Still here.

I have been working on a huge project this week and last. Tomorrow it will be revealed....

For now, enjoy this shot of Addie (Ashlynn was at the camera!). Have a great day!

Mom, what's for breakfast?

Ryder was working away in the schoolroom yesterday and showed me what he had drawn on his paper. At the bottom was a house, above that another house, above that another house and so on. Then there was what appeared to be a road with dashed lines and a giant house.

Ryde: "Mom, this is our house on the bottom, the next one up is Jesus', the next one up is mom's, then dad's and there is one for Ashlynn, me, Gage and Adysen."

"It's heaven, mom. See the street of gold. Remember, what you read in the Bible about that we would get our own castle? Well, I drew one for everybody. Do you think we will have our own or will we live together?"

Me: "I'm not sure buddy, but we definitely won't be alone! Do you want your own or would you like to be with mom and dad?"

Ryde: "Oh, um, I want to be with you guys. I don't even know how to make my own breakfast!"

Glad to know he needs us for something!

Gage, the thorn bush, sissie's love.

Remember the snow pictures of the kids the other day? Remember the thorn bush that Uncle Jeff helped them avoid? Well, Gage decided to take a run on the sled down the hill....by himself.

Light weight + slick snow + inability to control direction of sled=

Crashing directly into the thorn bush:

Good thing his big sis is full of compassion. She ran down the hill and held him, helped him back to the house and stayed with him the rest of the day to make sure he was ok!

Freezing cold, birthdays, sunshine.

We finally broke our subzero temps and spiked to 32 degrees with sunshine! I was out running errands and was actually getting stuffy with my scarf, gloves and heavy jacket on.

Frightening, isn't it? Feeling downright balmy at just above freezing? Last time I checked, my postal abbreviation was not AK. Which could be why I spent last Friday drooling over Tucson real estate. I even looked up the fire department....just for kicks. Randy quietly chuckled when I assured him he could hunt elk in neighboring New Mexico and mule deer in northern Arizona. Who needs these monster Kansas whitetails (scary I know this sort of lingo), they have probably all frozen or migrated south anyway.

Thankfully, he knows me better and can still chuckle.

In warmer, sunnier, cozier, brighter news....today is mom's birthday! This fall I took a knitting class and she was wanting scarves, so I knit one up for her.

It's 80 degrees today in San Diego. I'm still trying to figure out her want of scarves....

Apparently, she will need to visit me to actually put it to use.


Happy Birthday, mom! Please come and visit....you have a scarf now :-).

Addie and her blueberries.

Yes, she does spend half her life in the high chair. The girl likes to eat.

Did someone say "snow"?

Here are some of the shots I took of the kids sledding with Uncle Jeff. They had a great time!!!

Uncle Jeff giving Gage a ride up the hill!

Ashlynn & Ryde taking off!

Gage towing his sled:

Grandpa towing Ryde up the hill with the Ranger....tough life!

My boot in the snow, so glad I reclaimed these from mom's closet :-)!

Ashlynn heading back to make another run:

Ashlynn & Ryde cruising:

Uncle Jeff protecting Ashlynn from crashing into thorn bush and fence!

The hill we had to ride up...so happy for 4 wheel drive!!

Ryder & the tree.

Gage riding with Uncle Jeff.

A little bit of Christmas.

We received over a foot of snow from Christmas Eve through Christmas day....can someone say WHITE Christmas!! Her are a few shots of the kids opening their gifts!

Ashlynn with her Polly Pocket roller coaster, I will admit I did not want to get this, but daddy pointed out Ashlynn's a great kid and it's all she wanted.....

Aunite Coleenie gave Addie the cutest fleece pants and hoodie-she loved them!

Here are they are ready to go!

Gage starting to open...

Ryder's (and all the other kids') favorite gift, an entire pack of gum, just for him!

Addie's new (and much needed) jacket.

My favorite shot...apparently she was not ready for the snow....