the karrer family

Boys Camping Trip

2011-01-21T23:20:00.000-08:00

In mid-January Nate took the boys on an overnight camping trip to Morro Bay. I was informed a few weeks before they left that there were "No Girls Allowed". This was boy-time; campfires, sand, holey-jeans, hotdogs~ no frilly stuff.☺ So off they went with the tent and the cooler... and had a blast!! Even after Caleb threw up in the tent because of all the junk food and in the middle of the night Nate had to take them over to sleep at mom & dad's beach house, everyone still said it was the best time ever.☺

Just got the tent set up and are ready to go explore the beach. Notice: No sand on the clothes just yet. This is how they left me.

This is after exploring the beach. Notice: sand covering pants, shirts, and appendages. This is how they look after 5 hours with dad. They are so much happier!☺ Daddies really are the best.

Cooking over the campfire

Cheese!

Merry Christmas✞

2010-12-25T23:12:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone! What a fun holiday season this was this year with a whole other family in our house. The Luchaus moved in with us just after Thanksgiving and the 6 kids were a blast on Christmas morning. I mean, there was wrapping paper for days ☺. Hope everyones Christmas was just as wonderful!

Here is our living room on Christmas Eve, nice and neat and orderly. The way mom likes it☺

Out come the stockings. There is so much tradition and family memories that come during all of our holiday seasons, but especially at Christmas. This stocking, and all of my family's stocking, are made by my mom. Each one takes her anywhere from 1-9 months, depending on the level of difficulty and the time she is able to devote to it. She has made well over 30 different stockings and they are very precious to us. Here is Matthew, happy to be pulling out even the smallest amount of chocolate from his.☺

Caleb got yet another item to add to his Thomas the Tank Engine collection. This time it is Sir Topham Hatt.

This just cracks me up. First, I just love Wyatt's Buzz Lightyear pj's. They are so bright you can see them from down the street. These two could not wait to get the rescue vehicles out of their box.

One of Matt's prize presents: A Battle Island Playset. Awesome.☺

My biggest boy got a big boy gift this year: A new watch. He loved it!

Ha, here is CJ with yet another Thomas toy. He is just so excited.

Finally he got the remote controlled helicopter he had wanted all year. He raised his arm and yelled "YES!" ☺

Luke's 7th Birthday

2010-11-21T14:55:00.000-08:00

As with Luke's 6th birthday, we celebrated his 7th birthday at Camelot Park riding the mini go-karts and playing miniature golf. He invited two of his good friends, Jaden & Holden, and along with Matt and Caleb, we had a great time! They are such big boys, but there is just something very wrong with seeing them driving their own cars... Afterward we stopped for dinner at Chick Fil-A and then for an ice cream cake at Baskin Robbins.We had a great night, celebrating our oldest boy... he is turning in to such a compassionate, loving and mature little man.

Pumpkin Patch 2010

2010-10-31T21:47:00.000-07:00

We love the Banducci Pumpkin Patch! For the last four years we, along with our friends the Congdons, have taken our families out to this great pumpkin patch south of town. The first year we went there were 4 children between our two families~ now there are 8, with one more on the way for the Congdons! I love looking back at the pictures from 2006 and seeing how much the kiddos have grown. Here is a photo of Luke and Matthew from our first year...

...and a photo from this year...

I mean, how sad is that?! Anyway, this year after the picture taking Nate and Tony took the kids through the corn maze and over to see all the farm animals while Jen and I hung out with the 2 youngest Congdons...

Brenna & Olivia. As always, we had a great time with our little pumpkin patch tradition. Here are a few more pics from the day:

Matthew's 5th Birthday pictures

2010-10-22T23:43:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Matt!

A little less than 1 month ago, on September 29th, our Matthew Paul turned 5 years old. We actually had several little celebrations for him. Earlier in September my parents held a "September Birthdays" dinner for everyone in our family, then we had a little birthday party at our home for Matt and all his friends, then on his actual birthday Nate and I went to school with our big boy and passed out cupcakes to all his classmates! He had a great time at each one of his little parties. While it's hard for us to believe that he has hit this mini-milestone it is such a joy watching him grow up. He's becoming a very smart, thoughtful, hilarious guy who is a treasure to his brothers and us! We love this little boy and are so happy the Lord gave him to us to look after. What a blessing children are!

Hello Again

2010-10-19T22:26:00.000-07:00

Fall is here! Apparently (on this blog at least) Summer 2010 never existed... sorry about that. ☺ The “happenings” around this house are as follows:

* Homeschool has started back up! Yay!! Monday marked the start of our 9th week this year, with Matthew in Kindergarten and Luke in 1st grade. There was definitely an adjustment period while I fumbled with our schedule, but now everything is running quite smoothly. We set up the office into the school-room and Nate let me buy these great desks for the boys. Even Caleb has a desk, which is stocked with coloring books and crayons, so he can sit in with us while I teach. Both Luke & Matt like math the best and both kind-of sigh as we get into reading, but they really are great students. I am again reminded how blessed we are to be able to have our boys home with us for school!'

* Extra-curriculur activities have also begun. This year Luke chose to try out Taekwondo and Matty is in a swimming class. It is hysterical to watch Luke do his warm-ups and drills. The last warm-up exercises are laps around the gymnasium and Luke is determined to run faster then the other boys. He's so competitive! His good friend Jaden is also in his class and they just have a great time together.

Matty became a pretty good swimmer this summer and is doing equally well in his class. His coach has him learning the butterfly stroke at the moment (which seems a little odd for a 5 year old, but what do I know?). He's also diving for rings and practicing his kicks. He loves being in the water.

* Caleb is alive and just happy to be Caleb ☺ His day is mostly spent playing with his brothers and eating~ it's a good life. His little personality is as dynamic as ever and he reminds me of his daddy more and more every day. He and I get some special time together on Wednesday mornings while the big boys are at their enrichment classes, and he is a blast to hang out with!

Matthew's First Day at Valley Oaks

2010-09-08T21:49:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Kindergarten, Matty!

Here is the "gang". =) Jaden, Taya, Luke, Matt and Reese are all VOCS students now! Matthew is so excited to have his friends (or cousins, as he calls them) in his enrichment classes.

I love this picture of my boys. I love that Matthew has his hand on his big brothers backpack, easing his nervousness. He is always more confident when Luke is with him, knowing his big brother will watch over him. These brothers love each other.

Walking to his first tractor ride! He is actually very excited, despite the look of intrigue on his face. The tractor takes them to their enrichment classes, and then brings them back to the school when the day is done. When I picked the boys up Matthew had such a huge grin on his face. He loved his first day!

Caleb and the Candy Cane

2010-04-21T22:35:00.000-07:00

I found this video from 2008 last night and I was just dying laughing. I think Caleb must have been about 20 months, and the whole video is very indicative of how his little personality would develop. Enjoy!

Caleb's 3rd Birthday & Easter

2010-04-21T12:02:00.000-07:00

How fun has my life been lately!!! I mean, it's always busy and there's never a moment of reprieve from the go-go-go, but sometimes I view it more as just "life" then as "what I fun and exciting life the Lord has blessed me with"! And I am so blessed. Here's a little recap of the last month:

March 15th-19th:

Nate had meetings in Arizona and I got to go with him! Oh what a wonderful, QUIET time I had. I don't think Nate had that great of a time, seeing how he had required meetings from 7am until sometimes 9pm, but we did get a couple nights to go to dinner and hang out. We stayed at the Arizona Biltmore and I spent my days lounging by the gardens and researching whole/raw foods (a new passion~ check out http://www.anneandjen.blogspot.com/), sipping water and relishing in the fact that I had no bottoms to wipe or clothes to launder. Some wonderful friends watched the boys for us and my mom and dad stayed at the house with them every night. They did great away from us (the first time we've left them for 4 nights in a row). The last time Nate and I got away by ourselves was in July 2005 (I was pregnant with Matthew!). It truly was a wonderful time.

April 4th~ Caleb's 3rd Birthday & Easter:

Happy 3rd Birthday to our Caleb Joseph!

Why is my youngest child 3 already?! It just doesn't seem possible. He is such a big boy, always cracking us and his brothers up and more times then not causing 70% of the havic in our home. ;) He has triple the amount of personality as the rest of us (well, he and Nate are about even). He is his father, complete with the looks, charm and ornery-ness that his daddy possesses. Seriously, sometimes he is "so Nate" it blows me away! He has been such a wonderful blessing in our lives.

Here is Caleb & Daddy opening gifts. He got some Thomas trains and books, a very cool 3-wheel scooter, some clothes, books, a foam bowling lane, pins & ball... lots of great stuff!!

Ha! I love this picture of Caleb and his adorable cousin Paige helping themselves to leftover cake. =)

Now on to Easter... time to hunt eggs! I think we ended up hiding 16 dozen plus 4 eggs!! What in the world. Caleb and Paige got to go out first since they were the youngest. Paige was cracking me up~ she would only pick up the purple and pink eggs and put them in her basket. =) She would spot and yellow egg, point to it with a huge smile, and move right on past it. She is the cutest girl!

And then it was the big kids turn. Luke, Matt, Claire, Kole, Keller, and Jared ran out the door and stuffed their baskets with eggs, regardless of color. ;) Grandma and Papa's house proves to be the best place to hide/hunt easter eggs~ mom's wrap-around flower beds boast great hiding places.

Not the greatest family photo, but a family photo nonetheless. Hope everyone had a great Easter!

He is Risen, He is Risen Indeed!!!

What in the world was Caleb thinking?

2010-03-11T21:24:00.000-08:00

I mean, we only left him alone for 5 minutes. He was supposed to be eating dinner, but found the temptation to eat the Nesquick too much to take. Caleb has definitely been a big fan of chocolate milk for the majority of his life, but eating it straight out of the can~ come on! It was everywhere~ in his eyes, on the floor, down his pants, under his fingernails, and, as is clearly shown in the pictures, on his face. It is going to be a miracle if this one is not shipped off to military school. =)

Here he is showing us that the chocolate is "stuck" to his hand.

I mean, it's everywhere.

And of course, the proud look.

We have a ball player

2010-02-27T20:23:00.001-08:00

Today Matthew started his Tot Tee-Ball league. He is an official "Cub", along with about 6 other 4 year old boys. I can't even tell you how much fun it was to go out there and watch my little man have the time of his life! =) He practiced his throwing, catching, and base-running for 45 minutes under the only patch of sunshine we got all day- it was as if the Lord opened up the skies just for Matthew. Nate has been practicing with him all week and he has really gotten good at catching with his glove and stepping forward with his left leg as he throws. And apparently he bats left-handed (even though he is right-handed & throws with his right) which Nate has assured me will earn him a baseball scholarship to an Ivy League school. =) Well, scholarship or not, he is definitely going to be a ball player! Here are some fun pictures from his practice.

2010-02-27T19:54:00.000-08:00

Getting warmed up with some jumping jacks...

...and some leg stretches.

Look at his form! =)

"Thanks dad, I really love to play baseball." -Matt

2010-02-27T19:50:00.000-08:00

Annnnnnnd...

BREAK!

Worms!

2010-02-16T22:23:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago Luke found a worm while playing in the dirt. He immediately ran inside and asked Nate to go pick it up. Before he could answer, Matthew runs past him and yells "I'll do it!!". Historically, Matthew has been the "brave" boy when it comes to touching and picking up the wild animals in our backyard. From frogs to ladybugs, it's always been Matt who was fearless. And as much as Matt is fearless, Luke is full of fear. =) Here is Luke barely touching the worm.

I love the grin on Luke's face here. He is so proud of his single-finger touch.

Just Because...

2009-12-21T09:27:00.000-08:00

My camera's home!

2009-11-15T21:01:00.000-08:00

11 days without it while it was being fixed was way too long. Praise the Lord it is back and working beautifully. Here are just some pics I snapped the night we got it home.

Happy October 31st!

2009-11-03T20:09:00.000-08:00

We had a great time on halloween, spending time with our friends, the Woodwards, and then ending the night at the annual Hoe Down. Luke dressed up as a ninja, Matthew was a race car driver and Caleb was the UPS man =). Matthew, Luke, Reese, Hudson & Caleb

Matthew won this gigantic cupcake during the cake walk at the hoe down. He was VERY excited!

Luke participated in the potato sack race... and came in last. But he had a great time!

P90X for the Family

2009-10-09T14:46:00.000-07:00

Oh man. Nate and I have started a new, pretty intense work-out program called P90X. There's no logical reason why I should be attempting this workout since (1) I am in horrible shape and haven't even stepped foot in a gym for 3 months and (2) I've always nurtured this hatred for working out which I have convinced myself is totally healthy. It is only because of my love for my husband that I have committed to this work-out. And I HAVE committed to it(notice the need to reinforce that in my own mind). Luke and Matt think it's great when they see us move the coffee table and get out our free weights and they have decided to join in the workout. This proceeds to crack me up and forces me to herd them back into the playroom. CJ's resolve is to, as seen below, sabotage any and all efforts we make towards getting in better shape. It is quite a situation at our house...

Happy 4th Birthday to our Matty-Man!

2009-09-29T07:30:00.000-07:00

Our sweet little Matthew Paul is turning four tonight, at 6:32. Why do years fly by so fast? I still remember bringing him home like it was last week, with a head full of blond hair and the sweetest little face imaginable. I know mothers probably shouldn't say things like this, but he was definately our cutest baby! =) Matthew is such a blessing to us. He fills our home with tons of singing and is just the funniest little person. We feel tremendously blessed by having this little boy in our lives. Happy, Happy Birthday baby! We love you so much!!!

3rd Birthday

2nd Birthday

1st Birthday

A day old

Lake Almanor 2009 1 of 4

2009-08-07T18:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we got back from our 2nd trip up to Lake Almanor! Our whole family has just fallen in love with Almanor (especially little Luke who just miserably sad when we left) ~ it is easy to see all of God's beautiful creation when we're up there. We got to do so many fun things at the lake and enjoyed the company of some of our best friends. I just love family vacations!! Below are some pics from the trip:

My 3 sweet boys.

Mr. Caleb Joseph, sitting patiently for pictures to be over so he could go play with Hudson-Man.

Lake Almanor 2 of 4

2009-08-07T18:06:00.000-07:00

Caleb & Hudson being goofy, as alwasys =)

Luke just LOVED the jet ski! Daddy let him drive by himself (Nate was still on the ski of course, he just let Luke steer and control the speed). Here they are getting ready to go out.

Getting ready to drive the golf cart down to the lake.

Having the time of his life... Matthew was all smiles the whole week. I just love his face.

Lake Almanor 3 of 4

2009-08-07T18:00:00.000-07:00

Best Friends =)

The Girls

The Men

Feeding the ducks (who wouldn't eat)

Lake Almanor 4 of 4

2009-08-07T17:55:00.000-07:00

The Congdon Family

The Garcia Family

The Woodward Family

These were all the kiddos between our four families (except for Hayden, the youngest). Keep in mind that the Congdons are in the process of adopting at least one, the Woodwards are pregnant, and we hope to follow in their footsteps very soon. =) From L-R: Holden, Luke, Jaden, Caleb, Reese, Baylee, Lauren, Hudson, Matthew & Aubrey.

Why is he so cute?!

2009-07-27T18:18:00.001-07:00

This is the smile I see most often on Caleb's face. This cocky, flirty, mischievous grin... he is his daddy.

Havin' Fun!

2009-07-16T14:14:00.000-07:00

What fun the past 10 days have been!! With the exception of some weird, short term sickness that attacked Caleb, we have been staying busy with birthday parties, swim school and playdates. Below are some pics of our summer fun!

Happy Birthday, Kristin! We had a wonderful dinner at Uricchio's for our dear friend's birthday on Monday July 6th. Dinner was great, the conversation was hilarious, and the company was unbeatable! Love you girls!

Also celebrating a birthday on the 6th was our friend Gabe Woodward. For his 30th, his amazing wife, Staci, had Luigi's (a "famous" local Italian restaurant) cater an 'adults only' party at the Romanini's gorgeous house. It was so fun to spend the night out with my husband and celebrate!

Taken at Gabe's party~ me and my handsome husband!

Thanks for the great party, Stac. Everything looked beautiful!

This is our first day of swim school. Matthew did great swimming with Miss Macie, his teacher.

By the end of the first day he was almost swimming the width of the pool. He is so excited!

Kick those legs!! This is Luke working hard ;)

Luke is swimming the whole LENGTH of the pool... 3 times. What a big boy!

Caleb watching his big brothers swim... and looking cute =)

This past Tuesday we had the "C" kids over for a playday. Here they are getting ready to paint.

So much fun!

Matty and Baylee and their masterpiece. Notice the backwords "M" that Matthew painted, and Baylee was making "fire". =)

Luke & Jaden proudly showing off their artistic abilities. The green smiley face above Jaden is (as he said)"a picture of me loving Luke", and Luke was very into painting carrots.

And after they were finished painting, everyone took a dip in the pool. We had so much fun with Jaden & Baylee! Thanks for coming over to play! =)

Love to you all, hope you're week has been great also!

4th of July

2009-07-05T15:31:00.000-07:00

This 4th of July we spent with a big group of friends and had a blast! Playing in the water, eating Nate's amazing Tri-tip and dodging random fireworks filled up a great evening. Caleb held his first sparkler, but only for a few seconds ~he was quite displeased with all the smoke in his eyes. All three of the boys loved spending the day with their friends! Hope everyone had a great Independence Day!!

When it's 107° outside...

2009-07-01T13:01:00.000-07:00

If there is one part of living in Bakersfield I am not fond of it's the summer heat. To beat it, we have been frequenting the Raquet Club's pools and our friends, the Woodwards, who have a big new water park at their house. The boys have been loving all the "water time" and hanging out with friends. Luke and Matt have been taking swim lessons and Luke is swimming great! Matty is a little more timid in the pool, but is becoming much more comfortable swimming underwater. Here are some recent pics trying to escape the heat.

This one's for Greta!

2009-06-26T13:46:00.001-07:00

Our first post of the year (how sad) is dedicated to our wonderful and faithful blog-follower cousin ~ we love you!!

Things have been rather busy around here from the beginning of spring. Between trips to the beach and one to Chicago, our family has been pretty well-traveled. Here are some pics from our trips...

Riding the Thomas train at the Navy Pier (Chicago)

Caleb dressed in his raincoat for the "water room" (Chicago Children's Museum)

Digging for dinosaur bones (Chicago Children's Museum)

Playing at FAO Schwartz (Chicago)

The boys at Hershey's Chicago... Caleb is such a goofball. We all ate some yummy treats here!

Feeding sheep at the Avila Barn (Avila Beach)

Fun at the Strawberry Festival (Arroyo Grande)

Strawberry Festival (Arroyo Grande) ... We were so proud of Matthew for being the only one brave enough to ride the pony!

Here are the boys hanging out at the our hotel with their friends, Reese & Hudson (Pismo Beach)

Taking a bubble bath at Grandpa & Grandma's beach house (Arroyo Grande)

My boys going to check out the baby whales breaching (Pismo Beach)

Stay Tuned...

2009-06-24T21:01:00.000-07:00

new posts starting up again soon...

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2008-11-26T21:40:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for...

...My amazing and holy Savior, for making me realize my state of depravity, and giving me the faith to trust and believe in Him. For this, I am eternally thankful

...all the times Nate makes me laugh

...Luke's countless snuggles ~ in the morning, afternoon and evening

...the smiles that cover Matthew's sweet face and the songs he fills my home with

...the way Caleb says "MaMa" in his 'exorcist' voice (Nate is not thankful for this)

...my home, the setting of my most precious memories

...the first person i think of in all of my favorite childhood memories, my mom

...having peace in knowing that if Nate can't fix it, my dad can

...the second person I think of in all my favorite childhood memories, my brother Matt

...Nate's job, which allows him so much time to spend with us

...Staci and Jen, who encourage me daily to be more Christ-like and who love me unconditionally

...belonging to a church which desires to seek nothing but the Lord

...caramel popcorn and chocolate chip cookies ;)

... each season in my life that is over

... being able to stay home with my children and seeing them change daily

...not having a dog anymore

...having a car we can afford, even though its green and the 'check engine' light never goes off

...the Lord answering a diligent prayer by flooding our lives with Godly friends who sharpen us constantly

...family, near and far

...all the tough questions that our little boys ask us and how they make us search for a biblical answer

...Matthew, who is at this very moment, singing in his bed when he should be sleeping

...sanctification being a process

...and so much more.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

Love, Anne & the boys

Playing Catch-up (2 of 3)

2008-11-22T22:19:00.000-08:00

After our great family getaway, we came back home and jumped right into our busy lives. Anne started homeschooling Luke & Matthew in mid-September and we now have a little pre-school with 2 other families (the Congdons & Woodwards). We meet every Thursday from 9 - noon and we are having so much fun! When Luke periodically gets asked by acquaintences if he goes to school yet, his response is now: "Yes, I go to school at houses... and my mommy is my teacher." It is very sweet.
We also had some very special visitors in September: Grammy and Bill! We had a great time visiting with them ~ they were recently married and, for their honeymoon, took a road trip across the country, visiting friends and family in different states. While they were out here we took them up to Tehachapi and had a BBQ with our friends. Everyone loved meeting some of our "Virginia Family" and we all had a very fun time. Then at the end of September we celebrated some birthdays: Nate on the 24th and Matt on the 29th. Matty got a new bike for his birthday and was very happy to hang out all afternoon with his friends.

HAPPY 5th BIRTHDAY, LUKE!!!

2008-11-21T07:35:00.000-08:00

it seems like just yesterday...
1 year old2 years old3 years old4 years old

Playing Catch-up (1 of 3)

2008-11-18T21:24:00.000-08:00

At the end of August we took a wonderful family vacation up north to Lake Almanor with our great friends, Gabe & Staci Woodward. We had the greatest 9 days together!! Staci's parents live there and we stayed (rent free!) at a vacation home owned by her family's friends. The house was absolutely gorgeous and the whole upstairs was a game room, complete with a pool table, ping-pong, foosball, a casino table, & golf driving net!!! To top it off, we had use of their golf cart to cruise around the community in in and jet skis to cruise around the lake in. What wonderful, generous people (thank you Padilla Family!!). The boys had a blast playing in the lake and chasing the many deer. It was such an amazing time. :)

We are back at the Blog!

2008-11-18T21:09:00.000-08:00

And for our first post, here are some pictures of mr. caleb from last week... ...this is what happens when Grandma brings over push-pops.

Stay tuned!!

Matthew Paul

2008-08-07T20:44:00.000-07:00

Caleb Joseph

2008-08-06T21:58:00.000-07:00

July Highlights

2008-08-04T21:14:00.000-07:00

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

What a fun & busy summer it has been so far! Here are some of our highlights:

* Matthew started potty training at the beginning of July and is doing great! He loves wearing his big-boy undies!

* While Nate was gone at meetings in Houston, the boys and I went to the Santa Barbara Zoo! Two of my friends and their children went with us (3 moms and 7 kids under 4 yrs old!). We had a blast!

* The last part of July we went to Lake Nacimiento for 4 days with my brother, Matt, and his wife and daughter (Ann and Paige). It was so fun to hang out with them, and little miss Paigey-Pants is just adorable! The boys had the best time playing in the "waterfalls" (waves) in the lake and with their little cousin.

The rest of the month was spent engaging in typical "summer" activities i.e., eating ice cream cones, playing on the slip 'n slide, etc.

Hope your July was just as wonderful (but not as hot!!)! :)

Cute Pic

2008-06-28T22:47:00.001-07:00

I couldn't help posting this picture! On Friday our bible study group gave a "send-off" to our friend, Gabe Woodward, as he leaves on Sunday for Olympic Trials in Omaha, NE. (Gabe is swimming the 50 Freestyle & 100 Freestyle. Please pray he does well ~ God has given him an extraordinary talent!!) There were a lot a pics taken and this one turned out so cute! Thanks, Jen Gray, for taking this! It was great to see you!!

GO GABE!!!

Back in Bakersfield

2008-06-26T07:38:00.000-07:00

We're home!! First, praise the Lord that we had safe travels over the last several days as we drove almost 600 miles. Secondly, thank you to my brother and sister-in-law for allowing our rowdy family of five to stay with them. They made our little vacation a lot less financial stressful by opening up their home. Thanks Matt & Ann, we love you!

OUR VACATION WAS A BLAST!! We started at Sea World on Monday, which was definitely the highlight of the trip. Matthew especially could not believe all the "fishies" everywhere. We were able to visit almost every attration, except the Clyde & Seymour show and the Dolphin show. We were able to feed the dolphins and pet them which was a lot of fun. Caleb Joseph thought he was going to be able to get into the water at all the exhibits and could constantly be seen trying to hike one leg over the railing. Between picking up starfish, getting spashed by stingrays, watching the amazing Shamu Show and eating tons of popcorn and sweets, Sea World was a hit!

On Tuesday we took it easy, mostly staying at the house. We took a walk along some horse trails to a nearby park in the afternoon. That evening we picked up Lucille's BBQ for dinner which is a must-have for Nate when we go down to Orange County. Then it was off to an early bedtime in preparation for Knotts Berry Farm on wednesday.

I had never been to Knotts before, as it is kind-of labeled a "boys" place. And it is definitely a "boys" place, although I enjoyed myself a lot. We got there around 11 and spent most of the day in Camp Snoopy which is for the little kids. Luke and Matthew loved riding on the race cars (as evidenced by the pics)!!! The boys were able to ride quite a few rides in Camp Snoopy and Luke frequently asked to go on them "alone" (meaning, he didn't want daddy to sit with him, just with Matty). Another highlight was the train that we went on around the back of the park. It was an old west train complete with robbers that boarded demanding all of our money. We stayed at Knotts for about 5 hours, until it was evident that our boys were utterly exhausted. We had planned on staying one more night and heading home on Thursday, but our better judgment kicked in and we headed home last night. Everyone was very happy to be sleeping in their own beds. :)

Well, off to unpacking. Have a wonderful day!

Our Garden

2008-06-20T21:04:00.000-07:00

For quite some time Nate has wanted to plant a little garden. I was not very interested in the idea, especially since the first step would include weeding out our flowerbeds. But, having seen our nephew Josh's beautiful garden, I started to get the urge to grow some of our own produce. While weeding was the first step, Nate and I did it together, along with the boys "helping", and it actually turned out to be pretty fun. But not as fun as watching all of our veggies grow! We have planted red and orange bell peppers, cucumbers, butternut squash, italian squash, zucchini squash, crookneck squash, pumpkins, carrots, scallions, 4 different kinds of tomatoes, basil, oregano, parsley, chives, rosemary, cilantro, chocolate mint, a Fuji apple tree and a Golden Delicious apple tree!! Wow!! ... we will be sending care packages for a modest donation (plus shipping/handling). :)

Bits and Pieces

2008-06-18T21:52:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! First, apologies to our Virginia family. I know that many of you look for pics of the boys on a regular basis and I have not delivered. Please forgive me; I will really try and be better at this.

As for events from our household, there have not been a ton of notable ones. Caleb battled a double ear infection for about 5 weeks which was terrible. We went through so many antibiotics and it just wouldn't go away. We finally got a clean bill of health on him about 2 1/2 weeks ago so that was great. And he has started to finally walk. His first steps were on May 27th and he is continuing to improve, now taking around 5 steps at a time. He is by far the loudest of our children, letting out these periodic yells that exhaust all the air out of his lungs. He has frequently begun to exercise this new behavior at complete strangers who walk by him at the grocery store or at the innocent clerk who mistakenly makes eye contact with him. On a sweeter note, he has begun to show this very shy/flirty side of him (mostly to other women). He will bury his head into my shoulder and then give off this angelic smile. He has every ounce of his daddy's charm.

Matthew's verbal/singing skills have taken off! His sweet little voice is heard throughout our house all day long. The currant favorites are "This is the day that the Lord has made" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". He knows all of his colors, the alphabet, his letter sounds, can count to 23, and (thanks to his big brother) he knows most any truck that we pass along the road. He follows Luke everywhere and mimics his every action. They are the best of friends right now and play together great (most of the time ;) ). He is such a joy to be around right now.

Mr. Luke finished his first year of pre-school at the end of May. He has had the best year and his teachers were wonderful. Now he is filling his days by building train tracks and riding his bike and eating us out of house and home. He is in love with the pool right now and constantly wants to be in it. He is getting soooo big. We will not be starting him in Kindergarten this year so he will have one more year of preschool.

Nate is doing great at his job and really loves working at Abbott. It's a totally new selling environment and is very rewarding for him. Plus (this is my favorite) he gets to spend more time with us. He will be taking almost all of next week off so we can go on a little family vacation. My brother and sister-in-law have graciously opened their home in Orange County to us so we will be leaving this Sunday to go down there. We have plans to go to Sea World and Knotts Berry Farm while we are there. Everyone is so excited and Luke is counting down the days (literally!). I will be sure to post some pics from our trip.

Good night and goodbye for now.

Daddy and Caleb... definitely no resemblance there

Daddy and the boys playing "Pirate Ship"

This is my adorable little niece, Paige Elizabeth

My dog ate my homework...

2008-06-18T11:13:00.000-07:00

or some other ridiculous excuse as to why it has been almost 2 months since I have posted. Sorry to all of you faithful "blog-checkers" for our delinquency. Tonight, after church, I will come straight home and post the most exciting, mind-blowing blog that has ever been posted... no that's too much pressure, but I will post something. Love to everyone

Caleb's "Weird" Face

2008-04-27T12:40:00.000-07:00

For some time now Mr. Caleb has been making these very weird, slightly frightening faces. It happens at different times throughout the day and it is absolutely up to his discretion at whom and at what he makes these faces to. For instance we were in the "Red Room" at Dr. Ho's a few weeks back and he was making "the face" at the red wall in the room (not at the other 3 white walls, just the red one). Another example: every night he makes "the face" at the microwave as it heats up his bottle; however, if he gets a bottle during the day, the microwave stays neutral. I haven't figured out yet if "the face" means he is happy or upset. Anyway, I thought it was time to share this abnormal habit with the rest of the world. Enjoy... or be a little frightened.

Date Night

2008-04-18T17:09:00.000-07:00

My husband is so wonderful!!! ...We have started to do this rotating date night with 2 other couples, the Woodwards and the Breys. "Date Night" is every Thursday evening from 5:30 - 8:00 and we rotate which couple babysits all of the children while the other 2 couples can have a date with their spouses. For instance, last night the Woodwards had the kids (7 in all!!) while the Breys' and us were able to go on a date, and next Thursday Nate & I will have all the kids, and the following Thursday the Breys' will have them and so forth. That way everyone gets a date night 2 weeks in a row. I am so excited about this ~ I LOVE to go on dates with my husband! Anyway, back to how wonderful he is... last night for our date he told me that we were not going out to a restaurant but that we were going to eat at home and he was going to do all of the cooking. He had already gone to the grocery store the day before and gotten everything he need to prepare the meal. He came home from work and cleaned the whole kitchen while I got the boys ready and took them to the Woodwards house. When I got back he told me what was on the menu, which included: grilled shrimp appetizer marinated in a red-wine vinaigrette, spinach salad with julienned pears and a rasberry balsamic dressing, steamed artichokes, grilled Ahi tuna steaks and fresh baked bread!! It was the most wonderful meal ever!!! I couldn't believe that we could have the best date night ever right here at home! What a blessing the Lord has given me in my husband!

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY, CALEB!!

2008-04-04T15:11:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can't believe that Caleb is already one!! We celebrated our baby's birthday on April 5 (his b-day was the 4th) with a our family and friends at our house. Nate bbq'd hamburgers and hotdogs for everyone and his dad made some wonderful potato salad. The party was Baby Einstein themed, which are Caleb's favorite movies (when the little caterpillar comes out during opening credits, he just grins ear to ear). SO many people came to celebrate the birth of our little boy with us and he just soaked up all the attention. It was a FABULOUS day! Happy Birthday, Caleb!! :)

Our month in review... apparently

2008-04-02T21:54:00.001-07:00

Since I have (yet again) failed to adequately update our dear blog, I am posting a slideshow of the entire month of March, complete with our Easter pictures.

Here is just a quick note of what went on...

March started off great with Nate home from training! We had him to ourselves until the 17th when he flew off to Las Vegas for a week for TAP's National sales meetings. At the meetings we learned the TAP was being bought out by it's parent companies, Abbott Labs and Takeda Pharmaceuticals. Nate's drugs half (Lupron) is being moved over to Abbott, which is just wonderful news for us!! Abbott is the 10th largest pharmaceutical company in the world and Nate will be going to their oncology division.
As Nate was leaving for Las Vegas, Caleb and Matthew both became ill. Caleb started out with 4 blisters in the back of his throat accompanied with a 103 degree temp, and Matty developed a pretty nasty cold. We battled that for a whole week and at the start of the second week (on Easter night), both of them had gotten pink eye. It was a blast. Nate took a day off from work at the boys' worst to help out, but after 5 days of eye drops and lots of wiping Matt's nose, I am pleased to say everyone is yet again healthy. And, in the middle of all the craziness... we got a new puppy! Her name is Abby Jane and she is a black 10 week old Great Dane. We love her!!!
As of today we are all doing great and just preparing to celebrate Caleb's 1st birthday on Friday! His actually birthday party will be on Saturday at 11.

Okay, we are off to bed. We hope everyone is having a wonderful week!

Happy Tuesday!

2008-03-04T21:45:00.000-08:00

For those of you who haven't heard me shouting from the rooftops, Nate is home from Chicago for good! He got back from training on Friday night and it has been sooo wonderful having him back. The boys have barely let him out of their sight (same goes for me :) ). Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement during these last 6 weeks - they have been grueling, but God is good and He sustained all of us. We feel very thankful and blessed with Nate's new job!

Have a wonderful rest of the week; look for a new post this weekend. Below are a few pictures from the past week.

This is mr. caleb joseph, spotting his favorite blankie from the bottom of the dirty clothes pile that I was just starting to spray 'n wash, and pulling it out to snuggle it. My mom made him this blanket when he was born, and it is his best friend! :)

Apparently my boys were trying to tell me they were hungry. I walked out of the office to find that Matthew had dumped the entire box of Fruit Loops on the coffee table. And there were my two big boys, just munchin' away.

The boys have been so happy with the warmer weather! The little swing that Caleb is in is a silver car that he got as a Christmas present from his granddad (Nate's dad). He just loves it!

This is Caleb crawling backwards until he gets stuck somewhere. This time it happened to be the chair & ottoman.

This is pretty much the cutest picture. This is what my mornings looked like when Nate was in Chicago. Luke and Matthew literally took over our bed.

HE DID IT!!!

2008-02-26T19:51:00.000-08:00

Our little boy is crawling!!!

I can almost crawl!

2008-02-21T17:08:00.000-08:00

February so far...

2008-02-19T20:56:00.000-08:00

What a jam-packed year this is starting out to be! I love it! Nate is continuing his training for his new job at TAP Pharmaceuticals which has kept him extremely busy. He is learning all about endometriosis and prostate cancer (both of which are indications for his drug) and is very excited to get out in the selling field. He took his last "big" test in training and passed with a 94% (he passed his first with a 96%), which is just great. I am really proud of his dedication and focus in studying, especially when he has a 2- and 4- year old knocking on the office door wanting to play trains. He is officially done with training on the 29th of this month and things will start to settle into our normal routine - I can't wait!

The big boys (Luke & Matt) have been up to the same 'ol stuff, playing with their trains and growing like weeds. Luke is loving his school and just amazes us with the everything he is learning. He actually said to me over dinner tonight: "Mommy, I am going to go to college." I said, "How about you just finish your pasta right now and we can talk about college at a later time." What, is he in his late 'teens now?! It still floors us how fast our boys are growing up. Matthew is really starting to finally to break away from Swahili and speak English. He might very well be the funniest of our little guys - always goofing around and cracking Luke up. He is definitely Luke's little shadow right now, which is very cute. The first word out of his mouth in the morning is "Gook!" (Luke) And mr. caleb is becoming quite the big boy. He is almost crawling and can be seen constantly rocking on his hands and knees. He has also learned how to get on the carpet in his walker so there is nowhere his brothers are safe from him. He turns 1 year old in 6 weeks!! I am so sad!!

Here are some pics from our Febrauary so far. The sweet little guy with Caleb is his friend Hudson-man.

Fashion Sense

2008-02-05T14:49:00.000-08:00

Here are my goofy boys! Matthew had been wearing this hat on his head all Tmorning. He found it in Luke's drawer and insisted on putting it on. The he completed his outfit with mis-matched pj's and a single slipper. Of course Luke thought Matty's had was hilarious so he found one of his own. Together, they may not be the coolest kids... :)

Our week in review...

2008-01-12T20:55:00.000-08:00

Finally, a week that has been mellow and predictable, just the way we like it! Bible study started back up on monday evening and, having finished "Shepherding A Child's Heart" (by Tedd Tripp), we have began a study of "The Joy of A Word Filled Family" (Dr. John S. Barnett). We've heard a lot of wonderful things about this book and are very much enjoying it so far.

Luke started back at school, which he was pretty insecure about. He held onto daddy for quite a while until finally running off to play with two of his favorite friends, Jaden & Holden. Then of course when Nate went to pick him up that day he started crying that Nate had come too early and he didn't want to go home yet.

All three of the boys having been enjoying all the time that Nate's been home this week. He has been closing out his business this past week and will continue to do so next week before he starts his new job, so he has been around the house a lot more. Caleb has been getting in some good snuggle-time with daddy this week and the big guys have been enjoying some (almost) daily games of baseball in the back yard. I also can't deny that I've LOVED having my wonderful husband home more. Last night he set up a movie date night for us in front of the TV with Friends (the sitcom) and caramel popcorn. It was so fun!

That's all for now. We hope everyone else had a mellow and stress-free week also! :)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year...

2008-01-05T13:51:00.001-08:00

...A little late, I know. Things have been busy as usual around here. Christmas was wonderful and pretty low-key. Nate had a great idea of starting every Christmas morning by reading about our Saviors birth from Luke ch.2, and then Luke wanted to sing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus. It was wonderful to celebrate our Lord first thing in the morning, before the rush of stockings and presents. This was really the first year that Luke understood that presents sort of went hand-in-hand with Christmas, and he had been inspecting them for weeks. Matthew could really have cared less about any gifts - he just needed to make sure that every single little piece of wrapping paper was taken off. It was a crack up because you could clearly see the picture detailing what was inside the box, but Matty could not focus on that unless all the paper was off. The older boys got a few Thomas the Train take-along sets and track which they love playing with. Mr. Caleb got a walker and just LOVES cruising around the house, chasing Luke and Matty. After our gift opening Nate made us a delicious breakfast. Christmas evening everyone (save a few) gathered at mom & dad's for dinner and our annual gift exchange. It was a wonderful day of celebration.

In our post-holiday news: Nate got a new job! He will be starting with TAP Pharmaceutical Products on Jan 21st. and we are all very excited for him! Training will be grueling and will last 6 weeks, so please keep us all in your prayers.

Have a wonderful day!

Our December so far...

2007-12-21T13:48:00.000-08:00

Boys will be boys?

2007-12-19T15:04:00.000-08:00

Is this what I have to look forward to? Daily loads of filthy laundry and necessary showers in the middle of the afternoon? Apparently so, if yesterday was any indication. Around 1:00 p.m. I sent the boys outside for a while to burn off some energy. A few minutes after playing on the swings they head over to the flower beds to play with some trucks. Pretty soon, as I'm watching out of the dining room window, I see my sweet Matthew pick up two handfuls of dirt and chuck them at the back of Luke's head! What?! I jumped just as Luke returned the favor by putting his two handfuls down Matt's shirt. Now, you should all know that I have a horrible first-reaction of bursting out laughing in any given circumstance, which has gotten me "looks" on several different occasions (i.e. our wedding, my children getting shots, etc.). So while I'm waiting inside to get my laughter under control and put on my "mother" face, my two boys continue to pummel each other with dirt. Finally I walk out there and, well, the pictures speak for themselves. I stripped both the boys down and marched them into the shower. I just LOVE being a mom.

P.S. I know I have been incredibly delinquent in my postings - my apologies (Jen, thanks for the gentle reminder the other day :)

Luke's Christmas Program

2007-11-30T13:00:00.000-08:00

Last night was Luke's 1st Christmas program at school. It was hysterical! Luke stood there pretty much the whole time, not singing at all but waving around to everyone like he was in a parade or something. He was standing next to his friend Jaden (who was a show by himself :) ) and the two of them hugged periodically and cracked up at each other throughout the program. It was such a fun night!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-22T19:55:00.000-08:00

We hope everyone had a wonderful (& relaxing!) day with your families! Our day was pretty mellow at the beginning, just picking up the house and playing with the boys. At 4:00 we went over to my sister Aileen's house for our big Thanksgiving family dinner. I love walking in to one of these monsterous family dinners because of the looks of anticipation covering everyones face. We all know that soon we will be piling our plates sky-high with mom's amazing turkey, ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, which are staples at every Thanksgiving dinner, along with the spread of side dishes and desserts that we are all enlisted to bring. By 5:30 everyone had found a nice and comfy spot to lounge while watching the USC game and chatting. All of my brothers and sisters were able to make it, including Matt & Ann who are down for the whole weekend with Miss Paige. The boys had a great time playing with all of their cousins and running around the backyard. By 7:00 most everyone had left and so we packed up our little brood and took them home. At prayers tonight Luke said: "Dear Jesus, thank you for our day, and thank you for my cousins, and thank you for me closing my eyes. In Jesus' name, Amen." (We have been working with him on keeping his eyes closed through an entire prayer). I thought it was very sweet for him to give thanks for his cousins ~ he loves them all so much! Well, I am still stuffed and need to go lie on the couch in hopes of my stomach not exploding, so I'm signing off. Happy Thanksgiving!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUKE!!!

2007-11-21T07:29:00.000-08:00

This morning, at 5:43, our big boy turned 4 years old! Happy Birthday! The entire day was wonderful and funfilled, starting with a lazy morning and opening presents. Luke got a big new fire truck from mommy and daddy and a new game from his brothers. Daddy went to work for a couple hours while the rest of us stayed at home, and grandma came over to give Luke & Matty haircuts (thanks grandma!). Then, when daddy came home, we all played out in the backyard until dinner time. Luke had made a special request of hot dogs for dinner, so daddy grilled 'em up right nice. Then later in the evening we had cake and ice cream with the family and "Luke's best friends" Jaden, Reese & Kimberly came over. Last year, the day after his 3rd birthday, Luke requested a Little Einstein's rocket cake for his 4th birthday, and has stuck to that request for the entire year. So, i gave it my best shot. The cake didn't turn out great, but Luke LOVED it which is all that mattered. He received wonderful and generous gifts from everyone ~ we are very blessed to have so many people love our little boy so much! After everyone had left, and all the toys were played with a sufficient amount, we put our tuckered-out boy to bed, around 9:30. His birthday is always filled with such mixed emotions for us; unbelievable joy at the birth of our firstborn child, and pain as we think back to the agony we felt in the few hours after he was born. Luke's life is an amazing, constant reminder to us of God's unmeasurable power and love. Thank you, Lord, for the gift of our son... and Happy Birthday, Luke!!

VICTORY

2007-11-12T09:24:00.000-08:00

For the 1st time last night Matthew slept in a big-boy bed!!! Yeah! We have been trying, on and off, for the past 6 months to get him to sleep on the bottom bunk-bed in Luke's room, unsuccessfully. Luke has been dying for Matty to sleep with him! The problem is that when we put both boys to sleep in there it's like a big ol slumber party. At one point matt had found the wooden spoons in luke's dresser and was playing drums on the wall with them. Or, we'd here some toys being knocked around and go in to see matthew playing with the train table, completely oblivious to the fact that he was supposed to be asleep in bed. Probably the funniest time was when we thought everything was going great, no noises for a 1/2 hour, then we here bouncing on the bed. We go in there and Luke is completely asleep, and Matthew is bouncing on top of him. Nate and I sat down on the floor and cracked up! But, it has all been worth it because we finally had a victorious night.

where is our hope?

2007-11-07T20:55:00.000-08:00

Since Sunday, Nate & I have been following the story of a Christian family from Costa Mesa, the Levasheffs. Drake & Christina (the parents) have a little boy who would have been 3 next month named Judson. In May of this year Judson was diagnosed with a rare and uncurable disease, called Krabbe disease, which basically eats away the white matter of your brain. This morning, after becoming blind, paralyzed and mute within the last month, Jud passed away at home. The story of this little boy and his family has captivated us, not because of the horrible tragedy that has fallen upon them, but because of the beautiful and graceful way they have accepted God's plan for little Judson's life. Please take a few minutes to read the journal from the website the family had started for Judson: www.caringbridge.org/visit/judson. Typically the journal was updated late in the evening, but Christina wrote a message this afternoon after Jud had passed away. Here is what she wrote:

"Dear friends and family...
We ushered Judson into the arms of Jesus around 11:30 am this morning.
We do not grieve as those without hope.

In His Loving Embrace,
Christina & Drake"

I just broke down after reading this. This family, who should be broken and tormented with anguish by the loss of their sweet little boy, is so peacefully comforted by our living God, who is their hope. And while I have no doubt that their hearts are broken and they will mourn little judson's passing, they also know with absolute certainty that God's plan for Judson's life was perfect and flawless. Glory is being given to the Lord in the midst of this unbearable circumstance! The Levasheff family has shown such a tremendous, unshakeable faith in God and their story cannot help but make me think of Abraham and Isaac, as both of these families were so willing to accept God's Will of death for the lives of their children.
I must admit that I have been very convicted these past few days as I read the Levasheff's blog. I can't help but wonder if Nate and I were faced with losing one of our boys, if I could stand up and say to the Lord that I give my child up to Him with a willing and faithful heart. How hard it is for me sometimes to just trust the Lord in my everyday circumstances! But I know that my faith is in Jesus Christ who paid the ultimate price for me, and that these children whom I love with every ounce inside of me, belong first to the Lord. I remember so well the feeling of God's peace that swept over me in the hours after Luke was born. Through the fog of hopelessness in my mind was the Lord's light and the reminder that He is never without control.

My prayer is that my hope will always and only be in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Praise the Lord that the Levasheff's unshakeable faith has allowed them to still rejoice and give glory to God through the loss of their sweet little boy!

Breakfast with Daddy

2007-11-07T20:43:00.001-08:00

One of the boys' favorite thing to do in the morning is cook with daddy. They make everything from bacon & eggs to oatmeal to pancakes. Luke has learned how to crack eggs, add salt & pepper, use a whisk and flip pancakes. Matty is still in the pretend-cooking stage, mostly mixing some water (and this morning, Oregano) in a bowl with a whisk. It is the cutest thing to watch. Nate definitely has a love for cooking and he is so happy that the boys are starting to have an interest in it too. What fun father-son times!

Ohhh...

2007-11-02T12:41:00.000-07:00

...I will so miss these moments. Sometimes i can't believe he is my last one...

Meet Woody, Buzz Lightyear & Squirt

2007-11-01T14:58:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween! How cute are our boys! Luke and Matty were so excited to dress up as the Toy Story characters - it's one of their favorite movies! And Caleb was hilarious as Squirt (the little sea turtle from Nemo). Everyone had a great time trick-or-treating in Uncle Steve & Aunt Shari's neighborhood. Every house we went up to luke would say "Trick-or-treat, happy halloween!". It was so cute. And matthew made sure to say "Da-do" (thank you) for all the candy he was given. And even Caleb had a blast being strolled through the neighborhood by daddy. Special thanks:

To Josh & RandiSue for the costumes

To Grammy for the trick-or-treat bags

To Grandad and Judy for the pumpkin flashlights and goody-bags.

Pumpkin Patch '07

2007-10-31T21:21:00.000-07:00

This afternoon we took a trip out to Banducci Farms Pumpkin Patch with our good friends, the Congdons. All kids had a great time playing with the pumpkins and all the adults had a great time taking pictures. We are trying to make it a little tradition every year to have "pumpkin patch" pictures and almost missed our chance (the patch closed at 4pm and we got there about a quarter 'til). The Banducci's have a really fun set up at their farm, complete with a corn maze, pond and animals, so the kids just love it. Caleb was cracking us up with his huge gaping grins :). Luke, Matthew and Jaden spent most of the time running around and being "boys", checking out all of the pumpkins and seeing how many they could pick up. Miss Baylee, who is 18 months and just the cutest thing, was fascinated by the pumpkins too, and she kept pointing and saying "punkin". We ended up getting a ton of adorable pictures and had a great time! I will try and post pics of the boys in their costumes tomorrow afternoon.

"but i don't wanna take a nap..."

2007-10-24T21:09:00.000-07:00

oh, these famous words. i hear these words at least once a day and they're usually followed by "...but i'm not tired...". well, yesterday when luke should have been taking his nap i let him hang out with me in the kitchen while i did some cleaning. he wanted to watch some train videos on the computer (a new fascination of his), so i set him up on the counter next to me with the computer. within 5 minutes he was out like a light. i was cracking up because a tiled countertop cannot be the most comfortable place to sleep, however, his little body clearly could not stay awake for another minute.

after i caught some priceless pictures of his nap i started thinking about all the other places i have seen my kids sleep besides in their beds. below is a short clip of all our boys' unusual nap places. have a great night.

Paige Elizabeth Ollivier's first 15 days

2007-10-21T20:04:00.000-07:00

we love you paige!

End of the week review...

2007-10-21T14:47:00.001-07:00

we hope everyone had a wonderful week and weekend! our week wasn't the best - here are some hightlights: matthew's x-rays came back clear on tuesday but his bloodwork showed a bacterial infection called mycoplasma (or walking pneumonia). he has been on antibiotics all week and is doing fabulous. wednesday evening caleb's little nose started running and by thurs morning he was having a pretty hard time breathing and was throwing up his bottle. so, back to the doctor. our fears of another RSV infection were unfounded but he does have a mild upper-respitory infection and is back on breathing treatments 3x a day. the doc wanted to re-check him again friday morning which ended up being doubly useful seeing how luke was up at 2 a.m. that morning with a 102.4 temp. (i know, it's ridiculous). But as of today matt is doing great and showing no signs of an illness; caleb's lungs/chest are sounding a ton better then thurs (but still on breathing treatments); and luke has an ear infection in his right hear and is on an antibiotic. We are really hoping that this is not a prelude to how our entire fall/winter will be...

As for this weekend, anne's mom & dad watched the boys on saturday as we made our way down to malibu beach with some of our good friends, tony & jen congdon for a "business" cook-out (tony works at northwestern mutual with nate). we had a great time and the weather was perfect!

That's it for now; below are some pics from the last few weeks. have a great week!!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!

2007-10-12T22:28:00.000-07:00

Tonight we celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary with an amazing dinner at our favorite restaurant, T.L. Maxwells (for those of you who haven't tried it, we highly recommend dropping everything and going there immediately). We enjoyed every minute of our 2 hour dinner and nate had suprised me with a dozen yellow roses (my favorite) and gorgeous earrings for my anniversary present. what a wonderful husband i have! Anyway, we had a great time without the kids (thanks mom & dad) and are very excited about our little milestone.

P.S. Althougth our day ended up great, it started out a little crazy. we had to take matthew into his pediatrian at 8 am this morning as a follow-up to his emergency room visit the night before. thursday afternoon around 4, matty started flipping out because he couldn't take a breathe. he was only able to inhale a small amount, like he was having an asthma attack or something. after giving him a breathing treatment and it not helping, nate rushed him into the e.r. some bloodwork and xrays were done, and on one of his lungs they found a nodule with some flattening around it. the dr. said it looked a lot like pneumonia or valley fever. he was given a steriod shot which helped open up his airway and he was able to breathe much better. so this morning we took him into dr. ho's office and more xrays and blood work were ordered and we should get the results of everything at our appt tues morning. we'll let you know what the diagnosis is when we find out, but in the meantime please pray that he has no more episodes.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Nate's 30th Birthday

2007-10-09T11:18:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Nate! Nate celebrated his 30th birthday on sept. 24 who a few little get-togethers for family and friends. Special thanks to gabe & staci woodward for letting us use their beautiful home, to mom & aileen for surprising nate with a party at mom's house, and again to aileen for the awesome football cake! we love you all, thanks for helping us celebrate what a wonderful man nate is!

A new baby!!

2007-10-08T08:35:00.000-07:00

No, not for us! my brother Matt & sister-in-law, Ann, welcomed a beautiful baby girl saturday morning (oct 6th). Miss Paige Elizabeth Ollivier was born after a whole 45 minutes of labor and has a ton of blonde hair. We love our new little niece (& cousin) to pieces! Congrats matt & ann!

Matthew's 2nd Birthday

2007-10-07T21:46:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Matthew! We had a fantastic birthday party for little matty last saturday (the 29th) here at the house. there were lots of kids and grown-ups (nate thinks 40 in all) and we snacked on pizza, nachos, sno-cones and cotton candy to go along with our circus theme. nate hung streamers to give off the circus-tent ambiance and anne made a "roller coaster" cake which matt promptly demolished. he got lots of great gifts and it was such a blessing to have so many people we love here to celebrate with us. thanks again to our virginia-based family for all your cards and gifts ~ we missed you guys! here are a couple pics from the day. Enjoy!