Saturday, December 20, 2008

Evolution

ev-o-lu-tion 
–noun
1.any process of formation or growth; development: the evolution of a language; the evolution of the airplane.
2.a product of such development; something evolved: The exploration of space is the evolution of decades of research.
3.Biology. change in the gene pool of a population from generation to generation by such processes as mutation, natural selection, and genetic drift.
4.a process of gradual, peaceful, progressive change or development, as in social or economic structure or institutions.
5.a motion incomplete in itself, but combining with coordinated motions to produce a single action, as in a machine.
6.a pattern formed by or as if by a series of movements: the evolutions of a figure skater.
7.an evolving or giving off of gas, heat, etc.
8.Mathematics. the extraction of a root from a quantity.
9.a movement or one of a series of movements of troops, ships, etc., as for disposition in order of battle or in line on parade.
10.any similar movement, esp. in close order drill.
All pictures circa 2000.







This is pretty much what the house looked like when we bought it.
We took out the cherry tree in the front yard, and we built the fence just after we moved in.
The back had a funny addition built onto it, a detached garage, and a carport large enough to park out motor home.




The blue print shows the layout of kitchen #1.
Don't miss all the living that has gone on in the pathetic kitchen.








Jesse, About 2 1/2 years old.
Notice the hideous peel and stick tiles on the floor. Remember those!

Jesse and Sebastian teaching baby Caleb to walk
Caleb about 11 months old.

Yes, son, I do see you on the counter.



Baby Caleb, about 10 months old.



Our VERY boring dining room.


There is a secret contest to go with this post. It is so secret that I can't even tell you the rules- but you may figure it out anyway- If you're really sharp.
The prize? Think chocolate.

Faith Building Exercises

I've been busy. I may have mentioned that. So busy that I haven't even been able to tell you that we have gotten a foot of snow in the last week. At our house. At 0' Elevation. Well, we have.
Yesterday, my brave husband ventured forth into the white world. He was gone almost 3 hours for a 1 hour trip.... When he got back he was SOOOO cold. He said the car never warmed up. Now, I don't know anything about cars. You get in, you turn your key, and you drive away. The end. When he mentioned that about the car, I casually mentioned that he should probably add some anti freeze. What do I know?
Last night the kids were going a little stir crazy, so we decided to take them rollerskating. We figured that the rink would be pretty empty and we were right. We left the rink at 10 pm and then Sebastian decided that a movie was in order- since we were out and all. We stopped by the mall to watch Bolt (Side note: I wasn't all that thrilled. My 6 year old had a hard time following the story because it switches between a TV set and "real" life. My 4 year old didn't really watch it at all- he nearly fell asleep in my lap.)
After the movie, at midnight, We headed home. I can't be sure, but I think the temperatures were in the teens last night. As we were driving along, freezing our butts off, the car started to over heat! Huh? It's less than 20 degrees out there!
We hobbled along on a side road until we got about 1/2 way home. We had to stop and let the engine cool for about 10 minutes. And it was cold. And it was almost 1 am. And the children were starting to whine.
In one of my prouder parenting moments, I told them all that whining wouldn't help but praying would, and that if they wanted to say something they should say a prayer. Immediately a little chorus of, "I already did!" rang out from the back seats. I reminded them that God knew where we were and exactly what we needed.
No sooner were the words out of my mouth, than a local man stopped by to help us. He and Sebastian checked the radiator and there was NOTHING in it. He went back to his house and picked up a bottle of antifreeze and a gallon of water while we continued to hobble down the road. When he returned, he filled us up and we were on our way.
The heater kicked on, the window defrosted, and we had our toasty children in their beds in 12 minutes.

John Anderson, Thank you for being an answer to our prayers last night.

Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.Hebrews 13:1-3

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Men At Work

I was looking for the perfect song to play for you , but I couldn't find any jack hammers.

Sorry I've been away so long, but if you look left you will see that the list has gotten mighty short. I will show you pictures soon. If you promise not to hate.

Actually, I would show you now, but we have been evicted due to toxic fumes.
Our flooring guy said we could stay at his house for the night. What a nice brother!
We should be home tomorrow and then I will have to do some MAJOR cleaning while I charge my camera batteries.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

The Ice Caves At Big 4

Or, not.

We wanted to go to the ice caves last weekend, because it wasn't actually raining. I know. I was suprised, too. So we loaded up into the car and made the over 1 hour drive where we all got carsick from reading while Sebastian was driving. Just so you know, sometimes I get carsick when he drives and I am not reading. Crazy Romanian drivers... Oh, where was I?

OK, so we got to Big 4 and headed up the trail to the ice caves. We made it to the river, and then we saw this:

Bummer.
It's alright. We know how to entertain ourselves with sticks and rocks.




The trail is a really nice board walk that goes across a bog. The bog is quite deep in some places. But not all of them. Thankfully. Because Jonah was running and talking and not looking and ran right off the board walk into the bog. In a reletively shallow spot. That was really muddy. And cold. He was in the mud up to his hips! And he was mad that we were laughing at him- and that he had to ride home in his underwear.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Just Like Her Mom

Abigail is a little......prickly. Just like her mom.


She tends to get cranky when it is time to eat. Just like her mom.


She can be demanding. Just like her mom.


She's not nice to be around sometimes. Just like her mom.


She can be hard to love. JUST LIKE HER MOM.


















And then, 2 weeks ago, she got glasses. Just like her mom.





And she was walking around one day in clean clothes, hair brushed, glasses and face clean, and yet somehow she still looked sort of wrong, you know. A little akimbo. Just like her mom when she was 6 years old.





And my heart melted.

When I'm Not Busy...

I have nothing to post about.
When I'm swamped, I have all the blog fodder I need- and no time to post it!
Such is life.