Kanaskat-Palmer State Park 2006

So Kevin came up with this wonderful idea of having a family get together because with eveyone strattled all of Washington and various other states, it is hard to see everyone. So July 21-23 we all got together at Kanasket-Palmer state park in Ravensdale,WA...just outside of Enumclaw and Kent. We reserved four camp sites and spread 32+ people between the 4 sites. Green River runs right through the park.
There were a few mishaps, but for the most part it was a very enjoyable weekedn for myself. Todd Lee was able to go fishing. Corinna, Chris, Allan, Marcus, Tori and myself went swimming in the river. There was a rock in the middle of the river. Corinna, Chris, Marcus and Tori jumped off the rock a few times. I did not have the guts to do it though!
Friday night we all had fried chicken that Grandma made and jello and dip from Aunt Kathy! On Saturday, we all had steaks bought by Kevin, cooked by Adam and served and cut by myself and then on to the smores.
Amanda, Danielle and some other adults ( I am not sure who) helped out the bunches of kids with their smores.
We all had a wondeful weekend and I am sure hopeing to have a wonderful repeat next year. Although It will be at a different park because the rangers at this park did not like us too much. So next year it will be Lake Easton State Park... as rumors have it!

God's wonderful but creepy creatures

So we have had many encounters of the reptilian kind here in Lind. We have been warned that the Rattle Snakes will be put in full force this year, as they are every year. We warned the kids that they are not touch any snakes that they see in the wild. But this little critter in Kevin's hands just happened to be slithering across our patio. No doubt soaking up the warmth of the concrete. He was only about a foot long, a youngin', so we were unable to tell if he was a rattler or not because he was too young. But we have also had gopher snakes here that act and look like rattlers without the rattle or the poison. So no touching is the policy!! (for kids anyways)....
This little guy took us forever to figure out what he was! Nicholas was out playing in the yard and came in yelling that he had found a snake! After looking at him I said, "That's not a snake. It has legs." Todd picked him up and he was all slimy! We thought he was a lizard of some sort but it turned out to be a long toed salamander. They are natural to this area. He was cool and the kids loved seeing him up close and personal.


These are not the only encounters we have had! Last summer there was a Gopher Snake in the bush in the front yard and a frog (not sure what kind) was hopping through my dinning room while my mom was visiting. I am not sure how he got into the house.
We all have a natural curiosity about the animals in our environment. We are careful not to handle the animals that could harm us or poison us by touch. But we like to capture them, research them, take pictures of them and then let them go in an area where they will not be harmed nor us harmed by them.
Oh, yeah there was this one time where Socks (the cat) captured a bird and brought him in the house.. right in front of us and the bird was still alive. He dropped the bird and it flew off into the living room. We were able to capture it and take it back outside. Thankfully Socks did not hurt it and it was able to fly off safely.

Adnoids and Family!

So there has been alot of excitment around our house. Some not so good, but most of it has been great! On March 15th, Tori had her adnoids removed. Grandma, Aunt Cindy, Amanda, Collin and Madeline came over to visit and support Tori through her surgery. This is Tori holding Madeline. This picture was taken after Toris surgery.

Her surgery went well. She was really scared beforehand. The doctors and nurses tried to eleviated most of her fears but I think that alot of it was built up in her head because of Popa passing away while he was in the hospital. She and I prayed together before she went under general anthesia and everything went well, as I knew it would. When she came to, she was groggy but feeling really wehn and most of all.... starved! She had not eaten since 9pm the night before and her surgery was not until noon! On our drive home she had a banana, a yogurt, pretzels and a bag of bugle chips. I normally don't allow her to pig out on chips. But I made an exception for today. So, Tori goes in for a follow up on the March 30th... But everything is going well for her!

When we got home. Todd was home! We were happy to see him. He had not been home in a month and a half!

We all gathered around for a picture of "the girls" and Nicholas snuck in. From left to right: Grandma (Sonja), Tori and Nicholas, Cindy and Samatha, Amanda and Madeline, Me and Elizabeth. That is little Collin in the background! Everyone had to leave that afternoon and get home! We were sad about them leaving but we were greatful for the time that we were able to spend with them! I know that it is rare to hear good things about in-laws, but mine are truley wonderful! In Kevin's time of crisis they have pulled together and help him out. They are trully a blessing to our life! God could not have blessed me or Todd with a better family!

Welcome Home!

Also, as most of you all know the twins were in foster care for a week... They came home on Wednesday, the 1st of March. When they came home it was a joyful reunion and we were all excited to have them home. The twins said that they wanted Spaghetti for dinner... sothat is what we had. This was taken the evening that they came home.

One is Too Small, and One is Just Right!

One of the Christmas presents from Aunt Cindy was mislabeled and Marcus Accidentyally opened it. It was Nicholas's SpongeBob outfit. He put on the outfit and then wanted to know why Aunt Cindy would buy him clothes that we too small... Then we figured out that it was supposed to be Nicholas's...
Cole's outfit, on the other hand fit him just right!.

Excuse the tardiness on the pictures but I just developed them!

Christmas Eve 2005

So, the kids were all excited about Christmas! They could not believe all the presents that they had under the tree! They definitely had gumdrops dancing in their dreams! Grandma Sonja sends the grandkids new pajamas every year for their Christmas eve presents. They were all excited to get to open a present on Christmas Eve... but when they saw that is was pajamas they wanted to open another one. Mom and Dad just laughed and said "Nope, now get into your jammies and get to bed so Santa can come."

Tori has decided that she is too old to believe in Santa. Which I would agree... She is 10 years old. That was about the time that my mom told me that Santa used to be a real person who would bring gifts to people in need, and that his spirit of giving still lives on and that is why parents keep that tradition alive. She alos told me that there have been times when they were not able to give us stuff for Christmas and presents were still there and they had nto bought them. I believe now that it was God, who continuted to provide for us kids, as he does every year that Todd and I have a rough year. God has blessed us many times and will continue to bless us in the years to come. God Bless all of you!!

2005 Winter Musical Program!

Each of the kids were in a musical program this year. Cole and Marcus sang together. Samantha and Gideon sang together and Tori was in the 5th and 6th grade group. The kids had a blast singing the new songs that Mr. Wilson taught them. I heard about this program for weeks on end until the day of the program. IT was held in the High School gymnasium. The turn out was wonderful. The gym was full of parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles supporting all the kids that tried real hard and gave there all.

The first graders had a song called the penguin polka that was absolutely hilarious and a little girl was dressed up in a penguin outfit and danced around the staged area. Tori sang a song with her group called, "Merry Christmas from the Red, White and Blue." I love the fact that we live in a little town that does not get all caught up in the "political correctness" of Christmas and the patriotism that they teach the kids!

It was a wonderful event and hopefully they will do it for years to come!

First Snow in Lind

So many of you know that I was experiencing technical difficulty with the pictures. Well it is just the pictures from the digital camera. All the pictures that we scanned into the computer are fine. I will continue to update the Blog.. Thank you for your patience!

This was the first snow that happened the very begining of December. The kids were so excited! They built a snow man with the help of their friends Luc and Clarivel. The twins had never played in snow before and they were wonderfully excited! Unfortuantely, we have not had any snow that stuck the to ground since. I am glad for that as I don't like driving in the snow but the kids aren't too happy.

Hallelujuah Night!!

So, I am having some technical difficulties and I would love to show some pictures from Hallelujuah Night but they are not coming up. What is Hallelujuah Night, you ask? Well that is were my kids spend the night of October 31st with their fellow members from Living Word Christian Center! They have a wonderful time! They get to play all kinds of games! They get to throw pudding pies at a sunday school teacher (Samantha's favorite thing to do!) and when they are little older and understand better the spiritual apsect behind celebrating "Halloween" and/or " All Saint Days and All Souls Day"... I will thuroughly explain it to them. But for now.. they just see all their friends have fun... and why can't they go trick or treating... Well, with celebrating Hallelujuah Night... they don't thinkthey are missing out, it is a positive experience and it is inside and warm.

Happy Hallelujuah to all!!!

Queen Elizabeth

Elizabeth is 4 years old and a wonderful little girl! She is smart, as well as, beautiful! She had a princess dress that she loved to wear but it was getting too small for her. The shoulders were ripping out and she would not let her mommy throw the dress away. So, Maggie and I thought that if we bought her a replacement dress that she would let go of her pink princess dress. It was successful. She loves her new princess dress and to top it all off, this one flys up when she twirls... see!

Kids will be kids

In our home, we have a kind of routine. The kids come home from school, eat snack and either do chores or go out an play. The later half all depends on how the house looks. Usually, its going out to play. But when the weather is bad, they entertain themselves in the house. Here they are..just being kids

The Queen with her Crown of glory

Monday, the 24th, was picture day and boys are easy. The get a nice shirt on and comb their hair and they are good to go! But girls are a different story! The preparation for them is a little more time consuming, usually you have to start the night before. Samantha had her hair braided but Tori wanted curly hair. So, we curled her hair and she had to sleep in it. Her hair turned out wonderful...as you will see later when i get her school pictures back. But here she is the night before.

Mighty Man of Valour and the Tree

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Kevin, Maggie and I were in the house and the kids were outside playing. Cole comes in the house and says, "Mom, Gideon is stuck in the tree." So I said,"Tell him to get unstuck." I was thinking that his pant leg had gotten caught on a branch or something. Marcus comes in and says that Gideon is really stuck and can't get down. So, Kevin, Maggie and I went out to investigate.
There was Gideon...stuck in the tree alright...his knee had gotten wedge in between two main limbs and he could not get out. Kevin and I tried pulling, prying, pushing, jiggling, wiggling and we were doing was stressing Gideon. We thought of using a chainsaw to cut one of the limbs but his leg was REALLY stuck and we did not want to take the chance of hurting him. So we called 911. The Lind Volunteer emergency vehicle showed up...along with 4 cars full of volunteers. The volunteers decided to attach a wench to a limb and seperate the limbs just enough to get Gideon's knee out. It was successful! Gideon was not hurt, with the exception of his pride. He was not able to laugh about it while in the tree and mom was taking pictures for his scrapbook. But, about an hour later, while I was sending the pictures to all the relatives...he was laughing as much as the adults.

In the Begining...

So, a friend of mine has a blog here at this site and I thought it was wonderful how their family was able to see the family grow. I know that my family is far away and can not see us every day. I decided to start a blog for all the relatives that live far and away adn they can see the daily happenings in our big and busy home, in the small, tiny town of Lind. At first you will notice a bunch of posting on one day. This is to get everyone up to date on the happenings of our happy home.