Giving Thanks

We have had a great Thanksgiving week. Gordie and Sandy came in on Monday and Debra on Wednesday. Monday night we traveled out to Paradise, TX to visit some friends of the Bauslaugh's, the Normans and their daughter Chanda's family (who also recently moved to TX). It was a great visit with some really great chili and pumpkin dessert. And I think they have the only view in Texas.
After picking Debra up, we all went to Dallas to see the sights. After having an early lunch at a good ol' Texas BBQ joint we decided to go to the Sixth Floor Museum in the Book Depository building at Dealy Plaza. It seemed unusually busy which we chalked up to the Thanksgiving week, but soon realized that it was the 22nd, duh! It was the 43rd anniversary of the assasination of JFK. We didn't even realize that until we were about to go on the tour of the floor. Then, we happened to be at the exact place that Lee Harvey Oswald was at the exact time on the exact day, 43 years later. If we had tried to plan it, we wouldn't have made it.
Thursday, the boys watched Detroit lose and Sandy and I worked on Thanksgiving dinner. It was my first real Thanksgiving dinner. I made most of the dishes from scratch. I was a little nervous, but I was real pleased with how it turned out.
Friday we went to Mckinney's A Dickens of a Christmas. Which was fun with all of the neat downtown stores and booths. And, to prove Kimberly Gibson wrong, it snowed in Texas!! They had snow machines running on the hour and the girls loved it, Leslie especially.
Today it was more football for the guys while the girls went shopping. Then tonight we went for a short visit to the Guthries.
Tomorrow is Church and then Gordie heads back followed by Sandy and Debra (to Chicago) on Monday. What a crazy week it has been, but lots of fun to have visitors.
YUM!!













Gordie was winning until he ended a game with all of these tiles!! He doubled his score!

Our Stage

Y'All

OKAY! OKAY! I am giving in!

I have told many people I would not use the word Y'ALL (I guess it is a word). I have even told some new friends here in Texas how silly it sounds and how I feel kind of weird using it. I think wired is nice word to use, however I could have inserted other words to describe how I feel.

Anyway, I will now be using the word Y'all as I have accidently used it a couple of times and now will not be trying to refrain.

PEACE...Y'ALL

Lance

The Pin Bodies

Today Katie is sewing some pillow cases, and Lindsay is helping her. They are in the guest bedroom and Lindsay is sitting on the bed playing with some pins. They are a little longer than an inch. At first she was just sticking them into the bed and saying, "Mommy, these are pretend dancers."

She decided to poke them through all the way down so just the heads of the pins would be showing. She then got down off the bed on all fours and looked under the bed. She exlcaimed, "I am looking for the Pin Bodies."

Cute!

Pictures in the Park

We finally have some new pictures for everyone. Katie's roomate from College took these for us while we were back in Washington for Heidi's wedding. Enjoy!

Why?

OK so like every three year old that ever lived, Lindsay askes why about 45 million times a day. Today while I was cleaning a major blowout of Leslie's diaper Lindsay asked about 5 million of her 45 million including "why leslie have a dirty diaper?" and "why is that a bad diaper?" all of her questions, she could have answered herself. Then after I had placed the offensive diaper next to me on the floor, I told Lindsay not to walk on it, she asked why, and I just looked at her. She smiled and said, "why I always ask why mommy?" I told her I thought that was a very good question.

15 months

So leslie is 15 months old now. She is so much fun!! At the wedding Leslie proved to be a party girl, I'm not quite sure how I feel about that. It was fun, nontheless, to see her dancing as if nobody else was on the floor. She even had some adults trying to copy her moves. Now, whenever she hears music she wiggles around and gets a big smile on her face. Leslie's favorite game to play is hide-n-seek. She and Lindsay will run around the house while Lindsay is counting and then jump out and giggle when Lindsay stops. In the last couple of days Leslie has added the word "no" to her vocabulary. It usually comes with a shake of the head and a slap of the hand, in case you don't understand what she is trying to communicate. Lindsay has found out the consequences of ignoring Leslie's no, she has the bite mark on her arm to prove it. When Leslie is being disciplined or talked to about something that she doesn't like, she does everything that she can to avoid eye contact. It is extremely frustrating in the moment, and something that we will have to overcome but it's kinda funny too.
Lindsay, almost 3 and 3 months, has quite an imagination. Recently daddy built her a stage (yes, I am talking about Lance :-0). We thought she would only use it to dance and sing, she does those things, but her favorite thing is to tell stories. She plays storytime with some of her toys as the audiance. Last night, daddy acted out David and Goliath and this morning she was telling her toys another story of David, without the scary Goliath, but with much feeling and drama. When she isn't acting out stories, she is reading her books. Some books she has memorized nearly word for word and is now reciting them on stage or to her sister. It seems like Lindsay always has some sort of storyline going on in her head. That girl will talk and talk and talk. Sometimes making sense, sometimes not. The other day Lindsay woke up early and was done with her morning routine before Leslie had even woke up. She asked me "why is Leslie sleeping?" My answer did not satisfy her, she said "I need Leslie to play with me cause she is my friend." My heart melted. If only she would remember that when they are teenagers!

Back

We are back in Texas. The wedding was fun and seeing everyone was great, but we are happy to be back in our own house again. Lindsay started saying she wanted to come back the day before we left. I don't know if I can say I looked forward to coming back to Texas yet, but I was looking forward to coming home. Here is a cute picture from before the wedding.

Playgroup

These are pictures from last week's playgroup in Texas, the day before we left for Washington.

Preparations

We are in Washington preparing for Heidi's wedding. What a crazy time. The girls are getting to spend quality time with both sets of grandparents and we are busy with something every day from now until we leave on the 16th. This trip has become an experience of extreme emotions. From the sadness of Susanne's passing to the blessing of a new life in my cousin Shannon's baby girl Riley. The coming days include a memorial, a wedding shower, a bachelorette party, a rehearsal dinner and finally a wedding. I am really looking forward to it all (other than the memorial), but I think I am beginning to really look forward to Sunday, the day after the wedding when we can enjoy one of our favorite places on earth, Lake Chelan. In the meantime, the girls and I miss Lance, and can't wait to see him in a few days!

I wrote this the day Susanne died, but didn't post it, I guess I was a little chicken, so I am posting it now.

I just wanted to take a minute to reflect on my sister's friend's tragic death today. It is just a reminder of how none of us have any guarantees for tomorrow. We could have days left, we could have years left. The question is, do you know what is beyond death?? I know where I will go if I should die tonight. I hope that you do too. If not, find out and do something about it. There is no time for excuses. Susanne knew too, and that is how we can find peace with her death.

Obit; http://www.legacy.com/tribnet/DeathNotices.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonID=19413152

Prayer requests

Well, we leave in about 48 hours and both girls are not feeling 100%. Lindsay especially. Please pray for her that she will feel better soon. She woke up several times last night with a tummy ache. She is asleep on the couch right now with a bowl because she said she wants to throw up. She hasn't yet but I am really concerned. I don't know what we can do if she is still feeling sick when we have to leave early Friday.
That is the next prayer request, that we are all healthy for leaving on Friday and that I can handle traveling across the country with two little ones.

If you think of us, pray for us! Thanks!

14 months

Leslie is 14 months today! In the last month she has added a few things to her list of firsts. She has well established uh-oh as her first word and will mimick the sounds in words that we try to get her to say like please. Last week, leslie gave her first blow-kiss to her daddy and she loves to give real kisses too. She also has begun going down the stairs by herself. She amazes us by going down forward one step at a time. sit-scoot-stand, sit-scoot-stand. I don't know if that can help you visualize what she is doing, but it is pretty cute!
Both girls are sick a lot here. I sometimes feel like we are never 100%. Please keep the girls in your prayers.

Sorry I can't write more, I find I have less time these days. Hopefully I will get to add to this later tonight.

Katie

The Pink Lady

I have already posted a picture of Lindsay's room but I thought I would post some more. When Lindsay's room was almost finished she walked into her room in the cinderella dress she had been wearing all day and exclaimed, "Cinerelna likes her room!" So I guess we have an A+ from Cinderella. To give you an idea of how pink this room is, Lindsay asked me if I had painted her white dresser pink too. Nope, it's just reflecting the color of the walls.

Here comes trouble!

Leslie has a habit of getting herself into precarious positions. Here are some pictures to show you what I mean.

pictures!!

OK so since our digital camera is not working, I had to use a "conventional" camera. And of course, you have to take film in to get developed then you have to wait a WHOLE hour to pick them up. So since I am lazy, I didn't get any of that done till yesterday so I have a bunch of pics to post for you.
We will start with a pic of our last night at our house in Washington. I get a lump in my throat when I see the mountain in our pics!!

Now some pics of our new house in Texas:
The girls in their playroom: the camera is outside of Lindsay's door.

The catwalk and doors to Lindsay's room, the bathroom and to the left, hall to Leslie's room. Taken from the playroom.
Lindsay's room. We painted it pink this weekend. It is VERY pink. More on that to come.
From the Breakfast nook looking toward the Front door. Dinning room to the left, office down the left hall. Stairs to the right of the door, Livingroom in foreground.
From the front door up the stairs. You can see Lindsays room (can't miss the pink!) to the left. Guestroom, Media room, extra bathroom and playroom are to the left.
The backyard. A little smaller than WA and nothing but a view of the sky. :-)

We have more house to cover but I ran out of film (I was trying to finish off a roll) and our bedroom is far from presentable at this time.

"CIAO"

Funny story between Katie & Lindsay today.

(Lindsay about to go outside to play)
Katie: "CIAO"
Lindsay:"WHAT IS THAT MOMMY?"
Katie:"THAT IS GOOD-BYE IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE"
Lindsay:"OH"
(Lindsay thinking for a second)
Lindsay:"ADIOS"
(Lindsay goes out to play)

We've got some updating to do.

I have not done an update on either of the girls in a while, so here we go.

Lindsay - Turned 3 recently and is really turning into a "big girl." She is independent and wants to do everything by herself. She loves to sing and tell stories - usually half out of made-up words. She is very helpful with her little sister and sometimes forgets that she is not the mommy. Since moving to our new house Lindsay has gotten her own room again and has chosen butterflies to decorate her room in. We are hoping to paint it pink because, as she will tell you, pink is her favorite color. Lindsay's favorite room in the new house is the gameroom. She loves to go up there and sing, play with her little people doll house and read stories to her mountain of stuffed animals (seriously, the stuffed animal thing is way out of hand!). Lindsay would love to play outside in our yard, but it has been way too hot do do that, even when the sun goes down. About the only thing that we do outside is swim at the pool, something that Lindsay is becoming more brave at. Lindsay is showing signs of missing people back in Washington. She talks about her grandparents often and her aunts and uncles and her special friends John and Cole, Mr. Kyle and Miss Kathy, and of course Drew and Brook and Payton. There is a little girl who lives about a block away that is about 6 months younger than Lindsay who Lindsay likes to play with and we have been going to playgroup once a week so that she gets some time with other kids.

Lindsay showing you her butterfly mobile over her bed

Leslie - Turned 1 right before we left Washington and is quickly showing off her "todlerness" if there is such a term. She is at that age where you can see her learning something new everyday. Since we have been back in TX (only 3 weeks) she has begun to sign. She signs more, all done, and please. Yesterday she picked up saying uh oh! Now she likes to drop things and she gets a surprised look on her face and says uh oh! She has had fun with the new gameroom too. She has decided it is fun to drop blocks from the gameroom into the living room below, something that we are going to have to get on top of. Speaking of on top, Leslie has been caught a few times now balancing herself on-top of Lindsay's coloring desk. She is certainly not afraid of much.

Leslie giving you "the look"

I know I say this all the time, but the girls are so much fun right now! I definately think that one of the blessings of Texas has been that since we are not as busy here, we spend a lot more time with our girls.

As for Lance and I, we are enjoying our new place. We love the new floorplan. It is wide open and well-used space. I love that I can hear the girls from pretty much anywhere in the house and that they have a special place where they can go and play. I also love that we have a special guest room for visitors and my crafting supplies. Lance's work has picked up since we returned and he is getting a lot more done in his new office.

A lovely guest bed for you to stay in when you come down to visit us!

We are starting to get connected in our new church. We came forward for membership last Sunday and are invloved in an "Experiencing God" study together on Wednesday nights. I have signed up for a bible study for mom's on Wednesday mornings. I have decided not to do Mops this year (or at least this semester) because it meets the same time as our Bible study on Wednesday nights and I am really excited about doing a study with Lance.
Before I sign off - if you haven't recieved our new contact info please let me know, I don't want to post it here for obvious reasons.

The view from upstairs looking over the kitchen and breakfast nook.

WOW it's hot!!!

Ok so we are finally back in TX and man is it hot!! It has consistantly been in the triple digits all week. How we have come to apreciate airconditioning.
Talk about a crazy week! It took us 4 days and 9 states to get here. We arrived Sunday afternoon and signed papers on our new house on Monday. We moved everything out of the truck on a scorching hot Monday afternoon, then Lance's cousin-in-law Tyson came Tuesday and helped move things out of the apartment and to the house. It was so hot and Lance and Tyson were pretty wiped out when it was done. My mom came down to help with the girls while we moved. She was a great help. Since Tuesday we have spent our time organizing and decorating the new place. We have a few more square feet in this house and with all of our stuff, it is amazing that we ever fit into the house back in Washington. We will have to put up pictures as soon as we have some! I will take this oportunity to advertise our very comfortable and lovely guest bedroom to any and all who would like to visit us. Come on, you know you want to!!
We celebrated Lindsay's birthday last night with a steak dinner at Saltgrass (we will have to make this a place to visit when people come down, talk about good!!). When we got home we had icecream (melty from the trip between the groceries and home).
We had fun on our extended visit to Washington and look forward to seeing many people in October when we come down for Heidi and Bobby's wedding.

We will keep y'all posted!!

Leslie is 11 months old!

This is a little late, ok A LOT late! But things have been busy for us.
Leslie began walking the day after the 11 month mark. She has opened a new world up for herself and her parents. She proves to be a lot more daring than Lindsay was at this age and is trying to climb into chairs already, a feat that Lindsay didn't even try until after 18 months. Leslie's favorite thing is splashing in the pool or bathtub. She loves to stand in the bathtub and even accidently flipped herself out of the tub yesterday. I had turned to reach for a towl and all of the sudden heard a big bump. I turned to see Leslie laid out with her head toward the bath and her feet away. She is lucky she didn't get hurt!! She is a handful and always keeps us on our toes. Leslie doesn't really have any words yet but she does get pretty forceful with her MAMA sounds when she is trying to get to me or trying to tell me something. She makes lots of different kinds of sounds now and it is fun for everyone to make up words out of what she is saying. We are trying to introduce some signs with Leslie like we did with Lindsay, but she hasn't gotten the hang of them yet. It's hard to believe that Leslie will be 1 year old in less then a month. Wow does time fly!
Lindsay is almost 3, that is really hard to believe. She continues to amaze us with her growing vocabulary and understanding of how things are. She is really a little girl now, hard to believe that a year ago she seemed to be a baby still. She has developed some favorite things to do now. She loves to draw most of all. Her drawings have recently become more distinct from the scribbles that she used to draw. Yesterday she amazed us all by drawing a face with eyes, eyebrows, nose, a mouth and hair, then she added legs with shoes. She probably sat for an hour decorating paper with her swirls and people faces. She even drew some faces that seemed to convey some emotion and she told me (without prompting) what those emotions are. I think the most fun development of the last couple of months for Lindsay is the ability to have conversations with her. Her understanding of the world is quite interesting. The only bad thing is that she has learned the ever popular toddler question, "Why?" Oh how we love answering those!! :-)

We are still enjoying our extended vacation in Washington. We just got back yesterday from a couple of days camping with our friends the Grubers. We had a lot of fun and enjoyed their company. I will try to add some pictures when we get some from Nichole or John because our camera is pretty much garbage these days. Lance is golfing today with his buddy Kyle and tomorrow we look forward to celebrating a new little I with Kyle and his wife Kathy.