Here are some shots we took of the back yard the other morning. It was just so beautiful with the hydrangeas that had bloomed that we had to shoot some pics.

And here is our last weekend project. We took this whole swing apart, slat by slat and sanded, stained and clear coated the whole thing. Then put it back together. Whoah, it was a HUGE project! But definitely worth every minute. Plus we spent some great time together while enduring the time constraining project. It was great. Now we can have our quiet time and coffee on the swing in the front yard and it feels so good and pretty now!

MOM... ARE YOU PROUD? he he he he

Summer is finally here!!! YAY!

Amber with her little summer dress in the front yard all ready for a friend's bday party...

Jimmy showing off his guns at the beach...

Amber refused to bring a bathing suit on Memorial Day to the beach because it was cool in the morning when we left. So she decided to just get in with her clothes on... silly doodle...

here is Kaiya soakin up the sun in her little pool at the city park

Ash was sportin her cute little bod, you can't even tell she just had a baby 9 months ago...

Kaiya finally got all tuckered out, I just love how she lounged out with her legs kicked up...

Here is a pic I shot of Memorial Day at Coeur d'Alene city beach. The beach itself was just littered with people, it was a perfect sunny day!

It seems like forever since I have posted anything to this blogsite. My doodlebug is home sick today so I am staying home with her. I will more than likely be cleaning and doing laundry for the majority of the day. Here is her and me last night cuddling when she fell asleep in my arms. Poor little buggy.

Anyways, I guess a lot has been going on, yet I have been to busy to take pics. But finally after 3-4 months of full weekends, we have finally had some down time to breathe. 

I guess the biggest haps in the last few months is that Amber got new specs. She is so happy now that she can see!!! Here are some shots of her and her cuteness.

Last weekend we went to the "Lost in the 50's" which is an old car show in downtown Sandpoint that they have every year. We have some friends, Todd and Shawna, that we just found out lived in Sandpoint, that Jim went to school with. We went with them and had a fun day. After looking at the cars, we went down to the Sandpoint city beach, it is so beautiful there.

 

notice Amber digging for treasures while the boys skip rocks in the water...

We also took the kids to the beach at Lake Pend'Orielle a couple of weekends ago. That was a blast, it was the first time that Marlyie has been in the lake. She wasn't quite sure what to do. She loved it, but it was a little too cold for her still. Not Buddy though, he could have swam all day if we let him. I am guessing that the water was somewhere around 40 degrees. Brrrr....

Here is Doodlebug feeding a Canadian Goose,

Here are my 3 favorite peeps soakin up the sun.

Here are just a few miscellaneous pics from recent days. My neice, Kaiya, is getting so big now. She is almost 7 months old now, and she is such a happy little thing. I just love lovin on her and squishing her and smooching her little chubby cheeks. Here she is playing with her little mobile.

 

Mamaw loves her baby girl...

Here is Papaw with his two oldest grand kiddos.

The puppy is getting so big too. Here is her and Amber goofin' off.

It has been such a long time since I have blogged on our family blog... if you haven't had a chance to check our mission trip blog, you can switch over and view it through our complete profile. It is called Kenya 2009. Or you can just go straight to it by going to www.Nairobi2009.blogspot.com

So anyways, our family has been trying so hard to get back into the swing of things since our trip. We both hit the ground running as soon as we got back. With work and just the normal routine of everyday life, we are still trying to recoup our sleep patterns as well as our household duties. But Lord willing, we will have a relaxing weekend to try and catch up on some sleep.

Yesterday was my birthday. woohoo for me. yes i am now 33 and when I went to renew my license today, I noticed that I look a lot older in my picture than I did in my old license. I guess that is what happens. 

Anyways... it was a really cool day. Jim took me to lunch at Beverly's which is a pretty fancy schmancy restaurant on the 7th floor of the Coeur d'Alene Resort. I only wanted to go there for old times sake, because my mom used to take me there for my birthday when I was younger. But for some reason, I almost felt humiliated at the treatment that they give. Don't get me wrong, this is a 5 star restaurant in a 5 star hotel and everything is done to the nine. But after spending a week in one of the most poverish areas in the world, it made me realize how petty and spoiled we are as Americans. I mean, good grief, they even scraped the crumbs off of the tablecloth after we ate our rolls so that it would be clean for the main course. I have to say that this kind of living is definitely not for us. I would rather spend 2 months back in the slums of Nairobi, eating the rice and chipattis that they serve, than to have one more meal like that.

Anyways, we left work and it was snowing like blizzard style. What a bummer, snow storm on my birthday. Here is a pic of the drive home and a farm that we pass on the way home.

 

We made it home safe and sound. When we finally got home, Jimmy made us all chili for dinner and Amber baked me a birthday cake.

  

I was so proud of them. It was the best dinner and dessert I have ever had, especially after that lush of a meal we had at lunch. The greatest part besides the taste, was the fact that I didn't have to lift a finger to cook the whole night. What a treat. As my family knows, my love language is Acts of Service, so for them to do that for me was such a suprising treat, and the best gift I could have got. Jim even did the laundary for me. I was totally spoiled!! I love my life and my family so much.

 

Yesterday was the 3rd best day of our lives! (1)wedding day, 2)Birth of our children)

The kids got BAPTIZED!!!

What a special day! There is no greater joy than knowing our children made an open expression of their faith. The nice thing about our church too, is that they encourage the parents baptize their children, so Jim and I were able to baptize Jimmy & Amber. 

3John 1:4 "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth"

As of today we are creating a new Blog which is attached to this one. It is called Kenya 2009. To get to it you can go to "View my complete profile" right next to our Profile Picture. Then once you are on our profile page, go to the Kenya 2009 Blog. This blog site will be the one updated as we prepare for and are on our Kenya trip next month. We leave on the 17th of Feb and come back on the 26th. We ask that you keep us and our friends that we are going with, Tony & Jill, in your prayers as we seek Gods will and trust in Him during this mission trip. Unfortunately, our kiddos won't be coming with us this time, my mom will be staying with them, so we also pray for peace in their little hearts and minds that they just remember that our lives are in God's hands.
We hope you are blessed by this blog as our journey begins here at home, on our knees and proceeds 9000 miles away......

CONGRATULATIONS ~ TRAVIS & MAELLA PETERSON!!!

Our best friends, Travis and Maella, just got married and all 4 of us were in their wedding. It was a beautiful wedding yet so simple. We just love these guys. I had to post some pics, because this is one of the rare times you will ever see any of us dressed up. That is why we take pictures, because they last longer...

Here is Doodle bug getting her hair done, she looked so beautiful!

Here we are, the 4 of us... all dressed up and ready for the wedding.

My 2 favorite men...

The ladies,

again...

Mommy & her boy (mini me)...

I was so happy to see when my sister came to the wedding...

Here is the happiest couple this side of the moon!

The kiddos

Amber with Maella, they had matching dresses, it was so adorable (Amber had her sweater over hers in this pic, she was a little chilly)...

And here we are, the three stooges....

Just the beginning to an awesome story! Love you guys!!! Congratulations!!!

MORE AND MORE AND MORE SNOW.... WILL IT EVER STOP???

This storm is taking it's toll on the bodies of us North Idaho folks.

Jim and I have been shoveling, almost everyday for about 2 weeks straight. At least the kids are enjoying it...

Notice Jim standing in the door way... we just got done shoveling the driveway after work.

Here are the kiddos playing in the snow down by the stop sign. That fence to the left is a 6 foot privacy fence to one of our neighbors house. The kids get so excited when we get home from work so they can go down and play on this hill... as if we don't have enough snow in our backyard to play in...