My Beautiful Days

No, I don't mean a conversation with myself.  I mean a conversation with Kelley.  She was my four oldest children's mother (so, if I were being technical, my step-children's mom).  She was killed in a snowmobiling accident when my oldest was 10 and my youngest was 2.  She was a phenomenal woman - a loving wife, sister, daughter, friend - and most of all, an incredibly devoted mother.  I often wonder what a conversation with her would be like. Kelley had one very beautiful smile, and my kids tell me she loved hats! I imagine that we would sit down with our cups of coffee and, all jealousy aside over both of us so dearly loving Monte, I think we would have a great conversation.   Kelley and the kids (from left to right) Iain, Colin, Ellis and Claire on the day of Colin's baptism. There are a lot of questions that I would love to ask her.  I would love to know what her dreams were for her children.  I would love to know where she e...

It's no secret that we've been gone from the blogging world for awhile now.  Life just gets to be too busy to keep up, especially during the summer!  So, instead of trying to catch you up on everything I've missed telling, I'm going to sum it all up in pictures and minimal words ... We cleaned out some of our cabinets to prepare for our kitchen upgrade ...  Ethan has had some fits ...  I planted our vegetable garden ... Ethan played with sidewalk chalk and got it all over his face ... We've taken baths ...  Ethan has run around the house in just his diaper (and LOVED it) ...  Ellis has played soccer (and has done amazingly great this season) ... Colin graduated from Kindergarten and refused to smile for the camera ... We took a family (minus Ethan) vacation ... We visited Wall Drug in South Dakota and posed for pictures with fake cowboys ... We hiked through the Black Hills ... We visited Mou...

Monte and I made a pretty big decision this year regarding Valentine's Day: we weren't going to hire a babysitter and go out.  Instead, we decided that we were going to make the day about celebrating our kids and showing them that this holiday doesn't have to be about the romantic love that it is made to seem, but instead we can celebrate the love we have in our families and, most importantly, God's amazing, unfailing love. Best.  Idea.  Ever. We had so much fun celebrating the kids, and from their responses, I think they had a lot of fun, too!  They all woke up to a small card and a gift box full of Hershey's Kisses - but little did they know that was the least of the surprises they were going to have. Shortly before they arrived home from school, I hurriedly made some heart-shaped cinnamon rolls for them to enjoy them as an after-school snack (and yes, I cheated and bought the ready-to-bake rolls instead of making them from scratch!). The cinnamon rolls be...

This past weekend was a really really LONG one.  You see, my husband was out of town on a fishing trip with some of his guy friends.  This left me home alone with five fabulous kids (which I truly am not complaining about - I gave Monte the go-ahead to schedule the trip!). The catch?  My baby is STILL sick.  It all started almost three weeks ago.  He was running a low-grade fever at his six-month appointment, so he never got his vaccinations.  The problem is that the low-grade fevers have not stopped.  I think, of the past three weeks, he has had a total of 36 hours of being fever-free.  It has been a hard road for my little guy and for his mama!  So, on Friday, I made an appointment to have him seen at his doctor's office yet again.  Talk about hard appointments to get through, this one was the worst!  They had to use a catheter on him to collect a urine sample (which he did NOT like one bit!).  They also had to draw some bl...

Just a quick update on life, pregnancy, kids and all fun things related. - I am almost 31 weeks pregnant and am growing quite a bit.  My brother, Tory, confirmed this by telling me I'm starting to look huge (thanks Tor .. you're the best!).  I didn't mind, I know he meant it lovingly!  :) - All of the kids are finally getting into their back-to-school routine and seem to be enjoying it.  Claire is in 7th grade, Iain is in 5th grade, Ellis is in 4th grade and Colin is in his second year of preschool (we enrolled him when he was three).  I am absolutely LOVING the structure that our new schedule holds! - Iain and Ellis are both in fall soccer and are enjoying it!  This hot-flashing pregnant woman is enjoying it as well, as it hasn't been too cold to enjoy their games! - I have successfully reached a point where it's impossible  for me to go through the day without getting something or another on my shirt.  Either I'm a lot more clumsy in my ...

Our bathroom is almost ready to go (in fact, much more ready than it appears in this picture) ... My awesome hubby and adorable son painted some pull-out drawers for inside our cabinets ... Claire was a villager in "Beauty and the Beast" ... Iain, Claire and Ellis enjoyed some pool time while visiting Grandpa and Grandma in Arizona (Colin did too, just not in this particular picture) ... We toured Luke Air Force Base.  This is Monte trying on a helmet with night vision goggles ... This is our whole family (including Grandpa and Grandma) at Luke Air Force Base ... We hiked near Canyon Lake and got some amazing photography opportunities ... That's our life in a nutshell.  So, how are you?!

If there's anything I've learned from being a mom it is the fact that fun can be found in the simplest things.  I remember back when I was in the fourth grade, my parents had just built a new home; my older brother, Tory, and I discovered the large box that one of the appliances was delivered in and we played for hours in that box!  Though I must admit that the box lost its appeal when Tory put me in it and stood it up straight (the box was much taller than me) and walked away.  Having to knock the box over when I was in it and take the brunt of the fall was not fun at all! One of the things that my boys have loved to play with is a huge styrofoam container that protected something our friend, Chris, had ordered.  When he had the container left over, he knew it was something the boys would enjoy, so he brought it over for them.  What they discovered in this is an instant hockey goal!  They've had a lot of fun hitting "pucks" with their "hockey sticks" (...

I absolutely love it!

What do you get when you mix two boys with shaggy hair and a step-mom with a shears (that desperately needs sharpening)?  Well you get haircut night, of course!  Two nights ago, Iain and Colin were victimized by my shears and they are shaggy no more!  Here is Iain saying a sorrowful goodbye to his shaggy hair (I have yet to figure out WHY he loves his hair so overgrown and out of control!). Colin didn't mind the haircut quite so much. When it was done, Iain was all smiles! All in all, I would say it was a successful operation! Beyond the new haircuts, a lot has been going on around here!  Monte and I just returned from a wonderful weekend away at a resort in Brainerd.  It was a great and relaxing time for us to be away together!  When we got home, we heard a great report from our babysitter and even saw some of the pictures of the chaos that reigned while we were gone, including this picture of Colin the warrior: I guarantee you I wouldn't want...