tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89438484748995631382024-02-20T06:17:07.466-08:00Our Forever FamilyDigital documentation of our livesKristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748064307759385080noreply@blogger.comBlogger83125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943848474899563138.post-19495535861659647822011-10-10T20:55:00.000-07:002011-10-11T10:33:13.735-07:00Whole 30 Challenge<div style="text-align: center;">My gym, <a href="http://www.eugenecrossfit.com/">Eugene Crossfit</a>, started a 30 day challenge on September 12th called "<a href="http://whole9life.com/2011/06/whole-30-v4/">Whole 30</a>." The challenge technically ends tomorrow at midnight so I thought I'd give you a brief overview of what I learned over the past 30 days.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh612Q9JA7TMf1Xf6diLJ_ze1nPVhKzJj2_6aUHYKE2Ns63bWCk7nYS4yxfRrS_racxF-0LLj5Kx1MdIwxsnXx1SB13AKi9GYfzQLX7aiyN_io2Xd9wAOVGooTapxEFF201UYbVfh3Koiof/s400/margaret.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5662100685197427618" />(image borrowed from fellow Whole 30'er <a href="http://margaret-hansen.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2011-09-25T23%3A53%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=10">Margaret</a>)<br /><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">Basically the challenge boils down to eating a LOT of meat, veggies, some fruit, nuts, seeds, and NOTHING ELSE. I have done a paleo 30 day challenge before, but the "no preservatives" and "no sweetners" rules bumped this challenge up to a whole new level for me.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Here's what I've learned over the past 30 days, in no particular order.</div></div><div><div><ul><li style="text-align: center;">There truly is strength in numbers (alternate caption considered, "Misery loves company"). Our gym had almost 60 people all doing Whole 30 together. Our elected leader, Rachel, made a facebook page where everyone shared their successes, failures, and everything in between. She also organized meals every Friday where we got together and ate clean food. Words fail at describing just how nice it was to be with people that "get it." When you're having a rough day or want to quit, there's someone there to help talk you through it - and sometimes that makes all the difference between success and failure. <b>Our gym is starting another round of Whole 30 on October 1 7th, let me know if you're interested in taking the journey with the Eugene Crossfit Crew!</b><br /><br /></li><li style="text-align: center;">I eat a lot of my kids' food. I did not make my children follow this crazy diet so I ended up making and handling a lot of food that I couldn't eat myself. Multiple times throughout the day, I catch myself almost eating their snack or almost licking my fingers. I wonder how much weight I'd lose just by changing this one habit.<div style="text-align: center; "></div><div><br /></div></li></ul><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqmC3KAASD_ohzvG-Q8a17n7-fW-BzX4zBNpYDCXxx_XLUjjqByz5HAeAtyv-OXDCTKwNxmdTjn_BJtXap5QeygOD1RDdb3PtnvCuw7VKkn2m1QVeodWHoJpoUxGMIk7E1aQeFGqijmf-x/s400/addict.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5662097621049226258" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /><div style="text-align: center;">(from the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Primal-Blueprint-Reprogram-effortless-boundless/dp/0982207700/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1318312584&sr=1-1">Primal Blueprint</a>)</div><ul><li style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center; "></div><div>I am a sugar-aholic. Going 30 days without a brownie really shouldn't be this hard. Also, there is hidden sugar in so many products! I know you don't believe me, so go read your labels (start with your lunch meat).<br /><br /></div><div></div></li><li style="text-align: center;">Failing to plan is planning to .... suffer. My friend <a href="http://margaret-hansen.blogspot.com/">Margaret</a> (who did a great job blogging about her Whole 30 journey, you should check her blog out) met with me the first few weeks of the challenge and we wrote out meal plans for the following weeks. I don't think either of us ended up following our plans completely, but just having ideas of what food I needed to buy helped a lot because I didn't have to try and come up with a meal plan on the fly. Not planning didn't equate to failing, it just meant more trips to the grocery store and fighting hunger pains longer.<div></div></li></ul></div><ul><li style="text-align: center;">Cooking is not my passion. I know some people derive a great deal of joy from planning meals, shopping for groceries, prepping ingredients and serving food. Not me. This challenge pretty much required every meal and snack to have something cooked. There were a few times where I wanted to pull my hair out because it felt like my whole day revolved around my food - something my three children weren't too thrilled about either.</li><li><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center; "></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGztK7guERAFcI28abDPJK2nerPk_4zte1CbWc5LuNVTPK0QhyphenhyphenIaftBfzhc9Xg56Me-BCQQswNO-g7vA72EonQRkj62vHRJRPJsdGeF-gY_jcnQ4KSfxtzUd7tzpiFn9NhT8kC8UhJH9nn/s400/grocery+store.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5662098066797740866" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 394px; height: 400px; " /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">The definition of the word "food" has become very broad. If our ancestors from just three or four generations back saw a fruit snack, would they know it was edible? When did we start eating stuff processed in a factory more than stuff that grew out of the ground? I walk around the grocery story now and I can't believe how much processed junk we, as a society, eat. Have you put something green in your mouth today?</div></div></li></ul><ul><li style="text-align: center;">There is such a thing as too much coconut. I think I overdid it a little on the coconut milk, shredded coconut, coconut aminos (which I recommend for a great soy sauce substitute if you ever need one), coconut oil, and coconut butter because I reached a point where the smell of coconut almost made me feel sick.<br /><br /></li><li style="text-align: center;">I eat food for emotional reasons. This is something I was vaguely aware of already, but Whole 30 put it into a whole new light. I won't lie, September turned out to be a rough month for me. My husband celebrated his birthday, and I felt like it wasn't a true celebration because we didn't make a cake (maybe that should have gone under the sugar-aholics section). My grandmother passed away, and what I really wanted to do to honor her memory was make her chocolate sheet cake and eat the whole thing myself. My son's angel-versary came and I wanted to go out to eat every meal so I wouldn't have to cook anything. I found out a dear friend is moving and I was very grumpy I couldn't look for some comfort at the bottom of a large blizzard cup. Those are just the extreme examples, if I tried I'm sure I could come up with something for almost every day of the challenge. For me, it's very easy to justify a treat. I've started to use reading as a coping strategy instead of eating, but I'm worried once the challenge is over that I will slip back into my old habits.</li></ul><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWQO0lAJZcrxHd3Xvi6ZZrZFDLdr4E019i0P1GsYD3u8FecCPatTjS0NadY1cD44lX2rilqW0HMWd66jlTnkYswIsAPBOfQuf4YOrSR3ykkpPVPMI4rn3kE9F0b5wnMBr3-3HfsdrR0MOw/s400/020.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5662098710697973714" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px; " /><ul><li style="text-align: center; "><div style="text-align: center; ">Whatever you do, DO NOT follow directions on produce stickers. Today, on day 29 of the challenge, I wanted to cook a spaghetti squash. I called my culinarily-talented (yes, I just made that word up) neighbor, Valerie, and had her walk me through my cooking options. When I hung up I started worrying that I didn't have enough time to cook dinner before my daughter's soccer practice, but to my delight, the produce sticker on the spaghetti squash offered microwave cooking directions that only took 15 minutes! As you can see from the picture above, following produce sticker cooking directions is a bad idea. Next time I will follow the culinarily-talented neighbor's advice instead.</div></li></ul></div><div style="text-align: center;"><ul><li style="text-align: center; ">I can do hard things. As adults, I think it's easy for us to construct a world for ourselves where we don't have to go outside of our comfort zone very often or for very long. This challenge helped me realize that setting silly, crazy, unattainable goals for myself helps spice up life and gives me something positive to focus on.<br /><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHDkU8itY9V-Fs1hL9UjHnTFRIQCQtq03kV15UHY3nkE8Dh9vNnrGF-wP2N-cdA4o8BU9eqTH57RiEkV6_fWtdPCwjFOpAPXT3wZGE45vFhRNWGqmBikkqCLqxBLcfw7oAukrD21Ryg0OK/s320/I+CAN+DO+HARD+THINGS+9.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5662103234428474290" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 256px; height: 320px; " />The Whole 30 challenge was hard, and for that reason alone, I'm glad I did it. But should eating healthy really be hard? Shouldn't we all want to eat this way all of the time? Why do we do things that we know aren't the best option for ourselves? I guess I will have to save the philosophical debate for another post, another day. If you have any questions about Whole 30, please leave a comment and I will do my best to answer them. </li></ul></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWaAhrM0a8yBGVMQV_burDH4jm2eY6e-kd9HnWpkzV1Vsq6mAntDMJCS7pzTUo4eN-leXS-NxL5d0wUw4GuYFK74T71o-a84ciDc0kBmJHigBUtb9PhgVNfQIDWMgZLgqhDLlbrzfcQ64i/s400/it%2527s+not+hard.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5662100684097704578" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 363px; " /></div></div>Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748064307759385080noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943848474899563138.post-39876784459070570022011-02-10T09:03:00.000-08:002011-02-10T23:30:17.485-08:00Introducing . . . Colby!<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgotwOL-ra3IYCzjZ4N4jpwNG8v54p192IujnzGij4v0dcnATD11-GwyzAUgtkIotK9dquuhZC4p0tnDuSKcevaONoHTa3FSwZHt6qHvcxLZAvwvYOzEnKtoWcVvoauev092vIuhBItTnGN/s1600/027.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgotwOL-ra3IYCzjZ4N4jpwNG8v54p192IujnzGij4v0dcnATD11-GwyzAUgtkIotK9dquuhZC4p0tnDuSKcevaONoHTa3FSwZHt6qHvcxLZAvwvYOzEnKtoWcVvoauev092vIuhBItTnGN/s400/027.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572113021221494130" border="0" /></a><br />Hi, I'm Colby. My Mom likes to tell everyone that I'm a happy, easy going baby. I really love listening to all the sounds around me, especially music. I'm a snacker - which means I'd rather eat a little and then rest and then come back to eat a little more, which is a first for Mom's babies I guess. She also says I put smiles on everyone's faces in our family. Here's a few more things she has to say about me:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggufv8BL52Dt7soNQrl_CSkpzPnHhzQnGud5euhEpia_c-uwya-xzLEDBh7h2V4wdaBmufiK0ESVEs-cAed2S8NNdTlKvjY6T4v_C403PHyqrY4sg7TxuJfjIE2sBGMfUtj6gCxoTpoAVm/s1600/IMG_2453.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggufv8BL52Dt7soNQrl_CSkpzPnHhzQnGud5euhEpia_c-uwya-xzLEDBh7h2V4wdaBmufiK0ESVEs-cAed2S8NNdTlKvjY6T4v_C403PHyqrY4sg7TxuJfjIE2sBGMfUtj6gCxoTpoAVm/s400/IMG_2453.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572123305694266498" border="0" /></a><br />On January 24th at 7:30am we checked into the hospital for our induction. After a complication-free labor and delivery Mr.Colby made his grand entrance into the world at 2:38 pm.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGxyCr0usZKlJq8kg8LUfOpd5FT7dUbNftQmq1OLgrYzFnzHMcDJrC-D6M2VY1hYhl_s7IE_Tzg5bbKxLpB8xWD44KwnvhGb2H9tXsORhss9AhgFOefXADWK3H8W37zS7gNdhRGrzigwdp/s1600/IMG_2457.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGxyCr0usZKlJq8kg8LUfOpd5FT7dUbNftQmq1OLgrYzFnzHMcDJrC-D6M2VY1hYhl_s7IE_Tzg5bbKxLpB8xWD44KwnvhGb2H9tXsORhss9AhgFOefXADWK3H8W37zS7gNdhRGrzigwdp/s400/IMG_2457.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572123279225418914" border="0" /></a><br />Weighing in at 8 pounds 4 ounces and measuring 21 inches long, Colby is our biggest baby.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMWjueZz-Uec2G3h-lrSG0aKZjZoKg7iirOrbetgipisTzF3n8vzIzlvIY8BjvU4GcUuGXWsDYJrKldi6gpJ7Jpj5UO6ekR8Xx2Zd1VHaUdBts4zj_q_fzxmI5nEDenoKJ5e1wCPeQ3RHn/s1600/Colby+008.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMWjueZz-Uec2G3h-lrSG0aKZjZoKg7iirOrbetgipisTzF3n8vzIzlvIY8BjvU4GcUuGXWsDYJrKldi6gpJ7Jpj5UO6ekR8Xx2Zd1VHaUdBts4zj_q_fzxmI5nEDenoKJ5e1wCPeQ3RHn/s400/Colby+008.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572123291579464898" border="0" /></a><br />Julie was hoping for a sister, but knowing she doesn't have to share a room helped her warm right up to her baby brother. She absolutely loves being the big sister, can you tell?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio_RJ7lvCVnfAXy-w-DG3ARjQFA43SdPLAyDrkA0jCXcRb4PwQD_H_ST4pgtep8tfKOSpw31YEri1Hzmr-G1jRTXDcpqgF1JqibMM_kRZoOOb8EMLqBbjfE2V2AXynQfb1phILtLAIYP53/s1600/Colby+003.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio_RJ7lvCVnfAXy-w-DG3ARjQFA43SdPLAyDrkA0jCXcRb4PwQD_H_ST4pgtep8tfKOSpw31YEri1Hzmr-G1jRTXDcpqgF1JqibMM_kRZoOOb8EMLqBbjfE2V2AXynQfb1phILtLAIYP53/s400/Colby+003.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572123281224811634" border="0" /></a><br />Jacob wants to show off Colby to anyone and everyone that comes to our door, even if they're strangers. Jacob's also been a little concerned about Colby being healthy, but we can happily reassure him that everything is a-ok with this little guy.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjknUw98N7Bq7By4wzjHh58g25euItvHfWE2UHTDyWabqtFbcxTXls6N7tGfaUNpf5FkNoVXqsy-qm0hYuNSY18DzyzvMEeCg6Oe4uYXz-eUYjAf6BrDpxsXCoKv0RSGXoK0MvD9FXGcNGA/s1600/colby+003.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjknUw98N7Bq7By4wzjHh58g25euItvHfWE2UHTDyWabqtFbcxTXls6N7tGfaUNpf5FkNoVXqsy-qm0hYuNSY18DzyzvMEeCg6Oe4uYXz-eUYjAf6BrDpxsXCoKv0RSGXoK0MvD9FXGcNGA/s400/colby+003.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572123295343648242" border="0" /></a><br />Our family enjoyed watching the Super Bowl with our newest family member. We're so glad to have Colby around and hope you all get to meet him soon.<br /></div>Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748064307759385080noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943848474899563138.post-9840393982410616832011-01-23T22:10:00.000-08:002011-01-23T22:19:50.924-08:00Hidden Identity Revealed Tomorrow<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtDIsVXYxRyvQ39QQnGyIw8B0bgReFaVN0vLX_mblEo4gsiPwzrJBiOfOWUzE-4E9B6UFwtQOZb9cbYp47qYLasgmcxOnyvBiAqX6c-SXqzAzGDOVlC6aUaAY3QC0DOczuvsFtLzxJTt4H/s1600/007.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtDIsVXYxRyvQ39QQnGyIw8B0bgReFaVN0vLX_mblEo4gsiPwzrJBiOfOWUzE-4E9B6UFwtQOZb9cbYp47qYLasgmcxOnyvBiAqX6c-SXqzAzGDOVlC6aUaAY3QC0DOczuvsFtLzxJTt4H/s400/007.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565631431115726210" border="0" /></a><br />Tomorrow (God willing) we will meet our new little addition and finally find out if we're having a boy or a girl. Waiting to find out the sex proved harder than I would have guessed. It's funny to me that most people through the ages went all nine months without knowing, and now we're the odd ducks for keeping it a surprise. <br /><br />Of course, my pink little monster wants a girl and my blue little monster wants a boy (by the way, aren't their impromptu masks cute?). It seems that gender associations run deep though, with most family and friends guessing whatever they happen to be themselves. <br /><br />We will probably keep everyone updated by facebook/texting tomorrow since it is faster than blogging, but feel free to pass along info to anyone you see fit. Thanks for all the well wishes and hopefully we'll post pictures on here soon.Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748064307759385080noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943848474899563138.post-55957426718196465782010-11-23T12:17:00.000-08:002010-11-23T12:55:29.498-08:00The Oregon Snowfall of 2010<div>Ok, so I'm going to pretend that it hasn't been a year since my last blog post and jump right back into the thick of things (hope ya'll don't mind too much). :) Here's what we woke up to this morning:</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfDaxDzbqX1T33a6X5ScUQDaBaGqbLd37FkqaZX38viFoP-6IUu09uuE6B11HnDyTPKeD6ujHVH7FQwe2dJ8CLmJ-bnmCiBz0VoUt-DKkEqfEXnsii8nPcIwePN7Wyrmeeo2f8yjQ3JBTd/s1600/IMG_2118.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfDaxDzbqX1T33a6X5ScUQDaBaGqbLd37FkqaZX38viFoP-6IUu09uuE6B11HnDyTPKeD6ujHVH7FQwe2dJ8CLmJ-bnmCiBz0VoUt-DKkEqfEXnsii8nPcIwePN7Wyrmeeo2f8yjQ3JBTd/s400/IMG_2118.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542846841234129458" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">I felt compelled to document our snowfall because I just know all of my Utah friends and relatives will get a kick out of the fact that this much snow caused our schools to close down. In our defense, the roads were really icy under the white stuff.</div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0wU8Zn0R4OSg0FQONJA-4lxDHGcM1LlHYrySv0KTrTZnhEA2kEXpcZuG01My8813mx98H94aa_Y0e-IawR_X-mVtJJGs8RVXfAFoVVBt2dAF1qrA9IWvxIkX9nCMnoQjwGHztVLezk3nu/s400/IMG_2066.JPGG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0wU8Zn0R4OSg0FQONJA-4lxDHGcM1LlHYrySv0KTrTZnhEA2kEXpcZuG01My8813mx98H94aa_Y0e-IawR_X-mVtJJGs8RVXfAFoVVBt2dAF1qrA9IWvxIkX9nCMnoQjwGHztVLezk3nu/s400/IMG_2066.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542844147148137938" /><div style="text-align: center;">Daddy and the kids following standard snow protocol and frolicking their hearts out - at 7am!</div></a><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXV4Guagcgc5wA82PmqK3UTzL5xdR9F53nKKoA6-kNW3ykUiZ3wz9B4XQTROnSLzHksbNBkM2C_fIAzCEFi-wMcuKyg_KjPimujaOLRGAYZsmjsEpR0QzeEoW5rcjPowX-cq_7o-y1dcUF/s400/IMG_2107.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542846155969148802" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px; " /><div style="text-align: center; ">You know you don't see snow very often when your 3 year old's obsessed with "saving" Daddy's car. Play in the stuff? Nah, she'd rather fend off it's attack.</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTr5PYkeVvhS9kTwlhuC2v_vikipAoSrm0Crr1yia0KUUHnvn6uJBSfhaqOWt4ff4-VODiy668Iz5vSvbng9aAev-k3Prt_hxnOo80bSkQQR6wnppJGKLL94XvHtooBHldD4O3O0LQsKHa/s400/IMG_2080.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542844118904408834" /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Like a true boy, Jake immediately attempts to make snowballs. How do you explain the different types of snow to a 5 year old who sees it once every two years or so?</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpdmE7AKI8Dnjf1lnmAfPRZbGGdinfFXJ5bIflAMbAeazrwnawvXpMfoA9xFY0ATecVOOtRWrguWnh6EDcL_7jOGHE1qAdws66faQdH4fhwBSEfp0A_w9THsQfNkIeFNWALD6E-vlHKu-i/s400/IMG_2096.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542844123702953634" /><div style="text-align: center;">Daddy demonstrating why the roads were deemed dangerous.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgflwHXc4iNGplHdHWmPseG45ICbrrlax-idOPQhj9lb-mOSQeB8frv9uwFTEw2H4SmLhycsAjOJcP2LCJGdt1vc09UjwmMCX3swduXeDeNh2_0PtIVfR1SqzHs_NiI0TinZulZ2ga5n0RR/s400/IMG_2083.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542844137560628642" /><div style="text-align: center;">Our little snow dog jumped right in.</div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Alright snow, we've had our fun so feel free to make yourself scarce until Christmas . Actually if you decide to no-show again this year, we probably won't mind too much. :) Every other year seems to be working out just fine by us!</div>Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748064307759385080noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943848474899563138.post-89043796928899010512009-12-11T09:23:00.000-08:002009-12-11T09:34:44.459-08:00Our New Family Christmas Tradition<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYNU8kWQJJS-cxPTVsROkCKrYFA4JHUIzyO3kd24cCstKsT2joL9dyqovLGBb8TbaFNZ7UJq1FTgmMZSQOt1MUl_zCK_T0DBInCXbqpI9ANK4W0heOcj67NA9LG7-TMVvDDNLa41NjrTR-/s1600-h/IMG_6869.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYNU8kWQJJS-cxPTVsROkCKrYFA4JHUIzyO3kd24cCstKsT2joL9dyqovLGBb8TbaFNZ7UJq1FTgmMZSQOt1MUl_zCK_T0DBInCXbqpI9ANK4W0heOcj67NA9LG7-TMVvDDNLa41NjrTR-/s400/IMG_6869.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414033075313416162" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><br />Last year we decided to make a special stocking for Caleb. We invited some friends and family to do small acts of service, write them down, and send them to us as their present for Caleb. We loved gathering together as a family on Christmas and reading everyone's acts of service. It brought such a special spirit to our home for Christmas.<br /><br />I thought we'd just continue the tradition as a family this year but I had several people ask me if we were doing it again. So, I am extending the invitation to all our friends and family to join with us in filling Caleb's stocking with service again this year. I know it's pretty late in the season and I don't want anyone to feel obligated in any way, but I also want everyone to feel included so if you know of someone that might be interested please feel free to pass the word along.<br /><br />If you'd like to send your acts of service for Caleb's stocking, you can reach us at:<br /><br />963 Throne Drive<br />Eugene OR 97402<br /><br />or email: steckers@gmail.com<br /></div>Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748064307759385080noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943848474899563138.post-26805928991684328972009-10-29T07:45:00.000-07:002009-10-29T09:06:12.629-07:00To the Farm!Yesterday we ventured to Thistdown Farms. Jacob and I went earlier this month with his class but we didn't have time for the hay maze. At the time I told Jake we might come back with Julie and Daddy, and I'm happy to say we did.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyqk9set0IYzwXYrInDf5h3FwxlnMX8TpXVTNpyiIfZN0b_0ZEeAg51Ux2HmagS0Ee3B6wU16wuyMOTJegua4-IHqEw5-HoFs__toYisjgzuKf6p98HQwh7m_yKnCk2ZwDTfNLIizKWpw4/s1600-h/IMG_9736.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyqk9set0IYzwXYrInDf5h3FwxlnMX8TpXVTNpyiIfZN0b_0ZEeAg51Ux2HmagS0Ee3B6wU16wuyMOTJegua4-IHqEw5-HoFs__toYisjgzuKf6p98HQwh7m_yKnCk2ZwDTfNLIizKWpw4/s400/IMG_9736.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398035664791316946" border="0" /></a>Peek-a-boo, I found you!<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd5mX3IakOeA0iWa034lczxOyRpFnHBPVV2wxli3mpDcufzuQZv4ln_g85sdiUKVZ7AztTmPuwcfGC8i5I6TBk1LP0g_5itVJHuTTvo-nkDa0WujmXhoUzpv4I8BlrRY63pL_RC0jI3mIl/s1600-h/IMG_9738.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd5mX3IakOeA0iWa034lczxOyRpFnHBPVV2wxli3mpDcufzuQZv4ln_g85sdiUKVZ7AztTmPuwcfGC8i5I6TBk1LP0g_5itVJHuTTvo-nkDa0WujmXhoUzpv4I8BlrRY63pL_RC0jI3mIl/s400/IMG_9738.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398035672390210386" border="0" /></a>Can you tell that we loved playing hide and seek in the hay maze?<br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8-4A_X6njgHeocdlR2ECbAvJiYn8lDhic4r8ETsGuMndx1Q6rJAkcksfqeyDOcbCnr99VxheTkwIuHRqb6QiSgJ-lX7vwKzIAGrQZhgUAjY_SkhpUH9ealNh3TBKpQEmSfcLAAyGYtI7R/s1600-h/IMG_9769.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8-4A_X6njgHeocdlR2ECbAvJiYn8lDhic4r8ETsGuMndx1Q6rJAkcksfqeyDOcbCnr99VxheTkwIuHRqb6QiSgJ-lX7vwKzIAGrQZhgUAjY_SkhpUH9ealNh3TBKpQEmSfcLAAyGYtI7R/s400/IMG_9769.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398037770979050946" border="0" /></a>Are we the only crazy parents left that let our kids "feed" farm animals? A family walked up right as I was taking this picture and started lecturing their kids on how dangerous it was to feed the animals . . .<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWnGaJEZlLmYI_oXxtXHdUjPfNK93zallSbMemY9zBTKzymbjL_xUQbkgoPNW4DePZePdudvjiUjN-xNqQjBRjVTxTiY2tU6ty-meXLhKRoyogla5hnpQDOCepRJrJOOn71DFxMjiCtKKx/s1600-h/IMG_9777.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWnGaJEZlLmYI_oXxtXHdUjPfNK93zallSbMemY9zBTKzymbjL_xUQbkgoPNW4DePZePdudvjiUjN-xNqQjBRjVTxTiY2tU6ty-meXLhKRoyogla5hnpQDOCepRJrJOOn71DFxMjiCtKKx/s400/IMG_9777.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398037764419998130" border="0" /></a>Jeremy and the donkey shared a bonding moment, and so of course I had to document it with a photo.<br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyksx7KCEhVVWoWhRe4VRk0u9PZ736iIXPyxl0pwQSHTQiZWoD6pRjUOSwcdvACb5_KWpPVdh7PWCXyvYAdVTLUEeLGu_Q8-PKCXEiso6LfrGFMBeJ5oxqEDxrEfBSlQL2V3_oax9T7Q35/s1600-h/IMG_9739.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyksx7KCEhVVWoWhRe4VRk0u9PZ736iIXPyxl0pwQSHTQiZWoD6pRjUOSwcdvACb5_KWpPVdh7PWCXyvYAdVTLUEeLGu_Q8-PKCXEiso6LfrGFMBeJ5oxqEDxrEfBSlQL2V3_oax9T7Q35/s400/IMG_9739.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398035681021819970" border="0" /></a>The corn maze turned out to be pretty muddy, but this guy rallied the troops and led us to victory (or at least the exit).<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqNwovEtNWzbTb7zPWqi9OPfV0uIDlzLLcS32w_o3mcitt-_fzimduU-PJRgf-rHiRZaydrl_tDZsZQHlZuYuTaIl_IOqCa0V1pR4WVn0m6DJQs8YjEevJCmswt4PHFW8oe5UdjhW2yh94/s1600-h/IMG_9745.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqNwovEtNWzbTb7zPWqi9OPfV0uIDlzLLcS32w_o3mcitt-_fzimduU-PJRgf-rHiRZaydrl_tDZsZQHlZuYuTaIl_IOqCa0V1pR4WVn0m6DJQs8YjEevJCmswt4PHFW8oe5UdjhW2yh94/s400/IMG_9745.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398035662405157506" border="0" /></a>I experienced deja vu when we exited the corn maze. I remembered taking a <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl-iYuarPurmzghkrtGjdU7PP-NByizHzrCyD6ztqgbYIY8HAwEsgzpkU_MjpVH_WvQgOwl90HWST-uEpm1QaF0xnVdlrZ56_98KiWzcQAUgn9G7o3SNAbSl1NX3c2COIIkxgLkkVFQQ3t/s1600-h/IMG_0501.JPG">picture of Jake</a> running down the exact same path. They must be siblings or something.<br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSGCECAaKJAEM_iCRBw0EYhquIu9N6Yv80r-fl6UEyymeUeiXMndRyfa0DC4S0i81eM3WGOl-pEcqw0YN81cBF4aaYh6GRyOy44FI1X2N3O2FEAznf8cOK8yU9hCroD_FJgGyO2UsMNHX9/s1600-h/IMG_9791.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSGCECAaKJAEM_iCRBw0EYhquIu9N6Yv80r-fl6UEyymeUeiXMndRyfa0DC4S0i81eM3WGOl-pEcqw0YN81cBF4aaYh6GRyOy44FI1X2N3O2FEAznf8cOK8yU9hCroD_FJgGyO2UsMNHX9/s400/IMG_9791.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398037762231820562" border="0" /></a>Tune in next week for the update on how our pumpkins carving with the grandparents turns out!<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpJl8UI7QaoYMksb4twfN1RsxLYCxRJZKiQ0_n9twBQgawyRwGBNcCLFrDPQhkDgIWkhUN1oVhp6xqkdIXtNIFY0U9YpyqSfC863HRqBEAk2twXUKw8A6fd9ZoA1mCE4yjrKhtefj8oW_l/s1600-h/IMG_9796.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpJl8UI7QaoYMksb4twfN1RsxLYCxRJZKiQ0_n9twBQgawyRwGBNcCLFrDPQhkDgIWkhUN1oVhp6xqkdIXtNIFY0U9YpyqSfC863HRqBEAk2twXUKw8A6fd9ZoA1mCE4yjrKhtefj8oW_l/s400/IMG_9796.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398037754649087298" border="0" /></a>If I used THIS picture, I don't think I could sell my little pumpkin for 25 cents! Can you tell how she feels about being muddy and dirty?<br /><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpOTsopTZjaz1AlwioOHx9nSMyjsI1NlBkqRkUDGa_PQJzFnMkHIJM3d5eRaEJQ-J9DZo0xattj8lWmqpgWq1awQbw5rlcaH31U_VPmTRnEfxgx2SyTZYoe6REl0hlF9oVHtB1GdPbUK3m/s1600-h/IMG_9761.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpOTsopTZjaz1AlwioOHx9nSMyjsI1NlBkqRkUDGa_PQJzFnMkHIJM3d5eRaEJQ-J9DZo0xattj8lWmqpgWq1awQbw5rlcaH31U_VPmTRnEfxgx2SyTZYoe6REl0hlF9oVHtB1GdPbUK3m/s400/IMG_9761.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398035685346708962" border="0" /></a><br />It's always fun to visit the farm and hunt for pumpkins, but this year it was so muddy that we didn't venture all the way to the field. I know denying my kids the pleasure of actually pulling a pumpkin off the vine will undoubtedly result in a therapy session for them when they are going through their mid-life crisis, but at least it saved ME from having a therapy session now. :)Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748064307759385080noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943848474899563138.post-16544634663126390212009-10-05T15:56:00.001-07:002009-10-05T16:59:25.925-07:00Conference Weekend<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYx-B4sfM7eYGzwDbrvsC4YxU3CFL83qZeGVUokDZ1IID6c4AeE37-v_Q85a7Mdcz9jyNfD6ud0nbizMSg8oZ_QMfbMaBlcBZhyphenhyphenEKpx7CEnLaBwkf1dRTf3UCH3W35DYVI87r8GfJ9Y3f4/s1600-h/IMG_9685.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYx-B4sfM7eYGzwDbrvsC4YxU3CFL83qZeGVUokDZ1IID6c4AeE37-v_Q85a7Mdcz9jyNfD6ud0nbizMSg8oZ_QMfbMaBlcBZhyphenhyphenEKpx7CEnLaBwkf1dRTf3UCH3W35DYVI87r8GfJ9Y3f4/s400/IMG_9685.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389255738112533218" border="0" /></a><br />Around here we FLIP over conference weekend!!! :) My kids were SO excited about <a href="http://www.lightplanet.com/mormons/daily/activity/general_conference.html">General Conference</a> they couldn't contain themselves!<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuim-bGkzL1nhlLf2NXVW98Bg3THwZeUPa06Or-hU6vrUyekr7DrbhbK8qvrODLOLH_xDxLZLLpEYoCLSZMKDbg3KazrOOQHN0d0-ouz9UyhpW9R2Jl9thvhsMC8y7NleQxZIXa4yDEhbm/s1600-h/IMG_9656.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuim-bGkzL1nhlLf2NXVW98Bg3THwZeUPa06Or-hU6vrUyekr7DrbhbK8qvrODLOLH_xDxLZLLpEYoCLSZMKDbg3KazrOOQHN0d0-ouz9UyhpW9R2Jl9thvhsMC8y7NleQxZIXa4yDEhbm/s400/IMG_9656.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389255710049208610" border="0" /></a><br />Ok, you caught me. Staying quiet and still for eight hours of conference is something my kids still need help with, and that's why my TV room ended up looking like the picture above - on purpose! <br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfKg2bIeLjgGTcHcagsI44ENO81kPT3wH22OmznMnXGTvGdC7c_HsLtcZJk1u3KM9GPOqwOvJg2XQuh0djpLX44qmlJqOq8IfxAQUlqNq9R8bWFmYST8JYUJPsEXoUniTBun7KNRP7KhvP/s1600-h/IMG_9663.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfKg2bIeLjgGTcHcagsI44ENO81kPT3wH22OmznMnXGTvGdC7c_HsLtcZJk1u3KM9GPOqwOvJg2XQuh0djpLX44qmlJqOq8IfxAQUlqNq9R8bWFmYST8JYUJPsEXoUniTBun7KNRP7KhvP/s400/IMG_9663.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389255715513258610" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Sunday morning my kids and I had a quick chat about <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/mosiah/2/6#6">King Benjamin</a> and how all of his people built tents and faced them toward the prophet so they could hear his voice. Then came the fun part: we built our own tent "facing the prophet" (also known as the TV on any other day).<br /><br /></div></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOD_PBFEUxiQ1tseMpkocALKsq9Lw8Ae1_7M6TKh6u82HAHmEW66hcLDYdldyuprHBE3cy-2HH4_dUw1klUK9S9RDQPWO-308yK-5ofztyznvL-r5Ey4JUoEycH6VrezCE7raFsEM77oWi/s1600-h/IMG_9670.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOD_PBFEUxiQ1tseMpkocALKsq9Lw8Ae1_7M6TKh6u82HAHmEW66hcLDYdldyuprHBE3cy-2HH4_dUw1klUK9S9RDQPWO-308yK-5ofztyznvL-r5Ey4JUoEycH6VrezCE7raFsEM77oWi/s400/IMG_9670.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389255726308566722" border="0" /></a>I think we might be tent builders every time conference rolls around. The kids had a blast playing <a href="http://lds.about.com/library/bl/games/bingo_boards.pdf">Conference Bingo</a> inside it and Grandma Terri and I hung out in there almost as much as the kids!</div>Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748064307759385080noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943848474899563138.post-5270261588717561872009-08-07T11:42:00.000-07:002009-08-07T22:40:46.962-07:00Birthday Boy<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidV4CSxkCxyvFChg9T-bAay80CWRLf4XowxVI59EBuon137HEN_xaOiOe-jpDDHkN_ZEFSN2ixBgeXkypexe8z7ZS8MsaykuspoHfXjfkg7QbD_STXZeprxwO83ybs7rkyIOKgMf9RCEbM/s1600-h/IMG_4585_cropped.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 278px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidV4CSxkCxyvFChg9T-bAay80CWRLf4XowxVI59EBuon137HEN_xaOiOe-jpDDHkN_ZEFSN2ixBgeXkypexe8z7ZS8MsaykuspoHfXjfkg7QbD_STXZeprxwO83ybs7rkyIOKgMf9RCEbM/s400/IMG_4585_cropped.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367305263303088194" border="0" /></a><br />Happy 1st Birthday, Mr.Caleb. We miss you and love you so very, very much. This time last year, nations from all around the world celebrated together during the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics. I can't think of a better way to start someone's time on earth and a little part of me likes to think they were celebrating for you too. Just a few short weeks later on the day after you left us (Monday September 29th) the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 777.68 points, the largest single-day point loss in its history and our country is still trying to dig itself out of a recession. Just as the country is trying to recover from the events of last fall, I too am still trying to recover from losing you. I do believe the USA will bounce back eventually, but I don't think I'll ever be the same again. I'm working on a new "normal" for me, but I think it's taking longer than expected.<br /><br />Caleb, you never got to hear the story "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" but there's a part at the end where it talks about the Grinch's heart growing many sizes in a single day. Well, as any and all new mothers can attest, my heart instantly grew with love for you and the problem now is that my heart didn't shrink when you left. There will always be a special, empty place in my heart for you even if it grows bigger to accommodate others that come into my life. My head knows that I will get to see you again but my heart still has that empty space longing for you every single day.<br /><br />This is the picture I've stared at the most since we lost you. Even though your binky takes up half of your face, this is exactly how I remember you looking up at me, slightly cross-eyed and all. I miss that look so much. Your eyes seemed so knowing. I could just feel so many thoughts going on behind them that I never got to hear. A few years ago I would have thought it was pretty cliche to say this but honestly you felt like an old soul, too incredibly patient for a newborn who went through everything you endured.<br /><br />Your memory motivates me to stay on the strait and narrow, and your bravery inspires me to push through when I think I've used all my strength. I strive daily to live worthy enough to see you again and my biggest fear is that I will somehow fall short. This is backwards from the way that it should go, but I hope and pray that you stay with me Caleb and help lead and guide your Mom and family along the path back to live with you again someday.<br /><br /><br />PS - I hope the blogging world will forgive my lack of posts lately and also feel where I'm coming from and allow a grieving mother a few indulgences on this post.Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748064307759385080noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943848474899563138.post-53524055805722423142009-05-29T16:12:00.000-07:002009-05-29T17:27:31.332-07:00Tagged!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1f-H6v7sTtgu1jZHOzHCy9p2s2uyq9_IuUtdevJ_65WhlJJP8oDTsb2jxqWYujtrqxlsTB7i07HU8zc0mnhHuUFSyxtusoyZVeItxEQu1VoSVnxvT8fhjLF_iJOmcPL1VmnYFkcpBGhgL/s1600-h/IMG_0206.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1f-H6v7sTtgu1jZHOzHCy9p2s2uyq9_IuUtdevJ_65WhlJJP8oDTsb2jxqWYujtrqxlsTB7i07HU8zc0mnhHuUFSyxtusoyZVeItxEQu1VoSVnxvT8fhjLF_iJOmcPL1VmnYFkcpBGhgL/s400/IMG_0206.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341390556922593762" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">While I was blog lurking today, I realized my friend <a href="http://craigandstephaniesasser.blogspot.com/">Stephanie Sasser</a> tagged me on her blog. It's a simple tag: Go to your sixth folder, post the sixth photo and tag six people. If there was any doubt about this tag, it all disappeared when I saw this picture. It's one of my favorites. <br /><br />I took this picture after waking up from a nap where Jeremy was "babysitting" little two week old baby Jake. I'd like to point out that Jeremy's been a considerate Dad right from the start - he wore headphones so that the Halo 2 noises wouldn't disturb the sleeping newborn. Or was it so the sleeping newborn wouldn't wake up and disrupt his game? Hmm . . . I'd also like to point out the fake, "leave me alone I'm gaming" smile on his face, complimented by the rebellious 2 week paternity leave stubble on his chin, classic. <br /><br />Ok, I never know who to tag so if you want, consider yourself tagged! To keep it simple on myself, I'll tag the last 6 people that left me "uplifting comments": Chelsea, Rachel, Margaret, Lynn, Brian, and Peggy! Thanks for the fun tag Stephanie!<br /></div>Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748064307759385080noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943848474899563138.post-84881061982987262062009-05-13T21:44:00.000-07:002009-05-14T16:13:32.049-07:00Late Night Idol Commentary<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkDsAUmF_MaTJN0JNmOgQGJ4-IkeSXsIVR9GDHG3i0NPI7OthFDQ781bpyvam5DAvjSWr2GD_QM1P3OlIyMGNyEF9ilhcUZTTND0lgymxdiKw1ZpgZ4UWraMDHkm1D-Gq8MAMxe_xo9sfv/s1600-h/adamlambert2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 226px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkDsAUmF_MaTJN0JNmOgQGJ4-IkeSXsIVR9GDHG3i0NPI7OthFDQ781bpyvam5DAvjSWr2GD_QM1P3OlIyMGNyEF9ilhcUZTTND0lgymxdiKw1ZpgZ4UWraMDHkm1D-Gq8MAMxe_xo9sfv/s400/adamlambert2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335538529450413442" border="0" /></a>Just to clarify, I am NOT an Adam fan, Kris all the way for me! <br /></div><br />So, our camera is taking a somewhat permanent leave of absence and hanging out full-time at Jeremy's new gym. Usually I take the pictures first and then decide to blog about it later, but without a camera it's hard for me to find something to blog about!<br /><br />Well, tonight Jacob's nap didn't get over until 5pm and so he's having a late night American Idol watching session with Mommy. Now that we are DVR-less we have to watch things in real time, weird I know!<br /><br />There's only one other time Jake has really watched American Idol this season with me, and it just so happened to be the night that Adam sang Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" pictured above. The whole song was filmed with crazy circling camera work and lots of shots of that fire you see in the background, not to mention he put an Egyptian spin on Cash ...<br /><br />Cut to tonight's American Idol show and they start showing footage of Adam talking to all these kids in his hometown. My little Jake shouts out, <span style="font-weight: bold;">"HEY! Hot for lava guy is nice now!!! Look Mom, hot for lava guy is nice!"<br /></span>Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748064307759385080noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943848474899563138.post-68425340755992974332009-04-19T10:46:00.001-07:002009-04-19T13:19:29.403-07:00The Day Before EasterLast Saturday we drove up to Salem. The plan was to go to an Easter Egg hunt and dye some eggs. Despite it being pretty crowded, both kids had a fun and successful hunt. Jake even shared a few of his eggs with little ones that only found one or two themselves. The next part was really funny and I hope my Mom just focuses on how funny it was while she reads this post. Here's a brief rundown of what happened.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Ok guys, let's take a picture of you with all the eggs you found. Look at Mommy and SMILE!<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZVJ592eQ23SxU7bMtAHUYKDtgGsodSE8yCpUt9UihD2bdlGygF7azr1TbHMhnWE5pWDVspdPtSuCDjG3I_1BxFwQEdxQhfHP4sC6KEVkElPvdWfnnDQFbEw9ygLhiFxG83GS6B4jWc5lx/s1600-h/IMG_7974.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZVJ592eQ23SxU7bMtAHUYKDtgGsodSE8yCpUt9UihD2bdlGygF7azr1TbHMhnWE5pWDVspdPtSuCDjG3I_1BxFwQEdxQhfHP4sC6KEVkElPvdWfnnDQFbEw9ygLhiFxG83GS6B4jWc5lx/s400/IMG_7974.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326446517371887362" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Hmm, I guess Easter eggs are more fun to look at than the camera, who woulda guessed? Maybe if we get Grandma in there to show them where to look we can get a cute shot . . .<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA5fGjwXd1jtYLG4-bAHx81VEYSov9u08Ic_gHfUMOHwuOoA9PZIzv3AjI487tdzEDuCNUktKD5gZDM35rSJ4lNGL1Av_sykevdDIRRlJfegT6V16MdwH9y0u7D-MG7mF3TJn305QNR3h-/s1600-h/IMG_7983.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA5fGjwXd1jtYLG4-bAHx81VEYSov9u08Ic_gHfUMOHwuOoA9PZIzv3AjI487tdzEDuCNUktKD5gZDM35rSJ4lNGL1Av_sykevdDIRRlJfegT6V16MdwH9y0u7D-MG7mF3TJn305QNR3h-/s400/IMG_7983.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326446523673708770" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Oops, Julie still wasn't looking at the camera. I guess we'll have to take another one. Hey Grandma, look up here . . .<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifm7vu02e-SXkpPGJnRMB0yvj_Z_E-ysw4_qSUdhP1whimQ_f-1adl6GdhnsL7R_B7tDZLZ1wyb-OnjuRo0j-KL84ei9ZtiXoXJ8luVfITKSnmRwtofEydRfxFJQqPesSc4-XBXA0h1pWe/s1600-h/IMG_7984.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifm7vu02e-SXkpPGJnRMB0yvj_Z_E-ysw4_qSUdhP1whimQ_f-1adl6GdhnsL7R_B7tDZLZ1wyb-OnjuRo0j-KL84ei9ZtiXoXJ8luVfITKSnmRwtofEydRfxFJQqPesSc4-XBXA0h1pWe/s400/IMG_7984.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326446529509628626" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Are you ok? You are? Ok ... let me document this!<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8adNnrenaPgpTW_Xz3am38G-4bN_XDN3CqymG3DhkEHuRcP2tuNYKcCE42fSu8gBlP-hdsjlXo_1NIMlAJNG0DuvJshb4Qs-t6wT2tT5dqqfkqOcIizmlpcnpjG8-XqsRMG3cmpQMBV1d/s1600-h/IMG_7985.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8adNnrenaPgpTW_Xz3am38G-4bN_XDN3CqymG3DhkEHuRcP2tuNYKcCE42fSu8gBlP-hdsjlXo_1NIMlAJNG0DuvJshb4Qs-t6wT2tT5dqqfkqOcIizmlpcnpjG8-XqsRMG3cmpQMBV1d/s400/IMG_7985.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326488820822854258" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">(After recovering from laughing) One last try guys . . . success, everyone's looking!<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1bKoGMoXFW20Bo68jVm2OcNKGAuZjCankObVRGFHrkADF79w4hW_K2sSRR5kS-qPc5Tw48eLqXQERQBa6ZTj-5NRcgX8tmZECSsTY1zwZTmtCsAiznaqf626OesyewwP5Yd1wXvhM_TAe/s1600-h/IMG_7988.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1bKoGMoXFW20Bo68jVm2OcNKGAuZjCankObVRGFHrkADF79w4hW_K2sSRR5kS-qPc5Tw48eLqXQERQBa6ZTj-5NRcgX8tmZECSsTY1zwZTmtCsAiznaqf626OesyewwP5Yd1wXvhM_TAe/s400/IMG_7988.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326446530888404418" border="0" /></a><br />The church that held the Easter egg hunt also had a gym full of activities. Here's Julie sliding out of the bouncy gym thingie.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9uktRhUFHvH2Zr8tszNOOZTeWx8rYhP9w1CO3FjrIlE37EwwkuCw1aOCLGHaTMPeI_aWsg9ue4s4to1pP3_RfM4-aqm1tN-uJoEP5UcSbAjoJhHTcWetX3kQbOkBlj54TkEz_LhXpslKv/s1600-h/IMG_8001.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9uktRhUFHvH2Zr8tszNOOZTeWx8rYhP9w1CO3FjrIlE37EwwkuCw1aOCLGHaTMPeI_aWsg9ue4s4to1pP3_RfM4-aqm1tN-uJoEP5UcSbAjoJhHTcWetX3kQbOkBlj54TkEz_LhXpslKv/s400/IMG_8001.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326446536508017410" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Jake loves the Easter Bunny (and she loves him apparently) but Julie was too scared.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFW16JYucFBoCp762GMs3RIjAAB5ALqe_88bidifuSV3eqVdGxT3x_sXzp0h9g-5qKiQTiE1GsudAeDva2_gb60TTHCeEt0VWKn7NEEUN1N_V449pEL8S7sfvgOxxJjghfVEC_TF5j5OID/s1600-h/IMG_8010.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFW16JYucFBoCp762GMs3RIjAAB5ALqe_88bidifuSV3eqVdGxT3x_sXzp0h9g-5qKiQTiE1GsudAeDva2_gb60TTHCeEt0VWKn7NEEUN1N_V449pEL8S7sfvgOxxJjghfVEC_TF5j5OID/s400/IMG_8010.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326489777654853938" border="0" /></a>Then our plans changes slighty - Grandpa John wanted to show us the pretty blossoms at the state capitol instead of dying Easter eggs.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheq26NIpgPy3K5VHuCoeOwgwShWD6QUWI-tx0chWKoMKFfZu3aeL4RbXXtVGhZP6wtG99OGCrEY3ni_2k5bSDeYl1pawrtoc3qYfl-9yx1zYk1TK-AOL1_pG0A6_Rb4J1i4OwLnukxZpVF/s1600-h/IMG_8025.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheq26NIpgPy3K5VHuCoeOwgwShWD6QUWI-tx0chWKoMKFfZu3aeL4RbXXtVGhZP6wtG99OGCrEY3ni_2k5bSDeYl1pawrtoc3qYfl-9yx1zYk1TK-AOL1_pG0A6_Rb4J1i4OwLnukxZpVF/s400/IMG_8025.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326491201338878786" border="0" /></a>Grandparents with the grand kids, very cute!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCb6S9sq_yv8nGEdv6dxRgU7aoRGySDvNvnOH7ZYrCFfNKuFIDg42o2wJ3es6-n931wmqM-Vb7VAK_S9Z_Sy89DM56tycm50CDPqgAF3guymldX4s5cNJYRhf44zwPDgoPwOnYfDgM_WKy/s1600-h/IMG_8037.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCb6S9sq_yv8nGEdv6dxRgU7aoRGySDvNvnOH7ZYrCFfNKuFIDg42o2wJ3es6-n931wmqM-Vb7VAK_S9Z_Sy89DM56tycm50CDPqgAF3guymldX4s5cNJYRhf44zwPDgoPwOnYfDgM_WKy/s400/IMG_8037.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326491202389251618" border="0" /></a>While we were there, we got lucky enough to see a Japanese drumming group perform. All in all it was a very fun day!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmiJxDFAYHDT-t5iM5aPxanumpqeo9KXRjQd-7wvhlNR67oBe5ZF-1pX8NbQST-V3qDZ1UR90Lp6we5JJpTpqn0NIHlvf0PVnCNAOJkyFs0WWAY0dAet0mHUCXe3Djt27I9uchGWtcJ3Lo/s1600-h/IMG_8111.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmiJxDFAYHDT-t5iM5aPxanumpqeo9KXRjQd-7wvhlNR67oBe5ZF-1pX8NbQST-V3qDZ1UR90Lp6we5JJpTpqn0NIHlvf0PVnCNAOJkyFs0WWAY0dAet0mHUCXe3Djt27I9uchGWtcJ3Lo/s400/IMG_8111.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326491210397478018" border="0" /></a></div>Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748064307759385080noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943848474899563138.post-53331777273398056252009-03-23T08:23:00.000-07:002009-03-30T23:51:27.562-07:00Family Update<div style="text-align: center;">Am I bad at keeping online promises or what? I apologize yet again for my late update post! But better late than never, right? *wink* Alrighty, you asked for it folks (or maybe just uncle Brian!). Here's a quick update on each one of us, from oldest to youngest:<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6nKUsm3S-IiWjzJbD6eDsBN_RyOMG_9eXAeAFV-ZuKriR3NPlWsw07TJCuyJv6e8PA3ARmN-AwRrlP7ey-DGGT9P2Gny1atkZ_aSpE617WhzUXrKWPNvIgS47ALNZk5dFp8bT0YMaSypp/s1600-h/jer.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 161px; height: 259px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6nKUsm3S-IiWjzJbD6eDsBN_RyOMG_9eXAeAFV-ZuKriR3NPlWsw07TJCuyJv6e8PA3ARmN-AwRrlP7ey-DGGT9P2Gny1atkZ_aSpE617WhzUXrKWPNvIgS47ALNZk5dFp8bT0YMaSypp/s400/jer.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319152559867174418" border="0" /></a>This guy seriously has Crossfit on the brain. He's the busiest of us all trying to hold down a full time job while training 30 people out of our garage. We don't see him as much as we used to but we understand and hope that his hard work will pay off soon. (ps - don't know how this picture got so distorted but if I don't mention how stretched out it is, boy will I hear about it!)<br /><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBIESmOe8lE1l1wX3r08uJdoUPiDQLdVhfZKtlS5Q2R0iyDELLlBtpISdwHNkvRpIi0wNqIhlqIHIH5TtOO9SJP0Tust9UGDy-Ye5fOe7Ep4F-6PVtMcmcZWwHFI_TLovyftIITs0c16Iv/s1600-h/IMG_7707.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBIESmOe8lE1l1wX3r08uJdoUPiDQLdVhfZKtlS5Q2R0iyDELLlBtpISdwHNkvRpIi0wNqIhlqIHIH5TtOO9SJP0Tust9UGDy-Ye5fOe7Ep4F-6PVtMcmcZWwHFI_TLovyftIITs0c16Iv/s400/IMG_7707.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319152560459028178" border="0" /></a>I really should have some excuse for my blogging absence but nothing exciting comes to mind. Umm, the biggest thing eating up my time is helping Jeremy set up his new scheduling/payment program and giving his website a face lift. I'll be honest, I've been a bit sulky and "woe is me" the last few months but things are feeling a bit better. I can't wait for conference this weekend, it's just the pick-me-up I need right about now.<br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6s5MhzIdTA7xrXPRtfrldQJ9KvYxWW5W3SizBzF7Lb5x14YuSkEpCAcUmGxeFFdjDvCa7bO0mqt5SbT7m4PlQ4SDnNStqG6yQK5a1Zwky3om1J6NtbDwb_su51bnw1cyPmQ94Ylu2aXnQ/s1600-h/IMG_7472.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6s5MhzIdTA7xrXPRtfrldQJ9KvYxWW5W3SizBzF7Lb5x14YuSkEpCAcUmGxeFFdjDvCa7bO0mqt5SbT7m4PlQ4SDnNStqG6yQK5a1Zwky3om1J6NtbDwb_su51bnw1cyPmQ94Ylu2aXnQ/s400/IMG_7472.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319152546510401074" border="0" /></a>Here is the dynamic duo in action. I've put them in their own update because the duo is becoming an entity in and of itself! The sibling dynamic is fun to watch as a Mom. Currently we are deep into the "copy cat" stage. Take this picture for example. Jacob puts his rain boots on (on top of his jammies mind you), so of course Julie has to follow suit. Julie then finds a silly hat to dress up in and before you can blink your eyes, Jacob finds one too. I must admit, I've used this to my advantage many a-time. "Look Jakey, Julie ate some of her [fill-in the name of an un-popular food item here]!!" Next thing you know both of them are cleaning their plates (even if Julie wasn't planning on taking more than that first bite she still follows Jakey).<br /><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGk-t6gR9vWhhTonmauKiZNyrNRi6MhsuwF7CPXXFlKZFXRAp75tBVUTwpmWv7EH9gSQwbYIvYhnhuf5dD8JFesypjF0XoMz2tNUXqA2WbC0bZgb13IhcPt4Udt9Vlm3w2j_5bzwxhe4pJ/s1600-h/IMG_7698.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGk-t6gR9vWhhTonmauKiZNyrNRi6MhsuwF7CPXXFlKZFXRAp75tBVUTwpmWv7EH9gSQwbYIvYhnhuf5dD8JFesypjF0XoMz2tNUXqA2WbC0bZgb13IhcPt4Udt9Vlm3w2j_5bzwxhe4pJ/s400/IMG_7698.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319152557619240210" border="0" /></a>I like this picture because it shows off Jakey's dimples and because he specifically requested he have his picture taken with Kassi. Doesn't she look thrilled? Anyway, this little man of mine is growing more and more each day. I can go places now and not worry about him wandering off or throwing fits or screaming at the top of his lungs. What more could a Momma want?<br /><br />To give you a little in-depth info about Jakey, his current favorite number is four (four years old now, ya know!) and he won't let you forget it. If we count, we cannot stop at three but must continue on to four or else we are in trouble! His favorite color is yellow, and as some of the Mom's at the indoor playground will tell you, he feels that any and all objects that are yellow should belong to him - or at least held, touched, and loved while we are there.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw_UVLuUirVbPlSFrHNJurnD4H4MtVK4Bsnf1VwjCJX-NpE21qb6_upbEq35LZs2gBzV12zrcy0McoBnDHfC0YamaH4Xu8-gAol9nH_7K-vVIefj06svxUlYSoCB8T4HpDpuuwbNKsGfMz/s1600-h/IMG_7683.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw_UVLuUirVbPlSFrHNJurnD4H4MtVK4Bsnf1VwjCJX-NpE21qb6_upbEq35LZs2gBzV12zrcy0McoBnDHfC0YamaH4Xu8-gAol9nH_7K-vVIefj06svxUlYSoCB8T4HpDpuuwbNKsGfMz/s400/IMG_7683.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319152549585524978" border="0" /></a>Someday lil miss bug is going to hate me for posting this picture on the internet. But since she can't protest, I might as well do what I can while I can still get away with it! This is what our Julie looks like right after waking up. She hates having her hair done, and her Momma isn't all that great at doing it anyway so we kind of brush it and call it good. Good thing she still LOVES hats (and looks good in them too, if I do say so myself)!<br /><br />Her favorite color is definitely "piggy pink" but she will tell you it's yellow if big brother is asked first (remember that copy-cat thing I was telling you about earlier?). When asked, "How are you?" she promptly replies "I'm 2!" She still has to sleep with her piggy, but her new found love of princesses has only deepened since Christmas. This obsession is rubbing off on big brother, but shhh, don't tell Daddy! They are actually starting to play together very cutely and have been known to close the door and say, "Bye Mom, we're playing!"<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Well, I hope that gives you a little insight into how we've been lately. I really will try and do more regular and consistent blog posts. Thanks for still checking in despite the lack of posting on my part. We love all you guys and would love to know you stopped by and read our post and what you're up to these days as well!<br /></div>Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748064307759385080noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943848474899563138.post-40329202637289679662009-03-17T11:52:00.000-07:002009-03-17T12:26:27.705-07:00I'm Baaa-aaack<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ecrossfit.com/home/images/vote.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 264px;" src="http://www.ecrossfit.com/home/images/vote.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Have you missed me? Ha.Ha. I'm not sure you should answer that! Well, I've been busy helping Jeremy with his gym's blog but I've missed doing my own. We gave his site a new face lift and redid a bunch of stuff. You should check it out: <a href="http://www.ecrossfit.com/">Eugene Crossfit</a><br /><br />Our local newspaper is having a "Reader's Choice Awards" contest and one of the categories is "Hippest Gym." We think Jeremy's gym is pretty hip, trendy, and new so we'd love to get our name out there. We only recently found out about the contest and there's <span style="font-weight: bold;">only 2 days left to vote</span>! We'd love your help to get Jeremy's gym on there but we need your vote.<br /><br />To vote:<br /><br />1. <span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span> <a href="http://forums.registerguard.com/limesurvey/index.php?sid=21538&lang=en">Click here</a> or copy and paste this into your browser: <a href="http://forums.registerguard.com/limesurvey/index.php" target="_blank">http://forums.registerguard.com/limesurvey/index.php?sid=21538&lang=en</a><br />(if that still doesn't work, there's a link directly from our homepage [<a href="http://www.ecrossfit.com/" target="_blank">www.ecrossfit.com</a>] you can click on)<br /><br />2. The first input box directly under the picture should be for "Hippest Gym." That's where we would like you to type "Eugene Crossfit" (but of course it's up to you what you put in there!)<br /><br />3. The next input box allows you to add any additional comments about your vote. Feel free to fill this out if you so desire but it's not necessary.<br /><br />4. Fill in any of the other boxes you would like (if any) and then scroll down to the bottom and hit submit. <span style="font-weight: bold;">You do not have to enter your email address</span>, only if you would like to be entered in their prize drawing.<br /><br />Thanks so much for all of your support, we really appreciate it!<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">PS - I promise most of my future posts won't be like this and I'll post an update on the kids within the week!</span></span>Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748064307759385080noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943848474899563138.post-86857219937240733952009-01-03T16:49:00.000-08:002009-01-03T17:34:13.267-08:00Christmas 2008Planning for Christmas '08 started back in the summer of '07, which is pretty early for us. If there's one thing you can say about a plan though, it's that you can't plan on anything (which could also be a good description for '08 in general, but that's another post). Despite black outs, snow storms, plane cancellations, and a whole lot of sickness we were still able to all be together on Christmas, and that's all that really matters.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ2FXqeEEkYpb2Ucs9187qA14oJClhl0W4N8InLx1di7V_hXvImPGqgEPRSGbuh52pf9Cj1rrFi-3svv_4p1zR58JMLsZx-ub66Y8vIL_64Zn-Scc1PGK9DPfSuV1OGBePu3tIsaTAeQKh/s1600-h/IMG_6785_cropped.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 252px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ2FXqeEEkYpb2Ucs9187qA14oJClhl0W4N8InLx1di7V_hXvImPGqgEPRSGbuh52pf9Cj1rrFi-3svv_4p1zR58JMLsZx-ub66Y8vIL_64Zn-Scc1PGK9DPfSuV1OGBePu3tIsaTAeQKh/s400/IMG_6785_cropped.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287240535237097714" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwWCLb1lgSBVV1YKuR3iIIWF2vhBWqI0iIiLMXiI_524FtpFFlrLKUXu696FnF0f0QECH_2PTHt-hl2BaV86ajDk85G1c0wzd5MaQTfV6sthZ_6287O5h3Iuvziz58n7-LPqzp0I3QiuBi/s1600-h/IMG_6799.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwWCLb1lgSBVV1YKuR3iIIWF2vhBWqI0iIiLMXiI_524FtpFFlrLKUXu696FnF0f0QECH_2PTHt-hl2BaV86ajDk85G1c0wzd5MaQTfV6sthZ_6287O5h3Iuvziz58n7-LPqzp0I3QiuBi/s400/IMG_6799.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287239909363657394" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLs-6KAB2zdfn05zQTNDFLhtR4F9A9MH4Qhi93OPV5MuHeD-PVa_us-eKVC_o8qMfm5lMgI_Q1jTE3zFsU7ZxPN5KSxsU1HnZ3d6_7XX2fD0mXoUCsunuRKG9DUDmFzVABsEXNCOA2izkp/s1600-h/IMG_6757_cropped.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 393px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLs-6KAB2zdfn05zQTNDFLhtR4F9A9MH4Qhi93OPV5MuHeD-PVa_us-eKVC_o8qMfm5lMgI_Q1jTE3zFsU7ZxPN5KSxsU1HnZ3d6_7XX2fD0mXoUCsunuRKG9DUDmFzVABsEXNCOA2izkp/s400/IMG_6757_cropped.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287239900544999074" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzBlDhYlfabo4SaUqj943mQbn9L5z8929sPMEpkZuFwXhezluvaIlXmpub-AGYWaK3KpQjJEX4Nf4RA7Q26YywJlQrM2eeSrNopVtOf9nrBAXNQ0jMmjX1cPUaOrYk9NxlzuuogxL0P5EN/s1600-h/IMG_6629.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzBlDhYlfabo4SaUqj943mQbn9L5z8929sPMEpkZuFwXhezluvaIlXmpub-AGYWaK3KpQjJEX4Nf4RA7Q26YywJlQrM2eeSrNopVtOf9nrBAXNQ0jMmjX1cPUaOrYk9NxlzuuogxL0P5EN/s400/IMG_6629.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287239902978226850" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj068b2qIgMEbvVeFdStlolptnwKou8IDAOd6cY_5nP0w26IP9ZaoLHhgLuKEAnqMfnvhLUxoskTxueRp5WDcWxzTRR5I9DGlSBLpH9wjgeNQh5rN0_0RJrwzIaoc9YvYwOXGqDBEHgRf3S/s1600-h/IMG_6702.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj068b2qIgMEbvVeFdStlolptnwKou8IDAOd6cY_5nP0w26IP9ZaoLHhgLuKEAnqMfnvhLUxoskTxueRp5WDcWxzTRR5I9DGlSBLpH9wjgeNQh5rN0_0RJrwzIaoc9YvYwOXGqDBEHgRf3S/s400/IMG_6702.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287236578994231586" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9eSfZPIYUPx3UMcBNPqX69ScTJ3rxuF1b7lfb1urDzswjUEYUgsRLBx9EH_IkGqw9x_xtGqp1Yp8azzvMHuvMbRYy9KRPkR_U8mPhk15a9ifXxHEaSBF5rr9zd32CYCyBe_MKISD7KelE/s1600-h/IMG_6833.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9eSfZPIYUPx3UMcBNPqX69ScTJ3rxuF1b7lfb1urDzswjUEYUgsRLBx9EH_IkGqw9x_xtGqp1Yp8azzvMHuvMbRYy9KRPkR_U8mPhk15a9ifXxHEaSBF5rr9zd32CYCyBe_MKISD7KelE/s400/IMG_6833.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287239913191072786" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2XSo4ienJsUh7OAJQZ5dZYTLda6y5bQkXFC3wVxx5y1xuSAavkKo52ytUDsQokUMsvvZ_gDGw7al9byvLrbpbX_wCxTFp8REN6qGQsoBV0rEZL-ucTsRiCIukiKLKMcAl5ZpEL2HVc13X/s1600-h/IMG_6698.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2XSo4ienJsUh7OAJQZ5dZYTLda6y5bQkXFC3wVxx5y1xuSAavkKo52ytUDsQokUMsvvZ_gDGw7al9byvLrbpbX_wCxTFp8REN6qGQsoBV0rEZL-ucTsRiCIukiKLKMcAl5ZpEL2HVc13X/s400/IMG_6698.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287236574658443602" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS6hB5lFwIoqKZPTdTgmdOrSdatFuKmUfVo5Ubd0i2JLnvXBURu_SDHcsdkgyIJ5Z5tqHVNqwub0xdm0w436ycktX0QXvQnnIDBXaxgn3lW9WOW1UroAQNdBIagiFE-AUfY2bIT2LTgHHg/s1600-h/IMG_6696.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS6hB5lFwIoqKZPTdTgmdOrSdatFuKmUfVo5Ubd0i2JLnvXBURu_SDHcsdkgyIJ5Z5tqHVNqwub0xdm0w436ycktX0QXvQnnIDBXaxgn3lW9WOW1UroAQNdBIagiFE-AUfY2bIT2LTgHHg/s400/IMG_6696.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287236569591879442" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheyd_qEnaCOtJNVCa_ST0oOdcWAwcI_wr7GprOAI7Y-YFYtpMZnXLIGtBH7yGpEG-pI-lk2clDP1wcLxqwfnxPQpywAEy7_XWTBkuIygNOqsMiSuAqSHj3BYnbskZHCLcNU8kWDFgZbocg/s1600-h/IMG_6613_cropped.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 259px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheyd_qEnaCOtJNVCa_ST0oOdcWAwcI_wr7GprOAI7Y-YFYtpMZnXLIGtBH7yGpEG-pI-lk2clDP1wcLxqwfnxPQpywAEy7_XWTBkuIygNOqsMiSuAqSHj3BYnbskZHCLcNU8kWDFgZbocg/s400/IMG_6613_cropped.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287236558378535874" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZCWyAbAUNAkZIk-O0NdihHO2MIUz2nJE5nqjybGRMF9DouzpBL6IrYAc0RSaFtp9NS7yD2rOIa7CR5N5EowelbfS_oOjDhjbNLvAcfHnUK8ZUGkkdmhvrOvlD_I19kKrFsro714PyBquU/s1600-h/IMG_6798.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZCWyAbAUNAkZIk-O0NdihHO2MIUz2nJE5nqjybGRMF9DouzpBL6IrYAc0RSaFtp9NS7yD2rOIa7CR5N5EowelbfS_oOjDhjbNLvAcfHnUK8ZUGkkdmhvrOvlD_I19kKrFsro714PyBquU/s400/IMG_6798.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287236587238651042" border="0" /></a>Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748064307759385080noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943848474899563138.post-20961402439000675942008-12-24T08:27:00.000-08:002008-12-24T09:21:42.460-08:00My 2nd Birthday<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1jJXmTqMQwRo6JlCTB5b69yrOZLRAGKn4kvc_YIqUg-DbP1zyueFufInNAUn-CZ5UbiHCTmf27QMVkdF_6fQaTFmlEUAiednvu7IpGZJ1Zo2zI2ZMSdBprsr8kijhvWRgTG2xHZ7v3U8J/s1600-h/IMG_6479.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1jJXmTqMQwRo6JlCTB5b69yrOZLRAGKn4kvc_YIqUg-DbP1zyueFufInNAUn-CZ5UbiHCTmf27QMVkdF_6fQaTFmlEUAiednvu7IpGZJ1Zo2zI2ZMSdBprsr8kijhvWRgTG2xHZ7v3U8J/s400/IMG_6479.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283401890009943346" border="0" /></a>Hi! My name is Julie and I just turned 2! Want to hear about my happy birthday?<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji9v-0oKoIzxmrWscWZ55GNTUsoRNbdmxQjHOD55Rm4qr7VlI3SwUck5nmwBF8nAvOD3oakXd8hX0nQANqXyztV3YbyloBSaFku9UsXd-sdqlPE-B5HoUOwwBcTvbCrK1a9uu6pO5cbKBh/s1600-h/IMG_6334.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji9v-0oKoIzxmrWscWZ55GNTUsoRNbdmxQjHOD55Rm4qr7VlI3SwUck5nmwBF8nAvOD3oakXd8hX0nQANqXyztV3YbyloBSaFku9UsXd-sdqlPE-B5HoUOwwBcTvbCrK1a9uu6pO5cbKBh/s400/IMG_6334.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283396517298005090" border="0" /></a>Aunt Mindy, Grandma Terri, and Mommy decided to make me a cake. Look how nice they were to each other when they started.<br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIzl2zO2gDLvjfMNq6jMVhKWPCgFJMJThJgfMGwdVuOWg-L6JLwWm0SjDIHQyH4n_zsnaAYjPAsy4wScISVQ-8gSV-qqu_tiUbIHe2ZoK7c-oc3Wngg89zbtQr6bW9kWD1YVh73xrIjKG6/s1600-h/IMG_6350.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIzl2zO2gDLvjfMNq6jMVhKWPCgFJMJThJgfMGwdVuOWg-L6JLwWm0SjDIHQyH4n_zsnaAYjPAsy4wScISVQ-8gSV-qqu_tiUbIHe2ZoK7c-oc3Wngg89zbtQr6bW9kWD1YVh73xrIjKG6/s400/IMG_6350.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283396518240759362" border="0" /></a>But by the end, all three of them were covered in piggy-pink frosting.<br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD5CDdSfkpxCRSKfNGo8s9KTquKdEMTFwOaXLsKkAeZKECgfC3rYbWu2Omahq9cw6G2HcwddBvV6HicVOVmJC5MappZIpo8jHrmreVIUTBEe9CXs5g5q83hUiRgd5grM9rfuz2-ZZbvZCh/s1600-h/IMG_6356.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD5CDdSfkpxCRSKfNGo8s9KTquKdEMTFwOaXLsKkAeZKECgfC3rYbWu2Omahq9cw6G2HcwddBvV6HicVOVmJC5MappZIpo8jHrmreVIUTBEe9CXs5g5q83hUiRgd5grM9rfuz2-ZZbvZCh/s400/IMG_6356.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283398845920020098" border="0" /></a>I didn't mind because my cake still turned out looking so cute!<br /><br /></div><br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0xmPbwwsV52F4HneRvvPpdifAvxjF_KtmvN7hYg-HoDyq-MKVnwbqzessWAIdePs7xsvf-UwsRSmnSrTaE9UXXF2zHkniYceSMGeeDOzTpejvAadAYFGj9gi59z7HDKPHAx2ptIFlGvMV/s1600-h/IMG_6391.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0xmPbwwsV52F4HneRvvPpdifAvxjF_KtmvN7hYg-HoDyq-MKVnwbqzessWAIdePs7xsvf-UwsRSmnSrTaE9UXXF2zHkniYceSMGeeDOzTpejvAadAYFGj9gi59z7HDKPHAx2ptIFlGvMV/s400/IMG_6391.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283398857192189570" border="0" /></a>This is me showing off my pretty princess tutu.<br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtKjwppSnHkSYoLYFG7KTDIrGUYrI1IfUycKHQiHzFrZpkB0r1T3NJqnvHms5nezxa9X9l1SZhiheRoSZ8i4bZ9DXO5fufC2zD4huLBQ9k077s9kuqXx2U2yTsrgsLv6Y-vMQbaJBWS3ZO/s1600-h/IMG_6424.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtKjwppSnHkSYoLYFG7KTDIrGUYrI1IfUycKHQiHzFrZpkB0r1T3NJqnvHms5nezxa9X9l1SZhiheRoSZ8i4bZ9DXO5fufC2zD4huLBQ9k077s9kuqXx2U2yTsrgsLv6Y-vMQbaJBWS3ZO/s400/IMG_6424.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283398865406728610" border="0" /></a>I shared my new toys with Grandpa John but he's not a big princess fan.<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP8uFuxDMj599GaxPO7B_szKliewIg0TkUAru7Vzi1VHZEI9GYHFW4t7etjipGjIvR75m6OxFqYcvTQxZQ2d18VhAqlSExxOm_RWPiNYSFwDIp-g4Kh2a8_fNVBZnFYlKTg9jLYowyukUB/s1600-h/IMG_6495.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP8uFuxDMj599GaxPO7B_szKliewIg0TkUAru7Vzi1VHZEI9GYHFW4t7etjipGjIvR75m6OxFqYcvTQxZQ2d18VhAqlSExxOm_RWPiNYSFwDIp-g4Kh2a8_fNVBZnFYlKTg9jLYowyukUB/s400/IMG_6495.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283407241992366466" border="0" /></a>Daddy on the other hand loved my new stuff.<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_tZeDzHrUB5J1KKvbngOnjmLhZxmo2UqSC8UCqqbCQLdsY6s45e8Ffkd7XqCqiCwjIJGLGYMKLEAP4Wt9bsuFIHm-uUTS11iIuNYhvWvcHDsDJ12YxJ5qPT4ydYM0kQolmdZdoPha14RQ/s1600-h/IMG_6442.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_tZeDzHrUB5J1KKvbngOnjmLhZxmo2UqSC8UCqqbCQLdsY6s45e8Ffkd7XqCqiCwjIJGLGYMKLEAP4Wt9bsuFIHm-uUTS11iIuNYhvWvcHDsDJ12YxJ5qPT4ydYM0kQolmdZdoPha14RQ/s400/IMG_6442.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283401895196931042" border="0" /></a>Don't bother me, I'm an important princess!<br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbfUOxElpmzGnU86g_C5hSfSSjB-kNJS51a7qhs8Kh57dCzkEc06WkJnc2GEvxnWby9HhgJ8rUkg_dv2r5x5GhS6svTo1LubKUQYFNpDHPXn18B21-eZhYGPf0PtKZm-K01b7UfjzsctJr/s1600-h/IMG_6515.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbfUOxElpmzGnU86g_C5hSfSSjB-kNJS51a7qhs8Kh57dCzkEc06WkJnc2GEvxnWby9HhgJ8rUkg_dv2r5x5GhS6svTo1LubKUQYFNpDHPXn18B21-eZhYGPf0PtKZm-K01b7UfjzsctJr/s400/IMG_6515.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283401902383470482" border="0" /></a>I liked my piggy cake until they lit the candles and shoved the fire in my face.<br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0849b9esr3qraEKgI8pMy43H5kc6b_AeMwh5HUGliRxDEo0yRmRd9ilUY1H2Smm1joGA0L6AVrobalj3FnQtMmOUI4D65md9J8DThWMZf_GxlIHDieDDZJkAb0Sahr5klcDEpQveU3Jj6/s1600-h/IMG_6524.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0849b9esr3qraEKgI8pMy43H5kc6b_AeMwh5HUGliRxDEo0yRmRd9ilUY1H2Smm1joGA0L6AVrobalj3FnQtMmOUI4D65md9J8DThWMZf_GxlIHDieDDZJkAb0Sahr5klcDEpQveU3Jj6/s400/IMG_6524.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283401895702114770" border="0" /></a>Princesses and piggies that aren't on fire, what could make a two year old girl happier?<br /></div>Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748064307759385080noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943848474899563138.post-8683371417856993262008-12-15T20:08:00.000-08:002008-12-15T20:45:52.862-08:00White Stuff, Red Suit<div style="text-align: center;">This morning I woke up to all this strange white stuff covering the ground. It usually only happens about once a year here, but now I have a legitimate reason to hope for a "white Christmas" this year. (hey, it's bound to happen eventually if I live here long enough, right?)<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0X7XmqOn5W8wtKYJKuGyLKRdglIn2Wa3_PI2jjnmcyvEZG7kjxOkV0Zcnx8wqcXBdNT4I2aCUs1KrgjEuneGqP_hf5x41e2tjYvv7TekYCa1TSJ3IiXK60JePCQU30rwaoaaFjTvPN6UL/s1600-h/IMG_6220.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0X7XmqOn5W8wtKYJKuGyLKRdglIn2Wa3_PI2jjnmcyvEZG7kjxOkV0Zcnx8wqcXBdNT4I2aCUs1KrgjEuneGqP_hf5x41e2tjYvv7TekYCa1TSJ3IiXK60JePCQU30rwaoaaFjTvPN6UL/s400/IMG_6220.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280239318438501778" border="0" /></a>We definitely need to visit our <a href="http://myfamily-butler.blogspot.com/">Utah relatives</a> during the winter sometimes soon because Jacob didn't last more than five minutes outside today!<br /><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVDrDv_IK5pjKnfPG85TPR1v5AOP2Uq99F2_SnkG0D0dlhrAolcZQeYmoAP74yCDBL8NkeeEP5X7yY_4rS_7fmE1qmk7YpfHt7rNm2Lds-JlT-YvXnYuRsfEPzxdoyTdWG1-JdRwCSDC3r/s1600-h/IMG_6229.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVDrDv_IK5pjKnfPG85TPR1v5AOP2Uq99F2_SnkG0D0dlhrAolcZQeYmoAP74yCDBL8NkeeEP5X7yY_4rS_7fmE1qmk7YpfHt7rNm2Lds-JlT-YvXnYuRsfEPzxdoyTdWG1-JdRwCSDC3r/s400/IMG_6229.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280239314787070242" border="0" /></a>Yes, this is the same jacket Julie wore <a href="http://k27star.blogspot.com/2008/01/snow-day.html">last year when it snowed</a>, but we did upgrade her from socks to mittens this time.<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC8Y9iZ41RegbGE8kuX3TOxxLZOwPPr8h6p5bCTP7_cNt7sCZJNhqHNJy_464Geb6LNC8EzWAixtdcbWQcxVN9RSDNJRMHRszFoZvNSif_J5ARnIU6FirXMNWsSVP7YCGl_a5MG4f9h5xR/s1600-h/IMG_6200.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC8Y9iZ41RegbGE8kuX3TOxxLZOwPPr8h6p5bCTP7_cNt7sCZJNhqHNJy_464Geb6LNC8EzWAixtdcbWQcxVN9RSDNJRMHRszFoZvNSif_J5ARnIU6FirXMNWsSVP7YCGl_a5MG4f9h5xR/s400/IMG_6200.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280239305065468034" border="0" /></a>After he handed her a candy cane, Julie told Santa she wanted candy for Christmas. So I'm offically off the hook, right? Isn't it funny that we spend most of our time telling our kids to be careful around strangers, and then we shove them in Santa's lap? But I guess technically Santa ins't a stranger, especially this year.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCAMXbAQqGFe0yBZy2v1Yk0VAI5Vx53Lh8wzjDNy7Sc31oU1Prvmub846nw8Nae4dO_VawKPiFf0C8ZDI1iyrnbPc2f9QFUsXIGQemH_VFcEDL2cP1MSrAdAGEFAhE0qytWseke0hluOpD/s1600-h/IMG_6205.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCAMXbAQqGFe0yBZy2v1Yk0VAI5Vx53Lh8wzjDNy7Sc31oU1Prvmub846nw8Nae4dO_VawKPiFf0C8ZDI1iyrnbPc2f9QFUsXIGQemH_VFcEDL2cP1MSrAdAGEFAhE0qytWseke0hluOpD/s400/IMG_6205.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280239300695175426" border="0" /></a>Santa's helper (who might look very familiar to <a href="http://pinkinkposts.blogspot.com/">Peggy</a>) told me that Jacob visited Santa a good three or four times. At least he stood in line each time instead of last year's cutting to the front of the line incident!<br /></div>Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748064307759385080noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943848474899563138.post-27147702967042989512008-12-08T14:38:00.000-08:002008-12-08T16:00:37.418-08:00Cops<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7IuKEXpvs5w&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7IuKEXpvs5w&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Now that you've heard Jacob's version, let me fill in a few details. I thought Jacob was down for the count, and decided to catch a few zzz's myself. Apparently while I was sleeping Jacob either answered the phone or decided to call the Riverbend Hospital.<br /><br />Either way, someone at the hospital asked Jake to get me on the phone and he said he couldn't (smart boy, he knew that he shouldn't be on the phone and should be taking a nap instead). Since Jake said I couldn't come to the phone, the hospital lady thought something might have happened to me and sent over the cops to make sure I was ok - definitely not the funnest thing to wake up to!Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748064307759385080noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943848474899563138.post-58989439702563382002008-12-02T15:45:00.000-08:002008-12-03T17:48:49.140-08:00Hooray 4 Jakey!4 he's a jolly good fellow, 4 he's a jolly good fellow. 4 he's a jolly good fellow, which nobody can deny! My first little baby is no longer a baby, or even a toddler. Four years ago, Jacob entered the world. Before his first birthday we knew he got his Mommy's hair and eye color but every day it becomes more and more apparent that his personality is just as outgoing as Daddy.<br /><br />Sadly I missed out on pictures of one of the best parts of his day because I didn't bring my camera to the indoor playground. <a href="http://anna-nymity.blogspot.com/">Anna</a> brought brownies and had all the kids sing to Jake. She also gave him his super cool birthday hat which he insisted on wearing for the better part of the day.<br /><br />Last night Jeremy said to me, "I don't think we could have done anything else to make Jake's birthday more special." This made me laugh a little at us parents who try and make special occasions so special even when it's a high probability that our kids won't remember it! I guess that's why we have cameras, right? (wasn't that a great tie-in to me showing off pictures of Jake's big day? haha)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1u9CYg3LBq4z1gFT7aCW8339RjiYvp_qQrek_1uokvQsoTn8AjAKNqMkRYV3dS9VwcFkcGComdSAzaAvmDOvI3PRkCOs4nVj_abRhu7npiHzmU2fPCfVqdohybZ0eUG4ZMMDKrC3rJNGP/s1600-h/IMG_5913.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1u9CYg3LBq4z1gFT7aCW8339RjiYvp_qQrek_1uokvQsoTn8AjAKNqMkRYV3dS9VwcFkcGComdSAzaAvmDOvI3PRkCOs4nVj_abRhu7npiHzmU2fPCfVqdohybZ0eUG4ZMMDKrC3rJNGP/s400/IMG_5913.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275348400588273042" border="0" /></a>Jakey wanted mickey mouse pancakes with sprinkles, and a "W" for his birthday breakfast. Isn't he such a good helper?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF3oaVX1r1C-gGAPWb_qcRQOROucs5741KpfoEW3dFaL19-EPnO-tG-58ZUaV0quV6Xw0AGGLuPbTCpCNmBcjlTzgyWMGKjOvF0FdvxIvkFgjjpfLmmoIS0PBBJXA6zuZfc2__Tp6ruR6j/s1600-h/IMG_5916.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF3oaVX1r1C-gGAPWb_qcRQOROucs5741KpfoEW3dFaL19-EPnO-tG-58ZUaV0quV6Xw0AGGLuPbTCpCNmBcjlTzgyWMGKjOvF0FdvxIvkFgjjpfLmmoIS0PBBJXA6zuZfc2__Tp6ruR6j/s400/IMG_5916.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275348402428744994" border="0" /></a>I'm posting this picture because I know Jakey will love looking at his "W" pancake and will let a huge "W!!!" squeal every time he sees it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtvIauRkhjkb1j1em9mVxHG9-Pkn8TdT35s-7wk6aVV9L_3n4WFSM9fQUMkaIJBUIvhyaOj8do-cS2PiZgz7GaRptG0hHBPxsL3GCCRzt8iNhbaWsa7l-FgSmBKmc-IYiZ1SKr_A8QF14e/s1600-h/IMG_5923.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtvIauRkhjkb1j1em9mVxHG9-Pkn8TdT35s-7wk6aVV9L_3n4WFSM9fQUMkaIJBUIvhyaOj8do-cS2PiZgz7GaRptG0hHBPxsL3GCCRzt8iNhbaWsa7l-FgSmBKmc-IYiZ1SKr_A8QF14e/s400/IMG_5923.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275348409319624882" border="0" /></a>Daddy took Jakey out to Red Robin for a special birthday treat.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrnYhAUVGMF3idiJxM3_hmEK2d3DMzQ47JEhk1B0Xw2e0eNo3FsyAWhvED9ndE_jbLnf9LYbJMQVVSS11F82QFaQgEECXj0fbvy-NZoEZyTs2KOKt2uwS-CU2TsjKv1eXr199w8Kb9_UCz/s1600-h/IMG_5934.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrnYhAUVGMF3idiJxM3_hmEK2d3DMzQ47JEhk1B0Xw2e0eNo3FsyAWhvED9ndE_jbLnf9LYbJMQVVSS11F82QFaQgEECXj0fbvy-NZoEZyTs2KOKt2uwS-CU2TsjKv1eXr199w8Kb9_UCz/s400/IMG_5934.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275348412324633842" border="0" /></a>I could write a whole post about cherries that would be almost identical to my <a href="http://k27star.blogspot.com/2008/07/whats-that.html">donut post</a>. This is obviously the before picture, haha.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp7VQsjxBqTHjKKiDcjSUG27yHWuLDT04sq-COixlf5gz5aylZ5932x2tZrLgK-eFxMecFHDwcIEli1zcUpQfg0vNsnUqJ5W6rER0QNbghZooMhdh_wXixvWeOyPAMZYY5hQLVm6X0CKWE/s1600-h/IMG_5944.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp7VQsjxBqTHjKKiDcjSUG27yHWuLDT04sq-COixlf5gz5aylZ5932x2tZrLgK-eFxMecFHDwcIEli1zcUpQfg0vNsnUqJ5W6rER0QNbghZooMhdh_wXixvWeOyPAMZYY5hQLVm6X0CKWE/s400/IMG_5944.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275348418420216610" border="0" /></a>After much persuasion, Jakey decided it was in his best interest to share with Mommy. :)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdSl7RK9Rwj04l0_HKGwaeDIzLQUnLkjmZyZKil_eofGLXBL4yDRGhb83JGiwXnGb6v-T9ok23Yl_UKk77TKzxVKHdXKqaP40Y_VHdVxsn35otbClY6AcOMMifrXRoCioz_Sd-KeznkS4A/s1600-h/IMG_5940.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdSl7RK9Rwj04l0_HKGwaeDIzLQUnLkjmZyZKil_eofGLXBL4yDRGhb83JGiwXnGb6v-T9ok23Yl_UKk77TKzxVKHdXKqaP40Y_VHdVxsn35otbClY6AcOMMifrXRoCioz_Sd-KeznkS4A/s400/IMG_5940.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275354830817535586" border="0" /></a>Best buddies! (probably because Daddy doesn't make him share his ice cream!)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDa60W9BFybQcbsTRlx_oeCOp0FxUFKR5uDKTIbGCoCeUB4AnRCBZPrU3n0aB11vhgmncyEq05JWz0FyF9cCH5OOI5C7SlUj6iOZRoa6ToSQPIRlLReT28cKKkuysfUnsNjYhqODvR9S4H/s1600-h/IMG_5952.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDa60W9BFybQcbsTRlx_oeCOp0FxUFKR5uDKTIbGCoCeUB4AnRCBZPrU3n0aB11vhgmncyEq05JWz0FyF9cCH5OOI5C7SlUj6iOZRoa6ToSQPIRlLReT28cKKkuysfUnsNjYhqODvR9S4H/s400/IMG_5952.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275354834763064994" border="0" /></a>Grandma Terri and Grandpa John came down to help celebrate.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxEuNJAXO9MO50uew-D5NzHj9kNhww5ihg9U2SCVtNWgApm9xM09TUYrc-HMiHzV9IlTK1cUgI9BsuvOiOLofBY6ZUvgLUy4NGnUXRRiVk_SbBuq9_BLXsW1VL_cbT5nSvAUbVo_pQwhtN/s1600-h/IMG_5957.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxEuNJAXO9MO50uew-D5NzHj9kNhww5ihg9U2SCVtNWgApm9xM09TUYrc-HMiHzV9IlTK1cUgI9BsuvOiOLofBY6ZUvgLUy4NGnUXRRiVk_SbBuq9_BLXsW1VL_cbT5nSvAUbVo_pQwhtN/s400/IMG_5957.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275354836368326738" border="0" /></a>Julie's idea for new hats. I swear the girl is obsessed.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8ZlMFj7kCtZd8KPgW2kNi75UERfsvKsL0LJvJJyd9K-7oZN3TnUd-n7XeoLZY3haxrMkqv6ZJlXHcf8wYQrkkrw_WH1eF5i1X3cM_-AvcTeTG0ILOr0KEQsp3XGjmvcm_tFHfcKcCjarz/s1600-h/IMG_5964.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8ZlMFj7kCtZd8KPgW2kNi75UERfsvKsL0LJvJJyd9K-7oZN3TnUd-n7XeoLZY3haxrMkqv6ZJlXHcf8wYQrkkrw_WH1eF5i1X3cM_-AvcTeTG0ILOr0KEQsp3XGjmvcm_tFHfcKcCjarz/s400/IMG_5964.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275354868174885250" border="0" /></a>Jakey loved talking on the phone to all the relatives that called to make sure his day was special.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Ahozd5IqQkG0BOcibjZlClDSLZdS2_ra4jTZzAfpP28L0Qjm8lCLUodQxfIhhNPz6UogdfqfrkUpIjV8wgfzGBtvSfc-_t3rynOFpxZwgyIXWBvcyRA3K4_Lf7EjrXPQN5EdZZ24Mh7Z/s1600-h/IMG_5975.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Ahozd5IqQkG0BOcibjZlClDSLZdS2_ra4jTZzAfpP28L0Qjm8lCLUodQxfIhhNPz6UogdfqfrkUpIjV8wgfzGBtvSfc-_t3rynOFpxZwgyIXWBvcyRA3K4_Lf7EjrXPQN5EdZZ24Mh7Z/s400/IMG_5975.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275354877260072354" border="0" /></a>Jakey hugging the card he got from Grandma Grandma.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPjVjePWJlwIXLfLuWHmKtyfL4LD5pVcAI9sFRgH-VqhpsUmhNwxtTMPjXuDihgfkPVkQDqoaI7mXPqKjL_5sGx8qMbp_wObhpYeq6n29OIMwwI8MGfZnbypEOyhtJQzkx5OJpUPTPRSjX/s1600-h/IMG_6005_2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 265px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPjVjePWJlwIXLfLuWHmKtyfL4LD5pVcAI9sFRgH-VqhpsUmhNwxtTMPjXuDihgfkPVkQDqoaI7mXPqKjL_5sGx8qMbp_wObhpYeq6n29OIMwwI8MGfZnbypEOyhtJQzkx5OJpUPTPRSjX/s400/IMG_6005_2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275409703117547106" border="0" /></a>Grandpa John, Jakey, and Julie racing on the obstacle course Grandpa John built with Jakey's new outdoor toys.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWu3UBjAUpcCDsCjDiwwSVmraXuLCAMxghZV9OihDpWj9D_lBNuzUGgkBB3bmYD4yMSvSP8xwOYcFf59MEAXyliPZr5vRwv8EK5ootjIzGFzPFmVogauPn8A061q-urF9P5OnNPwZuP4gg/s1600-h/IMG_6026.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWu3UBjAUpcCDsCjDiwwSVmraXuLCAMxghZV9OihDpWj9D_lBNuzUGgkBB3bmYD4yMSvSP8xwOYcFf59MEAXyliPZr5vRwv8EK5ootjIzGFzPFmVogauPn8A061q-urF9P5OnNPwZuP4gg/s400/IMG_6026.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275409709879532786" border="0" /></a>With much effort, Jakey figured out how to blow his party favor balloon.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjVDVaVOiW3NVOmvTNNb_4vPgaTMEqXApaGMyzTx3OOK-EVElbkaMjvYvt8IbROzAxhNtf_Xygw10elDMve7Yo43RjYzngclUlRtEnDbeWXwrPw2xqlliEjofqd0eONQyE5Rye0sv3h8bS/s1600-h/IMG_6038.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjVDVaVOiW3NVOmvTNNb_4vPgaTMEqXApaGMyzTx3OOK-EVElbkaMjvYvt8IbROzAxhNtf_Xygw10elDMve7Yo43RjYzngclUlRtEnDbeWXwrPw2xqlliEjofqd0eONQyE5Rye0sv3h8bS/s400/IMG_6038.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275409717537057506" border="0" /></a>Julie's attempt at blowing up the balloon.<br /></div>Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748064307759385080noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943848474899563138.post-31373069429521276182008-11-27T22:56:00.000-08:002008-11-27T23:15:36.465-08:00Happy Thanksgiving<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo0wGDzuZZIYKUHcw4ASKnk_ZZ7a6m9yywX-XBugm2YynGtaSoGm-G1QbPPiUC-LuNY_dv_IcNcmPq_0tIw_QPi8j6b_V7LnczEi7RWhqtepqTX3cz7_YExa-BngR1kvsJftgsEIJ_rmJQ/s1600-h/2729930236_0c31c6be06.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 364px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo0wGDzuZZIYKUHcw4ASKnk_ZZ7a6m9yywX-XBugm2YynGtaSoGm-G1QbPPiUC-LuNY_dv_IcNcmPq_0tIw_QPi8j6b_V7LnczEi7RWhqtepqTX3cz7_YExa-BngR1kvsJftgsEIJ_rmJQ/s400/2729930236_0c31c6be06.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273599909986197778" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://www.lds.org/temples/main/0,11204,1912-1-78-2,00.html">Portland Oregon Temple</a><br /></span></div><br />Every Thanksgiving my family observes the tradition of going around the dinner table and having each person say something they are thankful for this year. Since I am spending Thanksgiving with my in-laws this year, I wanted to share my 'turn' here.<br /><br />The thing I am most thankful for this year is the temple, specifically the sealing power used only in the temple to bind families together for time and all eternity. Knowing that we are sealed to our precious Caleb and that we will see him again someday is the only thing keeping me going most days. <br /><br />I am also eternally grateful for Jesus Christ, His restored gospel, and the atonement He made in behalf of all of us to make it possible for us to be clean and pure so that we can be together again in the hereafter. Knowing that He has a divine plan for each and every one of us, and that He is there to help us every step of the way is so reassuring. I am grateful for the example He set for us all, and for all the people who have chosen to follow it and helped carry our family this year.<br /><br />I am grateful for my children's cheery outlook on life, their smiles, and their loves. I am grateful for their father and the strength and tenderness I have seen in him. And I am grateful for my testimony of the restored gospel, without it I don't know how I would make it through the day.Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748064307759385080noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943848474899563138.post-12636698624843339022008-11-25T14:03:00.000-08:002008-11-25T14:32:26.777-08:00Feast DayIt's hard for me to remember how a few months ago I was feeling like I was depriving Jacob and wishing that he could go to preschool. This thought keeps popping into my head on preschool days. Although it's not the circumstances I would have ever wished or dreamed for, I am grateful that Jacob is able to attend preschool. Today Kathy and I (and a few other Moms) got to stay and help their class with their feast. It was fun to catch a peak into their daily activities and routine.<br /><br />It's also a nice reminder that Jacob isn't the only one that has his moments because they all do. I think as parents we tend to minimize other children's misbehavior while magnifying our own kids' problems. Overall their whole class did great and the minor hiccups here or there are just part of the age group. It does make me appreciate the patience of a preschool teacher though!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiACRo52oUQuXb_-ZqXEZ1nWTGzu8lnNiLLqXAfnVTsBw3_8Uh7dcQL1jf3R0E8CENcew2FH7EswXm3gfLX4JtQGIZtJzjPiCSyS6igDFOa_IgSWdQ5XfFYPw_YZfA8kmoleh1FooExJyH0/s1600-h/IMG_5811.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiACRo52oUQuXb_-ZqXEZ1nWTGzu8lnNiLLqXAfnVTsBw3_8Uh7dcQL1jf3R0E8CENcew2FH7EswXm3gfLX4JtQGIZtJzjPiCSyS6igDFOa_IgSWdQ5XfFYPw_YZfA8kmoleh1FooExJyH0/s400/IMG_5811.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272722348783128162" border="0" /></a>Everyone patiently waiting for the feast to begin.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL-0_CK0H9rZuiCp9G8js8OmYoM8WbhbLcbMWNNJ-Aq4qgkeuoDeNrc-J9swJZF1Yi-7VyGvKBcfFSh_UKIIiuqs8Xkl7fwAobxGqNxmKP__hrYoG1oV4RT5eIGsPfDpJfHoII6GiKg2GO/s1600-h/IMG_5820.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL-0_CK0H9rZuiCp9G8js8OmYoM8WbhbLcbMWNNJ-Aq4qgkeuoDeNrc-J9swJZF1Yi-7VyGvKBcfFSh_UKIIiuqs8Xkl7fwAobxGqNxmKP__hrYoG1oV4RT5eIGsPfDpJfHoII6GiKg2GO/s400/IMG_5820.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272722377577217890" border="0" /></a>Jacob's 3 yr old class shared their feast with the 4 yr old class so he was pretty excited that he got to see his fellow sunbeam Lindsay.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9FMEQUl51WsC8KTXTQk61R6OAAAzlayktHdDeV-zAwuAs9rRxkDQkgRj1e77AMMJr60UGbObTEjra-ytMctFFqMROV9MDLvYkhW8B6xuAoyWKdOWWtM4KEqbzgKpixin4UTyn-fX43GK2/s1600-h/IMG_5818.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9FMEQUl51WsC8KTXTQk61R6OAAAzlayktHdDeV-zAwuAs9rRxkDQkgRj1e77AMMJr60UGbObTEjra-ytMctFFqMROV9MDLvYkhW8B6xuAoyWKdOWWtM4KEqbzgKpixin4UTyn-fX43GK2/s400/IMG_5818.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272722359100374754" border="0" /></a>Me and my little man after the feast, taken by Kathy. I almost posted a cute picture of Kathy's family but then I realized I should probably ask her permission first so there might be an edit in here later.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxHDrofNBJzK2XkAPx3WmNDGFotkdQS_-mKYD7QiwEgj10g20y7j-67bZ-veoZs8w3bojs7O4r5SLL3oZTA7eesSm5UiFQQDwo2SbJw2jw_MaoAG29VZ-XMJFj7mVd3RjAbZG1X9Ct_rww/s1600-h/IMG_5825.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxHDrofNBJzK2XkAPx3WmNDGFotkdQS_-mKYD7QiwEgj10g20y7j-67bZ-veoZs8w3bojs7O4r5SLL3oZTA7eesSm5UiFQQDwo2SbJw2jw_MaoAG29VZ-XMJFj7mVd3RjAbZG1X9Ct_rww/s400/IMG_5825.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272722367635203122" border="0" /></a>It was Jacob's turn to be the helper today. He got to ring the bell for clean up, be first in line, and help Mrs. Bruce lead the good-bye song.<br /></div>Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748064307759385080noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943848474899563138.post-54422404563201097042008-11-17T20:20:00.001-08:002008-11-17T20:37:18.624-08:00Sunday PicturesSince Uncle Brian keeps bugging me to update my blog, I'm sharing some random pictures we took yesterday.<div style="text-align: center;"><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB7iMMJCqIeeBmrTIrueDKB-AiNmP-3XPKXoas3qYvcqO3ztwA-d83ZKWjv6xdsIiUtFOT9c7B2dLEFw9PMSWS2guia96UnLj2uJSg7YkmK6D16tRfu6btUKRfW88hg-QqMSmXNN7FQgcD/s1600-h/IMG_5705.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB7iMMJCqIeeBmrTIrueDKB-AiNmP-3XPKXoas3qYvcqO3ztwA-d83ZKWjv6xdsIiUtFOT9c7B2dLEFw9PMSWS2guia96UnLj2uJSg7YkmK6D16tRfu6btUKRfW88hg-QqMSmXNN7FQgcD/s400/IMG_5705.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269849812185124178" border="0" /></a>Sometimes I wonder if it's even worth attempting to "do" Julie's hair. Before we even got out the door yesterday she had put on a hat and made her pigtails look frumpy. That was nothing though if you compare to this picture of the damage she did to her hair while at church.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK47bhMZxmRU6SMmbOMrByhJqaexut0XLIqI2bY2rQFcgsc8PlIjbhiN1IziZWgud5AIlFcjn-xQCt_sMo-_uNEtdLbFJn9TAeAqLLmZNgF1xcGdsEyR_yyBQ-_1-6dXRFL7hJNjsVs0NY/s1600-h/IMG_5677.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK47bhMZxmRU6SMmbOMrByhJqaexut0XLIqI2bY2rQFcgsc8PlIjbhiN1IziZWgud5AIlFcjn-xQCt_sMo-_uNEtdLbFJn9TAeAqLLmZNgF1xcGdsEyR_yyBQ-_1-6dXRFL7hJNjsVs0NY/s400/IMG_5677.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269849805079785250" border="0" /></a>Daddy and Jacob show off their 'matching' ties.</div><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWSVVuSZVGOd1522jX-1PjKs41RqcgdMbrRR2cea2aviT3zxxsjnVyWtqeRzaN_PRm_BJg0efpZEYCKpzc5UqJ-verCzT4ZKqmFVltkJoJHKUVCkaZdtYivGAsv3evvp_UQ3dRm1GEVt63/s1600-h/IMG_5690.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWSVVuSZVGOd1522jX-1PjKs41RqcgdMbrRR2cea2aviT3zxxsjnVyWtqeRzaN_PRm_BJg0efpZEYCKpzc5UqJ-verCzT4ZKqmFVltkJoJHKUVCkaZdtYivGAsv3evvp_UQ3dRm1GEVt63/s400/IMG_5690.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269849816525811250" border="0" /></a>"Everybody kiss Julie!" - I think Julie tried to include herself in that group.<br /></div>Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748064307759385080noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943848474899563138.post-9552047005942064762008-11-07T23:22:00.000-08:002008-11-08T00:07:11.383-08:00Life SketchTomorrow Caleb would have been 3 months old. Days and dates like these are extra hard for me - commemorating that he was here and yet a stark reminder of his absence. I think it's a good day to share Caleb's life sketch that Jeremy and I wrote together. My brother did such a good job presenting it for us at the funeral that it's not quite the same when you read it yourself. But here it is typos, grammatical errors, and other flaws included because right now I can't make it through reading it without tears getting in the way.<br /><br /><form id="144" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-file" style="display: inline;" contenteditable="false"><a href="http://www.ecrossfit.com/kristine/Life%20Sketch.doc">Life Sketch.doc</a></form> <div><br /></div>Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748064307759385080noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943848474899563138.post-54984422697934319802008-10-31T23:09:00.000-07:002008-11-01T08:14:18.812-07:00Happy-WeenJeremy and I have told each other (and pretty much anyone else that will listen) that the gospel and our kids are the best medicine for a broken heart. These precious little spirits that Heavenly Father has entrusted us with force us to get out of bed each morning but they also fill our days with giggles and hugs. They help us see the magic and wonder that the world still holds, like only a toddler can. I don't know what we'd do without them right now.<br /><br />Before Halloween, Jacob kept telling me that he wanted to be Ichiro, but since I didn't want to pay $50+ for a Mariner's jersey (not to mention how non-crafty I am!), I used my Mommy coersion skills and "helped" Jacob forgot about Ichiro and start loving the idea of being an Oregon Ducks football player instead (we already had the outfit . . . can you hear my evil laugh as you read this?). What do you think, should I feel guilty about my costume switcheroo?<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnWVbIAX_THc3fsJHwEqJmZilPPd2eTVFvxD9FZuaaaBso2yxd-rt7cvDb7i2CRzZA813YbfgtWGJfcnnTBwXqH69Xs9-bGUFFBtQAr4kescTbb6taxHerfg749cJpH7QrZcv3D05kiQ8T/s1600-h/IMG_5354.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnWVbIAX_THc3fsJHwEqJmZilPPd2eTVFvxD9FZuaaaBso2yxd-rt7cvDb7i2CRzZA813YbfgtWGJfcnnTBwXqH69Xs9-bGUFFBtQAr4kescTbb6taxHerfg749cJpH7QrZcv3D05kiQ8T/s400/IMG_5354.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263574399180565202" border="0" /></a>What do you get when you combine: 2 power rangers, one football player, one cheerleader, and a bride? Pure fun! Fortunately for us the weather cooperated tonight and we were able to have an enjoyable time trick-or-treating with <a href="http://5rowes-n-a-row.blogspot.com/">the Rowes</a>.<br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFGJXk4ozf1UWZc41HtvRltxSqh0NOdoyJbr29BCOra5ZERIF25h5QQgquQHu7XMjsMKfQ-Wz_9bK84mYqTrodILXQOE-p4f5Bq2uxZADw2JLAp_MIFvWzodwMxOA-5Xf2fwHpTyLMdbcD/s1600-h/IMG_5371.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFGJXk4ozf1UWZc41HtvRltxSqh0NOdoyJbr29BCOra5ZERIF25h5QQgquQHu7XMjsMKfQ-Wz_9bK84mYqTrodILXQOE-p4f5Bq2uxZADw2JLAp_MIFvWzodwMxOA-5Xf2fwHpTyLMdbcD/s400/IMG_5371.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263574406758905890" border="0" /></a>Julie was so cute at the doors from saying "Happy Ween!" to blowing kisses goodbye.<br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Rbl3vJh4SZC2qhzKzf92g5pmi4n4GtFCr2VXCcDNTrenIWG0SYjjEHz18SlqlPYBX2ka5q43oncTApu-xNGir7jVpi-cgakdC1mweLh2IY-eW5ZepKwtlCxlZ0Bp_7rWg7PdHJdE5tBT/s1600-h/IMG_5378_cropped.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 238px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Rbl3vJh4SZC2qhzKzf92g5pmi4n4GtFCr2VXCcDNTrenIWG0SYjjEHz18SlqlPYBX2ka5q43oncTApu-xNGir7jVpi-cgakdC1mweLh2IY-eW5ZepKwtlCxlZ0Bp_7rWg7PdHJdE5tBT/s400/IMG_5378_cropped.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263570880183851218" border="0" /></a>Putting trick-or-treating on hold to take a family photo doesn't always have the best results. Silly Mommy and Daddy forgot that getting candy is priority #1.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL72m0CWMwpuD-4wGXKevyvMQhrDhdYqVxH3huJj1YWw_PhJzNcK4yxn0kWamxftBsjkTV_oTXAfiUHi5YzYo0L3RSIB-WID-YgPrr2Yhrind_E-UJtQtsaa8AjApfmYSqDTbrj5lA7jvM/s1600-h/IMG_5385.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL72m0CWMwpuD-4wGXKevyvMQhrDhdYqVxH3huJj1YWw_PhJzNcK4yxn0kWamxftBsjkTV_oTXAfiUHi5YzYo0L3RSIB-WID-YgPrr2Yhrind_E-UJtQtsaa8AjApfmYSqDTbrj5lA7jvM/s400/IMG_5385.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263574416492548018" border="0" /></a>Until Mommy reviewed proper trick-or-treat etiquette (something we will be doing before we leave the house next year), Jacob made sure our neighbors were giving him the candy he wanted. For the first few houses he either said things like "Not that one!" or he simply took matters into his own hands by replacing the un-liked candy and nabbing the more desirable one. He sure knows how to keep Mommy on her toes sometimes!<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUiY42E9DQ-JxXTAroK1mls93AaygwmEcn7-SpKu_Q_F92kWq92Nqh2hhKN4BeYg2dK56LXAPH6xmBX0mlVvXDnFJsRyZJUEWd62j4Df_8-ZKBS4q03a7w9XHwKKLQbw31rJ-i-YyzjPIA/s1600-h/IMG_5421.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUiY42E9DQ-JxXTAroK1mls93AaygwmEcn7-SpKu_Q_F92kWq92Nqh2hhKN4BeYg2dK56LXAPH6xmBX0mlVvXDnFJsRyZJUEWd62j4Df_8-ZKBS4q03a7w9XHwKKLQbw31rJ-i-YyzjPIA/s400/IMG_5421.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263574428684448210" border="0" /></a>Handing out candy is almost as fun as getting some yourself. Jake called out "I love you!" to more than one group of girl trick-or-treaters. I think we're going to have a keep an eye on our little ladies man as he gets a little older.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKK2Bk0gftymHk5oX6ocuT0jUmjcqrwle8xTD48ud0Fsn6gB7bv38gPCEGlX5md-LghmAq4WagCUG2OyxNXUkBbiBj3MJ5zdqf1Qi7TPolMFDhj5MgObU49H0oiWnIf-InjPHqlRBZ23xn/s1600-h/IMG_5428.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKK2Bk0gftymHk5oX6ocuT0jUmjcqrwle8xTD48ud0Fsn6gB7bv38gPCEGlX5md-LghmAq4WagCUG2OyxNXUkBbiBj3MJ5zdqf1Qi7TPolMFDhj5MgObU49H0oiWnIf-InjPHqlRBZ23xn/s400/IMG_5428.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263574425049388370" border="0" /></a>And my personal fave: Julie's sugar induced stupor.<br /></div>Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748064307759385080noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943848474899563138.post-30627359080541282892008-10-26T21:27:00.000-07:002008-10-26T22:30:44.199-07:00Sustaining Quotes<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikcAAVHKZy-yod2ZyzUfxJPis29AgfPgGxjCeT1u93vEqubNYce2C-dKdtVqnDpdu2_ejIY7PJWYJuNAlNgzd-rljX38N1BDBwJwSTMkxA19pUIoDZQU0XLSS3ldNKJi7WSiCJvWaG21OG/s1600-h/PREC0005.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 316px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikcAAVHKZy-yod2ZyzUfxJPis29AgfPgGxjCeT1u93vEqubNYce2C-dKdtVqnDpdu2_ejIY7PJWYJuNAlNgzd-rljX38N1BDBwJwSTMkxA19pUIoDZQU0XLSS3ldNKJi7WSiCJvWaG21OG/s400/PREC0005.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5261695418654985298" border="0" /></a><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:78%;" >Precious in His Sight by Greg Olsen</span><br /></div><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: georgia;">Below you will find a few quotes that helped me over the last few weeks. Actually there were a lot of quotes that helped but these ones either were easy to find again or struck me enough to take the time and look up in order to post them. I used to be quite the quote collector so if a relevant quote comes to mind, I'd love it if you shared yours too.<br /></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: georgia;">"It is always gratifying to hear of prayers being answered and miracles occurring in the lives of those who need them. But what of those noble and faithful souls who receive no miracles, whose prayers are not answered in the way they wish? What is their solace? From whence will their comfort come? Said the Savior of the world: “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. … But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, … the Father will send in my name” (<a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/john/14/18,26#18" onclick="newWindow('http://scriptures.lds.org/john/14//18,26#18')" target="contentWindow" class="scriptureRef">John 14:18, 26</a>).</p> <a style="font-family: georgia;" name="44"></a> <p style="font-family: georgia;">In simple terms, the gift of the Holy Ghost is an enhanced spiritual power permitting those entitled thereto to receive it, to receive a greater knowledge and enjoyment of the influence of Deity."<br /></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=63d07cf34f40c010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1">- James E. Faust </a></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: georgia;">If we looked at mortality as the whole of existence, then pain, sorrow, failure, and short life would be calamity. But if we look upon life as an eternal thing stretching far into the premortal past and on into the eternal post-death future, then all happenings may be put in proper perspective. </p> <a style="font-family: georgia;" name="30"></a> <p style="font-family: georgia;">Is there not wisdom in his giving us trials that we might rise above them, responsibilities that we might achieve, work to harden our muscles, sorrows to try our souls? Are we not exposed to temptations to test our strength, sickness that we might learn patience, death that we might be immortalized and glorified? </p> <a style="font-family: georgia;" name="31"></a> <p style="font-family: georgia;">If all the sick for whom we pray were healed, if all the righteous were protected and the wicked destroyed, the whole program of the Father would be annulled and the basic principle of the gospel, free agency, would be ended. No man would have to live by faith. </p> <a style="font-family: georgia;" name="32"></a> <p style="font-family: georgia;">If joy and peace and rewards were instantaneously given the doer of good, there could be no evil—all would do good but not because of the rightness of doing good. There would be no test of strength, no development of character, no growth of powers, no free agency, only satanic controls. </p> <a style="font-family: georgia;" name="33"></a> <p style="font-family: georgia;">Should all prayers be immediately answered according to our selfish desires and our limited understanding, then there would be little or no suffering, sorrow, disappointment, or even death, and if these were not, there would also be no joy, success, resurrection, nor eternal life and godhood. </p> <a style="font-family: georgia;" name="34"></a> <p style="font-family: georgia;">“For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things … righteousness … wickedness … holiness … misery … good … bad. …” (<a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/2_ne/2/11#11" onclick="newWindow('http://scriptures.lds.org/2_ne/2//11#11')" target="contentWindow" class="scriptureRef">2 Nephi 2:11</a>.) </p> <a style="font-family: georgia;" name="35"></a> <p style="font-family: georgia;">Being human, we would expel from our lives physical pain and mental anguish and assure ourselves of continual ease and comfort, but if we were to close the doors upon sorrow and distress, we might be excluding our greatest friends and benefactors. Suffering can make saints of people as they learn patience, long-suffering, and self-mastery. …<br /></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=88021b08f338c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=f339862384d20110VgnVCM100000176f620a____&hideNav=1">- Spencer W. Kimball</a> (this entire lesson is excellent)<br /></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></p><p style="line-height: 150%; font-family: georgia;">… Our beloved friends who are now deprived of their little one, have great cause for joy and rejoicing, even in the midst of the deep sorrow that they feel at the loss of their little one for a time. They know he is all right; they have the assurance that their little one has passed away without sin. Such children are in the bosom of the Father. They will inherit their glory and their exaltation, and they will not be deprived of the blessings that belong to them; for, in the economy of heaven, and in the wisdom of the Father, who doeth all things well, those who are cut down as little children are without any responsibility for their taking off, they, themselves, not having the intelligence and wisdom to take care of themselves and to understand the laws of life; and, in the wisdom and mercy and economy of God our Heavenly Father, all that could have been obtained and enjoyed by them if they had been permitted to live in the flesh will be provided for them hereafter. They will lose nothing by being taken away from us in this way. …<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: georgia;"><a name="13"></a>With these thoughts in my mind, I take consolation in the fact that I shall meet my children who have passed behind the veil; I have lost a number, and I have felt all that a parent can feel, I think, in the loss of my children. I have felt it keenly, for I love children, and I am particularly fond of the little ones, but I feel thankful to God for the knowledge of these principles, because now I have every confidence in his word and in his promise that I will possess in the future all that belongs to me, and my joy will be full. I will not be deprived of any privilege or any blessing that I am worthy of and that may be properly entrusted to me. But every gift, and every blessing that it is possible for me to become worthy of I shall possess, either in time or in eternity, and it will not matter, so that I acknowledge the hand of God in all these things, and say in my heart, “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord” [see <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/job/1/21#21" target="contentWindow" onclick="newWindow('http://scriptures.lds.org/job/1//21#21')">Job 1:21</a>]. This is the way we should feel with regard to our children, or our relatives, or friends, or whatever vicissitudes we may be called to pass through.</p><br /><a style="font-family: georgia;" href="http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=88021b08f338c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=51a5f48fa2d20110VgnVCM100000176f620a____&hideNav=1">- Joseph F. Smith </a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">“My only hope and confidence is in that God who gave me being, in whom there is all power, who now is present before me, and my heart is naked before his eyes continually. He is my comforter, and he forsaketh me not.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">- </span><a style="font-family: georgia;" href="http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=da135f74db46c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=e8b720596a845110VgnVCM100000176f620a____&hideNav=1&contentLocale=0">Joseph Smith Jr.</a>Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748064307759385080noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943848474899563138.post-69645366010638148662008-10-01T15:17:00.000-07:002008-10-01T15:35:49.121-07:00Our Angel<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIxclSn80F2ogCOTurTU1w_oXKvOAygtk14gabcUGCadTg3N3vXlh3BwujIEMiCKs_OoX6Te9fWesuOlnDKx6ZmU4zObBNvWTqRs2NfE3NMbzjBBxhIMKncSpjLhdhgnYjmmiixk1ly82h/s1600-h/IMG_4246.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIxclSn80F2ogCOTurTU1w_oXKvOAygtk14gabcUGCadTg3N3vXlh3BwujIEMiCKs_OoX6Te9fWesuOlnDKx6ZmU4zObBNvWTqRs2NfE3NMbzjBBxhIMKncSpjLhdhgnYjmmiixk1ly82h/s400/IMG_4246.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5252316073936505858" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Sometime late Sunday morning, Caleb was doing great but suddenly seemed to have a little difficulty breathing. Being only a few minutes to the ER, we rushed him there and by the time we got there he wasn't breathing at all. The doctors stabilized him and then it happened again. They stabilized him again. This happened a few times. They noticed that although his heart was pumping and he was breathing, his body wasn’t getting any oxygen. They did an Echo of his heart and found the shunt they had put in from the surgery was completely obstructed. The PH balance of his blood showed that he had not been getting enough oxygen for his vital organs during this time. The only thing we could do is unplug him and let him go. <p>Caleb Elijah peacefully passed away in our arms around 6:00pm Sunday evening.</p> <p>We wanted to thank all of you for following Caleb along his journey and know that he could feel all your kind words, thoughts, and prayers. He was such a sweet spirit and too pure and good for this world. We are so grateful for our knowledge and faith that Caleb is with his Heavenly Father again. We miss him terribly but we take great comfort in knowing that we will be able to live again with him someday.</p> <p>Jeremy runs a CrossFit affiliate gym from our garage and put together a special workout in honor of Caleb. We would like to invite all of you - and anyone else you may know - <span style="font-style: italic;">to join us in honoring Caleb with this workout on Wednesday evening at Candlelight Park (the one across the street from our house) at 6pm</span>. For more information on this please visit eCrossFit.com.</p><p style="font-style: italic;">The funeral is scheduled for Friday Oct. 3rd at 1:00. Viewing will be from 11:00-1:00. The funeral will be at the LDS building at 550 North Danebo Ave. Eugene, Oregon 97402.</p>** I know that most everyone who reads my blog was also following our carepage (http://www.carepages.com/carepages/SteckerBaby) and posted such loving words of comfort over there already. We love all of you guys and feel very loved in return. I just wanted to share this post on the off chance someone we know missed the carepage post. **Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748064307759385080noreply@blogger.com10