mops time of year

The past few nights my poor husband has been neglected and frankly tired of hearing the sewing machine (it makes a wicked noise through the floor). Above are little pouch wallets I made as favors for the members of the MOPS (Mothers of PreSchoolers) steering team. We have our marathon planning meeting tomorrow. The theme for the year is "Fresh Air: What Every Mom Needs". Flowers are the main visual. The pouches carry a few packs of gum and a pen. Below are a few of the baby gifts (we have newborn triplets and a few moms still pregnant) for this year. We usually add lotion or bubble bath as well.

Once I finished the sewing components, I tackled the centerpieces. This took me a little longer than anticipated. We have 6-7 tables every year. I hate decorating differently every week, so I went for a centerpiece we could use all year. These are pots with flower pens. I took the logo from the website and decoupaged it onto the pot, then painted the rims blue (not quite as baby blue in real life...my flash is doing weird things). Then came the task of making 60 flower pens. I'm not even going to tell you how many hot glue burns I have! Use black beans as "dirt" and 9 hours later you have centerpieces. I'm soooooo glad MOPS is starting up again! Not really sarcastic about that either. MOPS has to be one of my favorite pieces in my life. I know I will be glad that I made these when I DON'T have to make them for every meeting!

babies

Abby must be he coolest 9 year old ever. All the boys wanted her this weekend. Granted, the boys are 3 and 1. We were graced with a visit from the Ashland Fultons this weekend. Its always fun to have another baby in the house (it was fun to have Ben and Janielle too). We also made a road trip into KC to see Kerry and meet up with Mom. It was a busy weekend, but one of the best I've had in a while.

Last vacation post, promise. I guess I just wanted it to last a little longer. Sigh. It's amazing how much you can do in a few days when you are out of town. There are about 60 more photos of this vacation that I have sitting on my hard drive! The picture above is from "Mass on the Grass". We arrived in Breckenridge to attend this quaint little Episcopal church only to find out that they were not having normal services, but instead they were having their annual outdoor service. This was one of my favoritethings about this trip. I mean look at that vista! How much closer to God's awesome creation can you get?! Yet another suprise was that the Bishop of Colorado was presiding. The music, the fellowship (great potluck after the service), and the spirit were amazing.

The next day, we took a tour of the Lebanon Mine in Georgetown. This was a steam engine ride to the mine and then a tour of the quarters. The kiddos wore hard hat and we went into the silver mine. The temp in the mine was 45 degrees and there was water running from the rocks. We all thought it was great, except for when Will bumped his head on the ceiling (the average miner was only 5'5). Instead of taking the Eisenhower tunnel we opted for Loveland Pass which took us to the Conntinental Divide. All in all the trip was a blast. Spending time with my precious brood was the best of all. It doesn't really matter where we go as long as we go together!

blue river

The days we spent in Breckenridge were filled with shopping, trolley rides, and ski lifts. Where do you think they wanted to spend most of their time? Wading in the Blue River in the center of town. This was an everyday occurance for us. The girls went right in, walking around and jumping from rock to rock. Parker, however, realized that the river is fed by SNOW and therefor is bone jarringly cold! This is about as far as he would go. He would stand there for a few minutes and then get out. Warm up. Get back in for a few minutes. I wish I was quick enough to get the expression on his face the first time he waded in. Reminded me of when he ate ice cream as a baby (remember the cold face)!

One of my favorite moments was when Parker would pick up a handful of rocks, stretch his other hand out to me, and sit on the edge of the stream throwing rocks in the water. This was one of my favorite things to do as a young child. It was great to see the joy on his face as he hurled the pebbles into he running stream, watching them be wisked away. We did this almost everyday and he laughted out loud every time. The simple joys and childhood memories.

rocky mountain high

Just got hoem late last night from our vacation in Colorado. We travelled around a bit, but we stayed in Frisco, Colorado which is right on this magnificent alpine lake. What a way to wake up each morning. For those of you who remained in the midwest last week, you may want to quit reading now. The weather was amazing. The warmest day was about 76 degrees with no humidity. The clouds rolled in over the peaks at about 4pm and cooled the temps to about 65. We were driving home and I managed to make the run from Frisco to almost Limon without stopping. It was a rude awakening to step out of the car in Limon and have my sunglasses fog over! Almost sucked the wind right out of me! Look for more posts this week, because I have a ton more pictures to post and stories to tell!

update on Will

Just thought I would post an update about Will. He was diagnosed today with Ulcerative Colitis. It has made him pretty sick for the past month or so and caused him to lose about 20 pounds. The good news is that its very treatable, but includes taking 3 horse pills three times a day. Thanks for the concern and prayers. They were all appreciated. The doc says that he should be up and running...ok up and walking in a few days. Glad to have you back babe.

jungle baby

The latest attempt at sewing yielded this blanket for my nephew David. Lightwieght and soft. I love the satisfaction I get with a completed project. Unfortunately, I have a hard time quitting before I'm finished. This has led to some late dinners and even later nights.

rub-a-dub-dub

...two boys in a tub. I forgot that I had taken this picture while we were down at mom and dads with Janielle and David. They truely had a good time playing with bath toys and bubbles. I feel so blessed that the boy cousins are so close in age. They really are starting to play together. Something tells me that "Mutt and Jeff" will be a formidable duo in the future. For now, toe headed cousins in a tub is a precious site.

hot, hot, hot

For anyone reading this blog who is NOT under the dome of heat, its a little warm hear. That is, if you consider 105+ degree heat for the past week to be a little warm. The humidity rockets that temp to over 110 degrees almost every day. Forcast says it should cool off...oh how I long for the days of 95 degree bliss. The only thing we have done is shop, craft, and swim. The trampoline and swingset only see use before 9am. We are lucky to have such gracious friends in the Jacksons. Rosie is Abby's best friend and Parker (yes another Parker) is only a few months older than our own Parker David. Laurie entertained my brood for the past few days...thanks friend! Sorry, no pics of me in a swimsuit...the benefits of being the photographer! Here are a few ideas we have used in the past few days:

1. Swim (obviously)
2. Teach myself how to sew...going ok, but a little sloppy still
3. Get that pesky school shopping done
4. Discover the joys of playing on backyard toys at 10pm
5. Driveway cocktails with the neighbors
6. Take a nap...ok, maybe not, but its a great idea if you don't have three kids
7. Freeze watermelon and cantelope...fun cold treat
8. Think cool, icy, chilly thoughts...I've only had limited success with this one...too hot!

Stay safe and cool evryone!

latest project

The kiddos were thrilled to see the sewing machine out this week. We all went to the fabric store and the kids picked out their own fabric for mini blankets. My children must instictively know my skill level, because they asked for these baby blankets. Parker needed a blanket for "dogs and boys", not be left out. I'm not sure if anything simpler exists. The American Girl dolls were pleased as were the kids in my house. Too hot to do much more than craft and swim...blog pictures of swimming adventures upcoming!

purple

I swear I can never have plants that look like this. My friend Laurie has the most amazing plants I have ever seen. The purple on this plant was amazing. Just thought I would leave you with the image...and my gardening envy.

first try

I finally got the sewing macjine out of the basement closet and tried it out. I have to say, I have been a bit frightened by the prospect of sewing. I'm not sure why exactly, but it has had a grip on me for a while. Fear step aside because now I'm sewing. Not only did I get the machine threaded and working, I made 7 burp clothes and all three kids little wallets. Not the work of Kerry or Jan (thanks for the inspiration), but not too shabby for a first timer! I think I may have the bug. Sorry Will...Parker may have some long days at the fabric store ahead of him.

i love my sister...really

This pic was taken while we were "camping" with bubby in Nebraska. I put camping in quotes because it wasn't exactly the roughing it type camping we did at Sky Ranch growing up. We had bathrooms in our cabin for crying out loud! I remember walking a quarter of a mile at night to go to the bathroom in Colorado! And the food wasn't anywhere near as wonderful as it was in Nebraska. But the time was there. The uninterupted-by-cell-phones-and-modern-conveniences kind of time. The girls actually sat down to play a game of cards. I don't even think there was much cheating involved. I look forward to these brief moments away from the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives.

under construction

I am trying to personalize this site a little more. Trying being the active word. So if you click on this page and it looks a little different evry time...stay with me. Any hints on how to add html images to the headers of these would be welcome. Also responses to how it looks in the coming days. I may need a lot of prayer. After an hour of messing with this and experimenting, I am done for the night. Thus, the plain white blog page. Sigh.

it's done

Our latest construction project is finally finished. This pergola has been Will's pet project for the past few weeks. It provides some much needed shade for our patio. We had a handyman come in to do most of the heavy work, but Will had pretty close supervision over the whole project. I say super"vision" because the vision was all his. I swear I had no idea what this thing was going to look like until it was finished. I am VERY pleased by the results. I plan on putting up some hanging baskets and lights. Tha's my department. Onward to painting the exterior, interior, and upgrading the kitchen with tile and slate. God only knows when that part will be done. I love this stuff, so I doubt we will ever be "done".

fabulous fourth

Alright, I know this is a ton of pictures, but we had a realy great fourth of July this year. Morgan and I got up early and went to a special service here. It was great to celebrate the birth of our nation in such a grand way. The music was amazing. I love spending one on one time with my little red head whenever I can as well. Speaking of red heads, isn't the duo above just too much? That's Daniel there with Morgan. They are friends of ours and Morgan has danced with Daniel for the last several years now. We tease them about being the long lost twins. Daniel is a year and a half younger however.

Parker had the time of his life. Gone are the days of being terrified of the fireworks. Our neighborhood started setting them off as early as Friday. Parker was in heaven. The loud noises, the colors, the smell of the smoke bombs. He loved every second of it. We spent most of the evening with our neighbors. Parker even managed to flirt with the teenage girls who live next door. They spoiled him rotten most of the night.

Abby on the other hand, still has a very healthy respect of fireworks. The loud noises still bother her quite a bit. That meant she stayed at my side most of the evening...not a bad thing. She seems so grown up these days, a little bit of snuggling from a scared nine year old reminds me she is still a little girl and not a 17 year old. What can I say...good food, good friends, and fireworks. Wish you were here dad...thinking about you on this day (and all other days as well).

nebraska fultons

We had a great trip to Ashland Nebraska this weekend. The Nebraska Fultons were great hosts. We had a great campfire on Friday night, swimming and sight seeing on Saturday, and I never get enough of that little David Aaron! We even had fun with the manual labor Ben volunteered us to do (landscaping the back of the Swanson Center). I thought I would add this great picture of Ben and David since my broter has been soooooo good at updating his own blog (ha ha Benny Boy)! We had tons of fun. More pics are available at flickr. Just click on the flickr button at the right!

self portrait

I have recently received a variety of comments about how I am never in the pictures on my blog. Well this one is all me! What can I say, its a perk of being the photographer. So here it is. A self portrait. We spent most of yesterday and today at Laurie Jackson's pool. Thanks for the hospitality Laurie! Summer is officially here.

natti

We were graced with a visit last week from Natalie. She flew in from LA and we had 6 days of fun. Makes me wish she lived in the midwest! Nat is Morgan's godmother and they were inseparable most of the week. Thanks for the fun, the laughs, and the memories Nat! Come back soon!

my favorite poeple

These are my four favorite people in the whole world. How amazingly blessed I am. The baby blonde boy ( I know he's not much of a baby anymore), the snuggly and cuddly and radiant red head, the smart and sensitive brunette with curly hair, and the tall one with no hair ( I like him an awful lot). God has placed these blessings in my life and I will be eternally grateful. Life is so full of wonder and light with a family. I don't know if I could ever be happier than I am right now.

sprinkler fun

Nothing better on a hot day than a sprinkler, a slide, and your imagination. Hours of fun and it waters our grass. I love summer!

ballet camp

The past few weeks the girls have been taking 3 hours of ballet 5 days a week. Pretty intense...that's what I thought. But the girls wanted to go so bad everyday, I thought they must be having fun. Yesterday was parent watch day and the last day of camp. I was stunned. After 4 years of ballet I think they learned more in the past 2 weeks than they had in a semester last year! The teachers were amazing. They did ballet (an hour and a half), jazz, nutrition, and ballet history. The joy of dancing was in their eyes. That is something priceless.

garden by a 7 year old

Morgan watches me blog quite a bit and wanted to add her two cents. These are pictures she took of our little flower garden (notice the finger over the lens in the top pic). The bananan tree (on the right) was a birthday gift she received from a gardener friend of ours. It was just a baby at the beinning of the summer. Below is the stepping stone she made last week. This was our first try, and mom didn't get the cement at quite the right thickness. Perfect mosaic placement though Morgan!

a very eddy weekend

We were graced with the company of the eddys this weekend...however short the stay. No matter how long they visit, the time seems to fly by. This was a quick reunion trip however. The girls can't seem to get enough of aunt kerry. Come to think of it, they never have been able to get enough kerry time. I remember driving to Manhattan to see her with Abby as a toddler. She would scream with joy when she saw her aunt. I dare say that toddler will be taller than her aunt in a year or two.


Uncle Clark was a godsend with Parker. I think Clark may be the only person I know who has enough energy to keep up with the three year old boy. They jumped on the trampoline for almost 45 minutes (not as easy as it may sound...jumping like that makes the legs feel like jello). I wouldn't have put down a bet as to who would get tired first. I think they ended up with mutual exhaustion. Thanks for everything Eddys. We sure loved having you and can't wait till you're closer.

we heart iwig

We love Iwig Milk! This is hormone free milk that is from a dairy between Topeka and Lawrence. It comes in the old glass bottles and the taste is unbelievable! We get the skim, but it tastes better than most 2% and is a ton fresher. We even get $1.50 (half the price) back when we return the bottle. Our family goes through about 3 gallons of milk a week. The hormones and preservatives my family was taking in gave me the creeps. Especially my little girls. This was a great chance to support local commerce and give my family better nutrition at the same time. Just for fun they have chocolate milk, root beer flavored milk (tastes just like a root beer float), and strawberry milk. The even have a milk called cream top that is pasteurized but not homogenized. I haven't gotten up the guts to try that one yet. This is definitely a benefit of living in Kansas!

girls in white dresses...

These pics were taken at a friend's wedding a weeks ago. Morgan and Parker were looking at the camera like they had never seen one before...and we all know they have seen plenty of cameras. I can't get enough of pictures outside. The light can't be beat. No real pressing news today, just thought I would share some pictures.

abby-girl

I'm not quite sure how it happened, but Abby seems all grown up now. What happened to the baby with so much hair and the toddler that kept us in stitches? She's such a great kid now. Still entertaining, she's growing into her own sense of humor. She is still sensitive and loving. It makes me so proud to be her mom. I don't feel like I'm old enough to be the mom of such a young lady. I'm entering a whole new season of being her mom. The pre-teen years. She's a little more independent and difficult, but she is also funny, helpful, and a great person to talk with about the little things. I loved the baby stage, the toddler stage, and the little girl stage thinking nothing could be better than this. I have to think that relating to her on a different level may make this my new favorite stage.

dancin'

Yes!!!!!!!! We survived another dance recital. 3 and a 1/2 hours of costumes and music and adorable 3 year olds spinning around when they should be dancing. The girls love performing, so they were really in their glory. Abby had 4 dances (and costume changes) and Morgan had 2. The stairs were a bit of a challenge for a still mending mom. They work so hard every year and this is their moment. Parker even got them both flowers (ps - ipods come in handy when you are trying to keep a 3 year old boy quiet during a 3+ hour ballet performance). Hope you all had a great weekend too!

toothless wonder

I usually don't post more than once a day, but Morgan lost her second front tooth this morning and asked me to put this up. Is there anything cuter in this world than a red head with freckles and no front teeth?

purple

The Clematis finally bloomed! The purple blossoms are amazing! What a great suprise. A friend of mine has light purple and white bushes. I was suprised by the deep royal purple that cascaded down the side of the house. I am a huge fan now. The snap dragons continue to bloom. The one below is my favorite. I love the orange, pink, and yellow exploding from the same flower! The kids have had fun helping me water and watching each stalk to guess what color it will be.

give me a minute...

I use this site, for the most part, to show off pictures of my kids, my house, my family, and even great shopping buys on occasion. I underwent a hysterectomy a week ago yesterday. I don't think I was prepared for what followed. I guess I knew it would hurt, but nothing prepared me for the extent. The pain has been sharp and consistant. Anyone who knows me well knows that I don't like being down for long. I thought I would be able to power through this and get on with my life in a few days. This is officially kicking my butt! The frustration of being so tired, not being able to start the summer with my kids at the pool or at the park. There is nothing like knowing that your three year old can ABSOLUTELY out run you. But there has been other pain as well. I turned 31 a few weeks ago. This just seems like a surgery for a 50 year old. I have three of the most amazing kids on the face of the earth, but the removal of the organ which bore those miracles brought up emotions I didn't know were there. That, I was definitely not prepared for. We are thrilled with our family and satisfied that we are done. Being in the prime childbearing years of my life however, my hormones still think another baby would be a good idea. One more thing I wasn't prepared for. My family and friends. How amazing are the people in my life? My husband really stepped up to the plate. He was truly Mr. Mom this week. My mother has been invaluable. I came out of surgery, said hello to my husband, and asked "where's my mom?". She satyed with me in the hospital for two boring days and then came back up this week to take care of me and the kids. This week would have been impossible without her. And my friends...oh my friends. The meals, the phone calls, the visits. With all of the pain and frustration came an overwhelming sense of love. Thank you all for your embrace. I will remeber it most of all. And I promise, more pictures of my flowers and children in the days to come.