little ben

On 07.08.09 (cool huh?) my dear friend, Eileen had her third baby, Benjamin. Eileen and I have been through a lot of life together. We’ve know each other since 5th grade, we traveled to England on a semester abroad program, we were roommates for 3 years, and we had our baby girls 10 weeks apart. Needless to say, when Eileen found out she was pregnant with number three, I knew I wanted to make her something special.

When I was in Texas last January visiting Debs, she took me to “Hobby Lobby” (a type of Michael’s store only WAY better) to pick out yarn. It was fun to have Debbie’s opinion on color combos. The yarn came from Texas, the pattern came from a book from the library, and the end product turned out pretty well.

A blanket for Ben.

After Eileen came home from the hospital, a few days later I brought over dinner and the blanket. Look how tiny he is . . . they just get big so fast!

Here is the new family of five: Eileen (beautiful), Ben (5 days old), Gary (young at heart), Gracie (19 months), and Colin (3 years 11 months)!

I was so honored to actually be present when Ben made his entrance. I remember talking to Eileen on the phone last fall when she thought “no way can I be pregnant,” to helping her welcome this blessing. I think I lived my third pregnancy vicariously through her (because let’s face it, there is a reason people have children in their 20’s, oy vey!) so this little guy was special to me right from the beginning.

I’m so blessed to do life with Eileen, a true kindred spirit . . . and inspiring mama of three! Love you Auntie I!

the livin’ is easy

I love this good ‘ole summertime. We’ve been enjoying bike rides, lazy mornings, eating Golden Spoon, and renting dvds. I know this sounds silly, but some years I don’t look forward to summer, because our schedule gets disrupted and I don’t like the heat. But once we get going, I start to love our time. Jay is an awesome kid, and I just love having him home full time. Kellen is getting big, and she too enjoys her some Jay all day long.

Swim class was amazing, Jay has turned into a strong little swimmer and doing well with diving. This was our 4th summer of swim class at Cal State Fullerton . . . and again their program did not disappoint!

One of the best things about this summer was having a cleaning crew come and deep clean my house. Now, I’ve NEVER had anyone clean my house before. It just is not in the budget. We are hosting an Open House for my sister on Sunday and I just started to panic when I realized how much of a wreck my house was. Enter the cleaning crew. They worked for almost 6 hours scrubbing my little house and it is AMAZING how freeing it is to have an entirely clean house all on the same day. I worked for a few days prior to them coming to clear out the clutter and throw stuff out. I almost feel like a weight was lifted off me and now I can look around and really see my house and feel thankful for it. I even hung a few things on the wall!!

Summertime also brings the Tour de France to our home. I know, I know . . . it is so random that I would love watching this race, but I just think it is so cool. Each morning I come out and flip on the tivo to watch what’s been going on. This morning I found out one of my favorite riders, Levi Leipheimer, is out of the race because of a broken wrist. What’s funny to me, is that Mike comes along and is shocked . . .”What?? Oh no!!!” he says. I’ve got him hooked too!!!!

Another summertime treat is spending time with cousins. Jay and Kellen enjoyed hanging out with Jason and Katie yesterday. Hopefully next time we can make it to the park.

Oh, and Kellen has found her nose and likes to stick her finger in it! Nice!

And of course the best part is being with these two! (and Mike too!)

stories stacked up

I have just a few minutes before we are going to Jay’s last swim class of the summer, so I thought I’d just chime in for a second. A lot has been happening in the last few days. So much I’d like to blog about but really not enough time, especially when my house is a wreck and I spend time reading other people’s blogs!

I’d like to blog in more detail but here are a few highlights that have me thinking this week.

* I am watching the Tour de France. Yes, you too can watch it if you get the VS channel. Love it!

* On Wednesday I had the honor of being present when my friend, Eileen, gave birth to her 3rd baby. Eileen and I have known each other since 5th grade. More to come on that story. (I was crying like a baby when that baby came out . . .then basically couldn’t speak as I was trying to capture the first few moments on  film for them. I am amazed at the miracle of LIFE!

* The next day, Thursday (yesterday) I went to Newport Beach with Holli and we witnessed the tragic story of a man being pulled from the water. Don’t know if you heard about it, but you can read it here. I cried again while praying that that man would know Jesus. I am so thankful that the kids were oblivious to what was happening. But this has stayed with me, even to this morning. The juxtaposition of witnessing birth then death the very next day has me feeling unsettled . . .

* Anywhoo! I’m thankful my parents are coming over after swim class today to help me with the kids while I pull my house together!!! Love the grandparents!  I’ve got stuff to post about swim class too. Oh and my sister is coming to visit from Texas in 9 days!!! Woot, Woot!!!!!!!

Know I really have to go. I basically let Kellen run amuck as I  wrote this and I am smelling something distinct now!

the fourth of july

for many years now, we’ve trekked down to the mosher’s place and joined in the 4th of july fun at their annual block party. (we think we’ve actually convinced a few neighbors that we live in the neighborhood.) we always enjoy hanging out with the moshers, and we were looking forward to a fun day celebrating our country’s independence. (oh by the way, the john adams miniseries is a must see).

this year i decided to make a patriotic trifle and it turned out great, even if i do say so myself.

kellen did a lot of trying to drink the water off the sidewalk . . . i just laughed and took pictures!

jay had fun at the whipped cream pie eating contest!

kellen and daddy just hangin’ out.

oh and jay’s highlight of the day was making a new friend! we think he was a little smitten with her, but it was fun to see them have such a good time playing together.

just realized that i’m not in any pictures! i guess that’s what happens when you are the one with the camera. (note to self: pass the camera around so i’m at least in ONE picture, geesh.)

it’s coming

in just 11 more days . . . one of my favorite things happens in the summer.

for those that know me, you know it is so out of character for me. i’m not even sure where my fascination was born.

i just know i L-O-V-E  it!!!

and this year is special because he returns!

oh i can’t wait for the drama (yes, there is LOTS of drama!)

the excitement

the commentary

and my favorite, george will be there.

the tour, baby! it’s going to be a GREAT july!

 

Lucky Catch!

Mike, Jay and Papa went fishing today at Tri-City Park and actually caught something!

12 Months

I did this for Jay and it was fun to do with Kellen. Starting with one week old, then every month on the 20th I would take a picture of Kellen with her “bear” to show her growth. As the months went on, it was no small feat to get a decent picture of her with the bear, but I’m so glad I made the effort. What a great 12 months it has been.

Happy 1st Birthday, Kellen!

On February 20th we celebrated one year with our little girl!!!

Transcend

At my pilates class at church, our leader shared this video with us. It made me thankful for my friends, and highlighted how strong we women are. It also challenged me  . . . how can I be a better friend? who around me needs a friend? even if I don’t know them that well? What do you think?

The Wall

The Friday after Thanksgiving I was sitting in our living room when I heard a crash. This is what happened:

We still don’t know what caused the blocks to fall, but we do know they had been loose. The wall is original to the house, so we are talking a good 40 years. Unfortunately our insurance was no help, so after getting quotes for the repairs, our neighbor and we shared the cost of the repairs. So last Thursday, they got busy.

And now our wall (at least this small section of it) looks great and is beautiful! So we can take our wall off the list of things that need to get done! I just wish it wasn’t so danged expensive!!!!