Alex's 10th Birthday!

It's hard to believe that our oldest is 10! Double digits! Scary! Time does fly and I feel that every day I am desperately trying to make the most of every moment and make as many memories as possible. Alex loves to read and experiment. The fingerprint kit was a hit!



I have tried to convince our boys, over the years, that a bought cake would be much nicer than any creation I could come up with. I have never been able to convince them that this is true. So every year I make them a cake of their choice. This year Alex wanted a ship with lego guys on it. Shouldn't be too difficult. Right?!? Well, lets just say the ship encountered some rough waters and leaned a little. Although, Alex never did notice.



I couldn't be prouder of my boy! Not only is he handsome, but he has a huge heart and works hard to be God wants him to be!




The cake tasted delicious! Of coarse Alex was the first to pick which piece he wanted and picked a part with his favorite mint candy.

To The River

Wow! Amazing things DO happen! Two posts in 2 days, not bad! It will likely never occur again. :)
I finally convinced Malia to sing while I was recording. She loves to sing, listen to music and "play" the piano. She has an incredible nack for picking up the tune to any song she likes. She is constantly asking to listen to "Sing, Sing, Sing" by Chris Tomlin or "EIEIO" on her kids CD. She absolutely loves the singing in church and her favorite music is definitely worship music! She is amazing to watch during the worship service. Its like she is worshiping her wonderful Maker. I had never seen a young child so innocently worship God, even though we have taught her very little in that regard.

We have a Hannah Montana CD in the Tahoe and every time we drive she asks to listen to the song "Butterfly". In this video she is singing "To The River" by Brian Doerksen.

Costumes! Oh the FUN!!

I'm a little late in posting pics of our kids in their Halloween costumes. We spent the evening with friends, carving pumpkins, decorating cookies and, of coarse, eating!
Malia was a very cute little ladybug! She didn't carve a pumpkin, but she loved decorating cookies and was upset when we didn't let her have as many as she wanted. She continues to love food, but for the most part has learned there is a limit.










Alex loves carving pumpkins, even though they're gooey and gross!

The snarly pirate, Morgun.


P.S. Apparently some people think I don't post often enough, so I'll try to post more often. Its always the last thing on my list. And as its always been my days are usually very full. Anyhow, if you (you know who I'm talking about!:) ), would make some comments I may just be inspired to post more often! :)

18 Amazing Years!

It's hard to believe that we've been married for 18 years! We are still not leaving Malia with a sitter so we made the best of the situation we were in. We decided to pull out the fancy china, dress up and prepare a feast! We all had an awesome time! And wouldn't you know as we were having dessert Alex had the guts to say "seeing as this is such a tasty meal are we allowed to lick our plates", with the most mischievious smirk on his face! So, of coarse that's what the boys did. Malia's response was "BOOOYS!" The kids took pictures of Martin and myself and even managed to get a few good ones, even though they barely got our heads on the picture! FUN TIMES!!!

Life's Hurts

Today is a very hard day for me. I'm missing my Mom like crazy! I wish I could talk to hear and tell her all about the cute things Malia does. Today is a day where I really could use another person in my life to support me and encourage me. Don't get me wrong I do have friends who do just that. But on days like this it brings to the forefront those people who should and could be that for me but choose not to. The hurt of having people basicly ignore the fact that Malia has joined our family,the people who do not congratulate us, don't mention her in passing. On days like this it hurts all the more! I tried to scan a picture of Mom and I together, but for some reason my scanner isn't working, and that made me mad! I did manage to find one picture of Mom when she was very ill. Its not one of my favorites, but it will have to do. Thanks for letting me vent. I know tomorrow will be a better day! Thank God for that!

PS: I did manage to take a picture of the pic I was trying to scan and was able to post it. Its my favorite of Mom and I. It was taken at my brother Ben and Alison's wedding, 6 weeks after Dad passed away.

Yucky!

Malia has learned a new word and loves to use it! Yucky! We finally served her something she didn't like! I know I sound excited, but its good to know there is at least one thing she will not eat. She doesn't like Wheat and Bran Shreddies. I know thats an "old people" food, but its still great that she doesn't like it! Not even with extra sugar added! In the past weeks Malia has also gotten fussier with what she wants to eat. She likes almost everything, but will pick breads over fruits and veggies. She becomes upset if we make her eat her fruits and veggies before she can eat other things. It helps to have the motivator " you can't eat this until you finish your veggies".
She has also been sleeping better this past week, which is awesome! She just went through a period of getting up frequently to go pee. I love sleep!

Summer Fun Sept 3 2009

Both my family and Martin's family had a shower for Malia which is greatly apprecitated! She got loads of clothes and even some toys. She was very excited at both showers! She loves being the center of attention.

What a busy summer! We're finally getting a few nice days now that the boys are back in school. They started school on August 27. Alex absolutely loves his teacher, Pat Bodnar, simply the best teacher ever! Morgun is a little more reserved about his teacher. He heard some kids say his teacher wasn't a good teacher so he was in tears the day before school. So far his teacher has proven that Morgun's fears were wrong. Malia has adjusted well to having the boys gone even though she often asks for them.

I'm not sure where to start with the happenings around here the past month. Malia continues to do well. She continues to wet her pants on occassion and has been waking at least twice a night to go pee. It seems to be somewhat of a nervous habit related to some insecurities. She has slept through the night a few times, but then of course I don't. My body seems to have formed the habit of waking at regular intervals. Malia's English is growing in leaps and bounds. Just the other day she told me to buckle in. A lot of what she says is difficult to understand, partly because of her cleft palate and partly her accent. She tends to add a "ah" or "sah" at the end of her words. The new owner at Osler General Store is from China and can speak Mandarin. Malia has found a special place in his heart. He thinks the people around Osler are just "wonderful" because there are quite a few families that have adopted. We have discovered a few things that make for a better day, such as making sure Malia has one on one attention for the first half hour after she wakes up from her nap. I actually persuaded her to go into the pool using a life jacket. So far she would only sit in the inflatable boat. She clung to the surf board for dear life, but loved it. Malia likes to be wherever I am for the most part. She will go play in the sandbox on her own which is wonderful. Its difficult to get things done with a 3 year old underfoot. Its been a challenge to keep up with the yard work.

We have 53 acres with trees around the perimeter which need to be tilled and kept weed free. I also have a large garden. Right now I'm waiting for the final produce to ripen before I clear out the entire garden. I'm going to wait until we have one good frost and then I'll dig out the carrots. They taste so yummy and sweet if I wait for that first frost. Its also amazes me how much extra laundry one little person can make!

We did manage to spend one beautiful day at Pike Lake with Wayne and Ruth. It was soooo relaxing and wonderful!! Good friends, good weather, content kids!! Life doesn't get better! Malia loved playing in the sand and spent most of the day playing contently on her own!