Winter Blast!

We were SO happy to see the snow last week. The boys had been asking God for more snow on and off since we had snow in November. I'm really glad that they had their prayer answered.

This was Ella's first time going out in the snow since she's been walking. My friend Erin gave me this super adorable snowsuit and I'm so happy Ella got to use it once.

We don't have snowsuits for the boy so we just do layers. They each had three layers on the bottom.

Hats, hoods and gloves....let's go Mama!

Almost ready!

Ella was already spent by this time! First off she still has a cold...she's teething and she absolutely despises the boots I put her in!

First time in the snow....I think the face says it all!

Look at all this snow Mama!!!

Jack isn't the most coordinated child on level ground so on the snow he's just an accident waiting to happen!

Let's go down to the backyard Mama!

My house is all snowy!!!

I love how the snow collects on each and ever little branch.

Owen had fun going down the slide for the first time. There was actually so much snow he got stuck at the end.

Happy slide time!

Ella was ready for her nap so we came up to put her to bed. I tried to get her to stand up, but she just wanted to lean on me.

Finally I just walked away and she DID NOT want to fall and touch the snow so she stood up!

After I tucked Ella in we went back out and came down to the backyard again.

I love the way the snow looks all untainted!

I was watching the boys from the deck when all of a sudden I heard crying....

Poor Jack had slipped climbing the ladder to go down the slide. He ended up hitting his chin...twice! See the red line under his bottom lip! He had a mouthful of blood so I have his spit it out!

Blood in the snow!

After that the snow had pretty much lost it's luster so we came and had snack!

Cross-Stitches

When Owen was little I decided that I would do a cross-stitch for him with his birth date on it. Ever since then I've done one for each of the kids. I've bought the same brand for each child so that have lots of similarities, but aren't too matchy. For Ella's birthday Uncle Jon & Aunt Becky gave her money towards buying a frame for her cross-stitch.

I actually had Ella's finished before she was born....except for her birth date, weight and time.

I finished Owen's just prior to his first birthday.

I believe I got Jack's done just a little after he was born. I love having these and maybe they will want them when they get older. My mom painted a picture with Dumbo on it when I was born and Michael's mom made a picture with free hand stitching for him. It's fun to have those!

Clubhouse!

I loved building forts when I was little. Getting sheets and blankets out and turning my friends family rooms into numerous tunnels and rooms....ahhh the memories! Unfortunately we have leather furniture...not the best when it comes to making forts.

With that being said the boys new bed is a great place to make a clubhouse. We used one of our King size sheets and used Ella's playhouse as the door.

On the inside I brought in the kids Fisher-Price chair so they would have a place to sit down.

Owen was having fun turning the playhouse light on and off and opening and shutting the door.


I also brought up the McQueen couch and since then Jack has been taking his naps on it.

Our 3 Kiddos!

We are blessed!

God Is Faithful!

After over 15 months of being unemployed, 1 disappointing job (insurance sales), 1 ridiculous job offer, 2 disappointing job interviews, countless hours of worrying and too many prayers to count said on our behalf....God has provided a job for Michael!

Michael will be starting his new job at the King County Water District on March 1st....that's THIS Tuesday! To say we are thrilled is an understatement. God is so awesome!

I always knew that there would be an end date to this trial in our lives, but it's so hard waiting for it to get here. It's also hard knowing what is the right thing to do. During this time Michael and I have gone through so many different scenarios trying to figure out what was the best thing for our family. Should he go to school, should I go to work so he can go to school, should we sell our house, should Michael join the National Guard, should should should! I can't tell you how refreshing it is to just kick all those 'should's' to the curb!!!

Michael's work is going to be consistent...not dependant on weather. He will be working a normal 40 hour week, his commute is 20 minutes from home, he gets paid vacation (after a year), paid sick leave, insurance coverage for all of us, 401K and the best thing is there is room for him to move up! It's everything we hoped for!

Michael is starting out being paid a little less than they normally do since he doesn't have experience in the field, but this actually turned into a blessing. I just received paperwork from DSHS that said we were approved for medical (not sure if we'll keep it since we get it through Michael's job) and food benefits for another year unless something changes. They specifically listed an amount and if we go over that amount in month income we would lose our benefits. Michael brought home a document that shows what he's going to make in a month and he's going to make $30 less than the maximum amount we could make before we would lose our benefits! It's going to be so nice to still have that help. I am looking forward to the day when we don't need to use state assistance, but it would have stunk if he had made $30 too much and then not gotten the benefits since $30 a month would not have made up for the benefits we receive now. Michael will have a review after 6 months so hopefully he'll get a nice raise then!

We are ready for this new chapter in our lives and I know with this new chapter comes new challenges. We've all become accustom to Daddy being home 24/7...me especially! I have SO enjoyed getting to run out and do errands without kids or with just one of them. If I'm busy nursing Ella, Michael will start making lunch or dinner. He has been the best most helpful husband/daddy during this time. I will miss him being here and the kids will too. I know there will be an adjustment period for all of us. Since Michael was laid off before Ella was born I really have never parented 3 kids by myself and now 3 days a week I have 4 kids! Pray for me....seriously! :)

Next week will be interesting and I know I just need to relax and tell myself everything is going to take longer and breath!

1st Birthday Pictures!

Ella did SO great for her first year pictures! She was happy even though she was getting over a cold and had a short morning nap.

In the beginning she was good about standing still by the props, but towards the end she got more comfortable and started walking away or playing with the props.

I love her cute little hands!


I wasn't sure what kind of props they would have so I decided to take her white bear with us to see if she'd squeeze it. She wasn't really in a squeezing mood, but I think it still turned out super cute!

4th Birthday Pictures!

Look at how big he is!!! My baby is 4 and I know I might be bias, but he is quite handsome!

The photographer at Sears was a new lady that we had never met before and Owen was absolutely 100% completely head over heels IN LOVE with her! All I want is 3 good pictures and she only had to take 4!

I think the one below looks like a school picture...adorable!!!

If you'd like to take a trip down memory lane click here to see his 3 year pictures, here to see his 2 year pictures and here to see his 1 year pictures.

Ella's First Birthday Party!

On Sunday we celebrated Ella's first birthday with family & friends.

We made pizzas using store bought dough. I wanted to make my own, but it was a little more time consuming than I was willing to put into it. I did just learn how to make my own bread and pizza dough from my friend Kim....and there is zero kneeding! Seriously...check it out here if you're interested.

I could eat pizza everyday of my life!

This little girl loved her birthday dinner. It took her forever to eat it...I think she was in her chair for close to an hour.

Below are some pictures of the party goers...

Norean & Ga-Ga

Uncle Ry & Jim...AKA Yim to Owen

Papa Martin, Samantha & Ella

Aunt Stephie & Uncle Ry

Time to open presents! The boys were both all over this...I could not keep them back. I was really surprised that Ella didn't cry during this time. There was a lot going on and it seems like everyone was closing in on her. She got some of the cutest toys!!! The above toy was from Micah & Kim...it's a Leapfrog picnic basket that teaches her shapes and colors. It came with two cups, two forks, two plates that each have 3 pieces of food on them in 3 different shapes...triangle, square & circle and it also came with a cute little red picnic blanket...SO CUTE!!!

This is a Little People dollhouse from Dan & Lori. Lori loves Little People and her girls are growing out of them so she passed this onto Ella. It's so cool...there are noises for the phone, microwave, computer, toilet and more. So fun!

This is Freddy The Teddy from Papa & Grandma Martin and it's by far Ella's favorite present. She has carried it around so many different times. She just squeezes it SO tight! It's so fun to watch her.

The other presents Ella got were - Cash - Visa Gift Card with a Hello Kitty doll - Mama chicken that you walk with and it lays baby chicks...it's adorable and Owen has pretty much claimed it as his - Fisher Price Purse that Jack walks around with opens up and puts on the lipstick aka chapstick - Leapfrog Dog Scout that you can hook up to the computer and download songs....he even says her name - Ga-Ga & Pa bought her first birthday cupcake pictures for us...they will be ready at the store in a few days and I can't wait to go pick them up!

Group shot!

Here are the invitations I made to her party. I love birdies so I wanted to keep the theme going with her cupcakes.

Here are the bird nest cupcakes. I wasn't sure the kids would like the toasted coconut so I made a few without it.

I was just going to give Ella her own cupcake, but then I decided to make her her own little cake instead.

Owen was waiting...he wanted to blow out Ella's candle for her.

Ella wasn't really hungry since she had just finished eating her pizza. She also wasn't so sure about everyone standing around watching her. She slowly got into eating her cake.

Then we cut into the cake a little so she could actually get the cake and not just the frosting and she definitely got into it. A few times she actually leaned over like she was going to go face first into it, but she never did.

She was such a mess...this was pretty much the last smile of the night. After this the washclothes came out and she really dislikes being cleaned!

We ended up just putting her in the sink for a bath since she was crying so hard. She was much happier about being cleaned that way. She did cry when it was time to get out though.

It was a great time spent with family and friends celebrating our precious girl!