I love old books. I have started to collect them. Now, I can't say that I collect them to read...I collect them because I like the way they look. The worn-out, discolored, falling apart in your hands kind of books. But, I am becoming a more avid reader. So, I have picked up a few. I am reading this little book called..."As a Man Thinketh" by James Allen.
I haven't gotten through it yet...not because of how difficult it is or how long it is, but just because. Anyway...there are so many good things in this little old book. I was looking for a copyright date...couldn't find one. It is basically based on the aphorism..."As a man thinketh in his heart so is he." I just wanted to share a few quotes from it that I think are cool and that I needed to hear. It is amazing what you find, at the time you need it the most.

"Of all the beautiful truths pertaining to the soul which have been restored and brought to light in this age, none is more gladdening or fruitful of divine promise and confidence than this - that man is the master of thought, the moulder of character, and the maker and shaper of condition, environment, and destiny."

"The soul attracts that which it secretly harbours; that which it loves, , and also that which it fears; it reaches the height of its cherished aspirations; it falls to the level of its unchastened desires - and circumstances are the means by which the soul receives its own."

OK...I thought this was funny, so I am going to share.

Jillian was just sitting on my lap. You know that kids can be 'touchy' sometimes. They are curious about things and such. Anyway she started playing with my chest. So, I told her to stop. She just wouldn't! I told her again. And she replied with..."But I like your boobs, Mommy, I do. I like your boobs." She must listen to her dad more than we thought!! We better be more careful.

Weekend with Friends!

(just a few shots of White Pass)

A few weeks ago we found out that some good friends of ours that live in Idaho would be in Spokane for a few days. So, we decided to take a little road trip. Kirt and Kaelyne have been friends of ours since Doug and Kirt were missionary companions. They are some of the best people!!



Once we got there and checked in to the hotel...we were off to find something to do. Since none of us know Spokane very well, we ended up driving around a lot. We drove by this little park with a huge radio flyer. I couldn't resist. I made everyone get out of the car and play.

(Kirt and Kaelyne)

The slide was very cold and sticky. We had a hard time going down.

(me and Doug)
The pictures didn't come out very well, but they are still fun.

We were so stinkin cold!!!!

After we were done playing around, we decided to go to the movie. There weren't very many options...so we went to see Madagascar 2. I know, I know! We didn't have any kids, why would we go see that? But it was actually a really funny movie!!

These are our feet at the movie theater. I think I was a little camera happy.
Can you guess who's is who's?

We were all really hungry after the movie, so we headed to PF Changs. I had been there when I went to Spokane in October, and had been wanting to go back. The lettuce wraps are awesome, and I just wanted everyone else to try them. Outside the restaurant, there is this horse. Boys will be boys...they attempted to climb the thing. The first attempt failed.

But then....

SUCCESS!!

After dinner, we all decided to go hang out in the hotel hot tub. I think everyone was grateful that I didn't bring my camera for that. We were there for a while just relaxing and talking. It was so so nice. Then we called it a night.

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We didn't have much time to spend with the Schwieder's by the time we were up and ready to go. We went to an early lunch and then we were excited to find out that there was a place down the road that had miniature golf, and laser tag, things like that. But, much to our disappointment, they were not open. Sad!!

So, we passed the time by going to the mall, and trying on clothes. Kirt made us laugh so hard when he put this thing on. The only thing that came to mind was...(and absolutely not in regards to Kirt at all) "Fat guy in a little coat...fat guy in a little coat!"

After the girls and guys separated for a little bit, we met back up at Ben and Jerry's and got a little treat.

And then, it was time for them to go. We are so glad that we got to spend time with them and hope to be able to see them in February...if we can talk them into it!!

Thanks, you guys. We had a blast!!

Visiting the Shelton's

Of course, since we were in Spokane I could not possibly leave without seeing my fabulous girl Traci and her family. We got there Friday afternoon and were just able to hang out, relax and eat all the yummy food they made for us.

OK...Traci was sure to let my know just where I was allowed to take pictures of her.

Here.

Here.

Here.

And...here!

We ended up being sort of the party crashers. It just so happened to be Reagan's 1st birthday on Friday. So, we were able to join in on the festivities. She was in awe of the candle burning and just wanted to touch it. She did enjoy the cupcake...as did the rest of us.

After Todd and Traci put the kids down, we settled on a game of Hand and Foot, or, as we were told, is a form of Canasta (but I kept calling it Ca-nasty, just for fun). Now, those of you who know Doug, know that he is not the biggest fan of games. He was a little hesitant at first, but was a good sport about it. We had a great time. We laughed so stinkin' hard...it was fantastic. The boys did end up beating us girls, but we let them win. We figured that we could handle being the losers better than they could. Doug liked it a lot more than he thought he would. It did help that he was on the winning team. Oh, Traci...all I have left to say about that night is..."because there is a bone in it!!!!"

(You know I love ya!)

The next morning after a delicious batch of pancakes, it was Wii time!! We started with a game of bowling. I think that is my favorite of the sport ones...well, that and boxing but we didn't play that one.

Everyone proved to have some pretty good bowling skills. Mine came after figuring out Todd's technique. Thanks for sharing Todd.

Doug got pretty into it...to bad I beat him at this one!!

OK...so let me explain this picture. When we were done with bowling, we switched to baseball. I was mostly just watching, but then wanted to 'take a swing at it.'

Well, I went to hit the ball and swung a lot harder than necessary. Unfortunately the wii controller was not securely fastened to my wrist, and it sort of flew out of my hands. And into Traci's shelf. The remote came apart and landed in a couple of different places. It was really really funny. But I felt terrible. I was just glad that it had missed the television...not by that much, but it did miss the television. I am sure that next time I come to visit, they will be a little hesitant about letting me play.

Notice in this picture that the strap is placed securely around my wrist!!!

Apparently, I get too involved when I am playing these kind of games. It looks like I am about to hit Marcus in the head. I missed that too. Thank goodness.



Us girls decided that we had had enough Wii, but the guys just couldn't pull themselves away. They decided to play a round of very exciting gulf. It was exhilarating, really. (Gulf clap). I think that it is now one of my favorite sports.

(I am being extremely facetious)

Of course, the time came to say goodbye. We had such a wonderful time with the Shelton's and hope we didn't bore them too much. Thanks for letting us stay with you and for making us laugh. Miss your face, Traci!!

Maybe 4 is enough!

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The decision to stop having kids is not to be taken lightly. Since I started having children, I have envisioned having 6. I know, a little crazy to most. But I have always felt very sure of that number. But...maybe 4 is enough.

I am just like every other mother out there. Trying to do a million things at once and never managing to keep up with things. So, bringing more kids into this family would just add to that. The grocery bill, the laundry (oh goodness, the laundry), the noise. All of that increases with every child. But then I start to feel a little guilty. I feel that maybe I am being a little selfish. The thoughts in my head are very conflicting. To have or not to have...more children? That is the question.

I was watching Extreme Make Over Home Edition...one of my favorite shows. The family that they were "honoring" was incredible. This couple have been foster parents to more than 200 children, have two of their own, and adopted 3 more. All of which have disabilities. Watching their story was inspiring. But also made me feel even more conflicted about having more. There are so many people who do so much more that I do, and they do it with grace. Why am I being such a wimp?

My heart aches a little at the thought of not having a tiny baby in my arms again. But then my mind winces at the possibility of insanity. I would love to have another boy running around the house, but I don't know what I would do with one more emotionally dramatic girl. See...conflicted!

Now, maybe I shouldn't be so open with these feelings. But I thought that hey, we all have to come to this decision sooner or later, so why not put my thoughts out? Maybe receive some inspiration from all those wonderful moms who read this silly blog of mine??

It is quiet obvious that I will not be making this decision alone. My husband will be involved and of course, the Lord. Even writing this, I really think that there are more little spirits waiting to come to this family. So maybe this is actually helping me come to a conclusion. Maybe this is an answer to my prayer.

"I'm the SUPER BESTEST!"

Jillian coined a new phrase last night during our night of bowling. She was very proud of her mad skills. She somehow managed to bowl a 118!!! (With some help from Mom and Dad of course...two strikes from Mom).

Since Doug hasn't been able to spend much time with the kids lately, we decided to do the family thing last night instead of a date. Oh, the sacrifices we make as parents.

We thought..."Let's go bowling!" Then after about 2 frames we thought..."Why did we choose to do this?"

We ended up just going to Chehalis Bowl. Anybody that has been there knows that it's a little retro....so I opted for the black and white pictures!

Jillian was very enthusiastic whatever happened. She usually didn't even bother to see how many pins she knocked down. She was just happy to throw the ball.
True Jillian form...happy one minute...grumpy the next


Savannah had a great time. She mostly wanted to do it on her own. Which caused a few problems. We had to have someone retrieve a few stranded balls and the scoring thing wasn't reading the pins sometimes because the ball had gone so incredibly slow that it didn't sense that anything had happened.

Jillian enjoyed feeling the air blowing her hair.

Payton took this game very seriously! He tried his hardest to knock those pins down. He would get pretty upset when he didn't do well...how do you teach a kid that you don't have to win at everything to have a good time? I think he has already come up with a new strategy for next time.

Good frame buddy! Thank goodness for those bumpers!

I think that Isabelle had the best time out of everyone. She loved it!! She did want to be the one bowling the entire time which made it a little difficult for everyone else.

She proved to be a strong little thing. She kept grabbing the bowling balls off the ramp thingy and carrying them around...and then dropping them on the floor. I think my kids made the lady that works there a little nervous.

In the end it took us more than an hour and a half to bowl one game. We were so ready to get out of there. Despite the whining, crying, pouting and just plan orneriness...I think we had a good time. I just don't think we will be doing the whole bowling thing for a while.

MONKEY SEE...MONKEY DO!!

So apparently, Isabelle has been watching Jillian too much. I was down sorting laundry (which took forever, because I couldn't do any for days because the basement had so much water in it) and came back up to find her. She had literally dug into an entire compact full of eye shadows. It was all over her mouth, shirts, hands and under her fingernails. Thankfully the make-up she got into was some of my old stuff that I don't wear anymore.

I hope this isn't an indication of what I have to face. Jillian gives me enough of that!!!

THE AFTERMATH...sounds worse than it is.

Well, we are doing just fine. Like I said to someone, "the river was knocking at our door, but we didn't let it in."

It was pretty intense for a while, but in the end, the river didn't even make it into Doug's parents house. I decided to take a little walk with my camera this afternoon, and here are a few shots of the property.

This is the field beside our house. These tractor implements were totally covered with the raging river.

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If you can tell, this is now where most of our gravel is. I guess it made a nice enough path that we could just walk out to the implements without sinking into the mud.

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This is right behind the garage. The picture really doesn't capture the amount of ground that was washed away.
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There is a lot of nasty stuff all over the place. Including grass. The river was so strong. At one point, I opened the door just in time to see on of the kids outdoor toys being taken away. It ended up in a ditch by the neighbors house. I will have to get a picture of that later.
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This is the back part of our back yard, behind my willow tree. When I went out to take these pictures, every step I took, I sunk a good 2 inches into the mud.
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The out building behind our house had way more mud in it then expected. Doug and Dad pulled all of our "toys" out and were just pushing massive amounts of mud out the door.

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Usually, this part of the covert is covered in, well, the driveway. I have no idea how much gravel we are going to need to replace all that was washed away.

I will be posting more pics as I take them.

My husband and father-in-law have been working all day to try and get things cleaned up. No way is it a one day job. I am just glad they are here to do it.

I know that there are a lot of people that got it so much worse than us, and my prayers will continue to be with them.