First thing was first...get that girl to the church!

So the main reason for going back to Maine was for my sister Christine's wedding. She's been planning it for about 2 years. I knew when we moved out to WA we'd be back for Oct 2! So we had lots of wedding stuff to do the first few days. And sad to say because I was so busy and in the wedding I don't have a lot of pictures. Oh well there were so many taken of that day I am sure I'll get a few for my wall.


What a gross picture huh? But Thursday my sisters Christine and Mary and I made hundreds of Gram's chocolate chip cookies as favors for the guests. They came out awesome and it was such a sweet personal touch.

Getting our nails done the day before the wedding. I loved it.

Christine did all the decorations herself, right down to sewing the table runners. Everything was so personal and elegant. It was fun to help decorate and see it all come together.

This is my sweet baby baby sister Mary. Isn't she breathtakingly beautiful? She was the maid of honor and wore a special red dress. I can't express how much fun I had hanging out with her during our whole visit but especially at the wedding.

They're married! The brand new Mr and Mrs. Check out the church!!


Speaking of married here are my parents. They will be married 40 years in April. Amazing! My mom always looks beautiful but she was especially glowing this day.

My dad and Christine. He was so stinkin' cute because part of the dance was done to "My Girl" and he totally busted a move. I loved it!

Cutting of the cake. The cake was done by my cousin and reminded me so much of my Gram. It was so good.

Who is that little lady in red? Hannah Bear and Mommy. She didn't recognize me at first. Amazing what hair and makeup can do to you!

Christine and Mom....I love this picture!

Flying "home"

We've been gone for two weeks back to Maine! I took a vacation from blogging and now I am regretting it as I upload 300 plus pics from my camera. But I am going to enjoying blogging all that we did and saw. First up....the plane! We flew JetBlue direct from Seattle to Boston....awesome no lay overs and with 3 kiddos that's the way to go. Hannah did ok on the way there and much better on the way back. The boys loved it. They watched movies and played DS and looked out the window. 5 1/2 hours or so later we were on the other side of the country!! Amazing!


SeaTac airport is awesome. (Sorry Logan) They have a great play area for the kids. We hung out there before we boarded.
Hannah LOVED it.

The boys on the plane. Isaiah had window seat on the way there and Elijah had it on the way back. Both days were clear and beautiful.

Hannah Bear sitting in the empty seat for a few moments on the way to Maine. She doesn't look impressed.

Happy 10 Year Birthday Isaiah

September 30 1999. Our little family, new mom and dad and baby Isaiah







10 years ago today I became a mom. But more importantly I became Isaiah's mom. Isaiah is our first born. I can hardly wrap my mind around the fact that he is ten. Because honestly this picture feels like it was taken yesterday. The ten year mark is big. I remember turning ten and so excited to be in the two digits. I wish I could have him just stay right here at ten, but as fast as the past ten have gone I am certain the next ten will go by just as fast if not faster. Isaiah is a fantastic kid. I am honored and blessed to be his mom.

Hannah's 1 year Pics

So my super sweet friend Sasha is pretty handy with many things and I've been noticing some pretty sweet pictures she takes over on her blog. So I asked her if she had a spare moment to capture Hannah while she's still one. Here are some of my favorites.

Cute little fingers!
Are you following me?

I have the cutest little face.

And I still have the cutest little feet.

Hmmmm I am not too sure about having my picture taken.

I can be very serious.

Maybe I'll take a quick swim.

Standing pretty.

I'm still Hannah Bear

Peekaboo

I am so sweet.

Getting sweeter.

Getting ready to run.

My cupcake necklace.

Time to swing

Oh this is so much fun.

Here's my silly face.

From the Desks of Isaiah,Elijah,and Hannah

So here is a question...why is it when you are a kid your school week seems so long and when you are an adult it goes by so fast? That's how it is for me anyway. The kids seem to be on fast forward and I just want to hit pause. So another fun week at school. I am so proud of the boys for adapting to our schedule this year. It's not always the smoothest but they just go with the flow. Isaiah finished reading "Farmer Boy". I think he's very happy about it because he said "Phew it's about time what book do I get to read next"

Hannah had her one year check up. She's perfect. Her new stats are 21lbs 14.5 oz putting her in the 65 % for weight and she's 30 inches long putting her in the 80% for height. She's super healthy just the way we like.
Elijah is getting in so practice time. Playing "Brother John" So cute.

Which shoes provide the most friction? So we measured with a protractor the angle at which the shoe started to slip.

Hannah's little shoe did do too well. The winner was Isaiah's big winter LL Bean boot.

So the challenge was to move your pater who was standing on two boards. You were to move just the top board with one finger. Impossible because there is too much friction.

But add some wooden dowels or marbles to decrease the friction and you could move the top board with a pinkie finger.



Another FUN FRIDAY FIELD trip. Our group has a new name L.I.G.H.T. which stands for Learning in Godly Homes Together. So this week we went to a local dutch bakery...that's just trouble right there. I could gain 20 pounds just looking at all the baked goods.

The Lynden Dutch Bakery has been around for 100 years.

Our group being welcomed to the bakery with the promise of a treat at the end.

HUGE cookies....yum

A big oven for baking cookies, scones,muffins and pies.OH MY

Fresh baked pies.

The bread slicer.

Checking out some dough.

ALL SMILES with a sneaky look on Elijah's face.

Scones...where's my coffee?

And the promised treat. Hannah was so funny because she kept spitting out the mm's but loved the cookie. I had her in my carrier and she made a mess of us both.=)

Happy Birthday Hannah

Happy 1st Birthday to our Hannah Bear. She's a wee little shy at first, she's got a dash of sassy and a whole lot of cuteness.

This year has gone by so fast. And she has changed so much. It always amazes me how much they grow in that first year. They hit so many milestones. Her most recent was taking a couple of steps.

Words really can't describe how much joy she has brought us this year. Looking back from the day we found out we were expecting until now I can see the Lord's hand in it from the start. After we found out we were pregnant with Hannah it was only a few months later that we moved clear accross the country. I remember thinking "God I think you've got this wrong but I'm going to follow anyway" I remember when my Gram past away and thinking "God why now when I am so far from home?" Each time He used a big blue eyed little girl to remind me that He is good. That He gives good gifts. That He knows what is best for me. I've held her throughout the year thinking "God why would you give this beautiful girl to me?" Hannah means "favored grace" and it serves as a reminder that every good thing is only by His grace.

It's hard to remember what our family was like before Hannah. She has filled in a hole that was missing that we never knew existed. We are so thankful to have her and love her.

From the Desks of Isaiah,Elijah and Hannah

So this is the round up from last week's homeschool week. First off the boys started guitar lessons. They are taking them once a week for a 1/2 hour. Elijah was especially excited because he got a new guitar that is just his size. Isaiah already had one so he was anxious to get started again.

Who is that behind that warrior mask? That's Elijah.


Elijah finished up the "People's of the World Book" with his introduction to world cultures. He studied how different people celebrate. When you think Mexico and celebrations do you think pinatas? So we made our own. So messy but so worth it. You blow up a balloon and then cover it with newspaper soaked in glue and water mixture.


Keep adding and adding. I think we did about 7 layers. Then let it dry, this could take more than a day as we found out.

All decorated and ready to destroy.

Ready for the boys to hit.

Took about 5 wakes and down she went.

Enjoying the bounty!

They finished a chapter on gravity. We are so thankful to have a library system that is huge and easy to use. We found some great books to help in our study.

Well hello big blue eyed baby girl! You're almost officially one!