Hidden Identity Revealed Tomorrow

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.

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.

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.

The Oregon Snowfall of 2010

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:

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.

Daddy and the kids following standard snow protocol and frolicking their hearts out - at 7am!

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.

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?

Daddy demonstrating why the roads were deemed dangerous.

Our little snow dog jumped right in.

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!

Our New Family Christmas Tradition

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.

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.

If you'd like to send your acts of service for Caleb's stocking, you can reach us at:

963 Throne Drive
Eugene OR 97402

or email: steckers@gmail.com

To 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.

Peek-a-boo, I found you!


Can you tell that we loved playing hide and seek in the hay maze?

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 . . .

Jeremy and the donkey shared a bonding moment, and so of course I had to document it with a photo.

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).

I experienced deja vu when we exited the corn maze. I remembered taking a picture of Jake running down the exact same path. They must be siblings or something.

Tune in next week for the update on how our pumpkins carving with the grandparents turns out!

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?

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. :)

Conference Weekend

Around here we FLIP over conference weekend!!! :) My kids were SO excited about General Conference they couldn't contain themselves!

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!

Sunday morning my kids and I had a quick chat about King Benjamin 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).

I think we might be tent builders every time conference rolls around. The kids had a blast playing Conference Bingo inside it and Grandma Terri and I hung out in there almost as much as the kids!

Birthday Boy

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.

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.

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.

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.


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.

Tagged!

While I was blog lurking today, I realized my friend Stephanie Sasser 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.

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.

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!