We say goodbye to the 2's...

Well, it's official, my baby is 3! Lincoln turned 3 on the 17th, and we didn't really have a "party" in the normal terms because we had planned to take Lincoln on an overnight adventure to see the Sacramento Rivercats. However, the more we talked about going to watch a baseball game, the more Lincoln made it clear that he wanted to play in a baseball game. So we had pizza, opened presents (which was quite entertaining! - I have never seen a kid open presents so quickly and so passionately!), enjoyed cake, then walked across the street to the school and "played" a game of baseball. I use the word "play" loosely here since aside from the teenage cousins, the rest of the players were ages 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 & 2. But my boy had fun!

Lincoln loves life! He talks with such great expression and passion. He is enthusiastic about what he loves: baseball, Cars & family. Oh how he has me wrapped around his finger!

Mixed Emotions

So over the last 2 weeks Lincoln and I have been busy getting ready to transition his speech therapy from one organization to the local school district in preparation for his 3rd birthday. Then this week we got the results of his many tests/evaluations and I have to say I am mixed about the outcome. Lincoln does not at this time qualify to get speech therapy! My boy excelled on all of the tests, and she mentioned more than once "you have one very smart boy there!" (Yes, a proud mama is bragging a bit!) I am greatly relieved that he does not fall in the 7 percentile of speech, thus qualifying him for therapy, and yet, as a mom I know that he is still in need of some added assistance. I would like him to use more sentences to express himself then just 2 or 3 words. And I would love for him to be able to sing an entire song and not be intimidated by the amount of words back to back in a song. And yet, I am beyond thankful for the progress he has made in just one year. When Lincoln turned 2, there were 3 words that people could understand "mama, dada, ball". And now, one year later, my boy has a lot to say! Granted, it doesn't flow out of him the same way it did his sisters, but I no longer worry about the fact that it will all eventually come. Lincoln desperately wants to communicate and I am so very proud of him for all the hard work he has put in. Now, in regards to the decision to continue with speech therapy privately, Kevin and I have more talking to do, and much more praying....

Unbelievable!

So most of my readers know that my sweet Kacia broke her arm Christmas 09, and last year a plate & screws were put in so that the bones would grow straight. All of this happened during the only 2 month time period she did not have medical insurance. Due to this, she was denied our family coverage last year. However, we were hopeful that with the new healthcare reform, we could once again get her covered, since no child is supposed to be denied. We were just notified, that she has again been denied the same coverage that we have, but yet can receive her own plan, with significantly less coverage, and, this is the topper- for more than the rest of the family's cost combined! Who knew a broken arm could cause so much trouble? So now we have to weigh the costs. Do we just add-on to our existing hospital bills, pay for the reversal surgery, and then attempt to add her on, hoping that she can get normal coverage once the surgery is taken care of?Our do we bite the bullet, and pay a RIDICULOUS amount now so that she is "covered" each month? Ahhhhh, decisions, decisions and just one of the joys of self-employment!

Memorial Day

So knowing that summer is coming and Kevin is going to be stuck working, we decided to quickly escape with the kids while we could. Sunday we drove to San Francisco, where we met up with our friends Paul, Bethany & sweet Lucy. We explored Pier 39 then walked to Ghiradelli Square, which is always a must for Kevin when we go to SF. It was packed, but we had great weather, so that was a pretty good trade. Monday morning we enjoyed breakfast with Grandpa Burns, then headed to the A's game. Lincoln loves to watch the A's on TV and always cheers for his favorite player Coco Crisp. The game was no exception, any time Coco was up, Lincoln would start cheering, "Go Coco Crisp!". He'd foul it off, and Linc would say "Almost Coco, almost!" Well, Coco along with the A's didn't have a great game, but my kids had fun and ate way too much junk food! As we were driving away, Linc was talking about Coco, and his no hits. Then decided he needed to call him and give him a pep talk. He told us, "me call Coco" then with his imaginary phone (hand) he gave Coco a good talking to about base hits, and homeruns. It was priceless!

Lincoln was quite happy at Ghiradelli!

Kacia's hair is blowing in front of cute Lucy, but that's the only picture I got

Yes, we opted for the value deck, and we were up there pretty high! Kacia was quite funny booing against the "Stankees" as she called them, oh her sense of humor right now is too silly!

Cats & Dogs

Kacia's class performed the play Cats & Dogs, which all 2nd grade classes do each year. She is not a fan of being on stage (do you think she's a bit like her daddy?), and has only recently decided it's okay to sing at church, so as you can guess she was not too thrilled about being a part of the play. But she did a great job, participated in the singing and motions, and actually looked at the crowd instead of her neighbor the entire time (like last year!) Plus, she is one cute puppy!

(Alex remembered all the lines and songs from when his class performed it!)

Kacia with one of her closest friends. They've been in the same class since kindergarten, and we are keeping our fingers crossed for 3rd grade!

Kacia with her very sweet and awesome teacher!

My Pixie

(I was quite proud of my sweet action shot with my very ordinary camera!)

Rylin and her team, the Pixies, had a great spring soccer season! The highlight of the season for her was most definitely when she scored a goal on my birthday! She had been telling me that she would score for my gift, but we were all totally shocked when she actually did! I'm quite certain no one was more surprised than her. The enormous smile that never left her face was proof that she was positively ecstatic, which brings great joy to a mom. She truly loves playing, always has a great attitude on the field, and has already asked me multiple times when practice will start for the fall season.

[As you can tell from this warm-up drill shot, my daughter is on the petite side... Who'd have guessed the smallest pixie would belong to me:) ]

Rylin's Surprise

So for those of you who know my dear, sweet, spunky Rylin, you know that she is in a hurry to be just like her sister! Due to this, she has been telling everyone about her "loose teeth" for quite awhile. Initially, none of the teeth felt loose to me, or anyone else that she convinced to stick their fingers in her mouth, but gradually one began to loosen. She has been desperately wanting that tooth to come out, but it has never really felt all that terribly loose to be honest. However, on Monday afternoon, when Kevin and I arrived home from our weekend trip, our little 5 year old stood in the doorway greeting us, with the biggest smile ever! And there it was- an open space where once that loose tooth wiggled! She laughed and giggled in Rylin style as I grabbed her and hugged her and whispered not to show her daddy. Kevin hated it when Kacia lost her first few teeth, and I knew he wasn't ready for Rylin's precious little smile to start changing as the signs of growing up become very evident! But apparently when you attempt to open a sports top water bottle with a fairly loose tooth, the tooth can sometimes surprise everyone and just pop right out!

Weekend Getaway

So a couple of weekends ago Kevin and I had the opportunity to join some friends and get away. If you know Kevin, you know that WHENEVER a chance arrives for a break- he's all over it! So he & the other 2 guys planned the whole thing and the ladies just enjoyed the ride. It was the most relaxing trip we've had in a long time! We had never been to Napa/Sonoma/Windsor/Healdsburg before, and I had really no expectations. It was beautiful!! The rolling hills, the symmetry of the fields, the variations of the vines, etc all made up for an absolutely beautiful scenic tour. Matt, who is from there and once owned a wine tour company, arranged for us to borrow the open jeep/range rover thing and experience the area in style, (albeit a rather chilly style!) I failed to get more than a couple pictures, but they couldn't really capture the beauty anyways. We enjoyed long, relaxing meals (at restaurants that had all been previously picked out by the husbands), explored new, quaint towns with fun town squares, and visited a great spa. All of this combined with awesome time with my husband and our dear friends equalled a fabulous weekend!

Easter

Here's a few pictures from our Easter activities. We always try to do all the silly egg stuff before Sunday, so Sunday can be all about celebrating our Risen Savior. Lincoln was a lot of fun this year because he got so excited to participate in everything- which made somethings more challenging- like using the Resurrection Eggs to go through the Easter story with the kids. But his enthusiasm over the empty egg at the end symbolizing the empty tomb was worth the difficulty! He especially got excited for the egg hunt on Saturday, and kept asking "mom, egg hunt now?" (Yes, we are so excited about the progress he is making in his speech!!) We had a full house on Sunday with both my sister Bre and Kevin's sister Nikki plus their families, and our 'nearly' family members Zach & Megan. We had a total of 9 kids 7 and under, and 3 helpful teenagers. We were very traditional- and enjoyed an Easter fiesta with fajitas :) We are so thankful for the precious gift of family & friends, & even more so that the Lord has so graciously given us all saving faith so that we can celebrate His amazing sacrifice and resurrection together!!

Getting ready to hunt some eggs with our good friends- the Schneiders

Taking a quick break for a sample

So I have to admit that with all the busyness of hosting on Sunday, I failed to get any pictures of the kids before they changed into play clothes, so the other day I had the girls put on their Easter clothes so I could snap a picture, but I didn't feel the need to change Linc.

Seasons

Rylin had her 1st soccer game of the spring season today, and something struck me as we were pulling out of the parking lot. I watched as a mom set up her stroller, packed in the diaper bag and put the baby into the stroller- and suddenly I had flashbacks of Kacia's 1st (and only) soccer season. Lincoln was 3 months old, Rylin was the age Lincoln is now, close to 3, and Kacia was 5. This morning I got myself and all 3 kids to the soccer park by 8:15 (Kevin was able to go to Oakland for opening day) and as I watched this lady struggle to gather all of her stuff, I was so thankful for the season of life I am in for this season of soccer. No diaper bag, no strollers. Kacia held Lincoln's hand as we walked, Rylin carried her own gear, and I just had to manage a chair & snacks. Wow! What a difference a few seasons make! I loved Kacia's soccer season and wouldn't change anything about the hectic craziness of making sure the baby was neither too hot or too cold and was fed before we left, and the 2 1/2 year old had enough snacks to stay entertained and somewhat contained, but there was something very peaceful and easy about our morning today. And I got to actually watch my little Pixie and her teammates play a super fun game! I didn't remember to bring the camera today, but here's ones from the Fall 2008 season...

Let's Get Ready to Reffle!!!!

Lincoln has a new love, which is a new thing in our home, but quite common in many- Lincoln loves to wrestle, or "reffle" as he says it. I love watching how animated he gets, as he tries to convince Kevin or I to drop everything and wrestle. (He has been told not to wrestle his 'fragile' sisters). He even got Allie to wrestle once when she was babysitting, after she was able to decipher what REFFLE!!! meant :)

This is his "blue baseball shirt" that he practically lives in. I'm quite certain 90% of the pictures I have of him at this age are in this silly shirt. He has a ton of baseball shirts, so I'm not sure what it is about this one that he loves so much, but he pretty much wears it every other day. I insist that we wash it on the off days, but as soon as the dryer goes off, he excitedly comes running up to me "blue baseball shirt done!" I haven't decided yet whether or not I am allowing him to "win" and wear it so much because I just don't want to fight over it everyday or if it's because in all honesty, it's just a shirt and we stay home most days- so what's the big deal. That is a thought I'm still mulling over... but for now, and today the blue baseball shirt rules

Thoughts on Motherhood

So about a month ago, I was at a thing for church, and we all had to answer the question, "What is your favorite thing about being a mom?" This is a question that has stuck with me, and I have continued to ponder it. I think the reason why it's so hard to answer (aside from the fact that it was asked at 7pm on a Monday!) is because a lot of times I don't "feel" like I'm totally loving it, which of course brings on loads of guilt and this never ending question "What is wrong with me!!!???" But as I've chewed on this, here is what I've come up with:

1. I do love the cuddles and hugs. I love that with every scraped knee or harsh word by a friend- they come to me. I love that Rylin will come up to me randomly and ask me to sit with her on the couch because she "needs my cuddles". I love watching them play together- and actually like it! I love sneaking in the girls' room when they are sleeping and seeing them snuggled up to one another. I love their excitement and enthusiasm over even the smallest thing.

2. But in daily life, the 12 hours that mean the most- being a mom is WAY harder and selfless than I ever imagined. I'm not sure if my mom just made it look easy, or if I was completely in my own world, but I feel like I had no clue what I was getting myself into. It is draining and dare I say it- sometimes suffocating.

2. I hate discplining ALL day long. I hate how it wears me down. I hate repeating myself. I hate feeling like I'm hounding my kids to do or not to do the same things everyday. There are days when I feel like all I do is correct them, which can't be true because I know there are not days when all they do is the wrong thing!

3. The thing I love the most is also the thing that I struggle with the most- being a mother is one of God's greatest tools in sanctifying me! It is far easier to address their sin and discipline their issues, than it is to handle mine. And yet, it is in this journey that I see my sin the most, I see my need for a Savior in a whole new light, I see how I fall short, which is in no way enjoyable or fun! But is it necessary- yes. Is it molding me and changing me- I hope so.

4. I love being reminded that my unconditional love for my kids is also a hint at God's unconditional love for them and me. There is no one on this Earth that loves my kids more than I do, and there is nothing they can do to change that, which, knowing that my love for them is miniscule in comparison, it so greatly magnifies God's love. But on the other hand, my kids also daily live out a portion of this unconditional love for me. No matter how many times I lose it, am too harsh with my words, too impatient with my responses - they love me. They want my kisses goodnight, they wipe the slate clean, and at the end of the day (at least for now) I'm still their favorite person!

Being a mom is the hardest thing I have ever done, and yet it has rewards that I cannot even start to hit on. But it also has this incredible pressure, for each day passes and I can't get it back. I must invest in them, I must do the work, I must not be lazy in these young years if I desire for them to be people who will glorify the Lord. Yes, they are ultimately His, and yes, He will work in them despite my failures, but still I must be faithful. Faithful to daily seek Him, faithful to rely on Him (I can't do it on my own anyways!) and faithful to follow His instructions.

And here's some pictures of when it snowed back in February (I had just packed all the snow clothes and heavy coats a few days before!) We went to Bre's because she actually had enough to make a snowman. This is because you deserve some pictures if you read this long post, and if you didn't read it- at least you can see the 3 little ones I love more than life itself!

Busy Month

So it's been a month or so since my last post and life has been, well, too busy for blogging. We have officially moved- a big thank you to our friends and family who graciously helped! My kids have been sick, gotten better, only to get sick again. (Kacia's teacher said 10 students were absent on Monday!) But instead of boring you with all the details of our daily life, I wanted to share a clip of Rylin reading!!! This preschooler is one excited cookie to show me her new home reader each week. We are so proud of her and so happy for her, as this has been a skill she has desperately wanted to participate in. I cut the video to make it a little shorter to not bore you- or later severely embarrass her- including her making a face at a snooping sibling & nose picking :)

3

So 3 seems to be our number. No, I'm not referring to kids, although that is our number in that category as well. But 3 also seems to be the amount of years we spend in a house. Yep, it's moving time! There are once again boxes invading our rooms as we prepare to pack it up and move across town. I have to admit I like the adventure in moving- although a different house in the same city seems to be as adventurous as we get! I love to see God's hand orchestrating all of the details, watching and waiting for Him to direct us, and then rejoicing in His incredible provision. I love being forced to sort through all of our stuff, purge, organize, and downsize. And if I'm to be totally honest, I love having a new canvas to decorate :)

KK & Baby

Kaitlin, known around our house as Auntie KK, flew down with Reid for a great visit. I simply cannot get enough cuddles and smiles from my sweet, happy nephew! And of course, I love it when my sissy comes to town!

We enjoyed a fun sister night out! (Thanks Pete & Allie for holding down the fort!)

This boy loves to smile!

Kaitlin curled Rylin's hair, and well, Lincoln's speaks for itself :)

Gotta love cousins!

Seattle

Kacia and I went on a spontaneous road trip up to visit my siblings a couple of weekends ago. It is always weird to be back in my "hometown" as it no longer feels at all like home. There are new things and changes everywhere, but then there are also the familiar sites that bring back a flood of memories. I had a wonderful time spending one on one time with my girl, and it was such a blessing to be able to spend time with people that I love so much, yet rarely get to see. I was able to enjoy a yummy dinner at Tim & Sabrina's place (which I had not seen before); was able to show Kacia a little bit of Seattle; had great girl time with Kaitlin; loved on Reid; visited Mars Hill with Kaitlin & James; and so much more!