided it was time to move him to a "big boy bed." This seemed the perfect plan. The boys shared a room so we got them this bed:

However, now that they have this new "toy" in their room, they can't seem to go to bed without a struggle. So, most nights we have to separate them. We left Micah's crib up, just in case, and Noah gets moved to the floor next to our bed until we go to bed. Most of this time they fall asleep in their respective places, but last night we went to get Noah up and he had dressed himself completely in my clothes before falling asleep. The boy never ceases to make me laugh out loud! Naturally, we had to get a picture of this!

Tandem tricycle?

2008-07-26T00:47:00.005-05:00

Grandma and I took the boys outside to play last night to run out some of their energy. We were just sitting enjoying the evening and the next thing we knew, Micah had climbed onto Noah's tricycle and Noah was carting him around. It was so funny. It was perfect and I don't know when I have laughed quite so hard. These truly are the days!!

What I love most about this picture is how serious Micah looks and how intense Noah looks. This is not usually how they are, but I suppose this was just such an occasion for these looks...

A Day at the Zoo

2008-07-22T20:11:00.010-05:00

Grandma (my mom) is visiting/helping this week while Chris is on a mission trip with the high schoolers. So, we took a day trip to the zoo since I didn't have to work today. It was a great day today! There was hardly any humidity...a rareity here in the midwest...and the animals were all out and playful...including my own.

This Milwaukee Zoo recently got a baby orangatan named Mahal. He is adorable. He's got kind of a rough story of how he got here, but we are just glad he's here and bonding with his surrogate mom.

This elephant is named Ruth. Our zoo has two females...Ruth and Brittany...interesting names for elephants
A giraffe's tongue is approximately 18 inches long. This was quite a site to see, watching this giraffe reach up to the branches with this REALLY long tongue. Then Noah tried, unfortunately, I did not get a picture of this.

Our polar bears are fun to watch. This one was in the "superman" position just before jumping into the water...

Fairly certain that I would never want a picture taken of me like this, but it was hilarious to watch the polar bear try to get herself under the water. Polar bears have around 4 inches of blubber on the bodies so they are VERY buoyant.

I wish that I would have been able to see the rhino when I was in Africa, but alas the zoo will have to do...and this was pretty close. Probably much closer than I would have been able to get in the African lands.

They have a Family Farm at the zoo. Today we got to see a cow in labor...we didn't stay for much of that. I figured the boys might be scarred for life at seeing a cow deliver a calf. So instead of a birth, we just got ice cream. Here's a picture of Grandma and Noah.

My boys loving their treat...Noah got rainbow sherbet and Micah got he old standby of chocolate chip cookie dough...that's my boys!

Rocks and summersaults

2008-07-19T08:13:00.006-05:00

My dear boys love to be outside. I count this as a blessing...except that whenever we are outside, they want to collect rocks. They find all sorts of great ones, but my purse or the diaper bag or pockets are filled with these lovely earth gems when we get home. I'm currently in the process of finding a good rock holder. This way I won't keep finding rocks all over the house. This was one place where they found a lot of great rocks, lucky for me, it's right across the street from our house.

Just next to our rock finding location is a great hill for running and rolling down. Noah has become quite the gymnast and was doing summersaults down it this time. It's not that easy to catch a good shot mid-sault, but these were fun and it reminded me of times when I would do the same thing...

I love this picture of Micah. I think he was looking at his pile of rocks, but was just at the best angle for me...i think this was shortly before kicking his brother or something like that. : )

oh what a day

2008-07-13T13:49:00.002-05:00

What to do with a Sunday that is mostly "free?" With Chris working at the church we don't often have these days. The contemporary service has been moved to Thursday for the summer and so today was a dog day out...speaking of dogs...she might not make it to the blog all that often since I seem to take pictures of everything else, but this is our trusty guard dog...Emmaleigh. She's almost 8. And that just reminds me that Chris and I have been married for almost eight years. We got Emmaleigh three months after we got married. She was just a pup and got us kicked out of our apartment, but she has been with us through every move and each new kid. She has seen her days of sleeping on our bed go to the wayside as we had to make room for new babies. But, I couldn't imagine a day without her here and I know the boys feel the same way. Chris on the other hand...

I was cleaning up the backyard and behind our garage we kind of have a small little dump spot for branches and what not that fell after the years pick-up was over. I think we may actually have an old Christmas tree back there, but let's not get into how clean I am...Anyway, I saw a bit of pink out of the corner of my eye and was shocked to find this little flower growing up through all the grossness of that spot. It kind of reminded me of the great work that I know is being done with me...Something I need to be reminded of from time to time.
And of course, I can't post without a couple pictures of my lovely boys...we had a family date to Starbucks today.