Ryland on Halle

"I love Halle because she is so silly and she makes me laugh. Her laughs are SO funny when she does this... 'heee-heee-heeee' (in a low growly/raspy voice) ;o)

She plays with me and dances with me and we have fun together."

Ryland, age 5

Ethan on Hope

"I love Hope because she is my bestest baby.

She smiles at me so much.

She makes noise in the morning so that I will hear her and run in

and grab her out of her crib. She smiles so big then.

I love Hope because I hold her and then she is happy."

Ethan, age 6

Tell me it isn't so?

We might have not one, but two roosters! Yikes.

These two are buddies; not sure if Popcorn thinks he's a chicken or if Pepper thinks he's a duck.

Bob the bull-frog is our newest pet.

And we cannot forget about Slimy. He's such a great snail. "He's not even shy!" says Ry.

Savoring the last

"littleness" of Aidan. How I love his creativity and curiousity. I could never tire of watching him spend his free time creating fun for his brothers and himself. What would I do without this big helper, this sweet lover of all things "super-hero". He has such a great nature that desires to save and protect. I feel like I am grasping a bit, pulling him close and encouraging him to continue to enjoy life, not caring if other people think his newborn blankie cape is silly. :o)

We've been reading the Chronicles of Narnia together as well as listening to them on CD in the suburban. He asks in the morning if we have anywhere to go that day and makes sure that he will be my errand budy if we do, so that we can listen together.

I'm amazed at how he truly "gets" things at this age. Despite the fact that he's still sweetly innocent, he is understanding the way CS Lewis is presenting Biblical truths through his fiction. He said "Mom, pause it! The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is showing us how no matter what awful trial we have to go through, things are never as bad as they seem, and like Aslan, God is there for us, wispering 'Courage' to us when we're afraid." YES Aidan! I love that boy!!!

Aidan Jacob, age 8

Boys and girls

I just love having both boys are girls. I found this sitting on the window sill during quiet time. Little things like this make me smile. T~Bella having fun with one of the boys batman toys; she must've decided he needed the adornment of her blingy hair-clip. :o)

1st Birthday Party

Hope and Halle's first birthday party fell on a VERY warm day. Schedules were full and the timing wasn't easy, but celebrating these precious little miracles 1st birthday was a joyous event none-the-less! Our princesses were adorable in their silly hats mama had to buy them to wear each year. :o) They loved their cake! And of course during the singing Hope swayed back and forth. Halle kept trying to grab Hope with a fistful of cake as if to say "Look at this great stuff sissy!"

The cute birthday girls! You can see T~Bella and Graci playing together in the background, holding hands of course!

What is that on your head Hope?!

The boys in their pink princess party hats were a sight to see. They had so much fun celebrating their little sisters special day. More celebrating to come next weekend because several family members couldn't make it this weekend. The girls scored some adorable outfits, twin baby dolls

and a stroller, swing and playpen for their babies!

Of course T~Bella was thrilled with the girls' new toys! Chad made a sweet and fun slideshow of tons of the pictures of girls with 1 song for 0-6mos and then another for 6-12. It's amazing how they've grown and how healthy they are now! Praise God! Halle decided to wait until everyone left, and then Ed and Jan came over when they got home, to take her first steps! Four to be exact! I will post their 1 year pics later today...

Where did April go?

I can't believe it is May and it's been nearly 3 weeks since I've posted here! My friend Toni emailed me, nudge, nudge... :o) So what have we been up to? Dance classes, TaeKwonDo, several birthday parties, social worker visits, counseling appointments, scrapbooking retreat (me) and camping (Chad and boys), homeschooling, crafting, trampoline jumping, duck and chick tending, nature walking, TONS of baby carrying all while 7 kids had 2 different colds in the last month. Argh! We also have an ornery pregnant kitty and the kids (and I!) cannot wait until she delivers!
Here are some pictures from the last month or so...

Choc chip letter pancakes with whipped cream! Doesn't get much better.

Crazy but wonderful!

These deer found their way into our backyard!

Halle is nearly walking now!

Angel catches a big fish!

Doing the dishes just got a little bit harder.

T~Bella with her twins. Their names? Halle and Hope of course. ;o)

I never got to the girls 11month post but the above pictures were taken then. It is so hard to believe they will be one in just ten days! Wow! Tomorrow is an important court-date and your prayers are appreciated.

Chad will get on tonite and post pics of their camping trip. I wish I took pics of my retreat. It was wonderful but I had my nose in my scrapbook the whole time! It was worth it. I came home with ALL of 2007 in an album and the beginning of 2008. The kids loved it and it was the fist time T~Bella and Angel got to see their pictures in a family scrapbook. I think the two nights of 5 hrs of sleep was worth it! Plus it's a good thing to miss your kids. Thank-you to Grandma Sharon for her wonderful care of my sweet babies!!!

As a side note this is where we stayed. It is owned by SPU, so being an alumni it's very inexpensive to stay there...

"In 1890, the U.S. Army opened a newly built fort that was to guard the entrance to Puget Sound. Located on Whidbey Island, the fort was named “Fort Casey”in honor of Brigadier General Thomas Lincoln Casey, the last U.S. Army chief of engineers. Fort Casey became part of the “triangle of fire,” along with Fort Worden and Fort Flagler, and its big guns were first fired on September 11, 1901. Within 20 years, Fort Casey was the fourth largest military post in Washington, housing 10 officers and 428 enlisted men.
The Army used the fortification until World War II and, when Fort Casey was decommissioned in the 1950s, Seattle Pacific University became the property’s owner — updating and renovating the buildings for groups like yours. Today, SPU continues to welcome school groups, churches, nonprofit organizations, and outdoor education classes to this remarkable historical site.
Known as “Camp Casey” by its many returning visitors, Camp Casey Conference Center continues to offer groups like yours the ideal place to reflect, excel, discover, and grow."

http://www.spu.edu/depts/casey/

Ducks and Chicks!

We got four new chicks and 2 ducks a few weeks ago! They are just so much fun. Aidan is their primary caregiver, under Chad's supervision, but we all get daily cuddles in. Unlike our last chickens, these will not be free-range enjoying the bugs and worms on our 2/3 acre as well as two ajoining neighbors! Because of some not-so-nice (okay maybe just hungry) racoons, they'll have to stay in their pen. We did already have a baby chick die from being smothered, we think, so we bought one new chick and one duck. We couldn't just buy one new baby because it won't be ready to join the bigger ones until it can stick up for itself. So Chad built a little pen within the big pen. I was hoping for a pen in the garage so we could hold them more often but he reminded me just how messy ducks are. They spray their water all over! I cannot find the many pictures we've taken, but are a few pictures of our sweet new duck Popcorn!

Missing the sun...

That 80 degree day on Saturday was SO nice! But the rain is gorgeous too~you can't really loose living in WA. I was in a training on Seattle for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. It was a great training and confirmed my thoughts on the girls. They are not showing any of major symptoms of the disorder but may be low on the spectrum someday. I'll be going to part II down in Kent. There is so much to learn about FASD; this first training was 6hrs and just a start. It is the leading known cause of mental retardation and yet it is 100% preventable. Whenever a mother is using drugs she is usually drinking as well, so Hope and Halle were most likely exposed, but it depends on the timing and frequency.

About the sun, Chad got some sun while mowing; he got all the back and front yards done! Hope and the boys were with Daddy and Halle, T~Bella and Angel spent the day with Grandma Sharon and Nana. They made cinnamon rolls and went to the park. No pictures from that day but here are a couple of Hope watching the rain fall on our deck this morning. She also spotted a woodpecker and a pair of squirrels! She's our music girl, but also our nature girl, I think. :o) Ethan found this bonnet and put it on Hope. She didn't even try to take it off! Halle would've likely ripped it off and crawled over to the trash can.

When you say "Hi!" Hope waves.

Check back tomorrow for an 11 month update and pics of the girls. And later today I am going to post about our new chicks and ducks!