HENDERSON

Big Boy Bike

2010-03-17T14:42:00.000-07:00

Today we got Jack his very first "big-boy" bike (Thank you so very much Nana!). He was so excited! He has told every stranger in the store and on the way home about it. We are still figuring out how to get him to stop stomping on the breaks but he will get it!
Nana Phyllis - We love you so much! Thank you for loving us like you do!

Giant T-REX Puzzle

2010-02-23T09:26:00.000-08:00

I've been working hard to instill a love for puzzles in the kids. This is one that Jack and I put together this morning. It's a giant T-Rex puzzle! He loves it!
I think it looks like t-Rex wants to eat his head! It was also very fun to roll on. :)

Trains and More Trains

2010-02-23T09:23:00.000-08:00

Jack's favorite things are trains. Who knew that my bedroom furniture would make such a great train station??

YAY FOR SUN!

2010-02-23T09:20:00.000-08:00

With all the rain we have had the kids were so happy for a day they could actually go out and ride their bikes. Jack took his bowl of Cheeze-Its for a ride. They didn't last long though because Gil was pretty quick to catch up to them!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-13T09:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter everyone!

Lexi, Jack, Caroline & Allie

Egg Hunt!

2009-04-13T09:33:00.000-07:00

The time finally arrived for the kids to hunt eggs. Here they are all ready & waiting.

Jack, Kadyn, Caroline & Kenyan

Jack & Daddy were in the hunt!

Caroline has egg-hunting down to a fine art!

Here in the mountains we hide eggs EVERYWHERE! Jack was really determined to get this egg hidden in the tree. He would yell, "I got it!"

Family

2009-04-13T09:09:00.000-07:00

One of the things I love about Easter is all the family getting together. Here are some random family pictures from the day. I think at one point my Uncle Rick counted 40 people.

Not only did we celebrate Easter, we also celebrated the birthdays of 6 people in our family: Grandpa Harold, Brian, Tracee, Rick, Kyle & Lexi. The little kids decided that Great-Grandpa needed help blowing out the candles.

Caroline put a 60-piece Easter puzzle together with a little help from Grammy Lilly and Annie

Aunt Sheri got some good snuggles in with baby Allie.

My cousin Kari also came into town for the occasion and brought her husband and two sons. One of which is the adorable baby Jeremiah Wayne. He is so cute!

Dying Eggs!

2009-04-13T08:58:00.000-07:00

This was the first year that both of the kids got to dye Easter Eggs. They had so much fun!

Caroline was definatly into the craft of dying Easter Eggs and was really good at it!

Jack needed a little more help. He really just liked orange and blue.
So he ended up with 12 brown eggs.

I thought this picture was really funny. The lense distorted his face because
he was so close! But if you look carefully, you can see the tiny freckles on his nose and tops of his cheeks!

San Fransisco with the Hadley's

2009-03-27T22:18:00.001-07:00

This past Monday Rick and I along with Mark and Teri Hadley headed to fabulous city of San Fransisco to check out the location for our up coming Mission trip. You know, we only live 2 1/2 hours away and it has been YEARS since we have been. We had an awesome time driving around and we even got to do a little sight seeing.

This is a view from Pier 39 in The Fisherman's Wharf. Sea Lions seem to hang out here year round.

We got to drive down the famous Lombard Street. It's the "curviest" road in America. It was a little scary in our truck! But we made it - the poor woman on the sidewalk almost didn't! :)

The youth group will be staying in a hotel in Mill Valley which means they will get to cross the Golden Gate Bridge EVERY DAY!! Well, we had to try it out. You know, make sure it's all safe. :)

This is Rick's boss Mark and his fabulous wife Teri. They are a really fun couple.

A view of the city from one of the MANY steep hills in the city. YIKES!

We found the location for our missions headquarters and discovered this really under-whelming playground. Well again, for the benfit of the students that will be serving, we just had to make sure everything was on the up & up. ;)

A Date

2009-03-27T22:05:00.000-07:00

A couple of days ago Jack and I had a little "date" to the park. He is growing so fast and is such a ham! Here are my favorite pictures from the day.

When we went for a walk on the ball field Jack slipped in some mud and was totally covered. Thanfully I had him layered because he was NOT ready to finish playing.

Sleepy Ninja Kids

2009-03-27T21:58:00.000-07:00

Too funny not to share these...Jedi Jack!

Away We Go!!

2009-02-04T16:25:00.000-08:00

Well, here we are at the airport getting ready for a week full of adventure...

Here we are waving "Good Bye" to Mommy!

My sister giving Lex one more smooch before we leave.

She did really well on the plane! I didn't believe Leah when she told me how busy Lexi can get on the plane. Well, the DVD player didn't work and I had just enough snacks to make it to Sacramento. Whew!

The Week We Had Lexi

2009-02-04T16:19:00.000-08:00

Well, our week with Lexi was a little difficult. Lexi was not feeling all that well and well, she reeeeaaaallly missed her Mommy.
So here are a few pictures of her looking happy...sort of.

Coloring with Caroline and Jack...just after this picture was taken Lexi stole a crayon from Jack...Ill let you guess how that went.

Lexi really loved being with Caroline. They were so cute together.

Missing Tooth!

2009-01-05T09:15:00.000-08:00

Well, it finally happened. Rick and I became the proud parents of a "Toothless Wonder".
Caroline lost her first tooth yesterday after church!

Check out that smile!

Placing the tooth under the pillow for the Tooth Fairy

She was SUPER excited about the Tooth Fairy. She told me this morning that she had a hard time sleeping last night, even though she was asleep within 5 minutes!

The Tooth Fairy brought her a whole dollar!

Beautiful Faces

2009-01-05T09:06:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year Snow!

2009-01-05T08:59:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
To bring in the New Year we decided to take the kids to go play in the snow.
Rick found this amazing spot that we didn't have to share with anyone. It was awesome!

Check these two out!
They are setting the fashion for snow play.
(check out the way Jack is holding his arm!)

Sliding down the hill with Daddy

Caroline and I had a go as well.

What a fun way to spend the day. We all had a great time and everyone took AWESOME NAPS!!!

Caroline's Christmas Special

2009-01-01T17:02:00.000-08:00

This year Caroline did a little program with her kindergarten class at school.
I was singing at a Ladies Tea at church and unable to be there but my very brave hubby took Caroline, Jack and the camera and captured the evening for me. SOOOO CUTE!!!

"Is there something on my shirt?"

Roller Skating???

2009-01-01T16:48:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago we were invited to our friend Mimi's birthday party. It was at Roller King in Roseville.
This was the first time Caroline and Jack had ever roller skated. They were so cute! I just have one question, Why can't they tighten my wheels like they do for the kids????

Here is our friend Viki helping Caroline out with her skates.

Jack is the cutest thing I have ever seen in roller skates.

Viki and Rick helped Caroline...she did really well.

Tye, Rick and Jack sharing some birthday goodness with us.

First Snow!! (yipeeeee!!)

2009-01-01T16:40:00.000-08:00

December 14th we had our FIRST SNOW!!!
After it snowed for a couple of days and we lost power I think we ended up with around 6-8 inches!!!

Here is the tree in our front yard.

Rick trying to shovel a way out.
(I think he looks a little too happy).

Getting ready for the first snow walk of the season.

This is our street!
I think it looks magical.

Rick and I really enjoyed watching people slide up and down the street. This is when the new hybrid cars get tested. They all failed. I guess they are just not made to handle real weather.

Tree Hunting

2009-01-01T08:10:00.001-08:00

This is the second year in a row we have gone to Little Bear Tree Farm to "hunt" for our Christmas Tree. And let me tell you, this year it was a HUNT!!! But we had a great time all the same. This year we took our good friends Vanessa and Joshua with us.

Rick is REALLY trying to fill his Mountain Man shoes this year.

Here he is with his hot chocolate, and his dog...and his vest.

Joshua and Caroline (who was dressed as an Indian all day) enjoying some hot chocolate by the fire pit.
Me and my friend Vanessa!! I'm so glad they came!
FUNNY: If you notice Gil at the bottom of the picture, he is actually drinking my hot chocolate with out me knowing...

Rick and Jack on the giant See-Saw

Little Caroline Two-Feet.

Joshua and Rick cut down the tree together. Very manly. Taking our finds back to the truck to head down the mountain.Joshua and Vanessa with their treeThis was our tree!

What a great day!

Family Pictures

2009-01-01T08:07:00.000-08:00

While we were in Florida for Thanksgiving we had the opportunity to take our family picture with Rick's Mom, Grandmother and Brother. It was so fun, but very challenging since I had to use the timer on my camera. But I think we ended up with some good shots anyway.

The Boys

Uncle Bubba and his favorite kiddos!

This was one of my favorites from that day.
Phyllis and her boys.

More From Florida

2008-12-31T19:47:00.000-08:00

As I was sorting through my pictures there were a few that I neglected to post. They are pretty random so hang in there! :)

This is Jack helping me roll out the dough for my Apple Pie

Check out those legs!

(His Jacksonville jersey says "Henderson" on the back)

Caroline obviously gets some of her moves from her Nana

Our last night in Florida Caroline got to fall asleep with Hannah and Ellie in their bed.
It broke my heart to sneak her out of their bed. :(

This is usually how you will find Rick and Jerry. Brainstorming ideas and Jerry strumming his guitar. It's a beautiful site.

Jack and Andrew took a bath together.

(I couldn't get them to look at the same time...BOYS!!)

This was at Nana "Griff's" house. Caroline and Jack are sitting where Rick and Travis used to sit.

This was a wonderful day. The day Florida played Florida State in Tallahassee. We spent the whole afternoon with Travis at a local sports bar watching the game and eating yummy food. Let's just say that Rick and I left VERY happy!

We had an amazing trip at Thanksgiving. It was way too short. We miss you guys!

Meet the Hender-Webbs

2008-12-14T09:22:00.000-08:00

Jerry and Brandi Webb are our best friends from college. I have actually known Jerry longer than I have known Rick. I met Rick and married him and then Jerry met Brandi and married her. Anyway, there are now 5 kids between us. They live in Daytona Beach, Fl so on our recent trip at Thanksgiving we were able to see them for only one day. But was such a fun day! This is Rick eating my hat.
Jerry and BrandiCaroline, Hannah & Ellie (twins)

Jack sticking his toes in the water...yes he did fall all the way in!

Caroline, Ellie & Hannah

These girls LOVE each other. We miss them so much.

Brandi and Andrew...he is such a cutie-pie!

The Webb Family!

Merry Christmas from all the Hender-Webb kids!

I'm an Auntie Again! :)

2008-12-08T22:18:00.000-08:00

On Friday night around 10pm my baby sister Leah gave birth to her second child, Allie Michelle. She weighs 8 lbs, 8oz and she is 20 inches long. I have not had the pleasure to meet this beauty but from what I hear, she has rolls all over! Now that's my kind of girl! Leah and Allie are doing great. Lexi is getting used to the idea that she is a big sister and Mike, well, he's surrounded by beautiful women. Check out those cheeks!

And Back Again

2008-10-25T22:12:00.001-07:00

I'm back! And have been for a little over a week. I feel like I am finally getting back into into the swing of things.

Between Cheryl and myself we took over 7000 images. So, it's taken a while to sort through to give you a glimpse of our trip. The pictures following this post are of Africa only. Cheryl is holding the shots from Amsterdam hostage at the moment so as soon as she releases them I'll share them with you. Also, there are so many things I didn't blog about so they may show up now and then and I might even repeat myself.

BIG THANK YOU'S TO....
Mom - You're amazing
Phyllis - So are you, the kids miss you already
Pee - You are my favorite sister...my only sister. I owe you big.
Dad - I know you pitched in a ton
Sivje - Pant-hemming-pick-up-line-wonder
Vanessa - YOU ROCK!!
Carol - Rick would have been lost with out you!
GG - Thank you for feeding my family
Fairchild Fam -Future In-Laws- Caroline swears she's marrying Zachery, thanks for the play date.
RICK - you are my best-fried. I could not have gone without your love and support. Thanks for being an amazing Daddy to our kids. I love you.

ENJOY THE PICS EVERYONE!!!

Joanna's Wedding

2008-10-25T21:52:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons for the timing of our trip was attending the wedding of Pastor Robert's daughter Joanna. We even had special African wedding clothes made for us. (I'm the one with the triangular fluffy hair. My lying "friends" told me that it looked just fine (there are no mirrors in Uganda). Anyway, here is the proof that Christians are indeed capable of lying. :) (You know I love you guys). Ah, the beautiful bride.
Joanna's younger sister Joy

Fred and Joanna at the very PINK reception. The even put firecrackers on the wedding cake!

This guy was amazing. In Uganda, it's OK to sing along with your favorite song. So this guy was singing along with his song and all the while I was mesmerized by his bouncing USA belt buckle.

I found more kids...

Joanna's bouquet

Pastor Robert and Mama Joy
Two of the hottest African woman I have ever seen...literally.

Chicken Anyone?

2008-10-25T21:41:00.001-07:00

Many of you remember the purchase of 1,000 baby chicks last year to help support Mama's Heart, our widow's ministry. Well, we are happy to report that almost all the chickens are alive and well. During our visit we saw the first harvest of eggs from these chicks...and yes, we prayed over them while we were there!On Sunday the women from Mama's Heart presented their "first fruits" to the church and gave them to Pastor Robert. This was a whole new take on meaning of tithing.
Happy Chicken!

The sweet woman who has given up 4 rooms in her house for these chickens. She feeds them and cleans their coupes.
A view from outside the "Chicken House."

Hangin' With the Kids

2008-10-25T21:28:00.001-07:00

Oh the kids!!! They are growing so fast and they are sooooo healthy. They were so much fun. They were fascinated by my arm hair and freckles. One of the best parts of going to see our precious kids was getting to meet my sister Hawa. My parent's sponsor Hawa and she knows my mother as "Mama Lilly". So when I saw Hawa I was able to introduce myself as her sister. From then on, she was at my side! She was so precious.

This picture was taken just after our first meeting. She was still pretty shy! One of the kids peeking into the church

Me & Hawa, Shawn & Margaret and Lori + extras

The children at Twin Cities had a fund raiser during VBS. They raised enough money to buy each child at the orphanage a new pair of flip-flops or "slippers" as they like to call them. I love feet so I was inspired by their beautiful feet in their new slippers.

This is one of my favorite pictures from the whole trip. These are Hawa's feet.

All of the sponsors sent extra money so the kids could have new wedding clothes made for Joanna's wedding. Hawa was the only one dressed in this beautiful red, which happens to be my favorite color.

Larry and I purchased new hats from Mama's Heart (the widow's ministry). Well, his is a hat and mine is a basket.

Personal Evangelism

2008-10-25T20:40:00.000-07:00

The week of the crusade was a whirlwind. We started in the mornings in the outer parts of Bulanga by doing personal evangelism. I have to admit I was nervous! Let's face it, "door-to-door" evangelism is NOT an effective method in the USA. So I was very apprehensive. But knowing that we serve a BIG God I knew faithfulness was my only choice. The first day Brenda and I saw 16 people come to know the Lord. And that was only in an hour and a half!

This was our team in front of the new church in Bulanga.

This is my team; Me, Pastor Robert, Brenda and Silivia. As we followed Pastor Robert (I swear this man was receiving walking directions straight from God), we met this sweet family. They were so excited and so proud.
This is their brand new baby girl (she is two weeks old in this picture).Some kids I had to stop and play with.
Pastor Robert praying for an elderly woman who cared for her young grandchildren.

I was so touched by the striking difference in the color of our skin and yet our love for the Lord makes us family.

(These are the hands of Kim Thompson and our dear friend Samuel).

One family that became very special to Brenda and myself.

This is little Mumino and his Grandmother (and Brenda too!)

This grandmother is raising her grandson after he was abandoned by his father.

Taking a break at Pastor Godfrey's house

Lori and Cheryl relaxing against the news paper/wall paper.

It was so nice to get out of the hot sun! Uganda is right on the equator. We all came back with amazing tans (everyone but me!).

I was really missing my kids so I took every opportunity to hold babies. This sweet little girl was hanging out all day with her older sister (who was about 5).

One day our bus broke down. Well, if you combine me with confined spaces and heat you get silly. Here I am as "Aunt Jemima."

One of the cute kids spying on my through the trees. Me and my camera doing what we do best.

Teaching some of the neighborhood kids "Father Abraham"

A typical apartment complex.

This young girl was actually selling these bananas.

This week was amazing. God answered our prayers and we saw his face everywhere we looked. We saw a woman who was paralyzed - HEALED!! We saw another woman who was in intense pain from cysts and her pain was GONE. We saw it rain all around the village of Bulanga but not a drop in the center where we were. God did miraculous things!!!!

The Crusades

2008-10-25T14:24:00.000-07:00

Every evening after our personal evangelism we would host a crusade in the center of the village. This area where we were was also the trash dump. There were pile of garbage around us that were on fire and smoldering. We were walking on garbage. The worst part was seeing the children running around barefoot on garbage. Drugs and alcohol are prevalent in Bulanga so more than once we saw broken glass and syringes.

Not many people would be around at the start of the crusade but once the music began the area filled with all kinds of people. This is my friend Steve (who was "borrowing" my camera)beginning the event.Brenda kneels down to talk to a child. Hands raised in worship.
No matter where we went or what was going on, there were always groups of children staring a you. We were called Muzungu's - White people.
Here we are trying to listen to the preacher...the interpreter was no help.

The hands of those who had gone forward to give their lives to Christ. There were about 150 over the course of the week.

Kim and Lori "blending in".

One part of the gathering crowd.

As exhausting as this part of the trip was, we were so amazed to see God break down walls in the heart of the people. People from all walks of life surrendered their lives. It never got old for me. I was always ready to go again.

Baptisms in Lake Victoria

2008-10-25T14:12:00.001-07:00

One of the most amazing things about our trip was being able to witness the baptisms that took place in Lake Victoria. There were about 30 people from Bulanga who were baptized that day. I really enjoyed watching it through the lens of my camera. Here are only a few shots from that day.

The Pastors praying together with a new believer just before they began.

This is James.

He gave his life to the Lord on the first day of the crusade. Three pastors baptized the people. It was an amazing site.

African Bush

2008-10-25T13:36:00.000-07:00

We had many adventures into the Bush. Here are some miscellaneous shots from our various trips.

This is an adorable grass hut from the community near Lake Victoria

A fishing boat on the shore

Did you know pineapple grows from the ground up?
After they pick the pineapple they twist the top off and stick it back in the ground. A new pineapple grows from the top!

This picture was taken on one of the newer pieces of property Pastor Robert has purchased. His vision for this 4 acres is a church, a medical clinic and a small farm.

This woman is carrying a Jack Fruit on her head. These massive fruits can grow to weigh 80 or 90 lbs.

A moving market.

Uganda is such a beautiful country.

To Uganda...

2008-09-29T21:14:00.001-07:00

Tuesday morning at 4:30am I am headed for Jinja, Uganda. I will be there 17 days with a gifted group of 11 people. Together we will be a part of a starting a new church in a village called Bulanga. They currently have no church to worship the one TRUE God. Please pray for us! I can't wait to share all of my pictures and stories with you when I return. Blessings to you all!
Heather.

The Family

2008-09-23T13:55:00.001-07:00

Here is our recent family photo taken by Cheryl Patterson.

Disneyland!!!!

2008-09-17T14:54:00.003-07:00

Since Caroline turned 5, Grammy and Papa Craig decided to take her to Disneyland! She was so excited. So the piled in the car and drove 8 hours to Southern California to stay with my sister. Here are the pictures from that very fun day.

Waiting for the train Walking with Papa to Matterhorn Mountain
Standing with Grammy
Tea Cups with Grammy
(They are in the pink cup)
Wouldn't give Goofy a hug :(
She gave one to Tigger though.

Already for a Royal Ball

Caroline & Papa on the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters

(My Dad looks like he's all business!)

Finally that night there was a parade. These are the Good Fairies from Sleeping Beauty.
Ariel the Little Mermaid
The Castle.
Thank you Grammy & Papa for taking Caroline to this magical place
(and for the quiet house we had while she was gone!)

Grandma & Grandpa

2008-09-17T14:54:00.002-07:00

Many of you know our sweet grandparents, Harold and Bel. They are pillars of our family and they have influenced the lives of many. On September 3rd my Grandpa underwent something called the Whipple procedure. He has two masses, one on his pancreas and one blocking his bile duct. Through this procedure they were able to remove both masses, along with 1/3 of his pancreas and his entire gall bladder...and maybe a few other things ;). This was a surgery we did not expect him to recover well from. I am so happy to announce that he went home in almost record time, is walking around and eating and doing sooo well. God has done a miracle in my Grandpa's body. He is so proud of his 30+ staples and he will be happy to show them to you! Thank you to everyone who has been praying so fervently for my family. Your prayer made all the difference and our Mighty God, once again blessed my family. Here are some recent pictures just before his surgery.

Jack is driving his beloved race car down my Grandpa's leg.
This picture is only part of the family. We missed all of you who couldn't be there that night!

Thank you God for your unfailing love. We praise you God for all that you are, all you have done and all you are going to do. Truly you are the Great Physician.

Caroline is 5!!!

2008-09-17T14:54:00.001-07:00

On September 3rd, our Sweet Caroline turned 5. *sniff sniff*. I can't believe how quickly the time has gone. What a blessing this talkative little girl is to us. She is full of not only many words, but so much love and affection. Here are some pictures of her birthday and her party.

We started the day off right with the traditional chocolate chip pancakes.Jack and Rick pose for a good morning pictureMy beautiful girl all ready for her party The water balloon toss with her Daddy.
Blowing out the candles.
Jack and Bella enjoying some cake.

The theme was Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. She was dressed like Minni.
Angelena and Caroline
Lian, Caroline and Bella
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET GIRL, WE LOVE YOU!

First Day of School

2008-09-16T16:04:00.000-07:00

This year Caroline started Kindergarten! I can't believe it!! She goes to Gold Run Elementary School here in Nevada City and her teacher is Ms. Mahaffy. She loves school and she is doing really well. The backpack
Last minute love from the little brother.

Fire Monkey's Rock!

2008-09-16T15:53:00.001-07:00

This year we decided to sign Caroline up for the 6 & Under soccer league. She is the only girl on the team and I have to say that she is doing a whole lot better than a lot of the whiny boys on her team.

The kids have named themselves the "Fire Monkeys". Isn't that a cool name? Here she is getting some instructions from Coach Ryan
Some last minute "how-to's"
This is her first game and all of the kids were confused. Rick compares it to "herding cats!"
Caroline and the class mascot, Sparky.

Nevada County Fair 2008

2008-09-16T15:39:00.001-07:00

We always look forward to the fair. As far as the Henderson's are concerned, Nevada County has the best fair ever. Not to mention the best food. This year was pretty fun! Sadly, Jack wasn't big enough to ride very many rides, which made him reeeaaaallly sad. But we had an awesome time as a family.

Caroline had to ride many rides alone...but that didn't faze her one bit!
I got talked into going on these spinning dragons...I think I'm too old for rides that spin...
After a good couple of hours riding the rides, we took the kids to the Tuff Truck races. This is when all of your pent-up "redneck-ness" comes out. People racing their beater trucks around a corse...very fun and VERY LOUD!!

The pony rides are always a huge hit. Caroline is an old pro and even brought her cow-girl hat.
This was Jack's first pony ride ever and he loved it.
One last crazy picture to end the night!

Popsicle Kids

2008-07-23T23:37:00.000-07:00

Today after their afternoon swim in the pool I let the kids have popsicles. They were soooo CUTE! Jack has finally learned to smile for the camera so that made it even more fun. I just had to share these with you all. Don't you want to eat him up??
My sweet girl
Ok, one more...check out his feet!

This boy has crossed his feet since he was a new born. Still does it every time he sits down.

Birthday Girls

2008-07-23T23:32:00.001-07:00

My Mom, sister and I all have birthdays in July. So since my sister was in town, we decided to celebrate. We went and had pedicures and manicures and then to dinner. We brought my best friend Nicole along too. We've been friends since the 6th grade (actually, we were in the same 1st grade class together) and she's practically family.

Here is my Mom getting her manicure All our pretty toes.
Nicole and Leah...dinner at BJ's
My Momand myself.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIRLS!!!

Auntie Leah and Lexi's Little Visit.

2008-07-23T23:18:00.001-07:00

This past week my sister Leah and my niece Lexi came into town for a visit for a WHOLE week. Jack and I picked them up at the airport and as soon as Jack and Lexi saw each other they ran and gave each other the biggest hug I have ever seen. Wouldn't you know, I left my camera in the car!!! UGH!

Right after we picked them up at the airport we headed straight for IN-N-OUT. It's tradition. As soon as we opened the van door we discovered that the two of them had traded pacifiers! Little stinkers. Lexi was in LOVE with Jack's juice.
Lexi, Jack and Leah pose before lunch.
My smiley little niecy-poo.
This picture sums Caroline up I think.

Can you say, "Almost 5"?
The girls on the swing
Playing in the sprinkler.
The girls in their matching dresses that I made.
I found Jack and Lexi trying to drive away in my van!
Lexi has the wheel, Jack has the keys = TROUBLE!!

Music lessons from Uncle Curtis.

(this has got to be one of my most recent favorite pictures)

We miss you guys already!

Tomorrow we find out if Lexi is going to have a baby brother or sister...I think it's a sister.

Grass Valley Street Fair

2008-07-23T23:10:00.000-07:00

Every Thursday night during the summer there is a super fun street fair in Grass Valley. This past Thursday Leah and I took the kids.

Here is Caroline getting her face painted. She wanted her face painted the same as the sweet girl who was painting hers.
This was Lexi's typical look that evening.
They also had a really fun slide and I was so shocked when Caroline told me she could down all by herself!

Happy 4th of July!

2008-07-11T14:38:00.000-07:00

It has been extremely smokey here in Nevada County because of all the fires. But miraculously it cleared up enough for us to really enjoy the 4th of July. One of the many, many great things about living in Nevada City is being so close to Broad Street. This year we were able to walk to town to watch the parade. It was so much fun! The kids loved it. Jack especially loved the trucks. This is a little goofy looking, but I really love the Statue of Liberty. So there she was in all her glory riding down Broad on the back of truck!

Rick, Caroline, Jack and Gil (trying to stay in the shade) watching the parade
A great shot of the pink hair.
My very patriotic son waving his little flag.
We even saw our pal Harry riding on the volunteer Sheriff's float!
After the parade and nap time we headed to our friend's the Hadley's. The live on a hill just above Lake Wildwood and had a great view of the fireworks from their house. The kids had a blast in their poolTeri, who is amazing in many ways, made red and blue star shaped ice cubes to put in our seltzer water. Yummmmm.Green and purple fireworks reminded us of New Orleans. They were beautiful.

PINK HAIR!!???!!!

2008-07-02T15:51:00.001-07:00

As many of you know, Rick and I work with students. Our student ministry is full of very "colorful" kids. We have every color hair you can imagine. Well, as a result, Caroline has been BEGGING us for pink hair. So, after discussing it and buy the official Punky Color hair dye, we made a visit to our friend Wendy. She is the official hair specialist for the youth group.

Wait a minute! Am I sure???
Washing out the dye
Tada! Pink!
I wasn't too sure at first, but it has really grown on me. I love it!
Caroline and Wendy
This is one of my new favorites of my sweet pink-headed daughter.Thank you Wendy! YOU ROCK!!!

Swim Lessons '08

2008-07-02T15:46:00.001-07:00

Here we go again! This year Caroline is still a Sea Turtle. It appears that after a month of swim lessons last summer we have not advanced at all. Oh well! She really loves her swim lessons. And I can tell that she is getting more brave with every lesson. Rick and I are so proud of her! Here is her teacher trying to convince her to get in the water.
Finally with some smooth talking she went for a swim with the noodles.

We ran into our friend Angelena too! She is a Sea Turtle too, just in a different class!

Lunch With Upendra!

2008-07-02T15:38:00.001-07:00

This past Saturday we had lunch with our dear friend Upendra. Upendra has been in the states for about 7 months now working as a computer engineer. He is originally from Nepal and made us a traditional curry meal. It was sooooo good! Even Jack loved it!

Upendra & Jack

I love the contrast of their skin and hair color! They are completely opposite!

This is beef & mushroom curry. It was sooooo good!
Upendra recently bought a new juicer and was anxious to try it out on us. So along with amazing food we had fresh carrot/apple/celery juice.

Mmmmm, mmmmm good!
Jack loved the juice too! I think I have found a new way to get my meat-and-potato's boy to have veggies! JUICE THEM!
Thanks Upendra for an awesome meal! We'll miss you while you are in Nepal. Come back safe!

VBS! Outrigger Island

2008-07-02T15:29:00.000-07:00

We just finished up VBS at our church and it was SO MUCH FUN!!! It was Outrigger Island where we learn to live God's un-shakable truth! Here's me and the kiddos all ready to go! Caroline went straight to the white board in her class room!
This was Jack's first year participating VBS and he had a great time.
Mark Hadley and I shared a time slot for music and story time with the preschoolers. We had an actual turtle in our classroom to help tell the story. We named her "Crush" just for the week. The kids loved the turtle and Mark quickly became known as "The Turtle Whisperer".
I just loved these little guys!

Camping with the Hadley Family!

2008-07-02T15:14:00.000-07:00

Over Father's Day weekend we went camping to Scott's Flat Lake, which is about 20 minutes away from us. Our friends the Hadley's came with us. Below you can see Caroline and Brook having some "girl talk". It was so cute!

I'm not sure what game this is that Caroline and Jack are playing, but when I came up the hill this is what I saw. It looks dangerous doesn't it???

Rick and Jack hangin' out in the raft.
The Hadley Family (+Caroline)
My kids taking a break after a little walk
My super dramatic daughter
My very thoughtful son.

One night some "mysterious neighbors" TP'd our tent. hmmmm wonder who that was??It was such a great way to celebrate Father's Day and show Rick how much we love him!

Father's Day

2008-07-02T15:03:00.001-07:00

This Father's Day we spent at my parent house with grandparents. It was a really nice day. My Dad built these little platforms for birds to make nests. We found baby birds that day. If you look in the pic below you can see them poking their little heads out of the nest! Caroline & Jack with their Papa!
My Grandma's home made german chocolate cake! Yummmmm
Daddy and his kiddos!
Gil even enjoyed himself!

Sonshine Preschool Circus

2008-06-16T14:55:00.000-07:00

On Caroline's last day at preschool (ever!) they had a circus! They dressed all the kids up and they performed "circus acts". I was unable to attend to Rick went in my place and took 122 pictures!!! Caroline the balancing princess is about to walk across the very dangerous balance beam.
I think she might do it!
Then they dressed as "circus dogs" and did tricks.
Their really cool trick was rolling!
I can't believe my little girl is done with preschool. In the fall she will be going to Gold Run Elementary school.

God Made Dirt...

2008-06-16T14:48:00.000-07:00

One day while watching our friend Bella we decided to play in the dirt...

I think we have some future landscapers on our hands!!!

Welcome Kaden Joshua!!

2008-05-22T16:03:00.001-07:00

Our dear friends Pat and April FINALLY had their baby boy (and only a week late!) He was born Tuesday and weighed 7lbs 14 oz and was 21 inches long. Where was she hiding him???? He is absolutely beautiful. Congrats guys!

Music Box

2008-05-22T15:57:00.000-07:00

Nana Phyllis called one day and asked Caroline what she wanted her to bring the next time she came. Caroline asked for a music box. Well, not only did Nana bring a music box, she brought the music box that was given to her when she was a little girl along with a bracelet that was in it. It was so special.

This is one of my favorite pictures!

New Truck for Jack

2008-05-22T15:53:00.001-07:00

Uncle Bubba (Travis) bought Jack this cool new truck! It sooo manly! grrrrrr.

Mother's Day Tea

2008-05-22T15:32:00.000-07:00

For Mother's Day Caroline's preschool put together a little "Mother's Day Tea". It was so special. We got all dressed up and were escorted into a little "photo-shoot" (which I have still not seen the picture :( ), then we sat at beautiful tables where the kids served us tea and snacks. It was so sweet!
Caroline and her friend Amara.

Then it was time to sing! They were so cute!
If you can see this, Caroline told her teacher all about me, yikes! I don't know if you can see, but she told her teacher that "My Mom likes to sit on the couch"!! I fell over when I saw that!A beautiful hand-made journal for me!
We had a little play time afterward. Caroline played rickshaw! (Hey Andrea, do you think Caroline has a future job in your city??)

A Visit From Nana and Griff!

2008-05-02T20:21:00.001-07:00

For Rick's 30th birthday, his Mom and Grandmother flew all the way from Florida to help us celebrate. We had a really great visit. Not to mention, they were an amazing help to me with the kids. They did my dishes AND my laundry daily! I've had a hard time getting back into the swing of things since they have been gone.

This visit we went down to Bridgeport. It's a section of the beautiful Yuba river that has this amazing covered bridge. We took lots of pictures of the grandmother's with the kiddos.

I know I'll treasure these for a long time.
One day I came upon Griff reading to Jack. They were so cute together!

He looks like he's saying, "Hey, you have a mouth too!"
This is Griff posing on some rocks down by the river. She is one of the sweetest ladies in my life. I'M KEEPIN' HER!
Since we were at the river, the kids had to get in. Forget the fact that the main source of water for the Yuba is snow run-off. It was ICY COLD!!
Even Nana Phyllis got in. She was more brave than I am! That's one of the reasons I love her so much. She is CRAZY!! She has all the good making's of a wonderful Nana. She's amazing. We miss you Nana!Jack actually sat down in the water. His legs were freezing cold. Not mention the 10lbs diaper that was hanging off of him. It was probably weighing him down!This is one of my favorite pictures lately. Caroline was checking out Jack's huge diaper/ Look at her face! HAHA!
We finished their visit by having dinner with my parents. Which, of course came with rides in my Dad's new Corvette! Talk about a photo-op!

HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY RICK!

2008-04-28T22:51:00.001-07:00

On Wednesday the 23rd, we celebrated Rick's 30th birthday! It started right with some good morning snuggles and chocolate chip pancakes.

For dinner that night we met up with family and friends at Lucille's BBQ (Rick's new favorite place to eat). It was yummy and fun!
Griff, Phyllis and Rick - What family relation!
Grammy and Caroline got some snuggles inMe and my MUCH MUCH OLDER hubby
Our good friends, and my best friend, Nicole and SteveMy parents. It took me several tries to get this picture.
Happy Birthday Rick! I love you and I can't wait for your next 30 years. XOXO

Jack's First Haircut! AAAHHHH!

2008-04-28T22:39:00.001-07:00

We finally did it. (If you scroll down the blog you will see why: " 5" Fro"). I didn't want to, but it was really needed. So we took Jack to Simply Hair and let Ms. Kathy cut my son's beautiful curls. I cried.

Before

The first cut.

*sniff*
Jack was really enjoying himself. No tears from him!

Almost done!
It was VERY emotional for me. His hair is even curlier than it was. But I'm glad we did it. I'm just a little sad.

Family Bike Ride

2008-04-28T22:18:00.000-07:00

Thanks to our good friends, the Hadley's, we now have a trailer to hook on the back of Rick's bike. We decided to try it out behind the church one day, very fun! OK, do you know how long it's been since I have actually ridden a bike??? Well it turns out, you never forget.
The kids had a great time too. :)

The 5" Fro.

2008-04-28T22:13:00.001-07:00

This was about a week before Jack's first haircut. Our good friend Vanessa was kind enough to put her touch on our son's hair.

Safety Boy

2008-04-28T22:05:00.000-07:00

When you stop laughing.... Since the weather has been so nice lately I started bringing up our outside play stuff. When Jack spotted Caroline's Dora bike helmet, he put it on his head and walked around with it for a couple of days. So cute!

Hunnington Beach

2008-04-07T20:30:00.000-07:00

One day while visiting my sister we went to Hunnington Beach for the day. It was beautiful! The kids had such a great time. You'll notice no close-ups of Caroline because she was very busy with her new friend down the beach. Jack was determined to chase down the seagulls.

This is one of my latest favorites.

Jack was very busy stealing things like balls and shovels from other people on the beach. Of course he is so cute no one really cared.

Leah and Lexi where with us too but Lexi didn't care much for the texture of the sand. It was so funny.

Playing with the Moffitt's.

2008-04-02T22:27:00.001-07:00

The day after Easter we went to go play with our cousins Mike and Keri and their kids Connor and Claire. They have some really fun stuff to play with . Lexi enjoyed this swing. Mike was nice enough to blow up the pool and let the kids play in the rather cold water.
Claire is such a little cutie and really wanted to be in the water with the "big" kids.
Jack loved driving this little car around. He was sooo cute!

Yet another fun filled day in Southern California!

The Hunt

2008-04-01T22:55:00.001-07:00

After MUCH anticipation the hunt was on!!! Honestly, Caroline was the only one who really cared. Jack wanted to run down the street and Lexi was a little confused, but they were so DARN cute. Caroline and Lexi are wearing matching dresses in complimenting colors and I MADE Jack's jumper with the help of my darling friend Sivje.

Isn't she sweet??
The one and only egg that Jack collected.
Easter was really amazing this year. Caroline has a real grasp of what it means to celebrate Easter. She loves to tell the story of how Jesus died on the cross for our sins and three days later he became alive. I wish you could see the wonder in her eyes when she talks about her love for Jesus. It makes this Mama tear up. So we don't do the Easter Bunny. We do Jesus and then we hunt for eggs because it's fun. Then I get the credit for the things in her Easter basket and not an over grown rodent. HA!

Easter

2008-04-01T22:41:00.001-07:00

Easter Sunday we went to church with the family to Inland Hills Community Church. It was so fun! The music was refreshing and the message was about family. I really enjoyed a fresh perspective. My brother Curtis joined us that afternoon and got a couple of snuggles in with Lexi and Jack. Uncle Nick and Aunt Merdy came over too. They are so much fun!
Caroline and Annie made an Easter Cake. That's green coconut they were sprinkling on top and finishing with jelly beans.

Easter baskets for Caroline, Jack and Lexi.
Caroline was the hostess with the mostest. She wrote every one's name on their cups and then poured their drink of choice.

Playing at the Park

2008-04-01T22:19:00.001-07:00

Saturday we decided to take the kids to the park. It was pretty fun but it was HOT!!! We get a little spoiled up here in Northern California with beautiful cool weather. Regardless, we had a wonderful time. Even Aunt Pea went for a swing.They had some really cool playground stuff that we don't have up here. Caroline really had fun on these moving steps. So did Jack but he quickly fell off.
We had a great time playing in the sand but MAN did they get dirty!

Jack was actually shoveling the sand into his hair. You probably guessed that he needed a serious bath afterwards.

Easter In Southern California - Day #1

2008-03-22T09:38:00.000-07:00

This year Rick will be spending Easter in Mexico on mission trip with our students at the church. My parents had planned to spend the holiday in Southern California with my Brother and Sister. So with the thought of spending an entire week alone, the kids and I decided to fly down to join the rest of my family. The day before we left both Caroline and Jack ended up with DOUBLE EAR INFECTIONS!!! You can only imagine how excited I was about the prospect of flying with two sick children. They did great. No reason to worry. Here are some pics of our first day here...

Caroline and Jack discovered all of Lexi's toys

Caroline and Lexi enjoying a swing together.

Lexi found a puddle of water and decided to crawl through it.

This is probably the only time I have seen my niece dirty!My sister quickly swept her away for a bath in the sink.

(Too late P, I have proof!!!)Grammy getting some "Lexi time"Grammy and Caroline went to have their nails painted.

Caroline had her fingers painted to match hers and Lexi's Easter dresses!Time to dye eggs!OH NO!!! That beautiful manicure!

(It actually all came off in the bath)Jack lost the privilege of being outside with us when he violently shook the card table containing the dye.No worries! He found a stray dye tablet later and took a bite!

Papa getting some grand-baby love.

It was a great first day!

Playing at the Park

2008-03-12T21:32:00.001-07:00

On Daddy's day off we had such a great time playing at the park together. The weather has been amazing but to be honest, I could do with more rain and snow. :) Here we go!

Jack watching how high his sissy can swing

Jack and Daddy watching Caroline come down the BIG slide. And back up again

Jack decided to try a ladder. He didn't get very far. Driving in the truck with my kiddos.
Daddy and Caroline jumping over the "hot lava".
Jack taking a bite out of nature.
The cutest kids in the whole world. :)

HUMMUS!

2008-03-12T21:16:00.000-07:00

That's right, we are raising our son the right way. This particular night I decided to let Jack try a little Hummus with his dinner. HE LOVED IT!!! Check out these pics.

"Hey! Are you takin' my picture?"

"Gimme a kiss"

" I think I missed a little at the bottom"

" I think I can roll my eyes into the back of my head. Watch"

Silly Boy!

Grammy Love

2008-03-05T10:57:00.000-08:00

I don't often capture my mom with the kids so these two pictures are pretty special to me. She happened to be around for bath time one night. She got her snuggles in with Jack for sure! I love you Mom!!

Happy Birthday GG!

2008-03-05T10:48:00.001-08:00

On February 18th we celebrated with GG on her Birthday. No one knows her real age but we do know that she looks amazing!!! Here are some pictures from that fun evening. I'm pretty proud of this cake. I made it! It was chocolate cake with chocolate whipped cream and raspberries and then I covered it with chocolate ganache. YUMMMMMM.
This is a picture of some of GG's grands. We were missing all the older boys I think!
A family picture of GG, Rana, Monu, David, Breena, Caroline, Leah and Lexi.
My aunt Rana and Sabreena cuddling for a picture.
Happy Birthday GG, we love you!

A visit with Lexi-Poo

2008-03-05T10:09:00.000-08:00

My sister and Lexi came for a visit over Valentines Day. I love when they come to visit. It was one of my favorite visits because of all the time we had together. Here are just a few highlights.

Jack crawled on top of the coffee table to get a better look at the Chester Cat.

Caroline decided to hand down one of her bathing suites to Lexi. Since it was a little chilly, we just put it on over her jammies.

One night we enjoyed some turkey for dinner. Lexi was initiated in the tradition of chewing on turkey legs. This was her very first and she loved it.
Caroline and Jack enjoyed some too. How many legs did this turkey have?One day we went with Leah to meet some of her Mommy friends who had girls Caroline's age. We had such a blast!
Lexi's response to cheese.
Papa fishing for a Lexi-fish.
We miss them so much but we are looking forward to spending Easter with them in Southern California.

I'm so crafty!

2008-02-05T15:39:00.001-08:00

Saturday I was on my way to my class. But first I had to drop the kids off at my friend Sivje's house. Well, a few minutes before we left it started to snow, no big deal, right? WRONG!!! As soon as I SLID into Sivje's driveway I knew I was stuck. Rick was out of town on a youth event, my parents were out of town too. I had to seek refuge at her house until Rick got back to town. WE HAD A GREAT TIME!!! Sivje, who is very crafty, showed me how to make this cute little dress for Caroline! AAAAANNNNNND, it's reversable!!

TADA!

Snow Day #....?????

2008-02-05T15:13:00.000-08:00

Too many days to count of snow. But we have been having a great time. The other Day we decided to make our own pizza! I just happened to have all of the ingredients.

Here we go...... Punch it Baby!!

Jack was not very helpful

"Oh Alright, let me see this thing."
Caroline decided she wanted ranch for her sauce and just cheese.
(ranch is an awesome sauce for those of you who are not on the West Coast)
Tada!

Snow Day

2008-01-30T11:20:00.000-08:00

For the last few weeks we have had several snow days. It never snowed more than an inch or so at a time. Yesterday it snowed for about 10+ hours straight and we ended up with around 4-5 inches!!!

Rick came home early from work yesterday (to make sure he could actually get home) so he took Caroline and Gil for a walk in the snow. Caroline started with a snow angel. Caroline drew this snowman on my kitchen door window
Some hot-coco after the walk

(can you see it all over her face??)

Bath time was really cute too.Jack was sitting on her!
The tree in our front yard was so heavy with snow. This morning the sun came out and was absolutely beautiful through the trees. This guy was actually skiing through our neighbor's property Well, since we were home again and preschool was canceled because of the snow, the kids and I decided to build a snow man.

Gil even helped!

Caroline decided to taste each enormous snow ball.

Comin' along nicely

After a while Jack decided to blaze his own trails.

Caroline made another snow angel
Tada! We would like you to meet our 3rd child.

All done! Time to warm up and take naps!

Yeah for Sunshine!

2008-01-17T14:51:00.000-08:00

So after about a week and half of rain and snow we were all ready for some outside play time. We headed to the park. It was cold, but it was still beautiful outside!

Jack has this same expression in every picture.

He smiles, I swear!

Sand play time
Jack was eating the sand by the handfuls! I thought, "Surely he will spit it out!" Nope he swallowed it and it appeared in his diaper the next day. OUCH!!Destroying Sissy's sand castle

Caroline has mastered this huge slide. She has been afraid of it until now. But after I convinced her that it was the same as slide at McDonald's she was willing to try.
VICTORY!!

She doesn't look very excited, does she?

Jack driving the truck

He's such a little man!

(check out that hair!) Caroline also had a great time climbing the jungle gym.
It was such fun day! I am so thankful for this brief time of sun in a very rainy season.

Go Jacksonville!!

2008-01-03T04:40:00.000-08:00

Last year for Christmas (2006) Rick's Nana bought this little jersey for Jack. The Jacksonville Jaguars are her favorite football team. For her birthday this year we took these pictures for her and it will go in a photo book from all of us. I just thought they were too cute not to share.

Jack is Walking!!

2007-12-29T21:29:00.000-08:00

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Snow Creatures

2007-12-28T22:01:00.001-08:00

We had our first snow today and my dear friend Wendy sent me these pictures of the creature her son Blake had made in their yard. They are soooo funny! I realize this is a "family blog" but we love them so much they are almost family...so it counts! Not sure what the proper name of this thing is.

How would you like this thing keeping gaurd in front of your place??? HAHAHA!!

THANKS WENDY!!

First Snow

2007-12-28T21:36:00.001-08:00

We woke up this morning to a great surprise!!! Our first snow of the year. The kids were amazed as they caught their first glimpse of the winter wonderland waiting for them. 311 Monroe was now covered in a wonderful white blanket.
Monroe Street
We decided to go for a family walk.
Pine Street Bridge

Deer Creek

Caroline being thrown over the bridge!

Downtown Nevada City was magical

This was one of those moments that you love as a parent. After our walk and changing our clothes, I went to the kitchen to make a bottle for Jack. What did I find? A snowball in my fridge! (we moved it to the freezer).

Christmas!!! (this one is HUGE!)

2007-12-28T21:01:00.001-08:00

This was by far the best Christmas ever! It seems to get better every year when you have children. This year we started a new tradition...Christmas Jammies!!! Christmas Eve we all opened one gift...matching jammies. Caroline was more excited than Jack, especially since Jack slept through most of it.

Check out those snowman jammies!
Christmas morning was really fun. Caroline got a keyboard.
Rick got a record player
I got a beautiful surprise that came in a green box!!

Can you guess??

TIFFANY'S!!!!

(this is a line from Rick's favorite love song)

Sterling silver earrings. I love them! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After we had Christmas at our house with the kids we headed over to Grammy and Papa's house to join the rest of the family.

Grammy helped Jack work on his new work bench.

Caroline snuggled up next to Papa
Jack and Lexi fixed some stuff.
Papa & Grammy made breakfast

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Next we lined everyone up for some pictures!

Here are all the little cousins!

4 generations of women in my family
Family Christmas photo. Siblings!!!

(that's the little brother in the middle!) I think this picture pretty much sums up our relationship.
It was so nice to have all of us home.
The Whipple's
Isn't she darling?

She is such a happy little thing. I miss her already.

FIRST HAIR CUT...EVER!!!!

2007-12-24T12:08:00.001-08:00

I know, I know...Caroline is almost 4 1/2 and still have not ever cut her hair. It had grown down to her bottom and was so beautiful. But over the last few weeks she has been working on her Daddy about getting her hair cut. Finally he caved and we decided that since we allow her to pick out her own clothes (weather appropriate of course) and express her developing fashion sense in other ways it was time to allow her to cut her hair. AAAHHHH! So, after putting it off she finally said, "Mom, I want you to call Bon Bon Salon and ask Mallory to cut my hair". I knew she had her mind made up...she even picked her own stylist! This past Saturday was the big day. We were Mallory's first customers of the day.

Caroline was so excited.
Getting ready for the first cut
AAAHHHH! NOT MY BABY GIRLS HAIR!!!
Caroline told Mallory that she wanted her hair just like mine.
I cried.
This beautiful little pony tail was donated to Locks of Love and will be made into a wig for a sick child who has no hair.
Mallory was working her magic. Turning my baby into a beautiful young lady.

Looking at the back
Ta-DA!!!!
Daddy's first glimpse.
ok, ok....I LOVE IT!!!!
I am not sure how I feel about her looking closer to 6 than 1, but there it is and I am still getting used to it. I don't like this business of children growing so fast. Can't we just slow it down a little?

Lexi Is Here!!! (and her parents too)

2007-12-24T12:00:00.001-08:00

Saturday morning Uncle Mike, Aunt Pee, Annie and Lexi came into town!!!! We are so happy they are here to spend Christmas with us! Lexi is 8 months old now and has mastered the "army crawl".

A proud uncle Rick and tired little Lexi

My beautiful sister and Jack-Jack
Jack looooves Lexi. Lexi....is not so sure

(that's a courtesy smile)
Caroline giving Lexi some encouragement
What can I say?? She is irresistible!

Christmas Eve Rehersal

2007-12-24T11:43:00.000-08:00

This year is the first that I have been available to sing in the Christmas Eve services (all 6 of them!) at our church. It has been a really fun learning experience. It has also been so much more work than I thought it would be. I can't believe how much planning and effort goes into this 2-day event. Planning began in August this year.

I think this picture sums it all up!

This is Laura..."Landlord Extraordinaire" and ministry assistant for Celebration Arts. Couldn't do it without her.

This year our friend Cath was our "fashion designer" for the singers and band members. She was in charge of making sure that our clothes matched the set...this year the key word was "flowy". I can't tell you the challenges this presented...

Makeup application begins...

This is where the "flowy" aspect came into play. Cath left us unattended with the bag of scarves. Lyndz decided she would try to incorporate them all into her outfit.

Something like a gypsy, right?
While we were busy adding flare to our costumes, Anna was hard at work on her feature song,

"It Came Upon A Midnight Clear"

BEAUTIFUL!!

(side note: NO she really isn't wearing those boots)

Aubry, one of the students in our ministry is playing the part of Mary

These little darlings are Angels.

I would encourage everyone to watch our Christmas Eve service online at www.twincitieschurch.com It is really fantastic.

All Ready for Christmas!

2007-12-24T11:38:00.000-08:00

Yep! That is our one little ice-cycle. I was so proud! Caroline built a ginger-bread house with her Grammy and Papa
I have to brag for a moment...I MADE THESE STOCKINGS!!!

My mom always made our stockings and so I thought I would give it a go. My good friend Sivje helped me put these babies together and then her nifty sewing machine embroidered our names on the front!

THANK YOU SIVJE!!!

All ready for Santa!

Christmas With Christine & Charles

2007-12-24T11:29:00.000-08:00

The other night our friends Christine and Charlie came over to exchange gifts with the kids. Christine has been my good friend since my days working at the bank. We were so happy to get to spend a little bit of time with our friends during this crzy holiday season. Charles and Jack
Caroline was given a really neat oven that bake's with ice!!

AMAZING!! It actually works!
Jack was given a baseball toy...never too early!

Victorian Christmas

2007-12-24T11:14:00.000-08:00

I know that I have mentioned the benefits of living in downtown Nevada City before but here is another one; Victorian Christmas. Every year, starting a week or two after Thanksgiving, all of the locals come out of the woodwork and dress in Victorian style clothing and sell the things they have been making. There is plenty of food, music, Father Christmas, PEOPLE!!!

The view from the top of Broad Street.We ran into our friends the Bianchi's while we were down there.

Angelena & Caroline had such a great time.

I wish you could have seen them dance together.Isabella taking a ride on her Daddy's back The only picture of my beautiful friend Shawn I had

(Sorry Shawn! XOXOXOXO)

A live Nativity.

The funny thing was that this was being done by the local Ananda group...they are Hindu.

This lady made some really great balloon flowers.
There is tons of live music. These sweet girls were doing a beautiful job on their violins.
Did I mention it was FREEZING??? It was so cold I had to buy mittens for the kids hands. We still had to jump into a warm bath when we got home.

Random

2007-12-24T11:01:00.001-08:00

Jack has become a master climber. Every time he can find a step stool he is climbing up on it to see what the world looks like from his new view. This particular day he found his way to the bathroom sink and into my makeup brushes. He was also chewing on a piece of wood from the fire place.
Caroline (African princess for the day) was twirling
yep, that's a green feather boa.
It was a random day.

Annual Crab Feast

2007-12-09T21:49:00.001-08:00

Every December when the Dungenes Crab come into the store my parents invite our friends the Thompson's over for a feast. It basically consists of Crab, garlic-butter and bread. How could you go wrong?? This has been a tradition for about 15 years now. Ron & Kim joined our family when they came on board as pastor with Twin Cities Church. I don't think they have missed a year yet!!

This is the beginning of a great feast!

Caroline & Jordyn
Kim & Ryan digging in!

(Jack looks so much like Ryan did when he was a baby..chubby with curly hair!)

Even Jack enjoyed the crab!
Ron and my Dad
This was all that remained...shells.

This is Jack smearing his pacifier in my Dad's ice cream. He would then suck the ice cream off! It was so funny!

I just love this picture of Caroline. Ryan was playing around with my camera (with supervision of course!) and when I looked at the pictures I was so surprised to see how well he had done!All in all, it was a very satisfying evening!

Santa Babies

2007-12-09T21:40:00.000-08:00

Every Friday morning I have the pleasure of watching little Isabella. This past Friday I stripped Jack and Isabella down to their diapers and away we went! It was so fun.. Except for the part where Jack bit through an ornament shattering the glass. None was swallowed but Bella did end up with a little poke in her hand! Talk about stressful!

Bella was a perfect subject.

So was my Jack!
Bella would only sit still for one shot at a time before she was halfway over the back of the couch. This girl can climb!!!
Jack stayed put. He's not big on moving fast.
Don't you want to smooch those lips???

I did.

Christmas Musical

2007-12-09T21:23:00.000-08:00

Saturday was the annual children's Christmas musical. It was sooo fun. I love watching Caroline perform. This particular performance came on the heels of watching the Nutcracker Ballet. Basically, Caroline became the Sugar Plum Fairy and danced her way through 4 numbers. On our way to the musical her shoes wouldn't stay on her feet. Thankfully I had her black ballet slippers. This triggered her little brain and danced the performance of a lifetime! Unfortunately we can't seem to find our video camera, so I had no video. :( Here is our little friend Ahnalin...so cute!

(Her mom Sivje makes all of her dresses!)

Here is one move I did catch. Something like Tai-Chi.

SILLY GIRL!

Our good friends the Bianchi's were there too. Here is a picture of some of Isabella's first steps!!

(She has past Jack up!)
Here she is rubbing it in. Jack felt a little sorry for himself.
Caroline and a couple of er friends.
Caroline & Angelena
These are some of the moments that I treasure the most. Our children grow so fast!

Cardiologist Appointment

2007-12-05T13:35:00.000-08:00

Many of you have joined us in praying for Jack's heart. Some of you may not know that Jack was born with a minor heart defect (VSD). At Jack's one year appointment they were still hearing the "noise" in his heart. I was told that these things usually correct themselves by one year so when I was told it was still there I was concerned. After talking to Dr. Janos today he assured me that many times it takes 2-3 YEARS for this to clear up. That made me feel better and our little man is just fine. THANK YOU JESUS!!!

Just for the record, Jack is now 31 1/2 inches long and weighs 27.8 lbs. WOOHOO! (Little Aashini has a lot of catching up to do!)

Christmas Pics

2007-12-05T13:28:00.000-08:00

Last week we had our family Christmas pictures taken at Empire Mine by the very talented Mariah Michelle! She is one of the students in our ministry and is one of the most talented aspiring photographers I know.

GOGGLE BOY!!!!

2007-11-25T21:18:00.001-08:00

Thanks to my good friend Wendy who had her camera handy we were able to capture Jack wearing his sister goggles (which she wore with her dress to church this morning).

The Perfect Tree

2007-11-24T09:27:00.001-08:00

Rick and I love the Holiday Season. We love it all. We could hardly wait for Thanksgiving to be over with so we could go get our Christmas Tree. This year we went to the Little Bear Tree Farm in Alta, CA. It was amazing. It was this tiny little place with hardly any parking but they provide such a fun experience.

We started the day off right with a quick drive through Starbucks.

As you can see Rick likes to inhale his coffee with one big gulp. Little Bear is also the home to the worlds longest see-saw (maybe).

Jack and Uncle Bubba had a great time.

Did I mention it was cold there??? This place sits in a hole. Here we are all bundled up.

Who let Rick have the saw?????

Travis was pleading for his life. and then he lost his head.

BOYS!!

Nana Phyllis came with us and decided to take a rest on what looked like a sturdy pile of wood. To her surprise the logs rolled out from under her and she landed in the dirt!! AHHHH! We finally found the tree.

The cool place about this tree farm is that they ask you to make the cut just above the first "whorl" of branches. This way the tree will regenerate itself and grow 2 or 3 trees off of the stump. It was really cool to see all the different stages of this process and should make all of the "tree hugging - fish kissers" out there happy.
They take you part way up the mountain to the tree farm in these renovated Willys trucks. Then you pile in and they take you back down to measure the tree.
Jack and Nana taking a lunch break.
There is a huge bonfire going so it makes the air a little smokey. I couldn't resist the way the light was cutting through the trees.
Rick and I in front of the water wheel.
"Dear Santa, define 'Good'"
Caroline the tigress took some time out to master the monkey bars...
while sitting on my head.
Loaded up and ready to go.
We could hardly wait to get home and start decorating. The problem is, none of us brought a tape measure to measure the tree before we cut it. So we ended up with a short tree. But it is still beautiful!
We have definitely started a new family tradition.

Thanksgiving

2007-11-24T09:02:00.001-08:00

This Thanksgiving it was my turn to cook. I have not had to do Thanksgiving for about years now. I was a little out of practice. Good thing I had plenty of help! Thanksgiving is always at my parents house but this year they decided to head to southern California to spend it with my sister and her family. In keeping with the tradition we still had Thanksgiving at their house...just without them!

(We sure did miss them!) Nana and Jack sharing a snack
Gill enjoyed his pear from the tree in the back yard.
Uncle Aug, Caroline and Rick

My aunt Sheri was a HUGE help. She made the gravy...which I had no clue how to do.
My Grandma Bel was there too! She helped me to keep a level head and reminded me that she loved me even if it wasn't perfect.The sweetest Grandpa in the whole world.
My husband...AKA TURKEY NINJA
I don't know if you can really see the progression of these pics, but it was really funny
And turkey was perfect!

Nana & Griff...FINALLY!!!!

2007-11-19T08:02:00.000-08:00

After 6 long months, Nana and Griff FINALLY got here! The kids could hardly wait to see them! Here they are in the parking lot at the airport.

Nana and Griff coming down the elevator!
AT LAST!!!!

I think Caroline looks like her Nana in this picture.Tradition is that when you leave the airport you have to eat at In-N-Out.

It doesn't really matter what time of day or night.This my friends is a Double-Double, animal style.

YUMMO!And of course Nana and Griff came with plenty of gifts for the kids.

More pictures to come!!

The Fork

2007-11-19T07:57:00.001-08:00

My Jack-Jack has a thing with texture. So I thought I would give him a fork. He loved it! He was even trying to stab things himself!! Check out that crazy hair!!!

I think this one is funny!