Oh Hey There!

Well, the blog has been neglected for some time. This was a place that began from a desire to document pieces of our life. Once I realized as a young mom how fast the time goes, I knew I surely wouldn't remember many of the moments I wanted to memorize in my heart. Our life led us on a little adventure in the next few years but I didn't post too much after our move to Cherry Valley! I really do love the process of writing and I hold a desire to do it, even if it's just for myself. But how does one make the time for thus blogging between all the meals, dishes, refereeing boys, homeschooling, gardening, preserving food, daydreaming (ha), showers, church and that thing called sleep? I obviously haven't figured it out yet but I'm challenging myself to commit more of me to this space here. We realistically only have so much time in a day but the beauty is we can choose where we want to place our time. This usually means saying "no" to some thing in order to have space to say "yes" to the thing we want to do. For me it would be saying no to the amount of time spent browsing through social media. It really boggles my brain to see how easily distracted I get "checking one more thing" to find myself down a whole other rabbit hole. Distractions are an evil thing when you've got life to live! So here I am being intentional and saying out loud in internet space that I choose to be present here more often. 
That is all I have for now. My hopes in the next post is to share more about our homesteading journey after we moved from Palm Springs and how it has led to where we are now. Stay tuned and feel free to bug me if I'm taking too long- I might just need a little friendly pressure aka accountability. 

The Story of Gunner

Here is the newest member of the family! His long awaited arrival has made it that much more sweet. This is the background story on our little guy. Last June we had visited Josh's grandma in Oregon. During our week stay we happened to look in the classifieds for lab puppies, just for fun. We found a lady who breeds labs in Washington, about an hour and a half away from Grandma's house. We made a stop there to check out the puppies on our way to visit my cousin Natalie in Washington. It was puppy heaven! There were lab puppies from the cute and cuddly age of 6 weeks to the brand new, week old pups. We had a yellow male in mind. We decided if we found a pup we liked and was available we would get one. It turned out all of her oldest puppies had already been claimed. The next in line were  the 2 week old pups but she only had yellow female or black males. We thought a black lab wouldn't love our desert climate, which is why we shot for a yellow. And we both grew up with male dogs so that's just what we knew. Next we looked at the week old labs. They couldn't even open their eyes yet, they were so teeny tiny! We decided to put a deposit on a pup from that litter. The breeder would send us pictures of the yellow males in that litter when they were a few weeks older and she would tell us more about the personality so we could make a decision. When that time came we made the decision on a pup and named him Gunner. He would be a hunting dog of course! He would be flewn down to So Cal when he turned 8 weeks. This was back in August. Well, long story short, Gunner had a health issue and the breeder didn't feel comfortable sending a dog that may have problems in the future. We decided we would wait until next summer when we visit Grandma again to see what pups the breeder had at that time and possibly bring one home then. After we have baby number 4. Well, not too long after we made our peace we got a call from the breeder offering her choice pick of a litter just born or whelped (I learned a lot of dog lingo through the process!) At this time it was the beginning of October and we decided to wait until we saw pictures of this "new" Gunner. Like anyone is going to look at that cute, smooshed puppy face and say "No, I think I'll pass!" Puppies, babies and chocolate are nearly impossible to resist! So, we saw the pictures, said yes, and in a few weeks Josh made a kamikaze trip to Oregon with his parents and Micah to pick up this sweet thing.

A lot of people think I'm either brave or have lost my mind for getting a puppy in my 8th month of pregnancy. I can tell you I have lost my mind! I was so very against getting a dog until we were done having babies. I didn't want to be doing puppies and babies all at the same time. But all of a sudden, for some reason, I changed my mind. I blame it on the pregnancy and the lack of brain I have left these days. A funny thing is I remember talking to Josh about when to get a dog and I always thought fall would be a perfect time because the weather gets to be real nice here. And look what happened =) I know we are about to have a baby in 2 months but I think having Gunner would help the boys through the adjustment, maybe even distract them a little. Even if Gunner is still a baby himself =)

 They love to help with anything at all involving that dog. And watching them use phrases like "C'mon Gunnah, here boy" in a high pitched voice while patting their legs is quite precious. We'll take it one step at a time and enjoy every moment of it. They're only this young for so long...

The Week of the Birthday

Mason just recently turned 5. My how time flies!
Here he is on the day he was born. Monday, August 15, 2005, just hours old.

Then he turned into a one year old.

And then a two year old...

And then a three year old...

And then a four year old...

And now a five year old.

This is probably the first year Mason had an idea of what he wanted for his birthday, what he wanted to do, how many days left until he was 5...etc. One of the big things he really wanted to do was go camping in Big Bear, where Nani & Papa (my parents) stay for the summer. So we went up the weekend before his birthday and had so much fun! Our good friends, the Gunn's, came up for the day Saturday to get away from the desert heat and hang out with us. We took the boat out on the lake and let the boys have a little fun tubing. It was their first time tubing and they all loved it, I was very impressed with how brave they all were.. because even if I wasn't pregnant, I would be too chicken to go! Marni was brave enough for the both of us and took her turn on the tube. She did great... and even got some air! Mason was the only boy who fell off the tube (with Daddy of course) and he handled it like a champ! Those swimming lessons really helped his comfort level in the water. My sister met us up there with my nephew for dinner and cake and we really just had so much fun. It was wonderful weather with wonderful people! The night before Mason's birthday I kissed him goodnight and said "This is your last day as a 4 year old. You're going to wake up tomorrow and be 5!" He just lit up. I don't think he realized it was literally the next day, and neither did I! I admit it got me a little me teary-eyed thinking about my boys growing up right before my eyes. What do you do? I can't freeze them in time lol! So I just try to enjoy every moment I can while they're little, and say things funny, and ask for help with everything, and take a ton of pictures for when I forget how little and cute they were! So the next day we all woke up, had chocolate chip pancakes per request of the birthday boy, and went to church. We had lunch at Red Robin with Grammy & Gramps (Josh's parents). We realized we've had 3 birthday meals for the boys at Red Robin for the boys so it must be a tradition in the making =) Later that night after church we had a casual get together for cake and ice cream (one last time!) with friends and grandparents.. it was his actual birthday after all ;) Chocolate cake and Mint Cookie Crunch Ice cream (from Dreyers) has been his personal fave and I'm right there with him! That's my boy! All in all it was a great "week" of celebrating Mason. We had fun treating him extra special and loving on him. And I enjoy having a whole week to cope with my baby turning another year older =) Here are some moments captured of our fun filled week!

Getting ready for his first tube ride with Daddy

Party pooper on the boat!

 Mitchell woke up when he realized there was actual fun on the boat!

He really loved it!

Best buds Hunter & Mason

Micah taking a turn with Kevin

A little stop at Bass Pro Shop on our way down the mountain

Lunch at Red Robin. Mason was showing off how "strong" he is as a 5 year old!

Spoons all over the place!

Brothers

He loves chocolate just like his Mama

More cake & ice cream with friends... it doesn't get better than this!

Letting Go to Grow

Wow, I can't believe my last post was over 2 weeks ago! I've been meaning to update but life has taken over in full force. Between school, running errands, cleaning, homework, meals, laundry, swimming lessons, appointments... and somewhere in between I'm supposed to shower and look decent! It feels as though my life can spin out of control at any moment (ahh!). I'm so grateful I don't have to carry the load alone. I'm reminded of Psalm 55:22 to "Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you." I tend to think I have so much to do, and I'm doing it all alone. I make my burden heavier than it really is in my own mind. Half the battle is realizing I can't do it alone. And the other half of my battle is asking for help...even to the Lord. Why is that such a struggle? For me the hardest part is giving up control. I sometimes won't even ask Josh to fold clothes or sweep, because he doesn't do it the way I do. How horrible is that?! Let go girl! You're getting FREE help! I know as soon as I get over myself and let go, I find relief. I find rest. And I enjoy the little moments. What can I say, I'm a constant work in progress. I'm thankful the Lord (and my sweet husband) love me just the way I am... my imperfections an all.


Speaking of letting go, the boys have been taking swimming lessons the past few weeks. Their teacher is a woman who's been a part of our church family for years. She is such an amazing and inspiring woman, we are so blessed to know her! She has probably taught the majority of the kids at Desert Chapel how to swim! I've heard so many good things about her teaching and knew it was time to get these boys comfortable in the water. She's so great with the boys and has so much patience. I'm really impressed with how much progress they've made in such short time. Mason has gone from never getting his hair and face wet and only sitting on the steps of a pool to swimming under water. Micah was pretty comfortable in water if he was doubled up in floaties =) Now he's jumping in the pool and taking more risks with confidence. He is on his way to swimming! And Mitchell, completely fearless, is now aware he has boundaries. He jumps in with a big smile on his face and eyes wide open and just floats. No kicking, no paddling, no flailing, nothing. It's almost creepy to watch, but he's just so comfortable! Getting him to kick his feet will be his huge milestone! They really love their time with Ms. Jeannie and look forward to every session we have, as do I! Here are some pictures over the past couple of weeks!

The First of Many

Hello World, welcome to my life! Thursday happened to be the first day of school for my firstborn, Mason. What?? We're already here? Wasn't I just in the hospital laboring this child? It all happened so fast, I still haven't cried like I wanted to. You know the lump in your throat you keep pushing down so you can "appear" to be a composed adult, not like the 5 year old girl sobbing and clinging at her mommy's dress. All I allowed were a few tears that didn't get the chance to roll to their full potential. Next thing I knew his teacher had the students (my baby!) turn and wave "Bye, Mommy!". Wait!!! Where's my hug, my kiss, my tears??? With years of experience, I know Mason's teacher knew this was best for the little ones who struggled with parting from their parents, or... for Mommy's who can't bear let their babies go. It makes me think of what my father-in-law has often encouraged me during my pregnancies with: "At least we know millions of women have gone through this... and survived!" So here I sit, still haven't dealt with my feelings about my baby growing up, about me having to let go, about me being pregnant and having extra feelings! [I send this as a warning for my dear husband who shall soon unexpectedly encounter an overdramatic meltdown about something that doesn't even matter, like, say, he not being able to decide which type of pasta I should make for dinner... Honey, I apologize but, consider yourself warned!] I have to admit I was so proud to pick him up from his first day, and relieved to hear he did great! I think I was afraid he would be so shy, like I saw him at open house the day before. But he was quite the opposite, he is a social butterfly when he's comfortable, and that he was. He even made a new friend, and it wasn't a boy! With two younger brothers, and lots of friends that are boys it was a nice surprise he would make a girl friend. It's cute and innocent, and I'm excited. Excited for the first friend... of many. I'm excited for the first day of school... of many. And I'm excited for the first blog, of many! 

Here are a few pictures from this milestone we've reached, whether I was ready or not!